What a week it has been – I feel like I have had new life breathed into me! Maybe it’s the fact that Spring is juuuust around the corner (get here NOW), or perhaps it’s exciting new ventures that await me. Whatever it is – I have so many terrific things to share and rejoice about. First things first, my new wallpaper (new as of Friday, anyway) is truly amazing:
the way Pepper and Scout’s fur smells – not gross, I swear.
having clean laundry
Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm – so awkward it makes you cry.
going to bed early on a Friday like an old person and waking up earlier on Saturday than I do on the average weekday
watching Scout jump from cardboard box to cardboard box, ready to captain the Hardwood Floor Sea
movie theatre popcorn
my 6 year old Uggs that have paint on them but that I still wear anyways
living next door to a television star – it’s really quite entertaining, he always has something fascinating or strange going on. He also has a fantastic pompadour.
when Julian willingly goes grocery shopping with me
laughing hysterically in the aisles with him and then grossing everyone out by kissing. What? We’re young and in love.
Aren’t Thursdays the BEST?! If you aren’t taking part in Things I Love Thursdays, it’s time to start. You don’t even need to be a blogger, or know how to use the internet for that matter. All you have to do is just make a quick list of things you love and are thankful for. It can be in a journal, a post-it, a tweet, a status update, even just a declaration to the person sitting next to you. You’d be surprised how positive-thinking can alter your mood for the better.
Here’s a list of things that are doing it for me this week. BTW – this is my 18th TiLT, which is amazing because 18 is my all-time favorite number. Hip Hip, Hooray!
Amusement park engagement shoot photos from 100 Layer Cake
The fruit leather fairy that visits the SocialVibe snack cabinets every night (aka Tam) ; my brother and his fiance Nadja visiting us in LA ; apple dumpling therapy (make these, and you will have a small glimpse of heaven) ; being a tourist in my own city – the planetarium at the griffith park observatory is awesome! ; board games like balderdash, which i need much more of in my life ; starting new books (On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition, by William Zissler) ; starting new chapters ; new beds that make my life approximately 143x better than it was before ; waking up sandwiched between two cats, everyday ; a rocking social calendar that includes dinner with Tracy and Matt tonight, lunch with Jacqueline on Saturday and Kara’s birthday party on Sunday ; oh and Clay and Molly hang-time somewhere in between all that ; putting all seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm on Netflix because Julian’s never seen a SINGLE episode!
the weather turning cold again so i can use my fireplace – DELICIOUS ; organizing my mini-office area ; free gift certificates in the mail ; errand-running boyfriends/fiances ; lunch with Micah who was in town from boulder ; extra-long naps on Sunday afternoons ; taunting Scout with the laser pointer ; bare fruits cinnamon apple chips – tasty AND the only ingredients are “organic apples, organic cinnamon.” Yes! ; wearing Julian’s clothes ; dental offices (esp. ones with 20 yr old wooden TV sets) ; watching Bula and Benny play-dogfight ; switching back to TweetDeck so I can actually SEE everyone’s tweets ; finishing a work project that has been plaguing me for months – FEELS SO GOOD ; holding hands ; buying little dresses for Julian’s CUTE new niece Eden ; gummy cola bottles ; Vampire Weekend’s new album, Contra ;
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
- Mohandas Gandhi
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!
This week’s Things I Love Thursday is going to be a little more condensed, a little more rambley, with lots more tiny stuff. Kind of like a stream of consciousness, but with only stuff that is incredible. Sometimes it’s more fun to think about the little things that happen everyday in between the big stuff – the things you usually forget when you remember that you’re late on a bill or that you have a looming project deadline in front of you. Let me know if you hate this format and prefer the way I have been doing it. I love love love feedback (and e-mails!!), but chances are, I’ll just keep doing it the way I want anyway. Fair warning.
Scout hissing at Julian while he’s trying to get her out from under the bed – hilarious because she NEVER hisses!; girly smelling air fresheners in our office; my Mom getting one step closer to finally launching her online store; fiances who do the dishes for you; Trader Joe’s massive bags of frozen chicken breasts for only $7; Corner Bakery’s pesto cavatappi with red pepper flakes on really crummy weather days (the ultimate high-calorie comfort food); soft lighting in the office instead of fluorescent (SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT); going to sleep before midnight and not waking up to feeling like a zombie; having a wood-burning fireplace; mentally decorating our future newlywed lovenest; collecting inspirational photos of my wedding day; thinking about things to add to our wedding registry (so far my favorite part about planning a wedding. Everyone should get married, if not for the love and commitment part, but for the registry and free gifts part); asking all of our siblings (ten total) to be our bridesmaids and groomsmen; my sister’s reaction to me asking her to be (one of) my Maid of Honor(s); friends who are enthusiastic and willing to help me plan!; perusing Craigslist in search of bargains; coming closer to finishing The Pioneer Woman’s love story with Marlboro Man, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels; “Queen Scooba”; The way Julian looks like a 7 year old playing video games when he’s sitting on the floor working in front of his 42″ TV/monitor; mason jar lanterns and centerpieces;
Breakfast for lunch (Egg-in-a-Hole, to be exact, best breakfast ever, especially when paired with turkey bacon and gallons of coffee), which is way better than lunch for breakfast; finally watching movies I should have watched years ago (Lord of the Rings, Philadelphia); calling everything ‘my precious’; taking all my covers from the bed to the couch; Victoria’s Secret yoga pants; free wedding cakes (thank you, Nicole!!!!); pyrrha jewelry, who is opening a store in West Hollywood in March. Most incredible vintage-looking jewelry cast from 19th century wax seals AND they support local animal rescue farm Animal Acres. Perfection. Thanks to my Aunt Jenny for turning me onto them!; reminiscing about the days of middle school fashion, buying L.E.I.s and shopping at 5-7-9 and Uptons; rumors that Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston are getting back together – even the more “legitimate” tabloids like Us Weekly are saying it’s true. Not going to lie, I really want it to be; yukon gold mashed potatoes from Tender Greens; helping find a home for a girl kitten that a coworker’s friend found in the rain in a parking lot on Thursday (congrats to Stacey and Clement on your new calico kitty!); realizing I know all the words to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Fishin’ In The Dark; people who help me relax when inside I feel like I’m filling up with hot steam and am about to explode; finding out that my neighbor’s Mom is a big fan of my blog - HI CLAY’S MOM! Mrs. Morrison is it?
MY FRIENDS. My friends, my friends, my friends. And my family. You cannot put a price on having people around you who love you, care about you, and want the best for you. There are a handful of people in my life that I thank God for everyday and honestly do not know what I’d do without.
And, everyone in the world needs to watch this video. Especially if you’re having a “blah” day and could use a little joy in your life.
My favorite parts are as follows:
the orangutan somersaulting
the orangutan feeding Roscoe bananas with his mouth
the orangutan wearing a life vest in the swimming pool
the orangutan spinning around in circles
when the orangutan falls flat on his back, just for the fun of it.
Has it really only been a week since my last Things I Love Thursday? And yet it feels like Christmas is approaching with rapid speed. I’d like to reverse, that, please – slow down the holiday cheer express and speed up the workday. Yeah, that sounds perfect.
Here’s a little list of things that are making me grin from ear to ear this week.
THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!
- First things first, planning our Spring trip to Paris and Berlin. I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to give, so I’ll keep it brief: WE’RE GOING TO PARIS AND BERLIN IN MAY. We = me and Julian. If you know me, you know that I have a mild obsession with France and all things Parisian, so the thought of frolicking through the city in the Spring while the gardens are in bloom and the sidewalk cafes are ripe for sitting on sipping coffee and eating crepes is UNBELIEVABLY EXHILARATING. This will be my first time in both cities. I dusted off my French language books last night and have already begun making a list of things I want to see/eat/feel/hear/experience. If you have any recommendations, share them please! Warning: this might be all I talk about for the next six months.
- Living on a budget. Saving money is very important, children. Duh. It’s also very addicting. I won’t get ahead of myself because I’ve only just begun on my most recent dolla-saving journey, but every time I’ve become a tightwad in the past, I’ve found myself strangely obsessed with frugality. There is something exciting about watching every penny and seeing how much you are saving. It’s almost like a game – “can I live off of $20 in groceries this week?” I love the feeling you get when you transfer a big chunk of money into the savings account, or the statements when you see how much it is growing, or even find a super-saving coupon. Am I the only weird one, here? I find comfort in community.
- Making sweet & sour chicken from scratch. And not screwing it up! This is one of Julian’s favorite dishes, so I knew that it would make him super happy if I made it, and even happier if I made it well. I used this recipe and have made it twice since we got back into town. He loves it and I love it! Though I can feel myself reverting back into vegetarianism a little at a time (I was vegetarian/sometimes-vegan for three years until I met him, and even still don’t eat beef or pork.) For now, I’m just choosing more and more vegetarian options. It’s tough though, when your boyfriend is a meat-lover. At least I can take comfort in buying organic, free-range chicken.
- Flickr’s favorite button. I’m a retard (in the most politically correct use of the word, I promise) for only getting into Flickr now instead of years ago like everyone else. My account has been pretty dead for, well, since I created it over three years ago, but recently I discovered the “favorite” button and now I’m just having the best time ever collecting the most beautiful photos in the pool.
This is what my room looks like, but with a bigger bed. Yeah, I wish.
- Adding an extra layer to my bed. Sometime over the last week, it got cold in LA. Like, really cold. For LA, at least. It was in the 30s a few nights ago, and despite having heat in my apartment (which I am blessed to have), I was frozen solid. My heater is in the living room at the opposite end of my apartment, so hardly any heat makes it to my bedroom. I found a solution, though – adding more blankets to my bed. Blankets are heaven sent, for real. I have a super-soft ivory quilted blanket I bought at Target a few years back for like, $20, and the fact that it has remained soft to this day is a miracle. I layered it in between my sheets and duvet and my toes are no longer blue in the mornings. HALLELUJAH! I love bedding.
- Having a clean car. With all my preaching about consumerism and giving back/helping others, I’m ashamed to admit I have a brand new car. Well, it’s a year and a half old, but I bought it new, and it’s the first new car I’ve ever owned (my parents are firm believers in “drive it ’til it dies.” I only bought it new because I plan on having it for a very long time (like, when I have kids), which is why I bought a Honda, because those suckas last forever and a day and are VERY cheap to fix if broken. Moving on, my pretty new car is filthy dirty 95% of the time. Despite having a garage in the great-garageless town of LA, I usually park behind my house (I’m lazy) underneath some evil trees that drop leaves on my car every night. As a result, my car is very, very dirty. And then there’s the inside. Full of empty Starbucks cups, old bulletins from church, half-full bags of cashews, bobby pins, granola crumbs, bottles of lotion that are on the verge of exploding from the heat, receipts, more receipts, cat litter (don’t ask), at least twenty SocialVibe Pink Balls, etc. etc. etc. At least there isn’t (much) old food in there. Saturday I decided enough was enough and I hauled my darling car down to the car wash at the end of my block (which makes having this dirty a car even more of a disgrace) and washed it myself in one of those little bays (far too embarrassed to take it to be washed by someone else). I spent about $6 when it should have been $3 because apparently I am slow. Then I vacuumed the inside…. wow. I even refilled my windshield wiper fluid, which had been empty for about two months (you could barely see out of the window). At the end of the day, my car was clean, I was a mess, and all were happy. Driving is much more enjoyable now. Good thing I’m getting a bicycle for Christmas.
- Christmas baking. This past Saturday, I decided it was time to begin the baking of the Christmas treats. Now that I have someone wonderful to eat all my sugary snacks (someone who doesn’t gain weight, nonetheless), baking is so much more fun! I borrowed recipes from Amy and made peppermint bark and peanut butter balls. They turned out fabulous and weren’t hard to make at all (the bark is truly foolproof), the only sad thing is that they were entirely gone 24 hours later. I took the first batch to a holiday party with coworkers that night and the rest to church on Sunday where they were having a ‘world market’ type fair to help charitable organizations. I put the treats with the free coffee and they were gone in the blink of an eye. I have a few more recipes up my sleeve, and hopefully this time I’ll remember to take pictures!
Not my picture.
- Making gifts rather than buying gifts. Not only is it eco-friendly, but it’s FUN. Sure I’ve only made one so far, and I’m almost positive that I WILL be resorting to buying some gifts this year (there are only 15 days left until Christmas, after all), but I’m going to be as crafty as possible. And for those gifts that I DO have to buy, there are always gifts that give back.
Other random things that are awesome:
pretty notebooks (with Paris on the cover, of course, given to me by my girl Cesca) full of all kinds of lists, doodles and creative ideas; free lunch at work on Wednesdays; drinking warm water (not cold water); USAA’s annual dividend deposit (I love waking up $73 richer than I was the night before); watching Julian roll around on the floor like a toddler; “Never park drunk, that’s my advice.”; hearing great GREAT GREAT news from one of my best friends; looking down at the cat food bowls to find that Julian put a leftover bowl of broccoli next to their food dish (he doesn’t know cats); having an abnormally large excess of creative energy; RSVPing for orientation to tutor homeless kids downtown (more on this later, hopefully); “Won’t you guide mein sleigh tonight? Rudy…”; sweater boots; white Christmas lights; Blissfully Domestic; Craigslist; Jay-Z’s new album; MOM: “What’s going on over there?” JULIAN: “Oh, those are fountains.”; Tuesday phone dates with Katie; “I love ramen noodles. I want to get endorsed by ramen noodles. Do they have a website?”; Christmas trees in the lobby at work; heavy rain in LA, followed by very clear days; when people find my accidental wittiness, loudmouth and ill-timed remarks charming and funny; even better, when people actually like reading my blog and leave me awesome comments. What a reward.
Depending on how closely you follow my blog and how much you adore what I have to say, you may have noticed that I didn’t post a Things I Love Thursday last week. Being with my family, cooking and eating Thanksgiving dinner, and taking a break from the internet were among the reasons I had to skip, but I’m BACK! And I have plenty of things that are oozing with my love this week.
Oh, If you like reading this, make a list of your own things you love in the comments. It is really fun, I promise, and if you’re having a craptacular day, it will boost your mood (money back guarantee.)
THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!
- December magic. My birthday is in September, but my favorite month might just be December, because Christmas is my favorite, favorite holiday, period. I love the sights, the smells, the music, the colors, the parties, the shopping, the lights, the giving, the cooking, the midnight mass, the spirit, the love, the family, the magic – all of it, all month long. Even if the stores are crowded and people are so stressed that they’re cussing each other out in parking lots, I tend to plug my ears and stay in my happy place full of candy canes and sparkles where St. Nick is laughing and everyone is caroling on the streets. Call me naive, but I don’t care. I am going to try and stretch this month out as long as I can and squeeze as much Christmas joy as possible. This year is shaping up to be a very special one, too, as it will be my first holiday away from home (I’ll be in Nashville with J’s family), but I’d be just as happy if I were serving in a soup kitchen downtown. Mmmm I love Christmas!
- Making lists. I’m laughing at myself right this minute for including “making lists” on a LIST of things I love. Man, do I love a good list. I get excited over lists the way some people get excited over shopping, martinis or chocolate cake. I’m a Virgo through and through, especially the part about being a perfectionist and obsessive compulsive organizer, so I cannot work on anything without a list. I have lists for everything – to-do lists at work, grocery lists, things I want to buy for my apartment, gifts I need to buy, books I want to read, things that need to be cleaned, lists of bills (ugh). I am constantly telling my scatter-brained boyfriend that he needs to “make a list, make a list, make a list” but that just isn’t his style. Fortunately for him, it is mine, and I am the more organized of our little team. For even the most repulsive of tasks, writing it down seems to make it that much more appealing. As far as on-paper versus online, I tend to favor a mix of both. I use Google Tasks for my work list, though I prefer less eco-friendly pen and paper lists in pretty notebooks at home.
- Having a bed. Like a real bed, with a bed frame and a bed skirt. I moved into my fabulush apartment back in March, but believe it or not, I am just now getting around to putting my box spring and mattress up on a bed frame and making it look less ‘My First College Apartment’ and more ‘Mid-20s Adult Living In LA.’ I used to have a really pretty bedframe from IKEA, but it broke (several times) and I refused to put it up in my new place for fear my cats would be crushed if it collapsed (they like to hide underneath). I bought a simple bed frame on Overstock.com and an Ivory linen bed skirt, and forced Julian to assemble it for me last night. What are boyfriends for? Now, it looks much better – grown up, even! I also yanked a white duvet from my Mom’s house, along with two humongous lavender pillows, which really add to it. It has motivated me to make more improvements to my home.
- Waking up on time. Since we’re talking about beds, let’s discuss sleep. I’m pretty lazy in the mornings and I HATE waking up. For some reason, though, every morning on our road trip though, I was up and at ‘em at whatever time Julian required – 5am, 6am, 7am – fresh as a daisy (after my coffee, of course.) Getting in the habit of waking up that early has turned me into a granny and I’ve been getting tired at 9pm now, instead of my usual 11pm-turned-into-1230am bedtime. It makes waking up in the morning much, MUCH easier, and I love it! I wouldn’t exactly call myself a “morning person,” but I love being awake early so I can get a head start on the day (eat breakfast, go running, drink coffee, check e-mails, read the news) without feeling like I’m rushing through the morning and trying to get to work on time.
- Being sore. You know what I’m talking about – the “good sore.” When you know that your hard work running, doing yoga, hiking, lifting weights or whatever form of exercise you chose is paying off. Bonus points when you’re sore in the right places. Girls, you know what I mean!
- L’Occitane Verbena candles. Falling in love with this treasure was a mere accident, I didn’t buy it, rather a friend of mine who was trying to get rid of some extra “stuff” handed it off to me. I put it in my bedroom and have become thoroughly addicted to it. It smells like fresh lemon zest (or, heaven) and not in an obnoxious way, either. It keeps the room smelling awesome even long after it is blown out. The only downside is the price ($23 for a 3.5 oz glass container). I keep telling myself to preserve it but I can’t help lighting it every time I am home. Pure love.
- My boyfriend’s face. Aren’t there studies that prove someone’s face gets more attractive to you the more you get to know them? I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s just his new haircut, but I am just in crazy, crazy love with Julian’s face more and more everyday. I think he is hands down the most handsome man that has ever walked the planet. Every time I look at his face I think to myself “how lucky am I?” It takes my breath away. Not to mention, he is the most caring, smart, talented, funny, kind and compassionate person I know. So THIS is what it’s supposed to feel like.
- Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. I really want to be a housewife domestic goddess. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I doubt I will ever be completely void of a job, but there is something so intriguing about spending my days ironing curtains, organizing closets, baking muffins from scratch and folding socks. Yes, I know I’m crazy. While I was at home, I was thumbing through my Mom’s copy of Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. This is the encyclopedia of everything you’ve ever wanted to know about kitchen organization, re-using old furniture, or cleaning a toilet. I really need this book, like now.
- Catching up with old friends. This trip back East was primarily about meeting family, as it was the first time Julian had met mine in the flesh and the first time I got to mix and mingle with several of his extended family. That being said, I REALLY loved being able to see my old friends back home. These are the people that know me through and through and though I don’t get to see them or talk to them regularly (this will change), they are always there for me. I am so happy J had the chance to meet and hang with my bestie Tabatha and her hubby Justin (who I call Candypants), as well as Katie and her husband Matt, Jenny and Randi. It felt different than previous trips home, I guess we are growing up, and catching up with old friends is less about going to a bar and drinking until we can’t see straight and more about actually spending quality time and hearing about what’s going on in their lives. I’ve already cemented a weekly Tuesday night phone date with Katie, and we had our first last night while I was rushing around the grocery store (I’m a busy girl.) I love, love my friends in LA, but I really miss my people back home. I can’t wait to be closer to them again one day.
Randi, Katie, myself and Jenny
Matt, Katie, myself and handsome Julian
Other noteworthy lovables:
Critiquing bridesmaid dresses with Lauren, “It looks like it went through the dryer with a piece of bubblegum”; Honest Tea; eMusic, because they give me 5 free songs for the holidays and are cheaper than iTunes; new black wool trenchcoats from Mom; planning Christmas trips to Nashville; hot cocoa; laughing until my face falls off with Julian; Benny (one of our office dogs) wearing a brown blanket as a cape around the office; free lunch on Wednesdays; hugs, not drugs; waking up to cuddling, purring cats who were hiding under my bed all night; random, funny dreams that even I can’t follow; Timothy Keller releasing a new book (Counterfeit Gods); a new LA food truck devoted to sweets & coffee (@TheSweetsTruck)
One last thing, though I doubt either of them read this: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my best friend Tabatha and my little brother Travis!!!!!!!! I love you both so very much!
Whoop whoop! Are you pumped? It’s time for another one of my lovely lists of things that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside – you know, like I just ate a huge piece of moist chocolate cake. Because maybe I did. I’ve been looking forward to this all week long… I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and that you find a few minutes today to make a list of the things that are making you happy as a clam. Can’t think of anything? How tragic. Time to make some changes?
- Classical music. First of all, I’m not a musician. Save for the year of piano lessons from the old lady with two smelly dogs and a solitary piano recital where I butchered Chopin, I’ve had minimal experience with a musical instrument. I’ve always WANTED to learn to play piano again (especially since my Dad is an incredible pianist so chances are it’s in my blood), but it’s one of those things I don’t currently have time for. The point is, I’m not sure where this came from, but sometime on Monday I decided tuning into one of those Classical music radio channels on iTunes was a splendid idea. And what do you know, it was! At first it made me feel fancy, like I needed to be having a dinner party complete with expensive china, pearl earrings and coy looks, or perhaps reading a classic novel in front of the blazing fireplace while discussing current events with my boyfriend who is smoking a cigar nearby. Then I was reminded of the smell of my grandparents car – leather seats and lipstick. Eventually the shock of “wow, I’m really listening to classical music” passed, I began to find it extreeemely relaxing and the most perfect thing to keep my creative juices flowing and my heart rate low while having a busy day at work. I’ve even managed to find the local LA classical station, 91.5, and have been listening to the radio in my car for the first time in a la-ong time. It sure helps to calm me down when idiots in Ferraris on Santa Monica Blvd think they own the road and that cutting me off is not only perfectly normal, but completely called for. Try it! See if listening to this bewitching music makes you as oozy-goozy happy as it makes me.
- This awesome gold leaf project. This tutorial outlines how to transform river rocks into a beautiful little artistic knick-knack using a few sheets of gold leaf, some double-sided sticky film and a pair of scissors, but it’s got me thinking about other things I could make (i.e., Christmas gifts?) in a similar fashion.
- Volunteering. I’m not sure what it is, but every time I volunteer – whether it be at a shelter, for a friend, or at church – I feel awesome. I’m not trying to get all goody-two-shoes on you, either. It might just be the enthusiasm in whoever it is you’re helping’s voice, or the fact that they are truly grateful and thankful to have you spare just a few hours of your time to make someone’s life easier just for a little while. My former pessimistic self used to think that the joy one feels from giving meant that it was no more than a selfish act disguised in generosity. I realize now that theory is total bunk. Giving feels good because giving is good. If I could, I would give everything up and move some place to permanently help people in need all the time. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than using your time and energy to brighten someone’s day, provide for someone less fortunate, or teach someone a useful skill. Though it is sometimes a challenge, my world always looks and feels better when I greet every person with love and every situation with a smile and a willing attitude. If you get a minute, please read these 5 Steps To Be Selfless When It’s Really Hard. I challenge you to make a shift and think of others before you think of yourself, and watch how it transforms your mood. Keep in mind – I am NOT preaching or saying that I do this all the time… God knows I have just as hard a time keeping my ego in check as anyone else.
- Mothers who quilt. I’m not sure if it’s because she has less kids at home to take care of (though more pets than she ever had kids), or if it’s just the female seamstress gene that seems to run in my family snapping into place, but my Mom has been on a serious quilting kick these past few weeks. My grandmother (her mother) is an amazing, incredible, simply wonderful quilter and clothing-maker and always has been, so it’s no wonder that seems to have passed onto my Mom, who is devouring fabric the same way she has devoured books for as long as I can remember (the woman can plow through a pile of library books in just a few days time). Her latest conquest can be seen below, but her newest project full of pastel paisley prints is going to be totally awesome, especially because she’s generously decided to gift it upon ME! I know she has great taste, and her quilts are always super comfortable and well-made, plus she’s using organic cotton and bamboo for the batting, so I know it’ll be Earth-friendly as well. I can’t WAIT to use it. Mom, I love you. Thank you!
Her most recent completed quilt.
Some of the gawjus fabrics she’s using in my quilt.
Other bits & pieces:
cats who sleep on the back of the couches cutely; upcoming road trips; tea, tea tea; black bean hummus tartines; when my boyfriend gets a new “toy” (camera equipment) and invites his friends over to play (so cute); six month anniversary celebrations (I love you, J-Monster); planning all the fabulous ways I’m going to decorate my apartment; when my Mom makes up new online acronyms (TDF = too die for); looking back at the last five years of my life not with regret but with appreciation for the lessons I’ve learned and ways I have been able to grow; libraries, even though it’s been a while since I’ve been, free books = awesome; people who care enough to ask; spontaneous chats with my Dad; quiet time; design work by Jennifer Daniels (this wallpaper for example, is awesome, though the image below hits a little too close to home.)
And I end with a quote…. have a fantastic weekend!
“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.”
-Unknown
My apologies for not posting all week long… I’ve been distracted by things NOT online, like reading books and cooking, which is actually totally okay, so if you don’t like it, too bad. In summary, Halloween was a great success as we had a great party at work the day before and a little impromptu birthday party complete with breast cancer awareness Snuggie for Lauren (a Halloween baby) the night of. Plus, Julian dutifully dressed up as a white rabbit to my magician…. poor guy, I had no idea the comments and looks he’d get here in West Hollywood.
Ok that’s a lie, I had a little bit of an idea. Love him for being such a good sport.
My Halloween was less “party party party” and more “watch scary movies, behind the scenes footage of said scary movie, and buy 50% off Halloween candy.” It was nice.
I have been making mental notes of all the loveworthy and cute things I’ve come across all week, though, so I DO have a nice little list for you to cast your eyes upon and hopefully smile!
Here is this week’s Things I Love Thursday!
- I’ll start with the costume I WISH I had, the 8-bit picture. How cool is this? The make-up must have taken forever and a day, but seriously… so amazing. Glad I didn’t waste my time on it, though, since my magician costume saw all of 3 hours of use.
- Ordering vitamins. Gala Darling (the inspiration behind doing these Things I Love Thursday) raved about some magical Canadian vitamins she happened upon by accident that apparently turn your skin into a buttermilk-cashmere-glowworm (that’s supposed to be a good thing). They’re by Genuine Health and are called Multi+ daily glow. I’m a sucker for things like this, and I haven’t been taking vitamins in quite a long time (I tried the whole “get your nutrients from your food” thing and it isn’t working), plus the ingredients look pretty legit, so I placed an order last week. Unfortunately they seem to having a bit of trouble hitchhiking their way down to LA because I’m still waiting. More to come.
- Cleaning up my iPhone. Whatever was causing the phone to mysteriously turn off and refuse to start back up seems to have been cured by downloading the latest update (Thanks to the chick at the Apple store who recommended this “duh” solution). I noticed that I’m using my entire 4GB with music I never listen to, so I went and trimmed the fat on my iPod list. Much better. I love organizing stuff.
- Phone calls from my boyfriend asking permission to put my cat in the oven for a shot in his latest video. Then, coming home to this:
- Falling in love with new music. My friend Jonathan has been on my case for months (and everyone else, I presume) about getting into Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Apparently his music is ‘da bomb’ and his live shows are even better. True to my stubborn nature, I wasn’t interested. Until this week. When I finally heard his song “Home” and about died. I promptly bought tickets for his next show in LA on December 14 at the Mayan Theatre (paying about $30 too much in fees, thanks to Ticketmaster’s punky system. Add that to my “Things I HATE” list.)
- Random bursts of hot pink in home decor. Hot pink isn’t a “go to” decorating color, but these photos prove that if done right, it can be positively sublime. I wish I had all the time and money in the world to decorate and re-decorate my apartment…. so fun! I definitely get that from my Mother, who has been known to redo a different room in her house every month.
Great, now my girlfriend Cesca is railing on me for not updating all week.* LISTEN, I really do want to post more frequently rather than these weekly updates on random crap I find and things that may or may not be interesting to anyone who stumbles upon my blog. But the fact of the matter is, I’m a blogger for my day job, which means, after writing roughly 6 times a day for SocialVibe, the last thing I want to do is run home and write some more. I know you understand. But this IS what I love, so I’ll do it… for you me.
Tomorrow will be a great post, for example: I’m heading back to my old stomping grounds at TomsHardware.com for the 2009 Holiday Buyer’s Guide photo shoot. They’ve graciously asked me to return as the model (I modeled for the guide in 2006 and 2007) for this season. I found an appropriate outfit (no, I will not be an Elf) and the shoots are always a lot of fun so of course I’ve agreed! I’ll try to snap some behind-the-scenes footage that I can post. But now, I’m off to find red shorts that I can wear underneath this too-short-to-be-legal outfit.
I’m feeling a little depressed at the moment because Halloween is less than two days away and I haven’t bought a single costume, a single bag of candy, a single pumpkin, or put up a single decoration. Aside from trick or treating online for charity, I haven’t done a whole lot of anything for this awesome day. I’m hoping to get my Halloween plan of action down tonight, but so far there are no real solid plans for the big day… which is a Saturday, I might add.
This week’s Things I Love Thursday is completely and totally devoted to Halloween:
- Halloween decorations. Pretty ones. That look fall-ish and aren’t trashy plastic witches or battery-operated singing vampires. Here are some particularly inspirational photos I found this week that get me excited about future Halloweens when I’ll actually have trick-or-treaters come to my door and kids running around in costumes eating orange cookies:
- Non-slutty costumes. I know it’s the “one day of the year where you can dress up like a tramp and get away with it” but really, you aren’t getting away with it. It still looks trashy. Funny, clever costumes that make people smile are way, way better than being a sexy cop or a hot nurse. My getup last year was about as un-sexy as it gets, and it was also my most popular costume ever! That will be a tough one to top this year, but I have a couple of ideas…
- Fake eyelashes. If you ARE being something female for Halloween, fake eyelashes are almost always a must. I have pretty long eyelashes on my own (thank you, God) but I use any and all costume opportunities to stick them on. Pulling them off is not as fun.
- Scary movies. I loooove scary movies that make me jump and scream and are creepy. They’re awesome at home or in the theater, it doesn’t matter. The exception here is movies like Saw and Se7en that are about normal human beings who just so happen to love torture and go psychotic and start chopping people up. They generally make me paranoid and I lose sleep for a month. Yeah, those, I can do without.
- Little kids. Sadly, youngsters are not a common sight in West Hollywood on Halloween, and I’m not surprised. I would keep my children as far away from that debauchery as possible, but October 31 is not the same without kiddies running around in little costumes with smeared makeup and chocolate on their hands. The sound of the first trick or treaters the moment it turns dark outside is always an exciting Halloween moment.
- Candy. I don’t have ‘A’ sweet tooth, but rather, all my teeth are sweet. I LOVE candy at Halloween. Mini-Twizzlers, Dots, Milk Duds, Reese’s cups, Sweet Tarts… it’s all perfection. I can’t wait to scoop up the $.50 bags of candy on November 1!
- Halloween in LA because it is still warm enough to not have to wear a turtleneck or coat with your costume. Where I come from, it is freezing cold by October 31, and when I was a little girl, wearing a turtleneck with your princess dress is NOT CUTE. Thankfully I live in a warm climate at the moment and can get away with not bundling up on Halloween. (Read: not an excuse to dress slutty.)
- Pumpkins on doorsteps. I can’t tell you how much it brightened my day earlier this week to see a jack-o-lantern glowing on my neighbor’s doorstep when I peeked out my balcony doors. It immediately sets the mood! I am feeling like a complete hypocrite for saying this at the moment, but you simply MUST have a Jack-O-Lantern at Halloween.
Check out those wickedly cool stacked pumpkins!
A few things I hate about Halloween:
- Costume shops the week of Halloween. Hello, crowded, sweaty and nothing but leftover crap costumes. This is why I generally make my own costumes.
- People who give out toothpaste for treats. It’s HALLOWEEN! Lighten up.
- Similarly, people who give out Mary Janes. Where do you even buy those?
- Drunks who smash pumpkins on your doorstep.
- People who are home but turn their lights off for trick or treaters. One of my colleagues fessed up to doing this and I called him a “crab apple.” I’d say that’s pretty accurate.
- Lazy or predictable costumes. No, you cannot throw a sheet over yourself, call yourself a ghost and think you “did good.” I also plan on sneering at any and all people I see in the following costumes: Lady GaGa, Balloon Boy, Kanye West and Taylor Swift, Beyonce Single Ladies, and ABOVE ALL: Twilight characters. Try harder!
We’re having a Halloween party tomorrow at work, and I plan on dressing up even if no one else does. What I REALLY want is a super fun party with spooky Halloween sounds, trick or treaters, pumpkin carving, flickering candles, elaborate costumes, spider webs, apple-bobbing, drinks with “brains” in them and ghoulish cupcakes. But I’d settle for a trip to Disneyland. Or going trick or treating with my littlest brother and sister back home in Virginia.
Happy Thursday! Only one more day til the weekend. Use today to reflect on the awesome things in your life that many people in the world aren’t able to enjoy, like having a loving family and/or friends, a warm bed to sleep in at night, food in your belly and a God that loves you no matter what (whether or not you choose to believe it). Let go of your stress and meditate on the positive… you’d be surprised at how much it lifts your mood!
- Candy shops. We visited one at The Mirage prior to taking in LOVE, the Beatles themed Cirque de Soleil show (which was AMAZING, thank you, Jess!), and it was sickeningly fabulous! I have a major sweet tooth so having that much sugar in one place was truly heaven. I ate it all the way back to LA, too.
- New babies. Congratulations to Chris and Kelly, who welcomed their son Dylan into the world very early last Friday!
- Holiday scented bubble bath from Philosophy, one of my favorite body care lines. Picked up some “Peace on Earth” this weekend and used it in my super fancy hotel room at the Trump (that cost way less thanks to Priceline). Mmmm!
- Bill Cosby. One of the funniest (and family-friendly) comedians EVAR. My friend Evan (@YourFriendEvan on Twitter) is heading up The Cos’ social media campaign, which includes profiles on nearly all the popular sites, including Twitter (@BillCosby), and one very special Facebook app, where you can dress yourself in a snazzy sweater and choose an audio clip from Bill to accompany your look. Mine below.
Personally, I liked my title, “A-bee-ham Lincoln” better.
Green technology. Chipotle installed solar panels in 75 of their restaurants, not only cementing their place in my heart, but securing their rank as the #1 producer of solar power in the industry. This is one of the many reasons I love this socially aware and eco-friendly company! San Francisco also became the first city in the nation to require residents to recycle and compost, banning food waste from trash. Residents have to pay up to $500 fine per incident. The first day of the law’s implementation was yesterday, and the city saw an increase of 100 tons in compost pick-ups. Sa-weet!
- Dresses made entirely out of pink breast cancer awareness ribbons. A little skanky, but it’s for a good cause. (P.S. Save some boobs.)
- Finishing another book (Francis Chan’s Crazy Love). So what if it was an audiobook? I finished! I only have about 15 more to go before I’m allowed to buy another book (I have a serious problem with buying books before I’ve read the ones I already own… and borrowing books for months/years without reading them, oopsies!)
- Connecting with a really cool LA-based non-profit while at BlogWorld. They do some really cool after-school programs with elementary school kids and I’m currently talking to them about ways that I can get involved. So exciting!
- Jeans that fit really, really well and cost less than $30 (thank you, Forever 21!)
On another note, what is up with the lack of Halloween spirit this year? No one has any plans for Halloween, which is on a SATURDAY I might add, the perfect night for a party, and I’ve hardly seen any decorations. It’s only a week away, people! What are you being for Halloween? I’ve got a really cute/funny/clever costume in mind for myself and the J-Monster. You’ll seeeee!
