Sunday, March 27, 2011

Mini-Bathroom Makeover

Before

Before

Before

After

After

After
This weekend I was overcome with the need to clean absolutely every thing in my house. I mean I was truly obsessed. I cleaned for seven hours! Now I am sitting in a immaculate house and I am finally content. I am my mother's daughter. But the cleaning bug hit me because in the book I read recently, The Happiness Project, the author talked about the joy she found by decluttering her closets. My closet had really been driving me nutty because I could never find anything I needed, and even if I did it was all wrinkly. I just didn't have the room for all that stuff.

So I went through all my clothes and donated anything that didn't fit, I didn't wear, or just didn't  flatter me. I got rid of a ton of clothes, but I feel like I gained clothes. Because I now know what I actually have, and I will wear every piece of it! But before I cleaned out my closet, I went to Target to buy some hangers. At Target, I came across this cute bathroom decor. I hated how my bathroom looked, so I picked up some new stuff. I chose to make the bathroom navy and green with geometric patterns.  I know it's not much, it's not fancy, and is never going to  get me featured on HGTV, but I think it breathes some life into the bathroom. I love it.

Song of the Day: New in Town by Little Boots

Claim Jumpers Tastes Like Victory





Friday night, we went to eat at Claim Jumper's to celebrate the internship I landed earlier in the week. I never plan to talk about my job on the blog, but I will say I will be working with teenagers with substance abuse issues. I'm really excited, and I am looking forward to the challenge!

 We celebrated with Thin Mint Martinis (which Adam said made me look like I was drinking a leprechaun), Chicken Pot Pie, and Lemon Bar Brulee (ammmmmmmmmazing). Definitely a contender for one of my favorite deserts ever.  Although Adam is pouting in the picture above (because they no longer carried his beloved turkey burger-variety isn't the spice of his life), I think he looks extremely handsome. Gosh, I married a stud. I can't believe that in less than 10 days we will have been married 2 years. It feels more like 30 years (in the best possible way). I love that man.

Song of the Day: Dying Day by Brandi Carlile

Friday, March 25, 2011

Three Awesome Books


1. The Happiness Project By Gretchen Rubin
The book was written by a woman who felt she was pretty happy, but wasn't reaching her full potential. So for a year she embarked on what she called The Happiness Project. Each month she concentrated on one area of her life at a time: Energy, Marriage, Parenthood, Friendship, Money, ETC. She adopted simple resolutions and habits to up her happiness. It's a wonderful books and has many little tips and ideas that I felt I can adopt into my own life. Heck, I could always be happier! My favorite thought from her book? Failure Can Be Fun!



2. Bed Pans & Bobby Socks By Barbara Fox & Gwenda Gofton
I was so excited about this book that I pre-ordered it and counted down the days till it was gloriously and electronically delivered to my beloved kindle. The story is about five British nurses in the 50s, who came to the states for three years to work, and to take a great American road trip. They did, and they DROVE everywhere, even to Alaska and Hawaii (OK they didn't DRIVE to Hawaii, but they did Alaska). Their stories are so incredibly charming, and the nurses caused a stir where ever they went.  I love love love this book. Read it now. You won't regret it.



3. My Life in France by Julia Child
I first really became interested in Julia Child after seeing the movie Julie/Juila (of course). She sort of became one of my obsessions, as people and things do when I like them, and I wanted to learn more about her. So I picked up her book and I devoured it in two days. The way she writes, you feel like YOU are the one in France and in culinary school. I found myself memorized by her descriptions of cooking, Paris, and her relationship with her husband Paul. I want Adam and me to be like Julia and Paul when we are older.

Song of The Day:  The Calculation by Regina Spektor

Monday, March 21, 2011

This Weekend We...

This weekend was the first time in a month where Adam didn't work so we:
  • Went clothes shopping with each other for each other. Although Adam was especially unhelpful in this area. When I would ask him what he thought of a dress, he would say something like, "I don't like that because the pockets  are only for decoration and you can't use them." What?
  • Bought our tickets for the tour of the Winchester Mystery House for my 25th birthday trip to San Fransisco. Exciting!
  • Went grocery shopping at Fresh and Easy for the first time. We now love that place. It's so cheap and has so many great and healthy options. Not the "hippy" store we thought it was.
  • Were very frustrated that we couldn't see the Supermoon. It's Long Beach! The sky shouldn't have been over cast! Then everyone just kept posting beautiful pictures of it everywhere. So jealous.
  • Caught up on old House episodes on the DVR and played a ton of Kirby's Epic Yarn.
  • Didn't leave the house Sunday, instead we just stayed in and enjoyed listening to the rain. Perfection.
    • Although I did go outside and wash the car in the rain. Since it hard for us to get the car in the backyard to wash it. The rain is a natural rinse cycle right? Adam thought I was nuts and I'm sure I looked nuts. But hey it worked.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Mouse-Capades

Yesterday when I got home very late after class, the house was quiet and I found Adam in the bedroom under every single blanket in the house. This was unusual behavior for him, but I had talked to him earlier that evening and I knew he wasn't feeling well. So I went to lay next to him and ask him how he was feeling, but he stopped me and practically demanded I go get the flip video camera (he said there was something he had filmed that I had to see). Umm, ok? What could it be? A funny thing Sarah did?

From the video, I could tell he was filming something in the bedroom, particularly something rustling in the window. I immediately stopped the video because I thought he was filming a robbery in progress, I definitely did not want to know if that was the case. That is my worst fear. He told me to keep watching, and that something was trying to break in (or out) but it wasn't a human. Terrifying statement. After many assurances that everything ended up ok, I resumed watching.  Umm I soon discovered there had been a mouse in our bedroom, basically trapped between the screen and the window. On the inside.

I have no idea how it got there and I really don't want to think about it. Does that mean it was running around on my bed? EWW. You know, I don't live in the greatest neighborhood in world, which is typical when you live in Southern California and aren't rolling in the money. But it is not a pigsty and we keep a really clean house (though it's a very old house), and have never had a big mice problem before. Aren't mice supposed to stay in the kitchen?

The other thing that shocks me about this whole incident is that Adam taped and narrated the entire discovery and entrapment. In fact, he didn't know it was a mouse until he started taping. He worried it was a big spider.  Who stops long enough in that situation to do that? And why do it? I mean I would have believed him eventually if he had simply told me what happened. Was he afraid something might happen to him and he wanted documentation? Taping this incident is more of the  behavior of someone with a blog don't you think?

A few notes on the video:
  • My blinds are not dusty thank you very much. Like I've said before HORRIBLE BEDROOM LIGHTING.
  • But I guess my window is that dirty? We hardly use it and keep the blinds down most of the time. So I never noticed. Gotta get on that.
  • He stripped the bed in case the animal got loose. He didn't want it getting on the covers.
  • The dirty socks? I have a habit of getting into bed with socks on and then getting too hot and taking them off in bed. Apparently some of them had fallen in between the bed and the floor.
  • His "weakened" states refers to him feeling sick. Later I discovered he had a 101 fever. I felt guilty because I had teased him and thought he just had a "man-cold."
  • He kept trying to get Sarah to come into the bedroom to help him in case the "animal" got loose. She never did come in till the very end. And was no help. I guess he thinks she's a cat?
  • Sorry for the cussing, but he was stressed.
  • Also my fave moment is when he first realizes putting the lid on the container might not work. You can see the worry on his face.
I know this is long and there is a section in the middle of the first video you can skip ahead when he goes to get the "trap." I couldn't edit that out. But I promise it is funny and worth your time. But I'm not offended if you don't watch it. I consider blogging a type of digital scrapbook and this is definitely something to remember.






If anyone is wondering what happened to the little critter. Adam released him down the block and he scrampered off.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Sushi @ Wokcanos

Guys, my love for sushi knows no bounds. I crave sushi, I constantly think about sushi, and when I go to bed sushi rolls dance in my head. But you know how often I eat sushi? Umm maybe once a year when I go back home to visit my mother. You know why? Because the picky guy I live with, who pays most of the bills, is not interested. And he always says, "I'll take you out for sushi, but I just won't get any." WHO WANTS TO SIT IN A RESTAURANT AND BE THE ONLY ONE EATING? Not me, my friends.

But earlier this week, our friend Luther wanted us to meet him and his friend Quentin at Wokcano's in Downtown Long Beach for happy hour. Because I had finally been presented with the opportunity to get some sushi without eating it all by myself, drowning it in a puddle of my lonely tears, I was so game. So I drove down to Adam's office once he was done working, and we parked there and walked the half mile to the restaurant (since parking in downtown can be as difficult as me trying to fit into my jeans from high school).  Downtown is beautiful though, so it was a lovely little stroll. No matter how long I live here, I never get tired of seeing palm trees. Although there was a weird moment when a homeless man got mad at us for not crossing the street in front of a moving, metro car. Not even kidding. We thoroughly thanked him for the advice, and we told him we would take it into consideration. Not really. No, we just kept looking forward with puzzled looks on our faces, and avoided him the rest of the walk. 

At Wokcanos, we indulged in cocktails like the Wokcano pear martini (yum), and ordered all sorts of food including crab wontons and sushi. We had the California roll, spicy yellow tail tempera roll, spicy tuna roll, and shrimp tempera roll. My favorite was the spicy yellow tail tempera roll. I don't think I ever tasted a sushi roll that delicious. It knocked my socks off. I could eat that roll for every meal for the rest of my life and not tire of it. No doubt about it.

Most importantly, I got my sushi fix. However, I am already craving it again. I am a true sushi addict!

P.S.-I edited the picture using the program polodroid, which makes all your photos look like polaroids. Plus it is really fun to use because you can actually watch your photos develop like polaroids. So cool.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Ruby's Diner

Monday night Adam and I decided to go grab dinner at Ruby's Diner in Long Beach. I really love Ruby's, and they have the most amazing root beer floats. But I'm a sucker for any restaurant with a 50's theme. Most people don't know this about me, and I probably shouldn't publicize it online. But I know myself and I'll probably never get around to it. Plus I'm no chef.

But I've always thought about how cool it would be to open a burger joint-I would call it Fifty. The menu would have 50 different burgers, each burger representing a state. You know the California burger would have avocados, the Hawaiian Burger would have pineapples, the Pennsylvania burger would have cream cheese, and The Wisconsin burger would have five types of cheeses. But really how cool would that be?

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Things That Were Not Awful This Weekend

(pic via Bellawish)

This week has been hard. Sarah had a complete regression after she finished her anti-boditics. Except this time it was worse, much worse. This meant an emergency vet visit, five new medications (for a dog!), spending a lot of money we didn't have, two sleepless nights,  and much stress. So things have been kind of sucktastic. But I find that in really bad moments, when you just want to cry (or maybe you do), I can really appreciate the little things that make me happy.

Things that were not awful this weekend:
  • Adam waking me up from a nap by surprising me with a Reese's peanut butter cup mcflurry, after I had been trapped in the house all day long because he has been working weekends.
  • The movie The Social Network. Watched it Saturday night. So good.
  • Making plans for our 2nd anniversary next month. Thinking of taking a night away and staying in a really fab Hollywood hotel suite. I love me a night in a hotel.
    • The fact that we've been married almost two years? CRAZINESS!
  • Laughing at our dog who was very high on Valium. Droopy face, staring off into space, and tripping over her feet. But hey she wasn't in pain!
  • Goofing off in the supermarket with Adam. That is until I accidentally plowed into one of the aisles....embarrassing.  But hilarious!
  • Overhearing the Latino version of Billy Ray Cyrus's Achy Breaky Heart, when our neighbors were having a party next door. Redneck fiesta!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Snippets

1. Because I'm kind of interested in pop culture or more specifically pop culture train wrecks, I decided I had to listen to Kim Kardashian's new song, "Jam (Turn it Up)." And it is kind of as awful as you would expect it to be. Miss. Kardash is joining the established ranks of Kim Zolciak and Paris Hilton by using lots of auto tune to make a song listenable. But it is kind of catchy, the kind of tune you might work out to, and it has been stuck in my head ever since. I keep walking around the house belting out, "They Playing My Jam, They Playing My Jam, They Playing My Jam," to Sarah because Sarah is the only one in world who appreciates my singing. Although I could be interrupting her appreciation all wrong. It is possible she only pays attention to me because I sing in the same high pitched squeal that I use to ask her, "Do you want to go walkies?" 

2. It is quite possible that we live in the loudest and most annoying neighborhood in the world. If it is not fighting neighbors (I'm really starting to believe me and Adam are the only happy couple in a three mile radius), or loud fiestas, we are assaulted every weekend by the loud, shrill voice of the Tamale lady. Who is the tamale lady you might ask? She is the woman who sells tamales every Saturday and Sunday  at 7 A.M. in the morning. I'm not even kidding, 7 freakin A.M. Are the tamales stuffed with eggs and bacon? Because that is the only way I believe a tamale could even be appealing that early. And she doesn't even sell them on the street. No, she paces up and down our back alley yelling,"TAMALES." Making the word at least 20 syllables long. Who is going to buy tamales from a shady lady in the back alley? Not me, my friends, not me.

3. Because Adam loves me and he knows what I like, he bought me the book Helter Skelter a few weeks ago for my kindle (how romantical). I really am a big true crime buff. Usually these books don't scare me, but this one is different because the crimes were so horrific and so incredibly senseless. I can't read it when I'm alone, and I can't read it after Adam goes to bed or I start getting paranoid. You know I start thinking I hear people breaking into the house and then I wake Adam up in a panic, and he really doesn't like when I do that (he kinda likes to sleep). So to keep my marriage happy and to let Adam sleep, I always read a few pages in a different book before I go to bed to get my head in a different place. This typically works, but for the last few nights I've been having these trippy dreams that I'm going on dates with Charles Manson. And he is perfectly respectable, sweet, and romantic, but this is more disturbing to me than it would be if he was acting more Charles Manson like. I'm into psychology of course, so I have to wonder what does this say about my subconscious? I mean in high school and college, I had a tendency to have crushes on the men who didn't like the ladies but not Beatles obsessed murderers....