One to Nothin'

What I wore

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Vest: F21 / Leggings: LC / Shirt: TJMaxx / Scarf: street vendor / Boots: Nine West

I bought this infinity scarf from a street vendor an entire year ago when Emma and I visited SF for the very first time. I don’t think I’ve bought a scarf since because this one is the ultimate soft, perfectly neutral patterned scarf I’ve ever encountered. Maybe one day I’ll find the sweet lady who made these scarves and add to my collection, but for now I’m just going to keep wearing this one with everything.

Linking up here. 

An encharming weekend

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I feel like such a slacker, but I’m positive that all the awesomeness that took place between Wednesday and Sunday needed an extra day for processing. I’m still kind of overwhelmed and in despair that it’s already over, so I’m doing this SparkNotes style, especially since I was in a fairly foggy (read: drunk) state of mind the entire time and took the most random photos in the history of my 7,000-pix deep iPhone library.
Here are the highlights.
Wednesday: Seeing Wendy for the first time in way too long and getting silly off of spiked cider and champagne.
Thursday: Drinking Nalgene bottles full of mimosas, making bloody Marys with pickled okra in them, FaceTiming, like, three different times with my super awesome family back in Florida, going to the most random bar in Oakland where middle aged plus men were watching football with their yorkies, having the most delicious and wonderful foodie dinner with Michelle’s family, playing Cards Against Humanity, inventing the word “encharming” while playing Cards Against Humanity and drinking way too much wine.
Friday: Eventually beating the hangover, taking Wendy into San Francisco for the first time, bar hopping in North Beach, dancing to a modern and classic rock cover band with the man who was literally dancing like nobody was watching–a lot like this actually.
Saturday: Finding the most amazing vegan food around the city, getting Irish coffees at the Buena Vista, seeing the sea lions, spending way too much money on socks and taking awkward Nokia Christmas Card photos on Pier 39, singing Destiny’s Child a lot while getting ready to go out, wearing said socks out to the bars on Polk Street, getting called Destiny’s Child by a random person out who didn’t know about the previous singing.
Sunday: Eating more crazy delicious vegan food (lasagna and macaroni n cheese–I swoon), walking around Crissy Field, admiring the Golden Gate Bridge on an absolutely perfect, clear day and, finally, sleeping.
And now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, bring on all the Christmas things! 

I wanna feel the good vibes

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Wishing I was celebrating today with my family, but I’m super thankful for this here sausage pup, my awesome friend Michelle for letting me join in on her family dinner, Emma for taking on all these adventures with me — including her first Thanksgiving away from home, too– and Wendy, who flew all the way here from Florida to spend the rest of the week with us. I can’t wait to write about all the shenanigans we get into. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and give all your family members extra hugs for me.

DIY Wooden Centerpieces

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I’ve mentioned a time or two how insanely talented my sister Britni is around these parts (like in this post), but I figured it was about time to flaunt her creative genius once again. Every year for Thanksgiving she decorates the long, awkwardly placed table in the living room (and every year I stand around pretending to help while munching on walnuts and making jokes about the phallic gourds). This is my first Thanksgiving away from home (these are not tears. shut up.), and I needed to share in the festivities some how, so I thought why not blog about my sister’s beautiful and under-publicized table decorations? And that brings us here. If you’re a procrastinator and you happen to have some wood and a 1 1/2″ flat spade bit lying around, then let’s do this dance!
This is what my parents’ garage looks like. What you can’t see are all the giant wolf spiders that Ziggy likes to rip the legs off of before rubbing her face in. You also can’t see my My Size Barbie. Her name is Michelle.
 This is a 1 1/2″ flat spade bit apparently (this is not my specialty as demonstrated by this post).
Set the piece of wood rounded side down and drill three 2″ deep holes into the flat side in a zig-zag pattern. Be sure to drill straight down from above so the candles will lie flat despite the curves of the surface/not drip wax/not set the house on fire. Then stick tea light candles in the holes.
For the utensils, Britni wrapped them in plain white paper napkins and used rafia to tie bows around them. Simple and adorbz.
Finally, get crazy with the nuts, oranges, apples, awkwardly shaped gourds and wheat stalks. 
What do your Thanksgiving centerpieces look like? And more importantly, how cool is my sister?
Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Together a sandwich with everything on it..

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If you’re new around here, you might not be familiar with my raging obsession with the band Fun. and Nate Reuss specifically, so let it be known. I’m a weird fangirl, but don’t worry, I’m totally not cool enough to be a groupie. So instead I go to every show I can and paint their lyrics with glitter so I can look at them always.
I loved this song from the second I heard the lines, “If we were honest and both wrote a sonnet, together a sandwich with everything on.” I think there’s a lot of sexy time imagery going on in there, but for whatever reason (because Nate is a musical genius) it means a lot more than that to me. “Light a roman candle with me,” it’s exciting, it’s romantic, it gives me chills. It’s about the first kiss, the sparks, the total uncertainty. It’s about wanting to go full-force when you should take your time, it’s about throwing caution to the wind because life is about doing. Trying. Not holding back in your relationships and in every other aspect, too. Just seeing what happens. “At least we would know that the sparks didn’t glow, but we owe it to ourselves to try, so we aim and ignite!”
I just love it so much. Press play and love it with me?

Weekending

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Since I told you every single detail from my day on Friday leading up to the weekend, I might as well fill you in on the weekend, too, right? Right.
Friday night I thought I was going to spend the night being irresponsible and taking Fireball shots, but instead I showered, did my hair and threw on my trusty Gator sweatshirt (which my dad bought for me in the children’s section senior year of high school) and some equally old, dingy pj pants topped off with Uggs. Side note: do we hate Uggs? I’m confused. All I know is they’re ridiculously comfortable and complement the least flattering outfit in history perfectly. So then I watched Glee and fell asleep with my dog. Exciting stuff, you guys.
Saturday I decided to explore downtown Livermore and discovered a soy pumpkin spiced latte that actually tastes like pumpkin! The treasure was hiding in Panama Red Coffee Co., which despite being out of bagels and all meat besides ham, provided me with a dank ass ham breakfast sandwich. I was very pleased even if the hipster staff was slightly off-putting. Then because I decided I needed to continue conquering my pigmalabiaphobia, I took awkward fluorescent light selfies before heading to SF to meet up with Emma. We ventured into the Mission to enjoy crazy expensive and intricate cocktails at Blackbird and drinks in mason jars at Churchill. That one pictured has brandy and egg whites in it. Mind blown. We also stuffed our faces with truffle fries and fancy sliders later on where a very drunk gay man told us we were beautiful and tried to pay for our meals. We didn’t let him, but he did try. His boyfriend was not amused.
Sunday I was the laziest piece of shiz you’ve ever seen. I ordered a vegan pizza because that’s a thing that you can do here and snuggled with Ziggy on the couch all day. Oh, but the highlight was probably on the bus ride to the train where the Asian bus driver started singing Christmas carols with the wrong lyrics. “Dashing through the snow, on a one hand open sleigh..” “You better not pout, you better not talk, you better not cry, I’m telling you why..” “Oh tiny bomb, oh tiny bomb..” He was awesome and he laughed like a cartoon character. I super hope he drives me around SF again one day.
Anybody else pumped that even though it’s Monday, it’s more like hump day already? This calls for a wintry tune. 

Go say hi to Sami and link up your shenanigans, too.

Worst blog post ever.

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I’m pretty sure no one reads blogs this late at night on a Friday, but I was busy last night and apparently the cool kids don’t go out on the town until past my bedtime around these parts, so I’m doing it my way. Here’s a look at a typical day in the life of the Kens-master (as told by my iPhone) (this is the most pointless blog post in the history of blog posts).
6:00 – My first alarm starts ringalinging in my earballs along with the text “You won’t be able to [work out] later!!!!”
6:00:02 – I hit snooze and silently bitch at myself for using all those exclamation points (my journalism professor told me you only get a limited supply and when you use the last one, you die).
6:08 – Snooze.
6:15 – Second alarm goes off with the text, “Last chance, fatty!!!!” to which I hit snooze and create more barely formed expletives in my foggy brain, something along the lines of, “whatevsies, I’m not even fat.. YOU’RE fat.”
6:08 – Snooze.. snooze.. snooze..
6:30 – DOG FOOD.. what?
7:00 – IT’S 7?!??!? Guess I’m not showering.
7:20 – Start coffee pot.
7:25 – Take Ziggy out and get angry when she takes more than two minutes to poop.
7:28 – Realize there’s no creamer and say eff the coffee while simultaneously forgetting my leftovers that I already put into tupperware so I won’t spend money on lunch.
7:35 – Unlock my car and shake my head in disbelief that my headlight is still out.
7:40 – Jam out to some tunes on the radio while realizing the huge line of cars that isn’t there when I leave at exactly 7:30am is in fact going to make me late.
7:50 – Stopped at a stoplight for 5 million years, so naturally I get my texting on.
7:51 – OMG! New Snapchats! Awww, the light’s green already?
7:58 – Another red light. SNAPCHAT: Bahaha Brooke, Sarah AND Shannon didn’t wash their hairs today either.

8:03 – Time to collect beverages for the day: Liter water bottle, coffee, hot tea.
8:10 – 11:59 Write, pee, read, pee, drink water, pee, write, pee, drink more, read, pee.
12:00 – Walk across the street for food since I forgot to bring lunch
12:10 – Go to Safeway so I can save money.
12:11 – Stop in Safeway bathroom to pee again and find a grape on top of the toilet paper.
12: 20 – Check out with hair product, deodorant, food and more water — because that’s what I need to spend money on. Hair products and more water.
12:25 – Avoid eye contact with all the people walking in the store by sticking my face in this book.
12:28 – I think I’ll Snapchat all the things to all the people. They’ll like that.
12:48 – I’ve got 10 minutes and I’m cold, how about I go spend more money I don’t have on crazy expensive Starbucks coffee? Great idea.
12:50 – Watch dude awkwardly try to order Frappuccinos, “but like, can you add more coffee?” “I don’t know what kind my friend will want…”
12:55 – “…What kind do you like?” “I’m just not sure, I don’t think he likes stuff that’s too sweet.” “Wait, what is a Frappuccino?”
12:57 – I order a soy peppermint mocha latte. Because I’m a grownup.
1:05 – Receive said latte and sprint back across the street while almost getting hit by 12 different vehicles while taking a terrible photo of it.
1:10 – Time for more beverages!
1: 15 – 4:30 – Pee, write, drink, pee, read, pee, drink, write, pee, read, drink, pee, paint nails, pee..
4:31 – Snapchat photo to my sister saying, “WHY ISN’T IT FIVE?”
4:32 – Receive Snapchat from my sister saying, “IT’S SEVEN HERE, BIATCH!”
5:00 – FREEDOM
5:01 – 5:30 – Snapchat videos of me dancing to the radio and whining about how bad I have to pee while stuck in traffic.
5:35 – Take Ziggy out.
5:45 – Roll around with her on the ground.
6:00 – Eat all the leftovers I should’ve eaten for lunch.
6:30 – Think about blogging.
6:35 – Naaaaaaah.
7:30 – Get my work out on (Blogilates & Brooke’s Circuit).
8:00 – Decide to actually blog about my day for the day.
8:40 on – I can’t predict the future, my friends, but I know there will be a shower involved and I’m hoping there will also be some Fireball whisky. I’ll let you know on Monday.

Happy weekending!

PS: The only other work out I did this week is this: Blogilates Cardio & Legs/Thighs, but that was Tuesday and I’m still sore from it.
PPS: Linking up with Whitty pants.

Rainy days

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It’s been raining here the past two days and all I want to do is sit on my couch with our fuzzy Jack Daniels blanket drinking hot tea, alternating between watching Hulu and reading while Ziggy lies on my feet. Instead I’ll be wearing these leggings, my tie dye socks and this sweater imagining I’m sitting by my parents’ brick fireplace instead of behind the ole Macbook. Here’s a rainy day jam for you. 

I’m never taking off this sweater.

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 Sweater: LC with Kohl’s / Necklace: Excessory Exchange / Boots: Nine West
If you see me in the next couple months, just know that I will be wearing this sweater. It’s my favorite thing ever. Like, I want to buy the other color available and maybe 13 more just so I can keep wearing them and never wash them for fear of losing the pure fuzzy perfection. I may not have been a Laguna/Hills fan (a sin considering the years I attended high school), but I am DEFINITELY Team LC now thanks to this sweater. 
I’m weird-cat-lady obsessed with comfy wearables right now. If anyone knows where I can just buy really cheap, crazy soft sweaters that cover my butt so I can just wear leggings all day every day, my life will be complete. I barely even care if they look cute, that’s how much I want to be wearing soft, fuzzy, shapeless apparel lately. Also, why are those crazy thick and beautimous looking socks so much more expensive than 12 pairs of normal socks? I don’t even actually need these things, I just want them to peek out of my boots so I can pretend to be fashionable, so the least they could do is make them cheap, am I right? (And don’t tell me the cut the sleeves off my sweaters and use them instead because I need all of my sweaters no matter how old and dingy they might be)
Happy hump day, friends!
PS: Do any of you crazy kids Tumble? I decided to give her a try. Check out OTN on Tumblr and teach me how to do the things.
PPS: Can someone give me a pat on the back for taking selfies in public-ish? There were at least three strangers who walked by and I even smiled at them. This is a huge accomplishment in awkward-Kensie-land.
Linking up here.

In November drinking horchata..

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I crossed off another one of my November goals this weekend: horchata! It’s eerily similar to this gorgeous post by A Beautiful Mess (posted on the same day of my goals! Coincidence? Fate? You decide) except for the unfortunate fact that my stupid stomach can’t handle lactose and therefore spiking this batch with Rumchata was out of the question. How do vegans/lactose intolerants (we need a better name, ya know? Like Lactoids or Lactasers. Lactonians? Any suggestions are welcomed) get their winter buzz on? Anybody have a good vegan alternative to Bailey’s Irish Cream while we’re at it? Because I’m seriously missing out on some weirdly awesome liquor/dairy combos. I’ve got the White Russian down though. I’ll share it with you after Thanksgiving because seriously, you guys, some things just need to wait until after the turkey has been carved. Get out of here with your Santa hats. It’s just not time yet. Anywho, here’s what I used:
1 cup white rice uncooked
5 cups water
1/2 cup Lactaid milk (almond milk would be perfecto if you’re actually vegan though)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar (agave nectar if you want to get crazy)
Cheese cloth
Strainer
Blender
First I added the rice and water to the blender (which I bought just for the occasion! Isn’t she purty?) and blended for about a minute. Then you just let it sit for three hours (not in the fridge), which I thought would be super painful, but turns out the newest episodes of Hart of Dixie are on Hulu, so, party.
Next I lined a strainer with cheese cloth and poured the rice/water concoction through it and discarded the rice. Doesn’t it look all ethereal and shiz?
Next I added the milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. I mixed it all up and poured it into mason jars because I feel like they just make everything look better, am I right? I couldn’t find paper straws though. My bad. Is there a secret blogger section at Target that no one told me about..?
That’s it, folks! I liked it. I do think I would’ve enjoyed adding some liquor up in there, but I felt pretty fancy drinking it anyway. Well played, Vampire Weekend. If it weren’t for you, I may never have had a weird desire to create my very own horchata. 
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