...kissing 2010 goodbye...

Every year for the last 6 years(well, minus one year in between) we have celebrated New Years in San Diego, and this year was no different. We started the night's festivities off with tapas and cocktails at Glass Door, a beautiful Mediterranean Restaurant in Little Italy. Afterwards, we headed to one of our favorite San Diego bars, Craft & Commerce for a celebratory night of craft style drinks and great conversation. This was definitely one of our more mellow New Year's, but it was perfect! Here are a few photos from our night...

[starting the night with dinner]

[the very unique decor of craft & commerce]

[the cocktails are designed uniquely to your taste and preferences]



[my mojito like concoction]



[the boys and their daquri style drinks, they're honestly not as girly as they sound]

[cheers-ing to a new year]

We hope your New Years was full of friends, love and fun. Here's to a fabulous 2011!

xoxo,

R+M

...hello algodones...

As mentioned here and here Mikis and his partners have been working hard on El Hefe,  a new resturant/bar concept that will be opening in Oldtown Scottsdale this upcoming March. With the project just a few months away, we have been researching and constantly looking for design inspirations and fixtures for the bar. Since the bar is taking on a mexican theme, we decided to make a little pit stop in Algodones on our way to San Diego to celebrate New Years. Our trip proved to be successful with us bringing home a ceramic Lady of Guadalupe and Donkey, and of course two bottles of tequila. The only downfall is we had to carry our new very heavy purchases all the way to the border, which was a venture in itself. We were sore for days!

Here are a few photos from our excursion...

[on our way to the border]

[on a lady hunt]

[we have found ms. guadalupe]

[success!]

 [and the trek begins]

xoxo,

R+M

...for the love of change...

Normally I never set resolutions for the new year, because I know I won’t keep them. Well, 2011 is different. It’s a year full of hope and uncertainty for me, and one I am truly excited to start. So with that said I have decided to set a list of resolutions I hope to stick by throughout 2011, here are just a few…

-Get Organized- although I call my life organized chaos, I truly want it to just be organized. So in 2011 I hope to organize both my personal and professional life. With that I also plan to de-clutter my closet, beauty products, and anything else that is overfull and unused. This is one resolution I know Mikis can't wait for me to work on.

-Be Positive- generally I am a pretty positive person, but the last few months I have been sort of in a funk and well, I need to get out of it. I am going to push myself, funk or not, to constantly look on the bright side, and disregard negative thoughts and frustrations.

-Spend more time with girlfriends- although I pride myself on my great girlfriend relationships, I could always make more time for get-togethers or even hour long phone dates. In 2011 I hope to reconnect with all my girlfriends on a monthly basis.

-Get Healthy- let’s just say my willpower when it comes to working out or staying away from junk food is slim to none. In 2011 I hope to work out at least twice a week (baby steps), and eat a healthier diet.

-Go to more concerts- Mikis and I LOVE music, and we used to go to concerts on the regular. Lately our concert schedule has been pretty empty, in 2011 I hope we make our hobbies and interests a priority and get out more and enjoy the music.

-Go on more vacations- We love to travel, who doesn't? In 2011 I hope we make more plans for travel within and out of the U.S. This is our prime time to see as many sights as possible, before we have to "settle down" and start a family. As much as we like to travel alone, I hope we plan more trips with friends as well. Friends help make trips a bit sweeter and add to the memories.

I am sure this list will grow more and more as I remember things I would like to work on or change. If I even do a little bit of each of these I will be happy. Remember change is always a positive, if we all stayed stagnant where would we be in life? What are your resolutions for 2011?

[happy new year!]

xoxo,

R+M

...goodbye 2010 and hello 2011...

With a new year upon us, it is hard not to reflect on the past year. 2010 will always be an extra special year in our lives as it was the year that we became husband and wife. It was also a year of travel with trips to Thailand, San Diego, Mexico, and Chicago. It was the year El Hefe was born and Riot Hospitality Group was formed, a year many babies were added to our friend’s lives, a year filled with many girlfriend reunions, a year of loss, sorrow and heartache, a year with joy and laughter, and much, much more. I hope that 2011 is full of friends, laughs, trips, accomplishments, inspiration, fun, change, and of course love.

Here is a brief look at our 2010...

[stephanie's baby shower]

[celebrating my bachelorette party]

[celebrating my beautiful bridal shower]

[enjoying the FBR with friends]

[becoming mr. and mrs.]

[on our amazing thailand honeymoon]

[enjoying the culinary fest beer garden]

[enjoying drinks in rocky point]

[celebrating the boys' birthday with a mustache bash]

[promoting el hefe at the taco fest]

[enjoying tour de bar]

[celebrating halloween as mr. mario and mrs. princess toadstool]

Here's to an amazing 2011!

xoxo,

R+M