Today

I feel so GOOD today! Don't you just love days like that?! My mood is cheerful, I feel physically healthy, I feel AWAKE (I've been so tired for the last month or so), and the weather is amazing. It is no longer 85 degrees... YAY! It's cool. They sky is grey with patches of beautiful blue. Gorgeous, moody clouds everywhere. Perfection.

(photos taken with the jasiPhone)

While I was driving today, these were some things that made me really happy:

1. Feeling all snug and warm in my car.

2. Driving through pockets of sunshine.

3. Looking out at the inky, dark, choppy water and noticing rings of shimmering sparkles.

4. Remembering that I have seen the ocean almost every single day of my life when some people only get to see it on vacation... if at all.

Other things making me happy today:

1. I'm wearing one of my favorite shirts. It's red and covered in swans.

2. Levi shampooed my hair at the salon and gave me an extra long scalp massage.

3. Our dinner in the crock pot is making the house smell amazing.

4. The kiwi I had for breakfast.

It's just a good day.

Saturday Night

On Saturday night, we walked to Peet's for some tea, scones, and Yahtzee.

We're totally fine with being an old married couple already.

Saturday

Saturday night was really really good. Levi and I had tickets to see Radio & Juliet. I had been looking forward to seeing it for a very long time. Before we left, I packed up some intermission snacks - Pellegrino and lemonade for me, beer for Levi, Terra Blues chips for both. It turned out that we didn't need these things because there wasn't an intermission, but it felt good (and a little bit sneaky, which can be really fun) to be prepared.

Before the ballet, we went to Tavern on 2 for dinner. We let ourselves split more than one thing, which felt very fancy and frivolous. I, of course, got a little bit nervous about spending too much money, but Levi told me to knock it off. As soon as the food came out, I was like, "Money? Whatever! Mmmmm." Everything was delicious. And we even ordered dessert. S'mores! For our marshmallow flavors, we chose orange honey, gingerbread, and toasted coconut. They brought out a tiny flaming iron stove, sticks, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. We had so much fun almost burning the place down. I laughed loudly each time my wooden stick and marshmallows caught on fire. The orange honey marshmallows were my favorite. You should get some of those. When the bill came out, I didn't even ask to see it. I left with the perfect kind of fullness - not too much, not too little, juuuuust right.

We arrived at the theatre a few minutes early and sat in our seats, soaking up the anticipation. Everyone was excited for the performance. You could feel the energetic buzz in the room. That's one of the things I love most about live performances - the palpable energy. As soon as the lights dimmed, everyone broke out in applause. We were all prepared to love what we were about to see. We went in with great attitudes, and we weren't disappointed. The second the music started, tears jumped to my eyes. It was so beautiful. I've never heard Radiohead sound better. Levi and I heard new parts to songs we had listened to a million times before. And then the dancers came on stage. More beauty. When they danced to Idioteque, I thought my heart might burst. I sat enraptured for 60 minutes, until, suddenly, it was over. Just like that. Juliet took a bite of a poisonous lemon, and the theatre went dark. When the lights came back on, all the male dancers were standing in a row on stage. People started clapping. The dancers started bowing. I looked around, a bit dazed, and figured I should join in. We stood up for the dancers. The music. The experience. The evening. All of it. Perfect.

I've got it good.

I have a king size bed and tickets to see Ballet Maribor perform Radio & Juliet (here's a video) in October.

Life is good.

(crummy pictures of our bed, without bedding, and our new mirrors... and my husband putting the bed together in the reflection)

This Week.

This week has been one of the happiest I've had in some time. Levi and I got to spend a ton of extra time together, and we made good use of it. We didn't slip into any stupid, pointless arguments. We didn't have any conflicting agendas. We both wanted to be together, and we both wanted to just enjoy ourselves. It was pretty great.

My alone time this week was pretty great too. I've been feeling really guilty, anxious, and overwhelmed about how I spend my time lately. These feelings never get me anywhere. They don't motivate me to a place of productivity; instead, they paralyze me into doing absolutely nothing. I hate when I get to that place. That didn't happen this week. I made great use of my time. And instead of sitting motionless on the couch, staring at some mindless television show once all my work was done, I made a point to actually enjoy my spare time. I did yoga. I read. I flipped through magazines. I cooked. I felt inspired, happy, and satisfied.

See?? This is what happens when the kitchen is completely clean for the first time in three months. I can only imagine what next week will bring if we clean the rest of the house over the weekend...

good.

i feel really excited about life today. i'm not sure why... but who cares? i love it!

it's spring.

the sun is shining.

the sky is blue.

my husband is back from his trip, & i no longer have to worry about him being on an airplane without me!

i got to see stacey this weekend (more on that later).

i have a phone date with camilla today.

i'm making plans with jenny.

my sister's birthday was yesterday, and we had the best day together (more on that later too).

the dishes are almost almost done.

i got to do a wee bit of shopping over the weekend.

and i started playing tiny wings on my iphone!

(these instagram photos don't have much to do with this post... but i like them, and i like instagram. you should join! it's fun. i promise. and be my friend! my username is avec_la_fleur.)

life is just good right now. i'm going to enjoy this feeling while it lasts!

some kind of wonderful

today, levi straightened my hair.

i think it makes me look a bit like mary stuart masterson.

(photo found here.)

happenings of the day that were some kind of wonderful:

1. found a very very promising remedy to one of the unfortunate side effects of my medication.

2. dropped my web design class that was sucking the life out of me...with no repercussions! woo!

3. take home french quiz. much better than an in-class french quiz.

4. played with sand & action figures in counseling.

5. received many amused glances from fellow drivers whilst belting out the across the universe version of "don't let me down."

6. mcdonald's happy meal.

happiness is....

...skipping the jar and making your own pasta sauce every single time.

you just can't beat that smell or those popping, molten bubbles.

i really love food. you might say passionately.

i'm grateful

this week i have been grateful...

...for sunday night drives home from my mom's house on pch. it feels like it's just me and levi on that long stretch of beautiful road.

...for a desire to tidy up the house and cook.

...that God is helping me to be more content with my life, my finances, my body, my hair, everything.

...for southern california sunsets. i don't think anywhere else can top them.

...for sleepy kitties in my lap.

...for my new twitter background - it makes me smile every time i see it. and for twitter in general. at first, i thought twitter was weird, and i didn't like it, but now i love it. it's like tiny little mini blogs. so much fun!

...for my little pumpkin candle house.

...for not one, but two, ditch days. i'm terrible, i know, but i enjoyed those days so much.

...for my buddy, levi.

...for cooler weather, happy walks, pumpkin everything, and gorgeous fresh flowers.

hope you all have a beautiful & grateful weekend!

happy things

reasons i'm smiling this week (and weekend):

- i dropped my painting class (i CRIED in class last week - it was just too much for me) and am now taking a friday class that i love instead ("comic spirit" - comparative world lit class studying humor as a genre - we get to read shel silverstein, my favorite poet!)

- because of furloughs, i don't have to go to school today!

- fridays have become my "i get to wear cute clothes" day since i can't wear them any other day (because i have tennis, jazz, and ballet). maybe i'll start taking friday morning photos? we'll see.

- super fun plans for tomorrow during the day

- a birthday party SCAVENGER HUNT tomorrow night: do you know how much i LOVE scavenger hunts or games of any kind?? so excited.

- the weather's getting cooler (hallelujah!)

- i'm looking forward to wearing my beautiful new coat soon (i went with option three in this vote - it's anthro and soooo cute on).

- we have all brand new tires on our little werewolf. levi noticed a HOLE in one and then we got a flat in another the next day.

- baby gretel snack-pack should be coming home this weekend!!! i can't wait to cuddle my new little kitty.

- i have done a really great job cooking at home this week: very proud of myself. i might post recipes over the weekend in case anyone wants them.

- we bought a couch on labor day! it's supposed to come next week.

- levi and i just bought tickets to go to san francisco for thanksgiving with my family! i loooove sf and can't wait for november! and trips with my family are always so much fun.

- the weekend is here! have a fantastic one!

p.s. i'm not forgetting what today is by not posting about it. i remember, and i will never forget. my heart, thoughts, and prayers are with everyone today.

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!

my evening with regina spektor

as you all know, i was lucky enough to see regina spektor perform at el rey theatre in los angeles on tuesday, 28 july.

i was positively devastated when we weren't able to get tickets the day they went on sale. they literally sold out in seconds. don't get me started on the corruption that is concert-going in LA. it is absolutely ridiculous.

anyway, my friend scott knew that i was upset so he started trying to get me tickets through his goldenvoice connection the day they went on sale.

it looked like a lost cause, but on tuesday at 3:45, hours before the show, he called to let me know that he got me and levi in!

we showed up an hour before the doors opened, and it turns out we were on the guest list.

so not only did we get FREE tickets to a sold out performance to one of my top three favorite artists of all time, we didn't have to wait in the huge line, and we got to go in first. which means our location was killer.

we were literally as close as you could get, touching the stage, standing right where regina performed for the entire night. unbelievable. you don't have to tell me how incredibly lucky i am. believe me, i know. i was shocked at our good fortune.

her entire performance was absolutely magical.

{stars everywhere for samson - "the stars came fallin' on our heads"}

she is beautiful. she is adorable. she is sweet as pie.

she looked me in the eye multiple times throughout the evening.

{it's just me & regina...don't mind all those other hands and heads}

all i could do was stand in silent adoration with my hands at my heart and smile the entire time she was on stage.

i didn't even cheer. i couldn't. i just clapped and smiled.

she performed almost all of the songs from her new album, far, as well as a ton of older songs.

she was accompanied on stage by her drummer, two cello players, a violinist, and a viola player.

she sat at the piano for most of her performance.

she performed dance anthem of the 80s on the keyboard. she was nervous about messing this one up. she said she was rehearsing it earlier in the day. it was adorable. and she didn't mess it up one bit.

she also performed on her guitar and did a couple-few (one of levi's words) songs accompanied only by her musicians.

poor little rich boy was awesooooome. she beat the rhythm on a chair with a drumstick with her right hand, played piano with her left, and sang. so talented.

i can't pick my favorite from the night. apres moi is definitely up there. my eyes welled with tears multiple times, but they finally fell onto my cheeks when she performed us during her encore. i'm almost crying remembering it. it was so gorgeous. especially with the string instruments accompanying her.

ahhhhh, i wish i could go back. i wish i could close my eyes and vividly remember every detail of the experience over and over at any time i want.

it was such a special, magical, beautiful, surreal night. i feel so lucky and so blessed to have had this experience. and i'm so grateful that i had levi there to enjoy it with me.

here are two videos that i took to share with you all.

the sound isn't all that bad, and you can see how close we were.

*all the cheering, talking, and singing along you hear is NOT me. i'm not a big fan of singing along at concerts. that's what my car is for.

eet (unfortunately, it cuts off right at the end - sorry!)

on the radio (lots of singing along on this one)

i seriously wish you all could have been there too. it would have been so cool if that room could have been filled with us. and then maybe we could have all hung out with regina afterwards? yeahhhh.

guess what?

these are some of the last photos we'll be taking as residents of downtown long beach.

'cause.....

WE GOT THE APARTMENT! 

we're moving to belmont shore on june 15 (two days before my birthday)!

we already gave them our deposit and everything.

belmont shore is a really nice area of long beach full of amazing homes, great restaurants, and shopping. (not to mention, my favorite candy store and cupcake shop!)

it's a really great neighborhood and a close knit community that we are so excited to become a part of.

our new one bedroom  (oh my goshness no more studio apartment living for us!!) apartment is suuuper cute, and our complex has a pool! just in time for summer!

we always feel pretty lucky because we have each other, but right now we feel like THE LUCKIEST people on the planet!

thanks for all the finger crossing! we 'preciate it!

***p.s. levi and i are featured on smitten this morning. be sure to check us out!

i love Y-O-U

good morning fellow bloggers, readers, commenters, lurkers, human beings, etcetera!

i just need to tell you today how much i LOVE you all!

first of all, reading your comments to yesterday's pb+j post had me smiling all day. i enjoyed reading all about your random memory connections. erin (find her here and here), for example, told me the sweetest story about her grandparents. it was so cute that i had to read it out loud to levi during the lakers-nuggets game. i also loved hearing about how you make your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! i guess i'm not the only particular person out there! see, levi???

and secondly, i received the sweetest, most thoughtful gift in the mail yesterday from adele (and aramis) of poptart. she sent me a fujifilm instax mini camera and the most beautiful little handmade note!! let me tell you, i was skipping when i left my mailbox. i'm really excited to start using this thing, but, more than anything, i am blown away by her kindness and generosity.

adele, thank you so much for thinking of me and going through all the trouble of sending me a gift. you made more than just my day. your thoughtfulness filled me up with love, joy, inspiration, and happiness. thank you so much!

(in case you can't tell - this is a scanned photo from my new camera!)

let's all make it our mission this weekend to be full of love and kindness towards each other. let's keep making each other's days!

p.s. sometimes i sound like a hippie. :)

good morning!

it's beautiful here in long beach this morning. the sun is shining. birds are singing their little hearts out. and levi's about to make me some breakfast. :) while we eat our breakfast, go check out this super sweet post that Naomi featured me in on her amazing blog, the rockstar diaries, this morning. 

here's to a beautiful wednesday full of little happy things!

did you just call me wheat thin?

that's what i asked Levi last night after i thought i heard him say, "good night, wheat thin." i heard correctly.

yesterday was such a good day, one of those golden, perfect days.

i went to my mom's and hung out with my family all day.

my mom and i went shopping and tried loads of clothes on.

everything looked good on me, and i felt skinny. in fact, i lost a little weight! major self-esteem booster.

and my mom bought me a shirt!!! she bought the same shirt for herself so now we have yet another matching item of clothing. haha! i don't mind at all. i think it's funny.

after shopping, we walked down to the beach (the house i grew up in is across the street from the beach) and shared some strips.

for those of you who don't know (probably all of you), strips are the food that will be served in Heaven. well, strips and BBQ.

anyway, strips are a genius little concoction of chips, cheese, sauce, sun, and beach air.

all i can tell you about the sauce is that it's red and delicious.

the cheese gets the tiniest bit melty from the sun.

and everything just tastes a little bit saltier when you eat them out in the beach air.

they are amazing.

i want to serve them at my wedding.

the day continued to get better after the strips.

i went for a walk on the pier with my friend jesse (who also lives with my mom and sister), baby sis ivy, and my cousin janine. we stopped for milk shakes at the end of the pier. yummm.

when levi got off of work, we watched the second half of the Lakers game. thankfully, they made up for Thursday night's fiasco - they won, and they won well.

we had key lime dessert shots at chili's to celebrate and went for a ride on the ferris wheel (it was  running again!!).

fyi, levi hates ferris wheels. i didn't realize he hated them so much until we got on, and he started making all these unhappy, uneasy, kinda sick faces. he must really love me.

bracing himself

see Levi? this is how you're supposed to do it.

for the record, my boobs are absolutely not this big. just smooshed in.

i also got all the laundry done last night, including folding all of Levi's underwear (does anyone else think it's really weird that he likes his underwear folded??).

Levi's at work all day today and has to go to some hair class/show thing in LA as soon as he's off so i'm a  little sad. i think my sister is going to come over and keep my company. otherwise, i've got a movie to watch and a letter to write so i suppose i'll survive.

happy Sunday everybody!

I'm smiling today...

...because I might finally have a job!

Actually, I probably do have a job. I'm just afraid to trust it yet!

I interviewed at the cutest flower shop today.

(in case you didn't already know - Jasmine = obsessed with flowers & wants to own her own flower/pastry shop one day)

The owner said she would definitely call me on Monday to set up training.

I guess that means I'm hired?

:)

Ooooo! Maybe we'll be changing my blog title pretty soon!!

**update: for the not so awesome followup to this post, go here. i was pretty upset when i wrote it, but i am feeling much more hopeful about some other prospects now.

For Like Ever

We finally hung my For Like Ever poster above the bed! Yay! It looks soooo good. This photo isn't amazing because it was difficult to find an angle that would keep most of the glare off the frame, but you get the idea. And don't make fun of my old lady quilt!

I saw this poster on the cover of Domino magazine and went on a mission to find it. The original $10 version was completely sold out, but they had created a $30 larger version (which is now $60, btw) so I bought that. Let me warn you, I had a HECK of a time framing this thing. I ended up having to take it to a framing place because the poster is an irregular size. They created a matte for me and framed it, and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It cost a pretty penny though. Fortunately, this is when I had money! I am very happy, now, that I went to the trouble of framing it then. If you'd like your own, you can purchase one HERE.

So after Levi went through all the trouble of hanging this thing the other night, this is what he says to me, "How about we just move to another studio in an area we like better?" Funny timing, Levi, but I like what you're throwing out there!! So, fingers crossed, prayers said, hoooooopefully, we are moving! We are so over downtown Long Beach and this awful place. People don't live here because they want to live here; they live here because they have to. We want to be in a place where people are happy to live so we're going to back to the Long Beach we both fell in love with. We looked at a studio yesterday that's about a billion times better and nicer than this place and only $30 more a month. The only downside is a smaller living area (bigger kitchen though!). As soon as Levi is off work this afternoon, we're going to drive around looking for "for rent" signs and view some places tomorrow. If we don't see anything better, we're gonna go for the place we already looked at!! It's so exciting! Hopefully, in less than 33-ish days, we will be in another apartment! Wish us luck!

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!