Candyfloss & Persie: May 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

my imperfect life

One of the things I always grapple with is the inherent fact that having a blog invites the notion that you're a little narcissistic. Even with my ever-present self-deprecating humor and a healthy idea about what I'm good at and what I'm certainly not, I still feel a bit awkward with this idea. This is probably why I never disclose my Blog on any other social media forum. Not to hide anything (my friends all know about my blog) but just to not put it out there in the form of my life clogging up anyone's newsfeeds or Twitter homepages: "NEW POST! READ ALL ABOUT ME!". Not my style or intention (ps if you do this, I don't care at all. This is just a personal thing for myself. No shame if you rock your blog all over).

And in the spirit of proving that I don't have a blog to pretend like my life is perfect (though I sincerely hope that is evident already), I've decided to point out a few imperfections in my life:

I wax, a lot. Be it my Italian blood or my entrance into my later 20s (or both!): I'm a bit hairy. I have a home-waxing kit and about once every 3-4 weeks, I have a waxing party in my bathroom. I have always told my Sister that part of my "Living Will" (should it need to be executed- knock on wood) indicates that should I be unable to care for myself or make sound decisions- she better be sitting next to my hospital bed heating up my waxing carafe on schedule.

Sisters don't shake hands... Sisters gotta WAX! (surriously J, that's your job!)

I've never been to Europe. And I want to go! I really just need to get off my arse and make the arrangements. Speaking of which: not going abroad in college was the STUPIDEST decision I ever made. I don't think of it as "never regret, just smile!"- no, I fully regret that dumb choice.

The Pacific Ocean sure is beautiful... but I'd love to be looking out over the Mediterranean.

I settled in my career path. I actually have a really good job that I like with plenty of room to grow. But the field I work in certainly wasn't something I ever dreamed of doing when I was a child. Part of me will probably always feel a bit disappointed in myself for choosing security over passion (though there's definitely value in security).

My first business trip in my grown-up job in the financial industry. Oy, bye-bye dreams of farm life!

I only got my finances truly figured out in the last two years. Before then it was spend, spend, spend, freak out, spend, not open mail, etc. Ridiculous. Thankfully, I didn't OD on credit cards or anything like that, but I had more overdraft charges on my debit card than I'd like to admit. And for material things that mean nothing. I think all high schoolers should be required to take a Personal Finance class. I certainly could have used it.

Does this young buck look like she knew how to save a buck? Survey says- NO!

I'm psychotic about 'knocking on wood'. It's not cute and it's not cool. I do it all day long and can't help myself. For someone who sincerely questions faith in the unseen, this is quite out of character.

Finding wood to knock on during a hike... after some scary words were uttered. #GetHelp

What's an "imperfection" in your life?

Memorial Day Weekend: A Christmas Miracle!

Thursday evening, I jutted out of my office right at my quittin' time (Which is rare. Like most people who embark on a magical corporate journey, I find myself usually there longer than I anticipate) and hopped into a car with The Boy and his Stepbrother to head 2.5 hours due Southeast to Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon. I was really, really excited for a variety of reasons which can poorly be summarized here:

The location: Like most Portlanders, Central Oregon is one of my favorite places to go for a long weekend. There's cabins, there's recreation, there's pools, there's deer, there's hiking, there's rafting, there's cocktails... the list goes on and on.
The company: The Boy's Dad was turning 60 so his entire family gathered to celebrate! It would be hard to quickly summarize why his family is so cool but they just are: very loving, very open, very into wine (which the make themselves) and good tequila. But as much as they love celebrating, they're also up super early going on 5 mile runs before starting the day (yes they're those people, I'm jealous too). They play hard, work hard and love each other harder.
The date. Memorial Day weekend in itself allows for a more relaxed atmosphere. I was looking forward to dawning my bikini and relaxing at the new resort water park while sipping on sangria. Ah, a good life.

So upon arriving Thursday evening, I quickly unloaded at the cabin and settled in to the atmosphere with a martini whipped up from his brother and pajamas from my private reserve label (huge and ugly, naturally). The snow was coming down just a bit and I nestled into the couch and conversation while whimsically Instagramming a picture [seen here]. When FashionistaMMC scoffed at my snow, I assured her it would be gone by morning... no doubt about it. And that statement made a liar out of me:

View from the patio on Friday morning when I woke up. No joke. Get your bikinis!

Christmas in July. Curling up around the fire.

Indoor Olympics. The Boy and his Dad.

By Saturday, the snow had melted so away we went on the bikes.

That bike was amazing- I wanted to keep it! Thankfully I brought cozy clothes for the cabin which I threw over my normal clothes for the unexpected cold. Doesn't look great but I was warm.

Not in the romper I packed... but I suppose it worked.

So cute, I love them!

Sipping on Mint Gin & Soda... laaaiiidddd back

Me peacefully enjoying the cabin.

The family that eats over wine together...

See the adorable deer back there?

Dirty Executive Martini and Lemon Basil Cocktail before seeing Tenacious D

Brothers & their Dad

Concert anticipation vs. the Sun

Tenacious D live. Was it awesome??? I will answer that with: ROCKKK ONNNN!

Blissfully hiking in the sun.

Dusk wine.

The family watching & loving the amazing marriage proposal which makes me SO happy to be a Portlander.

"Biblical Character" chic at the rainy concert.

This poor little guy seemed a little sick with his patchy hair. Still such a doll.

If I felt comfortable plastering his family all over my blog, I would do so in more pictures because they really are lovely. But with respect to them (and your attention span), I'll keep it at that.

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day!

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Modern Reader

I love books. So does The Boy. Upon moving into our new place in January, The Boy and I found ourselves completely overwhelmed with our newly-joint collection. Stacks upon stacks of books were in every corner, leering in every box and taking up more space than we could have imagined. A couple of freak-outs and shelf-purchases later: we were able to successfully store (and hide) all of those ugly books we love so dearly. However, some books I felt too sad sentencing to a life of dust and ill-lit conditions.

To the Internets! After numerous coffee table searches at all the usual suspects: ZGallerie, West Elm, Ikea... I was empty-handed and frustrated. Where is the glass-top coffee table I want?

Enter Craigslist. A search, phone call and email exchange later- I had made my appointment to pick up the new-to-me coffee table which embodied the hybrid of functionality and style.

Hi Reggie!

And in case you can't tell- The Boy doesn't give two craps about how I decorate our place.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

iWeekend

It's Sunday night and I'm tired and lazy so I'll let my iPhone pics do the talking today:

Enjoying my mocktail.

Oooot and aboooot downtown

We went to a local grocer and bought a ton of local produce... then, promptly enjoyed a hefty portion of it

My new lounge-around socks that I bought on Saturday on the east side of town. Hilarious. I don't know why that needs to be stitched on socks but hey- I like things that make me laugh.