an anniversary

in honor of our first anniversary, doug surprised me with 2 dozen roses...

...and an all-expense-paid trip to fabulous hollywood!

we had never actually been up there, even though it's just a short drive. why leave home when you live in paradise, right? but doug had never really been and i hadn't been since 8th grade so off we went!

first stop... universal studios!

loved the backlot tour despite the fact that the back to the future set (my fav!) is no longer a regular stop

it was also pretty high-tech compared to when i went in 2002, with stuff like this plane crash from war of the worlds

or this flood in the metro station

water world was awesome... filled with b-list semi-famous actors and stunts you wouldn't believe! kind of puts "sea lions rock" to shame (sorry zoo!)

we paid a visit to the dinosaurs. it was quite timely since we watched jurassic park probably 3 times last week when it was playing nonstop on tbs.

we also enjoyed our rooftop pool area cabana with views from downtown LA to the ocean

our penthouse level room view was pretty nice as well. that's the LA skyline off in the distance

and the edge of the hollywood hills on the other side of the hotel. one of johnny depp's mansions is right around the corner. fyi.

we accidentally stumbled upon michael jackson's former elementary school a couple blocks from the hotel, but the best find in hollywood was this little gem. finally, celine dion is living in my shadow for once instead of the other way around!

all in all, it was the best weekend getaway trip extravaganza everrrr! thanks doug! (#winning)