Danielle's 1920's-themed Surprise 30th Birthday Party in San Francisco

Well, we can't all stay 20-something forever. *Sigh* But Danielle bid farewell to her twenties in style with a 1920's themed party thrown in her honor. We all dressed up in costume, ate 1920's fare for dinner, then hit up a bar in San Francisco that used to be an actual speakeasy. It was awesome! You needed a password to get in and everything. I would have taken photos of the bar, but they don't allow the use of cell phones or photography inside so as to keep the old-fashioned theme going. The cocktails there were SO good. Each cocktail took a while to make, but it was worth the wait. I had some sort of pomegranate concoction in a sleek martini glass.

Surprise, pretty lady!

Francis sporting a fedora and suspenders.

I had fishnet stockings, long beads, red lipstick and wavy hair. Not too bad for someone who usually hates costumes.

It's my cat in a box...

She loves to jump into the recycling box on Sunday evening after I've emptied it. Every Sunday. In the box.

The Trip to Philadelphia from Ellie McPhant's Perspective

Ya know, when they first told me we'd be headed to small-town Pennsylvania for Christmas, I was like, you have got to be kidding me. I mean, I'm more of an LA/London/Paris/Tokyo kind of guy, ya know? But when they said we might be visiting New York City, that great mecca of cool, I thought, why not? I can spare a few days if it keeps 'em happy. Here I am in Times Square, lookin fresh.

While I was in the city, I thought I might as well check on my investments. My 401K definitely took a hit this year.


Visiting 30 Rockefeller Center was pretty sweet. I have a huge crush on Tina Fey. She is so hot.

They wait in line for hours just to have thousands of people watch them ice skate on a tiny little rink. I have better things to do, man.

I'm a foodie, I'm not gonna lie. But dinner at the family's house was surprisingly tasty. It has a real home-cooked vibe. I dug it.

Then, out of nowhere, I get man-handled by a giant toddler. No dignity. No dignity at all.

We hit the slopes for a little boarding, which was cool. It's no Whistler or Aspen, but I definitely caught some sweet air on the half pipe.

Visiting Lisa and Kieran in West Chester

Francis and I trekked down to West Chester to see my best friend from high school, Lisa, and her boyfriend Kieran, their beautiful Cape Cod house that they've fixed up, their cats, their English bulldog Beast, and our friend Shannon, who was also there. We got to play tennis and bowling on their Wii, which was amazing!

After that, we all played a massive game of Monopoly. Lisa and Francis were the last two standing. It got down and dirty at the end. Lisa had to stand up for better dice-throwing action. We didn't end up leaving until 2:00am!

Beast is a beast.

Kieran gave me this great pic of us at my wedding.

New Year's Eve 2010

We spent New Year's Eve with my parents and a few other family members. The 2010 glasses I bought in New York City were a big hit.



What is that crazy woman doing? you might ask. And rightfully so, for she does appear crazy. In fact, she is twirling an old wooden noisemaker that used to be used as an air-raid siren back during WWII. It is hellishly loud. Perfect for disturbing a peaceful and quiet neighborhood who are just way too lame for the Turner family!

Francis Learns to Ski!

If you hang around the Hartley family for too long, eventually my mom is going to teach you how to ski. It has happened to all my cousins and countless childhood friends of ours. Now, it was Francis's turn. Either Francis is extremely adept at learning new sports or my mom is an excellent coach or both, but he picked it up very quickly. By the end of the day, he was taking on regular slopes!

This happened rarely. But I couldn't help but catch him while he was down. Hehe. Do you like the bright yellow snow pants? Poor guy had to borrow them from my family. What a stud.


My cousin Trevor joined us as well. I spent most of the day taking on black diamonds with him while my mom worked the bunny slope with Francis.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...video of Francis skiing! The sound he is making is a reference to the Pixar movie Cars.

Wings at the Wagon Wheel

While Francis and I were staying in PA, I decided to expose him to some local culture. So we hit up the All-You-Can-Eat-Wings-And-Karaoke night at a country biker bar nearby. I also called Becky, my old friend from Friday's, to join us. We hadn't seen each other in nearly five years. My cousin Trevor also came. I can't believe he's old enough to drink beer with me now!



Here's video of Francis singing Red Hot Chili Peppers. I even got up and sang, which is surprising because I HATE having an audience. (I did get a little liquid courage from my Yuengling beer though.) It was actually pretty fun! The karaoke DJ had like, every song known to man in his collection.