My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

Sorry for the lack of posts.  It’s been a busy month.  To start, T organized a fantastic dinner with friends at C&O, followed by drinks at Glow, a lovely outdoor bar in Marina del Rey, to celebrate my 31st birthday this month.  I got some wholly unexpected but totally awesome gifts. 

The following weekend, T’s mom and his aunt visited on their drive down to San Clemente for their niece and nephews’ (T’s triplet cousins) high school graduation.

This past weekend, we went to a super-cute picnic wedding, complete with fun picnic games like a 3-legged race and an egg relay.  Since the bride was one of T’s best friends from college, we had several of T’s college friends staying over at our place as well as tons of guests hanging out the entire weekend.  It made for a fun, but tiring, weekend.  Sadly, I was inevitably the first to call it a night – although I should mention I’m at least two years older than they are! 

Also visited the korean taco truck for the first time – and on a day they were giving out free tacos for a promotion at that!  Yay for free yummy food! (Updated to add: They were parked in front of Westwood Brew Co., so after lunch we drove through UCLA and reminisced about how easy college was compared to real life.) 

Looked at some houses for sale.  Since housing prices are at record lows, it’s tempting, but we still can’t really afford a house we want in a location we want, so for now, it remains a pipe dream.

In between all this, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make our condo more homey.  We had an interior designer, recommended by a friend of ours, come by and consult with us for an hour, which was surprisingly helpful.  I’m hunting for some pieces she recommended and trying to schedule a date to have some of our rooms painted (the task of choosing paint colors was a large part of this month’s activities).

I’ve been busy traveling the last two weekends and preparing for guests the next three weekends.  T and I were in SF for T’s cousin’s wedding in Golden Gate Park over Memorial Day weekend.  I, as usual, was drastically unprepared for the weather.  I have a knack for packing the exact opposite of what I’ll need on any given trip.   This time, it was much colder than the cool to slightly chilly weather I was expecting and the warm weather I was hoping for and packed for.

Weather aside, it was a great weekend.  The couple, who are both in med school and are self-proclaimed geeks, had so many sweet, personal touches to their wedding and the events surrounding it.  Their rehearsal dinner had a fun trivia game component.  Their ceremony involved the mixing of chemicals in a beaker.  Their reception was at a great organic, vegetarian restaurant overlooking the water.  Post-wedding activities included breakfast and a Giants game (they are huge fans).  It made me want to go back and do our wedding weekend all over again!  =)

This past weekend, I went to Cabo with the Quad for our 5th Annual Quad Trip. Since K is getting married in November, this year’s trip served a duel purpose as both a reunion trip and a bachelorette party.  I had a blast!  The weather was perfect.  Sunny with a nice warm breeze the whole weekend.  The girls got in Wednesday/Thursday and I arrived on Friday.  Although Cabo was less busy than during my previous visits (presumably because of fears over the Swine Flu and increased violence in Mexico), there were just enough people around for it to be festive without being overwhelming.  Plus, we discovered this wonderful, relatively secluded, beach which I’d never been to before.

This upcoming weekend, T’s high school friends are coming to town and staying with us.  Then T’s mom is stopping by the following weekend on the way to T’s triplet cousins’ high school graduation.*  And then one of T’s best friends from college is getting married in LA and many of T’s college friends are staying over.  The next month will be a whirlwind but I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!   (Although the prospect of having that many visitors in the next few weeks really makes me wish we’d actually gotten around to painting/decorating our place and hiring someone to clear our place, as we’ve been discussing for months!)

* Sadly, I have to miss our HLS birthday weekend/reunion in Virginia this weekend!  =(  Unfortunately, it’s just too many trips in too short a span (we’re also going to NY for a wedding in July).  I hope you girls have a wonderful time and will fill me in on your adventures!

Or at least the polite request of a good friend.  =)

The weather was a little muggy and overcast in LA this weekend, which was apparently better than the blistering heat up in northern California.  I had a dentist appointment for a cleaning Saturday, which is pretty uneventful except that I love my dentist and want to be her BFF.  A friend/co-worker of mine had recommended Dr. E and I’ve since recommended her to a couple of friends, T, and my brother-in-law.  Dr. E’s really good at keeping track of all of these relationships and what everyones interests/hobbies/jobs are so it’s always fun to visit her.  I just wish she wasn’t, you know, doing dentistry on my mouth so we can actually talk!  =)

After the dentist appointment, I met up with T and his partner for lunch across the street.  Well, T and his partner ate and I watched since I was heading to the Peninsula Hotel to meet up with friend for tea later in the afternoon.  I love afternoon teas.  Yummy food, nice ambiance, and great company.  Plus, the tea service at the Peninsula is one of the best in LA.

Sunday, T and I started the morning with a lovely run on the trails behind our neighborhood followed by brunch at Picnik (banana chocolate chip pancakes!), a Laker’s game (T)/reading (me), and Star Trek.  I’ve never been a Trekkie, but I thought the movie was entertaining.  Just don’t think too hard about the characters’ motivations, which don’t make much sense.  Bonus – we saw the movie at the Landmark which is the only place I know of that sells Tim Tams.  Yummmmm.  Tim Tams.   Now available in chocolate hazelnut mousse!

All in all, it was a nice lazy weekend.  Between all the lounging around, we continued our year-long discussion on whether to paint our place, but (again) didn’t reach any conclusions.  We are paralyzed by the overwhelming color choices!

Oh – I almost forgot to add – we had a small earthquake Sunday night.  First one we’ve experienced in our new condo I think.  Always a little nerve-wracking.  It was cute to see T so concerned about Alfie though!

I’ve been on a major geeky reading spree lately, devouring Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels.  I’d stumbled upon his work because he was selected to finish the Wheel of Time series after the author’s death.  (The WoT series, by the way, is one of T’s favorite series and something he suckered me into reading last year.  I still don’t know how he managed to do it.  After all, he’d already informed me only the first 5 books of the, currently, 11 book series were any good and the remaining 6 books should be read only to see how the series unfolds.  We both hope the next 3 books, which are supposed to conclude the series, make this long journey worthwhile.  I’m optimistic given how much I’ve liked Sanderson’s books to date.)

When not obsessively reading, I’ve been trying to figure out how to decorate our place.  I’m beginning to realize I have absolutely no eye, or patience, for design (esp. when I have to accomodate T’s taste too) and I fear our place looks just as sterile now as it did when we moved in last year.  So, if any of you happen to be aspiring interior designers who’d love to decorate our place for free, let me know!

Next month’s update may be marginally more interesting as T and I are going to SF for a wedding next weekend and then I’m heading to Cabo for my annual Quad trip.  =)

Just devoured the last two books of the Gemma Doyle trilogy this weekend. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes The Golden Compass/Harry Potter series, i.e., young-adult fantasy books, although this one had some very dark and scary scenes. I’ve been a little scared of the dark since I’ve started reading it. It doesn’t help that the last week has been cloudy and stormy with all sorts of noises in the middle of the night. Luckily for me, T’s still working days so he’s there to reassure me there are no monsters in the hall or hiding behind the closet door at night! =)

Aside from obsessively reading, I dragged T along with me to meet several florists this weekend. I don’t want to do it any more than he does and don’t see why I should be stuck with it simply because I’m the bride. Fortunately, he was a great sport about it (mostly) . . . although I think he’s developed a bit of a martyr complex after one of the florist accidently revealed that she doesn’t see many grooms at the initial consultation!  We also looked into hotels near our venue and will hopefully have a block of rooms reserved at a decent price for our guests soon.

Other highlights of the weekend include playing Trivia Pursuit ’80’s edition with T’s brother (T surprised us both by taking the lead before we all called it quits), finally putting up shades in the guest bedroom (T’s mom calls the guest room the Land of Eternal Sunshine because aside from the lack of shades, there’s also a light right outside the window), and watching The Bourne Ultimatium (which was a fun action movie).

Survived my 22 mile run on Saturday, with energy left over to meet up for lunch and a movie with my friend L. I’d originally intended to go into the office to catch up on some work this weekend, since T had to work both days, but ended up getting distracted by fun things and domesticy things the entire weekend.

L and I had lunch at the Curry House and headed to Pinkberry for dessert, where we were pleasantly surprised to run into our friend, J, and her boyfriend. J, L and I had all trained for the LA Marathon together last year but they’ve since taken a break due to various running injuries.*

After Pinkberry, L and I went to see The Waterhorse, which was cute and a little touching. So bascially about what I had expected.** I was lured in because of the sheer cuteness of the titular Waterhorse and he lived up to expectations. We were the only ones there above 10 and/or without a 10 year old in tow however.

Sunday I used up my quota of domesticity for the year. I went grocery shopping, did laundry, took out the trash, dusted, ironed, organized, and cooked (a decent!) dinner using one of the great cookbooks we got for Christmas! Whew. Tired just thinking about it.

*Actually, I’m thinking of taking a break from marathons after this next one and sticking with half-marathons for awhile. They cause much less wear and tear on your body. I’ve also recently signed up for Pilates classes, which will hopefully help balance out all the running. I love Pilates and am excited the studio next to our place finally opened. I had my first class today and although it was painful getting up at 5:40am, the class was fun and passed by quickly.

**Added bonus – the fancy theater showing The Waterhorse sold Tim Tams at the consession stand! I’m ashamed to say it, but as beautiful as Australia is and as much as I enjoyed various aspects of it during my visit, Tim Tams may be what I miss most.

Sorry, work’s been kicking my butt this week. Between substantive work, meetings, and firm events, etc., I’ve been stretched a little thin. I’ve even noticed that my right eye has been twitching a bit the last couple of days! Sigh. No end in sight until mid December. Woe is me.

On a positive note, T and I painted an accent wall this past weekend! It’s teal and super cute. I’ll try to remember to post a picture.

• Went on a great 11 mile run with my friend the Teacher this past weekend!
• Visited a beautiful possible wedding location both T and I loved. It’s a scenic ranch in the Malibu mountains. We’re looking at August ’08 and are leaning heavily towards a Friday wedding, since it’s so much cheaper, but we’re worried about the inconvenience to the guests. Wedding planning is hard. I’ll feel so much better once we book the venue.
• Bought some fantastic hand soap from Target this weekend. I’d been wanting to try it ever since I read about it. I bought all three scents available and the first one I used (Almond Flower) smells great. The soap container feels nice, looks beautiful and is biodegradable. The soap lathers wonderfully, is creamy without leaving a film and isn’t antibacterial! Yay for Method hand soap! =)
• Finally got an overhead light up in our bedroom without too much hassle. We’re slowly but surely getting our condo in order.
• Saw a beautiful bridemaid dress in one of the sample wedding albums we viewed. I’m now on a hunt to find out the dress’s designer and exact color. Unfortunately, googling “grayish blue bridesmaid dresses” hasn’t proven particularly useful, although it has exhausted my investigative arsenal.
• Hung out with T’s friends visiting from New York and their adorable 1.5 year old son who will hopefully be our ring-bearer. =)

We’ve been “working on” (i.e., messing up) the condo. This past weekend, we spent most of Sunday trying, without much success, to install overhead lights into prewired slots, a seemingly simple task. Except somehow, when we do things, the simplest tasks turn into minor disasters. After much cursing and fumbling, we concluded that one of the lights we bought was clearly defective (and hence it was not our fault we couldn’t get it on properly) and that the other light was meant to be slightly crooked. Oh well. At least we’ve got a bit more light in the place now. Also, a few more gaping holes until we purchase non-defective lights.

Between household chores (like laundry, installing lights, and battling against an invading army of ants), T and I went for a 5 mile run this weekend around the bluffs behind our neighborhood, which was fun. I also went to a Pilates class taught by my friend J and while I’ve done mat Pilates before, this was my first class with the Pilates machines.* I’m sore all over today. But in a good, I-feel-my-muscles-developing kind of a way. Can’t wait for the next class . . . which is unfortunately after my 12 mile run next weekend, so we’ll see if I survive to write about it. I have not been working out as much or eating as well as I should lately.

When not working out or puttering around the house, we did some reading (I finished a series recommended by a coworker while T started The Golden Compass), hung out with T’s brother (I watched while they played Halo 3), forced some of our friends to watch Serenity with us (one of my favorite movies), and caught up with one of my Quad friends who happened to be in town. (T also went to the UCLA v. Notre Dame football game, but considering the horrible outcome of that game, he’s choosen to pretend that it never happened.)

*Funny story. Upon being told that someone whistled at me on my way to Pilates (I realize I should be offended, but sometimes a good whistle is appreciated – especially when one is feeling a little tubby!), T’s response was a confused, “Why?”

Speaking of shopping, there are some great finds on Overstock.com. I’m reluctant to buy furniture online, but these are some of the things I’d get if I ever get over that (and if we ever replenish our savings) . . .

One of these rugs:

One of these tables:

One of these barstools:

For now, I guess I’ll just content myself with just admiring them online!

Even though I should be saving my money for our first property tax payment, I’ve been doing a bit of online shopping lately. Nothing very expensive but it’s starting to add up. I really need to stop . . . although some of the shopping has been FOR the condo, so it’s practically like I’m saving money for property taxes, right? For example, I bought these prints from Etsy. They’re so cute and bright and colorful. I can’t wait to put them up!

I also finally bought some new clothes for work: a herringbone wrap dress, a silk shirt (in plum), and two skirts. Nothing horribly exciting, but they’re all functional and most were on sale. I particularly love the pencil skirts and am hoping they are short enough that I won’t develop the dreaded stumpiness KQ mentioned.

I’ve been running semi-consistently lately so hopefully the clothes will still fit when they arrive in the mail in a couple of weeks! I’ve found that my weight is pretty steady as long as I run at least 15-20 miles a week (the fact that I’m not actually losing any weight running this much is a testament to my love of food). Although I love running, I’m beginning to sense that my knees are not so thrilled with it so I’ve started taking glucosamine supplements and trying to work in more elliptical training. I’ve also been avoiding high heels in the hopes that my feet will convey the message to my knees that at least I’m trying. Fortunately, I’ve been oddly uninterested in shoes of late . . . although my friend recently bought this pair, which I have been enviously eyeing.

Yay!!! After months and months of searching, we FINALLY bought a sofa this weekend! We’d been having a really hard time finding something both of us liked. I liked the aesthetics of a smaller, sleeker sofa and T wanted something comfortable and big enough to fit his (very tall!) frame. We’d started the search for the perfect sofa around December of last year and had been to every furniture store in the greater LA area at least once over the last several months. We were on the verge of giving up and likely buying something neither one of us would be happy with when we dropped by The Sofa Company this weekend and fell in love with – *trumpets blaring* – a sofa that was on SALE!

Unfortunately, the loveseat was not on sale and had to be special ordered, so it ended up costing us more than the sofa and we have to wait 5-7 weeks to get it delivered, but I’m thrilled our place is starting to come together. The sofa looks much better in person than in this picture. The fabric is microfiber and it’s a rich, warm tan with down-wrapped seats and pillows. I so want to buy one of these gorgeous decorative pillows for it, but I’m going to hold off since we need to make sure we can pay all of our bills this month first!

In other news, we also checked out a possible wedding location this weekend. It’s on a hill overlooking the ocean so the view’s beautiful. Overall, it had many elements we really liked, but it’s not quite perfect, it’s very expensive (although we haven’t found any place that isn’t!), and it’s booked up for Saturday evenings through October 2008.

Sigh. Wedding planning is really hard. We oscillate between wanting to do something (in which case, I already feel myself buying into the idea that it has to be perfect according to some undefined idea of perfect I have in my head) or not doing anything at all and saving ourselves a lot of time and money…

I know, I know, it’s been too long since the last post. I’ve just been super busy lately. My parents and one of my younger sisters visited over Labor Day weekend, and while I adore them, entertaining them was exhausting. My parents in particular always claim they’re easy going and don’t need to be entertained, but they also can’t sit still in one place for very long without getting antsy and feeling unproductive. As a result, T and I spent much of the weekend driving them around greater LA, on one of the hottest weekends of the year, as they went on a quest to help us furnish our new condo (which, admittedly was a very sweet quest). Poor T had to deal with four back seat drivers as opposed to his usual one (me) – everyone in my family hates to drive, but unforunately we all have opinions on how it should be done!

Since the Great Labor Day Quest resulted in, among other things, the successful purchase of a grill, we decided to host an impromptu BBQ on Labor Day. I think it turned out really well, thanks to our wonderful friends who brought over their Nintendo Wii’s, drinks, sides, and, of course, their wonderful selves! 🙂

Last weekend was the first weekend we had to just sit around and relax in ages. So of course it was the first weekend I had to work since coming to my new firm. Nevertheless, we squeezed in a quick run to Ikea to buy this shelf I’ve been wanting:

We somehow miraculously managed to get it back to our place in my little Honda Civic and T surprised me by assembling it while I was at work! It looks great up in our den and I can’t wait to get the rest of the pieces we need for the room. . . and get rid of some old pieces. We’re also planning to pick up T’s grandmother’s dining room table set, which is currently in storage in Portland. And I’d really like to paint some accent walls eventually. In the meantime, I have a friend visiting from out of town this weekend and we’re hoping to scout out some possible wedding locations next weekend. Stay tuned for more exciting updates of the days of my life. 🙂

T and I made tacos last night. It was our first homecooked meal since we moved into the new condo. They were fun to make, fairly healthy (we used lean ground turkey), and yummy. It reminded us of Taco Tuesdays in Westwood during our (respective) UCLA days, when Acapulco’s offered free tacos during happy hour. We’re thinking of making it a monthy tradition and inviting friends over next time. So, if you live in the greater LA area, your invitation is in the mail. =)

Overall, we’re settling into the condo nicely. Can’t believe we’ve been living here for almost a month. We finally got the curtains up in our living room (whether they’ll stay up remains to be seen). They’re aqua green with damask sheers behind them. The remaining curtain (in the guest room) and other major purchases (such as bookshelves and a new sofa set) will have to wait until we replenish our resources…

We had the best experience with 3-Day blinds. We scheduled a home appointment, they took measurements and brought over samples, we ordered (paying for express 3-day shipping) and they had someone over 3 days later to drop off and install the blinds. It was super quick and painless (other than the paying part).

Lulled into a false sense of confidence about how easy installing window treatments were, we decided to buy and install curtains ourselves for one of the remaining window.

*Big. Mistake.*

After several hours and at least one misplaced hole, we finally got the curtain rod up on the wall. We’d skipped putting the plastic wall anchor in and opted to drill the screw directly into the wall because we didn’t have a drill bit large enough for the anchor. After we got the rod reasonably straight and seemingly secure, we put up the curtains we had bought only to find that curtains which had looked a beautiful, subtle shade of green in the showroom transformed into bird-poop green on our walls. We ended up ordering new ones online, figuring that at least the hard part (mounting the curtain rod) was done.

The next day, I obsess over the fact that we hadn’t put the wall anchors in. After some quick googling, I figure I could easily do it myself and surprise T when he got home with a completed project.

*Bad idea.*

recariously balanced on several stools, I managed to get one wall anchor in, but broke the other hammering it in because the hole wasn’t big enough to fit it (I’d conveniently forgotten that was the reason we didn’t do it in the first place). So, I panic and figure enough of it is in that it’s doing whatever it is that it’s supposed to do and cut off the excess plastic broken bit.

*F*ck*

I couldn’t cut enough of the plastic to make the anchor flush against the wall so when I put the screw in, there was gap between the mount and the wall. It still seems pretty secure but I can only hope it’ll withstand the curtain we eventually put up. =(

I waited in anxiety for T to come home, convinced he’s going to be supremely angry with me. Fortunately for me, T is the best fiance ever and shows no anger at the fact that I’ve destroyed a bit of our brand new condo. Instead, he’s super supportive that I tried to do something nice and super reassuring that we’d be able to fix with it or deal with it.

Remind me never to try home improvement projects on my own. Ever.

(Although, I’m thinking if I can just get a bigger drill bit and drill a bigger hole, I won’t have to hammer the wall anchor so hard and it won’t break…)

T proposed this past weekend! It was totally unexpected and sweet. We went to pick up keys to our new condo together and when I opened the door, it was evident that T had been by earlier in the day. There were rose petals scattered on the floor and tea light candles leading up to the dining room. More flowers and candles filled the dining room, framing the lovely dinner T had set up. I, still unsuspecting, assumed it was in celebration of our new place.

After dinner, T brought out an ice-cream cake he’d purchased. I started cutting into it when T said, “Can you hold on a sec, I have something more important.” I replied, “What could be more important than ice-cream cake?,” not realizing what was going on until he reached into his pocket and got on one knee. Apparently, the little hampster wasn’t running too quickly that day. =)

It is the perfect ring – a simple blue sapphire set with two small Canadian diamonds. We’d done some ring shopping a couple of months earlier (you know, in case he ever decided to propose in the distant future) but I couldn’t find anything I wanted. I didn’t want a diamond engagement ring, not only because of the problem with blood diamonds, but because of the artificial value placed on diamonds as a result of the manipulative practices of the diamond industry. I wanted something understated, preferably with a sapphire, but didn’t like the sapphire solitaires. In the end, I gave up and told T I was going to leave it entirely up to him to find me the perfect ring. He completely succeeded and I love it. I just can’t stop staring at it! =) It looks kind of like the one pictured below, but with a darker sapphire and a thinner band.

In any case, I’m very excited, but wedding plans are for the far distant future. Right now I’m plenty overwhelmed. The move took much longer than expected and was draining. We still have to unpack and get window treatments. I feel like I’m living in a fish bowl at the moment. I had to get my rental towed because it wouldn’t start yesterday. My car is STILL in the shop after a month and despite having been referred there by a friend of a friend, the body shop I took it to is unresponsive and rude.

Oh well, guess life isn’t always roses and candle-lit dinners. It sure is nice when it is though!

We’re closing escrow next Friday and moving in Saturday! We’re only now starting to realize how much more we have to do though. Unfortunately, we only have one weekend left in which to do it and T’s working Sunday…so really, we have one day to do it.

Instead of getting ready for the move, we’ve been dilly-dallying in looking at furniture. We started at polar opposite ends, but our tastes are starting to converge (which scares me because it’s universally acknowledged that T has pretty bad taste – except when it comes to picking girlfriends of course) so it looks like we may finally be ready to actually buy something. We almost decided on the bed we want and are leaning towards a tempur-pedic mattress. We’ve decided on a color scheme for the master bedroom but have to look for linens. We have to decide on and make arrangements for window treatments for the entire place or we’ll wind up living in a fish bowl indefinitely. We haven’t found the couch we want yet, but we’ve decided what it will look like. We have to pack and clean up our apartment. We have to donate stuff to Goodwill. Etc. . .

Buying a condo is making me feel all adult and stuff. I don’t like it. I prefer living in denial, but that’s hard to do when one has to calculate how much one can afford in mortgage payments and how much insurance one needs on one’s new place. Boo on adultness.

I’m still flipping through my Martha Stewart book. In fact, I came across some instructions on how to fold a fitted sheet one morning before work that I immediately had to try out. Sadly, Roomie caught me trying to fold a fitted sheet in the living room, reading the book instructions, while I was in my bathroom with my wet hair up in a towel, eating cereal. Even more sadly, I never did figure out how to do it. Sadliest of all, the highlight of last weekend was finally getting the tiles in my bathroom as white as they were when we first moved in.

Speaking of sad, sad things, boo on the recent opinions coming down from the Supreme Court.

My Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Guide arrived in the mail last week. Remember, I’d ordered it in a fit of delusional thinking? New condo, new leaf and all that? Well, that lasted until I got through the first 20 pages of the tome…and realized I’ve been living in filth my entire life. Apparently everything has to be cleaned all the time and some things have to be additionally, super, thoroughly cleaned every week/month/year. If I followed her suggestions, I’d be doing nothing else. In fact, I’d be so busy cleaning I don’t know when I’d have time to make the mess to begin with! So I’ve opted to continue living in ignorant filth. I’m just glad I bought the book used so I don’t feel quite so guilty about spending money on it.

Speaking of which, I’ve been really good about not shopping lately and trying to save money for the condo. The only real frivolous purchase I’ve made this month was this dress, although it was incredibly cheap to start with and then went on sale so it doesn’t really count. I think I’ll wear it to one of my weddings in August. It’s from the Junior’s section though so I had to take a shot in the dark regarding the size. Hope I guessed right because if I didn’t, this dress will be falling off me (doubtful) or there will be some very unflattering bulging, if I manage to zip it up at all (sadly, much more likely)!

Also, for no particular reason, here are some random cute shoes I like at the moment.

Have a great weekend all! I’ll be heading to Fresno. Hope I manage to get in a good run this weekend!

This past weekend really felt like summer to me, probably because we spent Sunday at Hermosa Beach playing volleyball with some of T’s friends (well, T played, I watched and socialized and ate), followed by a barbeque at my friend’s place in Marina Del Rey. Poor T got a sunburn on his back, specifically in the area I was responsible for – high on his back, between his shoulder blades. I feel especially bad because I’m very paranoid about sunblock generally, but am apparently not particularly careful in its application when its on someone besides myself!

This week has gone by fairly quickly. Work’s been busy, but not brutal and I’m trying to wade through the homebuying process. I’ve also been gathering decorating ideas, buying books on housekeeping, and contemplating cooking regularly. We’ll see if I actually execute any of these things. I don’t know why I think I’m going to turn into some kind of domestic goddess with this purchase, but I’m living in the realm of delusions and possibilities at the moment.

Oh, and I read Blink, which was a fun, interesting read.