taco.

Carly agreed to dogsit her cousin's best friend Taco this week. As you may recall, Carly is not a lover of any breed of dog which made for quite an entertaining week watching her take care of the third orangutan (just his face) /third polar bear (with a perm)/third donkey (in the tail) as Taco followed her everywhere and did this crazy thing on his hind legs trying to tell her how much he loved her for taking him on leisure walks knowing it would not elicit him going pee on a mailbox or tree or anywhere outside no matter how much the nasty neighbors glared (because he's not potty trained and as the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks). I guess for Taco, his only trick is dancing. 

unified bookworms.

Yay! When Carly's colleague (who just so happens to be Carson Daly's baby mama and is currently 7 months preggo) told her that joining a book club was the best thing that happened to her all year, Carly and I decided to not have a baby like the rest of the people we know (sooo not ready for that commitment) and start a book club instead. Our first selection is Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. But this is no ordinary book club... we will be reading books (in script) that are made into movies (on screen) and review BOTH the third Sunday of every month (in script, on screen!)  This is the founder's meeting last night. Yay for the unification of bookworms!  

opening night.

I always knew Carly was a badass but she reached a new level of awesomeness at the opening night of her sketch comedy group's show "Girth, Wind & Fire!" Performing every Saturday night in a theatre in Hollywood, the 7 troupe members write and star in all their own (somewhat raunchy) hilarious sketches. Here is Carly giving her acceptance speech for winning the award for Best Girl on Girl scene in her outstanding performance in Drowning in B*tch Juice (like I said, kinda sorta raunchy). Love it!!! 

sunset in santa monica.

"I wish I hadn't cried so much!" said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. "I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!" -Alice in Wonderland

ty in twinkle town.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Sunset in Santa Monica

Hiking through the Hollywood Hills

eating escargot at the Dresden.

santa monica pier.

The sun may rise in the East, at least it sets in the final location.

Whales and the Rossdales.

Carly and I had an awesome Sunday together hiking to Point Dume along the Pacific Coast in Malibu... I laughed when I returned home from the gym and Carly exclaimed "We're going whale watching!" She had found a trail and since January falls right in the middle of what season, she was excited at the chance to see a whale... I never thought it would happen until we saw this like 20 feet from shore... a whale. Waving to us none the less, swimming amongst a pod of dolphins! To top off the day, we later saw Gavin Rossdale, Gwen Stefani and their two kids shopping in the Malibu Country Mart.. today was definitely a day that could only happen if you lived in LA...

slumdog millionaire.

Come home with me...

Where? and live off what?

Love...

bucket list.

On New Year's Day, Carly and I laid by the pool (because weather in LA is perfect!) talking about our New Year's resolutions. Somehow my compilation of things I resolve to accomplish in 2009 turned more into a laundry list of all the fabulous things I want to see and do this new year in California... my very own bucket list, if you will. I want to take advantage of having the fabulous career as a  nurse and only working 3 days a week, spending the other 4 traveling the West Coast (Napa Valley, San Diego, Grand Canyon, Yosemite!) I want to run/bike/swim a triathlon this fall. I want to grow an herb garden. Take a photography course. Attend the Scratch-Academy and learn how to be a DJ. I want to be kinder to the environment.  Volunteer. I want to have a savings. I want to learn to cook and eat more balanced. Be more balanced; take yoga. I want to live simply. Spend more time outdoors. Read. Learn how to date. Seize every day; seize the culture of LA. Figure out where to go from here. I laughed when we returned from the pool to see my suitcase exploded out my bedroom door and into the living room... it was at that moment that I added the resolution to try to be more organized to my list... =)  

the gator nation (really) is everywhere.

I was honestly surprised by how much I actually missed football season this fall. Considering the fact I never even sat through all four quarters of a football game the entire four years I was at UF, it shocked me when I found myself moping around on Saturdays wishing I was camouflaged among a sea of orange and blue in the Swamp cheering on my boys. So excited that they were playing for the national championship (again!), I called all 10 friends I have in LA and we went to the SoCal Gator Fan Club at a sports bar in Marina del Rey! The Gators didn't disappoint bringing home the 4th championship title in 4 years! =) 

griffith observatory.

conversations with carly.

There's no one I converse with more than Carly. We have lived together for going on 4 years and have known each other since elementary school. We still both remember the first conversation we ever had at the 4th grade dance when she asked if I wanted to trade boyfriends and I said no; we've been conversing ever since. We spent 5 weeks on trains, planes, gondolas, and ferries 2 summers ago in Europe where we literally could only talk to each other, not only because we didn't have cell phones to call anyone else but because we didn't understand or speak the language spoken by the people conversing around us. I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about the entertainment business in conversations with Carly. I've been enlightened by her endless knowledge of significant trivia pertaining to our own culture (specifically pop culture). Completing crossword puzzles, discussing current events and conquering crazy milestones together, I've learned a lot from our multitude of convos. Here are some of my favorite quotes by Carly from conversations in recent months... 

 

Thoughts about men:

  "All men are stupid. Some are just less stupid than others."

  "He has a dick. Therefore he is a dick."

Thoughts about me:

  "You're a hopeless romantic. It's not a problem; it's just something you need to work on."

Thoughts about my burning desire to get a dog:

  "Animals are just not supposed to be domesticated."

Thoughts about lying to get out of a date: 

  "I don't feel like I am a bad liar; I just feel bad for lying."

Thoughts about opting out of disability insurance:

  "I mean it's not like I have a family to feed if my arm gets cut off."

white horse.

I'm not your princess. This ain't a fairy tale...

I was a dreamer before you went and let me down.

This is a big world, that was a small town.

There in my rearview mirror disappearing now...

Now it's too late for you

and your white horse, to come around.

somewhere between Phoenix and Los Angeles, trying not to look back.