Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Why #2 is Necessary

#2 on my resolutions list, of course (#2. Clean my room and keep it clean!). I think that everyone who actually reads this is aware of the condition of my room. But in case someone happens to find this, I'll post some evidence!

Lisa kindly helped me go through most of my drawers last week, but there is so much more in my room than clothes. The pictures below were taken the day after christmas, I think. Some of the things on the floor were in my brother's room (I sometimes use it as a"holding cell" for my junk) and some were taken from the floor of my closet. Anyway, here you go!

"the scrapbooking corner" (note: I actually organized this a teeny bit
before I took the
picture....usually it looks so much worse!)

On the side of my bed....by the TV


aerial view from my bed, towards the front of my room


Eeek...here it is! I'm standing in the doorway right now. Yikes!


Now, I have spent the last few days going through my stuff, and getting rid of a lot of things. I'm hoping to create room in my closet for all of my shoes!! They are currently in a door-hanging shoe holder, but this is not the best solution since I can't close my door while it is on there. Ugh. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, my bed always looks like that. Yes, even when I'm sleeping. Usually it's piled a bit higher, but I think some of the stuff slid off, haha.

Stay tuned for updated pictures of my room....I think you will all be pleasantly surprised (okay, I'm not quite done yet....give me another week!).

Sunday, December 28, 2008

My Resolutions for the New Year!

I know it's a couple of days early, but just in case I don't have time to do it before Tahoe!

I don't think I've made an official list of New Year's Resolutions in a LONG time. And really, I think that's why the stuff on my unofficial list never happens. To make it real, it's got to be written down. So here goes...my official list, in no particular order:

1. stop biting my nails
2. clean my room, and keep it clean!
3. blog more often (avg every other day)
4. travel outside of the country
5. learn (or start to learn) another language
6. finish grad school
7. take another oil painting class
8. get fit!
9. and get back down to my pre college weight (minus 20 lbs)
10. scrapbook more
11. hike half dome
12. cook more often (aim for once a week)
13. find a good credit card and close some of my accounts

So my first two resolutions always make the list, but I never keep them. Hopefully next year I can do a little better!

Anyway, does anyone else share some of my resolutions? What are some of yours, and are there any biggies that I completely forgot about??

Friday, December 26, 2008

Are you engaged?

Nope, are you?

So I meant to write about this a couple of weeks ago, but just like Alex, I've been horrible at updating!! I am also going to "blame" Lisa's arrival in America.
Anyway, for my anniversary present this year, Ryan got me a really pretty ring that I picked out! I had been wanting an aquamarine (my birthstone) ring for a while, and so I got one! The only problem is that for our anniversary two years ago, he also got me a ring! And it's also really pretty. Here's a picture:


So, I don't really want to replace my other ring, with my new ring. My first solution was to trade off each day, and wear a different ring. Oh, I should point out that both are "sized" to fit my ring finger, on my right hand (ok, so the ring I just got was supposed to be sized, but I kind of think they didn't do it, because it's pretty big on my finger still. Even still, I can barely slide it on my middle finger, and if I do, it looks bad because my "finger fat" squeezes out, haha). My mom suggested that I just wear one of them on my left hand...hmm, ok, I guess I could do that! So I now wear my new ring on my right hand, and my other ring on my left hand, on the ring finger. Since I have misplaced my camera, I don't have a picture of my actual ring, but I found one on the internet that looks very similar. Except for some reason, the stone looks a little greenish, but they say it's an aquamarine...


The aquamarine is large, and to me, it kind of looks like an engagement ring. Even though the aquamarine is light, it still doesn't look like a diamond (it's no where near as sparkly), but not everyone wants or has an engagement ring with a diamond as the center stone! I was kind of expecting people (at work, at school, etc) to ask if I was engaged! I mean, at first glance, it kind of looks like I am (I think)! I was actually complaining how no one has asked me -- while we were having our first weekly "girls night out" (when's the next one??) -- and the bartender became the first person to ask, but only because I prompted her!

Anyway, I had someone at work ask me today, and I had to explain that I wasn't, and how I wanted to wear both rings. I'm pretty sure she thought I was being silly, and that I shouldn't be wearing both...at least not if one is going to be on my left hand. What do you all think? Have you ever worn a ring on your left ring finger when you weren't engaged or married? Am I crazy to want to wear both of these beautiful rings? I sure hope not...

Monday, December 15, 2008

Malia's Board and a question!

I was just thinking to myself today at work, and thought of some colors that Malia used to (and probably still does!) love!!! These colors are so much fun together!

I believe she had black music notes on her wall, in her pepto bismol-pink room. Oooo, and this could totally double as Tam's board as well! 

So now to my question. One of the ideas I have about my new calendar is regarding the titles of each page/month. The titles on the old one aren't all that creative, but they're okay. I thought it would be cute to make each title the title of a song! What do you think? But now I need help thinking of good song titles to use! I have about 7 or 8 that I think will be good, but I'm wondering if any of you have any ideas? Oh, and they have to be songs that both Ryan and I know!! This means rap slash r&b is probably out....think country and "oldies" like Billy Joel. Haha, thanks =)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Let's scrapbook...on the computer!

What?? That's what I said, when my good friend Michka introduced the world of digital scrapbooking (digi-scrap) to me! She's made some wonderful creations! Using pictures, digital paper and embellishments, and photoshop, you can make your 12" x 12" pages on the computer! What a concept. I'm still not completely sold on this, but I think it's mainly because I haven't had the time to really explore all of its wonderfulness. I did make one page, which I will share in a bit. Just note that I downloaded a bunch of junk from random sites, and I made this while on the 6-hour Amtrak train ride from Oakland to Bakersfield. So, I did not have the ability to download anything extra, and had to work with what I had!

As I see it, there are some pros and cons. The pros include the ability to change things very easily and there's no mess. But there is something I love about getting out all of my paper and tools and turning my room (or Michelle's living room slash family room) into scrapbooking heaven! Also, there's just something about the 3-D quality of the embellishments that gets lost when you use a computer. Oh yeah, and one of my favorite colors, sparkle (haha), doesn't exactly shine as brightly as it should when it's on the computer.

So, right now I prefer the old school way of scrapbooking, but I will definitely keep trying out digi-scrapping! Ok, so here's my first try:


Ok, so I guess it was kind of fun to make. But photoshop can be pretty frustrating, and it's really really time consuming!! I think once I re-teach myself how to use all of the cool tools on photoshop, digi-scraping will take less time, and I'll be able to make beautiful pages!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I think it reminds me of your room

But I'm not really sure. Anyway, here is Dannelle's board!! Didn't you have yellow and blue in your old room? Maybe I'm dreaming. Either way, it works out because it's UCLA colors!


I think it looks super pretty! Possibly the best picture in there is the blue rose. It reminds me of the time that boy (who shall remain nameless) gave you a blue rose after graduation practice. Haha, and it made you cry! Hope you like it! And as always, there will be more to come =)

Saturday, December 6, 2008

House Hunters: First Time

So, today Ryan and I looked at houses in Bakersfield! We're not exactly in the market right now, but we decided to see what's out there. We started at Village Green, which is a neighborhood with brand new houses. In fact, they're still not done with construction, meaning that if one were to buy a house, one could pick the floor plan and add upgrades! The picture above is of one of the houses on the street, but not one of the ones we went inside.

All of the houses we looked at were at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and they were so pretty! Also, the most expensive house available was $320k. Yep, $320,000. And that one had 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and was huge. Let me show you some of the pictures of the first two houses we went into (they were the model houses....so they were all set up and stuff. The other ones we went into looked very nice, but I didn't take any pictures, oops).


The room was so nice and open! And the backyard was nice too! Oh, and the best part about all of the houses were the HUGE walk-in closets! They were absolutely amazing!

Here are a few pictures from the second house we looked at. Once again, it was a model home. We liked this one better than the first one.

The front of the second house....the fence is only
around it because it was a model home!


Here's Ryan in the pretty kitchen!

Just another pretty picture =)

eeeeeee! The two-sided fireplace!! This was just too cool!

And here's Ryan in the closet. I think he's crossing his arms
because he doesn't understand why a closet would be so big.
He actually said he would rather them make another room a
little bigger and make the closet smaller...ummmm no!

Anyway, there you have it, the second house! The master was nice and big, and the bathroom was also huge (all of the houses in the neighborhood had huge bathrooms and huge walk-in closets!). Another huge perk about the neighborhood is that it has a pool and hot tub and water park for little kids! And the whole area was very well landscaped.


Oh and did I mention that it's a gated community? Crazy, right? So what do you think....would you come visit me if I had a house like this in Bako??

Pretty please?

Friday, December 5, 2008

The rest of the calendar

I've already showed you the first 6 months of the calendar, so here is the rest! Oh, and I forgot to mention in my previous post that I did not take these pictures...so I'm sorry for the not-so-great quality.

7. July

Yet another themed page. I believe Mich and I were shopping, when we decided that I should go "all out" for this page. And that's exactly what I did! Haha, ok actually, I think I was considering buying a piece of paper with a huge flag on it. So I guess I didn't go ALL out, but it was still pretty out there! I was just thinking about it, and me and Ryan have never been together on the 4th of July. But even still, I felt the need to decorate the page as if we were watching fireworks. Very festive!


8. August

I think this one is super cool. I'm not sure how easy it is to tell, but I ripped up a bunch of pieces of paper, and then glued them to make the design. Cool, huh? And I like the black and white photos. I'll probably do one of the new pages with black and white photos, but I haven't even thought about which one.

9. September

I also love this one!! It's simple, but that makes it look so clean. I think my favorite part about it is the title. The font fits this page so perfectly!! And these are pretty much the only cheerleading pictures I have of myself.

10. October

I really like this one!! I love the pictures, especially the sunset one! I love the ribbons, and the leaves, and the colors. But it's so autumn-y. Which I love! But it's another themed page. So I'll have to stay away from these colors in my Oct/Nov pages, even though I'll be so tempted!

11. November

I'm not too crazy about November. It's from our trip to Carmel, so I think the background paper is pretty cool because Carmel is actually on the map! I guess it's okay. The main thing is that these are really the only 3 pictures we took during the trip. I'm not really sure why. So, I just wasn't able to come up with anything super creative.

12. December

This one is...eh, it's okay. I don't hate it, but I don't particularly like it. It's kind of festive, so I'm thinking that for the new calendar, I won't have December be a Christmas-themed page. In fact, I'm going to stay away from all of the holidays this year.

So overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my work. Not the best ever, and it doesn't look super professional, but it was really fun to make! Now, stay tuned, because I am going to need some recommendations for the next calendar!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

An Idea for All Those Leftovers!

This one is from Giada de Laurentiis. It's something I saw on her show a while ago, and I've been meaning to try it ever since. The day after Thanksgiving seemed like the perfect time, since it's Turkey and Cranberry raviolis!! I'm not really a huge fan of the Thanksgiving turkey, but figured I'd give this one a shot. If you're interested, you can find the recipe here.

Depending on how much you like cranberry sauce, I suggest putting more. I put in a little extra, but wish there had been a bit more. We used wonton wrappers, so they weren't as heavy as normal raviolis. A word of caution: be carful not to poke holes in them while boiling!! A couple of them split open, causing the water to become infested with turkey....kinda gross.

I didn't actually make the gravy in Giada's recipe, because my dad is pretty much the Gravy King. I went the easy route and used his leftovers from the day before (another way to save some time!!).

Overall, I did enjoy these. Definitely a unique way to enjoy all of those leftovers, instead of making sandwiches for the next few weeks. The only downside is that they take a while to make. It's a lot of hard work putting the turkey/cranberry mixture into each of the wonton wrappers!! However, it is something that can be done ahead of time. You can just put them in the fridge, and boil them whenever!! The last part is very fast...only takes about 3-5 minutes.

Sorry that I didn't take any pictures!! But honestly, they aren't the prettiest things ever....I was a little lazy when I was making them, because it was taking so long. OH! And she recommends using dark meat. My family only eats dark meat, so we had about 3/4 of a pound left, but had probably 5 or so pounds of white meat. I ended up mixing the two, which helped get rid of some of the unwanted white meat! Depending on your preferences, I'm sure either would taste great! Enjoy =)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I want to eat your board!

And here it is!! Finally!! So, Lisa requested that I make her a board with dark red, brown, and cream. It was surprisingly difficult to find pretty pictures with these colors! But, I managed. If I could use one word to describe her board, it would be "yummy"....


The chocolates and cakes and chocolate covered strawberries look so good!! I can't wait to make more of these boards....I already have another one started. I wish I had more time slash was a bit better with photoshop, because those boards look much better. I'm just not that creative yet....

Hope you like it, Leese!!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Christmas!!

My favorite time of the year!! It's officially December, and I can't wait until all of the Christmas decorations start going up! I walked into work this morning, and they have a huge tree set up down in the lobby =)

Anyway, I got to my desk, and there was an envelope waiting for me. I opened it up, and found that one of my coworkers had given me a Christmas card!! My very first one, EVER! But now I'm wondering....am I supposed to hand out Christmas/holiday cards? And if so, who gets one? My family hasn't exactly been the best example, since we've probably only sent Christmas cards 5 times, out of the 22 Christmases I've had.

So now I'm stuck. What's the etiquette here? And when should I hand them out? I just realized that some people probably don't celebrate Christmas, so should I make sure the cards are out before Hanukkah starts? I'm pretty sure it starts only a few days before Christmas this year, but what if it starts in the beginning of Decemeber? Oh, and what I would really love to do is make the cards! But I just don't think I'll have time for that. What is everyone else doing?

Sunday, November 30, 2008

The First One About Scrapbooking....

So I realized that the title of my blog is a little misleading, because I haven't written anything about scrapbooking!! One of the main reasons is because I just haven't had time to spend on scrapbooking. I'm thinking that once this quarter is over, I'll have some more time (I hope!). Anyway, the last big project I worked on was for my boyfriend, Ryan. I made him a calendar for Christmas....in 2006. Yikes, that was almost 2 years ago. I've done a teeny bit since then....I am currently making a small (10 pages) scrapbook for my mom as a gift for someone, but it's a lot more simple than the stuff I usually do, because I don't really know what she likes. So I'm not really going to count that, since I haven't really been using my full scrapbooking potential!

Ok, so, I made him a calendar, and it took FOREVER! It was so much work because I had to think so hard about what each page would look like, and make sure the colors weren't the same throughout the whole thing, and all that stuff. I was really proud of my work, and he really liked (likes) it, so I promised to make him another one this Christmas, but I haven't actually started. I'm starting to get worried because I have to think of completely new ideas for this calendar. When I made the calendar two years ago, I played a lot with the "theme" of certain months. Therefore, this year, I probably won't want to do much of that, because they'll look the same!! For this post, I'll show the first 6 months of the 2007 calendar:

1. January


Ok, so we will always have some sort of snow pictures. It's inevitable. I will definitely be using snow pictures again, but I'll have to be more creative with the colors and design. This is doubly important because unlike most events, all of our skiing/snowboarding pictures feature us in the exact same outfits!!! So I need to make sure this year's snow month (not necessarily January) does not have the typical snow colors and snow accessories. But, I do love this one...you can't really tell, but the vellum makes it soooo pretty =)

2. February

Guess the theme. Yep, Valentine's Day. The pictures weren't actually from Valentine's Day, but I decided to play up the theme anyway. I figured it was the best way to sneak a lot of pink into the calendar, without it seeming too girly.

3. March

Hmmm....what holiday falls in March (besides my birthday)? St. Patrick's Day!!! I totally played up this theme. One of the reasons I was so theme-heavy is because we had a lot of random pictures...I liked them, but there was no good way to tie them all together.

4. April

Probably my least favorite page. I thought it would turn out a lot better. I like the colors, I like the stars with the little gems, but the page layout just isn't doing it for me. Oh, I also think the title is pretty cute =) I don't really remember the order I did these in, but I'm guessing this was one of the last ones and I was trying to think of something cute and different. Oh well, you can't win 'em all!

5. May

I love this one!! Ok, I do remember that this is the first one I did. I got inspiration by looking at some layouts online, and just loved how the pictures worked with this one. The pictures are from a trip to Yosemite and a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. So pretty!!!

6. June

Summer-themed!!! Another way to sneak in those girly colors. I really like this one, just because it's so colorful! Again, kind of random pictures, but they all were taken during the summer!! I promise!

So there you have it: the first 6 months. Stay tuned for the rest of the 2007 calendar!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Top 5 Drinks to Order*

*Note: this is MY list...most people probably won't agree!!

And now for the list, in no particular order:

1. Dirty Vodka Martini with extra olives
2. Bud Light Lime
3. Sex on the Beach
4. Glass of wine
5. A shot with friends!

1. Dirty Vodka Martini with extra olives

Alex introduced me to this one (thanks!). Why do I love it? Well, for one thing, when made with the correct proportions, it is delicious! I love the green olives with pimentos (sp?), and I love the way the olive juice tastes with the vodka, yum! Another thing, I feel very cool when I'm sipping on the martini. Kind of like I've been doing this for years, even though it's only been about a year and a half. Hehe, fooled ya, didn't I?

2. Bud Light Lime

Amazing. And I thought Coronas with lime were good! I have never been a beer-drinker (although recently I have acquired a taste for some of BJ's beers), but I had to try this one! Oh, and I'm so glad I did. Plus, when I drink one of these, I don't feel like a little girl (see number 3), but I also don't quite feel like "one of the guys." A little in between!!

3. Sex on the Beach

Because it's my first true love!!! This drink pretty much summarizes my early desire for drinks. Anything with alcohol, and anything that's fruity!! This quickly became my favorite, and was pretty much the only thing I ordered for a while. I don't really order them too often anymore, but if I'm looking for something super sweet, this is my drink! Yummm....sugar =)

4. Glass of wine

I love both reds and whites, but I'm more of a "white" person when it comes to ordering a glass of wine at a bar or lounge. I feel classy, it's relaxing, and I love the taste (notice how this has been the case with all of my choices thus far...prepare yourself for number 5!). And it's just so smoooooth. Mmm, and so good with cheese (or broccoli cheese soup from Fridays)!

5. A Shot with Friends!

Anything, really. I mean, there are some I won't do unless I've had quite a few drinks, but these are always fun! Remember Alex's birthday at the Harbor....


See you there =)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Does My....?

First of all, I would like to apologize to Lisa, because I told her that I would make her inspiration board next. Don't worry, it's coming!! There was a pressing issue...the board you see below HAD to be made! This one is for Alex, who is on Team Jacob, and has been trying to find the perfect Twilight shirt. I think she would have been successful, if this was printed on one:


Ahh, but it's not! Oh, special mention: the picture above the "M"...it shows his half being naked AND his long hair!! Yum =)

Friday, November 14, 2008

No Offense Mary

When thinking about the board for Mary, one obvious color came to mind: lime green!! Well, I ended up using a green that isn't quite "lime," but it's pretty close and it still reminds me of Mary. Now what color to go with it? After hearing about Mary's forest themed living room, I decided to follow that wonderful color scheme. Oh, and I added pink, for a "punch of color." This is for Mary to see that punches of color (such as Mich's headband), do serve a purpose. Here you go:


Please take note of the cake in the top row middle...obvious forest theme (see the branches??). There was one item that I just couldn't put in the inspiration board, but I'm sure Mary would have appreciated it. Therefore, it is an honorary member:


=) Look familiar?? Hehehehe. I just couldn't ruin the board by putting it in there (hint: you ruined the living room!!). Just kidding, I love you Mary!! Anyway, while browsing for green and brown items to place in the board, I did come across something you might find interesting. You know the non-forest themed chair? Yeah, the native american print one? Well, I think I just found it's replacement:

Thursday, November 13, 2008

FYZ?? Seriously?!?!

Ick. So yesterday I got my license plates in the mail, and it made me a little sad for a couple of reasons. First, my new car isn't new anymore!! I mean, of course it's still new, but people won't notice it as a new car. I loved knowing that I was driving around in a car so new that it didn't even have license plates yet! And second, FYZ?? When I think of myself, those are NOT the letters I would choose. What a horrible combo. And, to top it off, there are no 7's in the license plate at all. I was secretly hoping that it would take so long to get them, that my plates would actually start with a 7!! But no, I am stuck with a 6 =(

On the brighter side, I will be putting a new frame around my license plate this weekend! I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but Ryan was able to get an extra Stanford Alumni '08 frame (for free!!). This was one of the main perks of joining the Stanford Alumni club or whatever it is, but now I'm glad I didn't have to pay all that money!

Anyway, I might be a little sad now, because of the plates, but I can't even imagine what I'll feel like when the new car smell goes away (no offense, Alex), or worse, when I get my first *gasp* scratch! Until then, I'll just have to keep my car super clean (thanks ducky's), so it still looks new!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Jen's Board


So, I'm obsessed with making inspiration boards! Since I discovered them on Wedding Bee, I've been trying to figure out color combos that would look good together. (Oh, and this is just for fun...since I'm not planning a wedding or anything!) Anyway, instead of being creative and trying new color combinations (since I haven't been in a very creative mood lately and because I just don't have time to think that hard), I've decided to start out by trying colors I already know look good together. This is the most recent one I've made (ok, I've only made 3, so this is my third). Anyway, I used
this site to make the board. It's super easy to pull pictures from the internet (which is what I did) and arrange them into any size board you want! So, without further delay, here is Jen's board:


It is inspired by her bedroom, once upon a time. These colors will always remind me of her, so here you go Henny Penny!!! Enjoy =) (PS, there will be more to come!!)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Pictures Finally!

Finally!! Here are a few pics of my new car =)



I know the middle one is super blurry, but I LOVE the color combo, so I had to include it!!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

It's Here!!!!

What's here? My car!!! Ok, so I suck at posting, but decided to give a quick update because I am so excited! I ordered my 2009 Jetta in May, and it just got here today =) The only problem is that all of my money is in an online savings account, and it takes 2 days to transfer. So, I currently have no money, but the guy at the dealership said it shouldn't be a problem! I will definitely be back to post pictures of my beautiful car!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Champagne Brunch & Buzzed Shopping

Since I couldn't decide on a decent "about me and my blog" topic for my first post, I've decided to just jump right in and talk about things I like!! Today's topic: champagne brunches and buzzed shopping!

While I have participated in both, I've never done one right after the other. However, this weekend I will be in SF with the girls (and steve) to celebrate Alex and Michelle's 22 birthdays, and we will be doing both!! The only champagne brunch I've ever been to was in Las Vegas, and that was a buffet. That was good and bad. Good because I LOVE to eat, but bad because I ate so much I couldn't move for the next few hours!

Here's a cute picture of all of us in Vegas!

Since our champagne (slash bloody mary) brunch this Sunday will not be a buffet, I won't have to worry about being too stuffed to shop!

Buzzed shopping....I've only done this once, and it was in SF with Michelle. We went shopping after dinner, where we shared a bottle of wine =) For me, it was perfect. We went to Forever 21 instead of the shopping center, so everything we bought was cheap! Also, it helped me buy things I wouldn't normally buy (and it all turned out to be super cute!). I am definitely hoping the same will happen to me this weekend. Although I've been working full time for over 2 months, I haven't spent much time shopping for new work clothes. So hopefully after drinking a little champagne I'll be more willing to buy some new clothes!

There aren't too many things that beat putting on your Sunday best, getting pleasantly buzzed in the AM, and celebrating two of your best friends' birthdays all at once! Oh, and then finishing off the morning with a quick shopping trip =) I can't wait for this weekend!