Travelz

Things always get a little crazy on weeks I travel abroad and for some reason I just can seem to post or sleep. Lately though I have had a huge lack of things to write or talk about regardless of my travels. Perhaps I am just losing inspiration or work is getting busy or maybe I just need a little more sleep each and every day. I am hoping the latter and plan on getting some much needed rest this coming week and hopefully get everything reset.

So while I get everything sorted and come up with some truly great posts, here are a few life hack articles that I think are handy to have:

Nail Hacks DIY

50 Life Hacks (there are some really good ideas in this one!)

Extend your phones battery

Crafty Hacks

You can't say I didn't try to teach you anything.

And just for fun 22 Things you probably didn't know about Mean Girls. 

Good Skincare is Worth Every Cent

Can someone please get Lindsey Lohan some proper skincare and make her look like the 27 year old she is, instead of a boozy lounge singer, that is never without a smoke, in Reno?

This makes me sad.

In other news I am pretty sure I look younger than her, even with my 36th birthday coming up this weekend!

Yes that's me in my sheep PJ's, no photoshop, no
make-up and bad lighting. Suck it.

Because

The post I had originally scheduled for today was a humorous look at the end of the world because the Mayans got bored making calendars. When it comes to surviving the apocolypse I got that on lock, as long as zombies are involved. Then Friday happened and I lost my humor. I am not going to write about my feelings on gun control or mental illness. Both issues I have strong feelings about and I am happy to share it if you want to know, send me a message. No, this post is because I didn't know what to write. I had to turn off social media, the TV and avoid the Internet to get through parts of this weekend. The more details I found out the more I started losing my faith in people. Then I realized maybe that was part of what the shooter wanted. So I watched a lot of feel good Christmas movies and tried to get in the right frame of mind. I am still working on it, but Colin and Hugh are helping (Love Actually was watched about three times).

My heart and prayers truly go out to each and every victims family and friends. There are no words that can make this better, but hopefully they can feel the goodwill and thoughts from every part of the world.

Weekend and a Cheap Holiday

This weekend was fantastically easy going. There was no particular place to be, no one that we had to see and nothing we had to do. Doesn't mean we didn't do anything, just means we did what we wanted to do. Thanks to some prompting by the BF we got the feather tree up, made a delicious cobbler (more on that later) and went for brunch at the Ports O' Call in San Pedro. That brunch is where I ate my fill in pretty much every category they have, there not to mention the bottomless glass of bubbly. Yum.

Today reality hits and I have to go to the dentist for dental work and not just a cleaning. I am never good at these things and always have a fear that they will screw up. There is no good rationalization for this, it just is. So with that in mind when the dentist mentioned he could offer me a Hawaiian vacation for $30. I was intrigued. It's not covered by insurance and you don't get on a plane, but it includes a valium and nitrous oxide for the entire uncomfortable time you are in that chair. For me $30 is a steal to help avoid any unpleasantness as a result of someone poking me in the mouth.

Here's to hoping your day is a heck of a lot less unpleasant than mine!

Fun building/Structure
Seal Beach.

Huntington Beach

Why Gwyneth Paltrow and I would be besties

So I have a bit of a thing for Gwyneth. I know sometimes she seems like she's a bit too much, but so do I. So I sat down and thought of all the reasons we would be best friends.

1. We are Americans living part time abroad because of our significant other so we would have tons to talk about.
2. We are both 5'9" and can bond over all the short friends in our life and refusing to let that stop us from wearing 4 inch heels.
3. Have seen Coldplay in concert and met the band afterwards (it was back with their first album for me and was one of those dreaded meet and greets. She married the singer, I just said hi).
4. We both love to cook and tell people how awesome we are at it. When questioned if it was difficult to prepare we both say 'oh no it is so easy' when in reality it took 6 hours and three tries to get it perfect.
5. We both are way over Ben Affleck, but would totally do a movie that he was directing if for nothing else than to prove that we are always the bigger person. (Bonus we are also over Brad Pitt, although secretly think it's awesome that he dumped Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie. Jennifer just seems so annoying). 
6. Like to eat healthy, but not afraid to indulge every once and again.
7. Come up with ridiculous things that people should buy that they can't afford. 

So some of those things may be a bit of a stretch, but I like to think the Gwynnie in my mind is close to reality. And in case you are interested I love her cookbook. You should check it out.

Song about rainbows

When I was younger I watched The Muppet Show religiously, unless I got into trouble and couldn't watch TV as a punishment (which let's face it, happened a lot). TV was a privilege in that household and not something we watched all the time so you had to choose wisely. I had Kermit dolls, Ms. Piggy envy and loved Gonzo to a point that when it was taken off the air (I believe it was on PBS at the time) I got pissed. So pissed that with the help of my step dad I called the station to complain. I was 4 and apparently a bit of a bad ass, although I may have only gotten out about half of what I wanted to say before making him finish the conversation. Telling a grown up (that you don't know and have never seen) that life as you know it is shattered because they pulled a frog, pig and whatever Gonzo is off the air is a little scary. I am surprised that they didn't ask me for money or at the very least ask me to be on the next telethon to beg for Kermit back. I am sure that would have raked in lots of dollars for them. Anyway this really doesn't have much to do with anything, but I did come across the photo below on Pinterest which made me think about the great Muppet Show disaster of '81. Perhaps this is where the seed of defiance was planted in my little brain. Food for thought anyway.

That's just how he rolls. Source via Pinterest

Roses are red, but so is blood

Eat all the chocolate you want, cover yourself in roses or just watch zombie movies all night. Guess what I am doing?

It's true I would. Happy Valentines Day and Happy Birthday dad!

The Wanderer

After running around the last few days I decided to give the grandparents a break and ventured out on my own in the greater Mesa, AZ area. I had noticed in our previous outings that there was all kinds of metal art by the roads and other unusual things that definitely needed a closer look. Somehow I had forgotten that the southwest is full of roadside stands, forgotten buildings and treasure trove of thrift stores. While I kept my wallet in check (so very hard to do) a gentleman with a hook for an arm tried to convince me to purchase the metal horse below for a steal at $1350 (if you notice it has $1600 on it). I politely declined his generous offer and instead tried to get him to pose with the horse. He declined. After moving on from ‘Hook’ I nearly took out a pedestrian trying to pull into what has got to be one of the last DQ stands in America. Inside and out this, fully open and operational, place is stuck in a time warp and had to be photographed to be believed. I had no idea these still existed, but it was fun to find. After I had completed my exploring I arrived back at the house just in time to catch the spectacular sunset. The colors in the sky were just amazing, vibrant and beautiful. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Love this pig. She is the mascot of a BBQ joint.

$1600 yeah right.

No tables, but 2 people working.

Pinks, purples and yellows. Pretty.

LaLa Land & the Beach

I was so excited that my friend Joanna came to visit me here in La Jolla over the weekend. I promised her it would be a great place to relax, be a little bit degenerate and just have some good old fashioned girl time (which it was and is...PAM). When I picked her up at the airport she mentioned she had never been to LA. Since we had planned on doing some house hunting for me while she was here up in the Laguna 'hood I thought what's an hour more drive up to LA. After asking her what she really wanted to see up there she decided on wanting to see Hollywood (Just as a note if you have never been to Hollywood, please trust me in that you are not missing a darn thing. Seriously it's two block of weirdos. And that is coming from me, a total weirdo calling others weirdos.). I warned her that it is a pit and she might be disappointed, but she wanted to go and who am I to tell her no. Lovely day, promise of good food (dropping in on the parents) and seeing all the crazies out on Hollywood Blvd, I can think of worse things to do on a pretty Sunday. Needless to say she was a little disappointed at the Walk of Fame and the Grauman's Chinese Theater but we had a fabulous lunch at Aroma's  on Sunset Blvd and drove through Beverly Hills ending up at Redondo Beach just as the sun was going down. It was a fun visit and reminded me that sometimes you just need to be a tourist in your own town.

I just love this shot. It was a pretty day!

Just a small sampling of the "characters" on the street. Zoro, Spiderman and Cookie Monster.
Wonder Woman (not pictured) was my favorite.

Doing a little retail therapy.

I love this photo of Jo. She didn't know I was taking the photo as
she was taking off her sweater to enjoy the sun.

Gotta love Shatner!

Jo at the Chinese Theater

Jimmy Stewart. They all had such tiny hands and feet!

At the beach caves in La Jolla.

New Year, Same Me

Happy New Year to you!

So far this year is pretty fantastic. We had a lovely new years eve with friends, champagne, great food (not to mention the yummy oliebollen) and made sure to include fireworks and sparklers at midnight. Tomorrow the BF and I head out to Seattle for a few days and then onward to Southern California for the next few months. Should be a fun adventure of connecting with friends and getting out of the cold (looks like it will be in the 70's and 80's in California. Yay!).

To wrap up 2011 I decided to actually come up with resolutions that I really wanted to make happen this year. Even though losing 10lbs would be awesome I wanted to focus more on my inner workings, my outlook and where I wanted my life to head in 2012. Here they are (taken directly from twitter, since I let the world know via twitter on the 31st):


Resolution #1: tolerance and understanding should be in my life everyday. Let's see how this goes.
Resolution #2: it may be cheesetastic, but 'live everyday fearlessly'. Might make an interesting year.
Resolution #3 (and final): Take photos, but remember to enjoy the moment in the present too!


Any interesting resolutions you want to share or do you even bother?

Sparklers!

Sparkly drink (Champagne of course)

Oliebollen! Recipe found here (although there are so many to choose from.
Maybe next year we can get the Dutch family secret one!)

Christmas music. Are we done yet?

Almost. I promise.

If you are like me Christmas music can only go on so long before you want to burn the stereo from the constant repeat of songs. I get it. So guess what I am going to do today? That's right share the Christmas songs that I really enjoy this year or the ones that I don't want to burn. You may want to burn them, but I leave that up to you. In the meantime totally check them out before judging. Also they are on Spotify which is fun. We can totally share music (kinda) and not get arrested. Yay!

Moving, decorating and manual labor

Part of the whole having houses in different states (or countries) means you need to have two of almost everything. Which is great fun in the beginning, but then I keep thinking what if I want those super cool glasses in the US and not just NL? Then I have some perspective put on me by my loving, but down to earth friends who inform me to get a grip, but it doesn't mean I can't have a little fun right? Right.

In my search for all kitchen type products I have found some great items that would work in any home in any country. Care to see what's at the top of my list?

Schott Zwiesel wine glasses specifically the diva line. I saw these the other day at a cook shop here in the Netherlands and can't stop thinking about them. The pictures do not do them justice, but image a big beautiful glass filled with your favorite wine. Enough said.

They are also made of Tritan glass that is supposed to be
stronger than normal glass to keep them in one piece at parties.

I love to entertain and really like the idea of having individual bottles for water, juice and other liquid products and these bottles add the right touch of fun and useful. Plus at the price of $14 each (at Uncommon Goods) I need one in each color!

As someone who enjoys cheese in every shape and form I love having cheese plates and these are quite perfect for the job. They are super cute and also found at Uncommon Goods.

As mentioned previously on this site I do adore a good vintage piece or in this case a faux vintage, but totally looks a like piece I could find in an antique shop. Love these trivets from Anthropologie

A big thing in the Netherlands is the usage of the tablecloth at dinner. I personally love the idea and have quite a few vintage pieces to use, but here is my absolute favorite (so far at least) that I have found on the web from Macy's.

I haven't actually purchased anything yet, but I am working on it!! Any ideas that you have come across?

By the way I think I am obsessed with drinks because I could have filled this whole page with glassware and pitchers (decanters, cocktail shakers, etc. I think you get the idea), but refrained to maintain a slight sense of dignity and not the alcohol consumer that I can (and sometimes often) be. I am way to classy for that. Right?

Disney Part Deux

As someone once told me, "The only problem with Euro Disney is it is run by the French". Well said and completely true. We had a great time though this past holiday weekend at the Euro mouse house. Kids had fun, adults survived and everyone ate way too much Disney food. Seriously what is it with theme parks and junk food? Even the so called healthy food is only considered the healthy choice because it is sitting next to the giant donut covered in chocolate. No matter what anyone tries to say it is the same story in every Disney park in every country. Although I am sure they have shrimp flavored chips in Disney Tokyo (I also assume they are tasty if that is your thing).

There were way too many fashion faux pas to count. When you have that many people from all over Europe in one place that is bound to happen. Not that I am the queen of fashion, but I do know a few things about acid wash pants (as in leave them in the 90's). Disney parks all over the world are major people watching sites for bad fashion and hair decisions. Always makes for a good time while waiting in line for Big Thunder Mountain!

All in all it was a good time with the family and it is always fun to go with kids on their first trip to the magic kingdom. Don't know if Euro Disney is worth the trip if that is the only thing you are going to trek over to Europe for, but it's fun if you enjoy Disney. Be sure to brush up on your French as that will help you out in following along, but at the end of the day it is not necessary to enjoy the park itself. Everyone wants to be a princess (or prince) no matter what language you speak!

Pajamas you live in. Jeans you sleep in.

I finally took the plunge and purchased a pair of pajama jeans. I figured as a new unemployed individual if I am going to hang out in my PJ’s all day I might as well try to class it up. So I went to my nearby drugstore to pick up some toothpaste and picked up a pair of pajama jeans because of course they were at the drugstore. The minute I came I opened the package and tried them on. One, I hate to admit it but they do look like jeans. Unless you are sitting right next to me and staring at them you can’t tell. Which if you are staring at my jeans you are creeping me out. Please stop. Two, they are so comfortable, wait for it, just like pajamas. I am in heaven people.

Because I like to be comfortable on a plane, but I think those that wear sweats in public (and are not coming from or to the gym) need to spend a week with Stacy and Clinton as punishment. I usually wear standard jeans, t-shirt and wrap or on international trips I go a step further, which I wrote about here. Since I was so confident in the appearance of my PJJ’s I decided to see if I could get away with the pajama jeans on the plane and not have people think I forgot to get dressed that morning. I was headed down to SoCal this weekend and thought it was the perfect opportunity put on my pajama jeans and stepped out into the public space of an airport. Not one strange look, not one second glance and I am so comfortable I can’t believe I waited this long. I love my PJJ’s!

While I won’t be sporting this out on date night or really for much other than around the house, trip to the bank or occasional domestic flight, I do think it was a fantastic purchase. I only wish they came in longer inseam lengths (PJJ there are tall women that enjoy being comfortable too!).

Stay classy San Diego. I plan on it with the help of my pajama jeans!

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

In my office we have a zombie menace action plan. No joke. If you are in Seattle when the zombie menace happens you need to head to my office. We have the plans set out for survival and plans for when you turn (sorry we don't 'wait' to see if it will really turn you. It will and you must be done with). This has been carefully and thoughtfully planned out by my boss (Tracy) and me. Others when they get involved try to insert their opinion that they think will be helpful, when in reality they just would get us killed. If we need your help we will ask.

Along with the zombies there have been My Little Ponies, Hello Kitty, Care Bears and other random crap that has caught our eyes. Weekly People Magazine reviews and discussions about Flavor of Love (to later include Rock of Love). I swear some day's it was like working at middle school except I got paid and stuff. Oh yeah I even worked every once in awhile.

It pains me to leave a company I have had the pleasure of working at for the last 7 going on 8 years, but we all have life choices that necessitate changes. For this I dedicate this post to one of the most unique bosses of my life. We may not have Paris, but we will always have the zombie menace. Hearts, kisses, ponies, puppies, kitties, unicorns and rainbows to you Tracy.

xoxoxo
Princess

P.S. Rondero & Serna 4Eva

Hard at work!

Magnificent Maleficent

In case you were wondering what hat I got at Disneyland!

Black and White Weekend

I watch the blockbusters, the indie films and the comedies of today and I like them, even love and rave about them. Then I have an evening where there is nothing on TV and find myself on the TCM channel and loving the movies of yore. Always the standby is the Hitchcock and while I am not a raving Hitchcock fan, Rear Window is an amazing movie and Jimmy Stewart is phenomenal (and I could die happy if I could have Grace Kelly's wardrobe from the film). Then there is the disturbing What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford at their best. Seriously commanding performances and pretty crazy content considering this was made in the early 60's. I also caught the romantic and funny Pretty Baby the other day. Had a bit of a Mad Men vibe mixed with the crazy caper of fooling the boss. Good, fun, clean times.

One of my favorite films from the Golden Age of Hollywood though is Imitation of Life. It stars Lana Turner being the star she is as a struggling actress with a daughter (who eventually turns in to Sandra Dee) and has a friendship with her nanny/housekeeper that lean on each other through single motherhood in good and bad. Don't know exactly why this movie still strikes a chord with me, but it does. I love it! I swear I have so many movies of this period that I love that this post could turn into a novel.

Then there is the movie I plan my holiday around. Nothing screams the holiday's like It's a Wonderful Life. I can't make it through the season without seeing this twice. I think I get this from my dad. Actually I know I do, because I call him every year when it comes on TV and he is usually also watching it as well, even though we both own it on DVD.

I could never talk about these old movies without talking about the movie that started my obsession, The Wizard of OZ. I remember waiting for this to come on TV (CBS if I recall). For those of you who don't remember or know we didn't always have DVD's or VCR's, we used to have to wait for movies on the screen or TV. It was a big deal because my mom and step dad weren't super into TV so we still owned a black and white, but they always made sure I had a color TV to view the movie on. Nothing shows the power of 30's Hollywood like the moment when Dorothy stepped out of the black and white house into the color of OZ. It is still is something special to watch.

As I am writing this I know there are so many films that are not mentioned and should be, but like I mentioned this would be a novel if I did. Please leave a comment and let me know what your favorite film from the bygone years of Hollywood, I know we all would love to know!