Quiet house

Last week I was dogsitting for some friends and my little studio was just bustling with activity. We were total couch potatoes most of the time but I know Suki had fun with all the company and the occasional rough-housing. This morning I found her curled up next to the spot where we had stationed Wendy and Annie's doggie bed. I couldn't stand the sad puppy face so I bribed her with a treat before I left the house. Instant happiness.

top image is suki, bottom is wendy (on the left) and annie (on the right)

Time for some change

This week the Monterey Bay Aquarium put out a new video on climate change. I kinda love it!

Click here and check out the MBA blog.

Goodies in the mail

Dontcha just love getting stuff in the mail? Other than junk mail and bills of course. This morning I opened my mailbox and these lovelies from the Rifle Paper Co. were smiling back at me. Big ups for stationary!

image via rifle paper co.

A little grammar humor to spice up your life

After taking a Writing and Editing class in college, I became a little obsessed with grammar. I really love the subject, even though I still on many occasions make grammatical mistakes (you've probably found a few already). Here's a little grammar joke that I read in a book during that great class:

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
“Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
“I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Yes, I did laugh out loud when I read that joke and yes, I am a big dork.

Hooray for overly-dramatic romances!

I love this movie oh-so-very-much! If you haven't seen The Notebook, please make your life complete by watching it immediately. :) I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

image via miss molly

The Majestic Plastic Bag

This video pays tribute to a clever, agile and awe-inspiring beast-- the plastic bag. I think sarcasm and a British accent are truly the best, most effective ways to get any message across. Can someone get this thing aired during the Super Bowl, or better yet, the season finale of The Real Housewives? If you live in California please be sure to call your senators and tell them to support the Ban on Plastic Bags! I would be so very proud to live in a state that is taking action to reduce our footprint on the Earth. 

Seattle!

We're going to visit family in Seattle this weekend! See you all on Monday. Happy weekend!

image via seattle guide on design*sponge

Sight seeing

This week I've been playing tour guide with Mom and the little Sis. They came to visit me on Tuesday and today we went to Hearst Castle. Despite the winding road and deadly cliffs we had to drive through on the way there, the trip was absolutely amazing and the castle is seriously breathe-taking. We ended the day at Nepenthe Restaurant where we ate way too much yummy food. These pictures were taken by my very talented little sis. Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Milk cartons + Plants = AWESOME!

I found these "head gardeners" on Inhabitat. I just love this type of green graffiti, and these milk cartons look much cuter than all the dirty ones filling up landfills. Every street should have one!

artwork by Anna Garforth

Turtle Time

I was surfing the net the other day and found a video posted on You Tube. Who was the genius behind the oh-so-steady camera? Me! This video was taken when I did my internship for the sea turtle conservation organization CICTMAR in Venezuela. I spent three months doing just what you see in this video. It definitely brought back some great memories. Enjoy!

If you would like to adopt a turtle please click on the CICTMAR link above, they are always in need of funds for this amazing project!

When I grow up

I always wonder what the kids I work with will turn out to be when they grow up. Hopefully I've inspired a few of these rugrats to do something extraordinary with their lives. I'm loving the new "Curious for Life" ad campaign that gives a little insight on the scientists behind all those confusing/overwhelming studies and discoveries we often hear or read about. I'm not only digging the graphic design of these ads, but also enjoying a glimpse into what made these awesome people become what they are today. I remember one key moment that lead me towards science. During my freshman year in college, we went on a field trip to the Kennedy Space Center. One of the astronauts asked me what I was planning to study. It was a toss up between acting and environmental science and I was leaning toward acting (I mean, how many scientists get to work with Leonardo Dicaprio!?). His response, "There are too many actresses and not enough scientists. Go with science." Done and done.

image via the union of concerned scientists (found on inhabitat)

Hi there!

Well, after a few weeks of exhaustion, a variety of small to medium crises at work, and a car accident (not a serious one), I'm happy to say I survived with all ten fingers and toes. I apologize for such a prolonged disappearance but I hope you have all been well and enjoying the summer! It's been a busy one for me, needless to say, with lots of changes as well as challenges. The good news that I've been waiting to tell you is that I moved into my very own apartment! Thanks to a generous donation from the Mom Foundation, I bought a little studio here in Monterey and moved in about two weeks ago. I've never lived on my own, and I must say I absolutely love it. So far it's a little sparse with only a bed, a couch and my teeny tiny T.V. propped up on moving boxes, but it's slowly beginning to look like a little home. I'll post some pictures for you later on in the week. As I'm sitting on the couch writing this entry, I just realized how much I miss blogging! It's good to be back.

image via better than fine

Rolling with the body slams

Seriously, this past week was atrocious. I'm sorry I've been absent on the blog, but I've just been trying to keep it together and not run back to Miami screaming! I know I tempted you with a big upcoming announcement but I really would prefer to share happy news when I'm feeling, well, happy. I'm so not there right now. I always try to keep things in perspective, you know like being thankful for all ten fingers and toes, but rolling with the punches is difficult when there are multiple punches mixed in with a few body slams, coming in from several different angles. Somehow this little picture (and a nice cold beer for dinner) makes me feel better. I'm hoping all this yuckiness passes quickly. Here's hoping my next post is a sunnier one!


via the website that always makes my day a little brighter, miss molly

Happy 4th!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend full of yummies like this and lots of fireworks. Fireworks make the 4th of July one of my top five holidays. Today is my sister's birthday. When she was little we always told her that the fireworks were especially for her.  I can never decide which firework is my favorite, each one is always better than the last! Oh, and I have a super big, exciting announcement for you guys tomorrow.

image via Martha Stewart (I wish all my foods and crafts looked as perfect as Martha's. If I ever attempted this it would probably look like a deformed marshmallow man.)

A worthwhile expedition

These days, plastic is such an integral part of our lives it's hard to go far without bumping into something important made of plastic. Unfortunately, there are too many unimportant items (plastic water bottles and bags) that end up in places they really don't belong, and where they do quite a bit of harm-- the ocean, for example. I spent a while today reading about the Plastics at SEA Expedition which is towing nets through the Atlantic to measure the enormity of this problem, and trust me it's big! On Monday, they captured 23,000 pieces of plastic in just 30 minutes. Now that's just scary. Check out their daily journal which is pretty cool and don't forget your reusable bottles and bags!