um, october?

*tap tap* is this thing on?

oh hi there. i have a blog! i should maybe write some things about what's going on in my life as a somewhat-settled LA resident these days. let me catch you up:

i turned 30. this is my first picture as a 30 year old. looking good.

i got two new tattoos in honor of my new decade. here's one.

i traveled to san francisco, dc, and made my first trip back to nyc as a non-resident (but not a tourist, i swear!) where i got to catch up with friends.

i've become obsessed with stand-up paddle board yoga. i know, so LA.

i'm on day 6 of a whole 30 challenge and feel fabulous. this was breakfast yesterday (with two eggs on top).

we saw the sound of music singalong at the hollywood bowl and it was the best night of my life.

we hiked runyon canyon in the 100 degree heat and were rewarded with these views.

i could do with a bit less dramatic heat, especially because we are lacking an air conditioner, and i am counting down the days until we get our own place and i can sleep in our own bed again, but other than that, not too much to complain about. i might try and write a few more things on this here ol' website every now and again, if that's ok with you.

anyways, what's new in your neck of the woods?

a very beachy labor day weekend

well, that was a successful weekend! we spent both saturday and monday lounging at the beach and taking full advantage of the sun and the sand. our plan was to go to malibu, but as we were driving through santa monica, we got impatient, found parking and set ourselves up right in front of the waves for the whole day. it is SO much easier to get to the beach now than it was in NYC... no more renting zip cars and sitting for 3 hours on the long island expressway. we made it there in under 30 minutes both days! yes please. 

apart from beaching it up, we ran errands on sunday, and then last night, i went to a yoga class and practiced right next to zach gilford and his wife (he plays matt saracen on friday night lights!!). they were both adorable, and we even chatted after class. i know, it was so la. 

i know summer is supposed to be 'over', but i feel like ours is just beginning! definitely the first of many weekends spent lounging on the sand. how was your long weekend?

check out our sweet set-up... purchased everything at a sports authority on our way that morning. um, yeah, we're going to step up our gear game, don't worry. #stripesonstripesonstripes

there were dolphins frolicking right about where waves were breaking, and blake boogie boarded out there super close! it was so beautiful and surreal to see them, though i could have used a few more flips and tricks. they seemed kind of lazy. 

he is officially the worst selfie-taking partner ever. honestly. 

five on friday: boyhood, good reads, and sweaters

i know everyone is asking this, but seriously though, no one has answered it yet: how the heck is it labor day already? it feels like just yesterday we were packing up boxes in nyc and getting on a plane to europe, and yet here we are, already two weeks into our new life in la. it's pretty insane! a few random thoughts on this friday before the long weekend...

a view of downtown la from silver lake

i'm feeling really left out of all this talk about sweaters, pumpkin spice, and boots, and it's kind of bumming me out! the grass is always greener, i suppose. last fall and winter, all i wanted was sunshine and 80 degrees every day, and now that we have it, it's kind of surreal! i'm not sure what kind of fall shopping to do other than more shorts and sundresses. i know, pity party for one over here.

when my mom was here last weekend, after a long day of walking around in the sun, we parked ourselves in a movie theater to see 'boyhood' and i can't stop thinking about it! such an amazing film, especially because the main actor who plays mason looks JUST like my little brother (er, younger brother, as he's 12 and taller than me), so it was like watching him grow up again. if you haven't seen it, carve three hours out of your weekend and thank me later.

my latest staying-up-way-past-my-bedtime-and-burning-through-my-kindle-battery read was the emotional roller coaster otherwise known as 'the husband's secret'. i seriously had whiplash from all the plot twists (hey-o!), but couldn't put it down and can't wait to read her next book. i think i read that it's going to be turned into a movie, which yes please. highly, highly recommend this book.

we're going on our first la beach trip this weekend! we're going to take off super early to beat traffic and explore malibu, which i've never visited before. fingers crossed for some celeb sightings, which for some reason are far more exciting here than they were in nyc. there is literally nothing better than a nap on the beach, so i'm really excited.

alright, this is me "working" this afternoon. i'm thinking i'm gonna call it an early day. hooray long weekends! hope you have a great one!

11 days or 11 years?

i don't know whether this is a good sign or a bad sign, but i find it very difficult to believe that we've officially lived in LA for only two weeks. i mean, it feels like we've been here for ages and ages, and i think that means we might be home! i've found a great running path and yoga studio, figured out a daily routine, located all our nearest j.crews and whole foods, and pretty much have settled right into things. quick sunset picture interlude because obviously:

taken right in front of our apartment's entrance

and to really feel like we're at home, we had our first guest come stay with us... my mom came to visit from austin!

we did all kinds of neighborhood exploring and walking and eating, and to top it all off, on monday we went shopping at the grove with my mom and sister's personal stylist from austin, laurel from trophy boutique. it was SO MUCH FUN. i was in desperate need of a wardrobe revamp, given the fact that i no longer need any office attire and want to totally west coastify my clothes. so with laurel's help, i went way out of my comfort zone of striped t-shirts and j.crew chino shorts, and even bought a romper. A ROMPER. i never thought i'd see the day, but good lord is it comfortable.

at the end of the spree

i am super pumped to have some new clothes to wear out and about and love the idea of reinventing myself in this new place. i mean, what else is turning 30 and moving across the country good for? although you can pry my striped t-shirts from my cold, dead hands, i'll occasionally branch out now. for realsies.

can we also talk about how it's labor day weekend already? holy crap. has this summer been nuts or what?

thoughts on thursday: meet frankie!

um, look who arrived yesterday!

a VERY happy early birthday to me! meet frankie, my new prized possession. frankie and i are already BFFs and are going to explore all of LA together. i can tell that this is the start of a long and happy relationship. she just needs a bell, a basket, and a rider with a less dorky helmet, and we'll be all set.

this whole turning 30 thing is pretty swell!

a very LA kale salad

hello from los angeles! it's been five days since we got here, and we've been crazy busy just getting settled and exploring our new neighborhood. honestly, i don't know why we didn't move here ten years ago. i'm loving it so far, and can't believe i'm lucky enough to call this place home now.

much, much more to say on that front, but in the meantime, go check out a guest post i did over at jessica's blog about the best kale salad everrrr (i know, very la of me, right?) and i'll be back soon!

today's the day!

image via

it's a day that's been marked on our calendars since january of this year... and tonight, we will fall asleep in our new city! i cannot wait to wake up tomorrow and start exploring. i keep checking the weather to see what it's going to be like, forgetting that it's going to be 85 and sunny every day forever. old habits die hard...

hope your weekend is just as momentous and exciting as ours (but requires less time in a car driving down I-5). happy friday!

gallery wall additions

our living room gallery wall in our nyc apartment was one of my favorite parts of our home.

i can't wait to recreate it once we get a place in la (in december...). but i've been finding some cool pieces of art to add on and revamp it. here's what i've got my eye on for gallery wall 2.0.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

i love looking on west elm, minted, youshouldbuyart.com, and etsy for prints, but let me know if you have any other good sources i should check out!

west elm sale picks

let's pretend for a minute that we had an apartment in la already... and didn't have to wait til december to scratch my decorating itch. weirdly, i doubt our subletter would be super thrilled if she came home after four months to a totally redone space. i mean, whatever.

but back to this fantasy apartment... i'd be going nuts at the west elm sale right now, especially because it's an extra 25% off. here's what i'd be picking up for us. feel free to shop on my behalf and let me know how it goes!

dot medallion duvet cover / freeman storage unit / courtyard wool dhurrie / bamboo laundry hamper / claudia pearson dog plates / chevron crewel pillow covers

top five things i'm excited about in la

in just over a month, we will be rolling into la with just a few suitcases, ready to take on the world. that makes it eight months from the original idea percolating to actually making it happen... and during those eight months, i've had a lot to get excited about. here's what i'm most looking forward to about living in los angeles.

1. weather. duh.

this could probably be numbers 1 through 10, i am that excited about the sunshine. i truly thought i was in it for the long haul with new york city, and never really pictured living anywhere else, until this winter and the phrase "polar vortex" entered my vocabulary. as i'm typing this wearing shorts in july with freckled arms, it's almost a distant memory. but those long dark days of february made it really easy to say goodbye to nyc and hello to year-round 70 degree days.

nope. nope. nope. no more.

it's happening!!!

oh, don't mind me. just sitting here, waiting for movers to take everything we own and put it in storage.

hey belongings, see you in LA!

five on friday!

linking up again for a random miscellany of thoughts this foggy, dreary friday. bring on the sunshine this weekend!

1. donna tartt

have you all read the goldfinch? yes? ok excellent. because every time i go to my kindle, i hope there's a little bit more of it to read. it was truly amazing. i've since then gobbled up everything else by the same author, and right now, i'm reading the little friend and it's just not scratching the goldfinch itch i had, even though i think it's even longer (which is hard to believe). i am about halfway through but can't seem to give up on it. maybe it gets better?

2. silver lake!

one of the most exciting things that happened this week was that we locked down a sublet in LA from a colleague of mine who will be traveling from august til december. it's right smack dab in one of the neighborhoods we wanted to check out, which is the "brooklyn of LA" (i'm rolling my eyes right now in case you can't see), but seems really walkable and full of cool restaurants, coffee shops, and all that good stuff. so relieved to not have a big apartment hunt awaiting us! it will be so much easier to get a place in december while we're actually there, and now we'll have a chance to take this neighborhood on a trial run!

3. mad men

i'm in denial that there are only 3 more episodes left this "season". i seriously can't even talk about life after don draper. that is all.

4. #bringbackourgirls

if you haven't yet signed this amazing petition, take a sec to add your name. it's about to reach a million signatures, which is really incredible. 

5. this gif

enjoy. i can't stop looking at it.

happy weekending!!

wish list: j.crew new arrivals

nothing like some new arrivals from j.crew to get through the mid-week hump! well, that and the fact that it's sunny and beautiful outside sure doesn't hurt.

since my days in LA will be pretty different from my days in NYC, i have to keep that in mind when i buy new clothes. first of all, i'll be working remotely, which means yoga pants and shorts all day e'ry day, and office-appropriate clothing will only collect dust in the closet. also, have i mentioned the weather in LA? apparently, it's delightful. and yes, that is a thought that has kept me going since the middle of this god-awful winter we're finally done with. so let's see... year-round summer + super casual days = these new pieces!

drapey linen tank in stripe 

(can't stop, won't stop with the stripes. help.)

drapey tee in cheri

(i'll wear this in france and fit right in! right?)

skinny twill sweatpant

(these are sweatpants. that look like real pants. how has no one thought of this before??)

vintage terry sweatshirt

(i guess it sometimes cools down at night. some sleeves to keep warm on the beach in the evenings!)

stripe-sleeve rash guard

(have i mentioned how i plan to become a surfer? i'll definitely need a top like this. once i learn to surf, that is. minor details.)

do you have your eyes on any of their new arrivals?