Weekendy Things My iPhone Saw...

Not super impressed with my iPhone for snapping that last one... but I guess that's what you get for being the first one to fall into a deep margarita induced sleep at a dinner/slumber party.

I have to say 'twas a pretty solid weekend which included the following:

• Dancing to bluegrass in Fremont
• Waking up to a text from my roommate reading the following, "Wanna go on an adventure today?"  Duh.
• Successfully running around Greenlake
• Wine tasting in Woodinville (ADVENTURE!)
• Catching up with friends over homemade tacos and margaritas
• Breakfast!!!
• Ballard Farmer's Market
• Watched episodes of 30 Rock for the 20 billionth time!
• Much sleep-age!

Last weekend of January = Great success!

Hope everyone else had a fantastical weekend as well!

Of Hair, Bad Dates, and Sunshine In Seattle...

I got my hair done last Saturday and everyone who knows me has had to suffer as a result. I went to the salon with images of auburn/red locks with flecks of gold high lights.  I left with brown/brown hair and yellow stripes.

After several hours/days of unadulterated vanity (i.e. frowning in the mirror, taking pictures of the horror, complaining to friends, texting aforementioned horror-filled pictures to my sister) I decided to call my stylist and see what we could do about the situation.

She was more than happy to oblige and now I've got some hairs that I can live with for a couple months before I go back in and radically change things up. (A note: When I say "radically change things up" I actually mean "make minor tweaks that nobody else but me will notice").

... ...
 
After getting my hair squared away I met with soon to be former coworkers at Clever Bottle which is where those candlelit pictures were snapped.  Sadly I could only enjoy the company, ambiance, beverages, and delicious soft pretzels for a brief moment.  I had to jet early because...

Last night I had a date...


A pathetic date. 

An oh so very pathetic date.

Let me tell you, if the use of bold and italic letters didn't give it away, I'm not using the words "very pathetic" lightly here.  The entire two hours were just plain sad.

Unbeknownst to me, my suitor was in the middle of a divorce which he was clearly not over and definitely wanted to talk about.  I had hoped he got his ranting out of his system after the first time he mentioned the "D-word" and gave met the low-down (that I did not ask for).  So, when it appeared he was done, and in an effort to change the subject, I asked a seriously innocuous question...

Me:  So do you have a kindle you're bringing on your long plane flight tomorrow?
Him:  Ugh... ... I don't have custody of the kindle.

... ... A simple "no" would have sufficed.  Instead this innocent e-reader question prompted him to spill his  entire sob story to me... again.  But this time with more feeling (a.k.a. swear words).

Oh yeah, he then asked for a ride home.  Fine.  Whatever.  It's cold out.  I'll give the poor guy a ride home.  In the car he proceeded to point out his ex-wife's place of employment before asking if I'd like to go out again.  Dummy.  

Oh well.  I got a free beer out of it.  I win?

... ...

Which brings me to my next point... all of Seattle wins today.  It's SUNNY!  A sunny day in January is, in my humblest of all opinions, the most precious gift there is!  In celebration I made a mix o' music that I so cleverly entitled  "Sunny Day in January".  Listen and enjoy!

When They Fight, They Fight - Generationals
Shangri-La - YACHT
Ivy & Gold - Bombay Bicycle Club
Afternoon - Youth Lagoon
Please - Nellie McKay
Folding Chair - Regina Spektor
Two Shoes - The Cat Empire
Waiting For My Chance to Come - Noah And the Whale

Scruff Thursday!

The interwebs are seriously so overflowing with scruff-tastic images!  This week I once again felt compelled to share a tumblr instead of posting any sort of original fur/face-fuzz picture and I think you will thank me.

Today I bring to you something truly innovative and remarkable... Beards&Fur.  Yeah that's right... you asked for it (or at least I did)... bearded dudes with sweet, cuddly, furballs!!!

What day is it?  It's Cat-urday!  Bwahaha! 

A bicycle built for... a bear and a spare?

I won't even attempt at making a funny quip here.  That's just plain ole' hot. 

While perusing the images I heard myself ask aloud, "Ooooh I wonder if they have those pictures I saw of Jon Hamm with his dog?" Yeah, that's right.  Seeing photos of Jon Hamm and his dog have absolutely made my day on an occasion or two.  

While Beards&Fur is plentiful in the "dude and his corgi" or "beardo with a rabbit" arena (delightful, simply delightful!) they are wanting when it comes to celebrity hunks and their pups.

So here's the final Scruff Thursday image that I am sharing with you today.  I hunted it down for your viewing pleasure.  Feast your eyes on Jon Hamm and his dog Cora (yeah I know her name... what about it?):

via People.com (where else?)... oh yeah Jack McBrayer's in there too.

Happy Almost Friday Everyone!  See ya' tomorrow!

Yesterday's Evening Looked A Little Like This...

 I took myself and a book on a Pho date, hit the gym with a friend, and then took that same book to bed with me. Is a *winky face* emoticon appropriate there?

Basically perfect as far as rainy Tuesday nights go.

Oh!  I almost forgot to mention...  during my gym class the instructor decided to really throw it back and grunge it up.  Yep, we lifted weights to a little Nirvana.  How Seattle is that?!  Oh so very!

Seeing as it's still as gloomy as Kurt Cobain out there I thought I'd sign off with a video featuring the misheard lyrics of "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  Happy Wednesday!

Happy Chinese New Year... belatedly...

As dedicated readers know I was more than happy to say "Buh-bye 2011".  The year was good in so many respects but nonetheless it needed to end.

I woke up on the 1st of this year donning rose colored glasses and filled with, what I thought was reasonable, hope for immediate change and instantaneous life satisfaction.  (Note: Being unrealistic and impatient might be a recurring theme in my life.  Working on it.  Working on it.)

On January 2nd when all of my dreams for the New Year had yet to come true impatience quietly started to creep in and by last week I was down right irritated.

I'd really like to chalk up my lack of patience, unrealistic expectations, general feelings of "stir craziness", and several instances of behaving decidedly out of character to Snowmageddon.  Whatever the reasons, by the end of last week, I was in a serious state of "what is happening in my life?!"

Reminding myself that "this too shall pass" I waited.

Good news came my way and I started to feel like there might be steps that I could take to help guide myself out of the rut.  I realized that this year will be exactly like the last if I don't decide to change patterns in my own behavior that lead to the same consequences time and time again. 

The weekend passed with some small "Go Amanda" moments and by Monday I was ready to usher in some serious change!

What did I do on the Chinese New Year?

Well I gave notice at my current job and am set to start a new one on February 6. 

Change is here and I'm ready!  I'm also ready to embrace patience and really give that a try instead of expecting things to instantly fall in to place.  (Is this a Chinese New Years resolution I smell?)

On a less reflective note:

On Saturday night I saw Fitz and the Tantrums at the Showbox at the Market.  Such a great show.  Such a fun band.  It's always nice to see performers genuinely enjoying what they're doing on stage.  The bands energy was infections.  So much so that 3 days later and I'm still dancing. 

Enjoy a little Fitz on your Tuesday!

Making Up For Thursday...

I plan on writing another post later in the day but I quickly wanted to alert readers to a new tumblr that was brought to my attention today.

While these are not my own pictures I feel like they will suffice in making up for last week's Scruff Thursday.  

These images are all brought to you by GirlsWhoLikeBeards...

More later gator (s)!
Amanda

I'm Alive...

Snow week got the best of me!  Posting to resume tomorrow!

Snow

All day yesterday I was on "Snow Watch". We were promised a storm. We were promised inches and possibly feet of snow. We were promised a snow day.

All day I waited and it didn't seem like it was coming. I grew increasingly prepared for my entire city to be embarrassed today when the white stuff did not come pouring from the sky despite our preemptive freak outs.

I still held out hope though and last night felt like Christmas Eve. I was so anxious to find out if the city would in fact be turned into a winter wonderland and more importantly if my bus routes would be closed allowing me a convenient excuse not to go to work.

I reached out to a few people to see if they wanted to hang out and wait for the "snowpocolypse". No such luck. And so at 9:30 last night I decided my only option was to go to bed and sleep my snow anxiety out.

I woke up probably every hour wondering if it had snowed. Finally at 3:30am I actually got out of bed, walked to the living room, looked out the window, and was disappointed. Still clear. *Sigh*. I went back to bed resigned to the fact that yes a real workday was in my future.

But this story has a happy ending! This morning when my alarm went off I ran to the window just in case in the weather man had delivered. And oh how he had!!!  SNOW!!!

I put on my boots. I put on my warmest winter jacket. I ran down the street to see if the road going up the hill was closed.

YES! YES! YES! There's no way Queen Anne Avenue was going to be traversed by this lady. I returned to my apartment. Called my supervisor. Found she too opted out of her commute. Got to the business of enjoying all that is Seattle when it snows.

I decided the best way to do this was put on some festive lipwear, walk to Starbucks, and work from there. It was a long, arduous, and cold journey...

The trip was definitely worth it though. It's been wonderful to see the place fill up and listen to all the excited chatter over the weather. My favorite thing so far today though has been watching people outside traipsing around in snowshoes (Seattle-ites are special) and dragging toboggans behind them...

I should probably get back to some real work (cue *le sigh*).  Luckily I have a coffee refill coming my way and a nice little snow day playlist to tap my toes to...

Bittersweet Melodies - Feist
Goshen - Beirut
I Know Places - Lykke Li
Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
Long Walk To Never - Jaymay
Minnesota, WI - Bon Iver
Posters - Youth Lagoon
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes


Enjoy your day whether it be snowy or dry!

Weekend Photo Diary : Kassy Visits, Snow Falls, Niners Win!

I had myself a pretty sweet four day weekend.  That's right.  I'll say it again... Four Day Weekend!  With the visit of a good friend I thought it would be wise to tag an extra day onto the already long break from work!

I don't have a ton of energy to write anything today... luckily I have plenty of pictures to fill some space.  They range from watching the 49ers beat the Saints to going to the top of the Space Needle.  Enjoy!

 

 

I hope the weekend was long for everyone else. And if it wasn't long then I hope that at least it was great!

Scruff Thursday : A Crisis Averted

I wanted to update my readers on Thursday's crisis situation .  I arrived at the Ballard Loft ready to watch the Gonzaga vs. St Marys game (I don't want to talk about the outcome) but still not sure what I was going to do about "Scruff Thursday".  Luckily for me a scruffy, not to mention beautiful, man that I actually know arrived!  I was on it.  Quickly I yelled "Tyler come to me!  I must take your picture."  He obliged.  We posed.  A photo was shot.  My mustache mission was complete.

 But wait!  What's this?  Two more hairy faced fellows who seemed to know my party?

What luck!  Such destiny!

Soon, after the requisite introductions were taken care of, they too were lured into participating and here we have the final picture of Scruff Thursday...

Thank you Chris, Ryan, and Tyler for making this girls dreams come true!

I promise my next post will feature a more sensible, less creepy version of the Amanda readers have been seeing these past few days!

Happy Weekend!  Go 49ers!

Scruff Thursday ... Opinions Needed

This week I was not great about collecting images of scruffy men or animals for the second installment of *drumroll please* "Scruff Thursday"!  Early in the week I already posted a picture of a particularly foxy fox and since last Thursday I featured a dog I thought this time around it might be nice to dedicate some bloggage (yeah I made up that word!) to a human male.  

The dilemma was discussed with my roommate while readying ourselves for work this morning.  She reminded me that tonight I am heading to Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood dripping in bearded men (bearded men typically clad in plaid ... double fist pump!), and that I should use the opportunity to accost -- I mean approach whoever I see fit and ask him if he would like to be spotlighted.

At the time it seemed like a truly viable option.  A way to cloak "trolling for dudes" in the name of blog content.  Sign me up.

Naturally I started composing this entry to explain that a scruffed up image (of a total stranger) would be forthcoming... 
...
...
...
And then I felt creepy -- extremely creepy. So extremely creepy that as I write this I am simultaneously considering erasing the entire thing, throwing up a picture of an unshaven Jon Hamm, and calling it a day.

So here I am -- on the fence.

Sometimes my own sense of what's socially acceptable is a little off-kilter.  I'll probably run it by my friends this evening.  But they're typically in favor of me running around acting a fool and I am sure if a drink or two is imbibed I will be more than ready to do some "stubble hunting".  So what I need is for anyone who actually reads this entry to weigh in and give me a hard "yay" or "nay".  Do I or don't I approach random hairy dudes and take their pictures (and get their permission to post, OBVI!)?  Oh life!  Why must you be so difficult?!

--- In case it doesn't read well that last statement was written in jest.  Jest I tell you! ---


I hope your Thursdays are a little less conflicted than mine!

P.S. Speaking of creepy... when I use to work at Free People we played this song in our rotation.  It's so catchy, fun, and CREEPTASTIC!  It just popped into my head and had to share...

A View From the Top

There may not be many perks about working for a non-profit.  We don't get bonus' and pay raises are more Enigmas of the Mystical (HIMYM reference for those not in the know).  But my non-profit has one giant thing going for it.

Location!  Location!  Location!

Sure Belltown in Seattle is more than a little sketchy.  And sure I never thought I'd witness so many drug deals or see vomit walking from my car to the office on an almost daily basis.  But I also  never thought I'd get to work within a ten minute walk from both Pike's Place Market and the Seattle Space Needle -- not to mention an equally quick jaunt to the FLAGSHIP NORDSTROM!

What's more than our pretty sweet location is the fact that if you just hop on the elevator and ride it to the 9th floor there's a rooftop deck waiting for you.  A deck made for midday naps, after hour picnics, and "working lunches".  A deck replete with postcard worthy views and a garden lovingly maintained by residents of the senior apartments also housed in the building.  Even in the bleak midwinter, when naps and eating are best done indoors, the roof can be a wonderful place to go and briefly escape -- a place to catch your breath when your cubicle grows suffocating.  

This morning, during one such escape, I snapped a few photos from this beloved spot...

On days that the Olympics are visible across the Puget Sound I cannot ask for anything more.  Those mountains are an instant dose of happiness even on the dreariest of Pacific Northwest winter days.

For more Seattle pictures (and WAY more laughs) I highly encourage you to read My Hometown Is Better Than Yours.  While Seattle is not my home town I definitely appreciate the sentiment and humor of the post.  A friend of mine showed it to me and I have sent it on at least 10 times over to be enjoyed by others. 

Happy Wednesday, January 11, 2012!

P.S. This post inspired me to listen to an oldie but a goodie...

Some Thoughts on this Tuesday

1.  Why is it, after 15 years of doing it, that I cannot master the art of shaving my legs without causing blood to flow forth?

2.  I think my closet is finally, really, truly organized... like in a way that it won't be a raging disaster again in 2 days.

3.  Everything tastes better out of a goblet.  I knew this already but sometimes the reality hits me like a ton of bricks and at those moments I am so pleased to have an estate sale collection of them.

Happiest of Tuesdays to one and to all! 

Day Tripping to Mt. Rainier : Random Photo Diary

 

A week after the tragedy at Mt. Rainier a group of friends and I decided to head to the park the first day it reopened to show our support and enjoy the breathtaking natural wonder that is Mt. Rainier National Park. It was a day of firsts for me. My first time to Mt. Rainier, my first time seeing a fox (oh-em-gee talk about scruffy and beautiful!), and my first time seeing a glacier! Naturally the only way to end a great day like that is stopping in the middle of nowhere for some nachos, beers, and karaoke.

I'm undergoing a massive New Year cleaning and so did not have much time to put these pictures up.  It wasn't quite the visually coherent story I was hoping for.  Better luck next time!

Happy Monday!  One day closer to another 3 day weekend!