With A C.H.

Some people are funny.

Some people are not so funny.

Naturally, I like to surround myself with people who are funny…

(And if you're not so funny, but you try.. well I will probably still like you. I appreciate the effort)

And then there’s Christin, she doesn't have to try.

 Christin cracks my ish up. Majorly.

The truth is Christin isn’t just funny.

She’s a great story teller, just beautiful, one of my good blogger friends, and most importantly, is following her dreams.

Christin wants to be a comedian and I know she’s going to succeed.

(I respect that more than anything you know, that ability to chase your dreams)

She’s living life in one of my favorite cities to visit (not live hehe), NYC.

I like to live vicariously through her subway shenanigans, awkward city encounters, and NYC apartment life stories.

Then there was also the time she had “lunch” with 49ers quarterback Joe Montana (cough wink wink)

And you know how I mentioned she’s an awesome story teller who makes me laugh….

Well Christin shared this shenanigan with me…

One morning one of my Facebook friends posted the most ridiculous thing ever. 

Not one morning, every morning. You all have friends that do it. So my daily routine has become this: wake up, and read through everything that happened the night before. But not just read, I also comment. Comment and crush dreams. There is nothing like having your dreams crushed at 7am and I am the girl for the job. I'm trying to make Facebook more real for everyone because we all know that your life isn't nearly as perfect as you think it is on Facebook.

Just last week one of my friends posted about how upset she was regarding someone going home on some worthless reality show. I didn't even pay attention enough to know what show, but what I did pay attention to is how lame her life was and I minced no words in letting her know. If you're devastated by a craptastic show on TV that's only purpose is ratings and is paid for by advertising to get you farther into credit card debt, we've got bigger problems. Namely, your mental stability. Naturally, I commented something to the effect of "I'm devastated that you're not reading more books".

Before you feel bad for her, know that she actually knows me in real life and knew that this sort of status would warrant a comment like the above. 

=P

Like I said before, Christin is the ish and her blog is one of my daily reads.

Go check out her blog,  I know you'll love it.

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win a large ad space on this little blog and Hollie's blog

So You Want To Win Some Ad Space???

I like Hollie, a lot…

and I’m pretty sure that if you know her, you like her (a lot) too.

She has a superb sense of style, is so funny, and just happens to be one of my San Diego blogger friends (woop woop).

Have you seen her blog? You will loveee it.

Wellll, Hollie and I have teamed up for a little giveaway action. We will be giving away a large ad space on both of our blogs to two of you.

(Did that sound confusing? One person will win ad space on my blog and one person will win ad space on Hollie’s blog. You can enter the giveaway on either of our blogs.)

Not bad eh?

To enter you must be a follower of Hollie Takes Notes and Lemons, Avocados & the Bay.
The other entries are all extras.

Good Luck! =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh Yes, That Happy List

Ah that Happy List.

I was driving home from work today and feeling pms-y tired and thinking about my Happy List.

And that’s when it hit me…

I have TWO MORE DAYS LEFT OF WORK BEFORE SPRING BREAK

(hallelujah, hallelujah)

Seriously, spring break could not have come at a better time. I was just about to hit that “I really, really need a break” time in the school year.

So stoked right now… oh the perks of working at a school.

Now about that happy list

1. Spring Break, have I told you that I love you?? Oh cuz I do…

2. That I will finally have some time to watch The Hunger Games, even if I have to go by myself. =P

3. Babysitting Nadav’s nephew… I just want to smother the kid in kisses

4. Photoshop For Bloggers has finally helped lessen some of my Photoshop anxiety. You might just start seeing some fun Photoshop action up in hurrrr.

5. Mad Men is back. The wardrobes, the drama, the sleaziness, and John Hamm I love it all.

6. Have I mentioned that I put myself on a shopping freeze for the month of March? Well I have, I’m doing ok, and to be honest… I’m proud of myself!

7. This picture. I know, I know I posted it yesterday… but it makes me happy.

8.  Passover is almost here, and even though it means that I can’t have bread for a week, I love that it gives me the opportunity to celebrate my heritage with the people I love the most.
9. These ladies, blogging, and our day at the beach.

10. Blog Giveaways!

The winner of the Scentsy goodness is...
Emily B.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats =)

Now make sure you check back really, really soon for another fun giveaway (I promise it's a good one) 

Have a happy day friends

Did You Hear? My Boyfriend Is Dating A Blogger

Well I wasn't going to write two posts today, I swear. I've kinda been in a "is it spring break yet?" funk all week and wasn't feeling too inspired. Because of this, I had originally just posted an old draft that had been sitting in my blogger account this morning..
Untillll, I found this treasure on Olivia's blog. 

Yes, this seriously happened Saturday afternoon at the beach,

and I decided that it deserved it's own blog post.

My boyfriend, can you tell he's dating a blogger?

He's holding one point and shoot camera, one dslr camera, and a purse.

Hahahahaha 

I love him.

P.S. Today is the last day to enter my Scentsy giveaway. Doooo it.

Coronado Coronado

When my bestie Gila came to visit we ventured down to Coronado to be tourists for a bit.

I love Coronado Island, but I just don’t get down there as much as a I should (cough once a year).

It’s just that driving across the bridge and driving past downtown San Diego doesn’t happen too often in my life.

(If you’re from San Diego, I know you you get what I’m saying here)

Anyway, I really need to get my butt across that bridge more often because Coronado Island really is one of my favorite places in San Diego.

The beaches, the beautiful homes, the yummy restaurants, and the Hotel Del…

It's a really special place

Beautiful Hotel Del

The shoes Gila wears to brunch (boots) and the shoes (running shoes) I wear to brunch. I think this pictures says a lot about our personalities ;)

We went to Clayton’s for brunch and it was so so good. The restaurant looks like a 1950s diner and there are juke boxes at each table. There is a bit of a wait but it’s so worth it.

Just a picture of hot chocolate… aka a sneaky way to slip in a picture of my new nail polish ;)

and in other news...

I'm counting down the days until spring break.

This week is going by oh so slowly, and I need a break.

(I know, I know.. I will cut the whining immediately)

Have a happy day =P

P.S. Today is the last day to enter to win some free Scentsy

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

All right let's be honest here..

Before, uhm Pinterest came into my life I never, ever cooked or baked anything.

(Well, unless you count toast. I occasionally made toast.)

It's embarrassing, butttt I'm just not all that motivated to make anything edible unless I see a pretty picture of the end result.

Point is, Pinterest changed my life.. and Nadav's life (Yes, I did just say that haha)

Unfortunately, most of the people in my "in-real life" haven't quite comprehended my new love for Pinterest cooking. Because of this, every time I am invited to a party I ask what should I bring and the answers are always something along the lines of:

"Bring yourself"

"Just wine"

"Just buy that pre-made salad bag from Trader Joes. It always tastes so good when you make it"

These days, I've really been trying to work on this and show people that they can ask me to bring something, and it will be from Pinterest yummy.

Last Friday, I had about two hours before a little get together, no time to bake, and really wanted to bring something that would impress. Naturally, I went straight to Pinterest and found this pretty and (yummy) honey lime fruit salad from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

It was sooo good

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained well
1 can mandarin oranges, drained well
2-3 ripe kiwi, peeled and sliced into thick half moons
1 cup green grapes, halved
1 cup strawberries, quartered
Zest from one lime, about 1 tablespoon (the lime zest made the salad smell amazing)
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:
Combine the fruit in a medium-large serving bowl. Add the lime zest and poppy seeds, if using, and gently toss. Drizzle the honey over the fruit and again, gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated with the honey. Serve.

Make sure you check out Mel's Kitchen for some awesome recipes (and end result pictures =P)

 Have a sweet day friends

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win some free Scentsy

Bloggers, The Beach... And Some Trash

Saturday was the most wonderful blogger filled kinda day.

The festivities began early in the morning with The Shine Event Beach Cleanup.

Ashley hosted a really great event at Mission Beach, and the best part?
I was able to hang with some of my most favorite SoCal Bloggers.

Girls that shine...

Our view while picking up trash... it didn't suck.

Beach cleaner-uppers

Big upps to Nadav for being a good boyfriend and taking a million pictures helping clean up the beach

I kinda love her

After the cleanup Magan, Olivia, Farra and her cute family, Ashley and her huzband, Nadav and I went to Jrdns for brunch and blood orange mimosa goodness…
(Ya Jrdns is pretty much my most favorite place right now)

This dessert was wayyy too good. (Cough I literally used my fork to scrape the chocolate syrup off the plate, and people laughed haha)

Brendan's reaction to finding out he had to leave us early... ya, he was so bummed he literally hit his head on the table, over and over again haha

And then we remembered that Jrdn's has the perfect wall for taking photos…

and we decided our server Dustin needed to partake in the fun…

There were more festivities later that night, but more on that later...

I know I've said it before, but I am so so lucky to have met the most awesome ladies through blogging.

So thankful =)

And on that note, I am exhausted. Is it Friday yet?

Wishing you a happy week

  P.S. Have you entered my Scentsy giveaway =)

Want To Get Better?

I love taking photos, I really, really do..

My Canon T1i and I are great friends.

I have even taken a photography class or two, but I can’t seem to remember all the tips and tricks that the teacher shared with us.

This means a few things: I need to stop using the auto setting pay better attention, take better notes, and actually practice what I am taught).

Clearly, I have a long way to go...

On the other hand Justine… she knows what’s up.

Check out some of her photos

She's so cute =)

 

I really admire her photography skills, and I asked her if she could share some of her fanciness with you.

Yup, it’s your lucky day..

1. White balance

The biggest rooky mistake I made was not adjusting my white balance, which left my pictures too orange at night or too blue on a cloudy day. Go into your shooting settings and select white balance, an array of options should come up. All you have to do is select the option for which you are shooting. I always choose Incandescent when I have any lights on. This is usually if it is nighttime or if it’s a cloudy day. I choose Cloudy or Shade when I am inside or outside during the day with natural sunlight. And lastly I pick Direct Sunlight if I am obviously directly in the sun. I adjust the color/white-balance within each setting accordingly, but I usually tend to be on the blue end of the color grid. I am consistently manipulating my white balance, which makes my pictures ten times better than they ever were. I always go for a more white/cool color-balance setting. For me, it’s easier to have a whiter photograph that I can make warmer with editing. This is as opposed to an orange/warm picture that is nearly impossible to correct the color.
*I use a Nikon, so for you Canon users this may be a tad different.

2. Natural light
Another rooky mistake was my use of the flash, back when I shot automatic. It is so much easier to just pop open the flash and snap away, but the light is so harsh. And to be honest, flash photography looks dated to me. I make as much use of natural light as possible. Natural light is soft on skin, it perfectly illuminates a picture, and the list goes on. I never, ever use the flash. The great thing about learning to shoot manual is being able to control the light within our pictures. If there is something you take away from this, I hope it is taking advantage of natural light and learning to shoot in manual.

3. Aperture
I love the look of bokeh, which is the soft, blurred background. The best way to achieve that bokeh effect is by adjusting the aperture setting. I take pictures at the widest aperture setting possible. When I am taking macro pictures, I generally stick to the f/1.4 setting. If I am taking pictures of people I tend to be within the f/2.8-f/3.2 range depending on how I want my depth of field. Honestly, the best way to learn is to play around. That is the great thing about digital photography. We can adjust our settings, snap a picture, and see exactly what those settings control. I really rely on my aperture settings to get the pictures results I love, which are soft and natural feeling.

4. A good lens
The best thing I ever did was purchase a good lens. I use a 50mm f/1.4 prime lens on my Nikon D3100. I have other lenses, but this is my primary lens. For me, having a great lens is what makes the pictures not the camera. I use a beginner DSLR camera, but getting this lens has taught me so much more than a traditional 18-55mm lens. I gush about this lens all the time so I won’t bore you but for me this is a huge component of my everyday photography.

Told you she’s good =)

But she doesn’t just take amazing photographs, she’s also a genuinely kind and sweet person.
I'm so lucky to have met Justine through blogging.
Check out her sweet blog I promise you'll like what you see

P.S. Hope to see you at the San Diego Shine Event this Saturday!

P.P.S. Don't forget to enter my Scentsy giveaway =)