Yesterday, we did a little something that isn’t usually a part of our normal LA-lifestyle agenda. While the rest of the (American) world was watching the Oscars, we went horseback riding! My gorgeous girlfriend Kara invited us go to up to Sunset Ranch for her birthday and do a little evening dinner ride across the Hollywood Hills, and to me, that beats sitting on a couch and watching someone else win a prestigious award any day. Yay, horsies!
I’ve been riding a few times before, but not in years, so as far as expertise goes, I’m still very much in the “beginner” category. Julian’s had a bit of experience as well, since his grandfather has a farm with horses (!!). We both loved being on and around the horses. There is really nothing quite like it!
The ranch was adorable and the folks working there were very friendly. They had around 100 or so horses, a handful of adorable ranch dogs (including one, Sadie, with only three legs! Bless her heart), and various other farm animals – roosters, goats/kids (which sounded like actual kids), even an albino peacock.
Once everyone was mounted (I rode the fantastically well-behaved and kind-hearted Ra and Julian rode Tanto), our guides led us up past a tiny faux-version of the Hollywood sign, then past the real Hollywood sign, and through the beautiful mountains, over into Burbank, where we had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant. It was delightful! A little bit on the cold side…. it took me about 30 minutes to defrost once inside, but still, amazing. The waiters even gave us carrots to feed to the horses.
On the way back, it was darker, colder, and all the riders in our party were a lot more silent. Riding through the mountains on Ra, looking up at the stars above, freezing my butt off, and thinking about who won Best Picture, I definitely had a few moments where I pretended I was in True Grit and had the sudden urge to call my horse Little Blackie. But then I realized just how freaking cold I was and snapped back to reality. For all of you who think life is one big beach party in LA, think again. This is still the desert, after all, and after the sun goes down, it gets cold.
Sidenote here: I loved my horse. I think we are alike in that we both like to be first, because he kept butting in front of anyone who tried to ride up past him, and would trot up to the front if he got too far back in the pack. That might have been my favorite part.
I’ve never been so happy to get in a warm car in all my life. The cold was in my bones by that point and I had to sleep in my Hot Chillys (which are… the best – look it up!) All in all, we had a fabulous time and if you’re in the market for horseriding in LA (beginners-style, of course), definitely check out Sunset Ranch!
Today, my butt is entire too sore for my liking, considering we are leaving today for Big Bear to go snowboarding. And everyone knows snowboarding is entirely synonymous with sore. FANTASTIC. Remind me not to lump this many snow + sore activities in the same week again. At least I’ll be getting plenty of fresh air! My brother will approve of that.
I deleted my Facebook months ago (for a number of reasons), but if I hadn’t, I would definitely be down to participate in National UnFriend Day, as declared by Jimmy Kimmel and William Shatner below. November 17 people! Mark your calendars! Clean house! Get rid of your frenemies. Get rid of those toxic friends. You know who I’m talking about.
My goodness, I’ve only been away a few days but it feels like forever! A big fat thank you to all of you who write/tweeted/commented wishing me a happy birthday. I had such an amazing weekend celebrating with friends & family and can hardly believe I am 28 years old. This feels like the perfect age, though, and I think I’d like to stay here forever, thankyouverymuch.
To explain the wonderful weekend in detail is just not possible, so instead I think I’d like to do a special little “things I love” about this weekend’s birthday bonanza.
Surprise Sprinkles cupcakes from my coworkers – they tricked me into thinking I was having a Friday afternoon meeting. Evil!
Romantic dinner date with my Hubs
Waking up to a billion texts and voicemails with birthday wishes – this is what happens when you delete your Facebook!
Traipsing around Larchmont Village with bagels & OJ
Spontaneously deciding to go buy a bunch of board games
Spending more time than I’d like to admit doing a 1000 pc puzzle (am I 28 or 82?)
My new presents! My husband has great taste.
The incredible, outstanding, magnificent Phoenix/Grizzly Bear/Girls show at the Hollywood Bowl thanks to Cesca!
Birthday wine (aka Sofia minis in the pink cans! With straws!)
Coming back from the bathroom to find the entire section singing Happy Birthday to me – magical!
Spotting an old coworker sitting just a couple rows behind us!
Walking home with my beau (and him getting his first ever street dog!)
Preparing and cooking all the food for my bash on Sunday afternoon – so much work but it was so worth it! And it all turned out delicious!
Having a super long, relaxed party in our courtyard with people coming & going so we had a chance to talk to everyone.
Projecting our wedding photos onto the building behind us when it got dark outside – this was so cool! Such a great idea (thanks Hannah!)
Ending the night with an epic game of Monopoly (we are on a board game kick, FYI)
The photos! My in-house photographer did an amazing job. You can see a couple of them in this post but I’ll do a separate post with all the photos & details of the food & decor.
And of course, having my little brother (who is actually quite tall) in town made everything so much better. He’s my first best friend and I love him so much!
Now I’m off to get my year started off with a bang. ♥ ♥ ♥
At long last, Friday has come to the rescue again! It’s been a dreadfully busy week, but we’ve got lots of happy times in the near future to redeem us. Sadly, none of them involve Santorini (shown above). I’m looking forward to: a birthday dinner party, a sleepover with some newlywed friends from Virginia (in town on their way to their honeymoon), LA brunch, drinking copious amounts of coffee, movie dates, a trip to the farmers market, cutting up the fat watermelon in my kitchen, researching Labor Day trips, and much more.
Today I’m cheating. And by that I mean I’m reposting something written by someone else, because quite honestly, she (Deena Munsamy) says it better than I ever could and you really don’t need me chiming in with more input.
Three-Word Phrases, can be tools to help develop every relationship.
There are many things that you can do to strengthen your relationships. Often the most effective thing you can do involves saying just three words. When spoken sincerely, these statements often have the power to develop new friendships, deepen old ones and even bring healing to relationships that have soured.
The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship.
~ Let me help:
Good friends see a need and then try to fill it. When they see a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they jump in and help out.
~ I understand you:
People become closer and enjoy each other more when the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know – in so many little ways – that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. And this can apply to any relationship.
~ I respect you:
Respect is another way of showing love. Respect demonstrates that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become closer friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships.
~ I miss you:
Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other “I miss you.” This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how important you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say “I miss you.”
~ Maybe you’re right:
This phrase is very effective in diffusing an argument. The implication when you say “maybe you’re right” is the humility of admitting, “maybe I’m wrong”. Let’s face it. When you have an argument with someone, all you normally do is solidify the other person’s point of view. They, or you, will not likely change their position and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying “maybe you’re right” can open the door to explore the subject more. You may then have the opportunity to express your view in a way that is understandable to the other person.
~ Please forgive me:
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
~ I thank you:
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don’t take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.
~ Count on me:
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating “you can count on me.”
~ I’ll be there:
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase “I’ll be there.” Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us.
We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.
~ Go for it:
We are all unique individuals. Don’t try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how far out they seem to you. God has given everyone dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only.
Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to “go for it.”
~ I love you:
Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person’s deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words: “I love you.” Love is a choice. You can love even when the feeling is gone.
- Gummy Worm Chromosomes – if learning about DNA was this delicious, I might have taken a more passionate interest in biology in middle school. Imagine me as a biologist. Solving medical mysteries. Mixing things in a lab. Not wearing makeup. All jokes aside, I did briefly consider a career as a veterinarian – until I realized it’s harder to get into vet school than it is to get into med school. And that my heart would break everyday watching animals suffer.
- Top 10 Books Perfect For The iPad. Haha…. this one is for Julian, who thought he was doing me a favor by suggesting I get an iPad instead of a laptop. PLEASE.
- The wedding invitation of our friends Kayla and Tyler, who are getting married just a couple months after Julian and I. It’s the sweetest and most creative wedding invite I’ve ever seen – plus I got to watch Julian and Tyler making it while they were in LA!
- Kitchen of the Year. I’d say! That place is making me salivate, it’s so gorgeous.
- ChatRoulette is all the rage these days. Even Ashton Kutcher is on it, and one math student in Calgary took a screenshot of the convo he was having with Mr. Aplusk. I can see the appeal of the site, that randomly connects you via videochat to people around the world, but I don’t see why I would use it. It would have provided hours of fun in college, though.
- Butch Cupcakes – this bakery in NY designs cupcakes with men in mind, because everyone deserves to enjoy a nice cupcake, but how masculine is it to eat a pink cupcake with heart sprinkles? Camo or wood-grain patterns are so much more macho.
- Study shows cat owners are more educated than dog owners. I’m feeling a bit of justice to all women who have unfairly been called “cat ladies” now. By the way, I love dogs too. Just not as much as kitties.
- Another new study about how awesome Boulder, CO is. This particular one states it is the happiest city in all the US. Apparently Boulder knows how intellectual, healthy, bicycle-friendly and clean their city is, because I found a hefty list of credentials on their website. Proud, maybe. But I’d still move there in a heartbeat.
- Speaking of awesome places to live, check out this little house on a cliff in Iceland. Talk about breathtaking!
- Depths of the Ocean, Scaled to Human Size – this is both crazy and terrifying, especially for people like me who get the heebie jeebies about deep, dark water. What’s DOWN there?!
Lauren, who is in Hawaii this week, requested we play this loudly in our office on repeat. For the record, this is on the wall of our office:
I thought this video of two koalas bickering was super cute at first, until one of them provokes the other and it breaks out into a nasty fight. My maternal/animal-lover instinct kicked in and I wanted to scoop up the babies to protect and calm them down. Then I realized, they’re just like kids… fighting and picking on the other for no good reason.
My Little Ponies performing musicals – LIVE! MLP hold a special place in my heart, even if this is extremely strange.
Ew! I almost let another Thursday slip past me without documenting my list of glorious things that I appreciate and looooove this week. All in all, I’ve had my mind and body busy with other shtuff so I haven’t been able to blog all week. Sad face. I know you’ll forgive me, because, not only is it the right thing to do but – well, you ain’t got no choice! Muah!
Above all else – the weather in LA lately! Think “the perfect week in Spring.” It’s so fantastic, I open my bedroom windows every morning and cherish the fact that I live in a place where you can wear tank tops in February. It could be a little warmer, but all in all, I’m stoked. It’s got me closing my eyes and trying to will Springtime to get here FASTER! Speaking of, I think I found my swimsuit for this year. Behold:
Some other stuff that is pretty incredible:
unexpected phone calls (a lot this week, actually); being able to spontaneously spend a night chatting and hanging out with my Step Mom who was in town on her way to Vegas for a wedding; getting super inspired; trying three new recipes this week and LOVING each and every one of them (Julian, too!); surprise love letters and boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolates; watching so many movies; real, Southern fried chicken (Honey Kettle in Culver City – I DIE); cute white puppies at work that look like stuffed animals; being inspired by Sara Janssen’s Simplify Saturday post and filling three trash bags with clothes I don’t wear, need or want; rearranging my bedroom (rearranging a room can make ANYTHING better!! Top 100 favorite things to do, easy.); finding out my brother and his fiance will be spending the weekend with me in LA (first time for him meeting Julian, eee!);
making the decision to step outside my comfort zone, challenge myself and trust in my abilities; the French windows in my apartment; Bath & Body Works room sprays; getting our invitations all designed & ordered (thank you, Danny!!!); window shopping for clothes online; when work orders groceries, and Wednesday lunch; boyfriends who do the dishes for you everyday; quick pump-me-up phone calls with my girlfriends; heightened excitement and anticipation over my friend Julia’s upcoming baby; seeing Julian after his first ever professional deep tissue massage – CUTE, and hilarious; this raincoat; perfecting the art of pancake-making (wipe the pan with an oil-soaked paper towel); a garage full of firewood for fires in my fireplace (it might be warm during the day, but it’s still cold at night! This is the desert, after all!); not caring about NY Fashion Week and being totally o.k. with that; helping a homeless man buy a large coffee instead of a small (I realize how trivial this sounds, but it still made me feel good);
This oldie-but-goodie music video from Julian’s BFF and Best Man, Marc Scibilia. This man is going to be famous. This song was from the Ron Paul Presidential campaign tour, which Marc played on. Video directed of course, by Julian. And yes – all those people playing instruments are Marc!
The Internet in 1969. Might be a fake, but if not, too funny!
Let me ask you all (ya’ll) a question – how many friends do you have on Facebook? How many of those people are actual friends that you know, care about “what’s on their mind”, and want to converse with? How about Twitter? Do you strive to have more followers? Do you follow everyone who follows you? How often do you get to read all the tweets in your Twitterstream?
We’ve created a monster.
Inspired by an article in the latest issued of Wired he read on the flight to LA this week, our friend Tyler just announced he had cut his Facebook friends list back from more than 2,000 to around 300 total. The article, by Clive Thompson (In Praise of Online Obscurity), analyzes the way we have turned social networking into something very unsocial. No longer are we using social networking as a means of fostering relationships with people we actually care about – we’re using it to create new relationships with people (and “reconnect” with people from our past) and quite frankly, we can’t keep up with it. We’re faced with countless hurdles to jump to maintain these relationships, weeding through updates from networking contacts we barely know, distant friends from our childhood, friends of friends and ex-boyfriends. All people who, the second you click accept, can see all your info, as well. As Thompson points out, when your list gets too big, social networking is no longer a possibility. Social networking starts to break down.
Nowadays, people use Facebook as a means to notifying their friends about developments in their life (and granted, some stuff we could care less about – “Makin’ quesadillas tonight!” – I’m guilty of that.) In the last week I found out that I missed news from two of my good friends because their updates were lost in my enormous feed. One of my friends adopted a rescue puppy and the other one got engaged. Both are things I actually would have liked to know, but because of all the noise in my feed, I didn’t.
So what was the result of Tyler’s massacre on his friends list? A list of status updates that he – SHOCK! – actually cares about. Imagine truly wanting to read each and every status update on your list, instead of clicking “Hide” on that person you added, but only because you had 30 friends in common, all of whom are people you met at conferences. Imagine not having to worry that you’re missing something important, funny or interesting because your feed is filled with information and people that honestly, you could care less about.
Of course, this is just my opinion.
Thompson emphasizes the value in obscurity – of keeping your network small and manageable, because once it grows to a certain size, the conversation dissipates. It becomes silent. Mark Zuckerberg famously declared at the recent Crunchie Awards that living publicly and having minimal online privacy is “the social norm, now.” I disagree. Living a public life is not something everyone should be obligated to do, just because they want to use social networking to keep in touch with friends. Now, online privacy is an entirely separate issue as far as I’m concerned (albeit a very, very important one, I have quite a bit to say about this what with having my identity stolen online several times). But aside from the security aspect, I can’t help but agree with Thompson’s stance on online obscurity – how on Earth are we expected to keep up genuine relationships with 3,000 of our closest friends? It’s just not possible. Not unless you give up your job, your family, your hobbies, eating and sleeping. And then what would you have left to talk about, anyway?
In a way, it’s just like high school again – one big popularity contest. So many people striving to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk, the next “online celeb” who millions turn to for entertainment and advice. First of all, this isn’t realistic. That kind of fame is just not feasible for most of us. And whatever happened to good old human relationships – conversations – not soapboxing?
I’m not suggesting everyone go on an “unfriend-ing” rampage or to stop trying to gain followers, I suppose it depends on the purpose of that particular network, but I do think that if you plan on using social networking as a tool to strengthening relationships, you might want to scale back or segregate your relationships by dividing them on different networks (LinkedIn, for example). I know many are of the opinion that in order to create a successful business relationship, you have to first start with a personal relationship, and to some extent, I agree. But you’ve got to make it genuine. Adding me as one of your 7,000 friends on Facebook does not make me feel like I am getting in a close, personal, trusting relationship with you to where I would ever want to enter a business partnership with you. The same way I would feel if I were one of 300 people invited to your birthday party and only had 5 minutes to celebrate with you.
By the way – I realize this might sound a bit hypocritical because I have this blog and a handful of fans, but in no way do I tout myself as a “guru” of any kind or someone that people should “turn to for advice.” I’m nobody. Just a random girl with a poorly written, stream-of-conscience blog and a need to share pretty, interesting things. I have no goals in terms of popularity or fame. This concept of scaling back on social networking just resonated with me, perhaps because of my own struggle to maintain intimate relationships these days via social networking. So – I ask of you…
What’s your method when it comes to managing your online social scene? Do you have rules for adding new friends? Do you only use certain networks for certain things? I’m very curious to find out!
Greetings readers. I’m slacking pretty hard on the Things I Love Thursday, aren’t I? Yet I have more love worthy things in my life than ever before. What gives? I know you forgive me! Let’s get this party started.
Wedding planning, and not hating it. For the first few weeks after I was engaged, I was kind of sick of people asking me “So, have you set a date? Where will it be? What kind of theme are you thinking?” etc. I looked at wedding magazines and went to theknot.com once or twice, but I was pretty overwhelmed and underenthused. There is just so much to figure out and decide on, and I personally hate making decisions (though I’m pretty stubborn… figure that one out.) Something finally clicked this week, though, and I’ve been in crazy wedding planning mode! We’ve set our date (May 8, 2010), which is not far away at all, so there is much to be done. I’m making lists, brainstorming, delegating, daydreaming, etc. I can’t wait for this day to be here – it will truly be the best ever. We’re making it very personalized and not super conventional. I’m going to try to spare my blog readers the details of wedding planning because I realize it isn’t of interest to most (I mean, I didn’t even glance at this stuff til I was actually engaged). Instead, I might post that stuff on our wedding website, which is in the process of being launched. We bought the domain this week and it is perfect… something we can use even when we’re celebrating our 5 year anniversary and start having kids!
Rain-rain-rain-rain! We’re in the midst of a torrential downpour in Los Angeles at the moment, and I’m lalalaloving it. It rains maybe less than ten times a year in LA, and almost always in the winter. Everyone is whining about awful the weather is, but I think it makes for great coziness. The constant trickling outside makes me super relaxed and I always fall asleep so easily. Last Sunday for example, I took the best nap ever with Scout after having brunch with Heather, and it was heavenly. I don’t think I’ve slept that hard in months. The rain DOES make it harder to get out of bed in the morning, though – a small price to pay.
My new girly office with Lauren. Yesterday, Alex surprised me by asking me to swap desks with him at work. Alex sits in a two-person office with my work BFF, Lauren, who agrees with me on my “fluorescent-lights-are-the-devil” stance, so when he asked, I wasted no time moving myself in. Spending most of my day writing, being in a quiet office is a HUGE improvement to sitting in a bullpen full of loud men with their dogs. The ambiance is very nice, I might add… pretty white lamps on our desks, a tropical tree with Christmas tree, things that actually smell nice, etc. My mood and my productivity are both flying high right now. As far as why Alex wanted to move, I’m still not sure, but I think it’s a guy thing. It’s easier to watch funny videos and talk about sports with other males when you’re a few feet away instead of 20 feet away behind a closed door.
This hallway.
Neighbors who are awesome and have dinner dates with you. And give you cookies. You can’t put a price on good neighbors, seriously. I am mostly blessed in the neighborhood department, but I’m especially thankful for Clay & Molly, the newlywed couple from Alabama that moved in downstairs last summer. They’re both funny and very generous (Molly gave me the most beautiful flowers in an antique bottle for our engagement, and makes GREAT cookies), but they are also really fun to talk to. Clay and Julian have the whole ‘working with cameras’ thing in common, and Molly and I both love to cook and can relate about girl stuff. Last night we had the most fabulous dinner at home and then watched Man on Wire. I’ve never had neighbors as an adult that I can hang out with on a regular basis, and it’s pretty awesome. Except when you’re running late, because you can’t use the “oh man, traffic was a nightmare” excuse.
Purple. And gold. Recently, I’ve become really fond of these two colors. I still won’t wear much gold jewelry, but I’m loving it in home decor and art and things of that nature. When I was a kid, I hated the color purple. I loved pink (surprise, surprise), but I thought purple was kind of oogalay. I sometimes wear purple on my eyes because it brings out green eyes, and it looks pretty good against my skin tone, but I don’t own many purple clothes. That might need to change. I can’t wait to find new ways to use both of these colors a lot more in my life. I think the two of these colors together especially look so, so pretty. That reminds me, I saw a purple & gold rug at Target a while back that would be PERFECT in my apartment!! Wedding registry!
These floral boots from Free People. I want!! What’s with all the 90s comeback styles? I would have hated these boots five years ago – HATED. Now I think they’re the cutest things in the world.
Also:
high wirewalking (I am amazed by Man on Wire, a must-watch. Plus, Phillipe’s life in France looks excruciatingly blissful.); dreaming up new careers for Barbie and what she’d look like (Tech Startup Barbie, Blogger Barbie, Gamer Barbie); “Honey, don’t call my cat an It.”; smoking bans in outdoor restaurants in LA, yes!; listening to 90s R&B on the radio while driving to work…; Martha Stewart’s black bean tostadas – SERIOUSLY HEAVEN ON EARTH; in fact, Martha Stewart in general; “Aroma – you know, as in “look at that aroma”; layers and layers of blankets on the bed; the fact that when Julian mocks me it makes me laugh instead of get angry; writing my to-do lists in notebooks instead of using the computer, God knows I need less computer in my life; getting rid of cable TV; finally caving and watching Lord of the Rings trilogy; making plans to make a cat face out of Christmas lights on the wall of our office;
And that’s about enough for now. Until next time! Toodles!
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.
