Solar Eclipse Brunch

This sparkly rose lemonade rocks!

Way back in May, my friends and I found out there was going to be a solar eclipse (ON A WEEKEND!!) and we were pumped. The eclipse was scheduled to start around midday, and we figured the obvious choice for celebrating a celestial event was a feast. So Misa, Kim, Jesse, Isaac, and I combined forces to cook a potluck style brunch. We had tasty drinks, fried herb potatoes, tater tots, scrambled eggs, and a few different crepe options. I opted for one with fresh strawberries, bananas, and Nutella.

Everything was super delicious!

We wandered outside to relax while we waited for sun to make its progress across the sky.

 These tiny flowers caught my attention, looking all adorably fresh. 

Hummingbird joined our little group, and we gathered materials to make a pinhole camera. 

(Spoiler alert: it's a piece of paper with a hole poked in it, held away from another blank sheet of paper.)

SCIENCE!

The pinhole camera in action.

The moon is creeping in, turning the sunlight into crescents.

We had three holes in one paper, so we got a triple show! The one in the center is very faint though.

I'm required by law to make silly faces.

Ring of fire, web style.

I was in such a hurry to get back outside that I temporarily forgot how to take screenshots, and actually took a picture of my computer screen. It happened. Moving on!

It was time to play with shadows.

The altered sunlight did really cool things to the shadows of everything, but I thought the trees and their leaves looked the coolest. Almost wavy or flame-like.

 A tree shadow competes with the shadow cast by the stairs.

Shadow hands.

Behind the scenes look at creating shadow hands. Goofs. ^-^

Amazingly cool.

The universe has so many wondrous displays, and some of them are easy to miss. 

I'm very glad I got to catch this one!

I hope you find some wonder in your day, too ~

Unironically Enthusiastic

(Source: Take a Moment & Smile)

 Man, I LOVE being enthusiastic about all kinds of stuff. 

(Is it possible to be a nerd for actual enthusiasm itself?)

^-^

Desktop SS : Space Cowgirl in August

Edward & Ein, the space-adventuring wonder duo.

It's no secret that I love corgis, and some credit for my obsession with them must be given to Ein. (How can you not love an adorable dog that can sniff out data, and is an incredibly fantastic hacker?) Edward's an amazing hacker as well, but I'm more impressed with her crazy zest for life. I wish I had that much energy! ^-^ 

When you combine the two of them, happiness and smiles aren't far behind.

You can grab this orangey-delicious wallpaper here.

See you Space Cowgirl.

Viking Vampires

Confession: I've been sucked into the world of Sookie Stackhouse, and I can't escape. (Nor do I want to!) It may have taken me eleven years to finally give in and pick up the series, but now that I have I'm completely hooked. I'm on book four at the moment. Double bonus: I waited so long to start this series that now it's almost complete! You can bet I'll be zooming right along through all eleven books until I'm caught up. :) Charlaine Harris, thank you for creating such wonderful characters. 

But I must say this:

Needs more Eric, all the time!

(Source: Take A Moment And Smile)

Have a great weekend!

Anime : Polar Bear's Cafe (Shirokuma Cafe)

Look at his adorable little face!

I've been working through some personal stuff lately, and while it's nothing too serious - I have been feeling a little blue. Some adorable panda faces and cheesy puns sounded like just the cure. Enter Shirokuma Cafe.

I had seen a few random gifs from the show, and had no intention of watching it. It seemed fairly strange - and my list of shows to watch is already way too long. But noooo, Isaac had to have the first episode playing on his laptop, and though I tried my hardest not to pay attention... the voices and sound effects snagged my interest. By then it was too late - I was hooked. (Thanks a lot Isaac. No seriously, Thanks! ^^)

 What I had failed to realize was that in addition to all the silliness, this show is absolutely overflowing with cute.

I'm only seven episodes in, so far - but I love it! The voice acting is solid, the puns get me every time, Panda-kun's faces are insanely adorbs... but the main reason I love it so much is this guy:

Shirokuma.

He's the main source of puns in the show, also extremely adorable, and is the owner (these animals have jobs, yo) of a quiet little cafe. His sense of calm and overall chillness totally won me over. 

This show is the ultimate bad-day fixer. It's a comedy for sure, but it also has some very heart warming moments - and a subtle, underlying message of 'stay true to yourself'. If you can handle the slice-of-life style and anthropomorphic animals, you're in for a heavy dose of smiles & hahas.

I can't stop laughing at this. Panda-kun, you so crazy. ^^

Check it out!

(Images in this post came from Random Curiosity, Lemmas and Submodalites, Good Morning Lovely, and Polar Bear Cafe on Tumblr. I added the 'This Guy' text.)

House of Wolves

Kickin' it at Harbor Side Park & Pixar.

Attack of the mini-update!

• I've been listening to a lot of My Chemical Romance again. (One of my not-so-secret favorite bands that I'm probably too old to listen to, but who cares?)
• I need to post about our Eclipse Brunch, SF Raw's The Blend, Painting at Club Six, Picnicing next to the Golden Gate Bridge, and an easy DIY phone makeover.
• My bestie/roomie Kim moved back to the Midwest. It's both exciting and sad at the same time.
• Saw a special screening of Brave at the Pixar Studio, it was awesome! (More on that soon.)
• I almost lost my head after our bathroom cabinet decided to fall off the wall and directly on top of me. Ninja skills + 3 for catching it like a boss, and avoiding the falling metal first aid box.
• Saw Moonrise Kingdom, it was fantastic! (I think I need even more Bill Murray in my life.)
• A good friend finally got his first apartment in Chicago, and I seriously want to visit! 
• Hanging out at the fabulous Room 389 tonight with super cool friends.
• Going to go check out the Renegade Crafts Fair tomorrow, in SF.

What have you guys been up to? ^-^

Free Slurpee Day!

Blue Raspberry, here I come!

Today from 11am -7pm, 7-11 will be giving away free Slurpees in honor of the stores' birthday!

I'm off to go grab one.

Time for a refreshing treat!

Desktop SS : Daft Punk in July

Electro-Synthpop-Epicness.

Daft Punk is one of my all time favorite bands. Not only do they make amazing music, but they also have some seriously cool imagery in their album covers, live performances, and videos. (Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, anyone?) Discovery is probably my favorite album from them, but both the original soundtrack from Tron Legacy and the remixed R3CONF1GUR3D album are fantastic. If somehow you haven't heard these yet, check them out!

You can grab this wallpaper here.

Celebrate and dance so free!

Little Things in Daily Life

It seems like it's always the little things that cheer us up and get us through the day. Is it because we're stressed and want to find a deeper meaning in the simplistic, so these little things suddenly seem so much more than what they normally are? Or is it the opposite: that these things are so simple and pure that we are drawn to them, and away from the chaos of human life? I think I'm leaning toward the latter answer, though I'm sure it could go either way. 

Here's some little things keeping me happy.  :)

Catching a glimpse of a sleepy bird, all puffed up and getting warm in the sun.

Getting sneak attacked with the camera while baking tasty treats.
(Though I may not look ecstatic, never fear! Skeptical is my go-to face. Who knows why.)

Receiving flowers from a special someone - for absolutely no reason at all! Just love.



Watching the boyfriend become 'Lord of the Fire' as he attempts to master the flames. <3

Hanging out with the cat.

When the power fails and we've got no choice but to use candles... and we're excited about it!

One word : LYCHEES!

Having a compatriot for silliness.

There you have it!

A little peek at some of the little things in life that are keeping my spirits up and making me smile.

What's making you happy right now?

Snapshots of Oakland

A small collection of some of my favorite spots around town.

(Extra props if you recognized Lake Merritt & Room 389 up there. ^-^)

Even though I'm drawn to the heavy architecture and grit of cities, it's nice to get a break from concrete every once in a while. I love being just a short walk away from multiple bodies of water (with coffee nearby!), and being surrounded by amazing plant-life is awesome. They may be simple enjoyments; but they're some of my favorite things about where I live, and I'm very grateful for them. 

Hope you enjoyed the mini-tour of Oakland!