aussies, weddings and eating. oh my!

life seems to keep happening so quickly! so much so, i forget to keep the blog updated on all the latest shenanigans.

i've taken an 11 day stay-cation to stay home and entertain jesse who's visiting us from "down-undah". it's been a lot more staying at home and visiting local eateries as opposed to the usual "touristy" type things. i like to pretend it's my expertise since i am a concierge after all.

also, my darling friend tiffany got married this weekend! witnessing two people vow to spend the rest of their lives together is always such a touching experience - and i was so honored to have the opportunity to share her day with her. it was also nice share a table with my colorful, boisterous, loving group of friends.

#85 learn to play the ukulele

yes. there is a hammock hanging up in our living room.

week 5:

• strumming patterns still remind me that i have no rhythm
• i love the new song we're learning in class this week!
• i've not so successfully taught myself how to play "hey, soul sister"
• learning all these chords isn't so hard after all
• i still have no idea how to keep this damn instument in tune
• all i wanna do is be good at this already! is that too much to ask!?

on to week 6!

thank you thursday

..for a day dedicated to appreciating all that you have,

family,

friends,

and remembering to not take life too seriously.

happy thanksgiving!!

"i thought i'd carry my love for you forever. i thought it was a forever sort of thing. i'd resolved myself to that. i didn't think it'd stop me from loving others, i just thought it would live in me, mostly silent, mostly private. and so the loss of that love--well, there is a death in that. and a sadness to that death. but a birth, too.

the opposite of love is not hate. it's just the absence of it. the vacuum where it once was."

-meg certainly has a way with words

monday i'm in love

ha! i love this little piece of advice

pretty sure i need this coat (so what if it's california and it rarely gets colder than 60 degrees!?)

a girl can never have too many pairs of boots

this dress

wondering if this will make my hair and skin magical

#85 learn to play the ukulele

week 4:

• the introduction to new strumming patterns remind me that i indeed, have no rhythm.
• the only song i can play the first few chords of is a song that i'm teaching myself
• i have no idea how to keep my ukulele in tune
• how the heck am i supposed to remember all these chords?!
• there is such thing as a ukulele orchestra(?)!

on to week 5!

thank you thursday (one week from thanksgiving!)



one of my favorite men in the world. my grandpa.
circa some-year-when-he-was-a-marine

...for the reminder of how lucky i am to have a job that i absolutely love,
a visit from a good friend that lives 'down unda' (aka australia),
ajax bleach (yes. the cleaning product. i'm obsessed),
a new bed (yay!),
and for a new trader joes in walking distance!

#85 learn to play the ukulele

ukulele lessons week three:

• switching between chords makes my brain hurt
• our ukulele instructor asks if heather and i do everything together. we reply (in unison) "yes"
• saturdays have become my new favorite day
• i successfully switched between three chords - which means i kinda pretty much learned to play a song.
• how on earth am i supposed to remember all these chords?!

bring it week four. i'm ready.

thank you thursday

...for santa monica, skateboarding and sunsets,

catching up with dear friends over coffee and pastries,

ukulele lessons with hambone,

and for that amazing feeling on election day when you watch the whole country unite for one cause - despite our different political views. 

#73 learn to play tennis

let me preface this post by saying that i'm extremely competitive.

which would be fine - except the person i'm most competitive with is me. well, that and boys.

i'm super competitive with boys.

then there's the part of me that simply doesn't want to try something new if i'm not good at it.

and...let me tell you, there's many a thing i'm not so good at. mostly anything involving coordination. it doesn't always work in my favor that i'm almost five foot ten and never played organized sports in school.

last thursday i attempted to play tennis. well, i attempted to learn how to play tennis. in my head i thought it would all go down quite simply - i mean, how difficult can it be to hit a ball back and forth? in reality it wasn't as easy. apparently there's some specific way i'm supposed to hold my wrist to make sure the ball makes it over the net?! i  have no idea. but i spent the majority of my time getting mad at myself for not keeping my wrist straight.

the good news is - by the end of it i showed some improvement - and the fact that my instructor is super cute helped matters just a bit.

bring on the next lesson! i'm ready.

#85 learn to play the ukulele

week two of ukulele lessons and here's what i've learned:

• how on earth am i supposed to remember that many chords!?
• practice, practice, practice (then practice some more)
• i permanently have the sound of ukulele strums stuck in my head
• how on earth am i supposed to remember that many chords!?!

3rd lesson is next saturday. yay!