it's time!!!!

it's here! finally!

my first day of school!

and in honor of this fantastic day, my iPod decided to put together a special little back to school playlist for me.

don't you just love when your iPod creates incredible playlists? my iPod is a genius sometimes. that's why i usually just let it do its thing on shuffle.

anyway, i present to you:

my back to school mixtape

if you only have time for one song, may i recommend the last one by nina simone? it's my go to pump me up and inspire me song. and the first song is one of my favorites of all time. (and sorry about the one bad word in the mason jennings song.)

eeeek! i'm so excited for school! i've got all kinds of butterflies!

here we go!

post-edit note: oh no! the nina simone song is no longer on my playlist. it must have been taken off of the website i used. sad. :(

things to do on a saturday

you've got mail and laundry.

laundry is the best chore.

you get to feel all productive while it's in the washer and dryer and do things like watch you've got mail while it finishes.

ugh, i love this movie.

tutorial: bottlecap magnets

some of you expressed interest in how levi and i made our bottlecap magnets, so here's a handy little tutorial for you!

supplies:

- bottlecaps

- magazines or other things to cut pictures out of

- x-acto knife

- cutting board

- mod podge glue

- magnet tape (we got a role at michael's for $1)

instructions:

1. save bottlecaps.

2. create a stencil by tracing a bottlecap onto a thick piece of paper or cardboard and cutting just inside the line with an x-acto knife (make sure the top of the bottlecap - the part with the writing on it - is facing down).

2. find pictures you like and that would look good in tiny size on magnets.

3. suggested step - if you're cutting things out of magazines, glue or tape them to thick paper. we didn't do this, and some of our pictures bubbled and words showed through from the other side.

4. use an x-acto knife to cut out your picture on a cutting board, cutting just inside the line of the stencil.

5. place picture in bottlecap and fill with mod podge glue until the picture is completely covered.

6. remove any glue boogers that may be inhibiting flow of glue.

7. wait approximately a thousand years (well, more like 2-5 days depending on how much glue you put in) for the glue to dry.

8. cut a small piece of magnet tape and affix to the back of your magnet.

9. stick it to your fridge!

ta-da! homemade magnets!

resemblance

in the last month, i've been told not once but twice, by fellow bloggers, that i look like jessie the cowgirl from toy story 2.

i think this is absolutely hilarious.

so i google imaged her to see if i agreed.

when levi and i looked at these pictures, we started laughing because i really do kind of look like her (especially in the last two pictures - that is soooo me).

so yeah, i guess i look like a cartoon character.

what's the strangest comparison you've ever gotten on your appearance?

my sister, the photographer

i needed a professional-looking photo for something i was working on a few weeks ago, so my little sister (ivy) came over for a little grueling photo shoot (i can be a little difficult to photograph because i get really self-conscious).

we did end up with one good one though (out of over 300).

doesn't it look like it belongs on the inside of a book jacket??

i love it!

AND this was before ivy got her slr, so this was just taken with a regular old digital camera. ivy's so talented.

look where i am today!

i'm over here showing off my downtown.

take a peek.

incredible new friends!

last night, i had the honor of having dinner with four incredible women and fellow bloggers.

liz, gabby, kathleen, and carina came up to long beach, and we all had a fantastic dinner at la creperie.

this was my first time meeting any of them, so i had some nervous little butterflies on my walk over to the restaurant.

but as soon as i sat down, i felt comfortable.

i genuinely and sincerely liked all four of these beautiful women, and i feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to meet them.

it was so weird sitting there with them in one of my favorite restaurants in my own neighborhood.

weird, but totally awesome.

we shared some nutella crepes, secrets, and laughs and had a grand old time just being girls together.

such a fantastic evening.

if you haven't read their blogs yet, please do yourselves a favor and pay them all a visit:

liz from it's unbeweavable!

gabby from gabby, she wrote

kathleen from just a small town squirrel (i mean, girl.)

carina from crow and canary

p.s. check out those incredible goodies carina brought for all of us!!!

first day of fall

so even though the first day of fall isn't 'til 22 september,

i think it started (at least a little bit) for me today

because levi brought me a slice of pumpkin chocolate bread from peet's this morning.

my first pumpkin treat of the season!

(too bad it's about 1,000 degrees out today. someone needs to have a talk with the weather.)

stick it to the fridge

remember how i said levi and i were working on a little project the other day?

this is what we were working on:

bottlecap magnets!

from top left: sarah palin magnet, burger magnet, heath ledger as the joker magnet, pop tart magnet, abstract art magnet, rolling hills magnet, and julia child magnet.

i think my favorite is the burger magnet.

we think we have the coolest magnets ever.

levi won't stop making them.

fun with proust, take one - levi

levi and i have always loved the proust questionnaires found at the back of vanity fair magazine.

we periodically sit down and answer the questions on pieces of paper then read them aloud to each other. it's a fun way to learn new little things about someone that you thought you knew everything about.

so when i saw that this blog did a series featuring the proust questionnaire, i knew i just had to do it over here as well! (be sure to check out femme rationale to see where i got the idea.)

and i'm starting with levi!

levi was instructed to choose his very favorite picture of himself (current, old, abstract, straight forward, alone, in a group - anything goes) and to answer the following 7 questions.

so here we go!

1. what is your perfect idea of happiness?

peacefulness

2. what is your most treasured possession?

my mom's wedding ring

3. what is your greatest fear?

death by octopus

4. which talent would you most like to have?

i think it would be really fun to be a musician. you know one of those guys who can do just about everything...like play 2 different songs on 2 different pianos at the same time.

5. what or who is the greatest love of your life?

jasmine hunter, she's my best friend.

6. what is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

i can be passive aggressive.

7. what do you value most in your friends?

an open heart and an open mind

and here is his favorite photo of himself:

i hope you like the new series! i have a couple other bloggers already lined up to play along, so stay tuned for more fun with proust!

another one

levi's dad emailed me more photos of levi as a little one.

this is my current favorite (until he sends me more super cute photos!):

he still does this at dinnertime! he hasn't changed one bit. ;)

he was such a cute little chunk. makes me wanna give him a cuddle.

mish mash

i'm tired!

we've been really busy for the last couple days. here's a recap of what we've been up to.

on sunday, we celebrated our friend joyce's birthday.

here's the birthday girl. isn't she gorgeous?!

i'm wearing my beautiful new skirt in this picture. i wish you could see it better.

(p.s. levi's cute.)

yesterday was spent shopping for a couch. except we got a little distracted from the couch shopping and ended up shopping for levi. he really needed some new shirts and shoes. we found him lots of great stuff.

this is me being "super" in the parking lot at south coast plaza.

levi stuck this "s" on me. i said it stood for super. he played along.

today, we continue the couch hunt. i really hope we find something soon!

something new

in the spirit of change and just in time for me to go back to school,

i have decided to switch things up a bit around here.

i am very pleased & excited to announce that an experiment in poverty is now accepting sponsors!

i have seen so much talent and creativity in the blogosphere, and levi & i would love to use my blog as a place to promote and support artists, writers, photographers, small businesses, you name it!

if you're interested in sponsoring this little blog of mine, please email me for rates & answers to your questions at:

jasmine.lael@gmail.com

why we love our neighborhood reason #7

reason #7:

lola's

lola's is on "retro row" right by levi's work.

if you're ever in town, you should definitely check out this area - really great restaurants and tons of vintage shopping.

why we love lola's:

1. the decor and bright colors

2. the sangria

3. the green salsa - ohhhh my goodness, it's to die for. it's creamy, garlicky, basil-y, and oh so tasty.

i get pretty bummed out when it's gone.

levi finished his heaping pile of delicious food. i was full from the chips & salsa, so i just had a couple potato taquitos. so yum!

we love lola's!

boontje

i want this lamp:

and these plate settings:

i love tord boontje.

i wish he would do more stuff for target (like my pretty breakfast glass) so i could afford it.

p.s. this is how i've always envisioned my wedding:

so magical.

and as it turns out....

....levi did not kill me (or yell at me) for this.

and he didn't kill me or yell at me for the gorgeous skirt (certainly not as expensive. in fact, it was a pretty good price) that i purchased yesterday.

he's the best.

i just get nervous clothes shopping since it's been a pretty long time since i've really done any. i'll get over it.

on a completely unrelated note, look at the picture of tiny baby levi & big sister merry that levi's dad emailed me last night:

ohhhhh! he was even cute when he was a wrinkly little baby.

our weekend officially starts at 3:00 pm today.

our goal for the weekend is to find a couch! wish us luck!

i did a very bad thing

oh no!

i just spent a lot of money on the most perfect coat i've ever seen.

and it's not returnable because it was on sale.

and levi might get really mad at me.

in fact, he might read this post before he even gets off of work.

if you are reading this, levi, i'm very sorry, but it just had to be done. once you see the coat, you'll understand.

do you guys wanna see my new coat??

of course, you do!

here she is:

oh, she's so pretty!

the back is pleated!

and even the lining is beautiful!

ahhhh, i love her.

so now that i have my perfect, yellow coat, i can safely tell you where the other yellow coat from this post is from.

it is vintage, and you can buy it on etsy right here for only $35!!

can you see why i didn't want to tell you? haha!

i wish levi was home already, so i could just get my confession over with!

turn and face the strange

i've been itching for some change lately.

i think it's the onset of fall and the gemini in me.

i've always desperately needed and feared change all at the same time, being the eternal contradiction that i am.

there's no fear involved in the changes i have coming up though. i'm just ready to enjoy them:

- school starts on 31 august where i'll be dancing, playing tennis, learning how to paint, and learning to speak french (all thanks to budget cuts and the unavailability of more "academic" classes)

- levi and i can finally afford to start cooking healthy meals at home so i'm committing to it

- i will be losing 15 unwanted pounds this semester

i am so very ready.

and i'm getting ready for the change today by finally going back to school supply shopping.

yippeeee!

hot water

last night,

i turned up the shower really hot,

turned out all the lights,

and laid down at the bottom of the tub

letting the hot water fall on me.

i stayed there just praying and thinking until the hot water ran out.

i got out feeling calm, resolved, and ready for some change.

randoms

a list:

1. i always cry at musicals. every. single. one.

2. i obsessively use ziploc bags in the kitchen for everything.

3. i hate ketchup. and onions.

4. i didn't start liking avocados til i was 26. i also didn't taste one til i was 26. seriously, what's my problem?

5. when levi forgets deodorant, his armpits smell like sugar (don't you hate him - he never gains weight, and he never smells bad).

6. when i was in fifth grade, i was convinced i would be the first female president of the united states. so i ran for class president and won.

7. i also thought i would be an astronaut.

8. levi wanted to be an architect (he would have been really good at this).

9. i "majored" in architecture in junior college for one semester.

10. i hate scary movies.

11. my first hamster's name was posie. my first fish's name was purple martin's majesty.

12. levi bred and sold pedigreed/show holland lop eared rabbits in elementary school.

13. i once held hands with dennis rodman. he's weird.

14. levi has literally run into (physically bumped into) rasheed wallace, magic johnson, and dennis rodman.

15. when i was in high school, i thought i would be done having kids by now.

16. so did levi.

17. levi and i met at a reeve carney show in LA (they're incredible, btw) a year before we started dating. we talked the whole night. he told a mutual friend i was cute. that guy never told me.

18. one year later, i was dating (hanging out with/making out with) the drummer from the afore-mentioned band when levi and i started dating. it was all very awkward.

19. i said on multiple occasions that i could "never date levi."

20. sometimes i'm really stupid.

a switcheroo

i didn't start my day in such a fantastic mood:

i felt like the fattest i've ever been.

i was irritated with myself for not getting to the laundry before levi had to ask me to do it...again.

the dishes in the sink have been threatening to take over the whole kitchen.

and i just didn't have an ounce of energy to face anything.

but my day has totally turned around:

the laundry is almost done.

the people at my bank greeted me with a super genuine, "hello jasmine!"

i picked up some of my favorite pretzel bread and bleu cheese at naples gourmet grocer for my lunch.

and i made plans with my mom and brother to hang out tonight while levi's at work.

now on to those dishes!!

z is for pizza

we love z pizza.

it's a 5 minute walk from our house, and all the employees are super nice.

i wish they were open for breakfast...

arts and crafts

levi and i took a little trip to michael's arts & crafts store yesterday to pick up something for a little project we're working on.

we found all kinds of goofy halloween stuff to play with so we turned our short little trip into a long one.

he's my best buddy.

let's get this show on the road

i think we're officially ready for fall.

levi and i made a pact today that we would try to capture the "essence" of things this year.

for example, this fall, we want to do lots of "fall-y" things like make hot apple cider, carve pumpkins, make pumpkin bread, do all kinds of pumpkin stuff, and dress up for halloween.

we just want to enjoy the year to its fullest and try to create some sort of distinction between seasons since we don't really get much of that here in southern california.

well, it's kinda more my thing than levi's, but he's more than willing to participate.

so fall, bring it on!

we think they're funny

i think yesterday was "my pets do funny things day"

our kitty lily was hilarious yesterday.

all she wanted to do was play.

i caught a video of her on the windowsill trying to get the cord for the blinds.

if you get bored with watching videos of cats, i'll tell you now - the funniest part is in the beginning when she straddles the desk.

but at the end you get to hear her cute little tiny meow.

if you watch the first 10 seconds and the last 15 seconds, you pretty much get the gist of her cuteness.

we love our little lilliputian kitty.

and buttercup was pretty hilarious yesterday too.

her videos are pretty short.

here she is eating corn on the cob (the song has nothing to do with the video - i just couldn't bear for anyone to hear all the special "butter voices" everyone was using while she ate. plus i just like this song.)

and her she is getting the highest score in a round of farkle.

okay, that's enough! i should really stop boring you with cute pet videos.

sheesh, what am i gonna be like with babies?!?!?