black holes and revelations

Leaving for SF tomorrow early early! I'm excited and strangely nervous. Still not sure how I'm getting into my apartment tomorrow or exactly how big the room is, but I have every confidence that everything will work itself out. My parents and I have a week to get set up before they leave and I head out to LA for Tim's friend's wedding.

Ahh, weddings. I *love* weddings, and I can only imagine how much more fun they'll be now that I have a date and I'm allowed to drink. I'm planning on wearing a fun strapless yellow dress, but my mom and I have had a hard time finding "the perfect shoes" for the dress. The current leading contenders are white and gold sandals that I ordered from Zappo's - feeling a little bit adulterous for cheating on Piperlime, but they were out of the shoes in my size :(

My mom and I have been pretty successful shoppers since I've been home - Martin & Osa is my new favorite women's clothing store for everyday stuff (I'm forcing myself to boycott Gap/Banana/Old Navy until I get my discount...), and we got this beautiful beautiful blue dress from a little boutique (60% off!):



I'm coming very, very close to signing up for a membership at Crunch Fitness - they have locations right next to my office, my apartment, *and* Tim's apartment. The only problem is that there are too many other cool places. Like, Equinox? Or do I want to try hot yoga for a month? Or do I want to join the SF Road Runner's club and train for another half?! But I think that convenience/location is going to be key, and Crunch looks like the best for that.

Bria: thank you for referring me to Mint.com. I'm now painfully aware of how much money I spend on delicious, delicious food...

Reading: Anna Karenina
Listening: Starlight, Muse. I'm madly obsessed with the most recent Muse album lately.

first platform beds, then platform shoes?

Yum, yum, yum! Just finished a delicious dinner at home. We made sauteed cabbage and Buitoni's mushroom ravioli with pesto sauce, which was super easy and delicious. You can buy the raviolis at any grocery store - link here.

This afternoon, I went and saw the new Harry Potter movie with the parents - and despite its excellence, I don't think my dad understood any of it at all. Highly recommended if you're an HP fan, or if you're willing to pay money to sit through 2 1/2 hours of amazing special effects. I also saw Bruno last week with Rob, and would NOT recommend that to anyone sane. I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed (you can only watch so much faux gay porn). It wasn't nearly as funny as Borat, not nearly as "insightful" about American culture, and Sasha Baron Cohen's portrayal of gay men was so exaggerated that it was borderline offensive. Give me my money back :P

I'm wasting a lot of time trying to figure out how to decorate/furnish my room in SF - frustrated immensely by the fact that I have no measurements of the room. I wanted to get a queen sized bed, but it may not even fit. I have, on the other hand, been greatly admiring this bed frame - a lovely platform bed with built-in storage! It's a little pricey though...

Keep blogging, Bria and Sara! I've got nothing but time to read about your lives, so make them story worthy for me until I see you next!

Reading: Anna Karenina
Listening: La Roux, Armour Love; Kelly Clarkson, I Don't Hook Up (a must-listen, esp. for Sara)

summer lovin', having a blast

So, as many of you may know, I kept a blog while I was studying abroad in Paris, and not only did it force me to document my adventures more thoroughly than I would have otherwise, but it also allowed me to keep in contact with family and friends more easily. Since almost everyone I love is going to be at least 1000 miles away (986 miles to Vancouver, 2300 to Louisville, 2800 to DC, and 5500 to Paris), I figured it'd be a good idea to get the ball rolling on a new blog. New blog for a new life :)

Well, maybe not quite yet. I'm still home in Louisville for another week and a half before heading out to SF to move in to my new apartment. My parents and I have been perusing the IKEA website with mounting anticipation (bed frames, area rugs, closets, oh my!). I just got home from spending a week at the cabin, reading the entire Twilight series in 6 days (I blame Carly for forcing them on me...) and lounging thoroughly, so I should be extremely well-rested when I have to hit the ground running on August 10th (start date at Gap).

I've seen approximately a million movies this summer ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" and "Scent of a Woman" being highlights), worked on my culinary skillz, and am about halfway through a lovely lacey scarf. This recipe was a huge hit with the parents, and it's super easy:

Fennel-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Well, that's all for now - more to come!

Current Music: Heart in a Cage, Chris Thile
Reading: Anna Karenina. Or will be, starting today.