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?

you know you were at an epic wedding when...

you wake up the next day with only two pictures on your phone, because you were too busy dancing and taking shots of fireball and twirling parasols and singing karaoke and spilling wine on everything and eating tacos from a taco truck at midnight to take pictures.

so yeah. i guess i could describe the beauty of the bride, the venue, their love for each other, etc. but really, all there is to know is that it was all perfect and we had too much fun. literally too much.

yes, apparently, i crave candy corn when i'm hungover. tried to balance it out with a 'juice' but to no avail.

i'm still recovering.

hey, it's my last week of my twenties, i'm going out with a bang! back to la tonight - which means its our first time returning as residents. still feels surreal to be up here in seattle and not be flying home to JFK. but i missed our palm trees, so i'm excited to get home!

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!

look where we are!

yes, blake is actually excited. he just chooses not to show it, apparently.

we made it! well, almost. we are officially in california! we're staying in sacramento with my dad for the next few days, and then finally (FINALLY!) heading to la on friday afternoon. it was so exciting to cross that state line, and totally surreal after our summer of bopping all around the planet.

all packed and ready to hit the road! 

my view for much of the day. 

mt. shasta in northern california

selfie payback for blake not smiling in our state line picture.

our weekend was jam-packed, with an arcade fire concert at the gorge friday night (more to come on that), a 14 hour drive from eastern washington on saturday, and then on sunday *drum roll please* we got a car!!

cr-v, i love you.

yes that's right, we officially have a set of wheels to call our own, and it's the very first time in my life that i've had one. i'm not gonna lie, it feels awesome. i can just hop in and go anywhere i want, anytime i want! pure luxury.

ah yes, it's all coming together. los angeles: are you ready for us?

our weekend was: the blue angels and bbq edition

it was our final weekend here in seattle, and if there's one thing i learned about this city, it's that once a year, they go absolutely apeshit for the blue angels. there's an annual festival called sea fair which has all kinds of parades, hydroplane races, military demonstrations, and other assorted weird... i mean interesting activities. and the highlight of sea fair is the BLUE MOTHERFREAKIN ANGELS. i mean, i'm not gonna lie, i got pretty swept up into it. we watched them practice on thursday, went to a friend's deck to watch a show on friday, and then went across the city to a beach for primo viewing of their show on saturday. yes, for those of you keeping track at home, that's three days worth of airplane acrobatics.

it's pretty damn hard to watch them and not fist pump while yelling "AMERICAAAAA!!!" at the same time. also, it doesn't hurt that they're all super dreamy, as if handsomeness is some kind of job requirement. in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if it is. needless to say, our weekend pretty much revolved around the MOTHER FREAKING BLUE ANGELS! but we did some other stuff too!

on sunday, we hosted a bbq for blake's high school buddies and their wives/families/etc, so it was really fun to catch up with all of them and hear embarrassing stories about teenage blake (of which there are many). not to mention the weather was incredible, yet again. i made a pretty damn awesome kale salad with mango, cucumber, red pepper, pumpkin seeds, and some fresh basil in the vinaigrette. highly recommend that combination, if you're looking for a new kale salad go-to.

the evening culminated in a pretty fiercely competitive shuffleboard game, which i'm not embarrassed to say i dominated. yes, that's right, i like to vacation in palm springs AND play shuffleboard. just send me to a retirement home already.

finally we watched the most incredible sunset i've ever seen over lake washington. i actually still can't really get over it. i've done absolutely zero editing to this photo, by the way. i swear to you. nature, man. it's nuts. 

how was your weekend??

bonjour au paris!

oh don't mind me, just spending an afternoon in paris, waiting out a quick thunderstorm in our airbnb rental in the marais. we've already been to two cafes, had plenty of rosé, and now we're gearing up for dinner. next time i write, it will be from north america! craaaaaazy. oh, and we had to say goodbye to dylan. dislike very much.

one final belly rub for our favorite great dane.  

the skies were blue when we arrived!

the view from our apartment. 

and yes, i've already had a pistachio macaron from pierre herme. i mean. whattttt. so good.

sad to bid farewell to our french adventure, but can't wait to be back in the states. see ya on the flip side!

our weekend was: the get me outta here edition

ok, i realize i will garner little to no sympathy for this post, but we are ready with a capital R to be on that plane back home. i'm hoping this week flies by, and for the love of god, stops raining (for those of you keeping track at home, we're now at 10 straight days of rain). if i can spend our last week back out in the garden, getting some vitamin d, that will make things a whole lot easier.

we were in desperate need of a trip out of town, but we didn't get our act together to leave until mid-afternoon on saturday. so we drove to beaune, which is a (wait for it) very picturesque little village about 45 minutes away, and walked around for a bit for a change of scenery.

just a castle in the distance as we were driving. because france. 

one great thing about being surrounded by so much wine is visiting beaune in the afternoon, and then drinking a bottle of local red in the evening. i still can't get over how cheap and delicious the wine is here... i guess it's "world-renowned" or something for a reason.

and it's bastille day today, so we're gonna go explore this evening to see how they celebrate! i'll be wearing my new french espadrilles which i purchased for 4 euros... at the grocery store. i mean, what a deal!

oh, and how about those germans last night?? so excited, but wishing i was there to celebrate!

what did you get up to this weekend?