my favorite christmas time video.

I love this rendition of the Christmas Story, narrated by little children. Have you seen it?

( Watch the HD version here )

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milestone.

Today is my last day with Lululemon, the yoga clothing company I've been working for over the past few months. I'm transitioning to a new and very exciting job with ZeroCater, an awesome startup in the city that focuses on people and good food (literally two of my favorite things). I'll be working in a people-centric role, which is exactly what I've been looking for and they have an office dog, which is a pretty gigantic bonus in my opinion. Everyone I've met there is intelligent and warm and their office space rules. I start next week!

Kelp, the office dog!

I am thankful for my time with Lululemon. The relationships I made while there have made the city feel so much more like home, which has been invaluable. And this new position actually came as a result of a happenstance conversation and connection with someone at Lululemon. It's crazy how often treasures lay in unexpected places. My timeline of finding a full time position like this did not look at all how I expected (remember this?), but isn't that always how the good things come to us? Not like we imagined at all.

I'm getting my weekends back you guys! Hooray!

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shrek the sheep.

I learned about this today and am immediately sharing because I love it that much.

There was a sheep in New Zealand who, by hiding in caves, successfully avoided being shorn for 6 consecutive years. When he was finally caught in 2004, his fleece weighed 60 lbs and contained enough wool to make suits for 20 men. He was shorn on national television and became a national icon, even meeting the NZ prime minister. I can't look at these photos without laughing. What a champ!

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baby animals while i'm gone.

We're away in Lake Tahoe for the whole weekend! We'll be hiking, lazing around, and possibly enjoying some snow. I've left some photos of baby animals to keep you company while I'm gone. Enjoy!

Who's your favorite? 

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(all photos sourced from pinterest)

throwback thursday: state fair goat introduction.

This is the third installment of Throwback Thursdays, a new thing I'm trying out as a way to share old photos and stories. This week, I'm honoring the NC State Fair since it's that special time of year.

If you know me or read this blog, you may have learned that I hope to own a few goats down the line. Male pygmies are playful, affectionate, low maintenance, and generally hilarious. (If you are suspicious, watch this video and just try to not love that little guy. You won't be able to). My affection for goats originated at the North Carolina State Fair with a chance meeting one October night.

My friends and I were walking through the crowds, headed to the pig race (yeh, the state fair is the best) when I caught a glimpse of a woman with a baby sling. I naturally assumed she was carrying a baby so as we passed by, I glanced down to see her little one and did a double take. My eyes widened with joy. She had a baby goat in tow. I was immediately taken by its sweet face and floppy ears. We all petted him for a while.

This is the face of someone realizing they're totally in love: 

You see many interesting things at the state fair but this was one of my all time favorites. This will be the first time in 6 years that I'll have to miss the fair...you NC people go enjoy it for me and eat a fried Milky Way!

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throwback thursday / lazy 5 ranch.

This is my second installment of Throwback Thursdays, a new thing I'm trying out as a way to share old photos and stories with all you lovely people. This week, I'm keeping it short...

The Lazy 5 Ranch is a "wilderness park" in NC where you can take a 3.5 mile horse-drawn wagon ride and feed lots of different animals along the way. I went there a few years ago with Caroline and my mom before I left for my study abroad term in Italy. There are two funny things to share from our excursion:

1) I met an animal called a highland cattle who had blonde curly hair just like me! And then an impressive picture was taken in which we made the same face.

2) Caroline got bitten by a water buffalo & had to get a tetanus shot.

 (Don't feel bad if you're amused or even laughing. Bizarre and unfortunate 

situations like this always seem to find Caroline and she laughs about it too!)

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home sights.

Living away has undoubtedly heightened my appreciation for the little things that make the south feel like home. I made a quick trip to North Carolina this weekend for a friend's wedding and was so taken with the details around me. These snapshots might have crossed my field of vision a year ago without much notice. Now, they all kind of seem frame worthy to me. Isn't perspective a funny thing?

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a recent read: a dog's life.

If you like reading, British-infused wit, and dogs, then you should probably read this book. A Dog's Life is a "canine memoir", a tale of life in Provence told from the perspective of Boy, author Peter Mayle's dog. Boy shares his insightful views on many topics including hygiene, cocktail parties, wine tastings, love, tennis ball educate, the nuisance known as cats, and the "seven gestures of appeasement", or his repertoire of nonverbal communication guaranteed to get any dog out of trouble. If you love or have ever loved a doggie, I think you'd like reading this too.

Peter Mayle is one of my favorite authors. His books are excellent vacation companions - short chapters, dry humor, and full of wry observations that make his books all very fun to read but easy to put down when it's time for dinner or a swim in the ocean. I also love A Year in Provence and Acquired Tastes. Check them out if you need something low key to read.

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saturday at the america's cup.

The America's Cup is still in town so Finn and I spent Saturday afternoon at Marina Green watching more of the races. We had an awesome front-and-center view, just at the water's edge (and just behind some 60-somethings who were sneaking wine and really enjoying themselves). The excitement of seeing the races so close-up joined with helicopters overhead, cheering people, a hilarious British commentator, and a curious sea lion who kept popping up close to where we stood all made for a very fun afternoon. 

The day ended with a Dr. Dog show, where, while waiting for their set to begin, we appropriately befriended an actual dog. He was a portly little gentleman named Gus who, being partial to a good head scratch, hung out with us for about 20 minutes. Look at that face! I loved that little guy. The show was fun though we ended up dipping out early so we could hang out and eat pizza at home, TMNT style. 

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the loggerhead birthday.

A portion of my time in North Carolina was spent at the beach in Oak Island with several of my most favorite family members. Right in front of our little beachfront bungalow happened to be a loggerhead sea turtle nest that, according to the nest volunteers, was due to hatch any day. We were all hopeful and checked on the nest frequently throughout the week trying to will something to happen. My mom was undoubtedly the most fervent in her nest devotion and spent several hours each night in her little beach chair on watch. She befriended the volunteers and even gave them her phone number, insisting that they call her if any signs of hatching showed.

Around 10:30 pm our last night there, her phone buzzed with a text: "we have a depression". We were immediately taken over by excitement, waking the sleeping members of the house and hurrying out into the night. Sure enough, there were two small divots in the sand that were new. The waiting began.

Over the course of an hour and a half, the two depressions slowly deepened, eventually merging together, and finally expanding into a circular sunken area about 10 inches wide. Our whole viewing experience was at the mercy of a single volunteer who alone held the power of the turtle-approved red flashlight (no other lights were allowed). At one point, distracted by spectator questions, she had the light off for about a minute. The next time she clicked her flashlight on, it was happening. In the cutest frenzy ever, the little turtles were emerging from the sand by the dozens and the lot of us erupted in a chorus of squeals and gasps. 

photo sourced from web. we couldn't take any photos but hopefully this gives you an idea of the cuteness level we were dealing with.

We all watched in wonder as more than 100 teeny turtle babies scooted to the sea. I think the setting of night made it even more mysterious and exciting. It was a unique human experience to quietly wait alongside 50+ strangers in the dark, all sharing a curiosity and care for some teeny marine reptiles. I'm so thankful they made their debut while we were still there. The memory of the first one disappearing into the water and the sight of their little track marks in the sand are things I'll never forget. I wanted to hold one so bad but, alas, "knowing better" is the plight of adulthood responsibility. 

This is the only photo I have from the night & was taken after they were all in the ocean. My expression is a good indication of how I felt internally the entire time - it was amazing. This earth is full of wonders. 

I love nature and I love those little babies.

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the girls.

I am loving all my time with Andy and Lou, or "the girls" as they're affectionately called in our family. I haven't seen them in months aside from a few skype calls with my parents where they cock their heads in the background, confused at the sound of my voice. I adore them both and am trying to soak up the time I have with them. This translates to me lying on the floor with them lots & getting in their personal space to tell them how much I love them. I have maybe become a nuisance to them but I just know how I'll miss them when I go. Isn't it amazing how much we can love a doggie? 

Lou, "the lioness" or "the model". We all think she's a great beauty. She is the sweetest dog my family has ever had.

Little Andy, the mystery mix. We have no idea what she is. When my parents first brought her home, she was fiercely
independent & has slowly become increasingly affectionate. She is now very loving. She also has her own baby pool. 

And just because, the puppy versions of the girls:

Sidenote: Both Andy and Lou were rescues so when my parents got them, no one could be sure how old they were. On both occasions, the vet assured my parents that the girls were absolutely done growing "because of their teeth size" or something like that. Both have more than doubled in size. "Little Andy" was 22 lbs & is now 56 lbs! We like to laugh about his miscalculation & the fact my parents unknowingly adopted big dogs.

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a robin fox.

This photo reminds me so much of my sister, who I'm really missing. It's us!

(photo from piccsy)

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dog friends.

This past weekend, I went to a start-up BBQ in the Presidio with Davy and Finn. The BBQ was a networking event, hosted by a San Francisco-based startup and was full of business savvy, driven, impressive young individuals. There were plenty of great conversations going on, but there were also two dogs.

Have you ever seen this illustration, by Gemma Correll?

Because this was me (minus the drunk part).

I tried to pet//hold//be near the two dogs for a large portion of the event. There I was, creeping up behind shoulders of those in conversation, letting the little curly one lick my cup cake wrapper (an act of desperation), and literally crawling on the floor in front of people I don't know to take the pictures seen below. 

I didn't realize how much time I spent pursuing these little cuties until today when I was looking through my photos. It made me laugh out loud. Thankfully, I did retain some semblance of manners & adult behavior, managing to chat with a few humans too, and even made an introduction on behalf of the boys.

An undercover Snow White I'll always be...befriending the animal kingdom one uninterested dog at a time!

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an afternoon run to pier 39.

The temperature climbed above 70º today in San Francisco! As a warm-weather lover, I decided to run to Fisherman's Wharf to properly enjoy the sunshine and sea. It's less than 2 miles from our place and such warm weather is a bit atypical for SF. I had to soak it up! So for 1 glorious hour, I lazily basked in the sun at Pier 39, watching the boats pass by and listening to the sea lions' noisy antics. They are a rowdy bunch.

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a post worth waiting for.

I'd like to break my blog-silence with a worthy tale that will surely appease the anxieties that have plagued you over the past week as you've surely wondered where I've been.

This tale begins in the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The day was lovely and my mom, aunt, & I paid a visit to the garden to see the manicured bushes, arched drum bridge, and koi ponds. We discussed history, plants, and books. It was a pleasant afternoon.

At one point, my mom got a wee bit hungry as we'd been galavanting around the city for hours. Innocently, she pulled out a bag of trail mix, which seemed to catch the attention of this "cute" fellow:

Mesmerized by the bag of peanuts, m&ms, & pretzels, he leapt upon this post, unfazed (yes that is the correct spelling) by my proximity while taking his picture. He was utterly transfixed on her midday treat. Moments later, he hopped down, nearly touching my mom's shoe! 

"Look how close he is," we exclaimed! "How cute," we thought.

FALSE. 

Very quickly, the situation took a turn for the worse as he aggressively GOT ON MY MOM. He was quickly making his way up her leg but with her quick thinking, she warded off this squirrelly rapscallion by tossing said trail mix away from her person. Thankfully, he retreated to gather his treasure & he didn't reach her head/face. Lesson learned: be wary of the Japanese Tea Garden squirrel gang who will stop at no obstacle to procure a nutty snack.

In all seriousness, isn't this crazy/gross? If that squirrel had climbed my leg, I would have flipped out - screaming, running, etc. If any of my enemies visit, I'll take them here and hide peanuts in their pockets. 

Also for anyone familiar with  the C+C Music Factory song"Everybody Dance Now", isn't this the most realistic manifestation possible of the line "tryna get a nut, so move that butt"?? I think so.

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