yay for may.

i am so happy that it is finally may.  i love may, am so excited for may, hope may never ends! (just kidding about the last part, because i am really looking forward to june, too).

this month is so rad because:

in one week (just one week!) we will be in cleveland seeing our family*

in 11 days (just 11 days) i will be in vegas with aunt tammy, the great

in 16 days bryan and i are going to sean and irene’s picnic for cool people

memorial day means one more day off

the lovely rachel’s turns 24 ( does this mean we are old?)

and other glorious birthdays and events to celebrate.

 

* isn’t it funny how much more we like our family when we have been away from them for almost 5 months?

things seen in eureka, ca.

a sign in a store reads: “5% off all engine and tranny purchase”

no sloppy seconds.

one of the things that colors the culture of san francisco is that it is chock full of crazies people who like to stand outside and yell their personal opinions at passerby. 

one corner hold a man with a megaphone who is extolling the virtues of jesus and the greatness in being one of his followers. 

20 feet away sits a man, with a board full of facts about sex and its relation to religion.  he is calmly, but willfully, telling those near him that they need to stop having sex.  no sex outside of marriage.  no sloppy seconds.

with mary’s benevolent guidance in the light of christ’s enduring grace.

i enjoy weird things that are not too weird.  wes anderson does this for me everytime.  his characters are weird.  the highly stylized environments he is able to create are weird. the situations and exchanges are weird.  but it never alienates me.  he always ropes me in.  and i love it.

bryan and i finally watched the darjeeling limited last night.  i loved it, for many reasons, which i will enumerate here. i love the set design.  everything from the custom louis vuitton luggage to the brother’s pajamas.  it is all so retro, but also so modern.  weird (again) because those 2 things so rarely go well together.  the story really got me, too.  characters are always searching for something outside themselves, only to find that what they need is beside them in their families.

foreign cinema.

for our one year anniversary we ate a wonderful dinner at foreign cinema. it is set up to resemble a movie house, except, of course, that the main attraction is the cuisine. the entry way is lined with tea light candles. we sat outside while the movie played on a large white wall beside us. as it got dark, the outside of the restaurant was lit by white christmas lights. bryan got the chicken and i got steak. we also had a little wine, bread, brie, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. it was lovely. and we decided we are going to try more of the fine dining this city has to offer int he near future.

so excited:

• for cantina tonight to celebrate AH’s bday
• dressing up and getting ready with the girls to go to cantina for AH’s bday
• celebrating one year of marriage (on monday).  go us!
• a day trip to sausalito via the ferry, which means another farmer’s market saturday

treasure.

i love photography and lately old photos have kind of been grabbing my attention. this has been blogged about before (here and here that i know of), but the library of congress has its own flickr stream. i finally sat down and looked through it today and it is super cool.

bags.

i am not very quiet when it comes to voicing my undying love for bags.  a few months ago i found a knock off of my dream bag at forver 21 for like 30 dollars.  i skipped it because it wasnt the real thing.  now that i look back on it, how silly!  i like the bag for its style, not the brand name.  so why should it matter that it wasn’t a real fendi?  and now i feel like i missed an opportunity.

anyways, i was trolling around forever 21 on my ladies shopping trip the other night and found a knock off chanel.  this time, i took the bait and paid $20 for this super cute little guy.  and its perfect for going out.

the art of snooze.

bought this mirror from target today.  the plan is to hang it above the bed.  i think it is neat and modern, so it will definitely fit the room.  also, shipping was free! 

babies.

i have been thinking about babies lately, for many obvious reasons.

and i really wonder what the best approach to raising children is.  i want to be a thougtful, mindful parent.  i want to have an open dialogue with my children, much like i had with my father.  i want to teach my kids the value of being driven, hard working,   and i often wonder how best to do this for my children.

at 23 years old i am already far better off than either of my parents ever were, financially.  and i have worked really hard to have what i have now, because i didn’t have it as a child.  i didn’t get help with college and i pretty much had to save and scrimp by in order to buy myself a new computer, new clothes, etc.  and i wonder if that has had an impact of my work ethic, my world view, and how grateful i am for what i have.  the reason i bring this up is because i do not know which way to go with my children.  i want to give them everything i never had – the vacations, the clothes, college, etc.  but will giving it to them work against their learning the value of a good work ethic?  is this even something a home life impacts?  or are people just born with their work ethic and their ability to appreciate what they have? sometimes these questions seem so overwhelming and daunting – i doubt my ability to raise children who will be good people.  because that is all i want for them: that they would be happy and nice to others.