Back to basics in SF with some of my girls

Our sexy wind-blown look with one of the San Francisco hearts in Union Square.
P.S. I'm wearing my fav new leopard-print flats from Lucky Brand.

This weekend I had some old coworkers come stay in San Francisco to visit me and embark on an ultimate splurge girls weekend. For me, it was just what the doctor ordered!

I’ve known Heidi and Kerry since 2008 when bonded while working together in a particularly unpleasant situation. The positive is – we’ve all prevailed and most importantly, remained friends. For each job I’ve had, I’ve been so grateful for the experiences, but also for the people who have touched my life and remained in it as new career opportunities have come my way.

To say that I was flattered and excited that Heidi and Kerry booked a weekend for the three of us to spend time together in San Francisco is an understatement. And of course, we had the very best time. We ate at many amazing restaurants, including Bluestem Brasserie, Franchino, my favorite “inside SF” breakfast spot with a private back garden patio (you’ll have to visit me to find out) and my second dim sum at Great Eastern in Chinatown. We enjoyed the Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco, and did a lot of shopping in some of San Francisco’s beautiful boutiques on Sacramento and Fillmore Streets. I’ve found some consignment shop gems and came home with Joe’s Jeans for only $50 and brand new black platform pumps from Banana Republic for $22! The trip reminded me (yet again) about how great this city is, and each time I have visitors, it’s so fun to see the city through their eyes. I felt energized and happy after reconnecting with smart, caring women.

Top clockwise: Gorgeous $2,400 Christian Louboutin's we found while shopping;
The Chinese New Year in Chinatown; Fro-yo at Fraiche on Fillmore Street; Dinner
(and Lemoncino custard ice cream) at Franchino in North Beach.

I’m having a bit of a stressful month, and this weekend was just what I needed to take my mind of loop of anxious thoughts. When I feel stressed, it works for me to “get back to basics” – the basic things that keep me happy and stress free! Some of these in no particular order are: reading, working out, laughing, good meals, girl time and wine. Thank you, Kerry and Heidi, for helping me get back to my basics and visiting me in this fabulous new city of mine. I’m so grateful to have you both in my life!

How do you “get back to basics” when you’re stressed?

Currently Feeling: Loving a low-key Monday after a busy weekend. I might be the only person that actually really enjoys Mondays because they tend to be my quietest day of the week.
Currently Anticipating: The Bachelor tonight – the show that continues to be trashy yet oh-so-addicting and my favorite week day reality TV treat.
Currently Obsessed With: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. GAH! I need an intervention after catching up on the show via Amazon On Demand. Mauricio – so hot. And I love, love the witty British beauty, Lisa!

Pretty new blog design

I’m counting this as my NaBloPoMo post today – mostly because I’ve spent probably 24 hours total or more on this new blog design this weekend. I know I change blog designs more than Kate Hudson changes boyfriends, but I felt the extreme need for something a bit more… light. Less emphasis on the black and hot pink – so click through from your readers to check out all my hard work with your own beautiful two eyes!

If you’re curious, here’s how I did it:

Free Cupcake WordPress template from SimplyWP.net

Peacock feather and colorful ornate decoration images from iStock.com

Crown blog bling from Google Images

Angel Tears and Cursive Handwriting Tryout fonts from FontFreak.com (the only font Web site I use)

Cute (and free!) blog images from ShabbyBlogs.com

Scribble social media icon set – with instructions to make your own

Lots and lots of Googling for WordPress help since I’m self taught and don’t know what I’m doing half the time

And – voila! A totally free new site design. All it took was two full days, holed up in my room, geeking out.

Currently Feeling: Proud I’ve officially made it two whole weeks through NaBloPoMo. I’ve had a few rough patches (blogging when getting home after four glasses of wine), but all in all, it’s been awesome to get back into writing!
Currently Anticipating: A full week – and getting over the speaking on a panel hump that’s looming over my head until Thursday’s over.
Currently Loving: Fires and home-cooked meals at my parents’ house.

One person’s junk is another’s treasure

Oh garage sales. What a seriously interesting sociology experiment into the human mind. Someone should write a book on garage sales and what people will sell and buy – I took a sociology class in college called “Deviant Behavior” where we analyzed the social workings behind gangs, gambling and sexual deviance (David Carradine, what?!), I think that a little section there about garage sales would have been equaling interesting. Although, garage sales aren’t necessarily deviant… so that blows my whole theory, but I digress.

This past weekend, the BF and I combined piles of our junk (me from moving out, him from the divorce and general junk collecting since he owns a house and has more space than he knows what to do with. I guess this equals a lot of junk purchasing) and threw a garage sale. This is my first experience in selling my crap for others’ purchase.

I started out with good ole fashioned advertising – a Craigslist post and some neon signs that a college girl friend helped me decorate. She happens to be unemployed too, so we spent last Tuesday afternoon, coloring the signs and seriously mapping out our route for where they’d be hung. I bet we never would have guessed that four years after college, decorating garage sale signs while unemployed would be the highlight of our week. Oh how I love you, Recession.

Saturday morning the BF and I got up at a ungodly Saturday morning hour, after six hours of sleep, to throw our junk out in his driveway. I’ll let you in on a little secret – even if you put in bold and CAPS, “No early birds,” there’s always going to be some jack ass that shows up at 7:30 a.m. asking if they’re too early. And then commences the mayhem…

I was absolutely amazed at what people will buy. “One person’s junk is another’s treasure” couldn’t be more true. The items of value that I thought would actually sell – nice area rugs, a standing lamp, a snowboard and quality bar stools – remained unsold. But I got rid of a lot of stuff I thought I’d just throw out there for shits and giggles, but would never sell… half-used lotion bottles, ugly jewelry my grandmother bought me, old clothes that I thought weren’t even worth giving to the Goodwill (two pairs of gauchos that someone actually bought. Yuck!), a pink mosaic Kleenex holder, a brown juice pitcher my mom gave me for college that must have been from the 80s, a computer bag with World Vision’s huge logo on the front that I received for free when I worked there, a kinda dingy white bathroom towel, a plastic paper filer, a puff paint butterfly belt I bought at a clothing boutique five years ago and thought was cute at the time… All sold. Some guy jumped out of his car and ran breakneck speed to pick up my crappy iron for $1 that has burned junk on it so every time you iron, it leaves black goo on your clothes. Lucky him.

Seriously… who would have thought I could sell this crap? The BF thought it was so fun to make money off the junk you just kinda have lying around, that nearly the whole time we were supposed to be sitting out there together, he was going through cupboards and pantries, trying to find additional items to sell. I joked that our garage sale was like Kmart – new blue light specials added throughout the day!

And I won’t even go into the types of people who came and went… some nice little old European lady was as sweet as can be and kept piling stuff up on the table for purchase. I thought I was going to make a gold mine off her until she turned into the Gestapo and started halving all my prices, combining everything and saying, “All this – $4.” I just shrugged and let her make off with my gold teeth. (Bad joke, bad joke).

After it was all said and done, I made $100 off my junk and then turned around and posted the items that are actually of value on Craigslist. Although some have argued that $100 isn’t really worth my time, I’d say that the entertainment value alone was worth it. The $100 is just an added bonus.

Currently Feeling: Excited for my first Social Media Club Seattle meet-up tomorrow!
Currently Anticipating: Moshi Moshi all-night happy hour tonight with a big group of people.
Currently Hating: Scales. But I bought one anyway.

Take a bottle out, pass it around

I found these genius Reduce® WaterWeek water bottles at Metropolitan Market a year or so ago and bought them for a coworker’s birthday (they’re only $20 for the set). I finally purchased a set for myself last week, and I love, love, LOVE them! They are cute little reusable bottles that have their own tray for the fridge. It’s awesome because I now always have a water bottle on hand (with SAFE plastic) that I can throw in my beach bag, on my bike, on my nightstand, etc. Instant cold water that saves you money and is green friendly… just thought I’d share them with you!

You can buy them on Amazon.com here.

*Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

Ghetto fabulous chic

Can someone please tell me what’s so special about lululemon athletica?

I have heard nothing but great raves about it – and my super sporty best friend owns a ton of their stuff and practically wets herself every time her boyfriend buys her something from there. But, I’ve never stepped foot in their store because I was always like, “Well, I’m not really into yoga, so I’ll spare myself that expensive obsession.”

Redacted.

Now I AM hanging out with the cool kids – I do yoga! I do yoga! I can shop at lululemon! I mean, really, life isn’t complete until you have expensive items in your closet from Coach and lululemon! *Sarcasm* for those of you who can’t detect it via the Interwebs.

I still like to check out bandwagons, however, before I decide to jump or not to jump. So, imagine the level of my giddiness when I drove past the outlet malls on my way north last weekend and discovered a lululemon outlet store! At last! Now I can feel comfortable checking out their goods and not spending my last $100, meant for gas and groceries, on clothing. (I’ve been known to do that on more than one occasion). So I excitedly pulled over, expecting to find some super suhWEET deals (like $30 super cute and comfy yoga pants), but apparently I’m delusional. The yoga pants on the CLEARANCE rack at the OUTLET store were $66. Does that make the original price, um, $200 a piece?? Cause really, we’re talking yoga pants here. Some stretchy cotton. With maybe a tie at the waste. In a different color. That’s as fancy as they get. What about lululemon’s yoga gear is so effing special that they are charging so much?

Which brings me to the whole point of this rant – I am, and always will be, a sucker for a sale and a great price. I love to shop, but I also would much rather be proud of my super killer shoes or bag I found at Ross for $25, than wear a designer top I picked up at Nordstrom’s for $200 – and have 45 other girls own it. I take pride in the fact that I’m thrifty chic. Any girl can buy an ugly Louis Vuitton bag. (And man, are those bags are ugly. Like super ugly. Like they got beat with an ugly stick and their momma don’t even love them, ugly.) But not every girl can find a fabulous bag that’s inexpensive, everything you need and original. That takes some scowering!

So thank you, lululemon, but no thanks. I’ll stick to my favorite yoga pants from Target that I kinda want to live in every day. And I’ll roll into yoga class with my black pants straight out of the ghe-TTO, and bust the shit out of some tree poses.

Okthanxbai.

Currently Feeling: Tired. I’m at work super duper early so I can leave early for the last fitting of my Dolphin Sister’s wedding dress before the wedding next week in Mexico!
Currently Anticipating: Checking out this super amazing apartment tonight, with everything we need and the best location EVER.
Currently Needing: Guest bloggers for the week I’m gone. I’ve lined a few good ones up – let me know if you’d be interested too!

Attention all the ladies – no begging, borrowing or stealing these bags

I’m a bag girl. I love them; I buy them frequently; I owe a million; I have one in every color (because I habitually match my coat to shoes to earrings to bag). I just don’t like the expensive ones. My taste wanes much to quick and boredom sets in far to early for me to spend $200 plus on a purse.

My inexpensive bag dreams have come true.

Target recently launched their Hayden-Harnett for Target line. Ooh boy is it cute. Hayden-Harnett is a designer duo, hailing from Brooklyn New York. Their handbags, accessories and clothes have been featured in everything from Marie Claire, Shape, Lucky and In Style, to Oprah and New York magazine. I checked out the prices on their sites, and their bags average around $600.

But lil’ ole Target’s new Hayden-Harnett line is fan-TAS-tic and cheap! (About $50). Granted we’re talking real leather vs. man-made material, but they’re cute just the same. The bags have fantastic hardware detailing, and the best part – they don’t look like cheap knockoffs.

I asked for this black bag for my birthday; it arrived in the mail yesterday and I LOVE IT. My favorite part is the bright silky interior that just looks and feels expensive. Anywhoo, just thought I’d share it for all my fashionista loving ladies. Cheers!

Currently Feeling: A food hangover from my eight-course Chinese dinner last night.
Currently Anticipating: Getting the gossip tonight at happy hour with Kristen and Noah.
Currently Hating: My hair. I need a hair makeover.

I know, I know, I’m totally delusional

Yesterday I rejoined the “girls who tan to make themselves look feel sexier” club. My shit is pale.

Anyway, my 27 birthday this week induces a little reality – I’m not going to be young forever. And all the drinking and partying is already going to take a toll on my lovely lady bits, so I don’t want to compound it with wrinkles from tanning too. (Really all I’m worried about is the competition with my nine other high school girl friends. I don’t want to be the one to look the oldest in 10 years!) So what do I do? Well, what any logical person would do – I decide to splurge for a medium pressure instead of a conventional bed. They’re supposed to be, like, miraculously free of wrinkle- and cancer-inducing rays, right? Right. (That’s what she said.)

So I went to my usual tanning place, Desert Sun, where they always have a deal for JUST THAT DAY, which always happens to be the day I go in. I must be one lucky bitch.

I listened to the girl at the front desk tell me about all the special New Years deals they had. Payment plans, buy 20 for the price of 10, etc., etc., etc.

“Hmm. I don’t know if that’s going to work for me. I don’t have $200 to spend on tanning right now,” I explained to her.

But she continued to go on and on and on about all their deals (clearly not understanding my “no money” line because she goes to college and lives off her parents. GAWD. Those were the days!), and finally settled on what she considers “cheap.”

“Well, what we can do is split the payments up for you, so you’d only have to pay $61 this month, then we can choose whatever day you want the $61 to come out of your account in the next couple months.”

“But I have $66 in my bank account,” I finally say, to get her to jump to the deals I might really afford.

She sorta just awkwardly laughed, and continued on her tanning package bit, naming price after price for me.

“What about blah blah blah for $99 – we throw in two tans of your choice! Unless you weren’t joking about only having $66 in your bank account.”

“Nope. Wasn’t joking. $66.”

“Oh – well we can do this package for $40.”

“Nope. I need to go out this weekend.”

After which she just sorta looked at me like a nut job. Should I feel embarrassed that a 20-year-old college girl who works at a tanning salon is judging my financial irresponsibilities? Remember what I said below about a damaged bank account from “sexy suede boots, expensive makeup, luxurious lingerie and more earrings than you could count”?! I forgot to mention booze in that list. Lots and lots of booze. That’ll drain you of any sort of savings account future.

Oh, and pedicures, fancy haircuts and colors, and tanning. Basically I’m always one paycheck away from living in a cardboard box and dipping Ramen noodles in oil for flavor.

But, a girl has to have her priorities. And I’d rather look good in my 20s than retire in luxury in my 60s…

Or something.

Currently Feeling: Tired and headachy still.
Currently Anticipating: My birthday party on Sunday!
Currently Loving: My newly, organized and labeled filed bin with ALL the bills I need to catch up on. Fun!

Innovation, or something

I thought since a few of you bought Ork posters after my pre-Christmas post about them, you’d be interested in how I hung mine. See, if you splurge for the screen print instead of the poster, you get an irregular-sized, hard-to-frame piece of art. (13×26″) I went to three different stores, trying to find a frame that would work. The only option was to frame REALLY big and then mat the edges, which would cost minimum $75. I wasn’t really in the market to spend a ton on framing; I just wanted to get the dang thing hung. (I’ll hang it in an expensive, custom frame when my bank account allows for it.)

So, here’s where crafty BFs come in handy. Baby Daddy offered to construct a frame for me out of materials at Home Depot. Two pieces of Plexiglas, four gold nuts and bolts, a drill and one yard of matching ribbon later, and I had a modern, industrial (with a hint of girl) frame for the screen print.

Ta da! I love being thrifty.

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