Where have we been?

I know, it has been ages since posting a blog! Life has been taking us by storm, and since school has started, I have barely had a free minute to write anything unless it involved grading papers for my students. I am going to try to utilize this post as a quick update/rundown of what's happening in Boroff-land.

School: The kids are great. I have 28 3rd graders, which is a great number. Last year I had 31 at the highpoint, so 28 seems so small! Their little personalities are all coming out, and I'm really enjoying them in my classroom. They are a little quirky, and sometimes annoying, but they really lack the behavior issues that I dealt with last year. I have a feeling I am going to love this year!

Jerome's Work: Jerome has been super busy with projects. Most recently he has been working on Big Love, as well as the usual projects for CBS. He has also been seen all over town on billboards and magazines. You probably even spotted him! He was actually used in a print campaign for a CBS show called "The Mentalist". At work they often need people for photo shoots, and in this particular case they used Jerome. In the ad below, he is the guy who "robbed a bank". Some of the billboards around town say he "killed his wife", which happens to be my personal favorite. (ha ha).

In other news, Jerome and I went to Grass Valley this past weekend for our friends Justine and Tim's wedding. We were lucky enough to share the trip with George and Vanessa (Queen V was in the wedding). If you're not familiar with Grass Valley, it is an old mining town in the foothills of the Sierra's. It's about 45 minutes from Truckee and about an hour outside of Sacramento. It was a pretty little town- we loved the fresh air and pine trees. The town was hilarious, and full of old west shopping and dive bar saloons. The wedding was beautiful, and we couldn't be happier for Justine and Tim. 

This weekend, our road trip continues with a trip to Big Sur. Jerome was originally slated to run the Big Sur Trail Marathon, but his training didn't go as planned, so he is opting out. We had already pre-booked the hotel for the weekend, so we decided to still go anyhow, since neither of us have ever been there. We are staying at the Big Sur Lodge, which is supposed to be very interesting and "untraditional". I am super excited! 

As I stated earlier, Jerome and I have been maxed out on obligations and trips over the last few weeks. Here is our itinerary at a glance:

10/3-10/5: Big Sur

10/10-10/12: Jen in L.A for Dana's Bachelorette Party 

                        Jerome in Scottsdale for David's Bachelor Party

10/17- Kirsten's Wedding

10/18- UCLA game/tailgate with Uncle Paul and Aunt Patti

10/31-11/2- David and Dana's wedding in Palm Desert

That does it for the mini-update. I promise to post next week with pics from Big Sur.

xoxo!

Loves it...

Okay, two new obsessions. First, The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. D-I-E (if you watch the show, you know what this means...it is now my new "catch phrase)! I think I have found my new favorite show...I mean, hello, amazing clothes, shoes, accessories, celebrities....could there be anything better?

Second, Piperlime.com. It is an online shoe site with all price points! Too good to be true!

Hope you have a fabulous Friday!

xo

Double Trouble

It's been awhile since I posted pics of the pups, so I decided to share a few of them from this past weekend. I hope they make you smile and laugh, just like they do for Jerome and I!

This is Louis and Lola enjoying their "frozen" new toy. We got this cool tub that you fill with water and their treats or toys. You then freeze it. Once it's solid, you put it out on the pedestal for the dogs to lick and chomp (they LOVE ice) till they break the treats and toys free. It kept them busy for hours!!

This is LouLou, giving us his typical profile shot! We just love him!

Lou's favorite toy when he was a baby was this "mini loofah-dog" squeeze toy that our friend Elise had bought him. At Walgreen's in Arizona they were selling these massive versions, so we knew we had to get them one. Despite it's huge size, Louis still managed to bust a hole in the seam within 10 minutes. I guess size doesn't matter..? Poor little Lola could barely get a hold of the stuffed toy, but she tried her best to keep up with the boy!

This is me and my "happy" little girl. I always call her "happy" because she is constantly running around with a silly grin and her tongue hanging out. It is absolutely adorable! She makes my heart melt.

The last picture happens to be one of our favorite Lola moments. Despite her dainty little figure and innocent grin, Lola is always getting in to trouble with her brother Lou. On this particular day, the pups had been playing outside in the yard while Jerome was washing his truck. Earlier that morning, the grass and flower beds had been watered, making the soil somewhat muddy. Little miss sunshine here decided that she wanted to go play in the mud! She came prancing in the house with a soaking wet, brown beard and four muddy, brown paws. Lou hung back, watching her, and managed to stay clean and dry. We love this pic because the look on her face is priceless. Lola is always getting dirty. She is the first one to roll in the dirt or dig holes. Jerome and I like to imagine that she has acquired such habits from her days roaming the L.A streets. We make up stories about her digging sleeping holes to stay warm or getting muddy to camouflage in from being caught by the pound. The stories are sometimes  heart wrenching, but who knows....they could be true......! Needless to say, we love her and Louis! Even at their worst, they are the best!

Movie Premiere: The Women

Last Thursday, Jerome and I had the pleasure of going to the red carpet premiere for the upcoming movie The Women. In case you didn't know, Jerome created the poster (above), and they were kind enough to invite him and a few of his colleagues to the big night. We have gone to other premieres before, but usually they are for random TV shows with D-list celebrities. That was not the case this time, and we couldn't wait to go! It was a celebrity gawker dream come true.

The night began with me leaving school and heading up to meet Jerome at his office. Once there, I got ready: wearing a black pencil skirt, Magenta satin blouse, and Louboutin's, of course! They had a photo shoot going on at Jerome's work, so they decided to take a few pics of us before we headed out. 

Before we went to the premiere

 Around 7 we headed over to the big Fox Theater in Westwood, where the premiere was being held. The parking structure was a block or two away, which meant I had to really 'break in' my shoes. I will admit: they are not meant for serious walks. They are ideal for walking from your limo to the red carpet, and not much further. Needless to say, we made it. Upon our arrival, we walked in to the theater behind Daphne Zuniga, a former Melrose Place star and current D-list actress. I was a little happy about this one because I was a huge Melrose Place fan back in the day. Girlfriend was looking pretty good too! We were a bit confused why she might be there, but later discovered she is a friend of Meg Ryan's.

Anyways, we got seated in the huge theater. Once the festivities began, there were the speeches. Every premiere begins with speeches from the producers. This time it was actually entertaining because the producer was Diane English, who best known for Murphy Brown, and after she gave her little talk, she had all of the cast join her on stage. The cast, which was all female (not one man was in the entire movie- not even as an extra!)  included Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Cloris Leachman, Debi Mazar (she had on a fabulous Oscar delaRenta gown), Carrie Fischer, Candice Bergen and Bette Midler. They all looked fabulous, but more on that later. We tried to take some pictures, but they didn't come out so great. Here is the best shot of them on stage (sorry for the blur):

After the speeches and intros, they finally started the movie. I LOVED it! As you may know, I HATE watching movies. I get movie ADD, and I usually start counting ceiling tiles or taking a nap. That was not the case this time! I enjoyed every minute of the show and barely noticed the two hours that passed! Maybe it was all of the great clothes, or the fact that a bulk of the story takes place around Saks Fifth Avenue? Needless to say, I highly recommend it! 

After the movie, we headed to the Napa Valley Grille for the after party. Upon our arrival, we had another D-list run-in. This time it was the "lovely" Tara Reid. She was out front signing autographs for the pappi's, and then came inside in front of us. She barged the buffet line, and even cut back in front of Jerome and I to help herself to another plate of pasta. The girl is skinny, so who knows where she was putting all that food! Throughout the night, we continued to spot her. At one point she was next to us again, looking totally out of place. Some random bro's came up to her and posed for pics with her, but I believe that was all the action she had for that night. 

At the party, we hung out with several people from Jerome's office. After doing a walk through of the place, we decided to commit to a location. Boy, did we pick the spot!! We were surrounded by stars! Meg Ryan and her entourage were rubbing elbows with us. She is adorable as ever. Effortless beauty, and ageless too. I love her, so I was quite happy to see her in the flesh! At one point, we were so close that Jerome joked that he was going to grab her butt, although knowing Jerome, he probably wasn't joking about that.

On the other side of us was Debra Messing and her crew. She looked amazing in person, too. The night before, Jerome had gone to a party for the opening of a new Saks in Beverly Hills that specializes in shoes (my idea of heaven!). He saw Debra there, and said she looked terrible, so I wasn't expecting much of her. Boy, does she clean up nicely! She looked stunning, and was as bubbly and funny as I imagined her. Did I mention she was a little hammered? One too many vodka tonics for that gal. She was all over the place!

Also around us was Eva Mendes, who was looking amazing as well, but smoking, which was a total disappointment! Annette Benning was there with her hubby Warren Beatty. She looked much younger, while he looked near father-time like. Behind us was Jada and Will Smith, with Cloris Leachman. They looked amazing- by far a big highlight of the evening! Jada is so tiny, and absolutely gorgeous! Will was just as gorgeous, and his skin looked so smooth and soft- I just wanted to touch it! We tried to snap some pics, but only a few were good enough to share. Below is a pic of Debra Messing and Eva Mendes, with some unknown ladies. Followed by a shot of Eva- check out those beautiful earrings!

 

Around 11:45pm, Jerome and I decided to call it a night. Although we would have loved to stay longer, we had to trek home to HB. I had to be at work bright and early the next morning, and I don't think my students would understand if I didn't show up! The last pic is of us, about to head home. 

Overall, we had a great time and both really liked the movie. Hopefully it won't be long before our next Hollywood outing!

Scottsdale

Jerome and I had a fabulous time on our trip to Scottsdale. We stayed at the Four Seasons, which happens to be our favorite hotel! It was a perfectly relaxing and rejuvenating trip for us. I would spend time giving you a daily play by play of the four days, but for the sake of time, I decided to recap some of the highlights through pictures. Enjoy!

The desert sky. One of my favorite pics from the trip.

The view from the hotel lobby patio. You can see the entire valley.

The beautiful desert landscape.

The Teddy Bear Cholla cactus. It "jumped" on to my hand, and it took a big 

and somewhat creative effort from Jerome and I to get the cactus ball removed

from my unsuspecting hand. Luckily it is not poisonous.

Reason # 9,000,000 why we love the Four Seasons. They knew 

we were there for an anniversary trip (even though our

anniversary was over a month ago), and just as they did last

year, they sent us chocolates, fruit, a bottle of champagne, and a hand written anniversary

card from the hotel manager. It was definitely a nice surprise!

Our handwritten note!

The front of our casita. The "rooms" are like mini-apartments. Not once did we feel like we were staying in a hotel. And did I mention, another reason I love this place is the rooms are all stocked with L'Occitane toiletries! Pure bliss! 

Our first night in Scottsdale also happened to be the biggest monsoon storm they had since 1996. This is a picture of us at the Onyx Bar patio at the resort. You can see the amazing sky behind us. You could not escape the lightening, which sparkled in the sky like a continuous strobe light (and by continuous I mean nonstop for several hours in all directions). At one point the winds (hurricane force) and hail were so bad we thought perhaps our roof was coming down on us. Luckily we had no damage at the resort, but in Phoenix and Tempe they had roofs blown over, trees down and flooding. It was crazy!

Jerome and I are sun junkies. We spent every minute we could in the pool or laying on one of the plush lounge beds soaking up the rays and sipping tasty cocktails. If you need another reason the stay at the Four Seasons, it is the pool. In fact, it is what keeps Jerome and I going back to their locations. At the pool, you are treated to a cushy lounger made up for you with luxe towels and pillows, the waiters bring you "spa" water (made with lime, cucumber, lemon, oranges) as well as cocktails and food (which is AMAZING!). Plus, the staff is always coming around with complimentary fruit, frozen grapes, smoothies, and chilled towels. It is that type of service that makes their pools truly the best!

Jerome in his permanent spot for 3 days. We got our awesome rafts at Walgreen's. They and made of mesh, so water comes in to cool you off. Some of the best $12 we ever spent!

This is on our last night. We returned to the Onyx Bar, where we had gone the first night, and had dinner. After a day of lounging poolside, and going to the spa (I went twice!!), we decided to cap the trip with a casual dinner and drinks. It was, again, amazing. The food is to die for, and the company was even better. :)

The resort has a "Jerome" suite. The room goes for a couple G's a night, but it is probably bigger than our house, complete with private pool, outdoor shower and sleeping for 6. If only people named Jerome could enjoy the room for free!

Our last stop before heading home was The Cracker Barrel restaurant. If you have never been there, you should go. It is a childhood favorite of mine (we used to stop there on road trips when traveling out of state - they are no locations in California!). They have yummy food and a cute country store full of treats and home decor. This is a picture of Jerome feasting on his 'country boy breakfast'. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed the pics of our trip. We had a fabulous time, and have decided that the Four Seasons Scottsdale will be a regular stop on our vacation itinerary. 

xoxo

Let the games begin!

The Reading Hut

Computer Center

Looking out the windows

My Smart Board

Welcome!

My classroom!

A Bulletin Board for student work

My 'headquarters' table and cabinent/bulletin board

Another view of the room

Our class "pet" Perry the Parrot

Hope you enjoy the pics of my classroom. It is my favorite classroom decor by far! I must thank Jerome for all of his hard work, early morning hours (we went in every day at 6 am for the past 2 weeks), and his creative direction. I would have gotten nowhere without him.

Today was the first day of school! I said hello to 30 new third graders. So far, the seem sweet and enjoyable, however, it is the first day, so looks can be deceiving. The day went smoothly, and I am so glad. Perhaps it was because I am finally teaching the same grade 2 years in a row! What a difference it makes to actually know what to expect, rather than everything being brand new to you. It is such a relief!

I also got to see my old "babies" ( students) from last year, today. As much as they drove me crazy at times, I do hold a special place in my heart for those rug rats. I was so excited to see them, and even happier to know they summer hadn't washed their memories of me. 

I will continue to update you on the class as time goes on. I would write more tonight, but I am just plain exhausted. My night owl ways die hard, and that makes getting up at 6 am no easy task!

Good night!

xoxo