Sunday Mornin' Rain Is Fallin

Can't you see that it's just rainin' There ain't no need to go outside   But baby, you hardly even notice When I try to show you this song It's meant to keep you From doin' what you're supposed to Like wakin' up too early Maybe we could sleep in I'll make you banana pancakes Pretend like it's the weekend now   And we could pretend it all the time Can't you see that it's just rainin' There ain't no need to go outside

-Jack Johnson

Our Sunday was covered in rain so that's just what we did-made pancakes.

Jon got some reading in while I made the pancakes. (He's on the last book of the Harry Potter series). He is also sitting in our new POANG chair form IKEA. I feel as though anything IKEA related needs to be CAPITALIZED. I DON'T KNOW WHY. IT JUST FEELS RIGHT.

Frank joined me in the kitchen to make sure I was safe (more likely to see if he could score some scraps.)

I sipped on my Chai latte. (Isn't my coffee sleeve cute? I got it at Joyful Star on Etsy)

Set the table

And paid my chef's assistant in doggy bagels.

It is very few and far between that things feel simple and perfect.

But sometimes they are and I think I need to acknowledge that more.

What was your Sunday like?

#3 The Last Book I Read

It's no secret that I have an unruly fascination with all things old Hollywood and I also find macabre subjects interesting. Put those two together you get total geek fest for me. That brings us to #3 in the 30 in 30ish list (no, I am not going in order). The Assassination Of Marilyn Monroe by Donald H. Wolfe was the last book I read. It is about 500 pages but I flew through this book like it was an US Weekly. The cold hard facts about Marilyn's death that are in this book are shocking and really make more sense than any of the suicide rumors that have been out there for years. And yes, I made sure that the author cited his sources-nerd alert. The book covers the days and hours leading up to her death at the very beginning of the book, hooking me immediately. As the book goes on Wolfe talks about Marilyn's life starting from childhood and brings you right back to the moment of her death. Very well done Mr. Wolfe, *golf claps*

If you are intrigued by Marilyn Monroe I highly recommend this book.

What was the last book you read?

Sassy Sidenote: Who Knew Eating Healthy Could Be So Pretty

One of my "resolutions" was to make healthy choices when it comes to not only being active but eating as well. I have really been trying to incorporate veggies I don't normally cook/eat into meals. Jon and I stumbled upon some beautiful Swiss Chard at the local farmer's market. We ended up blanching it, seasoning it with garlic, salt and pepper and then tossing in some pinto beans. Delicious! But more importantly, how beautiful!

What I Wore: Scarf Swap!

In honor of her birthday, my friend Raven hosted a scarf swap. I was lucky enough to be paired up with a lovely gal named Miriel. Not only is Miriel so much fun to exchange e-mails with, but she has awesome taste in scarves too! (Yes I said scarves-I got spoiled and received two! I will for sure be showing the second one soon).

Scarf: GAP

Dress: Old Navy. It has pockets. weee!

Tights: Target

Shoes: Banana Republic

Watch: Michael Kors

Achoo!

It has been a solid week that I have been sidelined with a cold of epic proportions. I feel like such a wimp complaining about a cold. I feel even more ridiculous saying that I haven't been able to go to work all week because of a cold. But it's true. It has been a struggle to stay home this week because I have this issue of never thinking I am sick enough to stay home. Even when I was little I would think that I could tough it out at school with a cold, flu etc. Had it not been for my mom I probably would have tried it too. Thankfully this time Jon stepped in and told me to park it on the couch this week.

I went to the doctor on Wed and she confirmed that I had no business going back to work for the rest of this week. Sigh. Yesterday I woke up feeling somewhat normal. And by normal I mean feeling good enough to shower AND wash my hair! Weee!

Stupid Cold.

#2: Me, Without Makeup

I have an interesting history with make up. Since I danced for so many years (and at such a young age, we're talking 7 years old) I was introduced to makeup really early. When you are on stage the lights are so bright they wash you out so regardless of age you have to wear a lot of makeup to show up to your audience. So anyhoo, when it came time when most other adolescents were experimenting with makeup I just wasn't interested-been there, done that, wore the fake eyelashes. For the most part I just wore a little lip gloss and maybe some blush and mascara.

But then, about a year ago the acne descended upon my face....WITH A VENGEANCE! (One day I will stop talking about my skin. Until then, hang tight.) When that happened I was forced to shellac my skin whenever I left the house. My skin is getting a bit better but when I saw that taking a picture of myself without make up was one of the prompts I was a little nervous.

But I figured I might as well get it over with. I mean , it's just acne. Whatever, here we go.

Yes, I am wearing a Van Halen concert t-shirt.

I feel as though I am hiding a bit in my hair in the first one.

Nothing but the best for my readers.

Wow, ok surprisingly I feel a lot better. There, I have put it all out there.

What I Wore: Leggings As Pants..Gasp, Oh Yes i Did

I have been soooo reluctant to give into the leggings trend. Every time I see someone in leggings I think to myself, "Leggings are NOT pants, sheesh!" But I recently bought the shirt you see above and it ended up looking best with leggings. And I didn't hate it. So there ya have it.

Shirt: Pink Stripes

Leggings: Target

Boots: Clarks, The Proctor Boot

Watch: Michael Kors

Nail Polish: OPI "Dating A Royal"

Have you ever worn pants as leggings and lived to tell the tale?

A Quick Getaway

This past weekend Jon and I took a quick trip to Monterey. I had a bit of a cold but decided it would be nice to have a change of scenery. The weather was gorgeous and the atmosphere was SO relaxing.

Frank had a great time. He is a beach lover. When he smells the ocean air he goes bananas in the back seat of the car.

I wanted to take a picture with Frank but he was so over it.

The night was idyllic.

Before heading back home the next day we stopped by a dog friendly mall. We weren't in the market for anything in particular but we were just happy to be able to bring Frank inside. It's the little things people.

What did you do this weekend?

Bulldog Wishes and Chocolate Dreams

Jon: I wish Frank could try some chocolate.

Me: I wish we could take him to tour colleges when he is older.

Jon: Of all the things you have said in regards to our dog that is by far the weirdest.

Me: Well get this, if I could have bulldogs instead of kids I would be like that 19 kids and counting lady, but with bulldogs!

Jon: You could totally have your own show. It would be called Hoarders.

*A reader friend asked if these are totally real conversations and the answer is yes, we really are that weird.

Independent italian Woman

The other night I was over at my parent's house and I was cooking dinner for my family. Just as dinner was about to be ready I pulled a piece of pasta out of the pot to test if it was done. I tossed a strand in my mouth and announced that dinner was ready.

As I drained the water out of the pot papa said: I can't believe what I just saw. For as long as I can remember the women of my family have never tested the doneness of the pasta. After all these years of being married your Nani still asks me to test the pasta.

My mom then chirped in: Are you kidding dad? I have raised a modern woman, she went to college, she votes, she can test her own pasta.

Papa: Modern woman indeed, testing her own pasta doneness. Times are indeed changing.

#1 My Workspace

Let's try this 30 in "30" thing shall we? Ok well first off the first topic is for me to show you all my work space. Well you might remember that I have already showed you my work space here. Remember?

Well, it would be a little redundant to show you the same pictures again wouldn't it? Well I thought I could get a wee bit creative and show you where I get ready in the morning for work.

Here it is, my vanity area. Looking at this picture the counter top looks a bit cluttered but believe it or not this is relatively organized.

On the far left corner I have all of my perfumes. I am all girl when it comes to wanting to smell good. My "signature scent" if you will is Burberry Brit, my winter time smell is Vanilla from Fragonard's Perfumery, my summertime scent is Eternity and my two everyday casual scents are Britney Spears' Curious and Beyonce's Heat. What?! They smell good!

In the center of the counter I have a change jar with some Etsy pretties. Next to that is an antique flower pot that I fill with all of the odds and ends that accumulate on my counter.
And finally, on this last little corner I have an antique shaving mug holding my brushes and earrings hang off of. Some pictures of my friends and Jon are make me smile while I make myself up for the day. I have a vintage hat (which I wore here) resting on an antique mirror (see a theme?). And of course a tiny porcelain bulldog for good measure.
Oh and before we bring this tour to and end here are some of necklaces and earrings trying to stay out of trouble by hanging up on the wall. When I was little I used to watch the Mary Tyler Moore show and wanted a big M (well S actually) of my own, dream come true or something of that nature.

How do you all organize your jewelry and beauty stuffs?

30 in close to 30?

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Starts With An X and she was writing about how she is doing a "30 blogs in however many days challenge". Usually, the challenge is 30 blogs in 30 days, but let's be real, that can get a little tricky to do every day, so the "however many days" time period is right up my alley. I will be blogging like normal in addition but I thought it would be nice to have a little focus with a topic every so often. I'm pretty excited about it, anyone care to join me?

Here are the topics for the 30 blogs posts:

1. Your work space.
2. The best part of your day.
3. Something you refuse to do.
4. Last book you read.
5. Meaning behind your blog name.
6. Talent y0u wish you had.
7. A photo of you without makeup.
8. Last item you purchased.
9. Something that makes you sad.
10. 15 Facts about you.
11. Your favorite thing right now.
12. Best Christmas present you ever got.
13. Your favorite teacher.
14. Something you’re thankful for.
15. A photo from your childhood.
16. Something you crave.
17. Your worst hair moment (if you skip this one, it’s totally cool).
18. Favorite smells.
19. Last time you cried.
20. Last time you had to apologize to someone.
21. Something that scares you.
22. Something that really bugs you.
23. What you dislike most about your appearance.
24. Celebrity crush.
25. A trait you deplore in others.
26. A photo taken 10 years ago.
27. First book/movie/song that moved you.
28. What turns you off?
29. The story behind one of your scars.
30. This one was left blank so I will have to think of it when I get to it, unless anyone has a suggestion.

Punum

Me to Jon: Look at this punum! (Referring to Frank's face)

Jon: He does have a cute one

Me: I love that your mom made up that word for a cute face

Jon: She didn't make it up, it's a real word. You should look it up.

Me: Your kidding me, I thought your mom made it up. In fact I liked the word punum better when I thought your mom made it up.

Jon: Sorry I had to break the news to you like that, I just didn't want you to be embarrassed at your next obscure word party.

Acne Anger, Part Three: Starting Accutane

Disclaimer: The following post is purely my experience using Accutane and is in no way an endorsement or professional medical advice. I am not affiliated with Accutane in any commerical or professional capacity. Please talk to your doctor should you have questions/concerns about Accutane.

As of today I have been on Accutane 22 for days. And in many ways I feel like the build up to being on it has been worse than actually taking the meds. Reading the pages of possible side effects from Accutane were enough to make me anxious enough to reconsider. But once I started it my fears started to dissapate some.

As a way to track this journey of sorts I am going to be chronicling my experience as I try to get rid of this freakin' acne.

1. Skin Drying: I do not exaggerate when I say that not 24 hours after taking my first pill my lips started to chap. I combatted the stinging dryness by proactively and almost obsessively applying lip gloss. My doctor said that chap stick isn't as effective because when you drag the chap stick over your lips to apply it can cause the skin to tear. So thankfully my lips haven't cracked because of the gloss but wow, they are tight and dry. My face is starting to feel tighter after washing it and it kinda stings if I don't moisturize it. But other than that it is ok. I also have making sure to stay hydrated and I think that is helping.

2. Drowsiness: This level at which this medication has zapped my energy has taken me by surprise. Usually, I wake up easily and only get tired towards the end of the day. I would never drink coffee because I just wouldn't need it. Since taking Accutane I have become so tired all the darn time! I find myself yawning with a frequency that rivals Frank, daydreaming about crawling into bed at night and sneaking in a nap or two during the day. I have even had two cups of coffee. I neeeever drink coffee, but I was desperate!

3. Weird-ass dreams!

I know, I know, the title of this section is ghetto as all get out but I truly can't find a more appropriate way to put it. Usually I remember about 30% of my dreams and for the most part they are pretty average dreams about stuff that actually happens in real life. Since starting Accutane I have had some of the weirdest/most stressful dreams ever. Just some of the dreams include having, ahem, a "lady doctor visit" in the waiting room in front of other patients, being chased by thugs and almost falling out of a window that was 25 stories up! I mean holy panic attack right?!

4. Acne getting worse before it gets better

So far (and I say this with the extreame hope that I am not jinxing anything here) but my break outs haven't been any worse than normal. There have been patches of break outs here and there but much to my chagrin that is normal for my skin these days.

So far that is experience with the Accutane, I hope it is helpful for someone out there :)

Holiday Cleanup

For as long as I can remember I always have the same thought when I put away the Christmas decorations:

"I wonder who I will be/what will be different the next time I see these decorations?"

Even though a year seems to zip by in no time flat these days, 360 days is a lot of ground to cover in one life. Things happen and life changes within a matter of moments, there are a lot of moments in 365 days. It's inevitable that things will be different by next Christmas. I just wonder how much different and in which ways. I guess I always think this when putting away the decorations because I have seen these same decorations for most of my life and each year I may come to open that very same box as a slightly different version of myself compared to the year previous. I will most certainly change but there they sit like a little time holiday capsule. I know, its such an ominous thought, but I have it every year.

New Year's Goals

These are the New Year's Goals I made last year as we embarked on 2010.

Let's see how I did:

1. More Music Everyday.

Well, I think I did ok with this one. But maybe the fact that I can't really pinpoint what I did this year to increase the amount of music I listened to means I didn't succeed at it? Oh well, I started watching Glee this year so that definitely has to count for something!

2.More Meditation

While I am still not back to my old practice of at least 30 minutes a day I have definitely brought some meditation back by way of yoga. I am a crazy yogini these days and after every yoga session I make sure to sit in silence and "just be" for a bit.

3. More Healthy Choices.

I am really proud to say that I feel as though I have succeeded at this one. I have truly changed the way that I eat and it is no longer becoming a struggle to make healthier choices. yay me! Also as I said above, yoga has made a huge impact in my life in 2010. I have accepted that maybe I am not fit for an elliptical or weight lifting, and that is ok.

4. More Reading!

This is a funny one. I wanted to read 52 books this year (essentially one book a week). In 2009 I read 32 and this year not only did I not reach my goal of 52, but I read 31 books, one less than last year. I may have failed at this one but at least I had fun failing at it. P.S. Come find me on Goodreads.com I am registered under "sensibly sassy"

What are your New Year's goals this year? I think I will stick with the same ones (above) as last year, 52 books this year...I can do it!

Welcome 2011

Jon and I took our tooshies to San Francisco this weekend to celebrate New Year's Eve with our friends. For some reason I left my outfit decision until the last minute so I did what any blogger would do. I harassed my twitter friends and asked them to pick a dress for me. My tweeps came through for me for sure and picked out a dress. However, when I was going to pick up my mom's birthday gift (her birthday is New Year's day!) I saw this dress in a cute shop called Pink Stripes and decided to be spontaneous and get it.

It's not really my style, tighter than I usually go for and it kinda makes me feel like a Real Housewife of the OC. But all that said, I decided to take a walk on the "wild side" for NYE.It was a really fun night had by all and when the clock struck twelve I kissed Jon and then ran outside to give my mom a Happy Birthday/New Year phone call.

Then I quickly ran back inside (it was coooold) and warmed up by dancing by booty off!

And apparently we like to dance like muppets. Mouths agape!

Overall a great night had by all! I am really excited for 2011, not only for myself but for all of us. How did you spend your New Year's?