PMN: Chains & Roses

When I met up with Issa a couple of weekends ago, she was gracious enough to bring a little present courtesy of PMN. It instantly became one of my favorite shirts to wear! I did the sniff-test on this one too. Looked clean enough to me.

thifted shirt, american eagle shorts, js dany platforms

We had our "inner sanctum" Sekret Santa exchange last night at Jones in Hollywood. To help ease the gift-giving process & avoid the dreaded sole gift card exchange, we all made a list of 3 or more actual things we'd like (in addition to a few stores that we wouldn't mind getting gift cards to). For instance, I listed a french coffee press (which I did get!), Rhona listed a DVD set or some weights, Tim listed a baseball cap & books, Anthony listed a KCRW membership, & Arthur listed items from Uncrate & J.Crew...

jones

whoa where IS my HAND going?
"zomg you got me a j.crew shirt!...WTF i said XS! this is an S! RETURN IT IMMEDIATELY." "but we couldn't find XS at J.Crew" "UNACCEPTABLE"
chu know me mang

early johnny depp years with 21 jump street. a baseball cap that fits tim's noggin'? that's a first.

classin' up my mornings with a french press.

...When it was Rye Bread's turn to list some items...he only listed places he wanted gift cards to. BORING. We wanted GIFT ideas, not gift card locations. After several emails making fun of him (including he should have asked for the United States of America Gift Certificate, aka: cash), he amended his list to silver bullion or the Chinese Yen (being a smart ass). As luck would have it...*I* ended up getting him (son of a bitch! I already have to get him a gift, now I have to get him ANOTHER one?)...so what did I get him? You got it. SILVER BULLION! That's what he gets for being a smart ass about our gift exchange. He had no idea I would go that far...SURE DID.

anthony says "i wish my gift would appreciate in value"

As you saw in my other pics - we got a Christmas tree! I've never picked out a Christmas tree before, but I had this fantasy that it would be after sunset, on a cold winter's eve with a thermas full of hot cocoa under a string of lights...well cut to last weekend where it was over 80-degrees with a 40-minute line. But I was able to bring Ezio, so that was a plus.

on the car ride to home depot
"omgwtfbbq, i am not moving yet i am going somewhere"
"is THIS the right one? this is the THIRD tree!"
"please don't pee on the floor...mehhh you just did...how am i going to clean this up?"

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker

As a gift for dealing with all of my pictures...here is an outtake!"me so tired...me go night night.."

Tonight, Tonight

Rye Bread is a HUGE fan of musicals.

Me? Not so much.

But maybe that's because he grew up with them (and two older sisters) and like the closest I've come is the high school musicals my school (horribly) performed. So it's kinda a big divide between us because he's such a huge fan & I just don't have the experience or knowledge around them. I mean, when I watch them, I like them, but do I go "OH MAN I HAVE TO SEE THIS MUSICAL?" No. That makes him sads... and makes me think I'm barking up the wrong tree.

We saw West Side Story at the Pantages Theater & like I said, when I actually watch musicals, I thoroughly enjoy them - this was no exception! Loved the choreography & I didn't realize how many songs I actually knew. West Side Story has completely infiltrated everyday pop culture without me realizing the references.

So I bought this dress like over a year ago & I never wore it because it I CANNOT BREATHE. But I braved it. Also...why no one dresses up for the theatre anymore?

banana republic dress

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker

New Friends

No seriously. I consider them friends. Premature? Perhaps. Do I care? NO! As one of the lesser (read: un) popular girls in high school, I love that I consider my readers & fellow bloggers my friends. Like if I ran into one of you guys down the street, please say hi, but do expect an awkward hug. Perhaps even a little pelvic thrust.

On a whim, Issa & DRU!!! from WeWearThings visited LA & we took this opportunity to finally* meet. Melanie of WreckedStellar & Becs of StyleWithBenefits were at the Holi-Pop-up event at Space15Twenty, so we it was just one big blogger meet & greet!

*apparently my digitally-close relationship with Issa, Erica & Tramanh has made people believe we've been friends for awhile...i have yet to correct this theory...lol.

Btw, I promise to do a makeup / outfit post...I just realized my past few posts have been a visual diary, which...I mean, gets boring, even to me. I got a few great steals from PMN, so I'll be showcasing those soon!

becs, jeannie, melanie, issa, dru!!, me

this guy came up to us & told us he worked in radio. i was not surprised.

i have a new girl crush on issa!

a twin sandwich! love these girls! they got amazing feather extensions done by a local vendor; i'm sad i didn't do it. maybe next week!

A key question I got when I told my friends (and Rye Bread) that I was going to meet with these girls was "Are you going to dress up?" After going back & forth for awhile, I opted for my new fave jacket & jeans...a good compromise, no? But you better believe I did my hair & make-up! We also talked about bloggers we did & didn't like. Well, they did before I came...I wonder why it got so awkwardly quiet when I showed up...lol, jk.

Here's to new friends! (Raises my coffee mug)

questions? ask here / twitter tracker

Rags to Riches

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was great overall, some highlights:

+ I made most of the Thanksgiving side dishes (including caramelized-shallot mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing & caprese salad)
+ Ryan's sister bought a new car! An Acura TSX...after going to the dealership with her, I'M convinced I want an Acura too.
+ My sister flew into town from Ohio & I spent all weekend with her!
+ Lots of Rock Band & Kinect playing
+ Ice skating in Santa Monica

Some pictures!group photo - left to right: christine (my sister), me, jenny (rye's sister), rye's mom, rye, rye's dad, jason (yvette's fiance), yvette (rye's sister)

"future in-laws"

both the dress & tights are SO old, i can't even remember where i bought either! lol

hark! tis over there!

nommies

playing kinect. do you spy all of the rockband equipment?

my sister's celebrity doppleganger. SERIOUSLY. this has become a running joke. look at how eerily similar they look. LUPUS! Could be worse...could be for Vagisil or an STD, lol.

ice skating in santa monica

just landed my triple lutz...with a handle bar.

mocha at french market cafe

my open breakfast sandwich

And if you follow me on Twitter, you know the biggest news is that I recently adopted a stray puppy!! PUPPY!!!! BEST THANKSGIVING EVAR! He was found wandering the wilderness in Desert Hot Springs and after holding him for a few seconds I knew I just couldn't let him go. And so did my sister & Ryan's entire family. You should have seen the "uh oh, what did we just do" look they gave each other. *teehee*

when we found him on 11/26

"from rags...

Ezio, named after the Assassin's Creed character (can you guess who named him between Rye Bread & me?) is a Lab-mix & was 10-weeks when we found him (he's now 11-weeks). My sister & I then spent a majority of our weekend preparing the house & buying supplies & taking him to the vet to get his first round of shots.

ezio, 11/28 ...to riches!"

Since he's a puppy, he's incredibly time-consuming & instilling A LOT of patience in me...which, if you know me personally, I have very little of. Potty-training, timing, feedings, & a lot of attention. If you have an tips / advice, I'd be indebted.

excuse the uggs, they're the easiest things to slip on when trying to beat "accidents"

And don't worry - we didn't want "the real OG's" to feel left out...so Rye purchased these presents for them!

poncho with his monstrous raw hide...he had no idea what to do with it.

sydney's is much more reasonable...she immediately hid it.

On a side note, how hee-larry-us is it that because I'm documenting my GMAT progress that I'm getting GMAT comments?! Speaking of which, we only have 2 more classes left. I'm still working on implementing the strategies Kaplan is teaching before I start timing myself. It's a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. A majority of what I'm learning has nothing to do with the actual "work" or "how-to" of the problems, but figuring out "what" the GMAT is asking & how to score points. A word to the wise: You are expected to guess on a few questions...the GMAT is not about whether you know how to do the problems, but about knowing what to do with the information it gives you in the time it gives you. So good luck to everyone!

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker

Crab Cakes & the Capital

Hey, remember when I went to MD & DC last month? Sorry it's taken me so long to post pictures, but as you guys may know, last in October, Rye & I went to Maryland & Washington, DC to visit my sister, brother-in-law, niece & also to site-see. Neither of us have been to either areas so it was definitely exciting. My sister's lived out in MD for over 6-years, and JUST NOW do I have the funds to visit. Now that I've been, I can't wait to go back. I especially want to go back for the Cherry Blossom Festival, but I know that it's such a limited time (I think like 2 weeks) and can range anywhere from March to April...so we'll see if I make it in that window!

In summary, our trip:Overall, we had an amazing time. There was A LOT of walking & A LOT of picture-taking. Between Rye & me, we had over 700 pictures for 4 days. A lot of them were repeats or of the same thing in different angles, but 700?? Thank goodness we had huge memory cards (twss). To avoid the longest post ever, I'll try to keep it quick with some of my favorite pictures & memories.

In Maryland, we visited the Naval Academy, but more importantly, ate these AMAZING crab cakes at G&M Restaurant & Lounge, which were to die for. They were the size of a halved grapefruits & just full of crab meat (versus random filling). We also drank margaritas & played Rock Band the rest of the night.

my sister & i at the US Naval Academy (cat-call to the sailors!)

h&m trench coat, banana republic scarf

my niece TERRIFIED that she had to go in the car with rye & me. sads!

ripley, a little more comfortable, and like her aunt...very fond of the camera.

In DC, we of course went to all of the monuments, museums & touristy stuff. Walked a lot. Ate a lot.

rye & his "washington monument" (done on purpose)...very classy
f21 sweater & jeans, steve madden boots
imagine waking up to THIS face every morning.
love
ripley again, terrified to be in my arms...i'm going to be a GREAT mother!
my fave pic of ripley & me...and maybe of the entire trip

j&g steakhouse
hey guys, look, it's the white house!
lady-like, per my usual

mike & chris jacket, f21 jeans, steven madden boots, chanel sunglasses

fell asleep during the IMAX dinosaur movie. and i LOVE dinosaurs!
capitol hill
steph: what are you doing?
rye: i was pretending to throw it like a paper airplane. what are YOU doing?
steph: holding the plane on my hand. we didn't coordinate that very well, did we.

ripley garden

Thanks again to everyone who sent me great recommendations on where to go! Can't wait to share my next trip (still TBD).

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker