Planning a Wedding

So we've been engaged for just about three weeks now, and since we've decided on a February 2012 wedding, the planning has begun in earnest!

My superawesome friend Aly has volunteered to be our wedding planner, and she made this crazy organized Google Docs spreadsheet (based on the Martha Stewart wedding planning guide, I believe) full of to do items and vendor organization and so many things to think abut that I would not have remembered.  She's great, and we are so lucky to have her around.  Aly, I love you.

We have two weekends in mind, and are planning a snowy wedding in Tahoe (ceremony outside, reception inside).  Yay snow! Pretty! Magical!  I've started some inspiration boards on Pinterest, to collect ideas and start seeing what we might like (so far we're really into the mason jars with candles, especially in the snow).  Check 'em out if you like!  It's all very fun!

Of course, there is the stress of wedding planning, realizing how much things cost and trying to figure out what we can cut back on (Reed and I are going to be knitting and crafting up a storm this winter!).  I never thought I'd be a stressed out bride, but here we are only 3 weeks in and I'm finding myself narrowly avoiding panic attacks, mostly around the sticker shock of how much things cost.  Luckily, Will keeps me grounded. At the end of the day, we're going to get married and that's all that matters.  :)

Anyway, people have been asking for updates, and that's where we are so far!  Checking out venues and trying to get an idea of per person costs so we can finalize the guest list.  Gathering ideas and talking about what kind of wedding we want to have.

Only 4.5 months to go! Eep!

Circulon Giveaway Winners!

Presenting...winners!

Aein Hope!

Suki!

Congratulations, you two!


Everyone else...stay tuned!  I have several more giveaways coming up in the next few weeks!  Thanks for playing :)

Circulon Pots and Pans Oh My!

I am a fan of Circulon, have been ever since I purchased two from CSN. A few months ago, I was able to attend a super cool "Circulon Cooks" event in San Francisco, to preview a new line and learn about their (honestly, it's awesome) iPad app.  Seriously, I wish I had an iPad just so I could get this app.  So great.  And the display of pots and pans? To die for.

I swooned a little at the pots and pans on display.
photo by Irvin the Awesome

Anyway, Circulon is rad.  Their magical (and frankly, neat-looking) circular pattern inside the pots/pans does some sort of nonstick wizardry, and I am not lying to you when I said I HAVE MADE FRIED EGGS IN THESE PANS WITH NO OIL OR BUTTER OR PAM OR ANYTHING AND THE EGGS DO NOT STICK.  I mean, that's just crazy talk.  I had to put it in all caps, it's so crazy talk.

I was a fan of their pans before the event (obviously), and I was really disappointed to have missed the chance to enter their raffle for a free 10-piece set of pots and pans.  I happened to be standing next to one of their marketing guys while lamenting this to a friend, and suddenly, I was being told I could have "a little something" sent to me.

One more pretty picture of pots.
photo by Irvin the Incredible

Turns out, "a little something" was my very own 10-piece set of Circulon Contempo cookware to try out and review.  AND (dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn trumpets blaring!) they are giving me TWO (not one, T.W.O.) to give away.  Actually, I already have the two extra sets.  They are sitting in my living room right now, waiting for me to choose their new owners and arrange for UPS to pick them up!

In case I haven't provided enough of a review, this set is great. Every piece features the sweet nonstickiness that I love, but it's also just a handy set.  Two fry pans, a perfectly-deep skillet, a big ole stockpot (thankyouomgineededoneofthese), a saucepan, and the cutest little pot ever.  The stockpot is perfect for making spaghetti, the tiny pot is great for sauce, the skillet is awesome for making veggies (heating some frozen peas with butter, anyone? yes)...basically, you can make whatever you want with this set because it is so kickass.

Do you want to be one of TWO lucky people to receive your very own (crazyawesome) set of pots and pans?  I know you do!

This could be yours!

Here be the rules:

• Leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing about this cookware set is (aka why you want to win).
• The giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, 9/14/11 at 11:59pm.  
• A winner will be chosen via random.org on Thursday 9/15/11.
• You must leave me a method of contacting you (if you comment anonymously with no contact info, please email me at kimskitchensink [at] gmail [dot] com to let me know).

But wait! Bonus entries!  For each bonus entry, please come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did (one comment per bonus entry) so I know to count your bonuses :)

• Go to www.facebook.com/circulon and Like them
• Follow @circulon on Twitter
• Tweet this post
• Share this post on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway
• Spread the word in some way of your choosing - skywriting, anyone? (you better prove it with a picture though)

Best of all...there are no limits to how many bonus entries you can earn! Tweet every day for a week and get an entry every day as long as you come back here and comment to tell me you did it! 

I am seriously tickled about this giveaway, and I can't wait to send these babies to their new homes so you can enjoy them as much as I do!  Super huge thanks to the Circulon team for being so awesome.


Disclosure: While Meyer Corp. sent me a free set of pots and pans for review, I was not otherwise compensated for this post. All omgIloveCirculonomgpotsandpans opinions are my own.

I guess he really liked it

On Thursday August 25, 2011 I left the house at 8:30am.  I drove to Yosemite, where (after erroneously being pulled over by a childcop who admitted/yelled at me that the reason he wasn't issuing a citation was because he didn't know what kind of citation he could give me) I was to pick Will up as he was finished with the John Muir Trail.

On my way there, Will called to tell me to pick him up at Bridal Veil Fall instead of the Crane Flat gas station as planned, because it was an easier location for his hiking partner's ride to reach. I figured he knew I wouldn't mind driving into the valley, and that I certainly wouldn't mind waiting for him at my favorite waterfall.  As I sat on a rock at the base of the falls, reading The New Yorker and people watching, I was relaxed and unsuspecting, taking pictures of the falls and lounging about.

It was a beautiful day

After about an hour, I started wondering when the heck the boys were going to arrive, so I sent Will a text asking when they'd arrive. When he responded that he was about to walk up the trail, I got a little of that nervous-excited-butterflies-in-the-tummy thing.  I tried to act all cool though, and went back to reading my magazine to avoid anxiously staring down the path (though, duh, I looked up every 5 words or so to see if I could see him coming).

Finally, there he was (awww).  I believe my first word to him was, "Hey." to which he responded "Hi."  I'll say it's because we were so happy to see each other that words escaped us.  Sure.  Anyway, I got up off my rock and walked over to give him a hug, but holycrap suddenly he was down on one knee.  My initial thought was that he was messing with me, but when I saw the ring, and heard him ask me to spend the rest of my life with him...for reals, I was freaking out.  I believe my thoughts went something like "holy shit this is actually happening, oh my god, Will is proposing."

Will's hiking partner James was stealthily crouching on the
path, taking pictures the whole time. 

He proposed with a hand-carved wooden ring: when you decide you want to marry your girlfriend while backpacking in the Sierras, your jewelry options are somewhat limited.  So I got a freaking awesomely cool and totally unique ring, carved just for me with love.  And it totally fit, so awesome points for Will there.  And double awesome points for having a friend there to photograph it, so that we can have pictures like this to remind us of this moment.

I like this picture because
A) it shows off the ring
B) it reminds me of just how utterly
overjoyed I was in that moment.

So yeah. Giddy and excited were we.  Happy happy happy.  I was genuinely surprised...several friends had done the "omg do you think he's going to propose when he gets back!?" thing, and I had actually managed to shut those thoughts out of my mind.  I was just happy that I was going to pick him up and that we were going to go home together.  In hindsight, I probably should have been suspicious, but I had succeeded in convincing myself to just be happy he was home and not to think about a potential proposal.  You know, as to not set myself up for disappointment or something. While I still can't believe I was so surprised, I'm glad I was, because that was sure fun.

fat and happy

The drive home was full of giggles (from my side of the car) and hand holding, feeling like the newly-engaged people we were.  We stopped by our favorite fruit stand and headed home to relax (it had been a long day for both of us).

And then...not even 5 days later, this happened.

HELLOOOOOO DIAMOND!

In the five minutes between changing for Pilates and leaving for Pilates, he asked me to play a game of cards.  Again, totally unsuspecting (maybe I'm just gullible) little ole me said sure.  I mean, he had just taught me a new game the night before, and I had time to squeeze in a round or two.  I did think it was weird that he was making me shuffle the deck (why didn't he just do it?), but when I reached for it there was a shiny black engagement-ring-sized box on the table.  

another angle of le ring. so sparkly.

Now I have a huge freaking rock beautiful sparkly giant truly wonderful engagement ring on my finger, in addition to the beautiful one carved just for me out of wood from the Sierras (not currently wearing it due to some fears of ruining it).  I am planning to coat the wooden one with some sort of protective shellack or something (any product suggestions? let me know!) so I can keep it forever..it looks really good as a necklace, btw.  And the diamond ring? Custom-ordered the day after we returned from Yosemite, it is perfect and unique and I love it so.  The jeweler down the street who made it can even make a wedding band to go with it, and I feel so fancy I could just barf.  Just kidding, no barfing. Just squealing.

I am a very lucky girl, with two engagement rings - both given to me in surprising ways.  Even luckier to be marrying the guy I love, my best friend, the one who makes me laugh daily.  He's a good one, that Will. 

Artsy fartsy shot of the rings, together in awesomeness.

If you don't understand the title, you obviously don't have this stuck in your head. If you do, hopefully it's stuck in your head now. You're welcome!

My heart is open

Suzanne is a friend of mine in the blogosphere. She and I have been blog buddies for a few years; I feel like I know her (ok, just a little. not in a creepy way).


She posted today, and emailed me directly, about a close friend who recently lost both of her babies soon after birth.  The family is struggling, and Suzanne is hosting a fundraiser to help cover their hospital bills, lost income, and costs back at home.  While a small donation certainly won't heal their emotional wounds, it might help ease the financial strain that they are facing.


Suzanne has written a beautiful post, which includes photos and a message from her friend (the mother), and more information about the family and how you can help.  I encourage you to check it if you have a moment.  She has also gotten several great companies to sponsor the fundraiser, and she is offering entries to win a ton of cool prizes if you donate and help spread the word.


It's not often that I use this space to ask for help on behalf of myself or a friend, but I felt compelled to share.  I can't even imagine what they must be going through, but I want to help however I can.  I've made a donation to the Love to Zaria fundraiser, and I've added a badge to my sidebar to make it easy to donate if you feel so moved.


Thanks for listening.  

How Not to Get a Job

A quickie little post to tide you over until I post a big, photo-laden post about the proposal...

I've been helping our CEO hire for one of our open positions at Disqus, and I've been absolutely horrified (and ok, entertained) by some of the atrocious cover letters in my inbox.  I remember going through the same thing last year at Fantasy, and it never fails to make me just a little bit sad.

That said, I thought I'd offer a little advice (or anti-advice, really) -- How Not To Get A Job 

• Capitalize random words in the middle of your sentences.
• Use the wrong job title in your cover letter. The more times the better!
• Better yet, don't include a cover letter at all!
• Write entire paragraphs with no punctuation.
• Address your letter to "sirs".
• Have a 2 (or three!) page resume when you just graduated from college 6 months ago.
• Just copy paste chunks of your resume (or worse, our job posting) into your cover letter. No need to customize!
• Wax on and on about your "freakish obsession with grammar" but fail to recognize the difference between a comma and a semicolon only one sentence later. 

These are just a few of the lovely tips I have to offer.  I'd quote bits from cover letters, but that just seems mean.

Seriously, people.  If you want a job, learn to write.  And if you're applying for a job in recruiting, you should probably know how to submit a proper application.

Rant over.

I love a piano

We interrupt the "blogging about unpacking and also about how I have a bunch of giveaways to do and reviews to write and a salami party to plan but omg I'm buried in boxes and can't write that fun stuff yet" for some breaking news!

Last night, I saw an ad on Craigslist for a free piano. And then I saw this photo.

I decided that if there was anything I could do about it, this piano would be mine ours.  I talked to the guy who posted the listing this morning, and he said the only catch was that it had to be picked up by Wednesday at noon.  After confirming with my landlord that it was ok to have a piano, I started calling around to figure out how I would be able to get this piano to our house in under 24 hours.

I unsuccessfully posted a TaskRabbit Task, but thanks to Craigslist, I found movers who listed both pianos and last minute moves as things they could do. They asked for $180. I went to look at the piano to make sure I wanted it (you know, to make sure it wasn't broken or anything). I haggled the movers down to $160.  I'm meeting them at the piano's current home between 9-9:30am so they can load it in the truck and drive it to our place.  And then the piano will be mine ours.  I even cleared a little space for it in the formal living room room where I am currently keeping the giant stash one of the giant stashes of boxes yet to be unpacked.

"But Kim! There's no such thing as a free piano! Are you sure it's not terrible? Why would they just give away a perfectly good piano?"  That's why I checked it out tonight, genius.  :)  It actually sounds really nice.  It's in pretty good tune, though I'm sure it'll need to be tuned after the move.  The guys getting rid of it have to move (landlords are selling their house), and don't have room for it in the new place.  One of their old roommates brought the piano with him and left it in the house when he moved out, so they're not losing money on it or anything.  They just need it to be out of the house and can't take it.

Win for me us!  Of course, I am just assuming that Will is going to be happy about this (I'm sure he will be), because it's going to be a big surprise for him when he gets home (along with the Everything Is Unpacked Yay surprise? Right? That's still gonna happen?).  I might get to talk to him tomorrow, and I'll try my best not to say anything about it...hooray for surprises! And a piano!

Virtual House Tour! And An Update Update!

Hello! 

A fun little update...in the form of a video tour! What? I know! Just what you've always wanted! An awkward and slightly (hopefully not too) nauseating video of my new house! Yehaw! 

Oh yeah, apparently since I'm not a YouTube partner, I can't change the thumbnail for the video to be the first frame of the recording, which was KINDA the whole reason I decided to start outside the front door, but whatever youtubes. I could've added captions and stuff apparently, but I am far too lazy for that. I mean, the reason I did a video was that I am too lazy to take a bunch of pictures and upload them.  Besides, that's what awkward narration is for, right?  :)

I've also included a little update of that nasty "little" list I posted the other day. In case you're wondering how things are going.

• Thursday after work
• get a massage oh yeah woo hoo! massage cancelled due to therapist's migraine.  :(
  
• Google+ hangout with Aly decided not to due to amount of stuff to do.  :(
• unpack swag bag suitcase from BlogHer
• pack bag for LA (going home this weekend)
• mail something to Will. It's tricky, because he gets to his next resupply in 4 days, and the one after that only 6 days or so after that. So I have to get on it. And possibly pay for some quick shipping. Hopefully I don't have to do this Friday/Saturday, but I might have to. I mailed it. Because I am awesome. And he got it today, and it made him happy. I am the best ever.
• Friday after work
• fly home fell asleep on the plane before we even took off. Maybe I was tired?
• Saturday
• relax with the folks, maybe ship a package to Will? Send Lyz her post-blogher "left behind" package?
• not planned: deal with a bunch of crap going on with the final weekend of our office redesign/installation. boo. :(
• evening dinner with Los Angeles bloggy ladyfriends on my way out the door now! See you soon, A Serious Girl and Dopey LaRue (who is also here)! We'll miss you, Junket!
• Sunday
• Disneyland!
• Monday
• Fly home in the morning
• Disqus beach trip in the evening cancelled due to me not realizing the timing was terrible for everyone, which will actually be better because I should keep on unpacking.
• Tuesday after work
• pilates! (also yoga at work)
• unpack something! 
• move gift wrap stuff to guest room
• assemble kitchen cart, assuming it's arrived? maybe wait for a friend to help with this one.
• do some laundry? I can only assume I'll have a ton by then.
• Wednesday after work
• ballet...hopefully I'll find my shoes by then shoes = found!
• dinner with a visiting friend (Hi, Rachel)
• unpack? assemble kitchen cart?
• decide whether to hire a TaskRabbit to help with furniture assembly
• Thursday after work
• happy hour officewarming party fun times at work
• Reed flies in
• Friday
• take the day off work, spa day! I have a feeling this will be much-needed.
• evening at IKEA :)
• main closet organization?
• dinner at Biere or Homeroom?
• Saturday
• brunch? 
• pick up stuff I bought from Steve & Kate's Camp in El Cerrito
• Target run?
• unpack, assemble IKEA furniture (bookcase, dresser, tv stand)? 
• Taskrabbit the assembly while we unpack?
• reorganize office/guest room furniture?
• dinner at Biere or Homeroom?
• Sunday
• unpack
• Reed flies home
• haircut
• Monday after work
• NOTHIN BUT UNPACKING!
• Tuesday after work
• pilates (also yoga at work)
• unpack 
• make sure things are tidy enough for the housekeepers to come tomorrow
• Wednesday after work
• ballet 
• walk around the house, marveling at how clean it suddenly is (hopefully)
• unpack - can I please be done unpacking by this time?
• Thursday after work
• office managers meetup night?
• Friday
• drive to Yosemite to pick up Will!
• Sara B concert at Shoreline cancelled because Sara isn't performing after all, due to conflicts with The Sing Off's schedule, boo hoo, but less stressful
• sleep over in San Carlos?
• Saturday
• Monterey Bay Aquarium with Katherine - and Will!
• Sunday
• lounge around all day with Will, finally.
• Sleep.

A Not So Quickie Update

Project: Unpack Before Will Gets Back From The JMT is well underway, despite its lengthy title (and despite the curveball he threw me...he's coming home a week early!).

I've made lists of things I need to buy, and with the help of a few friends, have actually gotten quite a bit of unpacking done. Dude, I did like, 5 boxes tonight. Because I like to organize my brain in lists, here's a little list of to-do's. Warning: it's long. This is the next two weeks of my life. Starting with...tomorrow.

• Thursday after work
• get a massage oh yeah woo hoo!
• Google+ hangout with Aly
• unpack swag bag suitcase from BlogHer
• pack bag for LA (going home this weekend)
• mail something to Will. It's tricky, because he gets to his next resupply in 4 days, and the one after that only 6 days or so after that. So I have to get on it. And possibly pay for some quick shipping. Hopefully I don't have to do this Friday/Saturday, but I might have to. 
• Friday after work
• fly home
• Saturday
• relax with the folks, maybe ship a package to Will? Send Lyz her post-blogher "left behind" package?
• evening dinner with Los Angeles bloggy ladyfriends
• Sunday
• Disneyland!
• Monday
• Fly home in the morning
• Disqus beach trip in the evening
• Tuesday after work
• pilates!
• unpack something! 
• move gift wrap stuff to guest room
• assemble kitchen cart, assuming it's arrived? maybe wait for a friend to help with this one.
• do some laundry? I can only assume I'll have a ton by then.
• Wednesday after work
• ballet...hopefully I'll find my shoes by then
• dinner with a visiting friend (Hi, Rachel)
• unpack? assemble kitchen cart?
• Thursday after work
• happy hour officewarming party fun times at work
• Reed flies in
• Friday
• take the day off work, spa day! I have a feeling this will be much-needed.
• evening at IKEA :)
• main closet organization?
• dinner at Biere or Homeroom?
• Saturday
• brunch? 
• pick up stuff I bought from Steve & Kate's Camp in El Cerrito
• Target run?
• unpack, assemble IKEA furniture (bookcase, dresser, tv stand)? 
• Taskrabbit the assembly while we unpack?
• reorganize office/guest room furniture?
• dinner at Biere or Homeroom?
• Sunday
• unpack
• Reed flies home
• haircut
• Monday after work
• NOTHIN BUT UNPACKING!
• Tuesday after work
• pilates
• unpack 
• make sure things are tidy enough for the housekeepers to come tomorrow
• Wednesday after work
• ballet 
• walk around the house, marveling at how clean it suddenly is (hopefully)
• unpack - can I please be done unpacking by this time?
• Thursday after work
• office managers meetup night?
• Friday
• drive to Yosemite to pick up Will!
• Sara B concert at Shoreline
• sleep over in San Carlos?
• Saturday
• Monterey Bay Aquarium with Katherine.
• Sunday
• lounge around all day with Will, finally.
• Sleep.

Unpacking schedule may vary based on my mood.  Things to unpack: pots and pans (waiting on kitchen cart), books (waiting on 2nd bookshelf), movies (waiting on tv stand), games, tech crap, office stuff, canned food, dresser stuff...and I feel like there are more things but I don't want to walk around the living room taking inventory right now.

I think it's reasonable, though looking at the list makes me feel a little crazy.  I can do it!!?

PS no plans (well, besides Tues Pilates and Weds ballet) the week after this list of wonders...except oh wait, that next weekend we fly to Washington for a wedding, and the one after that we go to Colorado, and the one after that probably a wedding in Santa Barbara (travel plans permitting), and then we will both crash and sleep for a few days?


I feel lucky to have so much awesome in my life, but um, am I a crazy person?  Seriously, please let me know.  I'll be in bed.

The first post-BlogHer11 post

So BlogHer was fun.  It was really fun. And now I am well stocked on Allegra and Command Hooks and Glad containers and all sorts of goodies.  I had a ridiculous amount of fun with Tricia, Lyz and Suki.

Obviously.

We made friends, and I'll do some shout outs when I go through and organize the gigundo stack of business cards I collected (like a boss). I didn't use my digital camera once, but I took a TON of iphone photos - tweeting #blogher11 was what all the cool kids were doing, and y'all know I'm the coolest of kids (ha). 

Some favorites include:

• Being socially rejected
• Eye Candy at the Expo
• The joys of walking
• A Serious Sleepy Girl
• Last night at the conference
• Drunk Ricki Lake

Yeah, the conference was fun (did I mention that already?). We've been waiting for 4 hours at the airport for our severely delayed flight, but we're going to be boarding soon and oh man, I'm gonna sleep on my new Tempur-pedic travel pillow. 

More posts to come, with lots of giveaways and updates and blog love.  For now, I could use a drink. And a nap.

Yosemite

I love Yosemite.  I've been going there practically since I was born (there are pictures of me there as a newborn, when my parents were not much older than I am now) and I feel a sort of calmness when I'm there. Even the drive there fills me with a sense of centeredness, I feel myself start to loosen up and give in to nature.  I know that sounds sort of hippy dippy.  It's hard to explain...I guess it's the closest thing I have to a religious/spiritual connection of some sort.  When I go to the park, I'm happy. I could stare at the river or rest under the trees for hours, breathing in the piney air and listening to the sounds of rushing water.  I love it.

When I heard about the record snow levels this year, and the resulting record high water levels, I knew I had to get there to see it.  Will was planning a camping trip for early August (this weekend), but I am (obviously) at BlogHer and unable to go (sadface, but not totally, because BlogHer is awesome), so I convinced him to join me on an impromptu trip to the park.

We didn't have a reservation, and my only requirement was to see the waterfalls. Specifically Vernal Falls, because in my mind that was an easy walk with a good payoff (oops, I forgot the part where it's a steep uphill walk that is not as short as I thought - oh well, worth it).  We left early, around 7:15am if I remember correctly, and got to the park around 10:30, right around when the Crane Flat campground was opening. For the first time all summer. We got a spot, and though it wasn't the *best* spot in the world, it was a campsite within the park's boundaries, and I was happy.

We made a little list of things we wanted to do, and every single thing on that list was vetoed by the park rangers who told us the river was too high and fast for rafting, Hardin meadow was still soggy and snow-patchy, and the bridge at Hetch Hetchy was closed due to too much water coming off the waterfalls.  We decided to go for North Dome, a strenuous hike, but one I was gearing myself up for.  Except when we got to the trailhead, a group of hikers told us they had gone about 1.5 miles in only to be stopped by a huge snow bank covering the trail.  Not wanting to lose the trail (and because at this point, it was already around 4pm), we drove onward towards Lembert Dome (at the suggestion of the hikers).  We stopped at various points along the way, whenever we felt like stopping.  It was new for us, not planning and just kind of going with the flow.  I'm glad we did it.  It felt good to be out there just the two of us, driving and stopping and admiring this beautiful part of the park that we had never visited together.

The slideshow below features around 60 of my favorite photos from that weekend (we took over 300). If you don't want to watch the whole thing, you can click here to just browse the photos on PicasaWeb (and leave comments too!).

Checking In From BlogHer

I'm writing this from the plane, on my way down to my hotel room in San Diego for the 2011 BlogHer Conference.  It's been quite a week, and it's looking like this will be quite a weekend...and quite a next month or so as well.

If you've been following along on Twitter, you know that Will is in Yosemite, getting ready to hike the approximately 220 miles of the John Muir Trail, which begins at Happy Isles (in Yosemite Valley) and ends at the top of Mount Whitney. He'll be gone for about 3.5 weeks, and I'm doing my best to fill my schedule so the time passes quickly!  We were up until about 2am last night getting his gear packed, and arose at 5am today to shave his head before his friends picked him up. I got to sleep again from about 6:30-9:30am after saying goodbye (ps - goodbyes are hard), but was fighting the sleepy eyelids as the plane drifted through sunny skies.

Now I'm sitting on my bed in the hotel room at BlogHer, waiting for Tricia to arrive (our 3rd roommate, Lyz, doesn't get in until late). I just got here, and I'm already a little overwhelmed.  In that excited way, of course, but still a little overwhelmed. This is a HUGE hotel (and very fancy, I might add), with restaurants and stores and all that jazz, and I'm a little worried about getting lost running from event to event. I hope we scheduled enough buffer/travel time between things! We have a nice view out the window, of a hotel (maybe?) whose name I can't make out, but it's pretty odd looking.  I think the sign says San Diego Wine & Chfaslkfj Club? Fallbrook Dining Somethingorother? And I want my roooooooomies to get here!


The next month and a half will include a visit from Tricia (post-conference), a trip home and a day at Disneyland, a visit from Reed, an officewarming party at work, SaraB at Shoreline, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and as many pilates/dailey method/ballet classes as I can squeeze in before I drive either to Yosemite or Mammoth to pick Will and his hiking partner up from the end of the trail. Oh, and we're going to some weddings and a football game in Colorado. And I'm probably forgetting something.  Oof!

For now, vacation BlogHer!

I'm hoping to post a few things while I'm at the conference this weekend, including some beautiful pictures from our recent trip to Yosemite (in honor of Will's trip) and a massively awesome giveaway.  Stay tuned!

Teaser pic:

Will and I on our way into Yosemite Valley a few weeks ago.

Oh Dang

Ok, so there's this thing.  When life is boring, I don't feel much like blogging.  When life is busy, I don't have time.  Such is life.  No apologies; I've just been busy living.  And apparently Blogger got a redesign while I was away. I'm not sure how I feel about it (I'm always skeptical of changes to my favorite techthings) but it seems fine? I guess? It more closely resembles the new look of Google's products, which I find kind of annoying (too blocky, too much white space), but oh well. It works.  Anyway...

There are lots of things in the pipeline (aka in my brain) that I want to blog about, and hopefully I'll actually get to it one of these days.  To give you an idea of what's been going on:

• We went to Yosemite and saw the record-high water levels. Definitely will blog about this later.
• We went camping at Sardine Lake over 4th of July weekend - highly recommended!
• I hired a team of designers at work, and am currently in the midst of a crazy (awesome) office redesign project. 
• My lemon tree pot is growing these little weeds, but they're so pretty I don't have the heart to pull them out. The flower pot is a quarter dead, but I keep forgetting to pull out the dead parts. My herb garden seems a little unhappy, but I don't know what to do. This probably deserves a whole blog post.
• Will is leaving a week from Thursday for a 3.5 week hike (he's doing the John Muir Trail).
• I am leaving a week from Thursday for BlogHer in San Diego. I'm way excited, but I feel like I haven't really started preparing yet. I did make some "these will do for now" business cards though.
• My friend Nick is working on a gorgeous new blog design for this little space. Stay tuned!
• And oh yeah, we signed a lease! Pictures below.  We move in a week, so, yeah. Things are a little nuts!

I have much to blog about, and I'm sure I've forgotten a thing or two, but I felt like it was time for a little update. Things are going to be crazy around here for the next 6 weeks or so, but I'll try to get back into regular blogging? Maybe? I'll try to try? We'll see?

Mark. Contest winner

Congratulations to Emily S. who won my Mark. giveaway!

Thanks to the lovely Alyssa for sponsoring this fun little online shopping party.

Talk About House Lust!

*If you're coming here from Facebook, please comment on this post rather than going back and commenting there. Facebook makes it hard to go back and look at comments later, and I like to keep them all in one place (here).*   :)

So. As you know, the apartment hunt continues.  I've taken to repeatedly refreshing the Rockridge/Claremont section on Craigslist, just in case something pops up before PadMapper emails me (PadMapper emails once per hour).  I've even taken to not putting in a maximum price range, because apparently I'm a masochist and I like to torture myself with listings we absolutely cannot afford (where's the parallel for my dating analogy here?) - a lovely pastime to be sure, but not one which is entirely productive.

Never mind, though. Because I found a house so lovely I can literally feel my heart leaping into my neck and dropping quickly into my stomach when I remember that we can't afford it (somehow I trick myself into forgetting temporarily as I look at the pictures and imagine living there).

I think I'll just share pictures, because if I talk about it anymore, I'll just...well, I'll just keep gushing. About a house I never should have clicked on in the first place, because lordy, we do not have $3,500 a month to spend on rent (but seriously, that's it?! For this amazing looking house?!?) *Note: We definitely don't need a house. Can I just reserve this one for a few years down the line?*  *Other note: I absolutely do have a file that I keep of houselust/inspiration*


Without further ado, the dream house:

picture-perfect craftsman, and check out that arbor!

living room with great built-ins, fireplace, windows...

more built-ins...

one of 3 bedrooms...look at those floors!

another bedroom. staged just beautifully, no?

spacious kitchen. our kitchen cart would look perfect in there.

the back bedroom (could be a lovely den/office)

built-ins. i love them.

deck, leads down to yard and garage.

It's love. Dangerous, dangerous love.

In which I compare apartment hunting to online dating

The hunt continues.  "Having a relaxing evening at home" and "eating dinner before 9pm" have been replaced by "finding a place to live" and "eating dinner at 10pm"*, and we're seeing an average of one place per night. Sometimes two. It's a frustrating experience, as anyone who has ever had to look for an apartment will attest, filled with ups and downs and a bit of bipolarity, what with the high hopes and low expectations.

I imagine apartment hunting must be similar to online dating**. You wish there was a little more information in the listing, and maybe a picture that wasn't angled and slightly out of focus. You have to act quickly, to show interest without seeming desperate. Sometimes it's already taken by the time you send the first email. Sometimes it's ugly. Sometimes it's too small.

When you try to determine whether you want to take the next step, you recognize that it doesn't quite have everything you wanted, but decide you can probably make some compromises. Nothing is perfect, after all. You worry that if you choose something, you'll miss out on something better that comes along a few days later***.  If you're picky like me, you don't take the next step very often, because you are also stubborn and don't want to sacrifice things like hardwood floors or square footage.

You probably also get your hopes up, despite your best efforts to keep expectations low. You start picturing how your furniture will look in the space before you even see it, before you realize that "huge" and "spacious" are apparently synonymous with "under 700 square feet". Oops.

Eventually, you find something with enough of what you're looking for that it makes the compromises not seem like a big deal. These same things might turn out to be dealbreakers next time around, but for now, you pack your things and move forward.


*though to be fair, this isn't always because of looking for apartments. Sometimes I get home late because of pilates/ballet. And we do a pretty good job of trying to relax afterwards, even if it means eating late or watching one less DVR'd episode of Jon Stewart.
**disclaimer: my experience in online dating is entirely based on stories from friends. Blame any inaccuracies on them.
***It's easier to stop dating someone than it is to get out of a 12 month lease though, or so I've heard.


--Please leave comments here, rather than on Facebook (you can be anonymous, or even use your Facebook account to comment if you want). I like to keep comments all in one place, and Facebook makes it hard to go back and visit those comments later.--

Impromptu Brunch

We had a really lovely impromptu brunch this morning, featuring frittata, prosciutto-wrapped honeydew, fruit salad, various cheeses, fresh-squeezed mimosas and of course...pie.  And now, pictures!

I'm very proud of my pie.

I mean, just look at it.

Ta-da!
(yes, I'm wearing my Homeroom tshirt)

honeydew with prosciutto

fruit salad!

The spread. Minus frittata, which was in the oven.
We do throw a good party, if I do say so myself.

mmm pie

And in case you're wondering, we didn't get the apartment we applied for :(  There were two other competitive applicants, and one of them beat us to it, time-wise. Pretty bummed, but onward go we into our search!

PIE!

We happened to be in Berkeley today, and decided to take advantage of our location by stopping by the ever-wonderful Berkeley Bowl. Will had told me that we were hosting an impromptu brunch in honor of Cal Baseball's upcoming appearance in the College World Series (Sunday, Father's Day, so it's also an impromptu Father's Day brunch, I guess, except I don't think any dads are coming). Also, "Hey surprise! We're having people over!" Ok, I actually don't mind at all, and in fact, I'm excited. It gives me A) a chance to be a hostess, which (duh) I love, B) an excuse to make some fancy food, and C) practice in not freaking out if people come over and the house isn't perfectly clean and tidy.

ANYWAY. Whilst wandering aimlessly through the abundant produce section, tossing whatever looked good and fresh into the cart, I spotted rhubarb. I've wanted to buy and use rhubarb for years, but it's always gone by the time I get up the motivation to make something. This time, I snatched it up. I thought, "I'll make a strawberry-rhubarb pie! It's one of my favorite kinds of pies, and it's totally in season! YES! RHUBARB! YES!"

No seriously, that happened.

I grabbed what I thought would be an appropriate amount (because of course I didn't have any sort of recipe in mind, only inspiration) and scooped up extra strawberries as well. When I got home, I found this recipe. Thank you, Deb. It looked pretty easy, though I was missing the instant tapioca required for optimal pie texture. A brief Googling led me to believe that I really should get the tapioca, so I cruised over to Whole Foods for a (probably overpriced) box of quick cooking tapioca. Bingo! Oh, and flour. Because apparently we were out of flour. Oops. Luckily, the rhubarb and strawberries I purchased happened to be just the right amount for a beautiful pie. Meant to be, I tell you what.

Anyway, we went to look at a few apartments (including one awesome one, fingers crossed!!), and stopped for dinner, and by the time we got back, it was about 9:30pm. Too late to start making a pie? Nah. By 10pm, my crust was chillin' in the fridge. Note that I do not own a pastry cutter. I used a fork and my fingers, and it was messy but effective. I thought I would maybe make the crust tonight and make the pie itself in the morning, but it needs to cool for several hours (for maximum fruit--texture-jellosity), so late night pie it was!

pre-baked pie, circa 11:15pm
more photos here

And now?

HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS, I MADE A PIE!!!

(I am a little excited)

The smell of this pie is so unbelievably delicious that it is actually making my stomach growl, despite the fact that I'm not actually hungry at all. 

Maybe I'll take some better pictures in the morning when the lighting is all nice, or maybe we'll just devour it and go "oh crap. We should have taken pictures." Either way, this pie only took like 2 hours to make, and if it tastes even half as good as it smells, I might just cry.

This is the first time I've made a pie from scratch (including the crust), and I'm honestly really proud of myself. It looks like a real pie, you guys! A REAL PIE!!!

Mark. It Down

Ok, that title was weird. But my friend Alyssa is not weird. And this post is about her. And Mark. Which she sells. She contacted me recently to see if I'd be interested in hosting an online party on my blog, and duh, a way to hook people up with free stuff and share the love, helping my friend and her side business? Sign me up!

In her own words:

I "met Mark." a little over 2 years ago though a friend of mine. My initial thought was that it was good quality makeup that was a heckova lot less expensive than the products I was buying at specialty stores. So, I dove right in and became a rep after only buying a set of eyeshadows. Over the last two years, I feel like I've watched Mark. grow up. They started out primarily catered to high school and college kids, but now have really transformed and improved their quality of their products ten fold. Every time I log on I find something I am excited to share with other people. The other day I went to lunch with some of the ladies in my family and probably spent too much time gushing about my adorable new earrings that "came in a set of 3 for only $18!!!" I can really stand behind the products I'm selling and I hope that you love them as much as I do!

Aforementioned web party includes a raffle and prizes and such for y'all. Fun!

The details:

• If you go to her site and register, you're automatically entered to win either a cute cosmetics bag or fruity lip gloss. Plus, she'll send you free samples!
• If you spend $15, you're automatically entered to win another raffle! This one is for a gift pack, valued up to $40 (including the cosmetic bag, two eyeshadows and a case, plus a "hook up" with black mascara and a glow baby glow lip gloss).
• For every additional $15 you spend, you'll receive an additional entry!
• Everyone who spends $30 will automatically get a free gift from Alyssa!
• And there are other deals going on right now too: with any $15 skincare purchase, you get a free Midi Cosmetic Bag, and when you purchase the Sassy Fragrance Mist, you get a free Sassy Dry Oil Mist! Woohoo!

So there you go! Free stuff (albeit some with purchase)! If you're interested, check it out. The products are really good, and I've known Alyssa for oh...16 years? She's good people.

Cleaning Update

I came home tonight to a clean house. The bathroom (grout included) is clean. The floors are clean. The kitchen is clean. They even washed the dishes that were in the sink! And put them away! They change the sheets on our bed, and I no longer have those guilty "oh crap, it's been a while since we changed the sheets" feelings.

And it's not just clean, but tidy, too! They straighten the piles and fluff the couch cushions and fold the blankets and the place just looks a little less disheveled. Sure, it's partly because we spent a few minutes tidying up last night (gotta straighten up before the cleaners come, of course), but they just kind of polish the place up.

I walked around the condo saying, "I love coming home to a clean house" and just smiling to myself, thinking about how happy it made me. It might have taken a couple of times to get into the groove, but I am very happy to pay the folks at Mop 'N Bucket Cleaners $60 every two weeks.

If you are the kind of person who stresses out about keeping up with cleaning house, and feels badly when you can't, and you have a little extra cash, I highly recommend paying someone to lighten the load. It has significantly changed the way I look at my abilities as a homemaker housewife apartmentgirlfriend woman whatever.

Thanks again to Tricia for lighting the fire under my butt.

Putting it out there

While I have many friends and family members who are into The Secret and all that, I'm not really big on the whole "put the positive vibes out there into the universe" thing. However, with this We Have To Move thing being as it is, I figure it can't hurt to try...right? Especially if I'm all obsessive about checking PadMapper and stuff too?

We have just about 6 weeks until we have to move, and so far, it's slim pickings out there in Apartment Rentals Land. If anyone out there knows of anything (the perfect little 2-bedroom Craftsman house?), please do let me know.

Anyway, Universe, here's what we're* looking for:

• ~850 sq ft, + storage or lots of closets - for ski gear, camping gear, hockey gear (and all our stuff)
• parking either off-street, or easy/safe on-street
• walking-distance to BART because we both take it to get to work
• laundry, preferably in-unit, or with a hookup for a w/d. Shared, coin-op laundry in the building is acceptable...though I really don't want to. I'm spoiled.
• outdoor space. We have a BBQ and two 1/2 wine barrel planters I do not want to leave behind.
• nice kitchen. It doesn't have to be huge or sparkling new, but it should not be so small that two people can't comfortably cook together. And the appliances should work.
• 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom - though I wouldn't say no to 2 of either! 

It would be great to have:

• extra storage - our current place has a closet across the hall perfect for all that outdoor/sporting gear.
• wood burning fireplace - this is the biggest "we probably won't get it" item, but our current place has one and a girl can dream, right?
• outdoor space for gardening, like real dirt, ya know? a yard?
• hardwood floors
• a building with character - sadly, many of the cooler, older buildings don't have parking or laundry, but they do exist somewhere. I'm convinced of it. 
• dishwasher
• garbage disposal
• loads of natural light
• magical fairies and unicorns to fluff my pillow and present me with gold coins

We're paying $1500 right now (I know, it's a great deal - shut up, Lyz, with your gorgeous and affordable house in Iowa), and we can afford to go a little higher. I'd prefer to stay well under $1800. Like, maybe, $1600 or even $1700.  I guess I'm thinking up to $1800 if it has EVERYTHING on the list. 

My request is officially Out There, In The Universe. So...apartment. Where are you?

*I say "we're" because, well, I'm writing this on behalf of us. It should be noted, however, that Will doesn't actually care about some of this stuff. For example, he'd be fine with the shared, coin-op laundry, and he's usually convinced we can fit into a smaller apartment. But for the purposes of this blog...it's "we're." And looking back over the list...he cares more than I do about the hardwood floors and character and I care more about gardening space and space in general. So...teamwork.

Wise words from Amy Poehler

I finally had a chance to watch Amy Poehler's speech at the 2011 Harvard Commencement ceremony, and I loved it so much I thought I'd share it here. It's been a while since I've done the old "here's something I found online" blog post, and this one is worth sharing.

My favorite part:

"I moved to Chicago in the early 1990's, and I studied improvisation there. I learned some rules that I try to apply, still today.

• Listen.
• Say yes.
• Live in the moment.
• Make sure you play with people who have your back.
• Make big choices, early and often.
• Don't start a scene where two people are talking about jumping out of a plane. Start the scene having already jumped.
• If you're scared, look into your partner's eyes. You will feel better."

"...when you feel scared, hold someone's hand and look into their eyes. And when you feel brave, do the same thing."

I've always said that the time I spent with ComedySportz was some of the most formative, positive, wonderful time of my life. I know other folks who have histories with Improv feel the same way (even CNN wrote about it), and it was lovely to hear Amy Poehler put the feelings into such true words.

We're Moving

We're moving.

Our landlords contacted us last night to let us know that unfortunately, they would not be able to renew our lease, which is up at the end of July. For personal reasons, they want to move back to the condo, and well, they own it, and they're not breaking the lease or anything, so it's totally within their rights. And I understand why they want to move back. But I'm still sad about it.

Ok, let me cry for a minute. I feel like we've barely gotten settled here. I mean, we've hardly finished unpacking. Only a week ago, I finished mounting the final HDMI cable with wall clips so that it looks nice and neat. I've just started settling into routines, enjoying my morning walk, decorating and planting things on the patio. Just in the last few months, I've started to feel one hundred percent at home here, in this condo, in this neighborhood. I have ballet and pilates just up the street. I stop by Whole Foods on my way home from work, and I finally feel like I've reached the point where I feel...settled. The thought of uprooting and starting new, again, is daunting. And sad.

Honestly, there are two parts to this: the frustration of having to move again and the sadness of leaving a place that I genuinely love. Sure, it doesn't have the Craftsman charm or a gas stove or floods of natural light, but it had everything else on our list (and more). I've really come to love it here. I love that when it's cold out, Will can make a fire. And I love that our patio is large enough for a small couch, table, chairs, and delightful potted plants. I love the way our stuff fits. I know it's kind of silly, but as I sit here and look around, I really like the way our things fit. I love the linen closet and the coat closet and the storage closet across the hall. Of course, I'd love a bigger kitchen and dining room, but our things fit just fine. I knew that we would move eventually, but I really thought we had another year or two in this space. And it makes me sad to look around at what feels like home and realize that in less than two months, it won't be.

The frustration comes from the fact that I've been moving or thinking about moving for the last 12 months. We officially started looking for a new place last April/May (we had started casually looking in August), and found it in July. We were still unpacking in the fall, when I started working at Disqus. By December, I was starting to plan an office move at work. I'm still wrapping up the move at work, and now we have to start looking for apartments again. I mean, what?! That's three moves in 12 months. And don't they say that moving is one of the top stressors in modern life? I believe it. Thinking about moving again right now (or ok, in the next 7 weeks - SEVEN WEEKS OMG) is seriously worrisome. I'm afraid I'm going to develop that eye twitch again.

All that said, I know it will be ok. And I feel like a major idiot for crying about this while there are people out there who have lost their entire homes to tornadoes, floods, and the like. There are people who are losing their homes because the banks are screwing them. There are people losing their lives, their loved ones, and so so so very much more than I can imagine losing. I know that. I know it's just a condo. I know that we are lucky to be able to afford to move again; even though it wasn't quite in the budget, it's not going to break the bank. And I know that we will find something. I know that being sad, thinking that we might have to downgrade or give up some of the things we've been spoiled by over the last 10 months is well...sort of lame. But you know what? I'm still sad.

In typical Type A, Control Freak Kim fashion, I started looking for places as soon as I processed the contents of our landlords' email. I was in a little bit of a state of shock, and instantly, my fingers drifted to Craigslist (I wasn't thinking clearly, or obviously I would have gone directly to PadMapper). This morning, I opened up a PadMapper account so that Will and I can easily track our apartment interests, and I set up a bunch of email alerts for different geographic regions, based on where we looked a year ago. I will probably cry about this several more times over the next 7 weeks, but gosh darn it if I won't start taking action. It's what I do.

For now, I suppose the hunt is on. I'm glad that I didn't start my "frame and hang a bunch of pictures on the walls" project...or sell the washer/dryer (thanks for taking care of it, Jenny and Jeff). And hey, maybe we'll find a nice place with everything this place has and more! Who knows? Miracles can happen!

I'll do my best to keep the blog updated so you can all play along. And if you're looking for a little humor, here are some posts I wrote for Berkeleyside during last year's apartment hunt.

• Home Hunting in Berkeley: Lessons Learned
• Home Hunting in Berkeley: Lamenting the Listings
• Funny Business: Listing Scams and Malapropisms
• Message to Renters and Landlords: You Have Rights

Enjoy! And if you are the praying/well-wishing/sending-positive-vibes-out-into-the-universe type, please wish us luck (or whatever).