Happy Spring

Temperatures are starting to warm. The sun's making an occasional appearance. Spring is here! 

A few things I love about Spring:

• Baseball is back! I've been a Giants fan pretty much my whole life; I admit I'm still excited about the World Series last year. Even though they only won one of the first four games of the season, I think this season's going to be good. I only wish they came up and played the Mariners a few times...(or even once).
• Easter is coming. I love Easter. It's a toss-up as to whether I like Easter or Christmas better, but it definitely is one of my two favorite holidays. It's fun to form new traditions living up here, although I really miss the sunrise service and french toast breakfast served by the youth group on Easter sunday. Still, our church's Easter breakfast was pretty fun last year and I'm looking forward to celebrating Christ's resurrection. 
• Spring regattas. Since I started rowing again last summer, I'm really excited for Spring regattas. Although I'll do the longer Fall races, I much prefer the Spring sprints and can't wait for them!
• The weather. Even though it still rains fairly frequently and is a little chilly, it's warm enough to start considering going outside in just a couple of layers. We even got to run around outside and toss around a football at youth group tonight!

I'm sure there are more reasons I like Spring that I'm just forgetting. What are your favorite things about this time of year?

What My House Could Look Like

One of our clients, a redesign firm, recently shared a fun site with me called Houzz - a site that showcases interior and exterior house design. Even though we don't have a house yet, and our first house isn't likely to be (or at least start off as) our dream home, it's really fun to look at ideas others have come up with and make ideabooks of rooms and decor that I like. 


Here are a few examples:

Okay, this pool is way more extravagant than I actually imagine having at my house someday, but it's just so amazing I can't stop looking at it:

tropical pool design

As someone that works from home, I think this sort of office set-up would be great. I'd have a desk available in addition to a window seat when I want a change of scenery:

traditional kids design by minneapolis interior designer RLH Studio- Renee LeJeune Hallberg

I have a habit of putting my purse and sweatshirt down on the first flat surface when I get home, so I think a little bench with hooks and cubbies like this would be a great way to keep the clutter down, plus the bench could provide extra storage:

traditional entry design by portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

Although I like the blue tile, I'm not sure I'd actually want it in my shower. I do like the multiple shower heads though. It'd be like it's raining, only the rain would be warm and functional:

contemporary bathroom design by other metros architect Leonard Grant Architecture

I just really like this bathroom:

modern bathroom design by san francisco architect John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA

You can see all my ideabooks on Houzz. Feel free to make your own, too! Please let me know if you do - I'd love to see which designs you find that you like.

Washington & California: What I Love & What I Miss

This summer will mark the second complete year of living in Washington. It's really sunny today, which I guess is what made me think about summer and, henceforth, moving here. A lot of people still give me a hard time for one of the reasons I love living up here: the weather. I love the cloudy, rainy skies overhead 9 months of the year. I know most people don't share my sentiments for the gray weather...but there are other things I love about living in Washington (in no particular order):

• Chicken Teriyaki. It is really easy to get good chicken teriyaki up here. It's everywhere. We have a couple of default restaurants, although we just tried a new place last night that was also very good. In fact, there are at least two teriyaki restaurants within walking distance of our apartment. It's a great substitute to a burger when you're on a budget.
• DaddyO's Burgers. Speaking of burgers, theirs are delicious. Yes, my husband works there, but that doesn't mean I have to like the food. I tend to be a little picky about fast food, but DaddyO's makes good quality burgers with their own special sauce. Mmm...I could go for a burger now...
• It's beautiful. How can you not enjoy the green of evergreens with Mt. Rainier in the distance? 
• It's light longer. Well, at least during the summer. It's not uncommon for the sun to be out until past 9pm in the months of June, July and August, allowing even more time to get outside and do something fun!
• Sometimes it snows (but just a little). When it does snow, it's just enough to be really pretty and fun to play in, but not enough to last for months at a time. It's also a big enough deal that a lot of businesses shut down and get snow days along with the kids in school.
• Life Pointe Church. I have to include our church on this list, because I love it! From the day we started attending, it felt like home. Our Life Group is a HUGE part of that as well :)

With all the things I love about Washington, I do have to admit there are a few things I miss from California:

• Friends & Family. This one's obvious, but needs to be said. Most of our family, plus a lot of close friends, still live down in California. I really wish they all could've just come up here with us, although that's not exactly practical.
• The San Francisco Giants. I've been a fan for as long as I can remember and have a lot of fond memories of going to the games, especially with my dad. I was SO excited about them winning the World Series last year, although I was also a little sad I couldn't go to any of the games or just celebrate with other fans before, during and after the games.
• Chinese food. I grew up in a predominantly Chinese/Taiwanese neighborhood. In addition to standing out in class photos, I learned to expect a certain quality of Chinese food (thanks to all the family-owned restaurants). Although the places I've tried up here have been okay, none of them have quite hit the spot.
• Disneyland. Even though we lived in Northern California, a trip to Disneyland only took 6 hours, which made it much more feasible.

Why I Don't Like Valentine's Day (and a few reasons I do)

I love my husband. I love birthdays, anniversaries, random dates and moments of romance...but Valentine's Day doesn't do it for me. When I was single I thought it was because I'd never had a boyfriend on February 14, but I don't think that's it. There are three main reasons I don't like Valentine's Day:

• All my favorite Valentine's Days activities happened when I was single. Nothing against Matt, but a Star Wars marathon with friends beats out dinner in a crowded restaurant or some other "couples" activity. Don't get me wrong - I love going out to dinner and "couples" activities, but February 14 is pretty much the worst day to go out to dinner or do something couple-y since it's so crowded.
• It seems obligatory. Because Valentine's Day is the time you're supposed to tell the one you love that you love them, it seems obligatory. A card expressing love to me would carry so much more weight in my mind on random days throughout the year than the one day everyone is supposed to give one.
• The jewelry commercials. They drive me crazy. Granted, I'm not your typical woman who likes jewelry and flowers, but an expensive necklace doesn't express love to me. In fact, the only jewelry that really does express love in my mind is an engagement / wedding ring, and that's because of what it symbolizes. Plus commercials like this are just creepy:

That being said, there are a few things I like about Valentine's Day:

• The treats! I guess the way to my heart is through my stomach...
• The day-after candy sales.
• Cheesy Valentines to/from friends.

I guess I just liked Valentine's Day the way it was when I was little, before it became expected for romance to enter in.

Snow, Penguins and Chimpanzees

I really want it to snow again. It doesn't look like it's going to anytime soon, but it's so much fun when it snows around here. Everything shuts down. Everyone's happy. Plus it's so pretty! It snowed a couple of weeks ago for just a few hours (it melted by morning). I was able to take these pictures:

I think one of the reasons I like the snow so much is that everyone else gets excited about it, too. As much as I love the rain, I'm usually the only one excited about it. Like this penguin:




But with snow, I'm not the only one getting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather :)

In other news, I recently crossed over to the dark side. We bought a MacBook Pro. I have a tendency to kill computers. Every 2-3 years the computer I use needs to be replaced for various reasons. I have no idea why I kill them and what I do that makes them die, but they do. About a year ago I started using Matt's desktop and it's been making odd sounds recently, getting the blue screen of death, etc. So we decided to see if a Mac would last any longer. Obviously it's taken a little bit of time to get used to, but I really like it. I can see how someone that likes the flexibility of a PC might not like it, but since my main functions of a computer include checking email, Facebook and blogging (well, and writing pitches, etc for work), all that flexibility isn't completely necessary. At this point there isn't anything I've wanted to do that I haven't been able to do...so that's good, right?

Now that we got a new computer it seemed like a good time to upload our CDs to our iPod, so I've had fun going through CDs over the past couple of weeks. I'd completely forgotten I had some of these songs, and I'd never really taken the time to go through Matt's music. I have a couple of new favorites, like:


Barenaked Ladies - Another Postcard
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Postcards and chimps! Who wouldn't like that song? Anyway...here are a couple more artsy pictures I've taken recently that I felt like sharing:

Three 5-Second Movie Reviews

1. Have you seen The King's Speech yet? Because you should. We saw it last night, and I really, really liked it. It's a great story with believable characters, fabulous acting and some humor sprinkled in. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter were absolutely fantastic. Here's the trailer:



2. Another recent movie we saw was True Grit. Although I'm not really into westerns, I heard it was worth seeing, and after Matt saw it with the guys and told me I'd like it I was sold. It was also a good story with fabulous acting. It's worth seeing at some point as well, although I liked The King's Speech better.



3. The third recent movie I've seen is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. As a fan of the books, I try to approach each movie as a separate movie so I'm not disappointed or thrown by changes. With that in mind, I liked it. Yes, they changed a few things. They always change a few things. But it was a fun story and worth seeing at some point (although you can probably wait until it comes out on DVD).

Movie / TV Reviews

I haven't had a chance to share much about what I've been watching recently, so I'm grouping everything into one post:

Tangled was fantastic. Definitely worth seeing. Yes it's predictable Disney in a few places, but isn't it supposed to be? The story was really good, the characters were easy to identify with and there were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I actually kind of want to see it again.

I feel like I need to let you know I never saw the first Tron. That being said, I thought the movie was okay. My brother filled me in on details I missed from the first one before we went, but even if he hadn't I think I would have been able to keep up. The graphics were the best part of this movie. I thought it was cool how part of it was 2D, but then the Tron world (if that's the name of it?) was in 3D. 

The second season of Dollhouse finally came to Netflix and it was great. I watched the whole season in a week. The first season mostly sets up the Dollhouse and shows the day-to-day operations where the second season is more about the company and people behind the Rossum Corporation. Definitely a fun show to watch. I love the random Battlestar Galactica reference from Topher partway through too :)

Lie to Me was recommended to me by my mother-in-law, and I love it! I just finished watching the first two seasons and can't wait to see the third. As most shows, it takes a little while for the actors to find their characters, but by the end of the first season this show is addicting. The other thing I appreciate about Lie to Me is that most of the episodes are self contained. Yes, some big things happen that change relationships between the characters, but it's actually a nice breath of fresh air to watch a good show that doesn't require me to remember every single little detail of what's happened so far (one of my complaints about Lost). As TV is one of my favorite ways to veg out, I like being able to just sit back and watch without trying to remember everything. 

With only 5 episodes, The Sing-Off is one of the shortest shows to get hooked on. Yes, it takes over your life for about two and a half weeks, but it's worth it. Think American Idol with a capella groups and a LOT less invented drama to draw out the show. The first episode starts with 10 groups and the judges eliminate 1 or 2 each episode so viewers can vote on the winner before the last episode. It looks like they took the full episodes off hulu, but you can still watch clips from this past season there.

Bones continues to be one of my favorite shows currently airing on TV. I love the dynamic between Booth and Bones. It's what drives the show. 

Speaking of dynamics that drive the show, Castle and Beckett are also two of my favorite characters currently on TV. This is another show that continues to be fantastic. I'm excited to see how everything unfolds over the course of the season as Castle's book becomes a movie, too.

I felt like I had to put this one in here too. Yes, I still watch Glee regularly, but that's really more for social reasons. And the songs. This past season has been a disappointment so far. There have only been two episodes I've actually liked; the rest have been dumb. I was really disappointed that they had a great guest star like Carol Burnett, for example, and her entire character was stupid and not funny. I hope the episodes begin getting better more regularly - and soon. I feel like they have such a talented cast they aren't using.