Happy Thursday friends! So much to love at the moment I don’t even know where to start – a new house, a newly designed website (Myspace, not my own, of course) – and the usual blessings which I count myself fortunate for everyday: health, wealth (ha), family, friends, cats, yadda yadda. So grateful for you readers, too!
Even with all this awesomeness in my life, I’m afraid this week’s TiLT is gonna be a wee bit short. Too much to do! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya…
Things I Love Thursday
picking out paint colors (and they’re looking amazing!) • ordering the 2011 united bamboo cat calendar (definitely the most I’ve ever spent on a calendar, but you know I had to have it) • pomegranate green tea • chicken fingers (I’m 11) • starting to watch Mad Men from the beginning – I want to be Betty Draper! • finding new blogs to read • making extensive Amazon wish lists filled with all kinds of furniture and home-related goodies for our new house • Cleaning out my medicine cabinet and throwing away everything expired (everything basically) that I never use. All I was left with was vitamins, bandaids, epsom salts, sinuscleanse (netty pot) and one jar of aspirin (might have been Advil) – makes me happy because I loathe taking medicine!!! I’m all about homeopathic remedies – the power of whole foods and natural herbs, baby. • Signing up for amazing home/furniture/decor deals at One Kings Lane - everything is so gorgeous I want it all! • getting an email from my brother with tips on how to ease into a manageable and effective fitness routine just a few hours after publishing this post – always nice to know that family is reading, and double nice to get their loving advice! • enjoying the last few nights in our apartment… kinda makes me a little weepy-eyed, so many great memories. I can’t count the number of times I said I was going to live in that place as long as I lived in LA. Guess I was wrong! • coming up with new nicknames for my cat – “my plumpy plumcake” • the good moods around the office following our big relaunch (the good press isn’t hurting, either!) • eating lunch on the rooftop at work in the warm sun… it’s so revitalizing in the middle of the day! • ordering a pedometer (I’m serious about this running in the morning thing, friends!)
We’re exhausted, but thrilled. The new Myspace relaunched last night (if you don’t have it yet, you will soon – but all new users will get it). New logo, new design, new direction. It’s so incredible to be able to finally share what we’ve all been working on for maaaaany many months. So far all the feedback from blogs and users is amazing and it’s super exciting to be a part of. Check out this little video to get a glance at what we’ve changed, or go to myspace.com/newmyspace, or yaknow, login.
I must really be getting into the swing of this blogging thing, because everytime I find something cute, funny, helpful, interesting or whatever, I always come straight here and bookmark it in a blog post for you guys. I almost always forget to include wonderful things I find, but I really enjoy coming back and looking over this list of what I found interesting and/or relevant each week. I wish it was my job to just go out and find cool stuff to share, because honestly, there is so much out there I would never run out of material! That said, enjoy this week’s links!
Great post on why cheap stuff is no bargain if you don’t use it (and about spending your money on things you actually love/use, even if they’re pricey – of course only applicable if you’re debt-free, otherwise, that’s just foolish.)
My friend Jason sent me this video to consider as a possible career path. I’d say he knows me well. This looks…..awesome. It’s California’s largest no-cage, no-kill animal shelter, called The Cat House on the Kings.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and try to talk about something I know very little about – fitness. I’m what would be classified as “skinny fat” – thin enough to appear in shape, but out of shape enough to get out of breath after climbing a couple flights of stairs. I have zero muscle tone and my heart and respiratory system could stand to be challenged by a bit of exercise. But it’s just so hard to doooo.
My dilemma is the same as many – I work all day long, which leaves two options for bonafide exercise time – early am, or late pm. If you know me, you know I’m not an early riser. Try as I might, I just can’t seem to get my sorry butt out of bed in the morning (the only thing that gets me up early is when I know I am going to drive some sweet cats to the vet for Kitten Rescue). And after a full day of work and a starving belly, exercise is the last thing on my mind as I come crashing through the front door with all my stuff I carry around (purse, laptop bag, sweater, coffee mug – I’m like a bag lady really). Plopping on the couch, cooking dinner, even cleaning are all more appetizing than going for a run or heading to a – gulp – gym.
I am no dummy, I know the physical (and mental) benefits of healthful living and regular exercise. My father is a martial arts instructor, my other father hits the gym every morning at 5am on the dot, my brother cycles, swims, and runs multiple times a week, even my mid-70s grandfather goes to the fitness center each and every morning (he’s a retired Colonel, die-hard and disciplined.) It should be in my blood!! But alas, I am lazy. And having a husband with a no-maintenance-required physique is not helping matters.
So what’s a girl to do? Something’s gotta give. It’s time for change. I’m concerned for my future 60 year old self, and my current 28 year old self, for that matter. I have no plans to quit my job anytime soon, so I’ve got to find a solution that works for my am-or-pm schedule. I’m thinking am. After all, I’ve always WANTED to be a morning person, I quite enjoy lazy evenings (and eating dinner at a normal hour). Plus, for the month I did a 6:30am bootcamp back in 07, I felt fantastic all day long and reveled in the fact that I could eat enormous breakfasts everyday.
So what’s my plan of attack? I’m the type of person who likes to lump changes together – therefore I think moving into our house is a great starting point for my ~*new fitness routine*~. Plus, we are moving to a much more run-friendly neighborhood (as opposed to the sketch-tastic Sunset Blvd and dreaded La Brea/Santa Monica corner), which should be great, considering I want to accomplish this:
Mon-Fri: wake up early (no later than 7am) and go for a run/walk, followed by stretches.
Supplement with yoga classes and/or hiking at least 1-2 times a week.
Buy a bike by the end of the year and go for regular rides.
We’ll start there. Yoga is a no-brainer, easy-peasy, solution – being a neurotic nut who tends to worry herself sick (literally), I am familiar with the emotional and physical payoffs of yoga. I even bought a great deal on Living Social this weekend – $45 fora month of unlimited yoga at Earth’s Power Yoga, a studio within walking distance of our new house. If only exercising were as easy as online shopping, right?
But running – this will be a challenge for me. I was that scrawny girl in high school who couldn’t run a quarter mile without dry-heaving (I actually joined track team in ninth grade and quit after a month, big surprise). But a couple years back, I watched my girlfriend Francesca complete the LA marathon and was mega-inspired. I wanted to be one of those people with that kind of endurance, that kind of discipline, with those kinds of sculpted legs! So I started running around my sketchy block in the evenings. At first, I couldn’t run for more than a minute and a half without having to stop, and after a mile I was so out of breath and light headed I felt like my ears were bleeding. It was fun I tell you. But after a few weeks, I was able to run 3 miles – not in one straight shot, but I got it done eventually. I felt great. I looked great. I was in a good mood.
Then I stopped. And anyone who has quit a workout routine knows that the longer you go without it, the harder it is to start back up.
My brother, who is used to me asking him for the “secret” to fitness motivation, recently shared a quote with me from one of his Air Force bootcamp instructors. When asked why he kept running if it hurt so badly, he said “I run because it hurts.” Get it? It’s about embracing the pain and letting that be your motivator to keep going. It only gets better from there, right?
Let’s hope so. Anyone want to join me?
Share your own fitness motivation or tell me your secrets for tricking yourself into waking up early and/or getting your booty moving!
I try not to be that girl who shares EVERY single video/piece of work my husband does, but he’s just so daggum talented that I can’t help it. It’s like he married into a built-in publicity department. This latest video of his might be one of my favorites – ok, is definitely one of my favorites! He’s had the idea for this foreverrrr so it is really cool to see it come to light. And funny story – he was actually planning on publishing a different video but ran into a roadblock, so he put this entire video together in about 4 days – including filming, editing, voiceovers, and even merch (after you watch the video, go get yourself some free Pre-Blessed Food stickers and a Pre-Blessed Food t-shirt!)
There’s been one thing that’s continually gotten me through this grueling packing & moving dance – daydreaming about the decorating opportunities in our new place. I am a total nester, so things like pillows and curtains and wall art and candles make an enormous difference to my overall mood when hanging out at home, which is quite often – Julian and I are more ‘stay-at-home-and-watch-SVU’ than the ‘go-out-to-a-hot-club.’ What can I say, we like being at home! Which is why I am so excited about getting down and dirty with our new place. If you’re going to spend most of your time in one space, it better darn well look good and make you feel good. Amen? Amen.
our current kitchen window
For me, this is long overdue – I’ve had the decorating bug for a while now, but have done MINIMAL decorating to our current apartment (which is LOVELY, btw, was rented out within a week!) Things like meeting the love of my life, getting engaged, and marrying him in the course of a year kinda got in the way, I guess! I somehow managed to get by with little to no effort since our 1930s building has so much built-in charm, like turquoise tile on the wood-burning fireplace, dark wood ceiling beams, arched doorways, double balconies, crystal doorknobs and french-style windows. Hmm… why are we moving again? But seriously – I had big plans for this place! I had vision. Lying in bed now and staring at my bare bedroom walls, I get kinda depressed knowing that I lived here for this long without ever bringing those visions to life. But the show must go on. After all, the quasi-office work nook in this place isn’t gonna cut it for a working-from-home filmmaker husband (let’s just say he came with a lot of “gear.”) And I have to admit, I’m kinda excited to start fresh with a new canvas!
What was my point again? Oh yes. You’ve already heard me ramble a bit about why I am obsessed with our new place, but let me just tell you a few of the things I’m excited about: a porch with stairs. The red door. The giant, black glossy staircase. New cabinets. Real granite countertops. Neutral-colored backsplash. A glass door. New bathroom fixtures. A washer and dryer. Wall sconces in nearly every room. All this makes for a pretty good starting point for decorating our little newlywed nest. Of course, I still haven’t the faintest idea what my final plans will be for the place (though I’ve got an inspiration folder and a brain full of ideas), but I have taken the first steps already – choosing the paint colors! Wanna see?
Preface: this was an adventure. I originally started browsing Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams, who both have some truly outstanding colors, but soon found out that our new walls (and our budget, for that matter) weren’t going to be able to bear the brunt of such luxurious paint. So we chatted with our wonderful painter, Will, and he recommended Behr’s Premium Ultra paint from Home Depot – a primer and paint in one. The colors weren’t quite as great, but we managed to find some that would work for the look we wanted (no thanks to Behr’s HIDEOUS “room inspiration” booklets – SO ugly).
Here’s what we chose!
For the living room, stair walls, and upstairs hall (I wanted a warmer greige), Behr – Perfect Taupe:
Behr – Perfect Taupe
For the kitchen, Behr – Simply Sage:
For the bedroom, Behr – Fashion Grey (can’t find a pic online but it kinda looks like this):
For Julian’s office, Behr – Ashes:
For the bathrooms, Behr – Burnished Clay:
We did a loooot of back and forth and painting patches on the wall, but I’m pretty happy with our selections and the swatches look really nice all laid out together, which was important to me. I wanted our house to flow together well, not walk into a new room feeling like you’re in an entirely new house. I think it makes the house feel more “open.” Here’s hoping I don’t regret my decision after the walls are painted (they’ll start on Tuesday and finish on Thursday). I’ll be sure to post photos when it’s all done so you can get better look!
What do you think of our paint colors? Anyone ever used these colors with a positive/negative result?
It has been next to impossible to ignore the endless amount of cute childrens (and dogs) Halloween costumes popping up all over the web this month. Bumble bees, spiders, princesses – you name it, I’ve “awwed” at it, and more than likely shared it with my husband, who is approximately 1/4th as excited by them as I. Here’s hoping you’ll find these as tremendously adorable as I do.
E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E I know has been buzzing about 9-year-old Willow Smith’s new paint-and-hair-whipping music video for “Whip My Hair,” her undeniably catchy first single. Yes, she’s quite talented and utterly adorable (and the spitting image of Dad Will Smith, right?), but I kind of prefer this performance by a white cockatoo who is mimicking her dance movements.
That is one talented bird. It’s kinda making me reconsider turkey this Thanksgiving. Ha! Seriously, check out how similar it is to the original video:
Isn’t that wonderful? Dancing animals are awesome. You’re welcome. Happy Friday.
via stylite and thanks to Hannah for passing this my way!
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, runner, RVT student, believer, lover of pretty things (and cats.) I'm also a newlywed, which I'm finding quite enjoyable. To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
