Fits like a glove

I felt inspired to write this tiny post because it goes along with the point of my blog. Finding the new, small things that make me happy that have turned into a little 'love'. So after some posts about amazing old film cameras, a hilarious book and even my first blog entry about an older but still awesome airline....I'm going to try and not feel weird about posting about clothes. We all wear them?? It's not pretentious ...right?

It's becoming more clear how my style has changed not only as I'm getting older but after I have settled into my new home on the West Coast. I will never forget the first couple of months I moved out here with my friend Taylor and Sara from Tallahassee . Style is just SO different with 3,500 miles between you. I actually went to an underground art party straight out of a movie where some hipster fashion designer from Los Angeles approached me and said 'Wait, YOU'RE from Florida? I didn't know girls dressed like that there." HA! I couldn't have been more amused. At the time back in 2008 I was in a leather jacket, v-neck and a fedora. I couldn't help but drunkenly blurt out "YOU guys are the ones that don't know how to fucking dress over here man. So many knee length boots and weird North Face vests." Of course...he thought I was delusional and we barely kept in contact the next few months. Anyway, the fashion out here is pretty low key. The new age hippies and boho girls are wearing designer jeans that look like they're out of their grandmothers closet. Their shawls are vintage and shoes are handmade. ...maybe it's not as bad as I thought?

I feel pretty awesome to say (and maybe mildly embarrassed) that I have purchased my first pair of 'real' jeans. I have previously owned a pair of J Brand jeans that was handed over by a friend and new just how good the quality was but was never in the right mind set to spend $200 on a pair. Well. I did. Finally. It's just so damn cold in San Francisco that I need to wear jeans 10 months out of the year so why the hell not? Why not spend money on a pair of fucking awesome jeans?!That pair from Bloomingdales really did it for me. I wore them and my butt looked like a million dollars that day. It did unfortunately trigger something inside of me and now all of a sudden I felt an addiction to good designer jeans. Why San Francisco? Why did you change me from being a normal girl from Tampa who didn't mind spending $60 on a pair of good jeans to being a San Francisco girl who needed 'super skinny' J Brands? UGH.

I can complain about looking at my Chase statement and seeing a $200 charge but I can't complain about the way it makes me look. Seriously though. No muffin top. I still can't believe it.

Now on to my recent purchase and the worthy item that I wrote this blog about.

JOE'S JEANS! SPRING ADDITION!

These jeans fit like a fucking dream! They are the perfect high rise with a tight fit, skinny leg and some sturdy denim. Did I mention the best part? 55 colors! I am sucker for colored denim this year but 55 colors?!? That's almost overwhelming. Every shade you can think of from dusty rose to mustard yellow to the perfect shade of slate. I bought myself a pair and although they are $175, they are worth every cent.

I bought my first pair in Baltic. What a good color!

NEW THING TO LOVE! Joe's spring collection 2012.

Two (Green) Thumbs up

This post is long overdue.

I've just been so busy with getting settled in at my new job and school starting back up that I haven't had time to write, better yet think.

This post is dedicated to something that my boyfriend and I have been childishly excited about since we got a little jade branch while we were living in Oakland.

SUCCULENTS!

Every week we would closely monitor the progress of our little jade plant that was given to me from a neighbor

across the street. These plants get the perfect amount of sun and water in the east bay and grow so lusciously and freely no matter what family they belong to. Our cute little jade grew for 2 years and was finally put to rest after I found it for the 358722358 time on my ground with black little kitty paw prints trailing off in the distance. (I will never forgive her) It was so important to us not because we had it for so long and brought it from a baby branch that our neighbor ripped off his bush to a teenage plant but because we were terrible at keeping plants alive. These things are impossible to kill. O.k, ...not impossible but pretty hard.

*This picture is not a jade plant but a pretty sweet succulent that I found in Berkeley*

I'm not sure why I can't keep plants alive. I really do try. I think I may have gotten it from my mother but either way, succulents are so amazing because they require such little effort to take care of.

This brings me to my next plant love...

CRASPEDIA!

I once spent 5 hours on the Internet trying to find companies who had these little billy buttons in stock to ship to me. I got put on a 6 month wait list and never heard back. I even went as far as calling my sister, an ex-florist in Florida to bombard her with questions about them.

I finally found some! I found an adorable little flower shop on the corner of Church and Market Street that always had them spilling out of buckets.

I don't know if it's my love for mustard yellow or what but I love these little things. They are all over my office and even all over my salon. I recently found ones the size of golf balls and went a little crazy. They don't need water and this is what they look like when they dry out!

Yes, I get that it's weird to love plants so much but when you have whatever the opposite of a green thumb is, anything that survives off air and very little water is your best friend.

New things to love.

Reading from left to right:

Jade Pinket-Smith, Airy Potter, Spike Lee, Crassie-O, Cactess

Obviously born in the wrong decade

Obsession.

...I mean, it's getting bad.

All day and all night I am searching for mid-century furniture. Vintage dishes and danish...anything.

It all started when I was a kid. For some God awful reason my mother let me express my creative side when we moved into a new house when I turned 10 years old. Picture this, a bright lime green room with black lights, a disco ball and peace signs EVERYWHERE. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. Peace sign glow in the dark closet beads, posters, pictures, band aids, t-shirts, chairs, sheets and even a pair of shorts with a sewn on peace sign belt buckle.

I was a full on flower child and loved the thought of one day being a little hippie.

(Funny that I end up working in The Haight district)

Some years went by and my style started to change. Now I was 16 with a boy short pixie haircut and a 1990 red convertible VW Cabriolet. I had my grandmothers scarf hanging from the mirror and the biggest bug eye sun glasses money could buy. Nicole Richie didn't have shit on me. I got a film camera and stayed in the dark room for hours in high school developing black and white film. I guess you could say....I turned a little 60's?

Either way, I was stuck in the past and apparently still am.

My collection of vintage dishes and electronics have grown in the last few years and I get giddy every time I find a new treasure.

This year I have collected:

A New birdcage

New cameras from 1950-1958

A new typewriter

A new lamp

A new suitcase to add to my great grandmothers floral one

New dishes from the 1970's

New Needle Point 1970's Danish Wall Art

New Damask pillow cases

A new mirror

And I've been eyeballing this mustard yellow mid century modern sofa and it's taking everything for me not to spend $1,150 on a new couch that I don't need.

I can't help it.

New Thing to Love: Vintage EVERYTHING!

"I am so amazing... if I ever get off this couch, I'll be unstoppable."

It's incredible what not having a television will do to the quality of your life.

I used to plan my 'going out' nights around watching new weekly episodes of Rock of Love (all seasons) Deadliest Catch and Cash Cab but not anymore. I turned into one of those people that feel that wasting away on a couch watching t.v all day will rot your mind. Making that move out of Oakland was the last that I saw of a cable box and I didn't seem to miss it one bit.... and I guess I still don't.

I developed such a hatred for people who loved sitting around all night watching the picture box until wee hours in the morning. I snubbed my nose at those people who still relied on theirs daily for any source of entertainment. I then realized that it wasn't the actual lazily lying around on a cushion staring at green, red and blue dots for hours that I though was mind rotting, it was the shit that was being aired.

Although it's ironic and funny, sitting around and watching wedding make-over shows, episodes of The Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant is just not that amusing to me anymore. I noticed myself pulling away from 'reality' shows and then found myself with nothing to watch except for Two and Half Men and American Idol. Shoot me now.

I mean honestly, if I could watch Full House and The Cosby Show all fucking day then I would but they just don't air it that much anymore!

Anyway Anyway, This post is about this little happy feeling that I got when a couple of months ago I started talking about the hilarious, the wonderfully uncomfortable....Roseanne.

I immediately downloaded all seasons and I just can't.get.enough!

I'm already half way through with watching Season 5 and I've cried 3 times, hysterically laughed out loud at LEAST a dozen and now I feel like I'm related to this woman.

This show was always something that I was in the closet about and stopped watching as I got older because it just feels so white trash and so wrong but once you start watching it again it's freaking amazing. Roseanne Barr is one of the worlds most annoying people but you just can't help but to secretly love her. Also, that giant creature John Goodman is the man that you always wished could be your dad for a day.

This month I cannot get enough of it. Do yourself a favor, if you ever need anything to watch, download Roseanne starting from Season 1 and watch the worlds most hilarious family! It will definitely become your new thing to love.

"From Oakland to Sacktown, the Bay Area and back down"

2 Pac was right when he said California knows how to party.

Ever since I moved out of Florida I haven't been happier. I moved to Oakland in 2008 and finally into San Francisco in 2009. It wasn't all awesome and beautiful when we first drove up in our big yellow Penske truck but after a little adjusting, I loved it.

We found our apartment on Craigslist after a 2 day search crashing on what was practically a strangers couch. The apartment was in our price range and we were running out of options and time. After a short phone call we hopped on our new subway system Bart and headed for the East bay. I'll never forget sitting in those disgusting blue seats and feeling like my head and ears were going to explode. I had no idea the train went UNDERNEATH the San Francisco/Oakland Bay. 20minutes past and we were finally arriving in downtown Oakland. I had done just a little bit of research on this city and found that it was the founding home of the Black Panthers. I also knew about how industrial/Artsy and cheap it was which meant bring on the crust punks.

We walked up to a house that we loved. Signed some papers and moved in the next morning. We lived in a flipped duplex where there was previously the friendly neighborhood bum squatting. We got some stares and some not so warm welcomes.

After throwing stoop parties for a couple of weeks I became friends with the neighbors and shortly the whole neighborhood. We spent Thanksgiving together and decorated for Christmas together. I passed out candy canes to the 8 year olds who were the weed dealers and they stopped fucking up my back yard. I remember an old man who lived a couple of blocks away coming up to talk to me. He had told me that no one in the neighborhood had put Christmas lights on their houses in the last 8 or so years. He said we were bringing the neighborhood together. I felt awesome. I guess I came blame it on the gentrification.

That lasted a year and I finally moved into San Francisco. I will always love Oakland and the wonderful things that make it what it is. ( Mama Buzz cafe, Lake Merritt, the Rockridge

District, and the numerous dive bars)

The move was drastic. I moved in with 3 roommates and we lived in an enormous Victorian flat. The house was fucking awesome. There was a breakfast nook, a back patio and 2 chandeliers! Another year went by and I moved to downtown San Francisco into a charming studio apartment. I am still here and I absolutely love it. I have built in shelves, wooden floors and a rooftop garden with a view of downtown that is unbeatable.

It wasn't until a couple of years living in the Bay Area that I fell in love with it. This is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been. (That includes you too New York and Los Angeles!) The culture here is infinite and the food is amazing. Although site seeing is left for tourists it's impossible not to be in awe of how many cool things there are to see here:

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz

Lombard Street

Yes,...even Trolleys

Coit Tower

Fisherman's Wharf

The view from Potrero Hill

Twin Peaks

Ocean Beach

The Sutro Baths

Baker Beach

The Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Park

Dolores Park

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Haight/Ashbury

The Painted Ladies (Full House)

Embarcadero

The Bay Bridge

-Even the neighborhoods-

The Marina

North Beach

Union Square

Nob Hill

The Mission

Castro

China Town

It's insane really. Even the places that are in short driving distances that are perfect for weekend trips:

Big Sur

Yosemite

Monterey

Tahoe

The Russian River

Napa Valley/Sonoma

Point Reyes

Muir Woods

I appreciate this city and everything that has to do with it. I've never been anywhere where something happens every single weekend:

Art exhibits

Farmers Markets

Shows

Gay Pride Parade

Bay to Breakers

Love Fest

New Years Eve's Pillow fight

Santacon

Sexy Jesus Contest for Easter

Chinese New Year Parade

S.F Theater Festival

Base Ball games

Jazz Fest

Oysterfest

Outside Lands Festival

Wine Festival

...and the list goes on and on.

I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful city and recently it's been on my mind.

Although this post is not a NEW thing to love, if you haven't visited this city yet hopefully this is some inspiration for you. And hopefully soon it will become one of your new things to love.

"Head like a fucking orange"

If you know me at all, you know that my absolute favorite movie in this world is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There is just something remarkably hilarious about british humor and their silly-sounding accents.

It all started when my boyfriend came home from tour a few months ago and introduced me to a television show that airs in the UK called Sky1. His fellow guitar tech buddy is from London and has the oppertunity to watch this show on the regular. The show is called 'An Idiot Abroad' and is hosted by the clever Stephen Merchant and the always funny Ricky Gervais. Ricky Gervais is at all times hilarious and borderline offensive so anything created by him calls my attention. On this show they send one of their friends Karl Pilkington (The Idiot) to the 7 wonders of the world. Knowing that he is unappreciative of the beautiful things in this world they figure what a perfect thing to do, send this idiot abroad to these 'wonders' and tourter him the whole way. Put him in hostels where he can experience some of the most disgusting experiences of his life ( Like shitting in a hole in the ground with no toilet paper) or making him stay with a gay transexual (who whores himself out at night and makes Karl buy a swim suit that basically only covers his bits while he sits on a gay beach). While traveling he gets a chance to experience some remarkably wonderful once-in-a-lifetime events. Like an excursion through the Amazon while visiting Machu Picchu in Peru. He sleeps with insects, eats food out of packages and has to communicate with local tribes. We all think that having the chance to see such amazing things like Taj Mahal and The Colosseum would be a gift but these are the things that he has to say about them:




Here are some famous idiotic quotes from the show:

"What's so good about The Amazon? Can't be that good; there are things in it that would rather live in me knob."

"Great place to live...if you're deaf. That's what I'd say about Rio. Lovely and relaxing if you're deaf."

"The Great wall of China?...The alright wall of China."

Pointing at the Pyramids “It’s like a massive game of Jenga that has got out of hand.”

“I need garlic, I need garlic. Is it in that fridge, or that fridge? No it’s in the corner on the floor next to the dead cockroach.”

" Jellyfish are 97% water or something, so how much are they doing? Just give them another 3% and make them water. It's more useful. "


Not only is this the absolute most hilarous show that I've ever seen in my life, it opened me up to religiously listening to 'The Ricky Gervais Guide To...' Seasons 1 and 2 on my iPod and downloading every episode of The Ricky Gervais Show.
Laugh.Out.Loud.





Hearing readings from Karl's journal 'A Day in the Life' on Ricky's pod cast and watching animation that looks identical to them is something that I literally cannot get enough of.

Here are some quotes from The Ricky Gervais Show:

On dopplegangers - "How would I know which one I was?" -Podcast Series 2, Episode One

"Does the brain control you or are you controlling the brain? I don't know if I'm in charge of mine." -Podcast Series 2, Episode Six

Karl's diary - "Woke up at 9.55am. Soon as I woke up, I looked at Suzanne and she looked at me. I said, "Did I tell you about the immune system?" Suzanne starting laughing, I said it's amazing. She said, "Not now." " -Podcast - Bonus Disc

"I came up with a good idea....see through skin" -Podcast Series 2, Episode Five

"You get nothin' done by plannin'"

"I could eat a knob at night." -Podcast Series 1, Episode Three

"Whether it's a potato or a nut, it's a foodage!" -Podcast Series 3, Episode Four

"Just been into the zoo, 'avin a look round an that. Went into the, er, into the aquarium. Mental, the amount of fish that are knockin' about" -3 Minute Wonder, Episode 1

"I'd kick it, and I'd say 'You knob-head'." - Karl tells Ricky his response to being poisoned by an octopus. -Podcast Series 2, Episode Six

"I saw a cockroach playing Pacman. It was on the internet, right, and somebody had linked up a cockroach to err... to some... I can't even be bothered explaining it, but that's what I'm saying - everything is moving on" -"The Podfather Trilogy, Episode 3 Christmas"

"Walking down the street in London with Suzanne, saw a little homeless.. well I didn't see the homeless bloke right, I saw a leg stickin out of a doorway, thought 'here we go', right. Walked past it, right, you're not gonna believe this. Homeless.... chinese fella. I've never seen one of them." -Podcast Series 1, Episode Four

My new thing to love: Karl Pilkington. The man with a head like a fucking orange.

World cheapest digital camera

This may seem a tad bit silly but I just love the photo apps that are on my IPhone. Having fun applications like Instagram, PS Express and Pocketbooth make me smile. I will gladly admit though that I do no have the 'Hipstamatic' program on my phone and don't plan on getting it. Something about the word 'hipster' in the title is definitely a turnoff.
I enjoy these cute applications because it's a nice way to pass the time on the subway, instantly share them with your friends and come on, I can't be a photography major and not play with photos all day. I've actually gotten some decent shots in my IPhone camera roll (Of which is holding over a thousand since it's last emptying in August) and using basic filters, borders and layouts make them even more charming.
Having these apps helps make the boring times of my life more creative and exciting and is right now, a new thing to love.

Here are some examples taken with my phone and imported into different applications: