Parisian Valentine

Chris and I have been talking about going to Paris forever. We dream about it all the time, just waiting for the right stars to align so we can make it happen. I can just see us alternately hoofing it around town to hit every museum and taking leisurely sidewalk-cafe breaks.

Since Paris is probably a ways off for us, Chris created a mini City of Love for Valentine's Day.

Breakfast was crepes with lemon and sugar. (Go Chris! So well-made!) Treats for later include yummy cheese with French bread, a madeleine, macarons, and bubbly, all from Monsieur Marcel at The Grove Farmer's Market.

Plus, some literature to facilitate our dreaming...and a cute little jar to help us save for our trip.

Update: We also had a delicious dinner at Meet, a great French bistro in our town. We had made reservations ages ago so that we could celebrate Valentine's with a shared order of mussels and frites! We got a cozy table nestled against the wall and opted to try the "bisque" mussels, which were new to us (I'm sorta boring and usually just love the regular old white wine-and-shallot broth). They were incredible. Plus, the combination of the cold night and the small restaurant gave me NYC flashbacks (in a good way). I daresay this was my favorite Valentine's ever!

Teleflora Super Bowl response

I know this has been over for a week now, but it's still bugging me, so I have to vent it out on my blog. Did anyone see the Teleflora Super Bowl ad featuring Adriana Lima? I've been torn about venting because I don't want to give them any more publicity for producing such disgusting truck. But I can't help it. So that their STUPID ad doesn't get any more hits, here's the gist: Sexy model is getting dressed in lingerie and tells guys they just need to "give" (flowers) to "receive" (sex) on Valentine's Day. GROSS.

So wrong in so many ways, but to be real short about it, not only is this sexist and degrading as all get-go, it's also DEPRESSING as hell, presenting intimacy as a transaction.

Even though about half of Super Bowl viewers are women, advertisers still go the sexist route. I am used to this and prepared myself to roll my eyes at a handful of scantily-clad cheerleaders handing dudes a beer. This truly went above and beyond gross, so I felt compelled to write those jerks a letter. Here's the response I got:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about our commercial. We have
passed your comments along to our management and advertising team.
Despite the fact that we have been around for 75 years, we are a small
company and we are trying innovative ways to break through the clutter
with our advertising. Teleflora is proud to support our network of
16,000 local florists around the country. These are small businesses
who make up the backbone of our country.

We are sending you a $10 gift certificate to thank you for your
feedback. We hope that you will see for yourself the Teleflora
difference of a hand-designed and hand-arranged bouquet, delivered by
your local florist.

THIS is even more disappointing for several reasons:

1) It does not apologize.

2) It actually sort of insults/places the blame with ME: You must be un-American, because WE support small businesses. And by not getting behind us, you fail to support your country.

3) Their excuse utterly fails. They're trying "innovative" ways to break through the clutter of advertising? Degrading women isn't even innovative. It's been going on since forever, and this is 2012. Get with the program.

4) I found almost the exact same response to someone's ad complaint from 2009. They are NOT EVEN LISTENING.

So, next time you're thinking of buying flowers, for V-Day, Mother's Day, Easter, whatever, I urge you not to buy from these jerks. That is all.

Love for Lauren Graham

Parenthood is on a break until January, but I just had to post some love for Lauren Graham. I think she might currently be my favorite actress, due to her turns as the (granted, somewhat similar) characters of Lorelai Gilmore and Sarah Braverman. But, just like Carey Mulligan, the tiniest movement of her face just conveys so much emotion. She completely rocks.

Lily ring

This is random, but I just stumbled upon the Lily Royale Ring at catbird and had to post it. I think it would make such a delicate and unusual engagement ring! (Conflict-free stone, too.)

Newspaper

Recently, we helped some high school seniors raise money for college by buying a weekend subscription to the LA Times. Last time I was poring over an interesting story, I had a realization. I'm going to go ahead and say it, even though it is an unpopular view in many circles:

I freaking hate reading the newspaper.

By this I don't mean that I hate reading news; I mean that I now hate the physical experience of reading the newspaper. It is large, it is awkward, and I suck at folding it correctly. I get ink all over my hands. If it gets spread out on the beige carpet, ink will get on the carpet, too. By the time it gets to my door, a zillion more things have already happened that will be reported online. Plus, on the weekend it's like, 80% ads and useless coupons.

This might surprise you, because I really love print in many ways and have thus far made print my livelihood, but I just can't get behind newspapers. I don't know if I ever would have come to this realization before there were other options, but when this subscription runs out, I'm all iPad, all the way—at least in terms of news.

[Apparently this space is becoming a home for my random thoughts lately. Sorry!]

Oh, the Interweb...

I feel kind of strange. I just filled out an online "dating-esque" profile...except to meet platonic female friends. I'm wondering if Girlfriendsocial.com might help me meet some more West Coast folks, since working at home is not conducive to broadening one's social circle!

Driving

I'd like to write a bit this morning about driving, and I feel more comfortable doing it in this space than the joint space. This is a matter that pertains only to me, and is something I'm really grappling with.

Making the change from 100% walking and train-taking to 100% driving has probably been the biggest shift in my lifestyle since moving out West. I know how to drive—I started at 15 with my learner's permit, and passed my driving test the first time. However, I haven't been driving on a regular basis since about 2002. That's when I graduated high school, moved to New York, and gave up having a car. During the first 2 summers of college, I drove to and from summer jobs and to see friends. During the second 2 summers, I spent most of the time working at a camp, sans car. Driving is like riding a bike—you don't forget how—but it becomes much, much more nerve-wracking.

I've had a couple scrapes in my day, and my family members have liked to keep things interesting for us with more serious accidents. (Thank God they are OK.) And if living and walking in New York taught me one thing, it's that people are entirely oblivious to everything going on around them. So, picture a busy New York street, where a careless fellow might bump into you, and then give everybody—including that careless fellow—a one-ton, high-speed vehicle full of explosive, flammable gasoline. Combine this with the personal history of accidents, and I am just terrified to get behind the wheel. I walk whenever I can, mostly to the supermarket, the park, the ATM, and the drug store, all close by. (Oh, and Yogurtland. Obv.)

As time wears on, I force myself to drive more and more. I have tackled the giant LA freeways on a couple of occasions, and I have routes I know really well, to places like the library, the bank, and Target. But beyond that, I've been leaving the driving to Chris.

Not driving much is starting to make me feel trapped. On Sunday, I couldn't take it anymore and forced myself to drive (alone) to Abbot Kinney, a hip avenue in Venice that always seems to be busy. I went slightly off-course, but found street parking in a neighborhood and walked about 10 minutes to my destination. A wimpy solution, but the parking was easy and free.

I think I just have to do more solo trips like this to conquer my fear, and to start feeling like an independent person again. Last week, I checked a nearby store for something I needed, and, when they didn't have it, I considered just driving home instead of checking their other location (because I didn't know how to get to the other location). I was disgusted at my own wimpiness, so I whipped out the iPhone, pulled up directions, and forced myself to find the other store, even though it was getting to be rush hour.

I don't want to force myself into situations I can't handle, but I think I can handle most of these things and have to overcome this mental block. It's just that every time I'm accidentally stuck in a turn-only lane or someone pulls a bold, no-blinker cutoff maneuver, my blood pressure goes through the roof and I start sweating buckets.

It's only been 4 months, so I'm trying to be patient with myself. After all, I went from no driving to big-city driving in no time flat. Also, I'm thinking of getting a bike, but that comes with its own set of worries...

Were you ever afraid to drive? How did you get yourself over it?

New snapshots

I finally uploaded some more shots from my iPhone, so here are some new scenes of life in CA.

I scored this little desk at the Santa Monica Antiques Market. I love writing here every day. (The chair belongs to the kitchen table, and is a little low for working, but I'm determined to find a good chair for the study.)
We may have gotten a little overexcited at the sight of fresh fruit at the Culver City farmer's market today. Exhibit A, fridge full of berries:And here are a few parting shots of Culver City at night:

We're here

So, moving is my only explanation for my extended absence. Let me tell you, moving across the country is a huge, expensive pain in the butt. However...we're here! There's sun! I love my new writing space! I love avocados and clementines! There will be lots more California updates here, I'm sure, but the boy and I are also blogging with California-specific musings over at Lousy With Avocados. There's so much changing, and I'm still a little nervous (mostly about work). But for the most part, I'm really very happy in this new place.

Chocolate-filled Valentine's Day

The best kind of Valentine's Day is one filled with chocolate. On my commute to work, I opened my purse to get my headphones and found a pretty pattern...

::gasp::

Then I came home to find this, a chocolate-coffee-port cake baked by Chris:

Hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day!

Shout-out

Just felt compelled to post a shout-out to the boy for a whole host of reasons. For holding it together whenever I'm falling apart. For doing the laundry today. For getting me white daisies on Groundhog Day. For making shoveling snow look super fun.

More snow

I know, I know, it's like, "Beth, enough with the snow already." But I can't help it. It's so preeettyyy. Should I *not* have walked a mile through Central Park in the semi-blizzard this morn? Yeah, I guess. But here's what I saw from under my umbrella this morning:

(By the way, the umbrella wasn't so helpful. As you can tell from the horizontal streaks in the last photo, the sideways snow clung to my bags and coat anyway.)

Jury Duty: Not So Bad

When they send you to lunch for 2 hours, jury duty is not so bad:I got to see a new little corner of my borough. Actually, jury duty was not so bad at all. I got to read all day and then was dismissed! Photos taken 1 day before city blizzard #2.

White winter

Thank you, thank you, NYC, for the white winter. Usually, winters here are so dreary. One or two wimpy inches of snow quickly turn into the most menacing variety of sludge imaginable, forming dirty pools on every street corner that make it impossible to walk and cause pedestrians to live in perpetual fear of a taxi splashing.

But not this winter. This winter has been white and fluffy as far as the eye can see. And this girl is happy. (Dogs are happy, too. Can you spot the dog above? Close up, it's about the size of a bear.)

Central Park Path

Wise words

You've got to face facts, act fast on your own

Preparation, perspiration, dynamite determination

Pack snacks, make tracks all alone.

Don't be cute. Time to scoot. Head out to your destination.

Chase the future, face the great unknown.

-Gobo Fraggle

First snow

The first snow in Central Park. (I know, all of my posts are becoming tied to Central Park. But it's keeping me sane. I'm thinking of living there. Couldn't I just build a little tiny cottage, like the Sarah Lawrence Teahaus, and go about my business? I wouldn't bother anybody, promise.)

Dad gifts

Wow, golden autumn has come and gone. Central Park is now nearly empty in the mornings. I love it at this time, and my big sleeping bag coat makes me nearly invincible to the cold. I'm powering through a few stressful work weeks (at least I knew they were coming and could prepare), then I have a bunch of vacation time. Woo!

I'm braving rain today to finish up some holiday shopping. Every year, I get stuck on The Dad Gift. Does this happen to anyone else? I love Internet gift guides because they're fun to look at and inspiring, but they never quite hit the nail on the head for dad gifts—for my dad, anyway. What's with the cufflinks and wine? Is everyone else's dad James Bond? On the flip side, you have grill tools, power tools, etc. That's not quite right, either. (Being a maintenance professional, my dad has about 2 of every tool and I wouldn't know the right kind to get, anyway!) My dad falls somewhere between...a handy poet-raconteur who doesn't wear suits, drinks black coffee, and loves french vanilla ice cream. Anyone know where I can find the gift guide for that? :)

Golden autumn

This blessed, golden season is bringing me back to my self again. It's rained less than usual. And it's been warmer than usual. Weather really can lift my mood.

I'm trying to snap out of a cycle of self-defeat. I keep shooting down possibilities before I try them, and keep convincing myself that I can't do things that maybe I *could* do. Just dealing with uncertainty is enough without this kind of thinking—the combination prevents the thrill of possibility from creeping up behind the uncertainty and just creates a scary void. I had lots of unstructured time today to just think, catch up on my to-do list, and exercise. It was glorious. I though a lot about how much I love learning things, and I'm craving a new learning experience in a big way.

View from a sick day

Well, it started about here:Lunchtime on Wednesday, after lots of editing in front of a screen. I started feeling a bit shaky and weird, and decided that I must just be overtired/hungry/computered-out. So I bundled up and decided to try for one of the last outdoor lunches of the season. I parked myself outside of Juilliard, had my sandwich, and felt no better. By 4pm, I had to leave work with various shakes and aches.

And it is ending here:
Sitting around on the couch, being completely useless. In the arsenal: microwaveable hot pack, honey throat drops, Puffs lotionized tissues, Sudafed (the real sh*t, that they make you sign for so they can make sure you're not running a meth lab), ibuprofen, eucalyptus salve, cold water with lemon, hot tea. Oh, and AppleTV, a fleece blanket, and a down blanket.

My fever's finally down, hence the blogging. So happy I'm starting to recover!