Lorena found the love of my life...

...and didn't get his number. 

Lorena: I met the love of your life at Trader Joe's. He was VERY good looking, was wearing a very nice suit, and he was purchasing a $30 bottle of wine. I hope you run into him soon.

Me: Whaaaat. You didn't get his number for me!?

Lorena: I'm obviously a wuss. Haha.

That's ok dearie, it's the thought that counts, right? 

Love you!

I need to read Hemingway...

Just finished watching Midnight in Paris with my dearest of dear friends, Lorena. Besides being an utterly charming film and one I would highly recommend (thank you Justin for telling me about it) I have also been made aware of the fact that I have never read any Hemingway. And I really should.

All men fear death. It's a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel that we haven't loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before, you have conquered a great woman's heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another. Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living, and for loving, become your sole reality. This is no easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness you will feel immortal. 

- Ernest Hemingway

Thanksgiving Highlights

This post goes out to my dear Uncle Dale, who faithfully reads my blog to keep up with me and my life and graciously hosted our family's Thanksgiving this year with his lovely wife. Love you both!

This year my Grandma, cousin Carrie and I escaped the hustle and bustle of the holidays the day before Thanksgiving and spent a whole evening wine tasting in Healdsburg.
It was an evening full of delicious wines, yummy food and a lot of laughs.
I particularly fell in love with the Risque from Toad Hallow wines!
Their tasting room is free and I highly recommend it.

Thanksgiving was spent at Uncle Dale and Aunt Dawn's.
Growing up I spent a lot of time at this house playing with my cousins and always love visiting.
Plus, it's absolutely beautiful this time of year!

As usual, the food was exceptional! As was the wine.

And this, is Uncle Dale. Look out, he's got a weapon!

Ryan knows how to do post-dinner-comas perfectly....see? 

We are a football family (Go Niners!) so of course when the ball gets stuck on the roof what do you do?
Send the kid up of course! Morgan saved the day.

The Kevin Maudlin Family
Please believe me when I say I used to be the tallest....

Grandma showed me around some of her favorite places in Windsor by her new office and we enjoyed a lovely lunch together the day after Thanksgiving. Also found my twin Snoopy. 

After lunch with Grandma I borrowed Grandpa's old car and drove a couple hours north to see my mom's sister and her family. Unfortunately I had just missed out on slaughtering some sheep and hanging out at the gun range...dang.

Since I moved to Southern California to attend Biola when I was 18, my dad has faithfully maintained a tradition of getting our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I can be home to pick it out and decorate!

This was an "unflocked" year (mom's favorite) and we are quite pleased with the finished product.  

Sunday drives through Napa Valley are my favorite. What a blessing to live in such a beautiful place! 

Mom and I were able to spend an unexpected but lovely day in St. Helena wine tasting and getting massages because my ride was running behind!

Finally getting on the road around 7pm and can I just point out that that is a TWO door car with 2 boys, one girl, three sets of luggage,  one snowboard, one bike, one longboard, and multiple bottles of wine crammed into it? Such fun. 

But how could you not enjoy a road trip with these two!? I think I finally got back to my house around 3am and was up and at the office on time the next morning! I love the holidays.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family too!

30 Things I (Already) Miss About Biola

6 months later and finals are over and...I STILL HAVE BE IN THE OFFICE AT 8!? Doesn't the working community believe in winter break? It's making me miss college and Biola and things like...

1. Random mornings to sleep in.
2. All-night study sessions surrounded by friends, food, and music.
3. Attending classes in...anything comfortable. Sweats, flip-flops, baseball cap, etc. 
4. Chapel.
5. Sitting for hours with my laptop in my favorite coffee shop. 
6. Spontaneous Chick-fil-A or In-N-Out runs. 
7. Familiar faces in the hallway. 
8. Professors.
9. Projects and papers covering a wide variety of topics and requirements. Not just one field of study.
10. RockBand as a study break.  
11. Donuts by the bell tower. (Thanks OCC) 
12. A tangible end goal. 
13. A schedule that changes every 4 months.
14. Stimulating discussions in and out of the classroom. 
15. Dorm parties and floor events.
16. Reading by the fountain.  
17. Reading in the hallway between classes. 
18. Trying to read in the quietest dorm lobby you can find. 
19. Reading all night in the SUB. (Yes, I did a lot of reading. Thanks Torrey!) 
20. Panera. 
21. Music in the Hope bathroom. 
22. Attending Grace EV Free on Sunday mornings. 
23. The archery range.
24. Nation Ball.
25. The Christmas Tree Lighting.
26. The good ol' fashioned late-to-class-but-rushing-to-the-caf-to-make-a-sandwich routine.
27. Beach trips at 2am. 
28. Notes from your neighbor on your white board. 
29. My beta fish. (May he forever RIP) 
30. The community. 

And just for fun, 2 things I do NOT miss and shall NEVER miss...

1. Fire alarms at all hours of the night.
2. Parking. 

Epic Pasadena Evenings

I may refer to myself as living in "LA" from time to time, for those who do not know the lay of the land, as that explanation is much simpler than trying to describe by freeway intersections (that they've never heard of) exactly where I live.

In reality, I live in San Dimas.

You may know it as the home of Raging Waters, or where Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was filmed or even as the location of the only U.S. Louis Vuitton manufacturing plant.

We are about 25 minutes East of Pasadena, right off the 210 or 20 minutes North of Brea at the dead-end of the 57.

San Dimas is a darling little town with a very "Old West" style downtown, one Starbucks, and a fun Farmer's Market. Oh and we have a Rodeo once a year. It is, however, lacking in night life. So if you were to ask my roommate and I where we go on dates, where we recommend to friends who are visiting from out of town, or where we go for a little fun on the weekends, 9 out of 10 times we will say Pasadena. Particularly Old Town Pasadena.

I am not here to chronicle all of the exciting things there are to do in Old Town, I would merely like to share with you the most wonderful evening that I had last night.

We will skip over the hour it took me to get there thanks to the 605 being shut down and traffic being backed up all the way to Sunflower and get right to the good stuff.

There is a lovely place that used to be called Holly Street Bar & Grille but is now Eden Garden Bar & Grille in Pasadena on Holly street. It is an absolutely delightful brick building covered in ivy with a patio that is currently all decked out in red ribbons and Christmas lights.

The theme of the food has a heavy emphasis on Turkish food so the menu was as follows:

• August Kessler Riesling. Definitely the best riesling I have ever had and quite affordable. 
• Fattoush. I am not exactly sure on the specifics but this was a delicious salad as appetizer dish that had all kinds of fresh greens, radishes, mint, tomatoes, and cucumbers with only mild seasonings that really drew out the individual flavors of the vegetables.
• Grilled shrimp. Covered in a lemon sauce and served with rice and sauteed veggies. Need I say more? It was scrumptious. 
• Turkish coffee. Served very black, in cappuccino style cups this is the perfect way to end a heavy meal that would otherwise put you right to sleep.

• Baclava. Served with fresh blackberries and a fabulously sweet accompaniment to the bitter black coffee.
• Hooka. To top it all off there was watermelon flavored hooka to mellow things out just a little. Hooka is tabacco but there is no nicotine or a lot of the other chemicals found in cigarettes and such. It comes in fancy things and you smoke it out of a tube with coals sitting on top to keep it hot. I am definitely not an expert but it was yummy. 

The service was wonderful and the food delicious. The place doesn't pick up until 9 or 10 and there is live music frequently. 

At the conclusion of the most deliciously satisfying dinner ever it was movie time! I am an iPic member for a very ritzy theater in Old Town Pasadena so had received an email about an early preview of the new Sherlock Holmes movie! 

The theater has recliners instead of theater seats, serves free popcorn, gives you pillows and blankets to use during the show and will serve you drinks and appetizers right to your seat in the theater! The tickets are about $24 apiece but for an incredibly enjoyable movie-going experience I would highly recommend it. 

Being an avid reader of Conan A. Doyle's The Complete Sherlock Holmes and a lover of Guy Ritchie's films, I loved the movie and am now dying to pick up a classic like The Hound of the Baskervilles again just for fun. 

All said and done I was headed home again around midnight and determined it an evening well-worth being tired for in the office today. 

To work, or not to work...

 I have always felt that one should enjoy what they do. I understand that every day you get out of bed to go to your job you're not going to be skipping and singing with glee, but overall the feelings towards work should be positive. In my mind, if I'm going to be spending 40+ hours a week doing something I sure as heck want to like it! At least a little.

Now that I am "out in the real world" however, I am realizing that this is easier said than done.

There are so many factors that go into making the workplace enjoyable over which you have no control that at times it really is impossible to enjoy the hours spent working even though you may appreciate the employment.

I find solace in Dorthy Sayers' admonitions on work and our attitude towards it.

"I have already, on a previous occasion, spoken at some length on the subject of Work and Vocation. What I urged then was a thoroughgoing revolution in our whole attitude to work. I asked that it should be looked upon, not as a necessary drudgery to be undergone for the purpose of making money, but as a way of life in which the nature of man should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself to the glory of God. That it should, in fact, be thought of as a creative activity undertaken for the love of the work itself; and that man, made in God's image, should make things, as God makes them, for the sake of doing well a thing that is well worth doing." ~ Dorothy Sayers

This is encouraging because not only is it a challenge to find an occupation that is worthwhile but also puts the responsibility on my shoulders to perceive the workplace as a way of bringing glory to the Lord. Regardless of your or my circumstances.

So work! And do it well, for His plans are greater than ours and life is too short to spend your time doing something you hate.

Christmas Wishes

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is just around the corner! And of course in the spirit of things, I am compiling a Christmas wish list and listening to Christmas music while burning my favorite holiday candle.

1. Bedding

I have a lovely room with lovely furniture and lovely walls and VERY generic bedding. I have had my eyes on this Rosette Quilt from Anthropologie for about a year now. First I wanted the purple one, then I painted my bedroom walls the same purple, so then I was thinking the lovely green for a very bold statement and now am leaning towards a simplistic ivory. Sweet, subtle and oh so comfortable. 

If not the above quilt then I just got a new down comforter which I've been using without a cover. I was thinking the Hadley Ruched Duvet Cover form Pottery Barn would be lovely as well. 

(It also happens to be the more economical choice.)

2. Fashion

If you were to ever ask me what time it was, I would pull out my white iPhone 4 and never consult the watch on my wrist. Regardless, I love watches and this Runway Watch from Michael Kors is definitely on the lusting-after list. 

The following item is neither economical or realistic. But someday...this little beauty of a Burberry Wallet shall be mine. 

Smelling lovely and looking lovely really must always go hand in hand. And a gal needs a little help. I really love this scent called LOLA by Marc Jacobs since my current smelly stuff (Brit by Burberry) is almost gone!

3. Functional 

Now for something useful. Since I started my post-graduation job I have been on more trips than I could even count! I currently have one medium-sized suitcase (a lovely gift from Uncle Roger and Aunt Debbie at my high school graduation) but it has already traveled the world with me and well, sometimes I need something bigger. Or just a carry-on. Not sure I need a 5-piece set but I love Samsonite and their 5-piece-nested-set is currently on sale at Luggage.com! 

I need a laundry hamper but just have not been able to bring myself to buy one! I stumble across ones I'd love to put in my bathroom at Cost Plus or Home Goods from time to time but they're always a little more than I feel I can justify on a hamper...obviously none as much as this Havana Divided Hamper from Pottery Barn but this is the style/look I'd be going for. 

*     *     *

What is on your list this Christmas? And I'm thinking this should probably be sent home to Dad...

Sunday in San Francisco

The head of my corporate strategies department, and my now friend, Jeff, is the king of all things deal-related. So last week when Southwest provided the opportunity to fly round-trip from Ontario Airport into Oakland for $100 we jumped at the opportunity. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the LA or Bay Areas, Ontario Airport is 20 minutes down the 10 freeway from my house and the Oakland airport is about the same distance from downtown San Francisco! Much closer than the San Francisco airport. 

So our plans were in place. Fly out of Ontario at 7:15am, be in city having breakfast by 9:30am and fly out of Oakland at 8pm with a whirlwind of tourist-y activities in between! What could possibly go wrong with that?

Well I left out of my calculations my amazing ability to procrastinate on sleep, stay out too late and wake up at 7am to Jeff's text reading:

 "They're calling over the loud speaker, last call for Melissa Maudlin. Better run Melissa."

Oops.

I jumped up, woke my roommate (since we had slept over at a friend's) and rushed home, showered, did my make up in the car and was standing in front of the Southwest attendant by 8:15am. As my luck would have it, Southwest is amazing with their customer service and without even a question as to why I missed my original flight I was holding a boarding pass, latte, and my book to board a 9:25am flight.

Poor Jeff had to take his limo ride into the city alone.

One hour and a nice nap later I'm in the car with my darling friend Becky and we're headed into San Francisco on a beautiful rainy Sunday talking about the Niners game that was taking place later that afternoon.

11:30am. Exactly two hours behind schedule but seated at the beautiful little Buena Vista cafe feasting upon the city's best Irish Coffees and an order of Crab Cake Benedict! Jeff had already had his breakfast but didn't complain to joining in on the Irish Coffee fun. 

A little-known fact of Buena Vista's Irish Coffees is that you can take them to go! They'll give you the coffee and cream in a to-go mug with a little jar of whiskey to add once you leave the restaurant. Needless to say, we took three and headed to our next destination.

At this point in time the rain was beginning to die down and the wind was picking up so Becky and I wrapped our scarves around our heads as we headed out onto the Golden Gate Bridge. I've lived an hour away from the city my entire life but never actually set foot up on the bridge! We walked out to the half-way point and laughed and talked the whole time taking lots of pictures and by the time we got back to Becky's car our cheeks were pink and noses were numb! So worth it though.

Next stop: The Cliffhouse. We walked along the beach and then went inside just in time to watch the sun come bursting through the clouds as we sat and drank the best Bloody Mary's in the city and enjoy the Niners game playing above the bar. I'm pretty sure Becky dreamed of the Bloody Mary's last night. 

And then the adventure continued! Back into the city to drive through China town and pick up my awesome new 80's tourist sweatshirt and laugh at all of the random things you can find there. 

Alas, the time had come to say bye to Becky. We wished her farewell then carried on to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company and watched them made fresh. I picked up a bag and we walked over to Union Station for some shopping before we had to catch BART back to the airport. 

By the time we got back into Oakland my feet were thoroughly worn out but I was thrilled that we accomplished everything on our list of things to do! Everything except clam chowder in a bread bowl...which we got at the airport! Joy of all joys.

So thus it was that I settled into my seat next to the window and closed my eyes to the sounds of Florence + The Machine with a smile on my face as we flew through a rain storm and back home for a two day workweek! Overall, I think the trip was quite a success and now can't wait to go back up to see my family tomorrow night! 

A few fantastically favorite things for this Friday...

A note from the author:

Please forgive my extended silence. 

Life has been hectic but here I am. 

Alive and well, counting down the days till Thanksgiving! 

Happy readings.

Much love, Melissa

This week I caught up on all of my favorite blogs!

• My old roommate Mallorey has been fabulously on top of writing and blogging and always find the funniest little tid-bits of joy to share on her blog. There have been a variety of posts on Facebook and Twitter that were previously above my head until I discovered this little video. Thanks Mal. 

• This is Gala. A wonderful woman who is always seeking out the positive of life and sharing it via her blog or twitter or her Radical Self-Love Workshops. I love her boldness in life and style. Yesterday's post was particularly fun and now I am rather tempted to attempt to dress all in one color just to see what would happen. 

(Don't you kind of want a coke and high heels now?)

• I discovered a woman whose entire wardrobe I covet. She is from the east coast, living on the west coast and I think I might be in love. Her blog and clothes are lovely if you care to check them out more.

The dots. The shoes. Need I say more?

• Fashion and Food. Cupcakes and cashmere. Such a wonderful place. She also reminded me today just how much I am dying for this Michael Kors watch. I've been lusting over it for about 6 months now. Christmas wish list anyone? 

I did a lot of reading this week.

• I picked up the Hobbit this time last week and finished it on Wednesday. I shall now pack it in my luggage for Thanksgiving to give to my dad for him to read. It is just one of those books that I know I will read for the rest of my life. Such a wonderful story, and I adore Tolkien's writing style...plus they're making a movie of it. Did you know? 

• I also discovered that, apparently, we are spending a lot of taxpayer's money on USPS and (let's be honest now folks) snail mail is not coming into style again anytime soon and companies like FedEx and UPS are only in business until we can send packages electronically. 

• Found an overview of women-owned business right now in the US. Something that has always been in the back of my mind. (Starting my own company, that is) Read the snapshot here.

• I also would hate for Wikipedia to start using ads to make money. So the founder is asking for donations. Clever. 

Prepped and ready for Thanksgiving with Friends!

• Every year my dear friend Bonner cooks a delicious turkey, sets something on fire, and feeds anywhere from 10-30 of us a delicious meal. We of course bring the stuffing and sides and wine and pie and it's a feast! This year's festivities are tomorrow evening and my cheesy potatoes where such a hit last year they are making a reappearance! If you want to try them too, here's the simple yet delicious recipe: 

1 pkg frozen potatoes O' brien by Ore Ida (southern style if you don't want the onions and peppers)

1/4 to 1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp onion salt

2 cups sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Heat the butter, soup, onion salt and cheese until melted on the stove top.

Put the potatoes and sour cream in a 9x13 pan.

Pour the heated mixture over and stir.

If you wanted, you can mix cornflakes with a little melted butter and pour those on top of the potatoes for a little extra crunch!

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes to an hour.

Should be bubbly on top and browned on the sides.

• My roommate is making peanut butter pie. Stay tuned for how that turns out!

And that's all folks! 

Pass me some of your favorite blogs, recipes, or articles and I'll see you again soon!

xo, Melissa

Fall, Food & Fashion

The fact that it is finally fall in Southern California can only mean one thing...

Great food and all my favorite cold-weather clothes!

I love when Starbucks brings out the red cup. I love drinking gingerbread lattes in that red cup.


Thanksgiving foods of all kind! Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, Aunt Sharon's sweet potatoes, Aunt Peggy & Debbie's salads, stuffing, gravy...not to forget mom's jello fruit salad! 

I think I'm drooling.

And bring on the leftovers. Cold turkey and cranberry sandwiches are my soul mates. 


This year I am making cheesy potatoes for all of the dinners I attend and I can't stop dreaming of them. 


I love drinking hot chocolate with a little dollop of whipped cream on top. 


Pumpkin. Pumpkin pies, lattes, bread, muffins, pancakes, etc.

And we haven't even begun discussing the clothes yet.

Boots, scarves (oh the things you can do with a good scarf), hats, jackets, gloves, sweaters, slippers and fuzzy socks. And sweater-DRESSES! Love.

Then the colors. 

Reds, oranges, browns, greens, and the ever fashionable, gray (today's color of choice).

Can we go play dress-up now? 

And the icing on the cake is the weather. Fog. Gray. Cold. Rainy. THUNDER STORMS (like the one the other night). And every reason to surround yourself with warmth, love and comfort.

HAPPY FALL!

What are some of your favorite fall things? 

A heart so happy it could break.

Have you ever felt such a phenomenon?

A moment in time, though you could not say how long, where you are eternally, completely, and (to quote Pride & Prejudice) incandescently happy?

I have a had a few such moments.

My heart feeling like it could explode and my soul wishing to capture through a mental photograph this moment where all with the world is quite completely, right.

I have been thinking about such moments this evening upon concluding my second reading of Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy. The story is one I shall not even attempt to recreate for you, because you must experience it yourself. But it is a grand story and involves pagan love and holy love and every kind in between. Throughout this story the couple, Davy and Van, constantly relish and seek out a timelessness within the world. The moments of shared peace, and utter joy at the stillness of the world are those to which they cling most dearly.

Now this comes from a sort of high paganism, an extreme love of beauty and the love of love itself, and yet at the end of this journey Vanauken contemplates the question that this begs: If we so love timelessness, how is it that we are in an environment that is time? It must mean that we were not meant to be in time, right?

"Never were people more harried by time: by watches, by buzzers, by time clocks, by precise schedules, by the beginning of the programme. There is, in fact, some truth in 'the good old days' : no other civilisation of the past was ever so harried by time." 

It feels downright unnatural.

I myself tend to lean towards high paganism in finding more beauty in the love of love itself and the world around me than in the Divine being of the Lord and yet this idea, this concept that the timelessness that I have so often felt my heart yearn towards is indeed God's will for us...well it makes my heart so happy I believe it just might break.

Favorite Things Friday (On Sunday) : Halloween Special

Halloween has been a much bigger deal now that I’m “grown up” than when I was little.

Growing up we did costumes for each kid (which Nanny already had) and Fall Festivals. I think we went trick-or-treating once or twice.

This year, Jared and I spent the whole week before Halloween transforming our very trendy, modern, well-decorated home into a vintage haunted house. Cobwebs, candelabras, dark colors, creepy background noises, the whole nine yards.

I had two costumes: For our party, Aphrodite the Greek goddess. For the work costume contest: Princess Leia.

The party went well, although a smaller turnout than anticipated and I won the costume contest at work! That Visa gift card is allll mine…I am not sure how much my CEO and VP showing up as Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper had to do with it by my costume was pretty legit. 

Good Intentions

I always have the best intentions to blog frequently.

Part of this comes from a desire to be taking time to consider life and how I feel about it and determine the direction in which I am, or would like to be heading.

And yet it doesn't happen.

And I need to post my Friday blog on a Sunday evening.

Obviously I am not super stressed out about the blog in and of itself - but it is all of life that has mandated that I not have the time (or sanity) to sit and write a blog about my week and post photos in accompaniment.

And so I end up sitting in my room in my lovely blue chair on a Sunday night with a glass of Beringer Pinot Noir and Florence + The Machine's new album playing melancholy and soul-wrenching music in the background.

And I dread going to work in the morning.

So I question why I work there.

And then I think of the paycheck and all of my expenses, and I remember.

And all I can do is pray that there is a plan, that God has a plan, and that I have the patience to discover what it is.

Wait, Michael Jackson is black…!?

While the title of this blog may seem like some sort of joke, these are actually words that came out of my mouth about four years ago. 

While wandering the isles of the Best Buy in Fullerton my roommate at the time, Elyse Therrien, mentioned Janet Jackson (Michael’s sister) and my response was shock and awe. As was hers when she discovered I didn’t know that Michael was black! Well, that he used to be black. 

What followed was a series of introductions to a variety of cultural classics that I had managed to miss out on. Things like The Beatles, *NSYNC’s Christmas album, and the movie Hook. (All so good!) 

Today I no longer live with Elyse but still have friends who are constantly introducing me to things that, to them, are horrifying for me to have missed! The most recent of which being the heart attack I gave my friend Jimmy because I had never seen The Wonder Years.

I’ve been thinking about these incidents recently and considering how and if I really did “miss out” on the wonderful things of growing up in the 90s.

In conclusion, I haven’t missed anything.

I am, of course, grateful for the fun nights of watching TV shows that remind me of growing up or the wonderful Christmas sounds of *NSYNC but I don’t think it was at any loss to my childhood to discover these things now as opposed to then.

When I think about my childhood I remember camping trips, science experiments with my siblings, wake boarding, hours outside with my cousins, piano lessons, ballet lessons, AWANA, swing dancing, etc.

Now that doesn’t sound too empty, does it? 

I did things like watching Swiss Family Robinson at my 10^th birthday’s slumber party and having Star Wars movie marathon nights. I may have been significantly out of touch with the swing of society in my age group but as a business graduate with a full-time job and a plethora of fabulous friends and hobbies that DO involve the societal swings/trends/fashions of this day…I would say I'm pretty much caught up and wouldn’t trade my camping trips, utter lack of style, and dance lessons for anything!