FOOD WEEK!!!

every once in a while there are really fun surprises at work - and this week has TAKEN THE CAKE (not literally). on tuesday morning there was a fruit bouquet - from which I scored this TASTY pineapple/strawberry flower (it originally had a melon ball for a center - but I made a quick exchange for something more my style - apologies to whoever got the melon ball on it's own - I totally touched it and I'm not entirely sure WHEN my hands had been washed prior). wednesday mindy brought in "breakfast cookies" and THAT my friends is what i'm talking about when i say i LOVE breakfast! can you go wrong with a "breakfast cookie" really?? these cookies are INTENSE and have chocolate chips and craisins along with oatmeal and cinnamon. maybe sometime i'll share the recipe - they are AWESOME. today is DONUT DAY as well as the well taste test. the church is opening a cafe called "the well" and today was the great beverage trial - i am a HUGE fan of the white chocolate mocha (with soy instead), the passion iced tea, the salt & vinegar chips and TOMORROW i'll let you know how i feel about the pastries! OOOOh it is a good food week @ ev. free! that makes me ONE HAPPY EMPLOYEE!

1 day...(aka TOMORROW!!!)

oh anthropologie. we will FOREVER confess our undying love for you! you are amazing. gan loves your clothes and we both love your accessories and i am OBSESSED with your housewares. you own our hearts. thank you keith johnson for all the magic you bring to anthropologie stores from around the globe. without you we would be forced to live monotonous and boring lives surrounded by items that are mass produced on factories throughout the united states using only manmade materials with little to no authentic value. instead, thanks to you, we have treasures.

2 days...

not tomorrow but the NEXT day!! it is getting VERY close! we probably won't be eating any champagne truffles...but i have a feeling a trip to doc burnsteins might be in order! WOOT!

3 days...

gan and i have an "Annual Oscars Party" which basically means that we eat great snacks (thanks Marc with a "c") {last year was popcornopolis and delicious creamer with coffee!} and evaluate every dress that walks the runway, receives an award, or is spotlighted in a moment of fame while expressing our undying love for our dear friends Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum who NEVER DO WRONG at award shows. We pick favorite dresses and least favorite dresses and laugh through the entire event. it is absolutely FABULOUS.
if you haven't figured it out yet {um hello...i am counting down} i am going to visit Gan this weekend AND it just so happens to be Emmy weekend! DOES IT GET BETTER??? commentator mugs are needed gan...i'm COMING!!!

STRIKE...

Last night I rallied and celebrated my sweet friend Lauren’s 27th birthday! It was FUN!We went to STRIKE – a bowling alley in Tustin (at the District) for a bowling, beverage, and appetizer extravaganza! They were running an awesome Sunday night special and we SCORED! I am a very poor bowler – but I always manage to laugh my way through it with virtually NO embarrassment about my meager score (last night was a 48! That is QUESTIONABLE! You have to get a LOT of gutter balls to make a 48!).Each of us did manage to get a STRIKE though! (which was TOTALLY unexpected for me! and TOTALLY exciting for everyone else!)Lauren is seriously one of the sweetest and dearest souls I know. She just cares beyond explanation and makes me feel overwhelmingly loved and supported! It was my HONOR and PLEASURE to celebrate her last night!LOVE YOU LOU! Happy Birthday!

breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...

This weekend I went down to SD to spend some time with the family...I saw my parents and my little sister at the family reunion at the beginning of the month – but Kevin, Jamie, and Madeline weren’t able to make it so the time had come to catch up! Friday night I went STRAIGHT to Kevin and Jamie’s so that I could spend as much time as possible laughing and playing with M girl before she had to go to bed. We read stories and cuddled and laughed a lot. She is so seriously the best. I love her beyond explanation.After she was in bed Amber (Jamie’s best friend and a great friend of mine as well) came over and we enjoyed some white wine and and gabbed the night away. I really don’t remember what we talked about – or if we watched tv – or anything – but it was past 2am when Amber and I finally got in our cars so we must have had a good time. Amber lives in SLO (Atascadero to be EXACT) so she was driving her mom’s car while she was in SD visiting. Well apparently the alarm is “temperamental” and although she tried to unlock the car, as soon as she opened the door, the alarm starting going off and let me tell you it was LOUD. She kept pushing buttons but each button just made the alarm sound FASTER. It was OUT OF CONTROL! She finally gave up and hopped in my car and said , “just drive” (I was of course sympathetic to her cause and was feeling sad for her embarrassment – aka – CRACKING UP) I told her to try putting the key in the ignition. IT WORKED! I’m A GENIUS!

Saturday I went out to breakfast with Kevin, Jamie, and Madeline. We had pancakes and eggs and the whole sha-bang! It was AMAZING! I LOVE BREAKFAST! (I have a roommate named Erin who doesn’t like breakfast. I don’t understand. And I am VERY sad for her!) In the afternoon I went to coffee with my lifelong best friends Anna and Jenny. Jenny has been engaged for a month or so now and on Saturday afternoon she officially asked Anna and I to be bridesmaids in her wedding. SO EXCITED to be a part of Jenny’s special day…I will wear whatever unfortunate dress she chooses with PRIDE! Ha! Saturday evening I had breakfast for dinner with my parents and then went back to Kevin and Jamie’s for a MOVIE NIGHT! We watched Precious. WOW. That is the only word. I liked it a lot but it was TERRIBLY sad. I’m so thankful for the family I have (even if there is a bit of dysfunction!)

Sunday I went to church at Gateway and then spent the afternoon at my parents house reading my magazine, watching swimming, and helping mom with grade sheets for her classroom. It was a fairly uninteresting afternoon – but I did have breakfast for lunch! SO YES in one weekend I DID manage to have breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…I know, I’m impressive!

4 days...

5 days...

i still HATE dave and busters...but THANKS STEVEN for the inordinate number of tickets you collected playing that ONE game thus providing gan and i with the opportunity to "purchase" these awesome green cups which have since been retired due to the unfortunate reality that they cannot be thoroughly cleaned because of their bendy swirly staws.
ps: gan...let's go back to Oxford RIGHT NOW
pss: my nails are naked. that is gross!
psss: this was taken in the placentia house. i miss gan living in placentia.

6 days...

vino and red meat...

last night was steven's turn to cook...and man does he DO IT RIGHT! it is SO FUN getting to take a night off from the whole grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning dishes thing but still being able to enjoy a delicious meal with a great friend. AMAZING. last night we started the evening with a delightful cabernet (thanks rick and june) while watching the DIY channel.FUN TIMES! I was unaware that Joanie (aka. SNAGGLE) from America's Next Top Model is now a carpenter and has a show! CRAZY! We watched a couple different shows (including the one where the guy dropped the plank on his foot and broke his toe and had to make a big ol' deal about it. COME ON! it's a toe yo!) and then dinner was ready...and it smelled DIVINE. He put steaks on the grill, baked potatoes in the oven, made up some fresh garlic bread and dumped his favorite RanchStyle beans into a pan. It was PERFECTION.We planned to have dessert (eclaires and/or drumsticks) but after filling up on vino and red meat, we were DONE IN. we looked through all his pictures from the cruise (yes I am writhing with jealousy!) and his recent wedding adventures...i dreamed a little bit about my own wedding someday...we laughed a LOT. All too soon it was after 10pm and S. Bux was red-eyed and ready for bed. We cleaned up the kitchen and then called it a night. I truly think it was one of our best dinners thus far...the food, the company, and the wine...it was just FANTASTIC all the way around!ps i told him to make a funny face. i did NOT tell him to make the SAME funny face as me...or to put his tongue the other direction of mine. ha! LOVE the unplanned and totally spontaneous perfection of this picture! ha!

7 days...

i still have that sprinkle spoon too questionable boy at Cold Stone who judged me for wanting one. it was a worth while investment - all ice cream tastes better when consumed using the sprinkle spoon (although it isn't QUITE as good as when it's consumed STRAIGHT FROM THE CONTAINER!)

8 days...

the wine stage of life...

last night i had dinner with my used to be roommate but now is just great friend rachel! i can't believe we have known each other for 2.5 years now! CRAZY! i still remember the day i met her. it was ugly! she thought i was a hick. i thought she was RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous. i still think that. she does NOT still think i'm a hick...but she thinks i'm southern at heart and that i belong there. she said last night she thinks i would THRIVE there. gan would HATE me if i moved to the south...i would have an accent FOR SURE THEN...she hates accents. i will stay (for now) for Gan! dinner was yummy. i made spaghetti pie (one of my mom's recipe's - she said it was the one she used for YEARS when taking dinner to a friend who just had a baby. my initial reaction to that comment was, man i'm glad i'm not in that stage of life yet - i don't have friends having babies. then i realized that is NOT AT ALL true. i have TWO close friends that are prego RIGHT NOW and MANY MANY of my friends already have children. I AM NOT THIS OLD. I AM NOT I AM NOT I AM NOT! i'm just old enough to enjoy a glass of wine with a friend without worrying about the parasite growing within me. yes. i'm in the WINE STAGE of life.)we also had mexican caesar salad and garlic bread (although the garlic bread was YUCK so i threw most of it away! no bueno).we had some white zin and some ice cream and watched some WIPEOUT. it was a good night. refreshing conversation with a dear friend does a heart good. LOVEYOURACH!

ps i DID manage to get the nails painted yesterday so i'm not freaking out quite as much today! whew. that was a close call.

a tale of two boys and one girl...

this is the story of a girl in a love triangle. however, lets be clear…this story doesn’t yet have an ending. boy A has loved girl long time…they made teenage memories together…went on elaborate dates and asked each other to proms…they traveled the world a bit…he was in a band…she wanted to be an artist. they followed their dreams…sometimes those dreams brought them closer but those dreams didn’t always lead them to each other. realistically, girl loved boy…maybe loves boy. nevertheless, boy hasn’t always been good to girl. she has loved him and he has hurt her. they grew apart and they grew up. somewhere along the path, they became adults and made decisions independent of one another. perhaps there were times when girl lost sight of boy and boy didn’t always express his undying love for girl. they moved on…they chose to live the lives they felt called to whether that meant together or apart. boy A moved away. girl stayed home. boy B decided he liked girl. he sent her flowers and he and girl spent hours talking on the phone getting to know each other and just enjoying the newness and freshness that comes with a potential relationship. every once in a while girl still talked to boy A. finally, she told him about boy B. BOY A DID NOT WANT GIRL TO LIKE BOY B! about this fact he was adamant. in a very short period of time boy A decided he wanted girl and would fight for her. he sent wine and chocolates to her door from a country far away. girl LOVED the attention and her heart started to warm again. boy A told her he had always pictured himself with her in the long run. secretly she had probably always pictured herself with him as well. boy B is coming to visit in 2 weeks and girl says she’ll see what becomes of it. but I am fairly certain that girl still loves boy A and he will likely win the prize of her affection. nevertheless, as stated before…this story doesn’t yet have an ending.

a RANDOM update...

1. Project Runway: OH MY GOSH GRETCHEN IS ANNOYING!! Her clothes are awesome but she needs to tone down her condescending commentary asap or she is being eliminated from the list of favorite contestants this season. It would be one thing if she was just outright witchy – but instead she is sickeningly naive and doesn’t seem aware that her antics are driving everyone insane. She actually had the audacity to ask everyone to “please make sure you have time to clean up your work space” – who does she think she is? Tim Gunn? He is the ONLY one allowed to ask anyone to clean up his or her workspace – and I promise he does it with only the kindest and most generous tone – it is not comparable to your unnecessary words Gretch (that’s what I’m calling her for short!).

2. I am still totally obsessed with having my fingernails painted at all times. I took my polish off last night because it was chipping (the only thing worse than NAKED nails is CHIPPED nails – SO not cute!) and it was too late to re-paint. Re-painting too late at night = wretched sheet marks all across your nails which = having to re-do them again. Unfortunately I was not ambitious enough to get out of bed 10 minutes earlier than usual to make sure they were properly painted leaving them naked for the day. I’ve been looking at them for just over 8 hours and I’m about to FREAK. THEY NEED PAINT! The plan is to re-paint my nails while dinner cooks tonight. Color: “quarter of a cent-cherry” as inspired by Rachel Zoe – she wore a deep red in last night’s episode and I swooned. I found the closest option in my cupboard and called it BANANAS!

3. This has been the headache week from hell. Literally. I’m NOT a super happy camper.

4. I’m currently listening to my Ingrid Michaelson station on Pandora. I LOVE PANDORA.

5. I put a card in the mail to my penpal today! I have the BEST pen pal ever! Truly! You should all be jealous! (haha FUNNY my penpal is the only person who actually reads and comments on my blog! (other than anna – you surprise me with a comment here and there!) Amazingly enough, we still have enough scoop to fill vast pages of stationary supplies. We are impressive with the verbiage for sure! Yes, verbiage…television…and starbucks are our spiritual gifts.

6. My roommates are bacheloretting this weekend for their friend Ashley who is getting married next week. That makes me think of Shalina’s bachelorette weekend in Laguna.That was fun. I miss Shalina. She’s a Truglio now and football season started at Chewbacca Hills High School (aka. Trabuco Hills)…so I’ve said sianara to her presence in my life until December (probably sooner but God only knows! Football season is ROUGH on the athletic trainers) hopefully she’ll still text me from time to time. It’s just not as fun without her in my corner of the world!

7. My best friend Sara is hysterical. She informed me today that she mailed her rent on June 20 and it was RECENTLY delivered. Apparently it got lost in her mail carrier’s car. AWESOME. Thanks for that Cullman County – so nice of you to force your mailmen to drive their own vehicles rather than providing them with the typically seen boxes thus allowing IMPORTANT mail to get lost in the abyss of children’s homework and car seats.

8. I came up with the tagline for the wedding coordinator/graphic designer in me and now feel rather excited to design a business card, etc. it will make an AMAZING blog title. Can’t wait to use it in real life. I hope I get the opportunity. Someday!

9. THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL I SEE GAN!!! THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

If you have never seen this movie, don’t waste your time!
Saturday morning my small group leader (and dear friend) Rhonda came over for breakfast and a movie…and it just happened to be HER BIRTHDAY! So fun! We made bisquick pancakes {let me just interject that bisquick is one of my favorite things. ever. period. SO GOOD!}, eggs, and bacon and then settled in to watch When in Rome which was quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. It wasn’t funny. It wasn’t corny. It was creepy and strange and had the most juvenile and predictable story line EVER! Don’t even get me started on Kate Micucci and how strange she looks…or the fact that napoleon dynamite made an appearance. It was WORSE than a fairy tale (although Rhonda says fairytales are good!) and it definitely was not worth the $1 the red box got out of it – but then again, we laughed at the ridicularity of it and made a memory – so maybe the red box can keep that $1! I guess with a good friend, even the worst movie can be fun. {yes gan, that includes jennifer’s body!}

anthro dreams...

At noon I ran home for lunch. I don’t run home for lunch very often – in fact – I run home far less often than I should (running home is quite cost effective, but I’m a total sucker for social interaction…oh and…it’s always REALLY hard to come back after running home. Nothing sounds better after lunching on the couch than just taking the afternoon off! The roommates are gone, the house is cool, and dessert is in the freezer but my stomach needs another 10-15 minutes before it can handle it!) However, today lunching at home was almost perfection. I pulled into the garage at quarter after 12 and started scrounging through the fridge in search of leftovers. Dinner last night was totally legit, but we finished off all the burgers…so I decided to assemble a turkey, bacon, avocado and pepperjack sandwich on a hamburger bun with a side of TWICE BAKED POTATOES! YUMMO!I sat down on the coach with my feast and a glass of iced-tea and settled in for a half hour of: MAN SHOPS GLOBE.Keith Johnson has the best job EVER…he is the “found” portion of Anthropologie: apparel, home, and found. He travels the world and shops for all the little treasures that Anthro sells in their stores. And let me just tell you – I like Anthropologie more after watching the show than I EVER HAVE BEFORE! Amazing! Love love love it! If I was rich, I would totally have tons of Anthro décor touches in my house. Unfortunately I work non-profit. So…after the show, I begrudgingly loaded myself back in the car and returned to the office. Maybe someday I’ll earn enough to pay off my student loans, save enough for the down payment on a house, and THEN start dreaming about the potential Antho-love that can grace my walls…until then…WORK is the key to all my Anthro dreams!

great food...great friends...and great drinks!

last night was the weekly “dinner with s. bux” – it was my turn to cook – and of course, every good meal is inspired by a potato of some kind…last night’s potato of choice was TWICE BAKED (the ultimate twice baked potato to be EXACT)! further discussion of our potato side dish led us to burgers – with bacon and avocado and pepper jack cheese. DELICIOUS! j ended up joining us along with drew and it became an all out GOOD TIME! we started the evening off with margaritas (apparently steven makes them strong – he uses patron – that makes them TASTY!) and then sat down for dinner and a second beverage! we LAUGHED continuously throughout the meal and didn’t get any real pictures because the food was so good we just had to EAT IT – there was no time for patience no hope of picture taking. absolutely none. we finished the evening off with yet another beverage and HEAPING bowls of chocolate malted crunch ice cream from thrifty. let’s stop there for just a second –thrifty – one of the happiest place on earth (not to be confused with Disneyland – THE happiest place on earth or Disneyworld – the happiest CELEBRATION on earth) probably the ONLY place on earth that you can still get an ice cream cone for $1.29 and their flavors are TO DIE FOR. literally. bananas. I have some trouble with the lactose and I don’t even care. I LOVE THRIFTY ICE CREAM! With the ice cream gone all that remained were LOTS of dishes and a clean dishwasher…so we unloaded and suds up and reloaded and washed and left to soak and then we all went home (well I was already home – so I took a shower – and watched top chef) and crashed. SO MUCH FUN! so glad for this stage in life – for great friends – great food – great drinks – and GREAT memories!

PR!!!

Last night I spent the evening with my dear friend J…and we did one of our very FAVORITE things…watched PROEJCT RUNWAY! I am SO EXCITED that it is BACK and truly as good as it has ever been. There are some seriously questionable contestants and some that are legitimately good designers. There is a lot of personality and the ever-lovable Tim, Nina, Michael, and Heidi combo. It really doesn’t get better. The last two weeks my favorite designer has definitely been Gretchen (although I think she is rather unfortunate looking) – and I have no doubt that she will go far in the competition overall. I mean how often does a designer win the first two challenges and not continue to succeed throughout the season? Not often is the correct answer. I also like Christopher Collins (he has a quiet but quirky little personality – I enjoy the subtlety of his presence on the show) and Valerie. I’m NOT a huge fan of Ivy H. (she is as annoying as they come) or Jason (everything he makes is rather haagard and he complains a lot – come on dude – you’re only two challenges in…you’re gonna have to pick it up a bit) and although Mondo seems to have an interesting personal style, the crying on episode 2 really did me in. We’ll have to see how long Peach can hang in there – she doesn’t bother me – but she seems pretty clueless and her design aesthetic is rather matronly and already exists in stores near you! There is SO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART for PR!

weekend musings...

this weekend was a little bit rough...i had a headache all weekend long. which is lame. but i was thankful to have time to really rest and recover and spent the vast majority of the weekend in bed. i attempted to do laundry and clean my room. i accomplished a little...but far from a lot. in fact, i think there is still a load of laundry in the dryer...which means it is now hideously wrinkled. oh well. i'll fluff it later...maybe tomorrow. (the roommates are out of town this week so chances are they won't need to do any laundry! yes! i can continue the laziness without guilt!)this sweet friend of mine has been AMAZINGLY supportive and such a rich blessing in my life over the past few weeks...she is a dear soul...i'll have to post all about her another day...and maybe include a picture where you can see her face. for now, her identity remains anonymous. this friend of mine also had a terrible headache which made my heart SO VERY SAD. it is strange... i have headaches all the time - but i'm rarely on the other side, with my heart aching for the person in pain. j and i have been headache friends for years - she gets it - and i love that about her - she is feeling better today...i'm glad about that.i got to talk to this friend on the phone yesterday...i wish she didn't live in phoenix, az. it is SO not my favorite place. but i would LOVE to see her more often...i miss having her around everyday...she was my VERY FRIST FRIEND in college...and i LOVE that we are still friends today!! (even if i can't call her pajanamanaken anymore because her last name is now laird...)this weekend i also watched a lot of ridiculous television...as much BRAVO as possible. i fell in LOVE with the new spin off from project runway and couldn't resist the MARATHON of bethenny getting married! ha! total trash. and of course I DIE for the Rachel Zoe Project. Does television get any better? Really? BRAD? HELLO!!!!!the headache continues to rage on...so i look haagard...oh well...at least i'm wearing a scarf from Morocco...and it's tied really cute...that makes me legit, right?!?

mr. personality...

so...i have been in the great debate about the TYPE of man i want to marry and spend the rest of my life with. we don't need to go into great detail here about the reasons why, etc. BUT i have come to the realization that I REALLY want a mr. personality. i want an adventurer...someone who isn't afraid to look and act a fool...someone who will LAUGH through life regardless of the circumstances... {basically i want a male version of GAN!} i want THAT type of man...a man who will take a picture...perhaps just like THIS picture without any prompting (and no - not this SPECIFIC man...he is my roommate Erin's boyfriend - that wouldn't be very nice now would it?!? ha!)ps i would like to point out that this new combination of HUGE pearl earrings (thanks sara - she got me those for graduation! how sweet!) and generously sized diamond earrings in the second hole is a NEW FAVORITE! i think i'm going to keep rocking it for a while! CUTE!

I WON!!!

i won a bloggie giveaway! i know! it's AMAZING! i won a DARLING headband (that I can't wait to wear with my bright pink and/or lime green GAP t VERY soon!)THANKS gussy!!

Bye Bye Merody...

This is my beautiful friend Melody {aka. Merody}. She is one of my FAVORITE CO-WORKERS (I have the best co-workers on the planet. truly!) and today is her last day. It is going to be HARD to say goodbye and altogether strange to be in the office on Monday without her joy abounding from the office across the hall. Melody has worked with me for almost 2 years now - and we've made some memories... WE got our HAIRS cut at the Jabez Salon and then decided to take questionable pictures together...senior portrait status...

One of the very first places we were seen outside of the office was at Christi Schaeffer and Katie Dudgeon's Halloween Party...it was a "Preppy Party" - Mel came as Sarah Palin...

Every once and a while drinks were necessary...when we first met I was working on an MBA...I was always studying and reading and doing homework, so when I needed a breath of fresh air (and something STIFF to drink) Mel was ALWAYS there...We went to the Ev. Free Staff Christmas Party...And attended an Ev. Free Women's Retreat (LIFE) where it actually snowed...I was THRILLED...seeing snow fall isn't something that happens often in Southern California...She was there when I FINISHED that MBA...and joyfully celebrated my graduation...There was another Christmas...and another Ev. Free Staff Christmas Party to attend...We were officially family at that point - and thus took our first family portrait...We enjoyed SNOW DAY thanks to the Mother's Day Out program and spent an afternoon away from our desks and out on the sleds...I turned 25 and she was THERE to wish me the happiest of birthdays...We compared and evaluated our daily outfit successes (and, at times, failures)...Went to Starbucks a LOT...And Cinnabon every once in a while...And sometimes Golden Spoon was necessary to get us through the day...We shared decorating tips over ice-cream at Ikea...yes our friendship did go beyond the walls of the Ev. Free A-Building... and shared a LOT of laughs at Pizza Friday...

Mels Bells...you will be missed and we will think of you often! Thank you for gracing us with your HYSTERICAL presence for the past two years and for making work joyful. iloveyou friend!