Travel

Travel
Travel

San Francisco

San Francisco
San Francisco

Laugh With Me

Laugh With Me
Laugh With Me

Currently

Everyone's favorite blog meme for when they simply have nothing else to say.

Watching :: Gilmore Girls. And I won't be stopping until I'm spouting Lorelai Gilmore-isms every hour, on the hour. My roommate and I have also been slowly working our way through Buffy. Golden age of television, that was.

Eating :: Anything and everything the parents put in front of my face.

Shopping :: For gifts, technically. Except I've had more than one 'whoops' moment where some 'for me' items have accidentally fallen into the cart. Gravity. Can't help it. Even when online shopping.

Planning :: Various post grad thingamajigs. You know, a job. And also, let's not forget about the summer Mediterranean adventure I'm planning with the roommate!

Playing :: This real, real easy game with my friends over break. It's sort of an "overachieving at underachieving" type deal. Examples: "I haven't left my bed yet" (at 1pm), "I haven't been outside in like four days," "where do we think my bra might be?" etc. etc. 

Reading :: Cider with Rosie's archives, and it's making me miss England like mad. On a more serious note, some words about the Ferguson decision. This thought-provoking post (as well as its comments!) on Arkansassy sheds a lot of light. (PS. Tyler is my go-to read whenever there's a high profile, controversial story out there. She's thoughtful and brilliant, and provides excellent context and perspective each time. She's blog land's Elle Woods!)

Enjoying :: Sleeping in until noon, like, every day. I ain't even sorry about it.

Waiting :: For the sissy to come home tomorrow! I haven't seen her since her birthday / engagement, so ... commence the wedding planning?

Needing :: Notices of graduation pictures to stop showing up in my inbox. Too soon, toooooo soon.

Wearing :: My softest sweats this whole week. I'll even make it real fancy and put on my stretchiest leggings on Thursday. Again, I ain't even sorry about it.

Feeling :: Half anxious about the upcoming couple of weeks, half inspired, half lethargic, and half like I missed my calling as a mathematician. One hundred percent thankful.

Wishing :: All of my fellow Americans a peaceful, restful Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday. Don't report back until you have a belly full of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, ya hear?

4

Wild Goose Chase in San Francisco. Mindy Kaling Is The Goose.

I'm going to go right on ahead and skip over the whole "Mindy Kaling should be my best friend" thing, because if you are a living and breathing female, that's basically a universally accepted fact and needs no reiteration.

(Seriously though, Mindy Kaling needs to be my best friend.)

On Tuesday, Mindy was Instagramming up a storm of iconic San Francisco sites. Apparently The Mindy Project will be based in the Bay Area for a couple of episodes in January, and because I'm stupid dumb and moronic, it didn't occur to me until SEVEN PM that maybe I should go find her/Chris Messina in the city. 

Cassandra and I were convinced that their last stop would be Ghirardelli Square, so we camped out with a brownie sundae and cappuccino, in the hopes of seeing the camera crew walk through the doors and right to our table. Alas, as we kept on updating our Twitter and Instagram feeds, it seemed like filming was being wrapped by the Bay Bridge.

Off we went, craning our necks out the car window along the Embarcadero, hoping to spy shining lights and Mindy's luscious brown locks. We parked several times and walked behind buildings, not daring to miss a pier. We held up Cassandra's phone to gauge the Bay Bridge's distance on its camera versus in the posted pictures. We speed-walked, comparing light poles and wooden floors, trying to find the exact spot Mindy had stood.

Well. We found it. A little too late (it hurts, it hurts to think that if we left an hour earlier or parked a little closer, I had the tiniest chance of meeting my almost best friend). But it wasn't a complete loss, because, well. Let's just say TV shows have location scouts for a reason. It was the most stunning view - the pier was right in the open water, the Bay Bridge glittering on one side, the Ferry Market Building tower lit up in orange, the Transamerica pyramid a sparkly halo. Honestly such a gem. Thank you, Minds.

Afterwards, we hurried off to a SoMo concert to catch the crooner, well, crooning and flexing and teasing us all with a muscle tank. Too much public decency, bro, gimme So' Mo' of what we really want!

Happy Friday!
7

Virtual Coffee Talk, 0.9

Think I can maybe find one of these on Etsy for my bedroom?

// New drinking game in town, y'all. It's called "Pass the Nyquil" and it does the trick quite nicely. The good news is that I'm about 5% from complete recovery; the bad news is that I'm expecting about a three week turnaround before the sickness circles through the rest of the dorm and right back to me.

// The saddest kind of tragedy: when you're having an amazing hair day, but have nowhere to be. 

// A lightbulb went off in my brain the other day. Maybe the reason why we seem to celebrate the holidays earlier and earlier is because the rest of the world doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and a lot of countries don't even have Halloween really. And with the Internet and widespread traveling nowadays, perhaps when people around the world are getting excited for end-of-the-year cheer right as the chill moves right on in, it seems more and more prevalent? Just a theory!

// Total college move: toting around a roll of toilet paper because you ain't got the time nor the money for Kleenex. Or even generic brand tissues actually.

// I've been thinking about "the backburner" a lot lately. There's so much on my peripheral to-do list. The non-urgent one. I've needed to send like twelve inquiry e-mails, get working on that sad City Guides tab you see up there, do laundry (always), finish like three different shows, review my credits for graduation (that actually should maybe go on the urgent list), start a couple of leisure reading books, and about twelve million other things. And yet, when I get a block or two of free time, I go straight to the Apple TV remote or for a power nap. What gives?

// Talking about blogging sometimes straight up gives me the good goosebumps. I was having coffee with my boss the other day and she asked about this bloggy blog world, and I did that thing where you start talking faster and faster and fasterandfasterandaaerakl;ds because you get so impassioned. The community, I said! The stories! I'm far from a great blogger by any means, judging by the quality or the quantity of my posts. But even so, blogging's given me opportunities and jobs, a good haul of free stuff, social media followers, cool stories to share. What's really cool though? I've watched kids grow up, businesses start to thrive (anything from a SAHM-run jewelry shop on Etsy to Etsy itself), the entire course of relationships, the learning of lessons, tragedy, joy, and everything in between. How. Cool.

// In the spirit of November and all things thankful, here's a gratitude list -- getting up early to make breakfast with friends. Getting denied access to chocolate chips (this isn't the grateful part, I'm not insane), and having the ingenuity to crush Oreos to throw into the waffle mix instead. Chilly nights and hot chai. Ice-cold sheets, but toasty toasty blankets. Silver linings. Genuinely good people - you know the kind. Traditions like Castle-dilla Monday's. 

Happy Monday, y'all. (But first, coffee an espresso shot or four.)
5

People, Something Big Has Happened

Y'all, I have news.

As of last night at 10:14pm sharp, I have officially watched every episode of 30 Rock, from beginning to end. I started the series the day I started my internship in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and made it a goal to finish it by the end of summer so that it'd be all sentimental and meaningful and all.

That plan was shot to the place where ambition goes to die.

But last night, it finally happened. Seven seasons' worth of Liz Lemon (she is the everygirl!) and Kenneth Parcell and Jack Donaghy and the best lineup of guest stars that ever existed. Seriously, can you even consider yourself anybody in Hollywood if you haven't made an appearance on this show?

This accomplishment is special in a couple of ways. 

One, this is the first time I've ever watched a show in full, every episode in order. For someone who claims to love TV as much as I do, that is one sad statistic. I've felt like a complete fraud up till now. It's just - it's just, sometimes I don't think I'll love a show until it's in its second or third season and I watch one episode with my friends and I get hooked on where it is currently and never bother to watch the beginning (Once Upon A Time, Awkward, Castle). Other times, I'll watch from the beginning but then lose interest after a hiatus or when I know certain characters don't get together with the people I ship them with (Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, pretty much every other teen drama out there). Others, I just watch out of order and when random episodes are on TV (Friends, Saved By The Bell, most shows). So this goal was a testament to the commitment I was beginning to think I didn't have.

Secondly, it'll always remind me of this summer and my time at NBC. The elevator banks. The intro with the revolving doors that I entered every day for work. The streets I walked during lunch breaks and after work. The hot dog stands. The plaza with the flags. Even the random floors and studios that matched up in real life. Twas the best adventure.

30 Rock, you really, really rock.
3

Muir Woods // The Pains of Being the Designated Family Photographer

Question: what happens when, a few years ago, your parents gift you with a really, really nice camera because you're all "I'm going to be a journalist one day!" and 'journalist' somehow became 'blogger,' which means that the camera is possibly even more important now documenting latte foam and rainboots on a minutely drizzly day, and you have to bring it with you everywhere to, you know, document a spontaneous run-in with latte foam... everywhere including the famous national park where all the big, beautiful redwoods reside - and you go with your whole family and because you have the big, fancy camera that aids in your gig as a buh-log-er, you somehow became the designated family photographer?

This.

This happens.
Notice that the only two photos of me are thanks to a spare iPhone.

On another note, I use a 50mm f:1/4 camera lens, which is what everyone recommends for a 'one size fits all' kind of deal. It's great for portraits and bokeh, but I do have to say the no-zoom thing is quite the letdown at times, especially times when there simply is no possible way to capture how massive and humongous and impressive these trees are at the fixed zoom it comes with.

In other words, these trees were so much more marvelous than what these pictures make them out to be. Scout's honor. (I was never a scout, but - Caroline's honor.)
22

To Saying Yes

A weekend for the books for my family, is quite the understatement. 

Let's put it this way.

My sister said yes to...
// Will you marry me?
// A milestone birthday of milestone birthdays! Party! Rah rah!

My parents said yes to...
// Visiting their baby girls in the Bay Area, which meant saying yes to
// Picking up the tab all weekend long. Dungeness crab! Dimsum! 

And me, of course. I said yes to...
// Gingerbread lattes in holiday cups (!!)
// Revising my thoughts on Taylor Swift's 1989.

So, as you can see, my yes's were infinitely more profound. In all seriousness, this weekend has meant the world. Getting to celebrate my big sister, who is by far the best person I know in every way you can think of - she has brains, she has beauty, she has a heart of gold - and getting to celebrate love and joy and family and San Francisco and cats... you know, there's really not much more you can ask to celebrate! In this month of giving thanks, I'll say right now - I'm thankful to get to experience the beauty of the Bay Area, I'm thankful that my parents were able to be here to spoil my sister (and me) (duh, I'm the baby) silly, I'm thankful to get to welcome a brother into the family, and more than anything, I'm thankful for my sister's happiness and the smile that never left her face this weekend. Alas, I'd spill more, but apparently not everyone in my family lives an open book like me.

I love you with every ounce of my being, Sarah Bear-ah!
Up next, trees!! (Huge, gorgeous trees, but trees.)
16