Let the Games Commence!

I hope you are having a lovely Halloween. My student government class actually made last Friday our Costume Day, so I kept with my tradition of literary figures and rocked my very own Katniss from "The Hunger Games" outfit.




It was so cute to hear students say, "Oh my gosh, you're Katniss!" On the other hand, I totally had a mean girls experience with some of my "friends" (who I now think of as just colleagues). Imagine my surprise to finally get into the dance after taking tickets at the front to see all of my friends, including three of our new teachers, dressed up in matching P.E. outfits. I swear, my jaw just about hit the floor. I literally felt like I was back in middle school when you think you're in with a certain group only to have them go do something that completely leaves you out.

Surprisingly, I rebounded pretty quick. I'd had my own suspicions about how genuine these people really are, and now I know. Funny enough, I'd rather spend time with my dogs.

Life lessons at a middle school dance. Live and learn

Tempting Thursdays

If money were no object, I'd be buying...



Cashmere cable sweaters from J Crew...



Le Creuset Signature Deep Sauté Pans in Ocean...



brown Intyce boots from Steve Madden to replace my worn down faux Target ones.

BTW, Justin Timerlake is finally in a movie that actually looks decent! Has anyone seen the trailer for "In Time"?

Mindful Mondays

Wow, September just shot by me. I find it sad that I had to get sick in order to find time to blog. I'm re-organizing how I post in hopes that it'll help motivate me to post...if that makes any sense at all.

Mondays are now "Mindful Mondays;" they're a chance for me to reflect on any ol' thing I want. And right now, I wish I was as happy and healthy as I was in the video I posted below. Instead, I'm fighting off a cold.

This video contains snippets of the vows the husband and I said to each other on our three year anniversary at Peacefield, John Adams' house. I have a sob story about how a friend of my husband's forgot to put in a new blank tape when he was recording our wedding, so the vows were never recorded.

Somehow, doing this three years later made it much more personal and intimate. It was just us, and we were at such a special place. It truly meant the world to me. I'm going to edit this together with the parts of our wedding that did get recorded, so we'll have a little something.

Boston- Day 1

As I start to prepare for this new school year, I'm longing for the gorgeous east coast scenery I was spoiled with on our New England road trip vacation. I miss the seafood and creative cocktails. And I also miss getting to sleep in (getting up at 5:30 sucks). Here's to the first of my vacation re-cap posts.














We stayed in Cambridge for most of the first day, dining at the Russel House Tavern where I got my bacon fill. In fact, I probably had the best bloody mary ever there: they make theirs with bourbon. If the option is available try it. I then talked the husband into walking part of the Freedom Trail with me before we had dinner at Hungry Mother, one of Boston's best restaurants (literally EVERYONE we talked to recommended this place). They make southern food with a French twist. It was the perfect first day of vacation with the hubs.

Moneygrabber

OK. I have seriously been delaying putting up my vacation pictures because I'm overwhelmed by the amount I have.

So...how about a little Fitz and the Tantrums? I got to see them play live at the lake nearby this summer, and they were absolutely amazing.

In fact, they were so amazing that I got up out of my seat and danced in the aisle since I couldn't stop myself from shimmying anymore, even though no one else was. Don't worry they soon followed.

Their album is amazing by the way. I highly recommend it. I'm actually pretty obsessed with it. I've been playing the whole record over and over this whole summer.

Dear Bloggers...

To all the full-time, professional bloggers who complain about how busy their days are and how you just cannot wait to curl up with a magazine and relax...BE QUIET! I will gladly trade you my eight hour work day and two to three hours additional work at home grading, etc, every day. And don't forget the running around on the weekends gathering supplies for dances and noontime activities, editing videos, updating school sites, etc. Maybe you'd see what "tired" really feels like then.

And to those bloggers whose lives seem so "perfect" and who have "such great things happening" yet cannot manage to respond back to what they must regard as "peon" bloggers like myself...are you for real? Get a life. I'm glad I post about my UPS and DOWNS. I don't know why I bother to comment from time to time on your phony blog anyway.

::deep breath::

P.S. Promise not to vent like that for awhile, OK?

OC Mart Mix

So did you know it takes awhile to download over 700 photos? I'm sure you do. After running around yesterday and then rushing to meet my husband at an Angels game, blogging fell through. And today was one of those days that just escaped me. I am feeling very lazy (hello sweatpants!), so here's some info about my new favorite local spot: the OC Mart Mix.

I can't remember if I read about this place in Sunset magazine or the Automobile magazine, but I was super excited to hear about it. And I totally felt out of the loop since it actually opened last year. This outdoor shopping venue is near a huge orange county shopping destination, South Coast Plaza. It is somewhat similar to The Lab (dubbed the anti-mall), but I think it has the potential to be better once they get some more stores in. The OC Mart Mix has a wide array of stores ranging from a bicycle store to a bakery. They also have stalls inside a huge building for small vendors (I bought the dress I wore on our anniversary from one of them).

And the best thing is that food trucks come here.









Ridiculously good tacos and spicy sweet potato fries.







People were literally standing memorized at this coffee place similar to Blue Bottle in San Francisco.

They're getting started with happy hours on Fridays with certain food trucks coming out (there's a wine bar in the huge building). I will definitely be organizing some at this place.