howdy stranger

I promised I wouldn’t make excuses for skipping the ritual of blogging more frequently.  And I’m not… But I’ll merely explain my absence… The past few weeks have been terribly busy and I suffered a sneak attack of allergies that knocked me out so bad, they even sidelined me on my birthday.  Being an April Fools’ Day baby, I’m sure it didn’t look good that I didn’t go to work, but I was genuinely ill. No joke there!

Sickness aside, I had a lovely birthday weekend filled with friends, family and thoughtful gifts.

Here’s a vegan chocolate birthday cake with espresso frosting from Treehouse Bakery.  Words can’t express how yummy this was; it reminded me of the mouthwatering cakes from an exceptional bakery back home that did my wedding cake.

Another birthday treat, The Berkeley veggie pizza from Z Pizza.  We get this every so often as a weekend indulgence, so my birthday was no exception.  Flavorful, chewy crust, fresh cut veggies and melty Daiya cheese make it a winner to me.

My husband surprised me with a Kindle and I’m completely enamored!  I secretly wanted one but didn’t say anything.  He knows me so well.  I thought I’d remain a book  purist but it’s so convenient to instant access instead of waiting days for a shipment, weeks on a library waitlist or worse, being robbed by publishers in paying $20 to $30 per title for a hardcover.  At least I have my classics  and pretty coffeetable books to satisfy my lingering purist ways.  I just can’t say enough good stuff about the Kindle.

My folks always know just what I need before I do and they surprised me with a Kindle protective cover.

I got fancy fun charm bracelets (I’m on the right:)) and cool Z Gallerie tea light chandeliers from my bestie.  I still have to figure out where to hang the chandeliers!

Another celebration picture from my party in our backyard.

Namaste,

J 🙂

street chic

People watching is secretly a favorite hobby of mine.  I love to look at what they wear, how they put outfits together, what it says about their personalities, etc.  That’s why I love the site Lookbook.  It’s like a captive street of gorgeous fashionable people from all over the globe.  I’m amazed at how they put such creative pieces together–many of the outfits look better than pieces on a high fashion runway.  I could only aspire to be so chic.

Namaste,

J 🙂

puppet nudity and other weekend highlights

That blog headline is enough to make you pause a little, right?  I’ll get to it in this post soon enough:)

The weekend was filled with the kind of snippets of fun and relaxation that always make it difficult to return on Monday.

First, I got my hair dyed (or glazed rather, since it’s gentler and makes hair shiny) to brighten things up and cover grays.  Yes, the dreaded G word.  I haven’t even turned 27 and I’ve sprouted over the past several months about a dozen scraggly, inch long white hairs mocking me on the top of my head.  I can’t imagine what would have transpired in my life or in my body to cause such a drastic follicle shift.  While some women wear grays as a badge of honor, that’s not the case for me.  If I wasn’t 26 and if I exuded some kind of Helen Mirren older woman appeal, maybe I could pull it off.  But no.  So all I have to say is thank goodness for modern beauty products.

Second, we finally had gardeners come to trim and hack away at all the dead foliage and plants courtesy of a rollercoaster Phoenix winter.  Between the front and backyards, they spent more than two hours landscaping away.  Despite three broken sprinkler heads that were caused by their weed whacking (which will be kindly rectified by them soon) the results were stellar.  It’s still bare, but here’s the “after” results.

I also squeezed in some shopping.  I eagerly went to three of my current favorite shopping spots; H&M, Nordstrom Rack and Whole Foods.  At the first two, I found some new lovely spring basics.  Usually, I have difficulty finding cute, affordable dresses but at the Rack I tried on dozens and even bought two.  I could have bought more but I had to restrain myself:)

Another weekend highlight… R and I were driving near the 101 freeway and what catches our eye, but a tricked out Ghostbusters station wagon!!  It looked so authentic, Bill Murray and Slimer could have come tumbling right out of it.  We were so excited to get a shot that we were fumbling for our camera and didn’t get a closeup like we would have preferred.  So you’ll have to deal with this shot.  Can we say, AWESOME???!!!

Now that brings us to puppet nudity.  We went to a local production of Avenue Q at the Phoenix Theatre.  The play was absolutely hilarious and the venue didn’t have a bad seat in the house.  Along with our tickets, we were given this warning:

They weren’t kidding either.  We witnessed some funny yet blush-worthy, R-rated bumping and grinding.  We went with R’s parents too, so that just enhanced the comedy of the overall situation.  We had a more mild time beforehand; we sat out on the theatre’s lovely patio with some glasses of Sedona wine and listened to the acoustic melodies of a musician that had the EXACT voice of John Mayer.  It was a great night out on the town, and we’d definitely love to go back there.

R took some pics here of me this weekend, and Roxy Roo as well.

Here I am with my cutie before the show.

Snapshots.

Last, but certainly not least, Roxy intently watching March Madness.  Her brackets are in good standings;)

Namaste,

J 🙂

spring lust list part 1

A list of things I’d love to get to add some style to my life this spring.  Of course, since it’s a lust list, I won’t be getting all of these things, but a girl can dream, right? 🙂

–  Tom’s Shoes.  They look so cozy, versatile and hippie chic.  I’ve tried on a pair and their comfort surpasses most pairs of sneakers.  It would also feel good walking in them knowing that the company is dedicated to such a good cause–matching every purchase with a pair for a child in need.  I think the black sparkle, red and gray are my top picks.

–  Shellac nails.  Weeks of chip-free glossy nails?  Um, yes please.

–  Des Filles a la Vanille Perfume.  I first purchased a bottle of the Imma scent in  a tiny, gorgeously decorated Parisian shop in  the 5th or 6th arrondissement back in 2003.  I just fell in love with the perfume.  When I ran out of that first bottle, I frantically searched online and bought another thankfully from Beautyhabit, a great source for amazing rare finds.  I’m even up for the adventure of  trying another vanilla scent from the line since they were all so uniquely perfect and lovely.  Every time I spritz, it takes me back to beautiful memories.

–  BCBG Black Cigarette Pant.  My go-to black pants have seen better days and these are just so effortlessly chic.  I’d feel like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face with a pair of these.

There’s more lovely lustworthy items to add to my list that I’d love to share, but the cool side of my fluffy white pillow is calling.

Goodnight and Namaste,

J 🙂