los angeles.

i took a trip recently, to los angeles.  i'd been to california before but only to san diego.  it was quite a journey.  my ride was coming from school so i waited in the airport bar for about an hour.  this is decidedly the absolute best place to meet weird, awesome, fantastic people.  i met a busy businessman snackin on chicken fingers and talking to his sister on his phone about their ill papa, i met a stunningly beautiful girl from austin waiting on her date to head off to a wedding, i met a man picking up his family who were visiting to celebrate his wedding that very weekend, i met a hot mom and we discussed dating and last i met a medicine man from montana who blessed me with sage while eating buttered toast.  

from there, i swam in pools, soaked up a hot tub, visited universal studios where i had my first pink's hot dog and watched a kickass waterworld show.  i rode the ferris wheel on santa monica pier.  i dipped my toes in the pacific while in malibu, i ate so much delicious guacamole. i drank vodka in silver lake and drank mojitos in a fancy hotel room in west hollywood.  i saw michael jackson's house and drank pitchers of beers at the grove.  i watched mulholland drive after i drove down mulholland drive.  and best of all best: i had my first in and out burger!  

i loved l.a. with all my heart.  i think i may have left it there.

girl crush friday: betsey johnson

badass lady, prettiest dresses, best BEST runway shows.  i dream of a day i can be this fucking cool.

bye!

don't be scurrred.

in the spirit of my most favorite holiday of the year, every year... let's talk spooky movies.   i decided to poll my co-workers and see what topped their lists of the scariest movie they have ever seen:

the excorcist - this is the answer i got most frequently.  the beauty of this one is that it's old (1973) but people told me they were still getting chills just telling me about it. plus it won 2 oscars which never really happens with horror movies.
texas chainsaw massacre - chainsaw-weilding leatherface slicing people up.  scary, yes.
the shining - creep level 1 million - truth? i haven't seen the shining because i'm afraid.  but i plan on watching it sunday under the covers.  eep!
nightmare on elm street (the first)
friday the 13th
halloween
psycho

these are horror movie classics not to be missed.  when i told a coworker my list of scariest movies i have ever seen - he literally laughed out loud.  said my choices were the LEAST scary movies he had ever seen.  i am the world's biggest fraidy cat.  i love my night lite. here's a sample:

1. the ring.  i saw this in australia with new friends.  i was too embarrassed to let them know how scared i was... but i slept in my dorm room with the light on for 3 weeks.  i still can't watch even one second of this movie.  yuck.

2. scream.  ok this one isn't scary - it's campy and funny and i love it...but one night, my older brother and his friends hid all over our house in scream costumes and jumped out.  they chased me through the house.  i thought it was real until i ran into my mom's room and she was laughing - she was in on it!  yeah i'm a wimp. but also - it reinvented drew barrymore. who is awesome.

3. funny games.  behind snakes, public speaking, and the dark, i fear home invasion.  this movie will knock your socks right off.  see it. i don't want to tell you any more.

4. the strangers.  with the stabbing and the masks and the "because you were home" line. anyone who knows me well knows i went through (and am still going though) an obsession with charles manson/helter skelter and i once heard this movie had some similarities to that case.

two options: rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses

i used to think i was pretty well traveled.  i always thought my time in australia and fiji, my trip through europe, various island visits through the caribbean and sure, i've visited plenty of u.s. cities and states constituted being a well traveled little lady.  over the past year i've had the opportunity to meet tons of new people and hear their stories.  plus, one of my bestest friends (and former roommate) packed up herself, her boyfriend, and her little dog too and is still traveling the us in an rv. 

over the summer and fall alone i visited nyc, miami, baltimore, alexandria, washington dc, ogonquit maine, newport, and los angeles.  i have trips planned to santa barbara and seattle but i still don't feel satisfied.  i once heard that writing down your goals helps you to accomplish them.  this is what i want:  i want to save up all my pennies, save up all my vacation days, take a month off of work and drive cross country.  i want to go everywhere! 

top cities on my list?  nashville, savannah, austin, san antonio, santa fe, chicago, portland, san francisco... i want to eat at gross trucker diners and sleep in 'vacancy'-ish motels.  i want to make endless playlists. i want to stay in a teepee at the wigwam. i want to argue with whoever my co-pilot might... i want it all.  so there. i did it.  i wrote down my goal and now i have to do it.  who's coming?

(all images via weheartit except last image-me)

every wave that hits the shore. every book that i adore.

as i've said a gazillion times, i just moved into a small studio.  of course when moving from a big ol apartment into a tiny one, there's lots you've gotta give up, give away or store.  one thing i had to keep and will always have is a bookcase.  one day i dream of having an entire wall just for books. i love reading, i always have. 

i recently took a trip to los angeles.  i never sleep on planes so i made sure to pack a book for my flights and for the beach.  i brought... one day and it's written by david nicholls (he also wrote starter for ten).  premise: the author visits the lives of 2 people (emma morely + dexter mayhew) each year on july 15 for 20 years, starting in 1988.  it's certainly a story of love, but there's tons of silly moments, honest moments and so very many sad moments.  it shredded me.  i want you to read it, you can even have my copy.

work really hard.

i used to be so afraid to say who i was - even the small things: that i like john mayer, that i get nervous at parties where i don't know anyone, that some nights (a lot of nights) i'd rather stay in and watch the burbs while we make dinner, that i don't know much about politics, that doritos are the most delicious food on the planet, that it hurts like a knife when you talk about other girls, that i'm a morning person, that i regret not being more focused in college, that sometimes i'd rather listen to katy perry than NPR, that i'm embarrassed of my job and my tiny apartment, that i love writing but i'm scared i'll fail if i try, that i've never felt worth much because i have an older brother who people worship, that i like my coffee milky and sugary... 
ok... i guess some of those things aren't such small things... but the point is, i used to be so afraid to just be honest about the person i am.  i feel lost sometimes.  but i am committed to change. to honesty. and to opening up my mind. 
i love conan... his new show is coming on soon so i'll leave you with some very smart words from a very awesome dude:

All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.



— Conan O’Brien