igoogle

I am currently obsessed with igoogle.  It is awesome.  You can create a theme, art, sports, news, whatever your interest and make it your background.  On igoogle, you can also check your current interests and little modules will come up.  For example I have an artist a day box, a New York Times box, and a CNN box.  Then, set it as your homepage, and everything you checked will come up at one time. (even your gmail account) It's sooo cool! Anyways, this is just a quick tid bit about a neat, interesting internet feature that everyone shoud know about. :)

One Fine Day...

A day full of studies, of friendship, of hiking... that's what I am doing today, plus a little tini weensy bit of halloween shopping.  There is very little time in my life to write a blog, but I enjoy it because it makes me remember what I've done in the past month, week, day, and possibly hour.

Erika and I have come up with the idea (it was her bright brain that though of it) to have a coat drive for the homeless in slo.  She contacted the Del Prado homeless center and they said, "go for it!" Sooooo after quickly updating her status on facebook, twitter, and her blog, the Tribune contacted us and wanted to do an interview.  We did the interview together over speakerphone, and now they are sending a photographer out to our house on Thursday to take pictures! It is so crazy, exciting.  So, if anyone has coats, winter clothing, socks, etc, that they would like to donate, please feel free... the website is warmslo.wordpress.com.  We are extremely ready and willing to take on this endeavor simply because we know it's going to give back and this winter we believe that people are going to need it.

a dwarfed update for now, I promise more soon.

check this out...

Tom's girlfriend Allison is working for a blog site called the whole 9, she's writing about wine and food and everything she loves, check her out!

So much to do, so little time

This quarter is already flying by! With class, work, clubs, and social events, I am lucky I have the time to eat.  There's always time for more right? I'm going to start with the present and move my way back in time...

This past weekend I went to Monterey to visit Brenton and Sarah for the grand opening of Om Oasis.  It is absolutely beautiful.  The studio offers not only yoga, but spin, pilates, personal training, massage, and nutrition counseling.  If I lived in Monterey I would go there all the time! (and not just because I'm family)  On Sunday, we woke up early and went on a hike out in Carmel Valley.  We brought Brent and Sarah's two bulldogs, hula and lulu, and our golden retriever Truman.  It was beautiful. Absolutely stunning.  I felt like I was walking through some sort of tropical island, but then we returned to the car and I had to come to my senses.  It's so nice when you find those places in California that really make you appreciate where you live.  It was also great to be with my family.

Last weekend was insane.  Erika volunteers for the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum and they put on a fundraising event last Friday.  Erk asked them if I could join and they said yes.  The theme was Beatles and of course we dressed to impress:

 

We were in charge of the "musical petting zoo":

And then we got to listen to some great music (all Beatles Covers):

There was a dessert auction at the event and 10 cupcakes went for over $200!! A cake went for around $500, we got to have a taste:

The next night Mckenna came into town to celebbrate her birthday, we went out for a glass of wine at Del's in Shell Beach, and then to Thai food down the street, sooo yummy.

It was great  fun! We stayed up late, danced our booties off and woke up the next morning to a wonderful breakfast.  Now, it's Monday, I have an art history midterm tomorrow, a sculpture installation project due on Wednesday and magazine club all week.  I hope everyone is doing snazzy.  It's time to get to work...

entertainment

These are some movies that are coming out soon...

 Where the Wild Things Are:


New Moon:


Sherlock Holmes:


The Lovely Bones:


Alice in Wonderland:


I am especially excited about Where the Wild Things Are because my parents read it to my brother and me as little kids... I think these are going to be goooood!

Los Olivos

On Saturday, Erika was getting ready to go to work when she asked me, "Tomorrow do you want to go on a little day trip to Los Olivos?" She asked in her articulate, yet childish way that even though you don't know what the heck is in Los Olivos, the excitement that resonates in her tone doesn't allow you to say no. And I'm glad I didn't. Los Olivos is right off the 154 on your way down to Santa Barbara. It is the cutest little town, that over the years has become wine oriented. I learned as I was waiting in line for the only public bathroom (which was actually a fancy porto-potty) that the town was built on Native American land and there is no sewage system, which means it all has to remain above ground... pretty interesting. We started off the day taking back roads to pismo, stopping by the beauty store for purple shampoo, and listening to an old mix cd that was perfect for the road trip mood the three of us (amy came too!) were in. When we got there we enjoyed a great little picnic, a bottle of wine, took pictures and adventured around the adorable town. The town has great little shops with things like wonderful smelling soaps, candles, and beautiful dishware. We stumbled upon a great art gallery that is featuring an exhibit on underwater life. It is stunning. As our walk continued, we found ourselves in a wine tasting room that features a company called enjoy cupcakes. All I can say is, AMAZING. Not only were they beautiful, they tasted so good that my mouth waters just at the thought. This is there website, you should seriously check it out: www.enjoycupcakes.com. She adds ingredients like chardonnay and syrah, they are DE-LICIOUS. Here are some pictures from her website:

They are seriously pieces of art. Devine beauty. Now, I don't mean to be doing a PR piece for Los Olivos, so all I'll say is that if you're ever in the area, you should check it out, it's quaint, quiet, and delightful. I think we all learned from our day outing that it's good to get out of our usual routine and stir it up a bit. We had a great time. Thanks Erk!

ps I'm starting to like this blog contraption. :)

How Lucky I am

Today I am at work, sitting at my bosses desk, day dreaming about my future. At this moment in time, I finally feel like things are starting slow down (that is until school starts again in a week and a half). I have traveled all over California this summer, from Sacramento for 4th of July, to Brentwood for love, San Francisco for friends, Sonoma for wine tasting and family, all the way down to Redondo Beach for living, and finally the oh so lovely Hollywood where I interned at a movie poster design company. I also had the luxury of going to Costa Rica because my ever so gracious aunt and uncle asked if I would like to tag along... who could possibly turn that down? About half of this traveling was done by driving and the other half by flying, which allowed me to get acquainted with our endearing airports (LAX/SFO). And now, I'm back on the beautiful central coast trying to work and catch as much sunshine as possible before I'm stuck on campus for hours on end. (Not that I don't love school, because I do, I just always miss those golden rays).

This summer has been absolutely crazy! I have learned a lot of subtle and not so subtle quarks about myself, how I prefer to live, and what I love. I enjoy being around my family, not only because they are the best, but because they give great advice, have exceptional taste in food, and most of them are always down for a good glass of wine. This summer, living with my aunt, uncle, and cousins down south I realized that though I could have gone out with people I knew, they were the ones I wanted to be around because they were the ones I felt the most comfortable with. Each one of them taught me something different this summer. Julia taught me that having independence, not caring what others think, and beating to your own drum makes you not only a more interesting person, but a more loving and delightful person to be around. David taught me that family is everything. After a long vacation, when he heard his dad's voice, he smiled and laughed for hours on end. Gerry taught me that life is about learning how to roll with the punches and succeed through doing something that you love, whether it's in work, sports, or life. And finally, Amp/Tia, taught me how to relax. She taught me not to take things so seriously, because in the end life is not serious, it should not be taken for granted, but it should be well lived and well loved and well adventured. Along with family I learned that I strive to be neat and well organized. That I love traveling whether to another country or to a neighborhood beach. That I want/need/can't live without my eight hours of sleep. That I wish I lived closer to my brothers. That I am seriously in love. That I want a golden retriever. That I will one day (far far from now) be as good of a parent as my mom and dad both continue to be. I feel so honored to be a part of my huge, slightly dysfunctional, always caring family. I wouldn't change it for the world.