Great, I'm obsessed

This was hilarious.

And so was this.

Boyz II Men -- It's comeback time

I just had to share this due to my love of Psych. And because I know it would make my sister Alicia very excited. And Raena, too. I loved this opening. It was so great.

L.A. Day #tres - International Day

Thursday was another L.A. Day. It was great to get out and do something in the city. Started off the day by walking to the Metro station on Mission Street and dealt with some confusion on which side of the platform to go to. Hah. We almost went to inland Pasadena. Whooooops. But we made it and rode to Union Station. I guess we looked local (yay!) because a lady asked if the train we were on went to Pasadena. Erica told her that it was going into the city so she got off and then asked a train person. And then got back on our train. So that was our cue to get off. Whoooooops. Almost sent a lady to the wrong place. And we almost went to back home on accident. Hah. OH! I almost forgot. Got to the train platform, took out my camera, and found that my battery was dead. My love for documentation was sorely tested on L.A. Day #3. I had to resort to taking photos on my cell phone...and I don't remember how to get photos from my phone to my computer.

Moving on. We got to Union Station and walked to Little Tokyo, about 3 blocks down from the station. It. Was. Hot. It felt like I was walking in an oven, so stopping in at a Japanese place to eat was a welcome rest. Got some sushi, drank a Diet Coke, it was great. We walked around a bit and went in to some shops. It was like lots of little Shirokiyas everywhere. Then we walked back up to Union Station area and walked around Olvera Street. It was a fun street full of Mexican shops and kiosks selling trinkets and hats. Lots of hats. And leather shoes. Next time I go, I'm definitely buying a bunch of those eggs filled with confetti. {Insert picture of confetti eggs here--oh wait, nevermindddd}

Olvera Street (photos from when I came in March)

We headed back to Pasadena on the train with high school kids on their way home. After getting off the train on Mission Street, we stopped in at the Farmer's Market and I got a cucumber for 50 cents. Booya, nice.

If you want something new to listen to, definitely try out "Sweet Disposition" by the Temper Trap. They're an Australian band and ahhh, their album isn't being released in the U.S. till October 13th. Oh the anticipation. And! They are coming to L.A. October 14th at the Roxy. "Sweet Disposition" was on the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack, also an excellent album. Good for sunshine days in L.A.

Momma comes in one week from now!!! It's list time. Where to eat, where to go, what to do.

I'm a pro...crastinator

So here I am at Coffee Bean, working on my portfolio, trying to get through a long list of "helpful tips" from Alicia. I promised myself that I wouldn't leave till I finished the edits and sent it off for more editing.

It's harder than I thought. This Chocolate Chunk muffin is helping. I know that I'll for sure work on it for 10 minutes straight in about 3 minutes when Coffee Bean Wi-Fi kicks me off for my "break" that happens every 2 hours.

...and there was the 10-minute break. During that 10 minutes, I had the "opportunity" to listen to what was going on around me. There is a deep man-to-man conversation going on at the leather chairs. I think I saw some tears. There's a woman sitting at the table in front of me who is skyping with someone talking about court orders, press releases, blogs, and "today being a good day." You can hear so much when you have headphones on but no music playing. Frankly, I'm quite intrigued as to what makes people pour out their emotions so freely here. Must be the coffee.

So, battle wound update. I'm healing nicely, but the stitches are getting kind of...loose. One stitch (?) has already come out, one has untied itself but remains in my finger, and one still fully intact, but I'm not giving that one much longer.

Stitches!!!! And me. Bonus.

I love deals and steals...and quotes

Well, as promised, here is proof that we can now comfortably seat 4 (uncomfortably, 6) people at our table. The deal and the steal of this is that they were 2 for $10. That's right. Booya. So what, it looks like we have a picnic table in our living room. I like it. And don't worry, we spent about 30 minutes sanding them both down. Didn't think it would reflect well on us for our guests to leave with splinters. Next, cushions. Oh Mommmmm...

L.A. Day #2. Topanga State Park ("Topanga!" Shawn? remember that? I kept hearing him say it in my mind the whole day), located in Pacific Palisades. We hiked up to the fire road (I think) and it ended up being a 3 mile journey. I think. We were kind of fuzzy on where exactly we were going and how it took us to get there and back down. I think we are going to brush up on our hiking safety tips. It was great to get to the top(ish) and see L.A. and the beach. Almost looks like Hawaii? Maybe...not?

After getting back in the car, we went to the village area in Pacific Palisades and got some refreshments. Thank you to Alicia, for funding my Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf treat. 32 oz Moroccan Mint green iced tea. Yes, 32 oz. Slightly large.

Started watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tonight with Erica. I had only seen it once when it came out and remember not wanting to watch it again because I just thought it was too creepy. But it's actually funny. Nice surprise. "The best kind of prize is a surprise."

Another good quote to leave you with, "I'll prove it like a theorem!" From...guess.

Back to the roots

Yesterday Erica and I went to Little Tokyo and it was quite an ordeal. Parking was a mess. We didn't want to pay for parking because we had just enough cash to buy two benches from someone in Koreatown off Craigslist. 10 bucks. For 2 benches. Dining table seating, check. Boooooya I love cheap furniture. But that's another story. Back to Little Tokyo. We walked around the "mall," but it really wasn't very interesting, aside from a flower shop and a 99cent-like store. We almost got run down by some very intent older Japanese men who just needed to get to the market. We left after about an hour and then got called over by the parking attendant when we tried to park somewhere else. So we left and decided to go back to Little Tokyo by way of the Metro, saving that for a big L.A. Day.

Paper-looking flowers

I have new bangs! This is what happens when I'm bored.

Also, I need to stop eating so much cheese. And bread. So I guess that means I have to not eat a grilled cheese sandwich everyday. Ughhhhh. The new season of Bones starts tonight. What a great day this is.

Catch up...or mustard?

New category, L.A. Day. It is now my goal for every weekend to do something quintessential "L.A." ("Wow, that is so L.A."). Not to put too much pressure on this new activity, but I have pretty high hopes.

This past weekend was the kick-off event. Erica and I journeyed to Griffith Park. Andddd it was great. We started at the Observatory. Bonus, it was free. When things are free, it makes them 10 times better. Instant interest. It really was pretty awesome. We went up to the roof, saw the telescope, walked around inside, went downstairs into the "depths" (really, that's what it was called), and sat on the lawn where I ate a Clif bar. Good times. Then we went down to the bottom of the park and spread out a blanket and chilled for a second. It's so tricky to find that shade spot that is just right. Let's call it "partial shade," where light still comes through the leaves, but you're not getting burned by the sun. I fell asleep. And then moved to sit under a different tree. Towards the end we enjoyed the band, Flogging Molly, doing their sound check at the Greek Theater. Regina Spektor is going to be there in October. Sounds like I'll be sleeping under a tree on that day as well...

Zooey D in Yes, Man? Anyone? Anyone?

Great roof

So that was Saturday. On Sunday, we went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It's on the second Sunday every month and it. Was. Huge. The antique section was about 3 or 4 times bigger than the actual normal "new" stuff. Ahhhh it was vintage overload but I loved it. I almost bought something every 5 minutes. Dangerous. I don't think I can allow myself to go back until I have a job. Good news is that I found where I am getting my Halloween costume.

Tiny shoes

Best dress of the day. Every time I try to take a sneak shot at any given time, the person always ends up looking at me. I need practice. Watch out.

Ohhh just a little breakfast sandwich I made. Sourdough bread, avacado, egg, and cheese. Mornin', glory.

More news. I got a ticket. A plane ticket. I am spending my first Christmas away from home this year. Sad sad sad face. Instead, I'll be in Seattle, with my Dad's brother and his family. I love Seattle. Maybe I'll move there next... I'm excited to be with my cousins (what's up Rachellllllll?!?!) and auntie and uncle but I'm a little afraid of how I'll feel come Christmas day. This is growing up, right?

More news. I went to the ER. Again. I tried to cut a frozen brussel sprout in half and cut my pointer finger in the process. Erica took me to the ER again and we got to revisit with some friends. The doctor that gave me 3 stitches also gave me a 4-piece set of medical tools as a "souvenir." He told me to make sure to wash with soap and water. Umm...yes. Not sure how many people were stitched up with those tools, but it was quite exciting to get rewarded for my dedication to making dinner.

More news (wow it's really been a while). My momma is coming to visit!!! Yes, yes she is. She will be here in a couple weeks and is going to stay for 4, 5 days? I'm excited!! Especially now knowing that I definitely won't be going home for Christmas. Now my Dad has to plan a trip out here...maybe I can promise going on a tour at Boeing. It'll be fun doing more sightseeing and exploring while she is here. On her list is a couple of fabric stores, Walk of Fame, and the science center. We'll add more...

Tomorrow - picking up two lamps from someone on Craigslist. We will finally have light in the living room. About time.

Snow Patrol is coming to L.A. next month and I want to go. Too bad Erica falls asleep when she hears them. That would be a fun concert.

Random stuff

I love having regular cable for the TV in my room. Now I can watch gems like It Could Happen to You, a movie that I think is highly underrated. For some reason, I now want to watch The American President.

I found this website for Prismera Design and go back to it every so often to look at the new pretty little things.

I want to do prints like this. Yes please.

Pretty little necklace

It looks little scary, but I think it's pretty.

I think today might be an In-N-Out day. It happens more than you would think.

Stalker-like tendencies

Okay, so. I have a confession. Erica and I were at Whole Foods the other day and I thought I saw John Krasinski order a coffee. I may or may not have stalker-followed him around for a second. Turns out that he was just a tall, scruffed up young guy wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses. Of course wearing sunglasses indoors is a sure sign that you are worthy of stalking. Great. I'm a creeper.

Does anyone else find it weird that Al showed up when I googled "John Krasinski"?

Well the birds aren't chirping outside my window tonight. But, they did send a replacement--in the form of a cricket. That sounds like he is perched right outside my window. I love nature...

Today was productive. I switched over car insurance, got renter's insurance, made friends with my State Farm peeps, passed the smog check, made friends with Heros at the car place where I was told that I must be Japanese because I was polite, got things rolling with getting my car registered in California, and discovered that I love Clif bars. Chocolate chip peanut crunch. Don't worry, I was able to make my daily trip to Trader Joe's. This time to see if they found our mailbox key--they didn't.

Tomorrow: getting cable in Erica and I's bedrooms. Schveet.

Pierce, Southern California needs you

So, remember the movie Dante's Peak? Well, when I woke up this morning, that's what it looked like outside. Sans the volcano, but double the smoke. Luckily, Erica and I were hermits today and stayed inside, where we kept cool by the window unit.

Alicia, this one's for you, courtesy of an LA Times article about the San Gabriel Mountains.

I was looking around our apartment today and realized that Erica and I are pretty much set in our respective rooms, but the rooms that we both share or that guests would spend the most time in--they are pretty much bare. Two pieces of furniture in the living room, stacks of my art stuff in the dining area/office/study space plus my drafting table and my bookshelf. Nothing on the walls. It looks like we are moving out, not moving in. Yikes. But, then again, settling in takes money. Money that we would both rather spend on food and rent than buying frames and paint. Oh the joys of being young and unemployed (don't worry, I'm working on the unemployment part).

Erica and I made chicken pesto pizza for dinner. Cost? Of dough, flour and cheese (we had everything else), grand total is...what? $7? I actually am not sure. But it wasn't much. And it was tastyyyyyyyy. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Turns out that to use our gas oven, we have to hold a match (or any open flame whatever) under the burner beneath the oven chamber. It sounds as dangerous as it is. Especially since you have to turn the gas on first, and then hold an open flame to it. Erica did it. Not me. She earned herself a battle wound of a blister.

I am now in the process of transferring legal things over to California. Car insurance, renter's insurance (whatttt???), driver's license, car registration, California plates, AAA membership--am I becoming an adult? Well, not quite yet. My parents would beg to differ. {Smile here}

Watching: August Rush. Robin Williams is creepy in this movie.