Sunday Funday Best

Friday Letters

 
Dear iPhone:  It's probably pathetic how much I love you.  You have changed my life.  How did I survive so long without you (and without instagram).  Dear Boyfriend:  This is out last month to find an apartment and move in.  I am not-so-secretly freaking out.  Dear Hiking Field Trip: You will probably age me 10 years today, but I know the kiddos will have fun.  I can't wait to see what ridiculous shit they wear to hike.  I say there is a 75% chance that more than one girl will show up in cut-off jean shorts with leggings underneath.  Dear Week: You were unbelievably slow...did you take a wrong turn somewhere?  Dear Rainbow Cake: B and I WILL make you this weekend.  I say there is a 75% chance it will look nothing like it does on Pinterest.  Dear Happy Hour: After I age 10 years on this field trip I will be looking to you for some sweet release.  How do I do this job everyday?  I drink.

  

...read more here 

Alright Now, Little Sister

Next Saturday, May 5th, is my little sister's birthday.  I always call her my "little sister" even though she is taller than me and only 2 years younger than me.  I suppose "little" goes out the window once everyone in the family is of age to drink.

The two of us have always been very different people.  As the older sister I grew up with a "don't touch the baby" attitude and have the scars on my face from scratches from "the baby" in all my school pictures from PreK to first grade to prove it.  She has always been a little bit louder, a little bit more wild, and a little bit more independent.  I think my mother would have rather thrown herself in front of a truck then let me drink before I was 21 and I have a distinct memory of my sister manning the bar at my college graduation party. 

She might be the only person on earth who is in a bigger competition with everyone she knows than I am.  I was 11th in my class in High School, she was 10th.  I took all advanced class, she took a class at Yale.  I got my masters...that woman is getting a PhD.  I get after it, and she gets after it harder (I taught her well).

Oh yeah, and she has red hair...

She is math/science.  I am history/English.  She lives in CT.  I live in Los Angeles.  She says things I would never say.  She does things I would never do.

But I suppose that's the point.  We're sisters.  We wouldn't appreciate each other if things had just always fallen into place.  We wouldn't call each other if we didn't want to know how the "other half lives".  And she wouldn't drive me to Dunkin' Donuts every morning that I am home in North Haven if, on some level we both knew that this was something important.  And it is.

And what could be appropriate for a younger (and more ridiculous) sister's birthday, than one of the best drinking holiday's there is...Cinco de Mayo.  So I'll have a few extra margarita's in her honor that day (together I am sure we could manage enough for the whole family) and know for a fact that in June, when we are both at home for 2 weeks we are probably (defiantly) going to fight and feel great about it.  Because if your sister isn't going to keep you on your toes...who is?


 

...and put the load right on me

Ok, so I have made no secret that I was at Coachella this weekend.   Why?  Because I was so damn excited.  And the festival lived up to and surpassed all my expectations.  Laying by the pool Sunday we even started talking about next year...we are addicted.  Being in the desert surrounded by thousands of people (in pretty insane outfits...I saw people literally dressed as Indians) listening to so many amazing bands is an experience I will not soon forget.

Clockwise from top: Largest portable ferris wheel in the world, or so it said.  Needless so say I did not ride it...I hate ferris wheels.  Coveted Coachella wrist bands.  Dressed and ready for day 2.  Grace Potter and the Nocturnals rocked my face off...she is the baddest bitch.

The boy and I (gasp!  he made it onto the blog) waiting for Feist to come on.  All the palm trees around the polo grounds were alight at night in different  colors that would change every few seconds.  Only a few rows back for Gotye...so fun to hear a crowd of thousands all singing one song together.

 

Crane flower...hippies.  Drive into Indio.  Balloons in a desert afternoon.

While this may be the most pictures I have probably taken since college there was so much more: The Black keys!  Flaming craw fish sculpture!  Recyclable materials pagoda!  Snoop, Dr. Dre, Eminem and 2Pac('s hologram)!  Beer gardens!  Friends!  Girltalk!  Radiohead! John Fogerty! Ridiculous outfits!

...guess I will just have to go back next year.

 

Coachella Sunday Best

Smooth Criminal

Last Saturday I ran this race...

It was an 80's themed race (how could I resist) so our first inclination was, of course, neon.  But sometime about 4 days before the race pure and unadulterated genius hit.  Everyone was going to be in neon.  We were going to dress as Michael Jackson.  And that is exactly what we did...

We were a huge hit.  As we walked around the lot (it started and ended at Paramount Studios) people were actually stopping us to take our picture.  We were feeling pretty good.

 

The race started with a full participant warm up led by a Nike master trainer.  It was a little crowded, but also a really fun way to build the community of the race.

 

The race itself was the latest race I have ever been in.  It didn't start until 10 am (I think they wanted a big college and sorority presence and assumed college students were NOT getting up early on a Saturday).  It was kind of nice to start so late, but it got very warm very quickly.  By mile 4 or 5 the three of us were dieing for some water.

The three of us went into this race with an attitude that this would be a "fun run".  My friend S had never run a race before in her life and B and I promised that we would all finish together.  There weren't a ton of supports on the street (I was spoiled in the marathon), but there was fun entertainment including a Gospel Choir at the turn around and "Thriller" dancers at mile 2.  

 

Even with the heat, being dressed as MJ, and only having run once since the marathon (for those keeping track at home that's once in the last month) we still moonwalked across the finish in 1:01:13.  And when I say moonwalked I don't mean it as a cute literary device, I mean that when we hit the finish the three of us turned around, tipped our hats, and finished MJ style.

 

We Came to Play!

I am assuming that there are very few people left in the world who haven't seen this video:

...Caine's Arcade is just what it is --  an arcade, made of cardboard, in a used auto parts store in East Los Angeles, run by a 9-year old.  Since it's posting on the internet last week the story of Caine and his cardboard arcade has been all over the place (if you haven't seen it on your facebook feed I am now publicly questioning the quality of people you choose to friend on facebook)and in that time people across the United States and the world have donated over $165,000 for a scholarship fund for Caine so that he can take his creativity to the next level in college.

Needless to say, about 2.5 seconds after I saw the video last week I posted it to facebook with the tagline "I Love the Internet".  That spiraled into me basically telling everyone I know about it, showing it to my students, and singing the catchy jingle from the end of the video for days on end.

Saturday my friends and I took things to the next level.  After running a 10K dressed as Micheal Jackson (more on that later) and eating one of the most famous sandwiches in LA and possibly the world at Phillipe's (more on that later as well)...

we went to Caine's Arcade...

...and it changed my life

In the right place...

 the infamous claw machine

 The guy in the hat eating the sandwich?  He made the film!

Selling fun passes

"Can we take a picture with you?"  "Do you wanna buy a fun pass?"  

Expert salesmen

Basically A) Caine is the coolest kid on earth B) If you live in the LA area you have to visit Caine's Arcade C) We will have to use our fun passes on a day that is not so crowded and play a "four star; hard game" and D) the world is full of amazing people and places.

Love Will Keep us Together

Megan over at Wear Your Passion was kind enough to award me this little gem.. 

The Liebster Award is for up-and-coming bloggers (200 followers or less) that you think deserve recognition for their fabulous blogging abilities. Here's how this award process works … Each nominee should: Choose five blogs to give the Liebster award to. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award. Share five random facts about yourself.

My Facts

I am moving in about a month and I am starting to get stressed out.

I am an awful speller.  If not for spell check I would be unfit to be an English teacher.

Gummy candies are my favorite kind of candies, especially if they are sour. 


I cannot wait for the show "Girls" to premier on HBO...I saw the pilot last summer and have been obsessed with it ever since.

I wear scarves, even in the summer...it's fashion.


Now to Pass it on to other Great Bloggers:

Miss Honey & Nutmeg @ Honey & Nutmeg
Sarah @ Simply Sarah
Haley @ Champagne Toasts & Besos
Kate @ Ummm Now What
Nichole @ Life as a Newlywed

Thanks again to Megan and congrats to all these lovely ladies!  Reading your blogs always makes my day better.

 

Sign, Sealed, Delivered Tres

Dear Hot Pink Nails: You are amazing and worth sitting near those three over-30 hipster girls talking about Coachella and how when one of them had the sides of her head shaved she "looked skinny" for almost 2 hours.  Dear Three 30-Something Hipster Chicks: Thank God you are going to Coachella week 1 and not week 2, because I never need to see you again.  Dear Friday the 13: Give me wha'cho got! Dear Good Dinner with Great Friends: You remind me how many good people I know in LA and how many great things there are to do with them.  Thanks for helping me give a deserving friend the "happy birthday" she deserved.  Dear Nike She Runs LA 10K: Both my knees are shot from the marathon, but I'll be...and I'll be dressed as Micheal Jackson.  Rest assured.  Dear Secret Competition I am in with Everyone I Know: After being named MVP at Nike Training Club on Tuesday and having my yoga instructor compliment my vinyasa on Monday I am feeling confident I might just be "winning" right now.

 

Anything Can Happen at Coachella

As I am headed to Coachella for week 2, I have to sit in LA all next weekend (I'll survive) and worry about what I am going to wear. And after watching this video I am going to have a panic attack...

...good thing I have another week and Pinterest to help me out.  I am thinking any and all of the following would fit the bill quite nicely...

Great Shades

Amazing Necklace

Bold Lip

Carryall

Skit & A Side Braid

Baubles

Keep Time

Bring my own Shade

Check out Michelle's page for more pinteresting finds...

 



...and to be clear, unlike the video I actually am going to listen to music :)

Drink. Eat. Play

Triumphant, unadulterated joy...only to be crushed by staggering defeat: the saga of Spring Break.

Dramatic? Yes.
Inaccurate?  No.

My Spring Break was phenomenal.  So phenomenal in fact that the thought of going back to work was enough to give me some serious Sunday blues (mitigated only my Game of Thrones and Mad Men).

I spent the week catching up with friends, visiting some new and old places in the Los Angeles area, getting tan, having drinks, and being well...lucky.  And I mean lucky in two ways: 1) I get a whole week off 2) I got to go to a Blake Shelton concert for free (more on that later).

Monday started with some wine tasting in Malibu...I didn't get the cute hat memo.

You could bring all your own snacks and picnic...we took it very seriously

Tuesday was some epic Disneylanding...

We go to rowdy so they sent us to jail...

...and these are authentic faces

You know I didn't take ANY of these photos.  Thank goodness I have friends who care about making memories and all that.  Wednesday was beach vollyball (and I am awful) and happy hour with this view...

Thursday I hike with a friend and Happy Houred again...I told you it was one of my favorite hobbies.  And then things got interesting.  The owner of the club next to the bar came over and basically offered us wrist bands to go to the Blake Shelton and his contestants from the show The Voice concert next door for free.  Free concerts...hells yeah (even though none of us new more than one of Blake Shelton's song and we had a few too many beverages and may or may not have been yelling "Low Places" from the balcony.  I am sure they will edit that out for The Voice).  

Friday I got a hair cut and took no pictures because that's how I roll.  

Saturday was LA Beer Fest.  I will spare an explanation...it's a Festival of Beers.  We tried 20...

Easter was spent churching and brunching...two great Sunday activities.

And then my life ended and I went to work Monday.  Let's hope a little yoga, a little sunlight until past 7 pm, and a little positive thinking keeps the good Spring Break vibes rolling into the weeks to come.

Namaste.  

Easter Sunay Best

Blueberry Hill

With Easter quickly approaching, I thought I would share a recipe that I have been selfishly keeping to myself for a long time now.  A lot of my baking is done for others -- my coworkers, friends, boyfriend -- and the boyfriend enjoys a good blueberry and just about anything. 

Blueberry cookies are a little unexpected and a little muffin-esq, but a lot delicious.  I used this recipe, but decided to forgo the lemon extract and the glaze to keep things simple.

You need a soft hand for the last part of this recipe so you don't burst all your berries (learned that the hard way), but any recipe that calls for fresh fruit is worth a little extra TLC.

The come out looking like little muffin tops and tasting amazing.  A great excuse to eat a cookie for breakfast!

yum!