Instax Photo Friday: Argyle Pimpin'

 Friends (they're all so cute) at an Argyle Pimps gig. Their shows are legit—catchy hip hop that doesn't objectify women and a jazz band supplying the beats. Unfortunately, they don't have too many live shows but if you're in the area when they're playing you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking them out.

Things I love: Summer

This week marked the first week of summer. Here are a few of my favorite things about this time of year:

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Ah, baseball how I love thee...

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The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

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I'm not great at barbecuing but I am really good at eating barbecue.  

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I love soaking up the sun on my longboard.

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Roadtrips and car rides with the window down are the best.

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I turn into a fish when I'm at the beach, it's hard to get me out of the water.

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Bonfires under the stars are great, add marshmellos and you've got a party. 

Wordless Wednesday: I'm On Fire

{Car accident seen from my dash on my morning commute to work.}

Music Monday: El Ten Eleven

El Ten Eleven is a band that makes you wonder why they haven't gotten the commercial success they deserve. On one hand, I can be a bit of a music snob and enjoy keeping some of my favorite music to myself as if the band is my special secret only for me to enjoy. While at the same time you can love a band so much that you just want to show them off and hope others fall for them too. I feel both ways about this band. A part of me wants to be greedy and keep them to myself but I wouldn't mind being surrounded by others who think they're awesome too.

Wordless Wednesday: Office Window

Yeah, I get to watch people fish/play in the water/have picnics from my desk window. Bittersweet.

Gratitude Tuesday: Unknown

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I think everyone has heard the following:

"Everything that's happening is supposed to be happening" or "It's about the journey, not the destination". And we're supposed to take comfort in these phrases.

The more I think about those things the more I find them to be true. However, I use the universe as my reason for the unknown. I often think:

"The universe will bring it to me when I'm ready"
"The universe is trying to teach me a lesson"
"The universe must have brought this person or thing into my life for a reason"
"The universe is recongizing my karama" and so on...

So, what does that make me? Religious? Careless? Faithful? Unaccountable? Existential? Metaphysical?

I would like to believe that I am a universalist who takes trust and delight in the unknown. Which somedays is just a nice way of saying: I don't know what the hell is going on but I'll find some kind of humor in the unknown until I can wrap my head around my often strange life.

Music Monday: Phantogram

I saw Phantogram a few weeks ago and if you're even slightly into electronic beats you need to pick up their album Eyelid Movies. They're so great that after seeing them I bought it. I rarely if ever purchase CD's but they charmed me, although their set was a little shorter than I would have liked I think it may just be their way of letting me know I'm going to have to catch them when they're back in California.

Instax Photo Friday: Napa

I spent a sunny Sunday afternoon in Napa with two of my favortie ladies in the whole wide world. This photo was taken in front of Domaine Carneros Winery. It was such a gorgeous day—sipping on sparkling wine, munching on cheese & crackers all while having some laughs was perfect. I signed up for a chance to win a $500 gift card to Domaine Carneros, I am still waiting for there congratulatory email/phone call... it could happen! If you ever happen to find yourself in the area I recommend going, it's a picture perfect place. Next time, I would love to do an early morning hot air ballon ride followed by brunch and sparkling wine. Ah, a girl can dream.

Music Monday: George Winston

I recently discovered George Winston and his album Summer. I don't think I could have stumbled upon it at a better time. It has been perfect to listen to as I make my morning and evening commute back and forth to work since much of it is on a two lane road through the countryside. I really feel that this album brings this time of year and my surroundings to life, I love it when music can do that—just enhance everything around you and make it that much better.

Currently, this song has been playing on repeat for me:

There's Stars In My Eyes And There's Sun In My Hair

I have been a slacker in terms of blog posts this week. But I've had to play catch up, having Monday off for Memorial Day was such a blessing as I needed the break but ended up being a burden when I had an inbox full of fun emails to go through.

I'm still feeling the afterglow of an awesome mini vacation despite my office workload. I hopped on a train to Oakland to see two of my favorite people and see one of my favorite bands, She & Him. I was so stoked to see them live. Zooey Deschanel is my style muse and seeing my girl crush in person was rad. M. Ward has got this effortlessly cool vibe about him that gave their set a seasoned feel even though they're a relatively new band with only two albums under their belt.


One of the best parts of the night (it's kind of hard to pick what's best since seeing my best friends, beer tasting at Pyramid, cute merch and a free drink ticket at the show were pretty darn awesome too) was the fact that they had two encores, totally unexpected and completely satisfying. I loved every minute of it. I took some video, which is surprising because I'm usually too busy singing/dancing when I'm at a show to even think twice about video but I love them so much I have to share: