What I look like in San Francisco

Ever wonder what I would look like in a boater hat, in the gusty wind, under the Golden Gate Bridge? How lucky are you!!

In other news, I have lots of plans for this weekend.
Common place grown-up realization #1: Ever since I graduated college last year, I've really started to savor the weekend. Work is like...work.

So here's to the Sweet Tomatoes deal of a lifetime (my dearest friends always love sweet tomatoes. It's a good litmus test to see if we're going to be true blue pals I think), buying some tennis shoes that fit, joining the YMCA, celebrating a 2 yr old's birthday, finally seeing Moonrise Kingdom and hopefully squeezing in some ice cream and a dip in the pool.

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward

• Extreme puppy fever has led me to looking at pictures of pups online in my spare time. Meet Bradley the Bichon, diva extraordinaire. 
• Getting into faux-arguments with Jared over what type of dog we should get....in like 5 years. 
• Had a complete heart attack when I went to look up 1 day tix for Disney. I was seriously spoiled as a cast member.
• My inevitable sink into true hippidom. Sayonara razor blades, it's been real!

Awesome

•  Things have been sort of blah this past week, but how stinking cute is this video of Karlie Kloss?

Rain

Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. Our streets flooded, and Jared and I waded up to our knees to get our car. We were soaked through and had to spend the night at my grandparent's house because there was no way back to our apartment....besides waders or a row boat.

I am thankful for grandparents, warm showers, and my landlord who came to warn us about the rapidly rising water and the great possibility that our car would be totaled if we didn't move it quickly.

Riverside is covered in cats. Once I counted cats on a neighborhood walk: 20. 20 cats!! There's a mama and four babies that split there time under our house and a neighbors. When the rain came down I could hear the cats crying. I was so afraid for those little kittens. This morning when we got home, Jared and I sat in the car a moment and watched as the mama slowly peaked her head out from under the building, followed by all four little ones. They played on the steps and wrestled with a potted plant. What a relief. I am also very grateful for that.

MixTape Tuesday

Whistling the Mexican hat dance while Jared dances in Muir Woods counts as a music video, right? This continues to crack me up. 

And here's a song for all you lovers...

Fairy Princess

This is Margarita Missoni in her wedding dress.

Why are there not more opportunities to wear dresses like this? I mean seriously, unless I get invited to a ball or become chummy with royalty, there are exactly 0 chances for me to ever wear a beautiful gown again.

To the girl in the red pants

I've been seriously debating whether or not to write about this, mainly because I no longer hurt from it and it seems stupid to dredge up old feelings. I landed on a yes because I feel like I learned a huge lesson from it.

The central part of visiting California was for my husband and father-in-law to go to the U.S. Open at the Olympic club. I went for one day and they went for two. I'll keep the synapses short: it was a long day walking up and down the side of a mountain. Cellphones were banned. I wasn't exactly the happiest of campers.

We started following some golfers and I noticed a girl who was watching the same group. She was very pretty, very thin and was wearing the same bright red J.Crew pants as I was. I started thinking about how I wished I looked like that girl. I've never been a skinny girl. I wear a size 10 and most days I'm comfortable with that. I'm quite chesty and my shape has always been a big part of what makes me, me. But sometime when I'm on vacation and there are hundreds of pictures being snapped, I get a little down on the way I happened to look in that instance.

Later in the day, I noticed the girl in the red pants glancing at me. She was hanging out with 2 middle aged guys, and all of a sudden I heard one of them make a really mean remark about that "other girl in the red pants." This continued for a few minutes, each of them taking their jabs; apparently they had, for a split second, mistaken me for her in the crowd. Then they stopped because they realized I could hear everything they were saying.

I probably don't have to tell you how that affected me. I burst into tears. Jared grabbed me by the hand and we walked as far away as possible and I cried and cried. It doesn't matter how confident you feel, when someone says hurtful things like that it really rips your guts out.

The rest of the day i contemplated all the mean things I could go up and say to these people. All the ways I could embarrass and shame them. But I never said anything.

This made me have a huge reality check. How many times have I made off handed cutting remarks about a stranger? How often have I callously judged another person? I really want to be better, and I definitely have been since that day at the Olympic Club.

 

This is what I looked like that day. I snapped this crappy cell picture after we got home late. I don't think I look all that bad. I'm not crying in the photo, just red from a sunburn and making a weird face.

Like I said, I don't feel the anguish I felt that day anymore. I feel sadness that I have been  the girl in the red pants more then once. Here is a great quote from Dieter F. Uchdorf, a leader in my church:

"This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!

It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters."

West Coast

Do you dream of California? Do you yearn for it? I never did. California was on the very lowest of low priorities on my travel list. I had no use for what I thought of as Florida pt II. I already had swamps, beautiful beaches, Disney WORLD and all the bloody sunshine I could ever dream of.

Welp my mind was blown. Northern California is beyond gorgeous. Cliffy beaches, redwood forests, otters and seals, rolling hills and mountains, San Francisco...gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Here's a rundown of things we did that I would definitely recommend if you're visiting the area.

 

• Toasted Almond Black and Tan sundae from Fentons, the ice cream shop from UP!
• Bi-Rite Creamery, any flavor.
• View from Coit Tower, we didnt go up but just the drive up and the view is really nice.
• Alcatraz. This seems obvious, but the ferry ride over gives such a gorgeous view of the city and the audio tour is incredibly interesting. Don't skip it. 
• The Ferry Building, eat lunch there and get a milk from Cowgirl Creamery. Eat your treasures outside on the upper ferry dock. Super packed on Saturdays. 
• 17 mile drive down the coast of Monterey to Pebble Beach and Carmel. Get out and explore. 
• Muir Woods, gorgeous red wood trees. If I had an extra day I would have taken one of the longer hikes all the way down to the beach. 
• The Disney Family Museum. Bursting at the seams with memorabilia from the Disney family, including the first known sketches of Mickey, and lots of interactive videos, games and sound clips.
• View from the hills across the bay of the Golden Gate Bridge
• Monterey Aquarium. We spent 3 hours here, really cool place.
• Find all the Banksy pieces in town, because your 17 year old self would have thought you were the coolest. 

I could  have spent another week in just San Francisco itself. I wish I could have. We'll be back!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

Ok so I'm officially, and begrudgingly, back from vacation. The one thing I really did miss while I was away was blogging. I'll be sharing pictures and stories from my trip later this week, but for now lets hit some highlights.

Awkward

• Almost falling off a slippery cliff face in Santa Cruz. Yes, it is on video. 
• Getting caught rule breaking in a national park. Shame.
• Sitting next to a jerk off duty pilot on a plane ride and getting scolded. That was a long 3 hours.  
• Being told my Fenton's sundae would be way to much for me to handle and then polishing of the entire thing....But that may be an awesome. 
• The above picture...but again I kind of think its an awesome. 40 mph winds y'all, 40 degrees. My champion.
• Showing my knickers to hundreds of tourists trying to get pictures in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, on top of a cliff, facing 40 mph winds wearing a swingy skirt.

Awesome

• Northern California weather! It felt like a Florida winter. 
• Succulents, wildflowers, roses and ice plants absolutely everywhere!
• So much delicious ice cream. Fenton's, Bi-Rite Creamery....if it was up to me I would have swept the whole city and eating treats for every meal.
• Eating fresh blackberries picked right off the bush.
• Naturez
• Perfect parking spots all week every single time. 
• A fetching HUGE promotion right before my vacation. Patience is a virtue.

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt

Yikes, the color difference between pasty old me and my bronzed husband is frightening. Good thing this gang of gay dolphins was ~~cOlOr bLiNd~~

Wrangler.

The bowling ally in Douglas had some truly beautiful day-glow murals. I wish we could have gotten more pictures, but it was so dark. The other walls featured nature scenes and some kind of Native American Jesus with a flaming skull head. I love small towns and their weird quirks. You kind of take them for granted when you live there, I think.

When I was growing up in Palm Coast, did I truly appreciate the crappy old pier, the Picture Show III with it's shoe box theaters and huge glass cases of troll dolls and action figures? The time I spent on my best friend chihuahua farm? (Yes, I said chihuahua farm) Probably not; maybe the chihuahua farm...I'm a sucker for puppies. But I do appreciate the ridiculous memories.

Douglas, GA

We've had such a good weekend! Saturday Jared and I rode up for my cousins wedding in Georgia. Despite the rain, we had fun eating barbecue and seeing all the relatives I haven't seen in a million years. Afterwards, we went to Douglas to visit Jared's brother and his girlfriend. We had such a great time hanging out with Graham and Lacey. Her family was incredibly sweet and warm, letting us stay the night when the weather took a turn for the worse and driving home seemed out of the question. We fed the goats, chased down some biddies and snuggled kittens at Lacey's house. I was in heaven. I'm allergic to every animal under the sun, but I really can't help myself when baby animals are involved. That poor kid was bleating and wiggling and trying to get back to its mama. I felt like Elvira from Tiny Tunes.

There was also bowling (Lacey was supreme champion with a turkey run in the last set of her game) and scoping out of  Douglas's haunted spots. Can't wait to visit again.

By the way, if anyone here in Jax would like one of the cutest little kittens ever, there are 5 that need good homes. Jared wanted to take home the little black one, even named him Ralph, but sadly my pesky nose and swelling eyes would nay allow. Let me know and I'm sure Graham wouldn't mind delivering one to you!

A few of my favorite things: Travel

Have you ever read Mindy Kaling's blog? Update your blog again Mindy, please. I say it so it shall be! She regularly featured Things I Bought That I Love, so I'm finna steal her idea.

I research practically everything I buy, because A. I am a pauper B. I am cheap and
C. I am vaguely coco-banana-loco, to turn a phrase.  Along with being c.b.loco, I'm also a complete turn-coat back-stabber when it comes to brands. I'm always on the lookout for better, faster, cheaper, etc. If it don't work, I won't use it, no matter how fancy or organic or expensive.

In the future these lists will probably be filled with lust items, because of the aforementioned urchin status, but this time I actually own everything on the list! Go me! Okay, except one.

Since I'm headed off to the west coast next week, I decided to give you my favorites for travel. I'm still a world traveler in training, but I do have a couple trans-Atlantic flights under my belt so maybe you'll trust my opinions an eensy bit. 

1. Clinique BB Cream This is on my every day list. It's got sunscreen, anti oxidants and just enough coverage. I find even if I don't want to wear makeup on the plane, I should at least put on a little to even out my complexion and not look like such a ghoul. I use shade 2.

2.  Carmex. If my name wasn't Kipin Marie it would probably be Greasy Gene. I am not one to get dry, but planes man. That recycled air will leech every bit of moisture you got. BB cream has got my skin covered hydration wise, but you need some lip coverage. You could probably use any old lip balm; in fact, I'm sure Carmex is terrible (petroleum). And yet there's something about that intense burn when you first put it on...I'm a freak moving on.

3.Melatonin is my essential ingredient for long over-night flights. No matter how comfy cozy I am, no matter how insanely tired, I can never sleep on planes. My legs get that antsy terrible feeling and my neck hurts and it's just awful. Melatonin is natural, doesn't give me any creepy hangovers and works like a charm. Warning, it does tend to give me some pretty trippy dreams.

4. So planes are drying, loud, sleepless places right? Well they're also cold as a witches T most of the time. Actually when I think about it, I really hate flying. Can we move towards high-speed trains? Or the Knight Bus maybe? Anyway, I always wear a humongous scarf on the plane. I have a few that are the size of your average couch throw, but so light that you can twist them right up around your neck or  throw in a bag. They're great for cocooning yourself during a nap, wadding up into a pillow, wrapping around your face to block out light and sound, wearing around your head with sunglasses and pretending you are a movie star. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is my number 1 must-have travel item. It's like a chic version of Hitchhiker's Guide towels.

5. Fuzzy socks. So ugly, so warm and soft. I usually hide these atrocities inside my purse, and then slip them on once on the plane.

6. A good old fashioned book. On my last flight my seat mate was reading on a Kindle. Between take off, circling the airport for forever and landing, he missed some very valuable reading time, and got himself a few tongue lashings from the stewardess. Books are small and portable. Maybe I am just envious because I do nay have a tablet of my own? Probably.

7. Backpack. This is definitely my second bag carry-on of choice. Small enough to put under the seat, but large enough to probably hold your regular empty purse and super helpful when trekking through airports. I do not have this beautiful Herschel backpack, but 4 years and three continents later my $20 Target buy is doing just fine.

Awkward and Awesome

Awkward

• Running home after work, lightening quick change, then off to a presidency meeting. Half way through I realize I'm not wearing a bra. This is still mind boggling to me. 
•  Muttering to myself as I write a release, it's the only way I can find the mistakes, when a coworker pops into my cube. Yes, I was chanting like a Gregorian monk, how are you today?
• Walking into a restaurant bathroom and a little girl is sitting in a stall, pants on the ground, door wide open, playing on a Game Boy.  She looks up, grins and said "I have a DS." I closed her door for her. 
• Absolutely dieing for a haircut, going to make an appt, and seeing your usual girl is booked up for 2 weeks! Taking the walk of shame to a different stylist is not comfortable my friends. "Oh it's totally fine, totally." Ya....totally :/
• Taking a huge swig of coconut water, thinking it will be manna from heaven, sent to save you from Coke Zero....and spitting it into your trash can.

Awesome

• The Lose It! app> MyFitness Pal. 
• Thunderstorms, this week has been fantastically cozy.
• New glasses from Coastal for $12! Can't wait for their arrival. 
• Incredible luck thrifting. I'll have to post some of my new favorites. (like the above cats which I did not buy, but I did covet)
• Fresh cut ends and bangs! 
• All the comments I've been getting from other bloggers. That feels so great! If you're reading, become a follower so I can do the same.

One more week!

 

In exactly a week I will be in San Francisco. The land of street trolleys, rice-a-roni and Kimmy Gibler. Every time I tell someone about this trip, there's an (imagined?) flash of jealousy  in the person's eyes followed by "Oh, I loooooooooooooove San Francisco."

We'll be there for a week and I have  about three hundred things I want to do while we're there. And look at this weather forecast! Look at it! You guys it has been an average 1000 degrees in my apt lately. I can wear tights! Scarfs even! Dare I say it, cardigans? When I think of wearing all those things at once my eyes go glossy and my mouth gets slack, the Full House theme starts playing, whole nine yards.

Not only will I get to enjoy this fab weather, but I get to spend a week straight with my husband!...and my father-in-law and brother-in-law and Mitchell-in-law, but they're swell gents. Jared and I see this as checking out our future home town. Maybe. Apparently you have to be King Tut to afford an apartment in the city.

Have you been to San Francisco? Did you wear flowers in your hair? Luckily for us we're staying with friends, so we'll get a native taste, but recommendations are always welcome.

Mix Tape Tues

Bon Iver is in Orlando tonight and I shall not be there. In honor of this great tragedy, I give you my favorite song from their first album.

 

I have such strong emotions tied to For Emma, Forever Ago. I was entering the second half of my freshman year of college and going through some of the worst heart sickness of my life. I was so deep in the pits of unrequited love with my best friend. I didn't know what to do. This album was my companion on many a lonely car ride. Just like Re:Stacks I pushed through all that, not because of a light bulb moment, a "crispy realization", but because of necessity. You have to be happy by yourself, you have to. You can save you. Those hard times made me so much stronger. Of course,the story has a happy ended, my best friend finally got a clue and married me.

Btw, have you seen this SNL skit where J.Timberlake spoofs J. Vernon? Golden.

Tyger! Tyger!

This weekend consisted of taking our Mutual kids to Catty Shack Ranch for a feeding tour, Netflix, thrifting, taking my littlest sister-in-law to the dog park, lot's of laundry, being pummeled by a 2 and 4 year old and some very very serious conversation. I feel like I need a break from my break so that I can stop and breathe a little.

Picture Show

The Bird and I love movies. Our freshman year of college we saw literally 99% of new releases. Good, bad, funny, drama filled, didn't matter. Ask me about practically any crappy movie from 2007-2008 and I can give you a quick synopsis, cast and review.  I mean, why go to class when you could see a  matinee? Plus Jared always had a hearty stash of movie gift cards. I actually yearn for the matinee (or manatee as a high school chum once called them). Fairly empty theaters, cheap tickets, a Chick-Fil-A nugget meal hidden in your purse...that's what I call a good time.

My mother-in-law told us that her father and Jared's namesake, Birdwell, always  said "I'd rather see a bad movie then no movie." Lack of time, patience and cash has taught us to be a little choosier with our films, but I'm sure we'll see something this weekend, hopefully a decent one.

I would love to see Moonrise Kingdom, but I don't believe it's made it down to the South yet. Have you heard of it? How beautiful is that poster? Wes Anderson has made some of my absolute favorite movies: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore; and Moonrise Kingdom is getting great reviews.

 I mean for goodness sakes, there's a Francoise Hardy song in the trailer and Bill Murray, what more do you need? What movie are you most looking forward to seeing this summer?