Welllll well well. I'm back. September has been busy!

Since I left you, I've been enjoying cruising around and listening to XM radio (the Loft! the Coffee House!) in my new car, keeping busy at work, cooking a lot, and letting Orange is the New Black take over my life. Charlie and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary with a long weekend on the beautiful Central Coast, and I've now officially worked at AB for over one year (my fantastic boss sent me these to celebrate!).

I have a bunch of posts I want to write - an anniversary trip recap, cookbook and recipe updates, new music reviews, an ode to pilates - but you'll have to wait for those. In the meantime, take a look at some of the things I've been enjoying around the web:

- A valuable take on 7 important financial decisions made in your 30s

- Real men in underwear ads

- Almond Butter Cocoa Truffles, oh my

- Moby talks about LA

- How to taste water

- My new favorite ad

- The best day

- Everyday ballet dancers

- Thinking about buying this and eating our way through LA

- My next project: a DIY grass shoe tray

- Obsessed with these dresses... now I just need a black tie affair to attend :)

Have a wonderful weekend!


(photo: mine, cyprus tree at the awe-inspiring Hearst Castle)

via pinterest

Friday Fresh Air

A couple breaths of fresh air to start the day off: Towsley Canyon (above), one of my favorite - and the nearest! - places to hike, and, Volcano Choir's deep yet dreamy Reprave streaming in full.

Happy Friday!

Back (Again)

Good morning! I'm back in Southern California after a wonderful, albeit quick, visit back home to Chicago. I spent a few days staying at my parents' house in the suburbs, where I drank copious amounts of coffee from their Jura espresso maker and lazed around with my mom and their Wheaten Terriers. We got in some good shopping and nostalgic eating (did you know there are no Noodles & Co or Potbelly's in LA?). I was also thrilled to see my brother, sister-in-law, and my adorable 8-month-old nephew who I hadn't seen since Christmas. He is growing like a weed - such a good eater and overall very happy, good baby. He doesn't even really cry, just dramatically whimpers. For the sake of my future self as a mother, I can only hope that his sweet disposition is hereditary :)

I spent Saturday in the city with one of my best friends, Libby (an acupuncturist and blogger). The drive downtown was insane; no matter what people say, I still think Chicago has worse traffic than LA. But, it was well worth it to wander around my old neighborhood, Wicker Park, and catch up. We hit up some of my favorite spots, including lunch at Jerry's (the salmon and crawfish burger with seafood topping ohmygosh) and Alliance Bakery for a baker's dozen of passion fruit macarons (I also highly recommend their almond croissants).

Now, back at home two days later, I'm still having trouble adjusting to the time change. It's only a two hour difference from Central to Pacific time, but it still throws my body all out of whack. Up two hours early this morning! Oh well, it's back to work again, and I'm crossing my fingers that I don't crash this afternoon. In the meantime, check out some of the Instagram photos from my trip below (and follow me here).

And.. it's August

Hi friends! 

Can you believe it's August already? This summer has been flying by. I've been really busy at work and play lately, so my posts have been kind of sporadic, but at least I'm here, eh?

This past week...

I saw The Conjuring with some friends in Hollywood, and it was REALLY good (if you're into that sort of thing).

I ordered a new linen duvet cover and sheets - perfect for both warm summer nights and cool autumn evenings.

And I really loved a handful of things from around the web:

Hearing test disguised as an eye test (turn up your computer volume!).

Can't stop watching this video. Cutest thing I ever saw.

Is it really so much to ask to be safe, happy, rich, and comfortable?

George Saunders's inspirational advice to Syracuse University graduates.

Boring but perfect love story.

Portraits of the elderly.

p.s. A few posts ago, I mentioned that Charlie and I were going to go see The Way Way Back. To update - it was fantastic! A strong recommend. And an exciting thing about living in Los Angeles is that sometimes you go to see a movie, and there is a surprise Q&A with the writers/directors afterwards.  And this happened to us that night! Super enjoyable and genuine guys.