Compliments and Cochella

What an pleasantly odd day today was. I spent all day shopping for a client with one of my co-workers. It was so much fun! We went crazy and basically filled my co-worker's Jeep Cherokee to the top with pillows, vases, art and other nick-knacks for the installation tomorrow.

Something weird happened to me while I was at Home Goods though.
My co-worker was talking to our boss on the phone and I was left in charge of our cart. I was following her down an aisle when this employee walks up to me. He stood there looking at me and instead of asking me if I was finding everything ok (like I expected him to), he asks me if I'm Canadian. At first I didn't think I heard him right but he asked me again and I answered, "Nooo.... I'm American..." I must have looked like a total douche in my confusion, but he sweetly and nervously replied, "Well you look wonderful."
I felt so bad! I said thank you and awkwardly maneuvered the cart away.
I'm such a dummy sometimes. So if that kid is reading this, seriously, thank you for the compliment. You really did make my morning.

In other news, anyone going to Cochella? By some miracle, Alex scored us some tickets for week two and I cannot be more excited! Tegan and Sarah, Modest Mouse, Vampire Weekend, RHCP... Woo!
You going?

Christmas Decorating!

Alex and I are huge fans of the Christmas Spirit. We love the lights, the ornaments, the egg nog... you name it, we like it. We are also the type of people who buy our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Here is our apartment's transformation over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Here is our messy living room before:


We headed to a little Chirstmas tree lot by our house. They had cheap trees, free delivery and we were helping out a little boy scout troop.


After a stroll around the lot, we found our tree.


After the awesome boy scouts lugged the tree up to our apartment, we threw on the lights and ornaments and the room started to glow.


But that's not all... we decorated our mantle* too! Christmas mantle!!


We weren't sure if we were allowed to put lights up outside**, but we figured it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.


* Thanks to my mom for letting me use her decorations! She doesn't use them too much anymore and has an excellent collection of little Santas and vintage glass ornaments.
** We received a newsletter from the complex that said it's OK to decorate so... woo hoo!

Happy Holidays everybody!

Let me tell you about the exciting week I had at work! 

Alex and I got our Christmas tree (more on that later) last Sunday and my computer somehow stopped working in the process of moving it from the living room to the kitchen. It eventually started working again but my boss's husband M wanted to take a look at it anyway to make sure it really was OK. He didn't find anything wrong with it but as soon as I brought it home, it decided to stop working again. The computer is back with him again and I'm working from my laptop now. 

Aaanywho, on Wednesday, my boss J, my co-worker K, and I met up at 7:00 am in Napa and drove down to San Francisco to the Design Center.  We attended a networking breakfast and watched a presentation by an architect named Andrew Skurman. He is a renowned architect that specializes in Classical architecture and recently published a book! He's a very interesting guy and his work is amazing. It was kind of intimidating to be in the same room with such an accomplished person.

After the breakfast, J and K took me around the different show rooms at the design center to pick up samples and look for pieces for our current clients. K was such a pro at the design center. We were zipping in and out of show rooms grabbing this and that. I told her how impressed I was with her knowledge of the place and she just laughed saying that there was about two months during the summer where she would make weekly trips to the SFDC. I wonder if that responsibility will be in my hands in the future?

The photo above is one I quickly took at the Benjamin Moore show room... I mean look at it! You wonder how many other ways there are to present paint chips besides what you see at hardware stores. I just love how they've stepped it up with the flooring and lighting. So clean and beautiful and anti-hardware store.

On Thursday morning, I was back in the office working on some last minute drawings for a meeting we had later that day. The project is a master bathroom remodel for a guy who loves the rich Tuscan look. We had three designs to show him, one of which I had a lot of influence with. J had told me what she was looking for but pretty much let me at it. I found a really nice vanity for the client and added some arches here and there in the interior. He liked all of the designs but his face really lit up when he saw what I came up with and chose to go in that direction. I don't want to say that I "designed" it, I was only following direction but it was still exciting having someone want something that I put together. All in all, my first official client meeting was a success! I can't wait to see what comes up this week.

Five Senses: Sunday Night Edition

Seeing: Photos "uploading" on my flickr. My internet doesn't like uploading photos while Alex games and I try to watch Netflix.

Tasting: Popcorn. My favorite snack food.

Hearing: "Scream and Shout" by Will.i.am featuring Britney Spears. I absolutely hated it the first time I heard it on TV but it has evolved into my guilty pleasure. I can't get enough of British Britney!

Smelling: Apple Cinnamon Glade Candle. Makes my house feel cozy...

Touching: 24x36 Building plans. Getting ready for Monday at work!

TGIF! Tomorrow marks the completion of my first 40 hour work week in... eleven months!
Can you believe that? My body is in shock!
Alex laughed at me when I mentioned that because not too long ago he was working about 60 hour work weeks.
The new job has been good! My boss is trying to make a space for me at the office so that we can all be in one location. Sounds like my sleepy chic work-from-home days may be numbered. I'm pretty excited for that though because there is so much to learn from those ladies. However, I must admit that I will miss going to my mom's house to eat lunch and watch Days of Our Lives.

Next week is going to be pretty busy. On Wednesday we are heading down to San Francisco to hear a talk about windows and then do some shopping for a client and on Thursday I will attend my very first client meeting to go over a design that I've been working on.
I can't even tell you guys how excited I am about this job. To think just last year I was sitting in my cubicle at my old-old job, drawing pipe supports and wondering when/how I would ever get into interior design. Now, after five months of unemployment and another five months interning, I'm finally heading in the right direction. I know this is just the beginning, but it's so nice to see my hard work finally paying off.

12:30am Thoughts

I should have taken Woodshop instead of Home Ec in junior high. I'd be so much cooler now. :P

4th of July

Delicious food to celebrate with.

Ibu enjoying some BBQ chicken and smoked ribs with her box of chilies.

My Dad enjoying the good eats!

Alex in action.

Ribs are my favorite.

Caught eating potato salad out of the bowl.

Our blueberries were finally ready to be picked!

We got a good amount this year.

Fireworks show from the river.

A small finale.

Marie's dog Bruno was scared and went to Alex for comfort.

Wants the fireworks to stop. Poor little guy...

Back at home playing with fireworks.

Lighting some sparklers.

Playing with slow shutter speeds.

   Hope everyone had an enjoyable fourth! It was nice having a day off in the middle of the week. My day was spent with food, family, friends and fireworks - a winning combination for a great Independence Day!

Moving On

Did a tornado come through my apartment? Nope! After 20 months, Alex and I are moving out of our first apartment! It was a good lil apartment but I'm glad to be moving on. Not that we are moving too far away... just to another (nicer) complex down the street. I'll still be about four minutes away from my parents and Alex will still be about a two hour bus ride away from the city. Hopefully by this time next year we will both be working and living in the city but for now my hometown will have to work.


Moving is never easy (and you're talking to a girl who lived in a different apartment every single year in college). This move was especially hard, however. After searching for a new place for about two months, we finally found the perfect place that accepted our application. The only problem was the lease on our old place ended June 30th and our new place won't be available until July 24th! Luckily, my parents invited Alex and I to stay with them until the new apartment is ready. That means that for three weeks, all of our belongings will live in a storage unit and Alex and I will be living in my childhood bedroom. It's going to be cramped but something we have to do. I'm just thankful for my parents generosity in taking us in.

Solar Eclipse 2012

As you probably already know, there was a solar eclipse today! Thank God for Facebook or I would have missed it! The light outside was very unusual. It felt like being in an apocalyptic movie where the end of days was near.
You could not see the eclipse without some sort of filter (you do not want to damage your eyes!) so we made a pinhole projector.
We used a long cardboard tube, a piece of aluminum foil with a pinhole and something to project on (we used a takeout box, haha).


Here is my dad with our pinhole projector, trying to locate the projection on the takeout box.


There it is! A nice little crescent.


Here is the other end of our projector: the foil with a pinhole.


Another view of our projection.


We finally got our hands on a perfectly transparent piece of paper and used that instead of the little takeout box.

 
The crescent was getting thinner and thinner...


Weird crescent shaped shadows were being cast from the eclipse. Cool and unusual stuff going on, people!

Un-unemployed!

Meaning I got a job! After about a month or two of corresponding with a local architect, we finally found time to get together for an interview and then two weeks later I was hired! As of now I am a consultant for the company working project to project. I do a lot of work on SketchUp and have already learned so much in my two weeks of working there. 
It's pretty exciting!
 
The funny thing about my unemployment was that I had all the time in the world to blog and do projects but didn't. Now that I have a (part-time) job, I have the urge to blog again. Maybe because life is more interesting now - I don't know but I plan on blogging more in the future. Not for anyone's entertainment but to keep a record of things going on... to have something to look back on. 

Anyway, here's my new view. I work in an old building with exposed bricks, beams and giant windows. Not too shabby!

A Coffee Break

Yesterday my mom and I were a little bored and wanted to get out of the house. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a new little coffee shop in town called Acre Coffee.
The front window of the shop is really what first caught my eye. It sits at an angle and the panes can fold completely open bringing the exterior and interior together... I love it!
The interior of the coffee shop did not disappoint either. It had an industrial feel with some rustic elements mixed in. It's a smaller space so there was room for a few small tables, a wall counter with bar stools and a large farm-style community table that had seating for 8. All around the shop were little lamps, terrariums, and art that made the space feel more like the little country home filled with awesome vintage finds that you dream about at night (well at least that's what I dream about!)
All together, Acre Coffee is pretty much my favorite cafe in town now. A well designed space and a mean cup of chai tea makes me one happy customer.

(Photos courtesy of my cruddy phone)

Lately...

Last weekend I had a Groupon for a new pair of eyeglasses from a little boutique in San Francisco. My parents are always up for a Saturday morning adventure so they accompanied me to Union Street where the store is located.
After about 45 minutes, I, along with the assistance of one of their fantastic employees, found the perfect pair of nerdy glasses for me. I'm so excited! They should arrive in about two weeks so prepare for a very vain post of me modeling them (Just kidding! Sort of...) because I'm sure I will never wear contacts again.
When we were done at the eyeglasses store, my parents and I wandered up and down Union Street which is always fun. So many cute little boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

There was an interesting house just off of Union Street that had a very clever way of adding a green element to their home which was located directly next too a beauty salon. Don't you just love this vertical garden filled with succulents??  My dad had me take photos of it because he is in the process of xeriscaping the yard and thought something like this would add a nice element to it.

A cute cat soaking up some February sun in the front window of this store.

So many outdoor cafes on Union Street...great place for people watching.

 This flower shop brought a nice bit of color to the city.

And finally, we can never call it a trip to the city complete without stopping at our favorite ice cream shop. Swensen's has the best Swiss Orange Chip and Green Tea ice cream!

Pink

Job searching really messes with your self-worth. I've been feeling unprepared, unworthy, and just down. What I've concluded is: you can't get a job without experience but you can't get experience without a job.
Luckily, I've been seeing a lot of motivational things on the web saying things along the lines of, "Nothing worthwhile comes easy" and "She said she could so she did."
I'm not giving up.
I've also been seeing a lot of pink. I don't know why but it just makes me happy.
So hey, if you're feeling down maybe this montage of pink will make you happy too. What's not to love about cake, ice cream, random pink walls and a pink Pepsi machine?
See, now your smiling too...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Bits of My (Birthday!) Weekend

This past weekend my very best group of friends from college came to my house to celebrate my birthday weekend. We have known each other for at least 6-7 years and although we do not get to see each other as much as we use to, we manage to get together a couple of times a year to catch up and hang out. 

We spent the last three days partying, playing Quelf, having adventures on Pier 39, eating LOTS of good food (see the lobster bisque above), and watching the sun set on Baker Beach. Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday if you ask me...