Birthday Weekend of Fun!

Let me tell you about last weekend.  It was  one of those kind of weekends where you wake up for work on Monday and you feel deep sorrow (read: hit snooze repeatedly) that the weekend is actually over.  The type of weekend where you spent 72+ hours with someone and then you drive off to work and you already miss them because you had so much fun with them that weekend. (Awwww! Gross, I know.) 

On Friday night, after staying home from work and being sick all day long, I wolfed down some gourmet pizza (that's right, gourmet) and hopped in an Uber towards the train station so we could go downtown.  I’ve lived in L.A. for four months and have only been downtown once and it was during the day, so it was pretty cool to go at night and do the whole “hotel rooftop party” thing.  Also, downtown is kind of scary because it's where skid row is so, I'm glad we got to be around that at night.  We were at a comedy shorts film festival supporting our friend, Matt.  His short was awesome and so were a bunch of other ones!  It was a really entertaining film block and evening.  Plus, I made new friends! 

And wait for this... we stayed up until 3:30am.  RIGHT?!  Big time.  (As soon as we realized how late it was, we immediately went to bed because we felt crazy.)

I woke up on Saturday hungover and sick, but I forced myself to rally and get up because I didn’t want to waste a day.  I oil pulled, drank all the water and showered – my tried and true hangover remedies.  None of it worked and I still felt awful, but whatever, we went to the beach.  About an hour and a half south of Los Angeles is Newport and Crystal Cove, which is the most beautiful little beach and town.  It looks like it’s on the Mediterranean!  There are all these houses in hillsides, it’s like Positano, Italy.  We sat on the beach for a few hours and even though I put sun block on, I got burned to shit and my chest and nose are just nothing but pink.  And they hurt.  Also, my scalp is burnt.  That was uncomfortable while blow drying my hair.  

We went home, roasted a chicken, drank drinks and watched SNL and passed out.  Because that is how you do it.  

On Sunday we went to Disneyland!  I woke up and debated it all morning and then I thought, "What the F! I'm 28! Let's go to Disney!"  I used to go to Disney World all the time and I'm glad I got to see the original.  It was much smaller than the Magic Kingdom and it was fun.  Plus, the lines weren't awful.  The rides were fun.  And you know what?  It was a really great birthday weekend.  Maybe one of the best.  

I'm glad I spent most of the weekend exploring my new state.  I never get out of Los Angeles and it was awesome to jump on some freeways and explore new cities... especially when there was basically no traffic.  We lucked out.  Traffic is no joke here.  I underestimated it before moving here, that's for sure.  But it really, truly is the worst.  But it didn't hold me back or bring me down this weekend! 

This year is the first time I've had weekends in a long time... and they're really nice to have back in my life.  I love you, weekends.  Especially birthday ones.  See you next year!! 

instaweekend.

i didn't have a great weekend. after the busy, busy week... i felt kind of... defeated and crazy. 

luckily, i feel the same right now. so... that's awesome.
but here are some pictures from it, anyway.

 

{small guy in a giant coat.}

 

{pedicure.}

{i drew a mouth on my tattoo!}

 

{thriller on vinyl.}

 

{post-show platters.}

Instaweekend.

I'll admit, I've been instagramming a little too much lately. I'm just obsessed! And I just got my iPhone... so, give me some time to get over the honeymoon phase, everyone. I'll get over it. {Just kidding, I won't. I'm in looooove!} Here are some photos of my weekend, via instagram.

summertime and the living's easy.

I KNOW. I GET IT. summer is almost over. but when i'm not listening to the motown pandora station, or the theme song to the TV show "Reba" on loop, i'm listening to the sam cooke greatest hits album i just downloaded. his voice is super sexy.

this week has been STRANGE. like, good strange. there were points where i was so anxious i could vomit everywhere {didn't} and points where i was floating 3 inches above the ground {physically impossible}and moments where i could punch someone in the face {wish i had arm strength.} i also didn't sleep very much. but whatever! i'll sleep when i'm DEAD! just kidding, i'm miserably tired. oh well, whatever, hi casey.

here's my end of week round-up of everything you should do:

• read Dick van Dyke's memoir
• watch "I Love Lucy" and "The Dick van Dyke Show"
• download the songs "(What A) Wonderful World," "Chain Gang," "Cupid," and "Summertime" by Sam Cooke
• stay up until well past 3am flirting rudely
• play trivia with your friends and lose
• go to Building 19 if you need an oriental rug and a lesson in religion
• get an HPV shot. and cover it with a mickey mouse band-aid. tell everyone it was from heroin.
• wear light blue with brown accesories. then... wear a cute bear hat and be cute.

have a good weekend!!! get CHIEFED.

Slice of Fame Cake

Photo by Melissa Ostrich.

This week, I was in Stuff Magazine, which is a Boston-based magazine. It used to be called "Stuff at Night," but now it sounds like a gay porn magazine. Am I right? Anyway, I'm in it! It was for a launch party we had at IA. Those are my friends Vicki, Michelle and Bryan McFarland! {Just kidding, it's Ryan! Ryan doesn't have a twin brother! But they got his name wrong in it!}

So, I'm recovering from that tiny bit of fame. So many people coming up to me in the streets. Now it's time to celebrate the fact that I'm on motherfuckingvacation, y'all. 9.5 days of PURE BLISS. Have a good weekend!

Oprah Story

I read Splitsider a lot. You should, too! If you like comedy! I do! Here's a story from Rob Riggle about writing down that he was going to get on SNL.

I wrote down in this book, and to me at the time, quitting flight school was so hard for me, again I’d never quit anything in my life, it wasn’t sitting well with me to quit, so if I’m going to quit, it has to count. The first thing I wrote down in this book was that I’m going to get on Saturday Night Live. I wrote that down in 1994, in September of 1994’. Then in September of 2004, ten years later, I got on Saturday Night Live. It was almost to the day that I had written that down. And it took ten years. When I wrote that, I was a First Lieutenant living in Corpus Christi, TX, who had never done anything on stage aside from in college, and had never done any comedy on stage, and I just thought I’m gonna find a way, and then ten years later it happened. So that’s my Oprah story.

The same thing happened to me! On a much smaller scale. I went to my first show at IA in June of 2001. I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life and that I wanted to be on that stage. Now, here I am. 10 years later (it's 2011) and I'm on the mainstage. Kind of. In a way. I mean, I'm an understudy. But regardless, I'm doing shows! And I'm making my dreams come true!

I'm going to go back to being a miserable and ungrateful now. Thank you very much.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

keep it simple.

i've been stressing out lately a whole lot. i feel like there's a giant elephant (as opposed to a normal-sized elephant) sitting on my chest. i feel guilty and terrible and i can't sleep. it's the worst. so, this weekend i'm going to keep it simple & go with the flow. i don't want to make plans or set expectations or get my hopes up. i just want have fun and actually relax.

in other news, these things are keeping me happy right now.

and not, y'know, killing people.

sartorial shots of kids.

The Sartorialist.

this 1920's style dress. (i am a greedy girl)

and this gryffindor influenced outfit from Modcloth.

i hope you're all going to see harry potter this weekend.

i saw it on monday and it was awesome.

have a good (simple) weekend!

Happy Friday!

I'm like getting sick or something. And that sucks! Also, it's kind've chilly today and I wanted to sit on the porch all afternoon and tan my franks. But it's probably for the better since I'm... getting... sick. Or something. Also, I'm breaking in a new pair of shoes and it hurts like a bitch.

Have you read Zooey Deschanel's new site, Hello Giggles? Probably not, unless you're a girl. A girl who loves reading things on the internet. And a girl who loves google imaging pictures of Zooey Deschanel when you're getting your hair cut.

Anyways, Edith is a rock star cat. And I hope you have a good weekend. I'm already asleep.

The Bender

Remember that post I wrote last week that talked about how boring I was and how I'd prefer to spend my time in my room watching episodes of Wings and maybe eating pizza? Well, I was not that person this weekend.

I don't know what happened. It was all an accident. And every single self-loathing day I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a Doritos truck. And then I'd go about my day (hours after waking up, when I could finally move) and I'd tell my friends, "I'm not drinking tonight. No way, no how. I'm going home after this to stare at the cat while she sleeps."

But I never went home. I mean, eventually. But only after going to a liquor store (before going to a house party) and buying Sutter Home mini bottles of Pinot Grigio, not understanding that was probably equivalent to eight glasses of wine. Yet, I was still shocked when I felt drunk, sitting in a kitchen talking about how badly I wanted a Harry Potter tattoo. And maybe I shouldn't have drank half of a 40 (I mean, A. I'm not homeless and B) I can afford Sutter Home wine, why am I drinking 40's?) with my friends... in a cab.

Needless to say, the next day came around. Headache. Nausea. Self-loathing. And I'd say to my friends, "How did that happen? Well, it's not happening tonight! No way, no how! I'm going right home after rehearsal to cry myself to sleep in a lukewarm shower."

Then, somehow it was 1am and I was at a bar (the kind where the windows get really fogged up because of the amount of sweaty people dancing inside) pretending it was my 21st birthday while drinking some sort of blue liquid out of a BUCKET with 27 neon-colored crazy straws inside of it, while two dueling pianists sang "Smooth Criminal" and that sad song from "Phenomenon" to me.

You better believe I woke up the next day thinking, "AGAIN?" Except it was even worse than the other two days! I mean, who do I think I am? A fun person? What was I doing on a bender like it actually was my 21st birthday? Which, for your information, I didn't even go on a bender for! Because I'm perpetually LAME.

But it's over. That's it. I'm throwing in the blue mascara covered towel. (All of my towels are covered in blue mascara) All I want to do is drink gallons of water, de-puff my skin bags and this time I really mean it when I say, "NO WAY NO HOW." I'm due for that lukewarm shower now.

Art Friday.

My company has decided to give us Patriots' Day off now, because it's a Boston holiday. That means I get an unexpected long weekend {except, I was kind've the leader in making this holiday become a thing, so I've been expecting it all along.}

Last night was my first mainstage show at IA. I got called in at the last minute, so I wasn't planning on it, which made it easier to do for some reason. I knew I was stepping in next week, so I've been thinking about it. But then when I was thrown in right away, I was less nervous. It went really well. I'm excited to be a part of it!

Anyways, the weekend's here. I plan on doing something that involves having money, taking pictures, seeing my friends do their sketch and improv revue with Seriously Bent {remember when I did that, like three years ago} and sleeping a whole lot. Now, I'm imagining my dream home. So here's some art from 20x200 {which you should check out, if you have any interest in affordable independent artists.}

 

Ferry from Ardrossan Harbor  by  Laura Bell.

i love the water.

 

the overachievers by claire grill.  

 las vegas, nevada november 2000 by mike sinclair.

jacks by katie baum.

 

overheard on the titanic by austin kleon.

Cheers to the Freakin Weekend.

On Monday, I got so stressed out that I almost cried and then I stopped myself (by yelling at myself in the mirror… then breaking said mirror and beating my face up with shards of glass.) But then my palms started sweating. Does that count as crying? When your hands leak sweat? I worked out for two hours hoping it would de-stress me. I’m not sure if it did because I fell asleep immediately after I was done. (I have my yoga mat on my bed because it makes life easier. Also, because I'm dating my yoga mat.)

The problem is that I like being good at things. Dare I say, better than good. And there are certain things that I think I’m talented at – like writing. So when I have a hard time with it, then I’m really hard on myself. Like, “You should know this!” But, I’m also neurotic. This is a case of me thinking I’m not good enough at something while simultaneously doing a great job at being crazy.

I’m not complaining about anything, because at the end of the day I still think I’m awesome. And the weird thing is that I thought this week would be absolutely terrible and it turned out to be a really great week. Like, significantly greater than most weeks.

And luckily, I have great friends… named Sam, Carly and Freddie. Yes, that is the cast of iCarly. Yes, I’m streaming it on Netflix. Yes, it’s awesome and I don’t feel bad about it. Not that my boring real-life friends aren't good, too. But all of them are at an age where being friends with them isn't weird - and that takes all the fun out of it.

have a good weekend!

fin de semana.

It's cold and rainy and I don't feel like typing.

That's a picture of me and my friends from Vegas.

I'm the one not wearing sunglasses because I'm blind.

Have a good weekend!

brb, going to Vegas.

from Kate Spade, as usual.

I'm leaving tomorrow night for Las Vegas!

I know I go like, every other day. But each time I do, I get so excited! I can't wait to land on the strip (twss) at night with its lights all bright. And sit by a pool (even if it's only 70ish degrees!) And eat a steak. And take a nap during the day. And yell at the virtual black jack dealer! And drink a giant frozen pina colada out of an Eiffel Tower cup. And... have fun with my friends.

5 Things I Hope To Do That I Haven't Done Yet:
1. Go to old Vegas.
2. Have an In-n-Out burger.
3. Win a million dollars.
4. Marry someone.
5. See the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

But chances, I'll probably do what I usually do!
Hotbox in a car. Naturally.

Have a good weekend.

You should have fun with your friends.

Hair Envy.

I don't watch the show Skins, but while flipping through Elle Magazine, I found a picture of this girl Sofia Black-D'elia. I've also seen some pictures of her on blogs and such. She's pretty. But what I really love is her hair! Everyone I turn there are girls with long, wavy hair and I can't do that because my hair is short.  Like, this girl's length short. So, finally, I have some hair inspiration.

Though I guess I do already wear my hair like this sometimes anyway. Glad to know I'm doing well.

Also, cute outfit!

have a good weekend!

Frame Wall.

I'm on vacation this week and next. I had a ton of PTO days left to use, so I just used 'em. Why not? One of the projects I'd like to put together this week is a frame wall. Here's some inspiration:

a framed chalkboard.

i like how they use regular photos.

i could do something like that with my new polaroids.

doesn't have to just be frames!

mirrors, too. and stripes!

Let's see if this actually happens.

If so, I'll take pictures. 

Have a good weekend!

Why I'm Happy Today

Awkward Compliment had THE BEST SHOW last night.

I hadn't done the show in a month due to Thanksgiving and other obligations, so getting back up on that stage last night (and having Gudernatch be back with us!) was really awesome and fun. Plus, we had a packed house and my friend Carp opened for us. All in all, a good night.

I got this gift from my friend & co-worker, Matt.

His name is MJ and he got me a book about MJ.

What a world! He's the best.

Yes, those are Krabby Patties and a small rubber chicken.

... and we had an afternoon party at work today that I called

The Big AMP Snowman Reveal Party Potluck and Ugly Sweater Day

It was great. There was SO much random food. Plates were stacked with chinese food, McDonald's, brownies, cookies, sandwiches, etc. I love seeing people giving gifts and being genuinely nice to each other. Even if it's only for one day. {Not that people at my work are generally rude to each other. Generally.}

It's the weekend, now.

Let's be gods.

it's the freakin weekend, baby.

this is how i have spent my weekend:

 

{sick in bed. with edith on my back.}  

 {season 2 of Rugrats. . . cause I'm 24 & cool.}

okay. so i lied. that is how i spent my saturday night only.

i holiday partied on thursday & friday night and it all must have caught up with me because i'm having both sinus and stomach issues today {which i don't think is due to drinking just a lingering sinus infection since Thanksgiving and a bad lunch.}

i'm ok with being lame though. 

i'm booking a trip to Chicago this week!

and i might be going somewhere warm in January

{i need to tan my franks...}

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Reptar, Reptar, gotta find that Reptar.