buzz worthy

My friend, Jen, sent me this photo a few days ago....which we both found pretty humorous....

You can read this previous post to understand why!

Makes me think someone at Louis Vuitton might be reading my blog..... ;)

hello sugar

A clear sign that I'm sleep-deprived....stuff like this ends up packed in my bag for work:

I truly hope to avoid showing up to the office in my sweatpants...but that is the next step in the lack of sleep progession.  If I get to that point, I would highly suggest greeting me with caffeine! ;)

warning: this may end up in a sitcom

As I was waiting in the Austin airport to board my delayed flight to Long Beach, Carla called to chat with me about my transportation to Laguna. Carla had originally planned to pick me up, but then she found out that me and one of Jason's friends were actually coming in on the same flight...and this guy apparently had his friend [Jason's friend's friend....ummm, yes this gets confusing] picking him up on the way to Laguna...so she asked if I would be ok hitching a ride with them [Jason's friend {who we'll call Dude One} & Jason's friend's friend {who we'll call Dude Two}]...and since I'm a fan of adventure I (of course) agreed.

First, I have to find Dude One...who Carla had described as "a really tall guy who looks like he should be in Weezer"....note to all: most guys flying from Austin to Long Beach seem to fit this description. Just when I was about to call Carla back and tell her that finding this guy was like picking out Waldo in a scene where everyone's dressed like Waldo.....a guy walks up to me and says, "umm hey...I think you're Brooke"....ummm, yes that would be me. My introduction to Dude One. [One of my friends was like, "he prob was told to look for a petite, quirky Nancy Drew look-a-like with her iPod on and a book in-hand"]

While Dude One definitely had some Weezer-esque qualities (with the Buddy Holly glasses and tattoos)....he totally looked like Phil Dunphy from Modern Family! I'm a huge fan of that show...so the fact that Dude One not only looked like Phil, but the fact that he talked like him too was a genuine novelty to me.

Finally we made it to Long Beach, and got picked up by Dude Two....who just happened to resemble Mitchell & drive a Prius....needless to say, I had to restrain myself from giggling throughout the 45-minute car ride. Especially since I was wedged between car seats in the back seat.

When I shared this experience with my office mates (who also happen to be fans of the show)...they extrapolated that I was riding with the true inspirations for the characters...and therefore could end up in an upcoming episode as random girl #2 who Mitch and Phil "accidentally" pick up at the airport on their way to a wedding.  

ps - click here to see some professional pics from Carla's wedding!

when the lights go down in the city, i'll be sitting on the dock of the bay wearing flowers in my hair

[please excuse the ridiculously long title...I'm just a music geek...]

WEDNESDAY:

*Arrive in San Fran!

*San Fran - dinner at Home with Cherie, Krystal, Meg & Kim;  traveled to Meg's to pick up an air mattress (our saving grace considering the room only had two twin beds)

*Chancellor Hotel - the night of mini-disasters: 

1. the realization that my small digital camera was missing (luckily recovered by the Glen Ivey Spa staff!)

2. Krystal's almost-lost prescription meds ("did it go down there?"...we all took turns looking 6 stories down from the bathroom window into the back alley...fortunately the meds were safely in the bathroom) 

3. the first broken drinking glass...which led to our introduction with Mehari (the adorable, elderly bell hop/custodian/etc) who, with intelligent insight/foreshadowing, offered us two glasses to replace the one lost

THURSDAY:

*Sausalito - breakfast at Cibo; pictures on the pier; the cutest bus stop ever; the almost breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe

*Santa Rosa - caught up with a friend at Kendall Jackson Winery & checked out the garden tour

*Healdsburg - Oakville Grocery for lunch; explored Bella Wine Caves (they had hula hoops!)

*San Fran - 1st stop at the Golden Gate Bridge; recommendations from Matt (the awkwardly endearing concierge) and his "i'm not insinuating anything, but...." comment; dinner at Cafe Claude w/cute, lonely boy (who we almost invited to join our table)

FRIDAY:

*Hotel - 2nd broken drinking glass (I think little giggles escaped when we heard the glass break...like "really, did that just happen again?....someone call Mehari")

*Muir Woods - the "hiking" experience, which can't be too legit since there was a guy in a suit there

*San Fran - 2nd stop at the Golden Gate Bridge; lunch at Cioppino w/our cute waiter/hockey player; Fisherman's Wharf; breakdancing dudes; Pier 39; saw Alcatraz from a distance; the quest to find Chronicle books (where I bought this hilarious little book); shopped at the Blue Jean Bar with "Dustin Bobby" (the Justin Bobby look-a-like) and his dog Penny/Penelope; got poor bus instructions from "Dustin Bobby" ("yeah, just go right outside there and hop on the bus" ...no bus number, no sign w/schedules, etc...we should've known better!) and ended up on the other side of town; walked back to the hotel to avoid any further unwanted detours;  shopped/explored Union Square; laid-back dinner at Chipotle; hung out at Dueling Pianos at Johnny Foley's and listened to a lot of songs by Lady Gaga & Queen 

SATURDAY:

*Hotel - Krystal departed at 4:30am

*San Fran - Cherie ventured out to the ferry market while I headed out to look at art in Union Square; I walked the air mattress to Meg's office to meet up with Cherie; quick breakfast at Posh Bagels before we loaded up for the airport; farewell to the nice guys in the parking garage (these older gents called me "nice lady" and knew me by name during our stay)

*SFO Airport - watched USA and Ghana battle it out surrounded by numerous others in the airport

*Austin - made it to my lovely apartment sometime around midnight  :)

+Click here for Additional Photos

++If you're interested, you can listen to my 'CALIFORNIA: by plane, train & automobile' playlist below:

from the East to the West...cont.

The interesting DJ from Damona's wedding thought we were fun enough to put on his site...just scroll to the bottom of his site to check out his pics:
DJ Pics


From Carla's wedding, Holly & I took some "single lady" pics in the photo booth that I completely forgot about...plus you can click through the other pics to see all the photo booth fun:
Photo Booth Pics