Gettin' Down on Friday

No matter what I do, that silly Rebecca Black song gets stuck in my head every single Friday. It's silly.

This was a great week. For lots of reasons. Many of which have to do with the fact that I love my job.

Last night (Friday night) I had a lovely dinner at a girlfriend's house with some other wonderful ladies. It was a great time of catching up with each other.

And then this morning (Saturday) I joined two friends for a spin class--the first one I've taken in a long time. And while I don't particularly like working out with other people, I think I can get behind working out, or at least going to the gym with, a few friends. Hopefully I can convince them that they had as much fun as I did.

 gifted top, Banana Republic cargoes, Gap sweater, Target flats and earrings, gifted scarf

A while back I was on the search for some legging jeans or pants, and I was getting really frustrated that my calves were too big for most of the styles I tried. (I'm just so buff, ya know?)

Well, while I was on that search, I stumbled upon these cargoes at Banana Republic and reduced, but not by much, so I passed them up.

And wouldn't ya know it? I stepped into BR this week and I saw these beauties on sale. With an additional 40% off sale items. So I swiped them up. It was meant to be. I didn't have cargo leggings on my to-do list, but I should've, because these are pretty great.

Hope everyone's having a fabulous weekend!

Beatles and Beetles

Hey, yesterday was my 100th post! Hooray!

Ok, so on to today. Tonight I met up with some friends to go to the California Academy of Sciences for their Nightlife series. Tonight they were having "Beatles and Beetles": a display of rare early photos of the Beatles alongside lots of beetles. And a Beatles cover band. Plus we were able to walk around the rest of the exhibits, like this huge rainforest habitat, aquarium, and living room, where we got to view Saturn through a huge telescope.

Good stuff: friends in the rainforest and aquarium. 

It's a great program because tickets are only $12 (but I got mine for $9 with an online discount), when regular admission tickets are $25, I believe.

Plus, it's over 21 only, so they pump the music (does that disturb the animals?) and serve drinks.

Photo 1: The front of the Academy; Photo 2: Beetles!; Photo 3: A fuzzy photo of the really good Beatles cover band

All in all, a great way to kick off the weekend and get out with the girls. Although I did freeze a bit driving to scooter. The Academy is located in Golden Gate Park, which is lovely and one of my favorite places to run, but it's also cold and windy there.

Hey, look! Outfit photos in the rainforest. In photo #3, I'm attempting to get a butterfly to land on my hand. Did not work. F21 top, Gap jeans, Urban cardi, Old Navy boots, Guatemalan necklace 

Proof that the Beatles photos were there. There was a gallery hall filled with Beatles photos and exhibits of taxidermied animals. Weird combo, but really cool.

Follow Me To Work

Today I thought you'd enjoy something different, so I took along my camera on my walk to work (about 2 miles). I don't walk every day. Sometimes I take the scooter. But today husband had Reba, the scooter, so I walked it.

Oh, and I dressed super casual today for work because at lunch we had our monthly company BBQ. Yet another reason while I love my new job. Enjoy the tour!

 Gap top, Urban cardigan, gifted jeans, Minnetonka shoes, Old Navy necklace (have you seen the cute accessories at Old Navy?)

The day starts with a walk through this door. This is the basement exit of my apartment complex. Creepy, huh? We call it "the hobbit door."

This is the view down the street from my apartment. Welcome to foggy San Francisco!

I made  quick stop at this (blurry) coffee place. It's actually a nightclub called "Azul," but the front part of it (through that little door below the martini glass) turns into one a to-go cafe that serves my favorite coffee, Blue Bottle.

Ready to roll with coffee in hand.

The end of my street intersects with Market Street, one of the main roads. If I turn right, I head toward work. If I turn left, I'll end up at the Bay in just a few blocks. I love living in a city surrounded by water.

After another turn and a mile more of walking, I end up here, at work. No, I don't work outside, but I do work immediately across the street from this lovely little park. This is where we had our BBQ and played Bocce ball. (I won the first game, by the way.)

That's all, folks! G'night!

Tuck It

See what I did there?

I'm a clever one, aren't I? So today's outfit started out with a tucked in shirt. But before I even left the house, I had untucked it. I don't know why. I'm still not sure which is better. Maybe the tucking would've made me happier had I been wearing a belt. But my wardrobe is sadly lacking in the belt department.

 Gap top and cords, Soda flats

So I'm not just here to discuss my tucking habits. I'm also here to update you on this month's Give Up/Take On project.

Bootcamp: Fail. I'll admit it. I've failed at bootcamp. And here's why:

1. I don't like to have to travel--at 6am--to a spot to do my workout.
2. My transportation (scoot scoot) has become unreliable anyway, and I don't really want to get stranded in the middle of Potrero Hill super early in the morning.
3. I just don't like it.

Yeah. I don't like it. Ever since I started paying attention to my fitness, I've basically done it alone. I like running alone (and occasionally in a group), I like working out at the gym alone. I'm usually enough motivation for myself.

That doesn't mean I'll never like working out with others, it just means I don't want to get up super early three times a week to get yelled at by a perky ex-cheerleader.

But the good news is that I'm back to running. I'm signed up for a 12k coming up in a few weeks and the Nike Women's Half Marathon. And I'm still searching for a full marathon for 2011.

Less-poo: I'm down to washing my hair on Sundays and Wednesdays. I admit I'm washing my bangs more often, but cut me some slack, they sit on my forehead all day and get a little gross.

I think I need to research a dry shampoo that doesn't make my hair feel gross, like mine does. Then maybe I can go a whole week like my pal Syd.

I have a couple of things in mind for next month's Give Up/Take On, so stay tuned.

Chocolate Success

Today was just lovely. We stopped by Arizmendi's bakery before church for coffee and pastries. I got a vegan banana nut muffin that was so yummy.

The hubs looked at me suspiciously when I took his photo.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning and getting stuff ready for Easter dinner with friends. Remember this chocolate truffle cake I was planning? I made it last night and finished it off today with a dusting of cocoa and some raspberries, and it was delicious. Super rich and yummy.

I haven't baked much lately. (Actually, maybe not since the husband's red velvet birthday cake in October.) I've been wanting to get back to some baking, so maybe this cake experiment will be a good beginning.

 Gifted top, borrowed Old Navy dress, Old Navy boots, F21 belt

And now that the hubs is cutting back on gluten and we're both cutting back on dairy, I'm excited to have found this recipe listing.

Chocolate chip quinoa cookies? Gotta try these!

Speaking of getting back to things, I need to get back to a regular workout routine, too. I'm thinking I'll join the gym again. (No, bootcamp hasn't worked out. More on that later.)

Fashion Risk #5: Socks With Heels

It's been a while since I've done one of these "Fashion Risk" posts. You may remember the (in retrospect) not-so-successful winterized shorts (which I think I could've improved upon with sheer tights instead of opaque leggings) and new love-of-my-life high-waisted bell bottoms (I wore them to my interview for my great new job, so they're a keeper!).

For our church's Easter vigil service, I chose to try out knee-high socks with heels.

Here are my observations:

1. The ensemble was kind of thrown together, so the shoes and socks don't work well with the dress and cardigan. But I'm still posting it because it's good to document foibles along with successes, right?

2. I need better posture. I'm slouching like it's my job in that first photo.

3. I only managed to get these two photos before my camera battery died.

4. I'd try this again, but I'll spend more time putting it together as a whole outfit.

My chocolate cake just came out of the oven and it's cooling. (Yes, I realize it's after 1am here.) So excited to try it tomorrow to see how it turned out. It's flourless, so if it's delicious, I might just have to make it for my mom-in-law someday. (She's allergic to gluten but LOVES chocolate.)

Have a Happy Easter tomorrow! He is risen!

Old Navy sweater dress, Urban cardigan, Gap socks, Nine West heels

Easter Cakeums

Well, hey there! And a Happy Good Friday to ya. I'm so happy I got the chance to go to my church's Mandy Thursday and Good Friday services this week. And tomorrow's Easter Vigil. That's a lotta church. It's a good thing I like it.

It's my family, really. I love so many people here in this city, and many of them I've found due to City Church.

American Eagle top, Urban Outfitters cardigan, Gap jeans, Banana Republic boots, Old Navy scarf

In other news, I'm going to attempt to make this for the Easter dinner we're having with our neighbors and friends. Well, not for dinner of course, for dessert.

The hubs has given up gluten for a while, so I thought a gluten-free, rich, chocolaty cake would fit the bill. Yum.

Also, I'm going to be bringing a lot of asparagus to the Easter party. Because it's delicious.

Happy Easter, everyone!

I Got Nothin'

 Gap top, Old Navy cardigan and denim leggings, Banana Republic shoes, F21 earrings

Yes, I Know What Time It Is.

It's time to DANCE!

Or at least it was a couple of hours ago.

 Gap sweater and socks, Banana Republic boots, gifted jeans, H&M scarf

Watch this and tell me you don't want to dance, too:

Amazballs?!

(Sorry, Gwyneth Paltrow just said that on "Glee" and something in me wanted to repeat it.)

That's where I was tonight. Watching the amazing Go! Team perform. And they really are a blast to watch. You can't really tell from the following blur-fest, but the lead singer, who calls herself "Ninja," is super fit. I want her workout routine. I mean, other than bouncing around on a stage every night for several months.

So I danced my booty off and had a blast with my friend at the concert. I don't usually stay up this late on weeknights anymore, but this was a good exception.

And I think my boots are now sufficiently broken in due to all of the dancing.

Did I mention we were in the front row? Also, there was a banjo. And melodica, harmonica, steel drum, typewriter (!), two drum kits, several guitars, hammered dulcimer, and electronic gadgets. And the cool thing is the Go! Team actually works in all of these weird instruments quite well.

It was a blast and a half.

Tis The Season...

...to buy boots! Let me start this off by saying that my latest purchase was not an impulse buy. I've been watching these boots at Banana Republic. I even tried them on once, but just wasn't sure. I've been wanting to get some lace-up brown boots but just wasn't sure if these were the ones.

And wouldn't you know it; I walk into Banana the other day and see the sign "Take an additional 25% off of sale items." Well, I just had to snoop around. And I came across these lovely lace-ups again. With my size being one of the few left.

They were already marked down 50%, and I got an additional 25% off of that. On the shoe-trying couch across from me another girl was trying the same boots on wearing the same red cords as me (you know the ones). So I took the hint and bought the shoes.

 Gap blouse, Urban Outfitters cardi, Old Navy denim leggings, gifted scarf, F21 bangle, Banana Republic boots

So I'm thinking early Spring is just a good time to buy boots. Everyone's clearing out their winter stock. And living in San Francisco means I pretty much can use boots throughout the year. Besides, I think these are very Spring-friendly.

Aside from my new boots, another thing that's making me happy today is my souvenir SF Giants World Series Champs cup.

There's a LIVE Mouse in Our Office

The joke was supposed to be that I work for an internet start-up so we have lots of COMPUTER mice, but no REAL mice.

But it got lost in the badness of the joke.

Anyway, now we do have a real mouse. It's gross because we'll come to work in the morning and there will be tiny pieces of mouse poop on our desks. Ew. I know. But the mouse is too shifty and quick so we haven't actually done anything about it yet.

And today I actually saw it. With my own two eyes. It was a tiny furry ball of quickness dashing across the carpet.

And that's the news at work.

 Gap cords, Cotton Basics tank, gifted (from Hong Kong!) top, gifted (from Syd!) scarf, Target ring, Madden boots

In other news, the husband said the other day, "Maybe I'll do the '30 for 30.'" No. Joke. He said that. I will NOT forget that he said it when the Spring 30 for 30 comes around. (Anyone know when it's a-comin'?) He has a ridiculous amount of clothes--He works in the industry, people--and it's gotten so that he doesn't actually have space to store it all.

So he thought maybe he'd try just 30 pieces for 30 days to see what he can consolidate. (He actually consolidates quite often, but he has a lot.)

Ok, so that's about it. I'm going to try to convince my husband now that I'm not feeling well so he should take me to go get some ramen. Yum!

Sleepy Time Bethy

It's past my bedtime, so this'll be a quick one. This weekend was full of lounging, houseworking, and catching up with my husband. He's back from Hong Kong, the land of shopping malls everywhere, he says.

Also, I went thrifting this weekend. And failed completely. It wasn't a full-blown thrifting trip, mind you; I just dropped by Buffalo Exchange--hardly a thrift store--on Saturday. I was on the hunt for oxford-like shoes, a maxi skirt, and a blouse with a Peter Pan collar. I found two of the three: the skirt and the blouse. But they were both ill-fitting, which is disappointing because the blouse was this on-trend orangy-coral color.

I also tried on some high-waisted pants (HUGE fail) and harem pants (fail times ten).

 Gap top, J. Brand jeans, gifted scarf, F21 bangle and necklace, Mango blazer

What did I learn from my trip? I'd rather spend more money and get good fitting, quality clothes than spend my time scrounging through thrift shops. That's so not fashion blogger-like of me, I know, and maybe I haven't given thrifting a fair try. I'll try it again sometime, but for now, I'm sticking to what works for me.

In other news, in addition to the lovely blue scarf the hubs bought me in Hong Kong, he also gave me two more scarves, packaged in this darling little squares:

So cute!

And lastly, I leave you with this video of a musician I saw tonight at the Great American Music Hall, Hauschka. He's a really cool prepared piano player. So take a listen.