Thankfuls

I just can’t officially celebrate Thanksgiving without making a list of all the things I’m thankful for. So, without further ado, this year I am thankful for:

my wonderful sister and the fact that she moved to California and lives with me in my apartment

my amazing boyfriend and the fact that he lives just down the alley from me

my awesome parents and the fact that my mom came to LA and cooked me a month’s worth of homemade meals

my job that I absolutely love and the fact that I found a good one when so many people can’t

good health for me and all the people in my life

good friends who make a point of staying in touch even when we’re all too busy

Good Morning America and the fun that comes with waking up to Robin, Chris, Sam and Diane every morning

Starbucks red cups and the smile they put on my face every time I see one

my beautiful apartment in Santa Monica, my favorite city in LA

country music and the way it gets my feet tapping

Gossip Girl (and all good TV)

my new black boots (and my brown ones when they finally get here)

always having enough money for milk (sometimes two gallons a week!)

pumpkin spice candles and the way they make any apartment super cozy

dessert (every night!)

Cougar basketball

my new warm and fuzzy slipper boots

Sunday dinners

hoodies

cereal

holiday travel

Have you made your list yet?

Tag, I'm it

When my friend Stephanie over at Stephanie Blogs tagged me, I couldn’t resist (but don’t worry, I won’t be tagging any of you, just in case it’s not your thing) .

My seven weird/random facts:

I regularly fear that I will get stuck in an elevator, die in an earthquake, find a snake in my toilet or get kidney disease.

I really only like to type in Times New Roman.

I am a fanatic list-maker and make lists of things I want to tell people, things I want to buy at the grocery store, things I need to add to my wardrobe, things I want to blog about, places I want to go, etc.

My absolute favorite beer is Red Hook ESB from a little brewery outside of Seattle. (Look for it at your local super market!)

I have two tattoos: the word “faith” on my lower back and a little red heart on my right foot. Both are the result of spur of the moment decisions. The heart is my favorite.

Everyday I try not to eat a snack out of the lounge at work, and everyday I fail.

Before I moved to California, I had never eaten asparagus, artichokes, brussels sprouts or fresh green beans.

Visions of sweet potatoes...

I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving, and not just any Thanksgiving, but my very first Thanksgiving, as in the first Thanksgiving I’ve ever hosted at my apartment.

The first year I lived in California, I had Thanksgiving with a friend and her hilariously funny family. We sat around a table and talked about Sideways while we drank wine, ate turkey and laughed until our stomachs hurt. The second year I lived here, I went to Vegas for Thanksgiving, and while it might sound icky at first, it was magical, with plenty of food and football and fun to go around.

But this year there are no plans to join another’s family or to load up the car and get out of dodge. Nope, this year I’m doing it the old fashioned way with two of my very favorite people, and I must say, I’m both excited and nervous about it.

Thanksgiving is probably my second favorite holiday. Or maybe third. But favorites aside, I love Thanksgiving for all the little reasons that one should love a holiday. Not because you get presents (Christmas) or candy (Easter) or cake (birthdays), but because of the smells, the habits, the traditions.

I love Thanksgiving because of the way the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade sounds in the background while I blow dry my hair, because of the way my arms always get tired smashing the sweet potatoes and because of the way my eyelids get heavy after serving number two. I love Thanksgiving because everyone watches the game, even if they don’t like football and because everyone dresses up, even if they’re not leaving the house. I love the sound of the oven timer, the smell of melting marshmallows and the taste of turkey and dressing, and last but not least, I love that my sister will unfailingly force us to go around the table and say what we’re thankful for, because really, isn’t that what it’s all about?

And so, because I love it and because it’s my first as a hostess and because I have so many things to be thankful for, I’ve decided to pull out all the stops.

Here’s what’s on the agenda so far:
Turkey
Dressing
Gravy
Sweet potatoes
Macaroni and cheese
Green bean casserole

Beets
Rolls
Deviled eggs
Vegetables and dip
Olives/Pickles
Stuffed jalapenos
Lemon meringue pie
Chocolate bunt cake

Pumpkin pie

Am I forgetting anything?

To the girl on the pier

If you’re ever bored and in need of some warm fuzzies and sitting in front of a computer with no where to go…

Check out the missed connections on Craigslist.

Seriously.

Like little seeds of romance planted right in your very own neighborhood, they just might put a smile on your face, even on a hectic Monday morning.

And who knows, maybe someone is looking for you...

Number 3

Can be checked off the list.

Cowboy Country

Best. Bar. In. LA.

Hands down.

Like words? Love Wordles!

This, my friends, is a Wordle (above) – my new favorite word and brand new obsession. (click on it to see a bigger version)

Would you believe I learned about these totally cool word collages while doing an executive report? When someone told me to create a word cloud, I was expecting something terribly boring and drab, but boy was I wrong. Wordles come in all colors and all designs. All you have to do is visit the Wordle site and copy and paste any amount of text into the text box. The program then pulls out the most common words and creates quite a pretty picture. I made the one above by copying and pasting the text from my Happy October blog post into the Wordle site.

You can choose your own fonts and your own colors and even the amount of words in your Wordle. The only bad thing is that you can’t copy and paste them anywhere. You have to take a screen shot, then use Correll or Photo Shop to crop and turn them into a jpeg.

But if you like them as much as me, that won’t stop you!

Happy Wordling, everyone!

Presidents and peanut butter cookies

Standing in my living room, a glass of wine in one hand and a peanut butter cookie in the other, I watched with anxious excitement as Barack Obama was announced President Elect.

I didn’t vote in this election. I simply didn’t feel passionate about either candidate. So, the feeling I had standing there in my living room wasn’t one of victory or loss - rather it was the spine-tingling feeling of being a part of history at the very moment it was being made.

I took note of the exact spot I was standing in. The clothes I was wearing. The way the room smelled.

I wanted to remember it all.

There aren’t many times in life when you know you’re living in a historic moment while you’re living in it, and when it does happen, it really is the neatest feeling – reminding us that no matter if we’re happy or sad with the outcome of the election, our country will be ok. She has had her ups and downs - her triumphs and her defeats - and she has continued to prosper, to persevere and to protect. She’s a resilient old broad, that faithful lady America, and we’d all do well to take some lessons from her strength, her courage and her eternal hope.

Here’s to the future.

To hope.

To change.

Treats, Not Tricks

1 Daisy Duke +
1 Wooderson (from Dazed and Confused ) +
1 hour stuck in traffic +
1 mix CD +
1 hard to find parking spot +
2 houses in Hollywood +
5 hours of fun +
1 SoCoke +
1 cup of some strange punch +
3 hours urban camping +
2 gigantic headaches +
8 hours of sleep +
1 lazy Saturday +
3 hours of listening to the WSU game +
2 medium pizzas +
2 movies +
11 hours of sleep +
1 extra hour back +
3 hours of Cowboys/Seahawks football +
1 plate of nachos =

1 really great Halloween weekend!