Why I'm Not on Tinder

Having been single for three years now, some of my friends are putting more pressure on me to download a dating app and start swiping.  I don't judge people who using dating apps or websites, but it's just not my style.
Call me old fashioned, call me a hopeless romantic, call me anything... but I'm still young (and foolish) enough to still believe in the possibility of meeting my future husband in person.  To me, there's no magic in first laying eyes upon someone on your iPhone at 11:37 pm some random night, while watching Mad Men and eating TJ's milk chocolate jumbles.  It just seems so clinical and... robotic?
I can see the argument in favor of dating apps.  They allow you to "meet" people you otherwise might not ever come into contact with, and it's much easier to determine if someone is interested in you. They might not be interested in anything more than hooking up, but at least you know that they're interested, which can be hard to figure out if you're interested in someone at work.
Not that I've been there ;-)

 

Summer wouldn't do Tinder.  She met Tom at work, and married the man that had the guts to approach her while she was eating lunch at a cafe.  If only more men could be so brave!  

California Poppy Fields Forever

This past Sunday was spent frolicking in fields of orange poppies and yellow wildflowers with some of my dearest friends.  It sounds so funny reading that out loud, like I'm describing a childhood daydream.  All that's missing are puppies, kittens, and ice cream cones!

We went to the poppy fields near Lancaster in celebration of our friend Claire's birthday- she's the ethereal beauty in the white dress above.  While we did stop at the official state park, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, we found that the most abundant patches of poppies are outside of the park's perimeters.

I want to point out that we cautiously frolicked- we never trampled on the poppies, even if it looks like I am in the pictures.  There were plenty of patches of green grass that enabled us to hop over the precious little flowers.

Blue skies and scenic views always make me feel alive, so I pretty much turned into an American Maria and got my Sound of Music on.

Oh, and I have to point out that my dress is 34 years old!  It was my mom's dress, she got it for my aunt and uncle's wedding rehearsal dinner in 1981.  Her good taste is timeless :-)
Here she is wearing it, with my dad standing behind her.  My friend Jinny joked that I will need to recreate this photo with my husband one day!

Of the New... HAIR! (A Visit to Novak Salon)

 I finally did it.  I cut seven inches of my hair off!  I’ve had a “shorter hair inspiration” album in my iPhone for well over a year, but every time I would take a seat in the salon chair I would wuss out and only get a trim. 

On Saturday, March 7^th, that all changed.  I walked in with a mission to accomplish- shorter, swingier hair, and piece-y bangs cut right at eyebrow level.  I was inspired by Zoe Kazan’s 2013 Lula Magazine cover hairstyle and a 2013 Aveda hair color ad.  Like I said, I’ve been thinking about having shorter hair for a long time!

My stylist, Sara, did not disappoint.  When I tried to chicken out and only have her cut 4 inches, she immediately objected, and bluntly said “no, we’re doing this all the way.”  And all the way we went!

It all went down at Novak in Echo Park,  which is my favorite salon in the whole world.  I discovered it by accident shortly after I moved to LA, while driving down Sunset Blvd.  I saw “NOVAK” painted largely in fancy black letters, and knew I would to stop there one day- Novak is my last name.  I assumed that it was a boutique of some sort, but after googling it, I learned it was a hair salon. 

Obviously, I quickly became a client of Novak, and learned that it was named after the owner’s grandmother’s maiden name.  Novak is Czech for “of the new” so it’s a pretty fitting name for a hair salon, if you ask me. I always feel at home there, the lovely receptionist always offers me a beverage when I arrive, and there's such a warm and friendly vibe.  The decor of the place is adorable too- part shabby chic, part retro glam, and part vintage northwoods style.

Yes, that is a candy jar on the receptionist's desk ^

....with watermelon suckers! 

Lost in a Literary Labyrinth

On Sunday, I had an East Side Day with my friend Alex (or an ESD as we call it).  Although living in Silver Lake makes every day an ESD for me, Alex is a West Sider, and driving east of La Brea takes a special occasion.   Not that I  blame him- in the time it takes to cross Los Angeles in heavy traffic, you could drive across several New England states. 

Anyway, we made plans to check out The Last Book Store on Spring Street in downtown LA.  I had never been there before, but I’ve only heard great things.  And let me confirm what everyone has already said- this store is simply magical!  It’s like no other book store I’ve ever been to- especially the second floor, appropriately named “The Labyrinth”.  The Labyrinth is full of nooks and crannies to explore, and has a spacious dollar book section, organized by color.  It's like a rainbow of books!

The Last Book Store is in the old Crocker Bank Building.  Its interiors are adorned with beautiful high ceilings and ornately detailed crown molding.   Best of all, the original vault room is still there and houses the crime, law, horror, and "other weirdness" books.  I highly recommend you check out this magnificent store! 

The Romance of the Rails

If you love 500 Days of Summer as much as I do, then you were probably in awe of the train scene where Summer and Tom bump into each other while on their way to same wedding.  It was the perfect setting for a reconnection between two former sort-of lovers- scenic ocean views, face-to-face conversation and coffee.  WILL THEY GET BACK TOGETHER?

Before I moved out to LA two and a half years ago, I put taking a train ride along the coast on my California bucket list.  I did a lot of googling to figure out what train route Summer and Tom took- in the movie, they are supposed to be traveling from LA up to Santa Barbara, but the wedding scene was actually filmed in San Pedro (south of LA).  This location trickery made me wonder if there even is a train that travels up the coast in California- could the background views be fictional??  Luckily, I discovered there is indeed an AmTrak train that will take you from LA to San Diego with the same views Summer and Tom experience.  Coffee with Tom Hansen not included.  
Whenever I go to San Diego, the Pacific Surfliner train is my transportation method of choice- there's nothing like getting on the iron road and avoiding the hellish traffic of LA. Plus, I've always found scenic train rides to be very enchanting- adventure awaits! 

But those Pacific Surfliner views… are amazing!  I took all of these photos a few weeks ago on my way back to LA from a San Diego adventure (the one that included a stop at Donut Bar).  The pics were taken in a moving train with my iPhone 6, so the quality isn't the best, especially since I was also working with dirty windows.  These pics are completely unedited- it was the dirt streaked windows that gave them that dreamy, hazy look.

Passing through Del Mar, in San Diego County...

The San Clemente train station (below) in Orange County is ON THE BEACH!  I plan on taking a day trip down here sometime this spring. 

P.S Tom shouldn't have been such a wimp, pretending not to see Summer when he sees her on the train at first.  #realtalk

Today's Panic: Loo-sing It

Today at work, I accidentally knocked the air freshener spray into the toilet.  When I reached over to flush, my wrist brushed against it with just enough force to send it tumbling right in.
*Gasp*
If you know me well, you know that I'm very OCD about germs.  There was no way in hell I was fishing that bottle out- although I briefly debated whether or not I could do it if I protected my hands with a few [dozen] paper towels.
I ultimately decided it would be best to just escape while I was alone and before people could figure out what I did.

That’s not the end of the story.  I’m an adult, I take responsibility for my actions!  At my office I am able to report any sort of maintenance or janitorial issues through the building’s online work order system, so I sent in a request:

	Hello, Someone reported to me that an object- air freshener I believe- fell into the toilet in second stall from the left. Would someone be able to remove it, please? Thanks so much!

Happy hump day, y’all!

Speaking of Dying Alone...

I guess you can say I crashed and burned yesterday.
I finally got up the courage to say something to my office crush that suggests "let's hang out"  but was shot down like a B-24 over 1943 Germany.
Long story short, my work crush won a secret prize in a drawing at a work event last week (in which I pulled his name, oddly enough).  I had joked to him then that he would have to share his prize with me.  When I asked him what he won yesterday, he told me it was a Visa gift card. I've been looking for my "in" to hint to him that I would like to get together outside of work for weeks, so I carpe-d that diem and blurted out "Nice! Where are we having lunch?" as he began walking back to his desk.

He said over his shoulder "It's only for $25."

MY PLANE'S BEEN HIT MAYDAY MAYDAY

His reply was so unexpected, that all I could do was laugh.  I mean, the worst outcome I was expecting was for him to just laugh off my suggestion.  And let’s be real- two people can eat at Chipotle, and each get guac, for under $25.  WTF mate?

When I texted my friend Katrina to tell her that I had been shot down, she told me to "pull that parachute cord."  She is one witty B.

I landed on my feet, dusted myself off, and got over it like RHOD's Cinderella would: