Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Mine wasn't too crazy, just hung out with a few friends at a few bars. A few of us decided to go as sesame street muppets:
I didn't get a muppet shirt but I did dress as a muppet. Can you guess which one? Or better yet, do you know which one I even am?

Here's proof that I even am a sesame street muppet. She debuted a few years ago so even I didn't know who she was. I had to do a bit of research.
Other costumes in our group included Mary Poppins and Bert the Chimney Sweeper. And Russell from Up! I think I will have to steal that idea next year. Sorry my pictures suck, I only took a few.

Welcome to the Family!

I would formally like to announce the birth of Ms. Arion into our sorority family!
This is also the day I realized how old I really am... Here's a little family history lesson:
Back in 2005, it was just me and my big sis before she left me alone in our family. Then it was just me for a long while until I took my lil sis. As soon as I took her, I graduated but it wasn't too long before she fell in love and took a lil. So we spoiled our newest baby and let her break tradition and take more than one lil sis because she was our little overachiever and she was going to take them at the same time because they were inseparable. I've never seen two different girls act like twin sisters more than these two... Anyway, so one of our lil twins took her first (apparently they've decided the get the privilege of killing tradition all together and taking as many as they want) lil sis recently and I could not be more happy to welcome her into our little family. It also occurred to me just how old I am because I don't know anyone in the chapter anymore. It's highly unfortunate that in attempting to do a tiered (its a sorority thing) picture, I'm the shortest but the oldest, and Arion is the youngest but the tallest... I should have warn heels. As you can see I'm having difficulty trying to be the top of the pyramid.

A Little Trompe L'oeil

My post-undergrad education has produced a few new vocabulary terms including the phrase trompe l'oeil. It's funny how as soon as you learn a term, you find yourself seeing examples of it all over. And then suddenly I came across this page of fantastic modern examples of it. Now I would really like to get this rendered in my future home...

From Russia with Love

Theme for the weekend was trying new things. So after a day in LA, we decided to end the evening with more LA. Late night dinner in Beverly Hills at Nic's. Nic's had this sort of 70's glamour going that I absolutely adored. I wasn't aware of any Vod Box's in the states, I've only encountered one in HK, but sure enough, if fur and vodka tasting are of interest, Nic's is a must. Sadly, we didn't participate since I was put well over by the martini, but next time. It'll happen.
They have quite the extensive martini selection with some of your usuals, and some of your not so usuals. Plus they had fantastic names. I went with the from russia with love (right) that had russian vodka with strawberries and champagne. Boyfriend's pink drink is the ocean's eleven with ocean hawaiian vodka, pomegranate and coconut. We also enjoyed some grilled artichoke. mac and cheese, and oysters on the half shell. Unfortunately, we did not enjoy the quesadilla, horribly salty. Overall, a definite return, hopefully soon.

Going to the Office

It finally happened, we made a trip to Father's Office for lunch. We went to the one in Santa Monica after spending a morning at the Getty Villa. After a night out with the girls, three hours of sleep, and a field trip to antiquity, a delicious burger was in order. And it did not disappoint.
I almost don't know why you would come here for anything else besides the office burger. Always with a side of fries. And yes the extra order of sweet potato fries are necessary. No you can't make any substitutions to the burger, but barring allergies, why would you want to?

The sketchbook project

Totally thinking about doing this...

The Villa

I've been to the Getty several times, yet never made it over to the Getty Villa in Malibu. My art history class decided to do a little field trip over to the Villa and luckily, after a drizzly morning, it turned out to be a nice day. Not too hot, not too cold.
It's simply gorgeous and filled with lots of Greek and Roman architecture and pieces. As fabulous as the exhibit was, I really just enjoyed wandering the grounds and sitting by the pools.

Game 3: Phillies

[AP Photo: Gene J. Puskar]

Dear Cole,
Please beat the Giants. I do not particularly enjoy the Giants or their fans as my facebook gets so annoying when the Giants are winning. And I really think you're better than them.
Sincerely,
Anna

Oh rainy day, come 'round

Sometimes I just want it to slow down.

All I've seen outside my window today... and I don't mind as much except that I have a mood to match it.

A reading room for me.

As awesome as a kindle and all those other cute little technological reading advances seem, I can't help but love the thought of having a room full of books. All the different colors coming from the spines of books and the ups and downs of each different book height just makes me so happy.

Day 95 and 488

I'm usually not this cheesy (or maybe I am), but I decided I'd make a stop while working on my art history project.

clarke

In another edition of things I do when I'm supposed to be doing other things:



and a little cover:



Sigh, I could listen to James all day. It definitely warms the heart on grey days like today. I'm glad my time at UCI gave me the chance to meet James. Plus him and his band are performing at RAW (http://www.rawartists.org) on Thursday and I'm super excited to go... Now to find someone to go with me.

Bikram Yoga

[photo borrowed from glamour.com]

So last week I worked up the courage to drag myself to yoga. But instead of doing normal yoga like normal people, I thought I'd do the crazy thing and throw in 105 degree temperature. Too bad it turned out to be fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed all 90 minutes of it. The first session really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 90 minutes went by really fast and I was only nauseous 1/3 of the time. But I really did feel amazing after my first session and after the second and third session I felt a lot less tired and nauseous through my sessions. I've also been drinking a lot more water, have a lot less cravings, and get less tired throughout my day. Yay me!

Commissary

[photo taken from yelp.com]

So last weekend, a friend and I decided to enjoy a lax Friday night and grab a drink. We decided to forgo DT Huntington and Newport and head to Commissary Lounge. My friend had heard about this lounge in the Lab and I had never heard a thing about it so we decided to check it out. After getting to the Lab we began our search for where this place even was. Pass the Gypsy Den, the open door in the shrubs had to be it and sure enough, it was. Beer (in champagne flutes) and wine (maybe just sangria), concrete floor and walls, open ceiling and modern art filled this space. I was fairly sure that the Lab doesn't even know there are a few hipsters who are squatting here and selling beer and wine, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. The DJ played some good beats and the clientele was laid back, for the most part. I could do without the 10 f0bby azns on their way to shark club but then again, it made for good entertainment.

In LA

"Los Angeles moves fast, but it never feels like it. A day could make or break you, and a night, well a night could ruin you."
-BeatCrave

Catching up: Part 6

Upon return home from Chicago, I spent a few days desperately trying to catch up on homework before heading out for girl's weekend in Vegas. Friday afternoon we packed the car up and the three of us headed out to Vegas (one was flying in to meet us from SF). First night we hit up Tryst where we had a good time. We even saw Dave Chappelle who had a table behind our table. Saturday afternoon we spent the afternoon at Encore beach and learned that water, sun, and alcohol result in messy situations. We actually kept it classy and enjoyed ourselves a bit. Later that night, our friend who was in Vegas for a huge basketball tournament joined us to get ready. We prepartied at TAO during their open bar hour and then hit up XS for the rest of the night. Ridiculously good time with a bit of drama (ex-bf, bloody noses, the usual), and running into everyone you could possibly know (hello kindergarten). At more than one point in the night, a conversation was had over the belief that we knew each other and having to figure out how... awkward... sort of but not really. Most people leave Vegas around noon, I had to drag my girls home at 4:30. Good weekend. I think we're still recovering.
Night 1:
Night 2:

Catching up: Part 5

For Labor Day weekend, I asked bf what people do when they want to get away for the weekend from Chicago. Apparently, the answer was go to the lake. I gave him a dumb look because well, the lake was half a block down the street and he indicated apparently they go to different parts of the lake, like over in Michigan, or to smaller lakes in Wisconsin or something. Anyway, I actually have been wanting to see the Calatrava design Art museum in Milwaukee and I figured this was the perfect opportunity since it's only an hour and a half away. Luckily, the weekend we were there, bf's co-worker would be visiting his gf who goes to school at Marquette, so we planned to meet up in the evening. Milwaukee is a pretty small town, sort of a miniature Chicago if you will. So we figured one night would be enough, and it was. We got there just in time for Harley-Davidson weekend! We also visited a brewery (really fun and got fairly drunk for $7), visited The Safehouse (A restaurant where you must know a secret password to get in or have to do silly things in front of a camera that is broadcasted to the restaurant. It's sort of a spy themed restaurant and you also need to figure out the secret to just get out of there... sort of ridiculous but a fun experience, esp. if you have kids), went to a few bars with his friends, and then we hit up the museum and the public market before going home. I was fairly sick the entire weekend but made the best of it. Probably won't be returning but it was really worth the drive to see that museum. And eat cheese and drink beer.

Road trip!
I really wanted to stop here, but we didn't =(
Being sick, I didn't take a lot of pictures of most of our trip. I really came for the museum and busted the camera out for that for sure. Here's the inside:
And this is the outside: The attraction is that in the morning, at noon, and at the end of the day, these "wings" open and close. Here is it open, just before noon.
At noon, they begin to close:
Closed:
And then they open up again before closing at the end of the day. It's probably a 5-10 minute process but it's pretty neat to watch. I'm an architectural nerd.

Catching up: Part 4

Despite having been to Chicago about 9 times in my life, I've never seen a Cubs game. Granted maybe half those times, it wasn't baseball season, but you'd think between the number of days I've stayed here and even being there when the Angels were in town, I would have seen a game. So this time, bf and I decided we would catch my first game together. It should also be noted it would have been his first game as well but the week before, his office took him to a game.



Excuse the ugly face I'm making. It was like a thousand degrees that day (even at night). I'm really just not photogenic and this was the best of me out of three tries... yeah sorry.

Catching up: Part 3

When in Chicago, THE tour to take is a river boat architectural tour. There's a few companies but I think the one I took through the CAF is the best rated on tripadvisor. Plus, being a member, I had a buy one get one deal to drag bf on the tour with me. I took a ton of pictures so I will attempt to only post a few of my favs. It's a 90 minute tour and a great way to see the city.

Catching up: Part 2

I went to Chicago at towards the end of August. Instead of working harder to finish my color theory portfolio and work on my drafting, I joined the Chicago Architecture Foundation and took a few tours. I didn't quite feel as guilty as I figured it was at least related to my career aspirations... right? (I won't lie, after I was a bit disappointed in myself for not working a bit harder but that was my fault for slacking the entire quarter) Don't worry, my portfolio was over-nighted in time and I was never so happy to finish a class in my life. My first CAF tour was Chicago Old and New. I had the privileged of getting my own personal tour guide since they thought putting me in with the German tour would be a little tough for me. I thoroughly loved getting to know my docent and thus, didn't take any pictures. For my second CAF tour, I took the El train tour which focused on things you don't really notice at eye/ground level. The El train is short for elevated train since much of Chicago's public transportation is above ground. Take a CAF tour and you'll find out why they're above ground =) Here are a few highlights




When in Chicago, an architecture tour is a must. Part 3 will be the tour that you MUST take. It's a pretty fun one.

Catching up: Part 1

In an attempt to catch up with my blog, I've decided to do short segments on things I haven't had time to blog about. Last blog entry was mid-August and it's now October! Holy moly! Time sure does fly. Around the birthday, bf's friends got married and he was a groomsman.


It was a lovely wedding at sunset in Newport. We had a great time and I enjoyed being temporary wedding coordinator while bf played groomsman in the lovely pink tux ;) My pink dress didn't look anywhere near pink next to bf.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Kobayashi!