I want

Je veux de l'amour, de la joie, de la bonne humeur

Ce n'est pas votre argent qui fera mon bonheur

Moi je veux crever la main sur le coeur

Allons ensemble, découvrir ma liberté

Oubliez donc tous vos clichés

Bienvenue dans ma réalité

There are way too many things happening at all times of everyday

You can probably tell that I just started using the Instigram app on my iphone... or maybe you can't tell, but I'll show you! I kinda went crazy with it. It's like the Hipstamatic app but better, because Hipsters are lame.

Jackie's 24th Bday Party at Bacaro LA!

Me and the BDAY GIRL, and my old roomie, Sarah! She is awesome and brought me goodies from Canada :D I really need to get working on the whole taking-pictures-with-an-actual-camera thing... missing out on loads of pictures already!!!

Pool BBQ! I got stung by a bee, my cousin threw up, there were way too many chips n' salsa and fruit and veggie platters, and maybe also too many summer cocktails that turned out to really just be pure vodka... success <3

We will look back on these photos and show our grandkids and pretend we were all cool but really it's just the Instagram app. And also, we're cool.

Yelp event at Exchange LA with my lovely friendies!

At the Thirsty Crow with Petey Poo and Pear Pear!

I've semi-given up on Undiscovered and moved onto On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I gave it a good try. If I'm gonna read a non-fiction, I want it to at least be written well. I'm fickle with my attention span.

"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!"

-On the Road, Jack Kerouac

I have something embarrassing to admit...

OK, maybe lots of embarrassing things.

Like how I listen to these podcasts when I'm exercising (but never for running... that's reserved for music only) and laugh out loud randomly when I'm soaking in sweat on the spin machine and yes, people stare... podcasts by 30-yr-olds having conversation about food, wine, and decorating. I'm 35 and 14 yrs old at the same time on the inside.

And how I secretly want to work at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's (but only part time) and go to the TJ's by Mike's house at least 5x a week purely for the samples. It makes my day better.

And the fact that I turn into a bitch whenever I drink gin (ask Mike) and only gin. every. single. time. Including last night. But I still drink it cuz it goes down so good :]

And that in another life, I dream of having the skillz and patience to be able to blog like this lady, or this lady, and be best friends with this lady, who happens to live in West LA like moi and has a killer sense of humor.

I wonder what I would say if I ever ran into her... it's probably not safe for her to disclose her favorite restaurants in my neighborhood. This is my absolute favorite post from her, and it's not even about food.

I'm only writing this because I'm just really bored at work right now.

And I plan to be drunk on whiskey tonight for the 2nd night in a row. But I'm not really embarrassed about that :]

Guess where I was this weekend...

Las Vegas!!! Surprise, Surprise!!! Two times in less than a month... I think that's a new record for me! It was a last minute trip that was pretty much unplanned until the night before we left, but nonetheless it still turned out to be one of my favorites :]

It's been a curse (or blessing) living so close to vegas because ever since I celebrated my 21st birthday in Vegas, I've been about 15 times... and counting... I've got 2 more months in LA left!

I really didn't plan to go this weekend AT ALL, but we somehow managed to pull it together, and got a bombtastic suite at T.I. I don't think I've stepped inside T.I. since I went to Vegas with my mom as a kid, and have kind of forgotten that it is a tacky blend of pirates and cowboys... But surprisingly, our suite was GINORMOUS and baller, and the view was overlooking the strip! There were 2 bedrooms that connected, and since it was just 4 of us, me, Mike, his brother and his brother's girlfriend, we all got to sleep on a bed (GASP that's never happened to me in Vegas before!!!). There was a HUGE living room, 3 bathrooms, a hot tub in our bathroom, and they even gave us 2 free bottles of champagne!

This Vegas trip was really chill, and we did all the usual clubbing and drinking, but also dorky things I've never done before like the Dolphin Habitat at Mirage (Mike's idea) and also square dancing at a redneck bar in T.I. (also Mike's genius idea). We ate a single meal every day... basically gorging on buffets -Caesar's, Bellagio, and T.I. (cuz we had a discount), and Mike almost broke 100 chocolate covered strawberries -not exaggerating. Gag. I want to try the Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan next!

I felt like I was basically removed from the rest of the world for 3 days... like I hadn't seen any of my family and friends for ages, and it was nice to escape, but also kind of discomforting. I missed my mom sooo badly, and it's only been 2 weeks since I last saw her! What will I do in NY?!? I was also kind of sad because I missed a lot of people's graduation this past weekend!

My mom had a piano concert the weekend before. She's the cutest!

I finished The Help, and it's AHH-mazing! I read it in 3 days and couldn't put it down... I can't wait till the movie comes out, and even though I think the casting is extremely off -they cast Emma Stone as the main character even though she is supposed to be tall, lanky, blonde and awkward- I'm still psyched! There's something about reading stories set in the South that's really charming... even though it's about racial inequality. I'm finally getting to Unbroken, which I meant to start a while back. The Help was just so much more captivating and fun to read!

And as crazy as it is, I missed RUNNING during the Vegas trip! It's been a month since my half marathon, and a little over a month till my FULL marathon... YIKES!!! My body is itching for a solid, chest-pounding run where I'm gasping for air and my legs feel like jelly. Yes, that is fun for me. I wonder where I'll run when I'm in NYC... I can run forever outdoors, but I can only last 5 minutes on the treadmill before getting bored and feeling like a hamster.

I am totally unprepared for the BIG MOVE to New York. Nothing is really planned yet, and I have barely researched the SIPA curriculum. I don't think it's really hit me yet, that I'm leaving! I should gear up quick, because it's coming soon and I better be ready to move across the country in less than 2 months!!!