BACKSTORY: Six months ago, I “rescued” a lovely ceramic doe from eBay. Miss Jane (get it?) has been gracing our china cabinet and overlooking my feats in the kitchen with an approving eye.
TWO DAYS AGO: I was in Downtown Fullerton getting lunch with my dear friend, Heidi, and after we ate, we took to strolling down Harbor Blvd. We popped into The Brick Basement Antique Mall (which is, incidentally, HUGE and AWESOME). Towards the back of the store in a corner near the register, I spot…you’ll never guess…ok, I’ll tell you…MISS JANE’S SISTER!
I was sure it was her sister. Now that I have a Stewart McCulloch figurine, I would recognize another one anywhere. And there one was. Looking ever so lonely. Being the decent human being I am, I took her home with me for a family reunion.
One of our favorite summer things to do is to watch movies in the park. When we were living in the Bay Area, we went to a couple screenings at Dolores Park, but now that we’re in Southern California, we’re all about Cinespia! On Saturday night, we drove up to Hollywood to watch North by Northwest in the cemetery (probably my favorite Hitchcock besides Rear Window). It sounds a lot creepier than it actually is. They project the film on one of the buildings, and everyone lays out picnic blankets on the lawn.
We met a lovely couple while we were waiting in line and really hit it off. We ended up sitting together and decided to be permanent movie-going buddies. Next weekend, Casablanca!
On Friday night, Jason and I saw OK Go at the Music Box in Hollywood. They put on a really great show. Very fun and quirky and interactive…all you would expect from the fellas who created some of the best music videos ever. (Also, Earl Greyhound opened, and they were fabulous. Pure rock ‘n’ roll. When they perform, it’s like you’re being slathered in butter. Their guitarist is a young, skinny, sexy Michael Bolton although he is way too cool to enjoy that comparison.)
I am very pleased with myself for sending New Years letters for the second year in a row. Well, last year’s was a letter, but this year’s was a card. There is less space to have fill up with writing, and they double quite well as thank-you notes for Christmas gifts.
Here is the front of the card. I photoshopped Jason’s and my face on an old photograph I found on flickr. I make myself laugh so hard.
We had a lovely Christmas with the Dukes-Gerstle-Christensen-Nords (aka “Durstlesenords”) in Woodland Hills. Bente made yummy glögg. We ate too much and played probably 20 games of Blokus. There was ice skating and holiday beer (though not simultaneously). A good time was had by all. (Photos by Lauren.)
Christmas is nearly a week away, which means I’m shamefully overdue to post an account of our Thanksgiving.
It was the most untraditional one we’ve ever had and probably the most laid-back. My sister, brother-in-law, and two wee nephews drove down for a few days. We did a lot of hanging out and walking around downtown Laguna. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of turkey sandwiches on the beach.
It was Lincoln’s second time at the beach, but the first time he’d really explored the sand. Jason and Johnny dug a very deep hole in the sand (as boys do) and filled it up with the two-year-old and more sand. He’s been initiated.
Boone slept as we watched the sunset.
The next day involved a trip to San Diego Zoo where we saw a gorilla and a polar bear very closely. Lincoln is very clever with identifying animals and perched wide-eyed on his daddy’s shoulders for most of the time.
Thanks, Gillespies, for coming for a visit!
Last night, Jason and I went to a birthday (slash) housewarming party for one of his friends. It was a good first social outing, and we had loads of fun.
The earlier part of the day was spent driving around Laguna Beach, looking for apartments. I would estimate that craigslist only represents about 30% of the rental market. Most of the places we’ve found were from scoping out neighborhoods and looking for “For Rent” signs. In a lot of ways that’s better because you can rule out a place quickly and get an idea of the different areas. Research, you know.
I am finally down in Orange County as of last night. Our “relocation” process got a bit of late start so Jason had to fly down early while I took care of all the details of moving.
It was the longest I’d been away from him since we’ve been married so that was weird and sucky.
This is our little duplex that I will miss so much. It was the first place Jason and I have lived that was big enough to have people over. It was charming, and I liked our neighbors.
Here’s a few photos of what transpired in the last week.
The Day They Took the Car Away (to ship it down south)
We’re moving to Orange County! Jason got a new job so we’ve been busy packing and apartment-hunting. It has completely spoilt us living within walking distance to restaurants, entertainment, and multiple forms of public transportation (our current place has 89% walkability) so we’ve decided to live in Laguna Beach.
We’re really going to try to document this transition as much as possible. It’s quite the adventure for us!
Came across some old video footage. Here’s me at 3-years-old, being quite the little goof. (Incidentally, this is some prime documentation of the ’stache Dad used to sport.)
