Wanderlust Wednesday

Let's take a trip, shall we? A sort of mental vacation, even if its just for at most five minutes. Today we are hanging out in Positano. It looks like some magical movie set that just doesn't exist in the real world, but indeed it does. Just look at all the brightly colored buildings stacked up on the hillside. I would love to meet someone who is in a right bad mood in Positano, because I just think that's not possible. You could probably have a miniature bad mood and then turn the corner and Bam! Brightly colored gelato store just waiting there to instantly turn your bad mood into the most amazing afternoon you've ever had. Oh and then, just to put the cherry on top, you head down to dip into the mediterranean and sip a limoncello in the sun. I mean really people, why are we not there? And why don't I speak Italian yet??

I think I need to go watch Under the Tuscan Sun or something. I think there's another movie with Positano in it, but I can't remember right now.

--J

Pretty Pretty Picture

Ahhhh, San Clemente

Thoughts...

There has been a lot of time lately spent contemplating. What you ask? Pretty much everything from the mundane to the future/what is it all worth thoughts. I think this balcony and this view invites these thoughts. I definitely don't have think this in front of the TV in the apartment, that's for sure. Brian and I love our time spent out here, for thoughts, reading or just drinking an ice tea. It's our favorite spot of the moment. Helps that it's so nice out too.
Hope you guys had a great Monday.

--J

Walk Down Memory Lane

My sister and I used to basically live on these steps. Our housing community where we grew up had walkways installed throughout track and those stairs at the bottom of our cul-de-sac led to one walkway. Oh how we loved that place. We owned that area. We left toys in the bushes only to find them a couple months later (or in the case of one lonely Big Wheel, about a good year or two later). We used sidewalk chalk to mark out our territory and we spent hours upon hours exploring every last nook and cranny. My sister and I had a major nostalgia trip yesterday as my mom drove us around our home town and our neighborhood. It was very well needed. 

Our old house (in much better shape than we left it)

Wouldn't be surprised if there was still toys in there from us

Thanks for the fun memories!
--J

Date Night

Rough week, wasn't it? Yesterday, Brian and I decided that the only way we could stumble across the finish line to Friday was if we had a little date night on Thursday. We stay in most school nights lately, so it was a big deal to us. Brian got off of work about ten minutes later than I did, but those were ten minutes too late to happy hour at El Carmen....so I ran over there, put our order in with the server in literally the last five minutes of happy hour and had Brian meet me. And let me tell ya, it all worked out. Margaritas, a couple tacos and a quesadilla later we were ready to walk over and catch a movie (quintessential date night we're having here). We saw Crazy, Stupid, Love and thought it was great, funny, entertaining. Best part of the night though - walking home hand in hand with my boyfriend after a well deserved date night.

Blurry but matches our eyesight after margaritas

--J

Weekend (Non)Travels

Weekends go by so quickly, don't they?! I swear the earth knows when I have free time and decides to speed up (and then also decides to slow back down during the work week). At least we got to spend time with friends & family and eat some yummy food.

Brian's sister Kelly, her boyfriend Brian and his sister Elyse. Breakfast at Toast

Goofing off at LACMA

Super yummy Cuban sandwich at Simple Things

 --J

Dinner's Ready

My mom taught me to make a taco salad from a recipe my Aunt used to make (which I think was a pretty popular recipe during the 1970's). It's so easy to make and takes barely any time at all, definitely has been in the heavy rotation of meals for the past four or five years for me. If you want something quick to make, here's an idea for you:

Taco Salad

Ingredients
Ground Turkey
Lawry's Taco Seasoning
Tortilla Chips (I use Mission Strips)
American Salad Mix from Ready Pac (or similar)
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Catalina Dressing (Kraft)


Brown the turkey and follow the taco seasoning directions on the packet, meanwhile combine the salad mix, crushed tortilla chips (crush as much as you want with your hands) and cheese in a bowl. Once the turkey is complete, add it to the bowl and mix altogether. Then pour in some Catalina dressing (again, as much as you like), mix and viola, finished!
How easy is that?! And so yummy. We add Cholula hot sauce to it as well, but that's a personal decision, haha.

Somebody likes it :)

--J

New Inspiration...

Romantic-gypsy looks (as mastered by Kate Moss' wedding). The last picture thrown in for good measure cuz it looks cool. We'll see what this vibe will inspire out of me (probably a lot of really weird outfits).

--J

My name is Jillian and I am a house stalker

FYI, this pic does not do this house justice

I may or may not have been on a realty site awhile back and came across the house of my dreams. As we all know, we are definitely not buying house (for obvious reasons). I was just trying to eye the inside of an apartment that was for rent a street away and was supposed to be listed on that same site. I am a self admitted nosy Parker. For the record I never found it and Keller Williams might need to work on their website designing because of that, but I instead got lost in the homes listed. It was just maybe twenty minutes, but it was fun. Here goes that daydreaming again. Anywho, this house was incredibly perfect! A couple of blocks away, on a quiet street sat my house soul mate. It was a single story that kept the original 1930's structure of the house, but was completely updated. White walls, a cute porch, horsetail growing in the front, backyard, three bedrooms with an office in the converted garage, stainless steel viking appliances. Oh and the kicker, the master bedroom has French doors off the back that open to outdoor brown wooden couches with white cushions and white curtains surrounding them. I just about died and couldn't stop thinking about it, so..... I drove by... a couple times. Found out it was in escrow. I mean why wouldn't it be?! You would have to be crazy not to try for this place (and also rich, it was 1.3 mil). Anyways, seeing it in escrow makes me happy in a weird way and I am hoping that some cute family moves in and makes my daydreams into their real life.
I did walk by it again on Sunday (for old times sake, haha). Still in escrow. But what was great about walking by it was noticing the cool features other homes had near by that I had yet to take notice of. One place had great floating tiles to walk on to the front door (I have no idea for the correct terms of what I am saying, btw), another had a breezy porch set-up with a peaceful urn fountain. These homes all retained their Mildred like structure (we call 1930's single floor homes Mildred homes because we recently watched Mildred Pierce and of course those types of homes were featured since it was that era, I told you I have no correct terms) and they all made those homes modern with white paint and updated features. Love!

Really need to work on this daydreaming deal though. Can't be good.

--J

Purty Flowers

I took a walk through the homes on Saturday and one place had the most beautiful flowers growing in the front yard. I haven't seen dahlias in a while and seeing the ones at that house inspired me to go get myself one of my very own. While my very favorite flower is a peony, dahlias are probably next on the list. I say probably because depending on the day, that position might be taken over by a rose or even an orchid.
To grab myself a dahlia, I walked over to a flower shop that I drive by every day on my way home from work and have yet to go in. Every person I see leaving the store (as I wait not so patiently at the light in my car) has very beautiful buds in their hands. I figure today would be a great day to check it out and grab my dahlia. They did not disappoint. They had such amazing flowers everywhere, I wanted to spend all day in there. It must be so nice to work there and be surrounded by all the beauty. I was so amped on my new flower store find, that I completely forgot that I left my debit card at home. After an embarrassing moment at the counter when I couldn't purchase the couple of dahlia stems that I brought up, I did find a errant five dollars and still went home with one to give us a little more to look at then our blank walls.

Isn't she beautiful?!

--J

Torture? I Think Not

What do you think when you look at the machine above? A lot of girls answer this correctly, but the woman who waters the flowers here at work keeps calling it a torture table. It's really a Pilates reformer machine, but when she says that I can't help but laugh. It looks so medieval, however when you are on it, I liken it more to a circus apparatus. The pulley system on it and some of the positions you get into feel like you're gearing up for a horizontal trapeze event. Certainly makes exercising more interesting doesn't it? This machine and I have a standing date every Wednesday and this has been going on for three and half years now. You think I would be better at it, but I'm not. Oh well, I guess it's not just the physical exercise but its mental exercise too.
I'll see you later you torture machine you!

--J

A present came in the mail today...

 and it was a tripod that Brian ordered for us. Now we can have more pictures of the both of us together. Thanks Brian!

--J

Get your aceitunas in gear

It was another L.A. weekend. We tried to have every meal out enjoying the atmosphere, warm weather and friendly personalities that we've run across. We tried a french cafe that has recently opened in the past year. I believe that it is also a art gallery. It was definitely the French experience with the meal lasting for a couple hours. Once our food was served, they checked in every so often, but were not going to bring the check anytime soon. They even brought us some free glasses of arnold palmer. It made us take the time to relax and enjoy all the uniqueness on third, until even I had had enough and made Brian ask for the check. I would definitely go back to have the lemonade, cucumber, mint smoothie though. Amazing and refreshing. After that we walked around third street for the street sale which was fun but brief. Later that day, we decided to use our groupon and head over to Bottle Rock in Culver City for a cheese and wine plate. That was a lot of fun. There were two couples there on their first date, so irresistible to eavesdrop on those conversations. We were going to see Crazy, Stupid, Love and we drove over to the Century City AMC (we had a gift cert for tickets), but it was sold out. So that was the end of that. 

Sunday brought us a leisurely morning at home plus some cleaning and laundry, which only feels good when its done. We took a break in the afternoon and tried out the Spanish place in the Farmers Market. A pitcher of sangria later, we took the long walk home. And we've been lounging ever since. 

Look Phil - Our first Furry sighting (and on Third St!)

"Do you come here often?"

Bottle Rock, Culver City

Somebody is happy

 

A  Taste of Spain

Ah, Farmers Market

 We're thinking sangria is our new favorite way to start the new week.

--J

Spanish Love

Brian has a new found affinity to many (not all) things Spanish. Olives are now one of his favorite snacks and manchego cheese & Jamon Iberico is a perfect dinner. I love that we have been in Spain together so that we when share these things now, it brings back fond memories. Especially when the future seems hard, its an easy way to escape for the both of us. So that's what I have below. A little escape back into our vacation.

We were blown away by the Roman Columns that greeted us on first morning in Cordoba

In front of the early Christian Church, that then became a Mosque, that then became a Christian Church (aka the Mezquita). Such amazing history.

Brian contemplating the awesomeness of the church (and definitely not contemplating God as we all know).

Ok, back from that mini vacation. This weekend, we will try our best to do a staycation in town, sponsored by Groupon haha. 

--J