Tuesday, November 30, 2010

a reason to love the (L)east coast.

I'm generally a happy camper about the fact that I've been doin' my thang on the east coast for over four years, but after a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving weekend back home, I've been wondering why in the world I would EVER want to live anywhere but L.A.

This question sort of bounces around my brain for a few days following every L.A. trip (slash every day), and it's been particularly bouncy this time. I have pretty solid moping skills, so this is the kind of thing that can really take me out for a while if I let it, especially given my abnormally emotional attachment to L.A.

Since I'm starting to come to the realization that I might be on this side of the country for years/indefinitely, I should maybe try to focus on reasons to love the east coast rather than reasons to miss the best coast. It's almost physically painful (and nearly impossible) for me to acknowledge an L.A. deficit, but here it goes:

Autumn in D.C. is stunning. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw this breathtakingly beautiful tree in front of the Smithsonian castle the other day, and I took about a zillion iPhone pics, a few of which are here in their gloriously un-photoshopped brilliance. This is a sight that can't be found in L.A., and as I'm always one to stop and smell the flowers (this is a lie--I have allergies--but I do stop and look), it's something that I can appreciate about this side of the country.

There, I said it. And if ever confronted about it, I'll deny deny deny.
(L.A., this doesn't change anything, I'm just trying to throw the least coast a bone here. I hope you understand. Your all around weather score is still higher, obvi, and at the first hint of snow here I'll be singing your praises.)

Monday, November 15, 2010

happy {music} monday!

Happy Monday, people! After a fabulous but too-short weekend visit from Mama Mel, this has been a particularly mopey Monday. I've listened to this relentlessly upbeat Patrick Wolf song more times than I can count today, as it always cures any Monday blues I encounter. Hope you like it!

:: Artist: Patrick Wolf ::
:: Track: The Magic Position ::

"as i take your hand and you take my kiss and we take the world..."

Monday, November 1, 2010

an engagement!

(not mine. gross. i'm 22.)

congratulations becca!!
becca and i were in the same ward a few years ago in new york, and weirdly, we never actually hung out that much or got to know each other very well...but we've somehow become better buddies since then through the wonders of gchat, blogging, and twitter. and i must confess that i have a slight girl/blog crush on her, which is why i was SO excited to hear her amazing news last week. even better is the proposal story, which i died over, being the art lover that i am. she tells it better than i can, but basically her lover-now-fiance josh sneakily hid her engagement ring in a piece of art at a gallery they visited on a saturday afternoon date.

future husbands of mine, please take note.


p.s. i promise i won't subject you all to the engagement stories of every newly engaged friend. but so few of my friends have gotten married, that it's still exciting to me.

plus i love becca.

plus this was a particularly perfect proposal.

tombstones and ghosts.

So if you know me at all, you know that I'm a little obsessed with cemeteries. I've loved them ever since I was a little girl, visiting old 17th century graveyards on my family's yearly Cape Cod vacations. I've gone on dates to cemeteries, and I always make it a point to find the coolest, oldest cemeteries when I go on vacation or visit a new town. Luckily, this bizarre fascination of mine hasn't creepily infiltrated other aspects of my life, but this Halloween was the perfect excuse to play it up a little. My roommates and I invited a few friends over to celebrate the holiday, and I volunteered to make dessert (because obviously the only things I can cook are grilled cheese and eggs, neither of which would be apropriate for a Halloween lunch). I'm clearly no Martha, but I was happy with how my little cemetery cake and cupcakes turned out.





bonus points if you know what "QEPD" means.

Where's Waldo?

Beginner

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Expert

Thanks to Chad for playing this real life game of Where's Waldo with me as we celebrated Halloween on Saturday night in Alexandria, VA.