it’s friday, i’m in love || 4/17/15

Friday, April 17, 2015 0 in between Permalink 3

hello weekend! it’s set to be another gorgeous two-day work vacay and i couldn’t be more excited to take advantage of every minute of it. S and i have a few things planned (see #7) but like most weekends, we usually leave a space open in our schedule to allow for a bit of spontaneity to happen, too.

anyway, before we officially kick things off, here are the seven (yes SEVEN) things i loved this week. enjoy!

one || tanks a lot. i’m in workout clothes nearly as much as i am in work clothes, so as expected, they get a lot of wash and wear. therefore, it’s always nice to add a new workout top into the mix. over easter, the bunny was generous enough to gift me a few new pieces for my studio barre wardrobe, including my new favorite lulu “if you’re lucky” tank. it’s a little sassy with its mess cut-outs (see also: breathable) and the light raspberry color is perfect for spring. run, don’t walk, there are only a few sizes left online!

two || hulu hoop. raise your hand if you’re paying an arm and a leg (and maybe a kidney) for cable/internet? (i can’t see you, but i’m going to assume someone else besides me is raising their hand). after battling with time warner cable for the last umpteen months over monthly bills that seem to be increasing incrementally, S suggested that i look into getting a roku box 3 and subscribing to hulu plus, netflix, and/or amazon prime. despite my aversion to change, i don’t have an aversion to an extra $100 per month (more or less), which is what we calculated i could be saving my making the switch. so last week we went out and purchased a roku box, S set it up, and this week we signed me up for month-free trials of hulu plus and amazon prime. between the two companies, i think we have all of my favorite must-see shows covered (basically anything on bravo, food network, and sometimes mtv). and seeing as i never watch anything live on tv (i’m usually passed out on the couch by 9 p.m.), the fact that the shows aren’t available for a few days isn’t a problem. added bonus is the fact that on hulu, there are old cataloged episodes of some of my favorite trash tv. for example, the challenge: rivals from a few seasons ago which i may or may not have started watching binge-watching earlier this week. i think i might be onto something with this no cable business. at least we have a month to find out!

three || romper room. despite how much i love rompers, rompers don’t always love me. but every once in a while, i land upon one that flatters my long torso and it’s all i can do to not wear it everyday. i purchased this chambray one from madewell last year and now that we’re heading into summer, i can’t wait to put it back into the weekend rotation. but because i love to have options, i’m hoping to add another romper to my wardobe, this time, perhaps with shorts instead of pants. lucky for me, madewell is having a sale this weekend -30% off purchases of $200+ and 20% off purchases of $100+ (promo code: YOUCHOOSE) and these are the jumpsuits i have my eye on:

kimono romper

kimono romper in tidalwave

seaglow cover-up romper

four || take your momma to work day. momma came to visit me at the club yesterday. she was actually there on official business -photographing our dining rooms for a project i’m working on with updating our website. i basically played her assistant all day, holding her purse and her lenses as she captured both the interior and exterior beauty of our clubhouse. after the session, we were treated to lunch in the club’s recently added outside dining area where we enjoyed salads and the sunshine from another perfect day in paradise. after she had gotten home, she sent me a text thanking me again and telling me how lucky i am to work at such a nice place. a place with picturesque views, yes, but more importantly, a place filled with warm and congenial people both members and colleagues alike. intrinsically i know how blessed i am to have the job i do, with its benefits and flexibility, plenty of sick and vacation time, and an office with a view of the manicured greens. but i think we can all agree on the fact that sometimes, usually at about 7 a.m. on monday morning, we wish we were independently wealthy and exempt from the 9-5 grind. anyway, having her outside, objective observation was a great reminder for me to be more thankful of this place i call work home. so as we enter into a busier season, i want to be mindful to make my attitude one of gratitude. plus, how can you not pinch yourself everyday when you drive into this view:

five || all-in or $100. have you been watching jeopardy this week? the five-day champion is a guy named alex jacob. that name may not sound familiar to you, unless you follow the poker world -alex is a professional poker player who has had much success -finishing runner-up in 2006’s world poker tour. the guy looks a little like a mix between redfoo (sans red frames) and jonah hill, but it appears he’s trimmed the infamous fro he boasted for many years. anyway, he’s crazy smart and nearly runs the entire board most of the game (it’s all his opponents can do to buzz in before him). in addition to his non-challant attitude (he was leaning on his partitian earlier in the week) and abundance of blue tops, he always chooses the $800 category first (superstitious?) and not if, but when he finds the daily double, he’s either “all-in” (a little poker reference for you) and makes it a true daily double or bets just $100. whatever his strategy, it seems to be working. in just five days of competing, he’s already made $129,401! anyway, he has been highly entertaining this week and i look forward to seeing if he can continue his momentum into next week as well.

six || the pod squad. ever since the announcement of the return of adnan in “undisclosed” the continuation of the story of the “serial” series (which premiered on monday), i’ve been encouraged to discover more podcasts to listen to while i’m making my daily commute. of course, my favorite podcast will always be “the right reasons” with david jacoby and juliet litman from the grantland network, but their pod only comes out once a week, so i usually need something to tide me over in the interim. thankfully, joanna posted “the 7 best podcasts to try” on a cup of jo this week, and a few of them sound very intriguing -especially the one called “fresh air” which “brings fascinating writers, actors, musicians and politicians (think: lena dunham, larry david, madonna) into one-on-one interviews with terry gross, the archetypal public radio host (thoughtful, velvety-voiced, lovably nerdy). their conversations are so intimate you feel like you’re eavesdropping.” do you have a favorite podcast i should check out? do tell!

seven || pleased to (swap) meet you. queue up the podcasts (see how #6 totally ties in now?) and make my starbucks order a venti, it’s ROAD TRIP time! well mini road trip, at least. this weekend, S and i are headed up the 15 to the pomona swap meet -the “west coast’s largest swap meet” and more importantly, the home of thousands of classic cars and car parts. as i have mentioned before, S is currently restoring a 1969 volkswagon bug, so aside from simply enjoying the entire swamp meet experience, we’ll also be in search of a few final pieces to help him complete the project. hopefully we come back with a few treasures, or in the very least, some good stories to tell.