thirty-second dance party.

{excuse the subtitles ;) }

i'm not sure if any of you readers out there are grey's anatomy regulars, but i definitely am. and these two best friends? make me very, very happy. i'm a HUGE fan of dancing when i'm stressed or upset, even though i'm usually alone. or in the car. especially on hollywood boulevard where no one cares and the druggies on the street bob their heads and start dancing, too. it embarrasses my best friend to no end, but hey. life. 

there was definitely one time in africa when i was really homesick...and i danced to reba mcentire for about ten minutes in the bathroom. by the end i was sweating, smiling, and laughing. isn't it funny, how something so simple can make a day just that much better? 

and, it seems like i'm not alone with my 'thirty-second dance party' obsession.. you can catch a few of my favorite 'dancing' moments here, here, and here, plus check out this ultra-cute proposal just because it's flippin' adorable. and it's a proposal, i mean. how can it get any better than that?

back in high school, i apparently felt the same way. this picture? was taken when one of my best friends and i dressed up in "80's" attire and filmed an exceedingly embarrassing 'dance party' video to the music of pat benatar and the 'grease' soundtrack.' we thought we were pretty cool. and, i mean, obviously we were. just check out our converse knock-offs! ;)

happy monday, everyone! hope you have a week full of '30 second' dance parties :)

four on friday.

{on the tippy-top of the world}

congratulations, everyone. you've made it to the end of the week... *big sigh*. i'm oh so glad it's here. 

{the road to the oscars begins now}

{hope you aren't scared of heights...}

{can i just live at seattle grace? i'm waay to excited about the MerDer baby...}

rookie photographers.

you know from this post, that i'm no photographer. i'm just not. but that doesn't mean that i don't want to take pretty pictures, and my crazy best friend has been an absolutely amazing model. she's posed on pier 39, random places in san francisco, all over hollywood, in random coffee shops and pretty much with every bit of food she's put in her mouth for the last year.

with all the pictures i take of her, sometimes, i forget that she is taking pictures, too. i always love taking a peek at my photos after the fact, just to see the crafty/quirky photos that she has taken. here are a few that make me smile.

she's so cool.

waiting game.

do you ever feel that you are playing a constant waiting game? does life seem to inch along, just an annoying little road block? that's...kind of where i am right now. it feels a bit like i'm stuck in the mud, confused and worried about where i might end up. i have a dream, but the means to get there are kind of on hold for a bit. sometimes, it's as if all the big things become huge and bulky, they block my view and keep me from enjoying the tiny things, the beautiful little things that i never would have experienced otherwise.

like snow.

i've never driven in the snow before, and i've now done it two, let me hear it, TWO days in a row. yeah. i'm proud. at first i was frustrated and annoyed. um, hello? i just moved from los angeles where it rains, like, twice every never and snows even less. the icy, abominable weather made it so i couldn't even open my door, much less separate my windshield wipers from the frosty glass. it took a couple minutes and cold water, after which i got my frosty fingers and bad attitude on the road.

not a good combo. i promise.

as taylor swift tried to calm me down (thanks, girl), i watched as the snow fell from the car in front of me. it was...neat. and different. it didn't just fall to the ground, but swam in swift curlicues, fluttering just a breath above the road. like little fairy wings, a bit of natural glitter. i don't want to sound silly or cliche, but it was a bit magical. as the sun broke over the rattling, empty trees, it lit up the frost and made the whole world sparkle.

 it took a little bit of God's creation, a small piece of wintery beauty, to make me smile. life wouldn't be an adventure if we got to the finish line quickly,right? it's in the magic of a moment, the sweetness of those unexpected twists and turns, that make it worth living.

sweet baby faces.

this is kind of a "bleh" blogpost. well...not really. but there's just a lot of pictures that i just have to show someone before i burst! baby faces? bay area baby faces? honestly, you know you can't resist.

a couple of months ago (thanksgiving), i had the chance to meet up with my aunt and uncle who make their home in alameda, california. in case you don't know where that is, it's an itty-bitty island in the san francisco bay, right over here. they have two darling little ones, lydia and baby georgie, and they're expecting another one any minute now. i. can't. wait.

 

 

{how cute is this?!? crossing his hands behind his back? come on.} 

(which christmas tree do i want? hm, hm, hmm...)

long distance.

the move from LA to Nashville has been rough. i would be lying if i said it wasn't. i miss the warm weather and the fast pace of everything, the way the 170 highway dips into stunning views of hollywood/downtown. that one iconic sign on the hill, the ocean, the palm trees and the need for sunglasses. a place to call my own, lemonade on melrose, ice cream in brentwood, movie sets and my best friend. i know, dorky, hey?

i almost titled this post, "two weeks in tennessee," because just fourteen days in, I was ready to head back out. nashville is full of sweet people and home cooking, but the rough edge and beauty of that one city i left? it's hard to forget. for now, i'm a long distance best friend, a long distance california girl, and  a long distance LA lover. i've promised myself a year in nashville. one year to upend this city, to explore chicago (only seven hours away!), pop down to new orleans or springfield or birmingham, visit the civil war sites (i'm a closet history buff), and take advantage of all the free country music i can.

for now, i'm in a city where johnny cash sang, where he fell in love with a lady named june. where patsy cline crooned, and elvis danced. this is music city, usa. not los angeles, not san francisco. but nashville. it's been a battle to recognize that if i spend all my time mooning over what once was, i'm never going to appreciate the beauty of what is.

excuse the short post, everyone. but it's about time i put a little 'california' in tennessee. care to join me?

nashville = change.

i'm a california girl, born and bred. and this is the country. 

(omg. this is the country. take deep breaths, deep, deep breaths...)

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