thankful for...

this little guy

amazing historical locations

delicious exotic food

candy making blitz...

i've been really into making homemade candy lately...

peppermint patties

3 musketeers bars

peanut butter cups

can't believe softball season is almost over, luckily, indoor ball will be starting soon!

fall is in the air...

and that means one thing to me:

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

if you're feeling southern...

chocolate covered prah-lines.

if you're not, then chocolate covered pray-lines.

either way, they're delicious.

anything else will pale in comparison...

meet and greet with front row, vip seats for jason mraz at the hp pavillion have ruined me for any other concert for the rest of my life.

christina perri was also a delightful surprise

and you know what, i'm not complaining.  it was scrumtrulescent!!

what do you get...

when you cross these delicious oatmeal cookies

with delightfully fluffy, marshmallow-y, frosting?

homemade oatmeal cream pies, of course.

i'll be watching...

joseph gordon-levitt on snl this week



stay tuned for front row VIP jason mraz concert next friday.

can. not. wait.

repeat as needed...

homemade thin mints

the coating tasted like a mint royale bar.  such a shame they don't make them anymore.

reincarnated...

my life, if i were to be reincarnated as a cat...

(and i hope that i will)

culinary perfection...

find recipe that looks delicious, like this one

prepare, take pics, share
















repeat as needed.

this might be the best ever...

i mean, really, who doesn't love lol cats?

is there anything better...

...than homemade tollhouse chocolate chip cookies?  i've been making cookies/treats every wednesday since softball season started, back in april, and now that it's playoffs and the season is almost over, i figured i'd start posting what i've been making. 

there's always fall ball, i guess:)

homemade snickers bars...

saw these on the cooking channel and just had to try and make them...

can't wait to bring them to the bbq on saturday!

and yes, they are as amazing as they look.

i want to go to there...

looks like i just found a reason to visit munich...

love this guy

can't wait to see him in sept/october.

jess' wedding...

my lovely friend kathleen came out to california so that i wouldn't have to drive down to l.a. alone for my friend jessica's wedding reception.  of course i wasn't smart enough to charge my camera battery, so i don't have any pics of the reception/us setting up for it...but i did get some of our last day, and lunch with our friend emerson at savoy, in santa barbara on our way back up.

our annual redondo beach pier shot

perfect long-boardable waves

ps:  is anyone else hating the new blog site format?  maybe it's just me...i'm so behind the times.

sunday's spiritual thought...

The life you are leading is

simply a reflection of your thinking

-Doug Firebaugh

sunday's spiritual thought...

The road to success is dotted with

many tempting parking places.

Author Unknown

sunday's spiritual thought...

Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free

and realizing you were the prisoner!

-Max Lucado

sunday's spiritual thought...

Become a possibilitarian.

No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are,

raise your sights and see the possibilities –

always see them, for they are always there.

Norman Vincent Peale

sunday's spiritual thought...

Do not let what you cannot do

interfere with what you can do.

John Wooden

sunday's spiritual thought...

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly,

since love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

duets...

the might have taken the cutest duet title away from joseph gordon-levitt and zooey deschanel...



let's just say that it's a tie

sunday's spiritual thought...

Waste your money and

you're only out of money,

but waste your time and

you've lost part of your life.

Michael Leboeuf

this year's girl...

greta gerwig is in a string of good movies this year...and i think she's fantastic.

and of course this one...

hopefully she'll be this year's emma stone...

who was last year's mila kunis...

who was the year before's ellen page...

and zooey deschanel before her...

preceeded by anne hathaway...

and so on.
love these girls.
keep up the good work!

my favorite hippie...

can't wait to see you this fall from the FRONT ROW!!!!



it's going to be a grand reunion.

sunday's spiritual thought...

Happiness grows at our own gardens, and

is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.

Douglas Jerrould

2012, you are kicking 2011's ass so far...

well if the world really is going to come to an end this year, i might be okay with that. here are just a few of thing things i'm looking forward to...

these guys getting married in bali, and then going to their reception in seal beach in may

road tripping down to seal beach with this girl:

possibly seeing these kids in santa barbara:

knowing that this guy is doing not one, but two concerts in my immediate vicinity in the fall.

also, subsequently preordering his cd so that i can have access to buying advance tickets

and finally-having worked 80 hour weeks for the past six months pay off, hopefully with a trip here:

in theatres this month...

looks like another decent month to go to the movies:

i can practically hear 3EB in the background already...

and what would this month be without some guilty pleasure/eye candy?

i do like me some zac efron...

sunday's spiritual thought...

My mind is a garden.

My thoughts are the seeds.

My harvest will be either flower or weeds.

-Mel Weldon

who doesn't love a good muffin top?

i have a serious case of the mondays today.

thankfully, the internet has little nuggets like this to make me smile.

sunday's spiritual thought...

It takes two to quarrel,

but only one to end it.

Spanish Proverb

the things you learn when you should be working...

i, not unlike most people, occasionally get off task at work. there's just so much information out there, and so little time. one of my favorite sites to cruise is the imdb website, which lists actors and what projects they've been in, as well as upcoming ones. well i happened to be looking at mr. zachary quinto's page (spock from the star trek reboot) and came across this wonderfully eloquent quote:

[Zachary Quinto, on October 16, 2011, on his own blog, commenting on his decision to "come out" as gay on a New York Magazine article] When I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself - I felt deeply troubled. But when I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer had made an "It Gets Better" video only months before taking his own life - I felt indescribable despair. I also made an it gets better video last year - in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time. but in light of Jamey's death - it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. Our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. Gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. Parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. We are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. We are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government. I believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society - and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action. Jamey Rodemeyer's life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that I had done this sooner - I am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. Now I can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world. that - I believe - is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.

sunday's spiritual thought...

All mankind is divided into three classes:

those that are immovable,

those that are movable,

and those that move.

Benjamin Franklin

sunday's spiritual thought...

Our kindness may be the most persuasive

argument for that which we believe.

G.B.H.

sunday's spiritual thought...

Wherever you go,

go with all your heart.

Confucius

march madness...(it's not what you think)

i'm not really a basketball fan, but i am excited for the plethora of good movies coming out this month...

like this one:
this one:

and this one:

not to mention:

but MOST IMPORTANTLY:

unfortunately, it comes out on the same day i'll be seeing these guys in san jose:on the plus side, i won't have to see it with a bunch of tiny boppers who will sigh and hoot the first time gale and peeta come on screen.

sunday's spiritual thought...

You will never change your life until

you change something you do daily.

The secret of your success is

found in your daily routine.

- John C. Maxwell

88.5...

that's the number of hours i will have worked this week by the time i get home on sunday afternoon.

i'm exhausted just thinking about it, and it's not even softball season yet.

it's also the reason i have not been able to blog about the wonderful series of books i just finished devouring:

sunday's spiritual thought...

If you ever need a helping hand,

you'll find one at the end of your arm.

- Yiddish Proverb

sunday's spiritual thought...

The word “listen” contains the same

letters as the word “silent.”

Alfred Brendel

sunday's spiritual thought...

All the gold in the world has no significance.

That which is lasting are the thoughtful acts
which we do for our fellow man.
Adolfo Prieto

whatever the opposite of irrational fear is...

i've always been a fan of fellow michigander (or as my good friend christopher krey would say, michi-goose) kristen bell, but i have to say this clip of her is absolutely adorable:



who gets that excited over a sloth?

a baby panda i could understand...

jumping on the bandwagon...

i finally got around to reading:

and just as i expected, it's fabulous!

up next, i'm trying to decide between: the hunger games and the girl with the dragon tattoo trilogies. can anyone offer any advice? cause the last thing i want to get invested in is another series that builds up to a huge let down...*a hem* twilight. but seriously kids, which series is worth reading first?