Behind the Scenes at Maggy London Holiday Shoot

This is probably my favorite shot - all of these people are necessary for one great shot.

Our favorite photographer, Sergio, making it work with our model.

Retro holiday shopping bags! Thanks IKEA :).

Lots of love and labor went into this wall of frames! Again thanks IKEA!

Old School Tunes at the Maggy London Photo Shoot

I am in love with my internship.

Today, I was at a photo shoot. Which I LOVE. It wasn't a great day for a number of reasons.

I lot of things went wrong. The chemistry on set wasn't as good as it should have been. There was a lot of tension. But I still enjoyed every minute.

I would be happy if I worked on a photo shoot every day of my life.

Ever changing cast of characters. You get to create something tangible.

And . . .

I can't help but to rock out to this awesome old school-ish play list:

JT: What Goes Around, Comes Around
Sublime: Santeria
BEP: Where is the Love?
Destiny's Child: Bootylicious
Ashanti Featuring Fat Joe: What's Luv?

There was more but I got too caught up to remember all of the fabulous high school style tunes :).

Best Words with Friends Score Ever!

(Well at least for me!)

And it was against the formidable G. Sartin!

Happy Independence Day!

Feels good to celebrate it in Seattle.

First up - an Apricot Ale at the Pyramid Beer Garden. Ah, memories!

The beer reminds me of the summer I lived in Greenlake and my friend Angela suggested I try an Apricot Ale. I was like, Seriously? She said, Yes. God, I love this beer. The beer garden reminds me of many, many Seattle memories.

Also - how cute does LZ look preggers?!

Batter Up: Safeco Garlic French Fries!

Just as DELICIOUS as I remember them. I think I inhaled all them in under 10 minutes. An awesome micro Pacific Northwest brew to accompany them. If I can determine my version of heaven - both of these exist in it.

Good to See You Again Safeco:

Even Bailey had his stars on:

It's not the 4th in Seattle without Gasworks Parks Fireworks:

It was a great 4th.

I LOVE This Birthday Theme: Marc by Marc Jacobs

As per the request of my awesome parents, I waited to open my Endless box until my birthday. Although, I didn't promise the when on the day of my birth.

I decided that there was no way in hell that anyone or anything was going to ruin my birthday. I decided that I was going to do whatever I wanted when I wanted today.

My theme song today is Bulletproof by La Roux.

After I opened the office, I treated myself to opening up my long awaited and eagerly anticipated birthday gift. First thing in the morning. I can't think of a better way to start the day.

Hell yes!

It's a Marc by Marc Jacobs birthday:

Badass sunglasses. A straw tote with an awesome neon orange trim (details here). And the best: A PAIR OF MARC JACOBS MOUSE FLATS THAT I'VE WANTED FOR YEARS!

I put them on and did a happy dance all up and down the halls outside of my office. I immediately showed them to my work friends Nicole and Sabrina. 

Happy F-cking Birthday to Me!

Thanks M & D!

It Arrived!

I had been waiting for Stefanie and Eric's wedding invitation and I'm so excited that it arrived!

Look how pretty it is:

Wheeeeee!

If cats could talk, that's what he'd be saying.

Via Cute Overload

Being Grateful

Inspiration about what to do with my life comes from all sorts of places. My most recent revelation is from my weekly email from Shelf Awareness.

It is so easy to complain, whine, bitch and moan. When I read this:

"Bookstores are treasure troves of journals and notebooks (I know this, I have more notebooks than I can count and I always carry one on me). Buy a small journal. Every evening, write down three things you have been grateful for during the day. Bonus points if they are people. Maybe you'll be so busy being grateful that your previous resolutions will just happen. At the very least, you'll be happier, and that's no small accomplishment." Marilyn Dahl, book review editor, Shelf Awareness.

Good point Marilyn, excellent point.

I'm going to try to do this every day.

I'm grateful for:
1. Katie Malone: it was great to have a conversation with and support from one of my high school friends.
2. My H&M gift card I got for Christmas from one of my two awesome roommates because I used it to buy much needed bras. 
3. Mara Kurtz: my GD1 professor. I am learning so much from her and she is a great teacher. My style for sure.
UPDATE: One of my favorite blogs and literary agents, Janet Reid posted about it, too.

Out Loud Laughs

The part that made me laugh loud is bolded:

Turtle Bay Presents : THE BINGE! Every Thursday night we have a $20 Open Bar, every Friday morning wake up next to someone out of your league. (Turtle Bay Bar)

Hyrax

Look at that majestic motherfucker. Look at that nose and the little rounded ears and the fluffy blonde fur and those crazy little pudgy toes.

Fun fact about the Hyrax: it’s not a rodent.
Funner fact about the Hyrax: it’s more closely related to the rhinoceros. Oh, scientists, you crazy fuckers. (Click here for the link to the whole post with Hyrax photos via Manhattan Nest)

Ryan Gosling vs. Puppies. (Tumblr blog)

Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Take 2

Hogsmeade to Hogwarts

Lunch! Reasonably priced and the Hogs Head Ale was really good :).

Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Take 1

I spent this past weekend in Orlando. I laid out poolside, got a tan (with a little burn) and WENT TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!!!

I have been wanting to go to WWofHP ever since I heard it was opening and I finally did. It is EVERYTHING that a HP fan could wish for. I took a ton of photos, so I'll split it up in a couple of posts.

First official Universal sign to the WWofHP spotted

Hogsmeade entrance

Close up of the Hogsmeade sign

Hogwarts!

Hagrid's Hut

Buckbeak!

Mad Hatter Tea Cup Ride in Motion

Mad Hatter Tea Cup Ride!!!

Welcome to the Magical Kingdom

Welcome to Disney World!

Rough Day, Today

77, Sunny and Poolside.

What I Learned Today . . .

Excellent f-cking revenge on national TV. (CDAN)

Yay!! More info and spoilers about Oncce Upon a Time!!! (EW)

I found a place where I can tackle screen printing on the cheap! Because there ain't no room in my house for it. (ABC No Rio)

This is SO perfect for me. My heart does live in NY and CA. I like to wear my heart on my sleeve! (Wildfox)

I love this mermaid and dolphin candle lantern. (Etsy - Earthsteps)

I equally love this mermaid necklace. (Etsy - ValleyGirlDesigns)

Checked out my current favorite book's author/blog/reading guide. (Sarah Jio)

Lauren took great and fun holiday photos of her and Kyle's home. I especially enjoy the antlers on the KitchenAid. (Chezerbey)

Layaway Angels

Last year, almost to the day, I wrote about the random acts of kindness happening during the holiday season. This year, I love the story about the Layaway Angels. People calling or going to into stores and paying off other's layaway items.

Read about the first Layaway Angel.

Way to pay it forward and truly give people a great holiday gift. I LOVE these kinds of stories.

This is What I Read Today . .

This made me really happy. I teared up when I read it. The Navy's first gay homecoming kiss. A GREAT moment in history. (Towleroad)

Interesting read . . . sums up a lot about my work situation. (MSN Careers)

James Franco is officially OFF the Freebie Five. (Celebitchy)

Lainey is right - I would completely want to be Duchess Catherine in that photo, at that time. (Lainey Gossip)

New spoilers for Revenge and Once Upon a Time! Yay! (Wetpaint and Examiner.com)

I downloaded two new samples from two new books thanks to Sarah Jio's guest blog post. (Allison Winn Scotch - Ask Allison)

I'm totally bummed but not surprised. One of my favorite books/series might be an awful movie. This trailer does not give me hope. (YouTube)

Ever wanted to dramatically quit your job but didn't? Live vicariously through this montage! (Vulture)

I Love My Cards!

I got my awesome holiday cards from So, There today.

I LOVE them.

Thanks Ali!