there's a part of me in the chaos that's quiet

first things first. if you can tell me where the featured artwork in this post comes from, i will send you a serious prize. the item was left on my keyboard this morning when i came in to the office, and i have to say there are few things i'd have rather seen on a tuesday. :)

second, i haven't updated in donkey's years because quite frankly, i don't think anyone reads this to warrant frequent posts. then again, it's a chicken-or-the-egg kinda thing, because i know if i posted often and well, i might garner one or two audience members. :)

third, i moved 2 weeks ago. best decision i've made in four years! my favorite thing about the apartment to date are: my awesome roommate katie, my crazy (and yes, sociopathically, by-the-books crazy) neighbor gigi downstairs, the fact that i can entertain friends and boyfriend whenever i want, the fact that if we want to spend all day saturday drinking vodka sodas and creating facebook events in the living room, we can. and my favorite purchase for the living room, this rug (pictured right) from west elm.

in other news, i am training for a half marathon in may and let's just say i'm not quite where i should be. i am loving the flourescent pink sunset jogs but they never last more than 45 minutes before i'm ready to drop dead. i'm pretty sure i wasn't cut out for this.

peace, love, and hamsas.

Talkin about a (technology) revolution

Blogging from the blackberry. That sentence made no sense 6 years ago.

A Year In Review: 2008 (aka the longest post you'll ever see)

2008 was good to me. for fear of this post being any more wordy than it needs to be, i'll let some photos tell you why.

January: looking back at my calendar (gimme a break, it was 12 months ago), it seems like the only eventful occurence during the first month of the year was a trip to vegas to celebrate my aunt's 50th birthday. unless you count a dentist appointment, a facial, or a volunteer shift at the OC marathon eventful. so, here we are in sin city with my favorite cousin who's now a mommy to a beautiful baby boy:

february: i spent 10 idyllic days frolicking around london, where my little sis was studying fashion design, and rome, where my dear friends paolo and federica showed us a taste of the good life. homemade pasta, espresso stops, dusk at trevi fountain and gelato on cobblestone streets. i fell in love with rome -- and with the world -- all over again:
march: met a boy. took me 3 months to figure out he sucked at life. i only post it here for posterity's sake, so when i'm old and gray and hopefully not blogging anymore, i can still remember life as a twenty-something. meanwhile, celebrated dani's birthday at lucky strike:april: nothing says spring like spending a couple days in washington, d.c during the cherry blossom festival. it was a lobbying trip through the anti defamation league's glass leadership institute of which i am a part. i met a personal hero, abe foxman, and knocked on the door of my local congressman at the capitol, asking him to basically change the world:

may: memorial day weekend. spent four glorious days in san diego (my old stomping grounds) with my best friend. drank to our hearts' content. met my boyfriend. played hours of catch phrase. had margaritas in old town with old friends. in that order...:june: i spent 3 weeks dogsitting for chelsea's pug, winston. crazy little pup. work was insane... i spent a big portion of weekends preparing for our annual golf tournament and then finally relaxed when we got to the course and drove around on a cart drinking every beverage in sight... i mean, handing out beverages to the golfers who spent $350 to be there that day:

july: i was a lucky girl to be able to spend 4th of july/my birthday in san francisco with some of my best friends and my boyfriend. we danced. we drank. we stayed at the westin in union square for 3 nights free. we rode bikes across the golden gate bridge and picnicked in the park. we visited book shops galore and watched fireworks from a rooftop lounge:august: this was a month of celebrations, celebrations. melissa's birthday in l.a, sarah and diego's birthday/anniversary dinner @ cucina alessa, joanna's birthday in l.a, gila's wedding, and a charity event @ the local zoo: september: if you know me, you know how i spend my septembers. festival of children, a monthlong program at south coast plaza that showcases the work of children's charities: october: one of my favorite people in the world, norman, came to visit his orange county buddies for a few nights of debauchery (i wouldn't have expected anything less from him):
november: after a complete work-related meltdown, i spent a week in paradise to relax, rejuvenate and eat seafood and guacamole. nuevo vallarta's grand mayan resort was so good to us:december: aside from a brief 3-day stint in the hospital for gall bladder surgery, december was a perfect way to finish up the year. holiday celebrations galore, quality time with friends and family, the annual podlas family chrismahanukwanzakah brunch, and a midnight kiss on new year's eve to round off the year:

thanks for being a part of my life in '08. stay tuned...

the reason for the season

the day after i moved to london in november 2004 for a short 6-month work/travel stint, i met a new friend. correction: i met my future wife. i'm not sure at which point during our six months spent as roommates we started referring to each other as "wife" and "wife" but it might have something to do with the fact that i cooked her meals while she ate mushrooms right out of the pan before they had time to grill, or the fact that she is the only reason i made it to work on time everyday because she'd scream my name until i bolted out of bed in a huff, stumbling to the bathroom with my eyes closed. we certainly took good care of each other for the duration of that time, and continue to be partners in crime 4 years later.

we lived on the infamous Kings Road in Chelsea. while surrounded by the poshest of stores (diesel, french connection, jigsaw and molton brown...to name a few), my favorite by far was paperchase. the day before i flew home, i spent about 2 hours in that store to stock up on everything i thought i might need (ok, want) before i could make it back to london. i was devastated to give up the tradition of grabbing a cup of caffe nero's coffee and perusing paperchase for hours on a sunday afternoon.

that is until one day, i wandered in to borders here in orange county and POOF! an ENTIRE section of paperchase goods. an orgasm to the eye. i peed my pants with excitement at the possibilities of owning it all. each and every delicious notecard, pen, ipod case and journal.

let me cut to the "chase" here. for christmas 2004, i bought my wife a 2005 calendar/diary from paperchase. and each year since, i've continued the tradition. there's nothing that quite makes it feel like the year is coming to an end...nothing that gets me in to the holiday spirit... and nothing that takes me back to that magical time spent in london, as the feeling of purchasing two fresh-off-the-press, untouched and uncluttered planners for the upcoming year. one for me, and one for my wife.

yes, i know. some people watch "it's a wonderful life." some people start playing christmas carols in their homes on the first of october. some people drop coins in the salvation army bucket... and some get "wrapped" up in the stress and anxiety that comes with shopping for everyone and their mothers. i delight in the simple pleasures like fed-exing a tiny little package to one of my best friends, and wishing her a good year:

perspective

care of toothpaste for dinner:

russian down the 5 freeway

imagine my delight when my dear russian friend, jessica - better known as JEEEEEEEEESSS when combined with a running-jump-trample-kind-of-a-hug, informed me early last week of her impromptu decision to travel the length of california on friday for a reunion with some of her southern california friends. this--coming from the girl who refers to mid-california as "somewhere between heaven and hell." simply put, she's a san francisco snob (and i don't blame her).

on saturday morning, nicci and i drove up to los(t) angeles to demonstrate some good ol' southern california hospitality. we picked jessica up and headed straight for Craftacular, a massive shopping bonanza hosted by Bust Magazine. after picking up a few essential items (traveling menorahs made of altoid tins, plastic passport holders, business card holders, fancy notecards and some funky jewelery), we hit up Toast for lunch. by far one of my favorite los angeles restaurants. with some time to spare before the big reunion on saturday night, we completed mission: smoke hookah whenever we're together. after some blackberry hookah, mint tea and then an apple-mint hookah refill, we were on our way to freshen up and hit the down with ucsd's finest alpha epsilon phi alums.

it's a funny feeling walking in to a room full of 10 or so of your closest friends from college. while some things never change, beer bongs are replaced by Makai Kiss martinis, buffalo wings are replaced by ahi tuna and seared scallops, engagement rings are blinding and lawyers, nurses, and engineers discuss careers, significant others and...gasp... the future. although you'd think oceans separated us for the number of times we see each other in any given year, i adore these girls and their ability to make me laugh until i cry. i adore beth's ridiculous faces, barri screaming "tttttttttarrrr," shiri's free lawyer advice, yinds for being yinds, jess for her insight... the list goes on.

the night finished with a visit to a local kareoke bar and a slumber party @ kerri's place in beverly hills.

on sunday, after brunch and a leisurely stroll down beverly and rodeo, i said goodbye to my favorite russian, paid a visit to my favorite south african couple in brentwood, and my favorite boyfriend in hermosa beach. :) it was just one of those weekends i wished would roll in to an entire month. i'm a lucky girl.

foto fun

since I currently lack the brain power to creatively and, in detail, blog about our recent trip to mexico (i'll save it for a rainy day, or thanksgiving day) - i decided to do something a little different. since it's 11/24/2008, i decided to find the 24th picture in my "puerto vallarta 2008" album and this is what i found:

looks like i don't need to recap the trip after all, since the photo basically tells the full story. we were either hanging out in flip flops or with our feet up for 7 days straight :) throw in some margaritas, guacamole, ziplining, a boat cruise, and lunch on a private beach, and there you have it. mexico in a (coco)nut shell.