The line at Coffee Bean just got incredibly long. Out the door long.

Anddd I'm back at Coffee Bean, my second home. Ahahah. Just working on Alicia's site and it's actually not going so bad. I'm getting things done, figuring out how to fix things, dealing with CSS. Ahh, the sweet satisfaction of previewing a page after spending 15 minutes trying to figure out why the background won't show up. Or why the menu bar color is wrong. Or why the logo.jpg is a question mark box. I've been here a while...

Good news, I found out my costume for next year...now I just have to find a baby to borrow. A baby who's parents don't mind me dressing up their child and carrying it around in a pot.

I found something that I want to try, when I have the ability to do so. Sunprint fabrics. Alicia and I did some mini sunprints a couple summers ago and I love them.

I also discovered a new art love. Steven Meyers does X-Ray photography and it's awesome. I want huge prints of these so I can hang them all over my room/apartment and make Erica think I'm insane. Which she might think already.

Okay, okay, I'm back

So I know that I haven't posted anything in a while--my bad. I can't really say that I've been busy with work or school, because I still have yet to find a job and I'm no longer in school. So...I've just been lazy. We'll just go with that.

Right now I'm just at Coffee Bean at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. I spent about 3 hours here the other day, trying to set up Alicia's site, but was having major issues with the FTP and all that. So I took a little break from that. But, came back to it today and with the help of my genius cousin, Rebekah, I was able to finally get the placeholder up! So, keep checking back and see the genius-ness of Alicia and her interior design skillz, at Hana Hou Interiors.

What have I been doing for the past...month, you may ask? Well, a lot of email composing, a lot of resume and portfolio attaching, and getting pretty much no responses. It's been a little discouraging, but I'm still hopeful. I just need to get some kind of job--whether it be design-related or not. Bahh. Goooood thing I have this degree...that doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with family in Seattle this year. Although I would love to be going home, this is definitely the next best thing. Cold weather and Christmas just seem to go together perfectly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for snow. I'm excited about seeing how L.A. does Christmas. I know that there is ice skating down in Santa Monica at 3rd Street and that there is fake-ish snow at The Grove. Outside the window here, they are attaching the Christmas foliage and ornaments on the light poles in this shopping area. It's lovely. Now I just need to get a tree-scented candle.

Another thing to look forward to is my dear Julie's wedding next year. I can't wait. I thought I'd just give her a little shout out, seeing as how her facebook comment really pushed me to post again. Hahaha. But yeah, I can't wait for it! Chad and Julie are pretty much perfect for each other. I still remember when they sat at the date tables freshman year and she said they were "just friends." Yeah right Julie, friends don't sit at date tables. :)

Julie and Me. Good times.

I'm also considering cutting my hair. I know--you're on the edge of your seat, wondering what I'm going to do. Ahaha. I'm finding that I really don't have the patience to grow out my hair like how I was originally wanting to do. This is as far as I've gotten...and I already want to cut it.

Don't worry about me taking this picture when there were multiple people facing me at Coffee Bean...Ahahaha.

This little gem popped up when I googled, "short pixie hairstyles"

Oh! If you're in need of a good song, listen to "City Trucks" by Paper Route. It has a little Christmas-ness in it--enough to get you into the spirit. They are my new favorite band, ever since I saw them at Spaceland a month or so ago. One of the best concerts ever.

Alright, peace out. I promise I won't let another whole month go by before posting again.

Momma and baby bird

Well, I took my Mom to the airport this morning. She came in early early Saturday morning and we went back to my apartment and slept. After taking a little nap, we went to Fair Oaks Soda Fountain, on the corner of Fair Oaks and Mission, for lunch. It was cute. We thought it would be a quick sit down place to eat but we were wrong. Our waiter was...interesting--some memorable quotes were,

-Waiter: "I like the pasta salad more than the potato salad."

Me: "Oh, is it that much better?"

Waiter: "Well, I don't like potatoes."

Me: "Then I'll take the potato salad."

-Waiter: "The food's not that great." (or something to that effect)

After about sitting at an outside table for 2 hours (yes, we were there that long) and witnessing a fender bender, we let out a sigh of relief and drove to the Citadel outlets, which was a little anticlimactic--lots of stores, but not many interesting ones. Oh! But! Bonus, my Mom bought this for me. Whooohooooooo!

Sunday, we went to Mosaic, a church that has multiple locations throughout Los Angeles. It was cool--pretty chill, people wearing jeans, t-shirts, slippers. It was chillllay and Mom was cold. But so was I. Then we went to the Getty. And oh it was great. Great art, great gardens, I was in heaven.

Portrait of Jeanne Kefer by Fernand Khnopff

Sunrise by Monet

The weather has been so perfect. Brisk. Sunny. Wonderfullll. Monday we went to Hollywood so Mom could see the hands in the concrete and the stars in the sidewalk.

Mom and her American Idol

At Grauman's Chinese Theater

How festive.

After spending time in Hollywood, we went to Exposition Park and walked around a little bit. There was tons to do there but we just went to the Rose Garden and walked through the bottom lobby of the California Science Center. I had a not-so-secret ulterior motive for going to the Rose Garden. So I'm kind of a Bones fanatic. And once I found out that the opening shot for the lab was filmed in the Rose Garden, I had to go. Here it is. If you don't watch Bones, you should. That's all.

In the gift shop

Tuesday, we went to Griffith Observatory and just...observed. It is becoming one of my favorite places.

Mom on the roof

Mom with Einstein

Tuesday night, we went down to Huntington Beach and had dinner with my aunt and uncle and cousin that Erica and I stayed with when we first got to L.A. Thought we would be able to go to IKEA down there on the way back to Pasadena, but that was a no-go, on account of everyone being so talky-talky.

Mom left this morning and continued on her way to Oklahoma to visit with her mom, my Grandma Lolly.

And now my mini-vacation (as if what I've been doing for the past couple months doesn't count) is over. Hello freelance projects and job searching.

I'm getting a dog. Just kidding.

I was watching Ace of Cakes last night and Geof's dog, Cotton, was the model for the cake they did for Milkbone's anniversary. It made me want a dog. I determined that I want a collie/retriever mix. Orrr I want my sister and brother-in-law's dog, Keiko. Either one. This little precious would do as well.

My mom comes in tomorrow morning! I'm excited! Today has been a day of cleaning and planning. What to do tomorrow...

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.