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:

#DyingAlone

Ah, dying alone.  I started saying it as a joke to friends years ago whenever I laughed about the awkward things I did or said in front of a member of the opposite sex,
Tripped up the stairs in front of your office crush?
Dying alone.
Started rambling about an episode of Unsolved Mysteries involving a group alien abduction because the town it takes place in shares the same name as the beer your date is drinking?
Dying alone.
Funny enough, in the movie Frances Ha, Frances and her friend Benji say "undateable" anytime either of them says anything awkward, so at least people like me are represented in film.
Of course, I don't really believe that I'm going to die alone, but saying it helps me laugh it off.

An awkward tree stump in Ocean Beach, San Diego

Tuffet Treats: Donut Bar, San Diego

I went to San Diego this past weekend to visit my friend Sarah, and had a blast eating, sightseeing, and most of all, catching up with this awesome lady.
I knew it was going to be an incredible weekend when I received this text on Friday morning:

Doughnuts/donuts are one of my first loves.  I remember picking out chocolate frosted ones with rainbow jimmies as a child at Rupena's, our neighborhood grocery store.  I loved the French ones too.  Hell, I even got on board with those boring looking long johns once I tried them and realized they tasted... exactly like the their more attractive sister, ring donuts.

Anyway, downtown San Diego is home to The Donut Bar, baker/magic maker of the best donuts I have EVER tasted.  Seriously, they have their 6-inch yeast ring (ewww, I know, but that's what they call it) donut cake down to a science.

I went with my friends Sarah and Elise downtown on Saturday morning, and was faced with one of the toughest decisions of 2015 thus far:

I mean, could YOU choose just one?

< Pretty babies

Obviously, we couldn't.

After much deliberation, I chose the Nutella and Samosa donuts, and they were both out of this world delicious.  I had to remind myself to save one (or at least part of one) for later, especially considering how big they are.  

Last but not least, I have to share this amazing Breaking Bad reference.  No special blue donuts, unfortunately.

Willkomen, Bienvenue, Welcome

Welcome to my humble little blog!  I was originally going to wait until I had a fancy camera so that I could post higher quality, better pictures, but this blog won't be about photography. For now, the photos will be from my new iPhone 6, which has a pretty fancy camera in my opinion. (It's my first phone upgrade in over 3 years!)  I don't actually know what exactly this blog will be about it, but I plan on writing about my travels, fashion, food, and the everyday adventures of a millennial lady.  Thanks for reading!

xx Ashley, aka Little Miss Muffet

^ c'est moi.