Summer's End

Last night I hosted an old-fashioned sleepover. Five of my closest friends came over and we enjoyed a lovely night filled with s'mores, pajamas, tea, junk food, pillows, chatting, and cats (at least there were always cats at my sleepovers). Before the girls came I unraveled six wire hangers to use for toasting the mallows and lit the three fire pits in my backyard. I love sitting outside on summer nights. We gathered around my family's homemade picnic table on the patio and chatted over iced tea, fruit and dip, and everyone's favorite campfire classic.

The sleepover was really fun, maybe because it transported us back to our junior high days of orange and blue P.E. uniforms, humiliating flexed arm hang experiences, science fair projects, scarring images of Mr. Stipp doing Taebo, talking back to our Spanish teacher, being taller than all the guys (I never had this problem and still don't), and over all awkwardness.

"Do you remember when Mrs. J was pregnant and she sat down on her stool and it collapsed?"

"What about when Mr. Weimer's projector lit on fire and he yelped 'What do I do?'"

"Or when Courtney Williams shot the rubberband down Mrs. Higgins' shirt?"

"Miss P's constant neck bobbing as a result of her enthusiam for art?"

"Q: If you could bring only one thing to survive when you were stranded, what would it be? A: Books. (Long Pause) In case the fire gets dim."

The memories just kept pouring out. We didn't have to behave like our current selves as young adults in their twenties with part-time jobs and other commitments. We were once again in junior high when we didn't have many other commitments besides solving simple algebraic equations at night. I don't look back on junior high with nostalgia; I have no desire to return. But remembering it is fun. It's always good for a laugh or two, discussing how each other's history intersects with another until they all combine to become different parts of one long story--your shared history.

Rengim Mutevellioglu

If only my dreams were this vivid...







These images are all the work of Rengim Mutevellioglu. Her work is beautifully ethereal and she is personal friends with most of the models featured in her photos--it shows. The images emit an unfeigned intimacy that makes me want to recreate the scenarios in which they were taken so I can feel a part of it too.

Polyvore

Okay, so I was just Googling around when I discovered Polyvore. I made the following image featuring on the website, featuring Penelope of course.

Taken by the Music

I then stumbled upon this beauitful piece of grahpic art at Polyvore. Image created by butterfly.-01. Great job my friend!

The Queen by Butterfly @ Polyvore

It's so nice now that I've edited my blog so I can post large images. Hooray. I have not had much inspiration to write a lot lately since nothing really worth writing about is going on with me right now. Take now, for instance, I am writing about how I have nothing to write about. Eleven days until Barcelona!

Poster

What a waste of paper.

Walmart Lovelies

Today has been the hottest day of the summer so far, 92 degrees plus horrible humidity. It's to be expected since it's almost mid-August but this summer has been so mild that I'm not used to this wretchedness. Due to an impromptu 3.5 hour nap yesterday, I experienced a severe case of insomnia last night. Thus, in lieu of sleeping I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic and loved it (I have read and loved all the Sophie Kinsella novels as well) and started packing for Spain. Gah, so overwhelming. Before I knew it, it was 3am and my floor was covered with scarves and sweaters and possibilities of shoes that I might bring. I have some major editing to do and the whole process will take awhile.

Today I got my hair trimmed and added more layers. Darkened it too. Also, my Timex Ironman watchband is breaking off the watch. It's really very sad. I use my beloved Timex everday and losing it is losing my most faithful running companion. I looked online to see if the band itself can be replaced, but no. I have to buy a new one. After my hair appointment today I went to Walmart and saw them there for 40$. Not wanting to spend any more money before Spain, I scoured my house for loose change, checking all my old purses, my bookbag, my desk drawers, and the kitchen drawers. I ended up coming up with 15$ cash and 26$ in change. It helped that I found a roll of quarters from my laundry days last year. I figured buying a new running watch was a noteworthy cause and that it was okay to spend the quarters since I won't be using them within the next year.

Each stack of coins equals one dollar and I taped them together so it will be easier to count out when I go back to Walmart to buy my new Ironman. All the quarters are in one Ziploc. Luckily I didn't have to resort to using 100 pennies, though I did count some out just in case I ran short of silver coins. Watching me do so, my mom graciously contributed a dollar bill to the cause.

Walmart really does have unbeatable prices and cool things. I don't care about the whole "Walmart is bad" thing because even if it is taboo, it helps me finance my life. On another note, Miley Cyrus has paired with Max Azria and developed a very nice clothing line which I saw at Walmart today. I couldn't resist buying this vest.
I like Miley. Maybe it's because she's so "taboo" now and the taboo factor makes me like her more. I am drawn to taboos, and garlic too for that matter. Mmmm.

Potlucks and Braids

Last night I went to a potluck at my friend Bethany's house. I know what you're thinking, "Ew, potlucks. That's just everyone's excuse to get rid of the leftovers they've had stored in the fridge for the past week and a half." But actually, it's not. The food was really good and spending time with friends is always worthwhile. I brought pizza. Domino's to be exact. That's my tip for all the potluck-attending newbies out there. Bring a simple cheese pizza from Domino's and check the phone book before you order it to see if the coupons near the back have expired yet.

I'm desparately trying to see most of my friends before I take off for Barcelona on Aug. 21. It's getting to be crunch time and I've started to think about thinking about packing. I hate packing; it's so stressful. And packing for a year to go to a country that you've never been to is, admittedly, a bit daunting. But I'm SO excited!

At the potluck last night my friend Megan french braided my hair. I love having it french braided! I cannot do it very well myself and trying to french braid my own mane is nearly impossible. My arms start to cramp up with pain resembling that of the kind I felt when running the San Diego Marathon. Anywho, Megan did a really good job and had a lot of patience because my hair was so tangly. I kept the braids in to sleep and got in bed with Bukowski.

Today I have a few things I want to do.
1. Run 8 miles. Lift weights/ core. French braids are still in tact, yay!
2. Empty the dishwasher. I love when I open the dishwasher door and the steam floats up in my face; I use it to clean my glasses.
3. Take pants to the tailor. I'm 5'3" and have to cut almost all my jeans.
4. Paint backyard chairs. Friends coming over around 7:45p to help. Note to self: wear jank clothes so as not to ruin good ones.

Books and Storms

I have rediscovered the loft in my house. It's such a glorious place. Because my house has an open floor plan (meaning that there are no walls separating the kitchen, living room, reading room, etc.), the sound carries from room to room. No matter where I go I can hear The Young and the Restless booming from the living room everyday at noon. Yet, when I go upstairs to the loft it's so pieceful. Because the room is on a higher level than the rest of the house, you feel somewhat disconnected, and though you can still hear the noise from the house, it is not bothersome. Of course, I go in the loft to read. I feel like it's my own corner of the world where nobody can touch me. I secretly wish that I could install bookshelves along the walls and make it into a partial library.

This is a view of the side of our house from the stairway leading up to the loft, and normally there wouldn't be a green dumpster in view, but the house next to us is still being built. That's the vegetable garden to which my step dad eagerly tends and there is a stone path that goes around the perimeter of the house. The backyard view is so cute with the garden railroad. The little house is a children's playhouse that my step dad constructed and uses as a shed for garden tools.

I spent all of yesterday morning upstairs in the loft, huddled in a blanket and reading The Shadow of the Wind. The latter is a gothic novel set in Barcelona (yay!) with wonderfully ominous passages. I love gothic literature. It was an appropriate read for yesterday because just after I took the above photos, a huge thunderstorm rolled in. The clouds were absolutely treacherous and very promising of the storm to come. As I mentioned, I was reading my book when I looked up and peered out the window. I watched as the sky turned black and the yard light in our backyard clicked on, sensing night time. Still in my pajamas, I skipped down the stairs and ran outside to take a picture of the clouds. Just as I stepped through the door the rain began and pelted me in the face. Nonetheless, here are the resulting photos.

It was beautiful. Summer storms are definitely something that I never experienced when I lived in Los Angeles. I love them.