Sunday, September 30, 2012

and in that moment, I swear we were infinite.



Friday night we brought back the very overdue 'date night.' After sending a text and purchasing tickets on Fandango earlier in the day, we were set. I read the Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school, but I honestly couldn't remember the storyline very well. We grabbed a bite to eat in Director's Park and made our way to Fox Tower for the 7:45 showing. I was laughing, fighting back some tears, and after a few glances over to the BF, I could tell he was diggin' this flick. My film choices are always a bit of a stretch to get him to join me, but I did good! (watch the trailer here)

I'm planning to reread the book soon and can't wait to see it again when this movie is out on Netflix. Complete with great acting, an amazing storyline and clever writing, I really didn't want this movie to end. There's something so relatable about the highs and lows of being a teenager. Two thumbs up.


Friday, July 6, 2012

there's your sign

Pinned Image

I have found out that ink offers and deals on laptops are not my passion. I think I knew that before, but I never realized how important passion and interest were until I took this new job. I left a job I loved and a group that felt like family to seek greener pastures and it ended up not working out. Lesson learned. 


Even though I started just 3 months ago, I've decided to change my fate and have accepted a position as an Account Executive and sell billboards and other out of home advertising in the Portland market. Part of me feels like I failed - a tiny bit. But the other part of me is so damn excited that I've chosen not to settle for anything less than what makes me insanely happy. Forty plus hours a week is a long time to be doing something you don't love; and I intend to make the very best of this learning experience. So for that, I'm estatic. While I've done plenty of complaining due to the growing pains of learning a new job and industry, I've decided to change my attitude and my situation.

I start this Tuesday (after a much welcomed day off on Monday), and I can't wait to hit the streets and sell some billboards. If you know of anyone looking to advertise their business and drive traffic into their locations, please send them my way! Referrals are a girl's best friend, dontchaknow?

Monday, June 25, 2012

this one's for the girls

Sometimes you just need a little gal-pal time. This weekend was full of quality time with my ladies which was so overdue and so lovely!

This summer, I have 2 old friends named Kate that are getting married. Not to each other, let's be clear. Two Kates. Two weddings. To two great guys. I went to Kate #1's shower on Saturday to toast to the blushing bride. While we have been friends since 6th grade, I always assumed she'd marry at Backstreet Boy. Since Brian Littrell is off the market, I'm so happy she has ended up with someone just as fab and less Google-able. We have stayed in touch over the years but haven't been extremely close (which I plan to change immediately). And even though I didn't know many people at the shower, it was so fun to catch up and partake in her special day. Aren't we just the cutest? I almost resurrected an old school picture of us from back in the day, but they're all in storage (totally need to dig some out though). Her mom said I look exactly the same as junior high, to which I replied, "Oh, god! I hope not!) Her comment is equal parts not true (phew!) and frightening.



We played Mad Libs, had some boozy cocktails and all swooned over all of the great gifts she received from Anthropologie (did not know you could register there - good mental note).

On Sunday, I met three lovely ladies for a delicious dinner at Gracie's inside of Hotel deLuxe. While we often frequent The Driftwood Room inside the glam-tastic Hotel deLuxe, we had never eaten at Gracie's before. It's fancy, it's pricy and it just wasn't on my radar unless it was a special event. Here in Portland, June is officially Dining Month. Restaurants that partake in Dining Month draw up a special 3-course menu and charge a reasonable $25 per person to indulge. I got the grilled asparagus, pork chop and creme brulee.



Yum! I was entirely too full, but who can resist a glass of wine and catching up with your gal pals? Hilarious times. I love that we each got a different dessert. Chocolate mousse, bread pudding, cheesecake and the creme brulee! I wish every month was Dining Month, but at the rate that the BF and I go out to eat, it pretty much is.

Oh (and don't judge me), but I totally wore my new, green maxi dress to both events. Different audience you know.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

viva las vegas

One of my closest girlfriends is gettin' hitched - so we've booked a girl's weekend to Vegas to properly celebrate. I'm so excited to head out of town in August with the gals. Last time we were all there together was 4 years ago, but it feels just like yesterday. We're going to pile in a room, lounge by the pool and pop the champagne. 

Booking travel for five gals is no joke. After checking a million travel sites, we finally pulled the trigger the other night. We were like giddy school girls on the phone when we all pushed "purchase." I've learned that my calling in life is planning other people's celebrations. I have a Google Doc at the ready for this trip...color coded, links embedded - the whole shebang. Now to plan my outfits! I only have a month and a half to figure out 2 days of outfits. Oh, the stress!

Monday, April 23, 2012

aloha!


splurging on the convertible Mustang
was one of our favorite memories in Hawaii.

We're back from our vacation to paradise. It was nothing short of fabulous. After spending our days lounging by the pool and swimming in the teal blue ocean, I'm catching up on a pile of laundry and a DVR full of Gossip Girl and Bethenny Ever After. 


Not going to lie - it wasn't easy adjusting to the time change or sitting at my desk today (especially since it was so gorgeous outside), but life off of the island ain't so bad. Can't wait to share all my adventures throughout the week. Mahalo!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

fields of gold

With just a little over an hour until the Academy Awards (otherwise known as Oscar Sunday), I thought I'd do some investigative reporting. While the broadcast focuses on honoring outstanding filmmaking, gawking over fabulous dresses, and excellence in all things related to motion pictures, I am most interested in the traditions of this entertainment milestone. 

While cheesy trophies seem so 4th grade soccer team party at the pizza parlor, this one is a keeper. It's the most recognized trophy in the world and has been on display on bookshelves and mantles of the greatest filmmakers since 1929.

Here are some facts about the beloved, gold fella:

Official Name: Academy Award of Merit, but the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar.
Height: 13½ inches
Weight: 8½ pounds
Number of Awards Presented: 2,809
First Recipient: Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” in 1929
Design: A knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).
Designer: Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Sculptor: Los Angeles artist George Stanley
Manufacturer: R. S. Owens & Company in Chicago
Manufacturing Time: 3–4 weeks for 50 statuettes
(Audrey, a big ol' pile of nerves, via Pinterest)















I'd like to thank The Academy...
So how does this whole voting thing work? Each November a campaign begins to get an Oscar nomination. Publicists send out invites to screenings and DVDs to make sure that each (nearly 6,000) of the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sees their film. Nomination ballots are mailed to the Academy's active members in late December and are due back to PricewaterhouseCoopers, an international accounting firm, in January. Final ballots are mailed to voting members in late-January and are due back the Tuesday prior to Oscar Sunday for final tabulation.After the final ballots are counted, only two partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers knows the results until the envelops are read onstage during the award ceremony. 
(the morning after the Oscars via Pinterest)



Friday, February 24, 2012

breakfast at...

If you follow me on Twitter or my Instagram posts, you know that the BF and I love going out to breakfast. It's a serious love; and we do not mess around.

Thankfully, we're pretty early risers on the weekend so we don't usually run into very long waits at some of our fav Portland breakfast joints. But that world is real. If you don't plan to head out until after 10, consider it brunch or maybe even lunch by the time you snag a table. I invited my family to brunch at Screen Door on Father's Day last year, and my sister thought I was taking them to a soup kitchen based on the line wrapped around the block.

We have stopped discussing if we're going to breakfast each Saturday morning because we both know it's happening. I keep having these visions of whipping up a stack of pancakes or a delish looking frittata I saw a recipe for on Pinterest, but it never fails - we just want to wake up and go! Or as the BF says, "I just want to be waited on," (and we all know I ain't gonna do it! I kid, I kid).

And whattaya know...Portland Monthly just released their March 2012 issue titled, "Hot Breakfast Spots." While I checked out the list online, there's nothing super unique there. We have a few criteria for weekend breakfast adventures: decent ambiance, great food, not too long of a wait, and the whole bill is under (or close to) $30 bucks.

In no particular order, a list of the boyfriend and my favorite eats.

Byways Cafe Website

Pine State Biscuits Website

Genie's Website
Cadillac Cafe Website
FlavourSpot
Lucy's Original

Where are your must-visit breakfast joints? Let me know. We're always open to exploring new options!

Speaking of breakfast and Portland Monthly, the magazine is hostng a country-style breakfast and a Bloody Mary competition. Four hot local chefs will create their own signature country breakfasts, while five top local bartenders vie for the title of the Best Bloody Mary. Guests will also enjoy beer cocktails and kid-friendly beverages while the Jackalope Saints provide a rollicking soundtrack. This will be a hoedown like no other!
Country Breakfast Lineup
Chef Cathy Whims, Oven & Shaker
Chef Jenn Louis, Lincoln Restaurant
Chef Chris Carriker, Gilt Club
Chef Gregory Gourdet, Departure
Blood Mary Showdown!
Tasty n' Sons * Podnah's Pit
Irving Street Kitchen * Ned Ludd * Screen Door






Thursday, February 23, 2012

I want candy

(Girl Scout Cookie flavored lip balms via Shine from Yahoo)
Since we're on a Girl Scout cookie high...

And I quote my co-worker Jennifer, "Sticks to your lips instead of your hips!"

“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”


I don't know about you, but there's something alluring about the 1960s. The style, the decor, the drinking, the gender roles...if I could, I'd throw on a structured dress and go back in time to live in this era for a day. Hell, it can feel like a Mad Men episode (minus the drinking as of late) around the office some days.

AMC just released five new teaser trailers for Season 5 which premieres in just over a month on March 25. I'll drink to that.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

take me down like I'm a domino...



THIS! I am so excited for Domino Quick Fixes, a Domino special edition that will hit newsstands nationwide on April 17th. Ever since Domino stopped publishing, I've had a void that I have not been able to fill (sorry, Pinterest - I do love you though). I remember stopping into Borders (another RIP) and snagging the first issue of Domino back in 2005, and I was smitten ever since. I still have all of my copies in magazine files - untouched. No rips, no dogears...just perfect copies of pure genius. Domino's tagline was "the guide to living with style," and I've been trying to follow suit ever since!

Anyone have Deborah Needleman's book, Domino: The Book of Decorating? It's been on my Amazon Wishlist forever, but I haven't pulled the trigger. I think I just may have to push "order" very soon!

Monday, February 6, 2012

I like to move it, move it.

I came across a new favorte quote:

super bass

I love the Super Bowl...a mix of sports, media, and entertainment. Most of our day looked like this:

(Lucy being beyond lazy -- too much pizza. oh, that was me.)

While the Pats and the Giants are not one of my 'teams' (don't you like how it sounds like I actually have a team? ha!), the Super Bowl is all about the munchies, the commercials and the idea that everyone in the country is tuned into the same broadcast. Sports (and eating) bring people together in a way that is hard to top.

I came across these crazy stats from yesterday's Super Bowl on Ad Age.

1. Bluefin Labs has so far tracked more than 12.2 million social-media comments during and after Super Bowl XLVI, primarily on Twitter and Facebook. That's a 578% increase over the total Bluefin tracked last year (1.8 million).

2. Twitter, via its official @twitter account, said the final three minutes of the Super Bowl helped push total tweet volume up to an average of 10,000 tweets per second.

3. We have a new social-TV high-water mark. "Last night's Super Bowl is the biggest social-TV event we've ever recorded -- by a wide margin," Bluefin's Tom Thai tells me. "It surpassed the previous record of 3.1 million social-media comments, held by the MTV Video Music Awards last August."

4. Madonna's halftime show alone generated more than 862,000 social-media comments; by comparison, Bluefin recorded 966,000 social-media comments for the 2011 Academy Awards. "If the halftime show were its own standalone televised event," Thai said, "it would rank fourth in terms of all-time social-TV events for entertainment. It would trail only the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2011 American Music Awards and the 2011 Academy Awards."

5. Bluefin Labs tracked more than 985,000 social-media comments specifically related to just Super Bowl commercials -- topping the total for the entire telecast of the 2011 Academy Awards.

Did you miss any of the commericals while you were grabbing another bag of tortilla chips? Mashable has posted all 54 commercials.  Oh yeah, and a 30-second spot sold for $3.5 million. Ca-ching.

Friday, February 3, 2012

walk on the wild side.


What a week! The boyfriend was in New York on business all week (so jealous). And I stayed home with the pups watching way too much Bravo for my own good.  All week I was imagining him wandering the city and checking out all of my favorite places. Even though it's been 5 (can you believe it?!) years since I've lived there, it still odd-ly feels a bit like home. I loved that he'd text me, "What Subway should I take to Greenwich Village?" I'm hoping that we can head to the Big Apple later this fall. There's something so exciting about feeling like a small part of such a large city.

Check out my New York board on Pinterest. Sigh, I miss that place! If only we could all live in adorable brownstones with high-paying jobs and had a dog walker...then we'd totally move.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

(via Kate Spade tumblr)

I've always been a fan of wandering the aisles of bookstores and collecting books to line my bookshelf but never could stay on top of my reading. Lately, I just can't stop. You might remember last new years when I read Kelly Cutrone's first book in less than 24 hours. Well, this year is no different. I got her second book, Normal Gets You Nowhere, for Christmas and could not put it down. I love her honest voice and sage advice for women.

Here's a line of up books I've finished and some that are parked on my nightstand, and I can't wait to flip open:
 


What's on your bookshelf? Anything good I should add to my Amazon wishlist?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

i faught the law



Sign the petition. Learn more about SOPA and PIPA. Do your part to so government doesn't limit creativity, innovation, business and job-creation.


 

Friday, January 13, 2012

mo money, mo problems.

(via Pinterest)

And what's that? Sticking to a budget.

I'm already decided that 2012 is the year that I get my finances in order. No really, I'm serious this time! I've been investigating budgeting softwares because let's face it - writing it out on paper is a helpful method, but I want the whole thing - colored charts, account balances and snazzy spreadsheets. I want to log in somewhere and have it scream at me, "Stop going to Trader Joe's!" "Do you really need that pillow at Target?" "Another footlong at Subway? Forgeddaboutit."

I tried (and by tried I mean set up an account) with Mint a while ago and never gave it a fair shot. But I just stumbled upon You Need a Budget. I'm easily pursuaded by colors and design - so I'm leaning that way, but I'm not excited for the $60 price tag. I'm trying to SAVE money here, people.

So, I'm curious to know your system. Do you use a software? Excel sheet? I'm this close to going up to the Promotions Department and stealing at copy of Dave Ramsey's book. 

PS - I love the Method behind You Need a Budget. Rule One: Give every dollar a job. Rule Two: Save for a Rainy Day. Rule Three: Roll with the Punches. Rule Four: Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck.  It's bound to work!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

I want to go to hawaii...build my castle out of sand.

aloha! the BF just booked a week long trip to hawaii in april. I am beyond thrilled to dig my feet into the sand, sip mai tais and bask in the sunshine. our hotel is just our style...I love all of the white!
(via 1, 2, 3)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I'm alive! I know, I know...where the heck have I been for the last six months. To be honest, I wasn't feeling the blogging vibe. But it's a new year, and I'm back in action.

There's been one causality of the blog: I lost my custom domain name. How I let that go away, I do not know. But that's what happens when I let my inbox get overly full. I didn't think it would really expire but it's gone. Change can be a wonderful thing, right? Here's hoping!

ps. I might have been MIA on my blog, but my Pinterest boards are on fire!

via pinterest