pismo.

thumbs up for not dying. woo! also, i have no idea why my left hand looks unnaturally small. eh.

took a mini road trip with the boyfriend and my highschool/college friends a couple of weeks ago to go atv-ing at pismo beach. if you are wondering where pismo beach is (i sure as heck was), it's located in central california, where the cows and llamas roam free. d picked us up from the apartment friday night and we made our way to santa barbara. fact: just because you ask for a non smoking room at motel6, doesn't mean your room won't smell like smoke. our other friends weren't arriving till around 1am so we decided to explore good old sb. we got as far as 2 blocks from the motel before heading back. fortunately, there's a bowling alley next to the motel called zodos. bowling alley/food(goodquality!)/pool/fully stocked bar/games. what more can you ask for?............ exactly! the boyfriend and d played games until they could play no more. screw adult basketball.. it was all about the one made for small unathletic children. tickets for everyone!

the next morning we headed up to pismo for the main event. steve's atv probably could not have made it any easier to bring the idea of me on an atv into fruition. i wish i could say that i was not afraid at all, but then that would be a HUGE lie. i tried my best to stay on flat (semi stable) land, although i really didn've have a choice, given that i rented the weaker atv and could barely make it up a hill. lucky for me, the boyfriend was there to haul my ass out whenever i got stuck. woo! also lucky for me, i got over my fear fast. so fun! would totally do it again!

new discovery.

i decided to head over to michaels the other day for some after work retail therapy. usually when i do this, i formulate some sort of justifiable means of why i need to be spending more money. that day, it was that i needed some silk flowers to replace my dying lucky bamboo. as always, i go into the store, wander through the baking aisle and convince myself that i also need some paper doilies to line my glass cake stand. pick up the 10" variety and forge on. head on over to the floral aisles. i don't know if you're aware of this, but michaels has an exstensive collection of faux flowers. too many to possibly choose from. i think i picked up and then immediately put down 8-10 different styles. all in various but not their original locations, of course. one of my flaws tom has mentioned to me on more than one occasion. feeling defeated, i sauntered through the store, hoping there might be something there for me.

and then i see it. *angels singing* the fun finds aisle. an entire section that ecompassed two of my shopping requirements. bargains and paper goods. nothing over $5, but most items will only set you back $1. i ask myself "why have i not seen this before?!?!" this is not your typical "let's throw all the useless crap no one wants into a few baskets and call it our deals section" section. no, this has useless crap people DO want.. or at least.. i want. i quickly gather every item i decide i cannot live without (of course i need a package of star shaped nametag stickers!). i don't even remember what happened to my doilies. just fallen soldiers left behind.

my favorites are from the kitchen section. they have a couple of different patterns but this was by far my favorite. they match what i imagine my kitchen will one day look like. pastels and full of baking equipment. missing from the picure are the set of matching glass magnets. those were promptly placed on the fridge.

beef stew with root veggies

i decided to cook a real dinner the other night, as i so rarely do, and i settled on this recipe i found on allrecipes.com for slow cooker beef stew with root vegetables. beef stew is one of my favorite comfort meals and so good on a cold night. this is a great meal to make if you don't have a lot of time. you can prepare everything the night before and then throw it all into the cooker before you leave for work.

slow cooker beef stew with root veggies

(serves about 3.. i don't really precisely measure my ingredients, so feel free to adjust to your liking)

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck or stew meat (cut into 1 inch cubes)
• 2 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 large garlic clove minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp soy sauce or worchestire sauce
• 1 small/med. yellow onion (cut into small pieces)
  
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
  
• 3 small red skinned potatoes (cut into 1 inch cubes.. i like to leave the skin on)
  
• 3/4 cups beef broth
  

put beef into slow cooker. mix together flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. coat beef with flour mixture. stir in garlic, bay leaf, soy sauce, onions, carrots and potatoes. add beef broth. cook on high setting for 4-6 hours or low setting for 9-10 hours.

serve with steamed white rice or some nice crusty bread for dipping!

snack time.

i looooove asian snacks. they bring creative snacking to a whole 'nother level. and their packaging is too cute. a cheery little indian, winking at me, as if to say "eat me. i guarantee deliciousness in your near future". the potato flavored snack (yes, that is the actual name.. those koreans just get right to the point.. eff that "doritos" shit) and it's equally yummy sweet potato flavored snack cousin are just begging for you to eat them. i mean.. they are depicted on the package as about to enjoy smaller versions of their tasty selves. if veggie cannibalism isn't appetizing, then i don't know what is.

as for a description of each... the indian corn snack is like eating butter popcorn flavored corn flakes, with a lighter/crispier texture. the potato and sweet potato snack are relatively similar in texture and shape, except that sweet potato really does have a sweet potato flavored coating and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. all three are utterly satisfying and definitely accomplish the task of making me feel like i'm snacking healthily. um.. except for maybe the butter flavored one. butter flavor is never healthy.

mercedes benz fashion week: spring '09

yes, i am behind seeing as the 2009 fall lines have already been premiered. but since spring is upon us (or at least those of us lucky enough to live in sunny southern california) so here are my picks.

above is a piece from marc jacob. i don't know about you, but this outfit screams vacationing in paris to me. maybe it's the cute little hat perched on top of her perfect model head. maybe it's the bold blue and yellow stripes. maybe it's even the criss cross of the straps going up to who knows where on her legs.. but it works.

this would be from the carolina herrera collection. i am in love with those poofy princess sleeves. adds a nice girly touch to an otherwise simple little black dress.

herve leger by max azria. bandage dress. yes, please.

nicole miller. if i had to dress up for work, this is what i would want to wear. sexy, yet professional.


rock and republic. zippers. check. hot ass leggings. check. love how the white lines swirl towards the center, balancing out the entire outfit.

for more of faves, go to my flickr set

le sigh.

dammit, lost, you saucy minx. why must you tease me so? as if season 3's finale didn't mind fuck me enough. now you start throwing in allusions to literary works i've never read and scientific mumbo jumbo i will never understand. not that i don't enjoy spending an hour every wednesday night screaming and cursing at the television screen, and then proceed to spend at least 50% of my time at work on thursday trying to analyze the shit out of what i just witnessed. i've immersed myself so much into the lost universe that i just might need my very own frozen donkey wheel to get myself out. hm.. too far? probably.

but really, just answer these few simple questions before the show is over so i can rest easy at night.

1. why is aaron so damn special? i mean, it was a major story arc in seasons 1 and 2..

2. .. and speaking of special children, what the eff is up with walt and being able to send innocent birds to their impending doom?

3. why were those specific people chosen to be on the island? obviously you made a point to show that they were all connected through their ex neighbor's aunt's great granddaughter's boyfriend's cat's cousin for a reason.

4. umm why do characters just disappear for days/weeks at a time without any explanation and the other characters still worthy enough of screen time are completely accepting of it? um, hello, rose and bernard? vincent??

so obviously there are many many MANY more questions other than the ones i have posed that need to be answered. but really, that would probably take a good chunk of my life that could be used for more productive things... or other tv. whatever comes first. all i ask is that all the time i have (nerdily) invested in this show not be wasted by the explanation that everything is a loop and all the insane shit that has happened to them is their own doing. i might have to punch someone in the kidney if that's the case. yes, i'm talking to you darlton.

ps. please give sawyer his messy bed head unshaven lumberjack look back. thanks.

grow.

lately, i've been trying out my "green" thumb. right now it's touch and go. some live. some die. apparently my green thumb is more a shade of teal. i'm not sure how easy it's supposed to be to grow plants from seeds or how long it's supposed to take for them to look more like what's shown on their seed packets rather than dying weeds, but i would say i'm doing an a-ok job. this is my biggest success to date and i'm not even really sure what type of plants they are. i believe the package was labeled "xyz flowers". i'm so good at paying attention to detail, i know i know. i'm also trying my hand at herbs. yes, things that i can eat! i'm pretty sure the chives are about to let go of their last breath at any given moment, but the parsley and thyme seem to be doing well in their relatively new lives.

nom.

i have been eating pudding everyday at lunch for the past 2 weeks. i love it. i love that no matter what "variety" of chocolate you buy, it still tastes like plain chocolate (ingenious marketing, btw). i love that there's less than 50 calories in each delicious serving, yet it's still completely satisfying. i love that it's an almost guaranteed success if you want to make it on your own.

how can something so simple be so fantastic?

we're not gonna pay rent!

if only real life were like this. i'm pretty confident that if i refused to pay rent at my current residence, the leasing office would have the authorities promptly and efficiently remove me from the premises. the other tenants of my apt complex would definitely not rally behind me and break out in song.

last night i saw "rent" for the 2nd time, except it was even more amazing this time around because the night's lineup included both adam pascal and anthony rapp from the original cast! to see the original "mark" do his now iconic rendition of "la vie boheme" on top of the table at life cafe was nothing short of awesome.

um. can i please start making enough money so that i can do this on a regular basis?