I'm a fan now.

For years now, I've heard about the wonderfully fabulous facials given by my esthetician friend, Melissa Samuels. As a busy mom of 3, she works limited hours & days, so it's been difficult to find a time to see her. That is, until last night.

And oh boy, was it worth it! It was relaxing, soothing, my skin felt smooth and looked glowy and oh-so-clean afterward. My previous experirences with facials left something to be desired. After Melissa, however, I can say that these will become part of my (quarterly) beauty routine.

In addition to wanting to experience a facial by Melissa, I wanted to pick her brain about my skin, the best products for it, etc. I've been using Dr. Perricone products for a few years now and have been fairly pleased with the results. With my desire to cut back on my spending now, in anticipation of when I start grad school next year, I thought I should start using less expensive products now. Melissa recommends Dermalogica (which, though not inexpensive, costs less than what I currently use), and was able to advise me on which products were not only best for my skin, but which are actually necessary for maintaining good skin. As soon as I run out of my Perricone supply, I'll be switching over.

Oh! And she gives a foot/leg rub too! An unexpected, heavenly treat. All for just $90.

Ask for her specifically at salon Madison 101 @ 626.683.1188 (101 S. Madison Ave, Pas).

A week from today

I'll be tasting these.

Thanks be to my friends & family who want to see me properly celebrated.

Looking forward to it!

"Here we go, a Portland-ing, amongst the leaves so green!"

That's right folks, Portland here I come! And I do expect that Portland will be very green, what with all the precipitation they get.

BAM were interested in exploring the Portland area, so we coordinated our visits for the end of August. While there, I will meet with an admissions rep and visit Pacific U/School of Professional Psychology, perhaps do a little wine-tasting at Ponzi, and hopefully also get a chance to visit with my friend Phoebe and her family (and new baby, due mid-July!).

I'm also looking forward to trying out the TRI-MET public transportation system, which looks SO handy! I love taking public transportation when it gets you where you need to go easily and efficiently.

I've heard so many great things about Portland; I'm excited to check it out and imagine myself living there. If you have suggestions of things to see or do while we're there, let me know!

Where will I end up? For that answer, you'll have to check back Spring 08.

When the going gets tough...

(Or, say, you get "released" from your job)...You make a martini, of course!

Although any alcohol may do at that point.

Make sure to have good friends around too. That helps.

Ab-I think I'm still in denial about your leaving...Maybe it will hit me only when your moving van is driving away. Can't say I'm looking forward to that day.

Holding Out

So...I've been holding out on sharing some really fun stuff. Namely a blog I stumbled across several months ago while blog hopping (it's AMAZING what you'll find if you visit a blog and then links on those blogs and then links on those blogs, and so on...Try it.). You see, I wanted to hoard all the gorgeousness for myself. :-)

Allow me to introduce you to... Oh Happy Day!

It's chock full of beautiful, creative, inspiring ideas for home, fashion & entertaining. Blog owner Jordan really is a super-star when it comes to finding things. She recently posted about a boutique closing and showed pictures of these signs that someone named Miranda July (??) does. I thought this sign was so funny I had to share it (which then required me to adequately acknowledge my source, hence my revelation about OHD).

May you enjoy many happy hours in blog archive surfing!

Nobody walks in LA

Which means that everyone drives. And I think that without exaggeration, every single Angelean was out driving on Saturday.

The goal: a mini-shopping expedition with Denise down to what we believe is likely a very cool store with Danish furniture, housewares and such on Melrose

The reality: nearly 5 hours on LA freeways without ever reaching our destination, with only York chocolate covered mints to sustain us on our ill-fated journey.

But here are a couple things did see...

At least D & I got a chance to catch up. We kept each other sane.

Coconut Cake

I don't actually like coconut cake, but I think it's pretty, all the flaky coconut pieces sticking to the frosting.

Two weeks!

Does anyone remember that line from the Tom Hanks movie, Money Pit? It brings back all sorts of childhood memories and every time a contractor promises that something will only take 2-weeks to complete, I shake my head and chuckle. Thanks Tom, for that valuable lesson.

So anyway...it's been 2 weeks since I last posted and some of you are worried. Thanks for worrying about me; it makes me feel loved. Rest assured I'm doing just fine.

My absence has been a combination of a.) no interesting pictures taken to blog about, b.) no inspiration of interesting tidbits to blog about, c.) trying to be good about using my extra time to study and stay on top of things with my classes so that I don't give myself a heart attack.

But a random comment to a friend just inspired me and I HAD to rush to my blog and share this thought with my world:

I HEART 100-Calorie Packs.

I'm sure you've seen them and maybe even tried a variety or three. And so won't you concur that they really are a bit of genius? Yes, I realize that it would be financially advantageous of me to just buy a box or bag of these same snacks & treats and insert them into those snack-sized baggies, but come'on, do I really have time to do that? PLUS, they do something (I think) so that you get more for your calorie count. And we all know that sometimes, quantity really is more important than quality.

My favorite varieties...

*Lorna Doone (so buttery!),

*Honey Maid Cinnamon Thin Crisps (cinnamon graham crackers remind me of licking the cinnamon/sugar off as a kid),

*Planters Peanut Butter Crisps (it's the cookie part of the nutter butter),

*Chips Ahoy (and I'm not even a crispy choco-chip-cookie fan but these hit the spot),

*Baked Cheetos (I think these may be even better than the original crunchy...the Cheetos Asteroids are pretty good too)

*Ritz Snack mix (I love me some variety!)

*Cheez-It "Right Bites" (by Sunshine, NOT the Cheese Nips by Nabisco (unless you prefer the Nips, then you may like those instead; I just never have)...I just had these for breakfast. It was either that or run down to Coffee Bean for a tasty blueberry scone!)

Try them! The variety packs are a good way to start.