Food for thought

I love this illustration...

but doesn't the post office get pissed when you add unnecessary decoration to parcel?

P is for Peanut Butter

But not just any peanut butter. It has to be creamy Skippy peanut butter. Peanut butter is my comfort food. I can sit down with a jar of peanut butter and just eat it plain. Or it's good with some chocolate chips too! Then it's your own sort of custom-made peanut butter cup. Yum-O!

O is for O.P.I.

For those of you out there who have been tragically uneducated, OPI is world's greatest brand of nail polish. (Or vernis à ongles as the bottle will tell you.) Not only is OPI wonderful because of their varied and ever-growing selection, or that it outlasts every other brand and bottle manufactured, but also because their colors have the most magnificent names. Take note:

From their France collection - Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not

From their South Beach collection - Paint My Moji-toes Red

From their Princess Charming collection - My Daddy's the King!

From their India collection - Curry Up! Don't Be Late!

...and their #1 seller of all time - I'm Not Really A Waitress

N is for Neverland

Neverland made it on my list of favorite things as a representation of two loves of mine: Peter Pan and Disneyland. Of course the obvious association is Peter Pan, seeing as it is his home and all. But the closest thing to Neverland in our great universe is Disneyland (or any Disney theme park for that matter). It is the one place where you are not only allowed to never grow up, it's what's expected! What could be better than that?

(I know Katie, an IN to Club 33 would be, but you get my point.) ; P

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled blog....

Hello my few fans! Apologies for the delay in updates. As I informed my lovely sis earlier, having lost my laptop to a slow and painful end and working two jobs does not afford me much free time.

But I digress. This post has nothing to do with my alphabet of favorites or my inconsistent postings, but rather...

Fireflies

Last night I saw my first beautiful little fireflies flitting around the backyard. Fireflies, which are apparently known in this region of the country exclusively as "Lightning Bugs" are magical little creatures. They look like any garden variety insect in the daylight (or indoor lighting as the case may be) but once the sun goes down they are spectacular. That is when their magical dance begins.

No two fireflies flash their 'bulbs' in the same rhythmic pattern. That is how they attract a mate. Intéressant, non ?

M is for Movies

I have always loved to go to the movies. The entire experience of smelling that irresistable popcorn, cheering with the entire audience when our epic hero kicks ass. *Sigh* S'wonderful. Anyway, back to the point. Here's a semi-comprehensive list of my favorite movies of all time.

The American President

Ocean's 11

Breakfast At Tiffany's (but almost any Audrey Hepburn movie for that matter)

Sleeping Beauty

Alice in Wonderland

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back

Moulin Rouge

L is for Ladybugs!

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love ladybugs. Why just the other day I had one land on me while I was walking downtown.

In Europe ladybugs are associated with good luck, and I suppose they must be here too since they are frequently found with four-leaf clovers. Just one more reason my sister Megan and I clearly belong together.

I'm not entirely sure exactly when or why I fell so hard for these small, garden-friendly creatures. But I am a lover of polka-dots as well so that may have something to do with it...

I love them so much I even have a ladybug tattoo!

OK Bri, are you happy now?!

K is for Knishes

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Knishes? Seriously? Yes, seriously. Knishes are surprisingly tasty fried Jewish treats that are readily available on New York City street corners. You know, like from street vendors, the same way hot dogs are sold. See?

Thus, this favorite thing reflects two of my loves: Jewish food and NYC. While I have only been to New York City once in my life it left a long-lasting image and impression. It will always be one of my favorite places in the world. Nothing beats the Met.

And my love of Jewish food is unarguably due to my stepdad, Shrek, and his Jewish upbringing. Also thanks to him, I was introduced to a fantastic Jewish Deli called

D.Z. Akin's. Mmm, yummy.

J is for Jewels

This favorite thing happens to be a mnemonic device as well as a literal love. One of my oldest and most steadfast nicknames has always been Jules which, of course, sounds like Jewels.

And it is the name of a fantastic Balanchine Ballet that I am a fan of.

But I also love jewels, gems, jewelry, basically pretty sparkly things. Typically the more expensive the better. Because as we all know, diamonds are a girl's best friend.

I is for Ireland

My intense desire to visit this beautiful country stems not only from my passion for Irish dance (which of course instilled knowledge of tradition and culture) but also from my personal cultural heritage. While I am only 1/16 Irish, it is there. And having grown up in America with parents that have no real connection to their cultural lineage, I have always had a desire to find these connections for myself. This includes visiting the countries of my ancestors: Portugal, the Philippines, Germany, Sweden, and Ireland.

H is for Home

After having relocated to Sacramento for college and now moving 3,000 miles across the country, I can say with complete confidence that there truly is no place like home. And for me, home will always be San Diego.

G is for being a Girl

I have been teased throughout my life for various girly habits I possess, such as fretting over breaking a nail or checking my make-up and reapplying lip gloss.

As most of my friends know, my father has been a licensed cosmetologist since before I was born, which means that I have spent a lot of time around professional hair dressers, manicurists, estheticians, make-up artists, you get the idea.

So, as I say, "It's not my fault I've been getting manicures since I was three!" (Which is true, by the way. I was three-years-old.)

And despite whatever teasing there may be, my philosophy has always been and will always be what a Hallmark card I have says:

People say high maintenance like it's a bad thing.

But I say, let's consider the results.

(and who doesn't love a little Anne Taintor?)

F is for Friends

My friends are some of the most fabulous people in the world. They can always make me laugh, when we're just having fun or when I'm feeling down.

No matter how far away I go we manage to stay close. Blaze (pictured above), my bestedy-best friend, and I can go months without speaking and it's like no time has passed at all.

Then there are the friends who get inked with you.

The ones you go shopping with.

Or, one of my personal faves, the friends you can geek out with.

To all my wonderful friends: You guys are fantastic!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

E is for Elle

For a couple of years now Elle has been my favorite fashion magazine. It inspires my fashion and style choices as well as a desire to try new, funky make-up techniques. I have saved many pages from various issues of this publication for my inspiration book.

I must confess, I also love their catchphrase: Cherchez la femme - Seek the woman

See what they're all about at http://www.elle.com/

D is for Dance! (and Disneyland! duh.)

In the second grade I began asking my mother to put me in dance classes. I distinctly remember taking home a flier from school for a community dance program. It took four years for it to happen. Sadly for you, my faithful reader, I have no copies of my embarassing early dance portraits to post. My dance training has since included ballet, tap, jazz, modern, choreography, African-Caribbean, and my all-time favorite, Irish. I have never loved doing anything as much as I love to Irish dance. I only agreed to take the class as a last resort elective and found an incredible new world of dance and fantastic friends, even in my teacher!

I quickly learned that I shared with this teacher a love of Disneyland that is practically unspeakable, particularly to anyone who does not know what it is like growing up in SoCal with the opportunity to enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth with any regularity. However, I also share this fanatical love with this lovely lady, my friend VolleyGirl:

who oh-so-generously took me there for a fabulous 3-day trip as a college graduation present. Oh don't worry, I do love her and know what an amazing friend she is.

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

No time to say 'hello'. Goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!

Sorry for the delay in postings. The last few days have been a little hectic. But now, let us continue the alphabetical love fest!

C is for Cupcakes!

I don't know exactly when my love of cupcakes began, but I believe it was a couple of years ago. Whatever the exact date, I can assure you it began before cupcakeries began popping up everywhere, like daisies.* I love cupcakes for a variety of reasons. They're super cute and that makes me happy and smiley. They're tasty. They come in red velvet anywhere you go any time of year. What could be better than that?

(The painting featured in this post is by Wayne Thiebaud, a Sacramento region artist.)

* 10 points if you can tell me what Disney movie is paraphrased in this line!

B is for Bof!

Now I know what you're saying. You're asking yourself what in the heck bof is. Well, I'm going to tell you.

Bof is a French word that means 'Oh, I don't know' and/or 'It's all the same to me anyway.' Hopefully it is apparent to you now that bof is the French equivalent of 'whatever'. Oh good, now that all of that is out of the way, I can explain that bof is one of the things I love because it represents my love of not only the French language, but also the culture, people, and place.

And now you know. So go forth! And use 'Bof!' the next time you roll your eyes and want to say 'whatever!'

A is for Art History

When I began college I was certain that my dream career was interior design. A year and a half later I discovered that nothing could be further from the truth. This prompted an exploration into my aptitudes and talents that led me to musuem curation. Thanks to the help of the great staff in my university's career center and a fabulous aunt (everyone should have at least one) I realized that musuem curation was the perfect job for me because it allowed me to do things I love like travel and look at fantastic art everyday up-close.

Thus began my studies in Art History. Having studied art my entire life through attendance at only art schools prior to college (Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts), this was not a foreign exploration but my knowledge, love, and respect for the subject reached a much deeper level than ever before. Thanks to one particularly outstanding professor (Thanks Dr. O'Brien!) I learned that my favorite period in art history is the modern movement. It includes such masterworks as these:

Paul Cezanne's Still Life with Basket of Apples

Wassily Kandisnky's Composition VII

Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

Pablo Picasso's Ma Jolie

Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night