The Week is Half Over, Friends

I realized that I didn't do a book post Monday or even a post yesterday about anything. This is pathetic really. How can I even call myself any sort of blogger? I decide to do away with the recipe posts, since I'm not cooking anything exciting these days. Instead, this will a day for repinning fun stuff from Pinterest. Exciting right?

These are just pics I find really beautiful...the dresses are like artwork. I would love to wear something like any of these one day, but doubt I will ever have the occasion though. But they sure are nice to look at.

images via Pinterest

Next week I'll do a larger pin, I'm just plum wiped out this week folks.

(Early) Birthday Weekend

Every year, my mom and I spend a weekend in San Francisco for my birthday. We eat delicious food, shop, laugh, and drink massive quantities of champagne. This year was no exception. My birthday isn't for nearly a month, so we celebrated early and had an absolutely wonderful time! We went to the opera, ate a several amazing restaurants, shopped until we dropped, and hit up the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. All in all, pretty freakin' fun, if I do say so myself.

Now, photos!

I have to say, the Academy of Sciences is way cool and I'm so glad I finally got to go! I highly, highly recommend checking it out, and definitely see the planetarium show. So worth it.

And how was your weekend?

Solutions

Yesterday was a not so great day. I'll spare the details, but I spent FIVE HOURS on the phone with tech support. Yeah. Ugh.

So to brighten my thoroughly dark mood Amy and I decided to go to dinner and drink at our favorite:

Left Bank. Of course.

We ordered the mussels in white wine sauce and this French bruscetta type thing. It was delicious and exactly what I needed after such a crappy day. Along with a couple of LARGE glasses of white wine.

I went home, cuddled with a kitten and then passed out, hoping today would be a better day, and ya know what? It is! I have a solution to yesterday's problem and I'm so happy that the stress is gone. Plus I'm off early today to spend time in the city with my mama!

So, dear friends, I'm off! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

PS: No playlist today (no time). Instead, enjoy some Lady Gaga. This song put a smile on my face after such a long day, I hope it does for you  too! (Cheesy? Yes. Fun? Hells yes!)

Insert title *here*

Dudes, I am tired this week. All I want to do all day is sleep, watch Law and Order: SVU, and sleep some more. I think this is all a combination of work stuff that is annoying the crap out of me, lack of good sleep at night, and my current diet/exercise problems. As in, I need to be eating healthier and get my butt back to the gym. It's just hard with this full time job thing and I am SO TIRED all the time. Not to mention the stupid editing class I have to take for work is the most boring, tedious thing ever. I really, really am not enjoying it at all. Ugh.

What I really need to do this week is take the time to plan out some meals (mostly lunches for work) and start putting my gym stuff in my car in the morning so I have to go after work, no excuses. And I NEED to stop procrastinating and do my grammar homework before Friday.

On a happier note, I'm spending the weekend in the city with my mama for my annual San Francisco birthday extravaganza. I'm really excited; shopping, eating, the opera, the Academy of Sciences. It's going to be a great time. So I need to get my act together, like now.

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

The Night Circus

A short post today, about books. Duh.

I first heard about The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern on Lainey then read this review on Salon and it sounded right up my alley: magic, love, CIRCUSES. But it's a pretty new release and I don't particularly like reading hardcovers because they are so heavy and bulky (lame, I know), not to mention expensive. But then I saw The Night Circus on a shelf and Barnes and Noble for 40% off and that baby had to be mine. So it is. After I get through at least half of the sixs book I'm reading, I will start The Night Circus and I'm excited. I mean, look at that awesome cover art, right?

In other news, I want these boots, like, soooo bad. I think their fringi-ness could save the world, don't you?

One Lazy Weekend

I was going to put this playlist up on Friday, like I usually do, but the internet was being a brat and it didn't happen. Then yesterday I was too busy being lazy all day before going out with Jenny to stuff our faces with French food (SO DELICIOUS), so it's going up today. Sometimes these things happen.

Anyway, my obsession with 90s music was reignited recently, so I made this playlist and have been listening nonstop. So many awesome songs, so many memories attached to them (like MTV playing real music). I got my inspiration from songs I have on my iPod, but I was inspired by a Vh1 countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s", which you can check out here.

What are some of your favorite songs (with memories attached)? And not just from the 90s, but from other decades too, I'd love to hear them.

PS I think I might have to do an 80s playlist next week

Maybe we had too much fun?

Some pictures from my really fun weekend in Oakland with Miranda, my mom, and stepdad. We walked around Lake Merritt, ate delicious Thai food, then went wine tasting and bar hopping. A good time was had by all (maybe too good a time?).

Alright, now I know I should have gotten these pictures up sooner, but I got knocked out by a bout of food poisoning the last two days. But here they are. Enjoy friends!

A good time indeed. What did you do last weekend?

Recovering

Miranda and me

This weekend I visited Miranda. See, she finally got the hell out of Sacramento and now lives in a super cute apartment in Oakland and I am so happy she's in the Bay Area. It really is the cool place to be.

Anyhoo, we explored her neighborhood, ate some delicious Thai food, then my mom and stepdad came up for dinner and drinks. And well, what usually happens happened. Let's just say that today was a day spent recovering. From last night. Yeah.

I've watched a lot of CSI and ate an entire bag of cheesy popcorn from Trader Joe's. Because that is what one does when one is recovering.

Pictures to come soon, my friends!

Fall Friday Tunes

So it's fall. Autumn. One season away from winter. My music taste tends to change come fall. I switch over from obsessive Lady Gaga/Britney Spears/whatever crazy dance songs are popular playing to obsessive emo-indie rock music playing. Maybe cause it's all dark and gloomy? I don't really know. And, for the record, it is currently still very warm here in California, despite it being October, and despite the fact we had four days of rain (which were wonderful). Anyhoo, ignoring the fact that it is very sunny outside right this minute, the music coming out of my speakers is changing, because I am ready for the heat to GO AWAY. Now, push play and pretend it's raining. It makes it much more wonderful.

Rainy Days and Mondays...are the same (and some books)

Today was a rainy day and a Monday (Ha! See what I did right there?). To be exact, it was the first rainy day of the season, which means....drumroll please....fall has come to Marin County! And I am so happy because I love fall. First, we have Halloween, then my birthday (AKA The Most Important Day of the Year), then Thanksgiving (favorite holiday), then we roll right into winter and Christmas, then New Year's, both of which I will be spending in PARIS! Plus, lots of my absolutely awesome friends and family have birthdays this season, and I love birthdays!

But back to today. It was gloomy and rainy when I set off for work and it stayed that way, which I found delightful. For the first time, I actually had to use the fluorescent lights in my office because it was so gloomy outside. It rained and made all kinds of lovely noise on the skylights and the roof and made the whole day so much better. I drank hot herbal tea and wore boots and a comfy sweater and was just smiley-smiley all day. Ahhhh. Fall.

Now I sit all curled up under my warm covers with a sleeping, purring kitten by my side, trashy reality show on the TV and life is just very wonderful right now, in this very moment.

And now, books!

I was going to to a more detailed post, but I've decided just to day a list for today. The theme is young adult novels. People give YA a bad reputation (thanks Twilight!), but there are a lot of great YA novels out there. Give them a chance people!

Here are some goodies:

Looking for Alaska by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty (first in a series)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Identical by Ellen Hopkins

I've read all of these and they are SO GOOD. I love John Green because he writes how I would think. Sloppy Firsts was a hugely important book for me in high school, I can't even explain it. Identical is intense and so incredible. I feel like none of my descriptions will ever do the books justice, so I recommend at least reading a page or two next time you're in the bookstore. And, as always, let me know what you think or if you have any favorite YA novels.

On Halloween

It is October and that means this is the question that is constantly on my mind :

what to be for Halloween?

Last year for Halloween, I was a fairy. My dress came from an "adult" store, but it was not totally inappropriate. The skirt has LED lights threaded through it and lit up, as did my wand and my shoes. I still have the costume, it currently resides in my closet, hiding behind cocktail dresses and coats. I contemplated wearing it again this year, but no. I think I'm over that costume, plus it's not terribly original is it? To go as the same thing twice in a row? I think so.

The year before, 2009, I was a droog from A Clockwork Orange, all white, bowler hat, cane, and one eye done up all fancy. I loved that costume, even though only ONE person all night figured out what I was. Sad, I know. I have contemplated going as a droog again this year (a year gap between costumes is perfectly acceptable), but I realize I don't have the suspenders, hat, or cane anymore, so I would have to buy them all over again. And that is a pain in the butt. For now, this is the back up plan.

In 2008 and 2007 I was cliche "sexy" costumes (Moulin Rouge girl and a cowgirl), 2006 and 2005 were both Halloweens spent at home, sick with bronchitis. And that's as far back as I count, because in high school my costumes were just lame anyway.

I'm over "sexy" costumes, I would rather be something fun or interesting, but I am having a tough time thinking of something good that won't break my bank. I like doing stuff from movies or TV shows, so I've been trying to think of a cool character. There's The Bride from Kill Bill,the aforementioned droog, a character from Lost, Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's and...that's all I got so far.

Then, another part of me says to just give up and get a costume in a bag from the Halloween store and call it a day.

What about you? What are you going to be for Halloween and do you have any suggestions for me?