2014 Highlights, In Photos

Everyone and their mother is doing end-of-year roundups and I'm no exception. Here's a look at the high moments of my otherwise tumultuous 2014.

We never did blog about our autumnal trip to Apple Hill, but we went and I love this photo of Barbara. November, Apple Hill, CA

Sold Brandon's Magic cards so he could buy a bass, January

Starbucks with Brandon, February, Fairfield,CA

Watching Say Nothing in the Valentine's Day fort, February

Tahoe, March

I feel like this is what Yellowcard was talking about in Empty Apartment, May

Costa Rica with my sister, June/July

Stunning back road sunset, July

My friend got married! August, Salinas, CA

Trivia night at Woodstock's, August?, Davis, CA

Pre-25th-birthday trip with Barbara, October, Cafe Bassam, San Diego, CA

OMG the colors. The glorious colors! September, Muir Beach Overlook, CA

Exploring our new town's pool scene, May/June, G Street Wunderbar, Davis, CA

The dessert at my friend Kari's wedding was extraordinary..and beautiful to look at, August, Salinas, CA 

Brandon will hate me for this photo but it's one of my favorites. This was our last night in our first apartment. We sat on the floor, laughed and talked just like any other Saturday night. Derek sent Barbara this photo and Brandon tried to be funny. I just laughed. I like to remember that apartment in this context. May, Fairfield, CA 

Brandon and I went ice skating -- as, of course, is tradition -- on the anniversary of
our engagement.We got lucky and had the entire rink to ourselves. I got to pretend I was a real
figure skater and Brandon taught me how to skate backwards. And we got to stand in the
exact spot where he asked me to marry him two years ago. And I wore the same scarf I wore
that night because nostalgia is my love language.

Brandon had his first show with a country cover band out of Chico. I never thought
I'd see the day this man would purposefully listen to country music, but it's nice
to know he can still surprise me after eight years!

Happy 2015, everybody!

♥ A

Miserable, Magical Monday

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I've been MIA for about a week and I feel kind of awful about it. Not because the content on this blog is anything life changing, but because I'd been on such a good writing rhythm (guess how many times I had to re-spell that word) and now I've lost it. But my resolve to bring you semi-consistent updates about the goings-on in my life won't quit, so I'm back this week to remind you I'm alive and well. Just tired.

P.S. I get slightly judge-y when I read bloggers post about needing a break from blogging to enjoy the real world. Obviously, I'm in no position to pass such judgement, but does that ever stop any of us from doing it? Oh yeah, my point. This isn't one of those posts. I've just legitimately had the busiest week of July. I've started looking back at my Costa Rica trip as chill, even though we had a pretty packed schedule despite it being a "vacation."

1. One of my friends got married this weekend! Brandon and I carpooled out to Salinas with some friends and enjoyed a good old country wedding complete with a stunning barn. Seriously, this venue was awesome. I wanted to be sure I got photos of this wedding since I missed out on documenting the other wedding I went to a few weeks ago. Boy, did I deliver. I posted almost all of these on instagram but here they are once more (with feeling).

I kept my place card. Because nostalgia, that's why.

Bouquet toss.

Garter getting.

Blurry dance floor duck face selfies.

#blurry

The most boring photo we've ever taken. Seriously, I almost don't like it because of how
normal we look.

I had such a good time at this lovefest of a wedding. Seriously, the love was palpable and it made everything that much more beautiful. Also, I just love love so I was bound to enjoy this wedding.

2. So this summer I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm approaching my mid-twenties. Everywhere I look my friends are going through major moments in life; making a big move, getting engaged, getting married, buying houses, planning for a family, kicking off their careers. Seriously, just this weekend I had a cousin make the move from home to the OC, I witnessed a friend move into married life and another open her own business. It's kind of weird to finally find myself at this age. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd accomplish by 25 as a kid...I wasn't completely wrong about myself. I for sure thought I'd be married (check) and have my BA (check) but I also planned on being done having children by this age. And that's totally not in the cards right now. I guess the funny thing about being in my twenties is as much as I'm still a kid, I'm also starting to get the hang of this "real" life. I kind of like it.

3. Having finished New Girl, Brandon and I had been searching for something to watch during our veg sessions. I've written about us trying to watch The Office and Parks and Rec, but neither one of them really hooked us the way New Girl did. I wish Modern Family was on Netflix because I think that would help me transition into the mockumentary style of the other shows. Anyway, we finally decided to restart How I Met Your mother (HIMYM from now on). I've only ever seen it once through, so I'm rediscovering the hilarity and brilliant writing this show has. Also, knowing the end makes it more fun for me to put clues together that I missed during the first run-through. I firmly believe we as the audience judged the show by it's cover name and that's why we never saw the end coming. But that's an argument for another time (aka never).

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4. Almost all of you who read this blog already know this, but I have to share out of sheer excitement: I've secured a new job! It all happened very quickly. I sent in my resume and cover letter after some epic (and requested) scrutiny editing from my best friend, got an interview, wore the hottest office-appropriate LBD of my life (also courtesy of my best friend), rocked said interview, and then a job offer a few days later. I'll be working out in Napa starting next week. Although my commute is growing again, I'm still really excited about the opportunity. The position seems to be a really great jumping off point. I met at least five people who all started off in the position I'll be in before moving into management positions in other departments, which is super reassuring. Also the grounds are gorgeous and everyone seems a thousand times friendlier. I can't wait to start. But really quick, back to the LBD from heaven. I looked like freaking Clair Underwood in that dress. Plus I got so many compliments on it. As a person who almost always looks pulled together, if someone says you look nice, then you probably look really nice. Was that conceited? Oh gosh, probably.

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5. I'm reading Divergent right now in my effort to actually finish I book I pick up to read. I've literally started four other books and haven't finished them. I don't know why. I always say I don't have time, but if I have time to watch hours and hours of HIMYM then maybe I can spare one a night reading. Anyway, I'm enjoying the book so far. It reads in first person the way Hunger Games does, but this hits me as less choppy than Suzanne Collins' writing. I'm in chapter 11 or something and I still have no idea what Divergent means in the series. I think I found out more in the trailer for the movie. Still, I'm keeping in mind that it's a three part (?) series so I'm guessing I'll find out what the big deal is about the Divergent label in the book's unvierse closer to the end. I'll keep you posted.

6. The start of a new job will mean a new dress code. From what I saw it's a pretty casual office (jeans are allowed on all days of the week) but based on my one day of training, I can tell my idea of casual is sub par. I'm going to have to step it up on the cute clothes thing, which is the perfect justification for spending some money on clothing. I've been stuck in a style rut, anyway.

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Almost every day, I wake up and look at my clothes and hate them all. I hate that the only color I own tops in is blush. My one pair of gray pants are so old they're low rise jeans. I haven't purchased low rise jeans since 2009. If I'm honest my style rut feels more like a style crisis. But I haven't just been wallowing in my "ugly" clothes, I've been working on defining the look I'm going for. I've made lists, I've made secret Pinterest boards, I've online window shopped. I've even made excuses to go to the mall over my lunch break (side bar: going to the mall alone is the worst idea ever). My biggest obstacle is not being able to find the pieces I'm looking for. No joke, I've been searching for a freaking white t-shirt with small black stripes for ages and can't find one anywhere. I'm tempted to take BART into San Francisco just to shop at the two H&Ms by Union Square. Yes, there are two. It's almost heaven. 

7. My best friend Barbara lives in Northern California now which means I get to see her all the time. We got together to celebrate her birthday with pizza at Woodstock's then moved across the street to Wunderbar for some drinks and two very terrible games of pool. Then Friday, we reinstated our Friday Night Family Dinner tradition. She and I made orange chicken with rice and stir fry veggies. It was a simple meal but by far the most elaborate one I've co-prepped in a while. Usually I bake chicken or make pasta. I've gotta step my dinner game up. Anyway, we ate, watched HIMYM as well as the trailer for the new Assassin's Creed game. Not only is the theme music the song Lorde wrote/performed for the Catching Fire soundtrack, but the game's story line is based on the French Revolution. We all agreed that it would make a killer movie. Once Derek showed up we popped in Shaun of the Dead. It was the first time I'd seen it, I'm told it totally counts as a classic, so maybe I'll finally get to knock another thing off the 12 Things list.


I promise I'll keep telling you about Costa Rica one day soon.
Later, friends.
♥ A

Miserable, (mostly) Magical Monday

What? A slight deviation in the title? Something cool must have happened.

1. Coolest thing ever: two of my great friends got married this weekend! The relationship Barbara and I totally called months before it happened now has a cool piece of paper and a public lifelong commitment to enjoy. I'm still over the moon that I was able to be a part of their day and it was beyond cool to see my favorite people all in the same place again. There was a coffee bar complete with sugar cubes and syrups and you better believe I took advantage of it all. I think the spontaneous group singing to Don't Stop Believing might have been the highlight of the reception for me, followed by the circle dancing to 22 and Best Song Ever. Seriously, I had such a blast I never asked Brandon for my phone (I decided not to lug my purse around and he was nice enough to hold it for me) so I took zero photos at the reception. I'm half-kicking myself for it because I feel a little like an awful guest (and I have no photo memories) but at the same time, I think it gives you an idea of just how much I enjoyed myself!

2. Usually I'm terrified of asking people for things. Help, accommodation, forgiveness...you get the point. But Friday was a lesson in taking a risk. See, because flying was too expensive, Brandon, myself and our friend Derek decided to drive down to San Diego for the wedding. At the same time, being in Costa Rica used up all of my time off so things were looking grim as far as arrival times went (we're talking midnight if we were lucky). After counting the driving hours and realizing just how awful that plan was, I decided I needed to ask if I could leave early on Friday. It took me like 10 minutes of figuring out how I would ask, if I would ask and what I'd propose. Finally, I went into HR's office and explained that I was making the drive down to San Diego and wanted to know if I could work out an unofficial credit hour system. I offered to come in an hour early, leave at noon and then make up my hours by coming in early on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week. I honestly didn't think she'd go for it, but -- to my surprise -- she did! It was a really cool moment for me and I thanked HR like five times. I was basically the "thank you" equivalent of the chick that won't quit bowing in Sound of Music before going back to my office with a huge smile on my face.

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3. Spending the weekend in San Diego was wonderful. It was almost too wonderful. We arrived Friday night and quickly headed to me and Barbara's prime happy hour/burger spot: Harbor Town Pub. Barbara and I split some fries and I got my favorite cocktail. It's basically a fancy non-orange juice mimosa and I love it. There was loud music playing which wasn't what I was used to, but we had fun either way. Saturday started with brunch at Broken Yolk, a San Diego classic that I'd never made it to. It was no Raglan's, but the strawberry sauce that came with my french toast more than made up for the warm mimosa. Then there was the fun wedding. A small bonfire at my friends' house followed the reception on Saturday. We sipped cider, talked, laughed and roasted marshmallows. It was like old times but better. Brandon was there and it always means so much to me when he gets a chance to hang out with the people I grew to love over my three years at Loma. It's even better when they get along and joke around. Seeing a natural interaction puts me at ease. Plus the added bonus that my friends are slowly becoming more than just names in stories to Brandon and he's more than just my boyfriend husband to them. Sunday we grabbed a Denny's breakfast (a Brandon and Alex tradition) with Kayla and then headed home. No lie (and maybe TMI) I cried in the backseat while listening to Taylor Swift on the way home. But only for a little while!

4. Brandon is at camp this week which means I'm home alone. I'll be hanging out with my mom at some point this week, but mostly I'm stoked to listen to tons and tons of Taylor Swift in my apartment. I wonder what her Pandora station is like...

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Oh that's right. ADORABLE.

In all seriousness, I've already had trouble sleeping. It's stupid because it's not like Brandon and I haven't been apart. I mean, hello! We were long distance for three years, we can handle being apart. Plus I've gone away (to debate tournaments and Costa Rica) and have slept fine. I didn't expect any feelings of wahh I'm alone to pop up, but they did. I guess it's different when you're the one at home alone? In any case, I watched a dumb movie, Bachelorette (it's on Netflix), last night because Lizzy Caplan is in it and I will always love her work.

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5. I've got a bit of a rant to go on. It has to do with how horrible sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day is for our bodies. Seriously, my back cracks when I get up to walk around form my awful, too-big-for-my-5'1"-frame chair. Not just any old stiff bones crack, this one is new. It's practically a pop and it happens only when I get up from this chair. My slouchy couch at home? Nothing. Chairs in a restaurant? Nada. Getting out of my car? Zip. It's this damn chair. I hate it and my tall desk. Why do we put ourselves through the horrors of office work? It's literally the worst. It represents the worst, it feels the worst and it brings out the worst in me. Phew. Ok. Back to the good feels.

6. I got back to Davis around 8:00 last night and immediately went to Safeway to pick up my Week Alone necessities like avocados, lemons, brown sugar and coffe ice cream. Yeah, I will open a tub of deliciousness and snack while watching some fancy-pants movie this week, thank you! I also plan to make this lemonade I saw on Joy the Baker's blog (which side note is probably the blog I've followed the longest) and lots of homemade guac to stuff myself with. I also plan to surprise Brandon with some baked goods (he reads the blog so I can't mention exactly what I'll be baking) for when he comes back from camp because I'm an excellent wife.

7. Joyeux 14 juillet! Today marks the 225th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in Paris which kicked off the French Revolution. I donned by red, white and blue as well as played music from a French Cafe playlist on Spotify as part of my personal celebration, even though la fête nationale (the national holiday) doesn't constitute the same kind of festivities as Independence Day does in the US. At the risk of turning a non-holiday into an Americanized thing, tonight I'll enjoy some baguette and cheese and probably a French-inspired sandwich for dinner. I might even watch a French movie! I'll use any excuse to pretend I'm French.

So insta I could barf. But I love it anyway.

I couldn't possibly end this post with an outfit photo, so in case you're into history, here's a short video on the French Revolution.


I'm almost done writing my post for Wednesday so get ready for pictures of a volcano and trees that all probably look the same. Ha!

♥ A