today

We feasted on this bread, cheese, and salami at Naples Gourmet Grocer. Oh yum. Let me tell you - that cheese is the cow's reason for existing. It's crumbly, tangy, and just delicious. I live for lunches like this - just a couple simple, high quality things. So satisfying. Shamefully, we did eat all that bread. We didn't finish the cheese though so that should kinda let me off the hook. And we must keep in mind that Levi's metabolism can handle about 5,000-6,000 calories a day. No joke. He never gets that much, but that's why he has the luxury of trying to gain weight. That is a high class problem right there.

And a couple more photos. This is Levi practicing being cute (bonus - you can see the shop in the background, filled with all kinds of delicious speciality items).

And this is me practicing my spokesmodeling. In the photo on the right, Levi directed me to do an anime ad.

We also worked a little bit more on our collaborative art project today. Here is a preview!

And that is that. Today concludes our weekend. Levi's back to work tomorrow, and I shall miss him during the days, as usual. But I've got a lot of things I'm looking forward to doing this week, so it will be good!

I guess you can call it procrastination.

It's funny how having a blog can make you feel guilty when you don't do something you said you were going to do. Levi and I were supposed to do some spring cleaning and studio beautifying today but, alas, we did not. Levi was too tired from a 6 day work week - most days at least 9 hours of back to back haircuts. Ugh. Poor boy. :/ Maybe we'll get around to it tomorrow. 

We have been working on a little collaborative art project today though! As soon as I finish, I will be sharing. It is going on our Royal Tennenbaums wall...which I have yet to show you. Oh, you just wait! 

So, while I have nothing to show for any hard work I did today, I do have pictures from what we did on Saturday night to share! We just went out early in the evening with some of Levi's coworkers to celebrate one of the girls passing her state board exam. We left before the girls got all wild and crazy as we had some very important movie watching to get home to (Death to Smoochy - it was pretty good, by the way).

*Ummmm, please excuse my slight wardrobe malfunction - had some trouble with the shirt/bra thing. :/ Sorry! I swear I'm not a floozy!!

sometimes Levi refuses to smile for real

see what i mean??

he's pretty good. i am NOT.

yummiest, biggest, juiciest slice of an orange everrrr

sometimes.

sometimes i laugh my loudest when i'm alone.

sometimes i turn on the ting tings and dance like a fool all by myself.

sometimes long beach looks so beautiful that my eyes get wet.

sometimes i'm so filled with inspiration and joy that i want to spin and sing like maria on those green rolling hills.

sometimes i really truly feel how much God loves me instead of just knowing it.

and sometimes everything just makes sense.

Sundays

aren't Sundays the best for cuddly, lazy naps on the couch?

photo by little sis Ivy

some of my faves...

these are some of my favorite photos by little sister Ivy...they're mostly of me and Levi. i think maybe we're vain? haha! :/ oh yes - the black and white of me with Levi on my back (to the right of your screen) is by Ivy as well. it's one of our favorite photos.

anyway, i like what she's does with a camera. she's a talent, and i'm sharing her with you.

ivy's self portrait

the family dog - Buttercup!!

for some reason, levi and i both love this photo even though it's just not very flattering!

classy. i'm biting my nails. :/

Butter loves the hose.

my boy is so GOOD TO LOOK AT!!

making do.

I think Levi and I have finally given up on being out of the studio anytime soon (we thought we'd be able to move into a one or two bedroom a few months ago, but I still haven't found a job). And, as a result, we have finally started hanging stuff on the walls (we've lived here for almost 8 months now). On Monday, we're going to move a bunch of stuff into our storage unit and get a couple things out to decorate with. I had always thought that it wouldn't be worth it to try decorating this place because it is so incredibly ugly (emerald green carpet and puke brown fake fireplace - blech), but it actually looks better already. And it feels more like home with some of Levi's paintings on the walls. Here are a couple things we've put up already. I'll share more next week after our overhaul on Monday.

P.S. If any of you ever sees a painting of Levi's that you want in your own home, please let me know. As sad as I would be to see some of them go, they are all for sale. Just wait til you see the one we're putting up on Monday!

painting by Levi above our tremendous stacks of DVDs

painting by Levi above ugly "fireplace"

i really like how well my wooden dancer on the left goes with this painting

The Anniversary Party

The Anniversary Party is one of my favorite movies. I have watched it about a hundred times. It's so freakin GOOD! I have been wanting Levi to watch it for over a year now (since before our first date actually), and we finally watched it last night. And again tonight. He loves it too.


A group of friends starred in it and filmed it in 19 days. The cast is incredible, and each actor is truly at his or her best. It was written and produced by Allan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times at Ridgemont High!!! Phoebe Cates, from Fast Times, is in it too!). If you like any of the same movies as I do (see my profile), watch this movie! If you take my advice, I hope you love it as much as I do. :)

this is what happens...

...when you can't afford to go out most nights.

we were directing each other on what emotions to show.

i.e. confused while angry or sad while perplexed.

they're so bad, especially the little pebbles ponytail i'm sporting.

I LOVE IT!

my stomach does the talking AND the walking

I'm really in the mood for some barbeque. Maybe Levi will do really well in tips today and we can go to Lucille's tonight....

i can be a total baby sometimes.

i spent almost the entire day indoors today wearing no makeup and staring at the computer. it wasn't entirely unenjoyable, but i stayed in mostly because i'm in a bad, cranky, moody mood. levi told me about a job prospect at a spa (i'm an esthetician, btw) that might be hiring, and, for some reason, this really freaked me out. i've been out of work for months, and we need more money. absolutely. just a little bit more money would help us soooo much. but i'm scared, and i have a really schizophrenic love/hate relationship with change. i put so much time, money, hard work, early mornings, tears, and misery into getting my esthetician's license. i even wore this beastly uniform. (for some reason, i am doing verrrry weird things in all the pictures i have of me in the uniform.) hopefully, you can tell how perfectly hideous it was. let me just say, i had to wear black, drawstring, Dickie's (blech) scrub pants. ew. ew. ewww.

i just threw this one b/c i think it's funny

i wanted it that bad. but now it's the last thing i want. now i don't give a crappp about skin care and waxing. i can think of a thousand jobs i'd rather have than being an esthetician. i don't know what happened. maybe it was self protection. maybe after seeing how bad the economy was and how few positions were out there, i just started telling myself i didn't really want it anyway. whatever the reason, that's where i'm at right now. it's silly. i know i'm just being a baby. i mean, we don't even know if there is a job. ugh. i'm an expert at worrying about things that aren't even problems yet and turning good things into bad things in my head. everything will look better tomorrow. i know it.

it's a good way to start the day.

Pirouettes make me happy.

Why today was awesome:

1. My entire body (literally from my neck to the arches of my feet) is sore today from the yoga I've been doing at home every day since Saturday. It's that good kind of sore where you know you're doing something really good for your body, and every time you feel the pain, you're grateful that it's working.

2. I had a TON of energy in ballet today because of the yoga....the red bull probably didn't hurt either. I love red bull.

3. I did two PERFECT pirouettes in ballet today. I suck at pirouettes so I was really excited. My spotting is what did it. I was proud.

4. The  ten stems of daffodils I bought at Trader Joe's for $1.29 were blooming this morning and gorgeous. Can you believe how cheap they were???

There's my daffodils in the kitchen, displayed in a champagne flute. Ha!

5. Levi and I went to South Coast Plaza just to walk around and look at stuff. It was fun. They had some really gorgeous flowers in planters all over the place. Every time I saw them, I had to touch them. I'm like a honeybee that way. I'm drawn to flowers, and just looking at them isn't enough.

Levi's snack at the mall - an entire baguette. His metabolism makes me jealous.

Ahhh! I love good days and good moods!

lovers.

When you're in love, you wear matching sunglasses. 

People make comments. Usually of the "Oh you guys are so cute I'm gonna barf" variety. 

(That's an old photo from the summer, btw. My hair is not that color today....but it might be tomorrow!)

P.S. Thank you for breakfast in bed this morning (and yesterday morning), Levi! I love you!!!

Goldie - can I beeeee you?

We watched Protocol last night (very verrrry strange movie, btw) so, of course, I want to be Goldie Hawn this morning. I love her so much. She makes smile, and she's just so adorable. I can watch her movies over and over again, especially Housesitter. It may be my favorite, maybe. That's a really tough call. 

I'll have some more sangria, please.

Last night was fun. Levi made $130 in tips yesterday! We usually just count on $40 a day when budgeting stuff (he's a hairstylist, btw...don't know if I ever mentioned that before - it explains why my hair is always a different color). So to celebrate we went to Lola's on 4th St. (retro row in LB) and had their AMAZINGLY delicious creamy green salsa and chips and some delicious sangria. Mmmmm. I love sangria. There should be public drinking fountains that spout out icy cold delicious sangria all over the place. Lola's is really delicious as long as you order the right stuff. Their mole, birria, and shrimp are really good, but the enchiladas I had last night were bland. The meal was still delicious though. Afterwards, we went to the Blue Cafe to watch our friends Centrevol perform. They did this Beatles cover at the end (Daytripper, and it went into Hey Jude at the end) that was really good. They always have a really original take on covers and tweak em just enough to make them interesting without destroying the song. So yeah, we had a fun time together last night. It was a nice little date.

I LOVE HIM!!

saturday night OUT!

We're actually going OUT tonight!! On a Saturday! Woooo! That almost never happens.

We will not be dressing like this...but I kinda wish we were 'cause Levi looks hot in eyeliner. You really can't say that about too many men. Most women can't say that their boyfriends made their outfits and styled their hair for a night out either (like he did on our 80s dress up night). I can say all these things. I'm so lucky.

why didn't my mom do this??

I made roasted broccoli for our vegetable dish at dinner last night. I have never made or eaten roasted broccoli before. Why didn't I know how incredible it is?!?! I wish I had taken a picture. It was really pretty. It got greener in the oven, and some of the edges were all brown and crispy. Mmmm. Seriously, this stuff is so good I could snack on it. Weird! If my mom had made broccoli this way when I was a kid, I would have eaten a whole lot more of it. My future babies will be served lots and lots of roasted broccoli.

In case you're interested, this is how you make it. Super easy:

2 small bundles of broccoli

2 (approx.) tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

lemon pepper

sea salt

freshly ground peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Clean broccoli. Cut into bite size pieces. Put in a mixing bowl. Add olive oil, and toss with hands. Add lemon pepper, salt, and pepper (as much or as little as you'd like), and toss with hands again. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put in the oven for 17-20 minutes, until edges start to brown up and crisp.

Simple. Easy. Delicious.

beirut - elephant gun

i love this video so much. it makes me want to dress up like an elephant and dance.

at least i'm pretty.

This is a text message conversation Levi and I had recently.

Levi: Are we out of laundry detergent?

Jasmine: No I don't think so. I don't remember being out of detergent.

Levi: Where is it? I can only see snuggle fabric softener up high in the kitchen.

Jasmine: It's up high in the kitchen in a blue bottle. It's blue sparkle "flavored."

Levi: That's fabric softener, not detergent.

Jasmine: Shoot. Really??? That's what I've been washing our clothes with.

Levi: LOL...Yeaaah... well baby, at least you're pretty!

Baby Sis

This is Ivy. She's ten years younger. (!!!!!!!!!!) I love her.

Mostly Happy and a Little Impatience

by Garance Dore

Things that are making me happy today:

1. just found out i have to learn French since i switched to an art history major.

2. anne of green gables - anne inspires me to be more "me" without caring what other people think and to accept myself just the way that i am.

3. i am going back to ballet on monday after missing two weeks from being flu-ish and out of town.

4. i'm ready to get all crazy about yoga and will be starting a new regime next week.

5. it's almost 7:00, and i can still see blue sky and hear birds chirping.

6. i tried a bathing suit on today and DIDN'T hate my body!

Things that I'm getting a little tired of waiting for:

1. a new apartment:

a. i want to have people over for dinners and parties and just hanging out.
b. with hard wood floors because i love them and they're so much prettier than emerald green carpet
c. with a big enough kitchen and a sink that isn't painted on the bottom

d. that we can actually decorate in a manner that reflects our style and doesn't look like a junk yard collection

e. with enough space so that we can actually be in separate rooms while we're both home!

2. new clothes. all mine are breaking.

3. a job so we can make these things happen!

Fancy Fantasy

I was just reading Blah, Blah, Blahg and came across this really cool photo by Elena Kalis. The whole Underwater Fairytale series is really beautiful and cool to look at. Check them out here. Take a look at this one from the Ocean series too. I think it might be my favorite.

Eating San Francisco

My weekend in San Francisco was certainly a success! Lauren and I had so much fun! Our afternoon tea at the Crown and Crumpet was scrumptious.



I need to start making cucumber sandwiches at home. They're so yummy and simple - just cream cheese and cucumber. I really have difficulty thinking of things that are not improved by the addition of cream cheese.

The tea was really tasty too. We had two pots - a black tea and a white tea. The black tea was called After Seven Fifty Nine. It was like a thin mint, all chocolatey with just enough mint. Unfortunately, the caffeine in black tea always makes me a little bit cracked out - like I've spent a few hours in an opium den - so I could only have one cup of this tea. It was great with some milk and sugar. The white tea we had was the Fig de Blanc. It was fruity and...figgy. Delicious too.

The place was super cute. I really like these cool tea canisters and the weird little cupboard of dolls. If you live in the San Francisco area and like girly things, it's essential to check this place out. It's located in Ghirardelli Square. There are so many cute little shops there these days.

We found a little macaron shop called Paulette, located in Hayes Valley. Good God, these things are good. I only had one, and I could kick myself for not buying more to bring home with me. They have a Beverly Hills location, but that's such a pain in the butt to drive to. I had the Violet Cassis, and it was perfect. I've got a thing for macarons, and I haven't found any that I thought were worth eating in yearrrrrs. These are perfect. I can't wait until I have a chance to eat more. And more. And more. Lauren and I were both thinking of doing them for Christmas presents next Christmas. You can buy two and have them wrapped in a cute little box for $4. We thought this was a sweet, little, inexpensive gift. I know I'd be excited to unwrap some next Christmas.

I also had an opportunity to try Bluebottle Coffee. This place totally lived up to its reputation. They make each cup of drip coffee individually. This makes such a difference. Their coffee is so smooth, flavorful, and drinkable. I know drinkable sounds kinda weird, but some coffees just aren't (ahem...Starbucks!). I've turned into a bit of a coffee snob...don't mind me. Luckily, I brought a half pound home for Levi for something new to put in the french press. It's a nice coffee to wake up to.

I just realized that I've only been writing about food in this post....that theme is going to continue because I am getting to the most delicious part!



Dinner at the Nob Hill Cafe. Ugh [this is me groaning]. This place was ridiculous. The service was great, and the food was even better. The prices weren't bad either. We ordered the Insalata Misto (basic mixed green salad with lemon herb dressing and grated parmesan cheese) and the Tortellini to split. After ordering, they brought us a basket of bread that was so good I can't stop thinking about it. This bread was like the densest brick of a bread I've ever tried. It was warm and chewy. When I bit into it, my teeth left an indentation, like they had taken the loaf out of the oven right before it was all the way cooked. It was just doughy enough. Mmm. It had some rosemary in it, and it almost had a cheesy flavor too. It was, literally, the best bread I've ever eaten. Our salad was huge. They split it up for us into two separate bowls, and each half should have been a serving in itself. They gave us just the right amount of time to enjoy our salad and a bite or two more of the bread when our entree came out. This too had been split onto two plates for us (such a nice little touch when you're sharing at a restaurant). This was the best pasta of my life thus far. It was tortellini with creamy pesto garnished with pine nuts. I really am not all that into pesto. It's alright, but a lot of places just don't know how to make it. It usually comes out bland and boring. This pesto was so flavorful and sweet and creamy. I kept licking the back of my fork so I could get more of the sauce all by itself onto my tongue. I was tempted to grab a spoon and just starting eating it as if it were soup. I didn't. Neither of us were able to finish our halves. The portions were so huge. The pasta dish was only about $13...not bad for the best pasta of my life. After we'd finished up, our waitress asked if we'd like some coffee or dessert. I am such a sucker for dessert. I really can't resist it. I asked her to bring her favorite. It was a chocolate ganache. It was creamy and thick, like frosting that had been kept in the fridge. Two mini scoops were served in a martini glass over fresh whipped cream with a garnish of thinly sliced strawberries and a sprig of mint. We shared this over espressos and couldn't stop eating it. Both of us were so full, but it was just too good. It wasn't too sweet or too dark. It was perfection. The entire meal was too good. It has ruined me. I don't think I will ever have better bread or pasta or CHOCOLATE.

Needless to say, I really can't wait for my next trip back to San Francisco. It's the best city to gorge yourself in. You have to walk up so many hills to get anywhere that you burn off more calories than you'll consume during your meal. Guilt free eating in a city full of gorgeous buildings, shops, restaurants, and people is my idea of the perfect vacation.