Happy Halloween!

Send me pics of your costume and I'll post them! I hope you have a spOoky day!

Facebook could face legal trouble over snooping

I f*cking hope so.

Read more here.

Are you in the market for...

My Folk Lover by Catherine Campbell

I am so so so happy that I can finally give credit to an artist I've been admiring (read: stalking) on the internet. Her name is Catherine Campbell, I found her on deviantART and I just love her work. She does tons of prints as well as working with textiles, and I just think she's fabulous. You can visit her blog here, she also has a shop, and you can visit her main site here.

love, Love, LOVE.

EWwwww.....facebook.

When facebook execs aren't busy taking their shirts off...they're allowing their employees free reign to troll people's profiles, check out whose profile's other people have been checking, and just overall violate people's privacy.

Valleywag reported today that facebook employees were using their admin access and "Looking at restricted profiles to check out dates. Seeing which profiles a user had viewed. And, in one case, allegedly logging onto a user's account, changing her profile picture to a graphic image, and sending faked messages. Oh, and don't dare ask a Facebooker about any claims of misbehavior -- they'll report you to customer service for "harassment." Facebook may have sophisticated privacy controls. But they don't appear to be deployed at headquarters."

Can't these people get a life? Yuck.

My So-Called Life Marathon, like now.

A newly released MSCL DVD box set is being released tomorrow. Who is going to come over and swoon over Jordan Catalano with me?

ME: you know what is getting released tomorrow?
Mom: Wow! I remembered you really liked this
ME: yea!!!!!
ME: it dealt with so many important things
ME: sex
ME: homosexuality
ME: teenage angst
Mom: in 1994 you were 10
ME: well I related to it
ME: I was mature for my age!

California on Fire

I have a lot of friends in San Diego, I am praying for the safety of you and your families.

Halloween Costumes by Steve Jobs

Underwire posted this tidbit. Isn't it genius?

It's an i-Pup.

I would totally dress Heidi like this for Halloween, but she's a PC user...

Biding my time

I've been writing so much today! On the company blog, on yelp, it's craziness. I wrote a bunch of reviews for my new neighborhood which is very exciting. I plan on doing that more often.

Anyways, on a random note I found this way cool recipe on evite (weird I know right?) which I totally think Im gonna try for my housewarming party (coming up soon, details tk).

Jack-o’-Lantern Cheeseball

• 6 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 4-ounce packages goat cheese, softened
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 large pretzel stick (such as Snyder’s “Rods”) broken into a 2-inch piece
• 1 2-ounce container of black poppy seeds
• Pitted green olives, sliced
  

Isn't that just crazy? Click here for full recipe.

With or without cable

What a pickle I am in.

Boyan and I spent our first full weekend in our new apartment and it is SUCH a relief to be done moving. We got internet yesterday (finally) and a refrigerator on Saturday, so it seems we have returned to civilized society from the depths of the dark ages (no internet, no food, no T.V.). There is, however, one last thing that needs to be resolved, which is our T.V.

Our new apartment faces west, which makes it difficult for my beloved Direct TV satellite to find a signal in the southeast sky. Our new landlady, Dottie (who I'm sure I will be writing PLENTY about in the future) informed us that it was impossible to find a signal from our apartment unless the dish was on the roof, which of course is not allowed. But she was more than happy to refer us to her Charter Cable sales rep (she gave me his name and direct line) who I am positive she is in league with (commission anyone?) .

Boyan and I looked up the reviews, they got a 1.87 out of 127 reviews ( you can read them here, some key quotes, "A nest of Vampires. A Den of liars" and "I also will give them one star as zero is not an option.") and prices (WTF! SO EXPENSIVE $80/month?!?!) and decided that we definitely were in a pickle. Either we could forfeit our DirectTV and TiVo (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) or we could give Charter Cable a try.

We're pissed that our landlord tries to choose our cable provider for us (Last time I checked this was AMERICA! I'm a consumer dammit I get a choice!) and that they are so unaccommodating.

So Boyan and I decided that if it's not DirectTV it's nothing. We'll download the shows we want to watch (ABC already lets you stream their episodes free online) and rent movies to bide our time. Now, those of you who know me know that I am more than a little obsessed with television. Do you think I can do without it? What will become of me? Will I go through withdrawals, shaking convulsing, foaming at the mouth like an addict? Standing outside neighbors windows trying to catch someone watching the Office or Grey's Anatomy? Or will I become more productive? Write more, exercise more? What do you think, can I do it?

Fendi on the Great Wall

swoon...

To see more visit Jezebel's image gallery here.

Who is she kidding?

Oprah on Monday:











Oprah's O Magazine October Issue:
















Look at where her hands are on her waist, is she seriously expecting us to believe this magazine cover? Now, I'm not one to criticize Oprah, I've never been a huge fan or whatever--but come on now. Let's try to be realistic.

Ciao Westwood!

It's been five years since I moved to Westwood village from Newport, and circumstances have made it necessary for me to finally leave the place I have for so long considered home.

I will truly miss walking into the village, having a coffee, going to whole foods, running into random friends on the sidewalk.

I spent four great years at UCLA in Westwood. I met my husband at my favorite cafe on the corner of Gayley and Kinross. I'll miss sitting on the sidewalk and watching the traffic go by. The energy that accompanies each new quarter at UCLA, as students go from the bars during the beginning of the quarter to the cafes during midterms. I'll miss the friends I made at Borders, the people I met at Elysee. But alas, it's time to make new memories. But, it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday...

I don't need it, but I WANT IT! Hello Kitty Assault Rifle

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!

This hello kitty assault rifle from glam guns is CRAZINESS.

It's got kind of a commando Lolita thing going on. And for only $1000, I could totally do some damage with this ish.

Thanks Jezebel and Boing Boing

Note to Google: Change you Themes!

I can't tell you how excited I was when I started using Google's personalized home page. Or how cool I thought the dynamic themes were! I could watch my little frog practice Tai Chi in the morning, or play on his slip 'n' slide in the afternoon!

But I'll tell you something...I'm bored. There hasn't been ONE new theme since the first induction of the service . Please Google, add some more themes.

I don't need it, but I WANT IT! Leather Booties

What is it about these little leather booties from ALL BLACK that makes my heart swoon? Could it be the stitching detail on the top? Or quite possibly me imagining how cute they would look with my black tights? I could look like a hip Robin Hood! But cuter!

::sigh::

If only I could spare the $159 (or find a generous benefactor) they could be mine tomorrow!

Shameful Obession Confession

I am such a sucker for bad T.V. I can't help but watch shows like Gilmore Girls, Rock of Love, Grey's Anatomy! I know, I know it's awful but I just LOVE this stuff. Most recently, the show I look forward to the most (after the Office, obviously) is Gossip Girl.


Now, I never read any of the books (ok, I read one but I was at camp and desperate for something to read so I borrowed it from a 14-year-old camper) but the show is enthralling!!!

The actors on the show are gorgeous! Penn Badgley, the character who plays Dan Humprey is a Justin Theroux knock-off and only two years younger than me, so I don't feel like a total perv (and how hot is the name Penn? droool...).

The girls in the show Blake Lively and especially Leighton Meester are stunning.

The CW did a great job casting and whoever did wardrobe is a GENIUS. The clothes on the show are just fantastic--all from a designer named Lorick. All very vintage, super feminine, beautiful color palate and fun prints! All of my favorite things! Below are two looks from her recent collection.




SWOON!

What better reasons to watch a show? Good actors, great drama and beautiful clothes! What more can a girl ask for on a Wednesday night?

Britz n the Hood

Britney Spears was all up in my neighborhood ya'll! (and yes she was wearing those boots again)

Yesterday she was shopping at MY target in Culver City (by the iMedia office on Jefferson) then went to dinner at Cabo Cantina in Westwood.

See what you miss when you have a real job.

Make $ Buy Pretty Clothes

The spring lines are out and my propensity for reading blogs such as Jezebel and Fashionista (I know, don't judge me) has also led me to discover some of the prettiest things out this season. It seems like everything is super futuristic and super feminine which, sounds like fun to me!

I'm all about the bright colors, bows, big patterns, pockets and super structured types of things. Here are four pieces I saw that I find myself drooling over.


Prada, I love this mixed patterned look. To some it may be busy and frantic but I rove it!


Fendi, How cool is this!


Elie Saab, I saw this dress first on Fashionista. I love this color and the form of the dress would be super flattering.


Elie Saab, I really like the whole line and this dress (though it could do for a better neckline) has a beautiful print with an artsy color combination that's to die for.

I also noticed some pretty crazy shoes out there. Jezebel made mention of it and referenced the NY times. I could definitely see myself wearing these:



But the rest are just too much for me. What do you think? I think, I can't wait for season 4 of Project Runway to start in November! And, that, I need to win the lottery to afford some of this stuff.

Happy Birthday to Me!

FINALLY! I'm 23. It seems like I have been waiting to be 23 my entire life! Think of all the things I can do now! It's so exciting!

Enough for sarcasm-- I actually had a very fun birthday. All of my very close friends came over and had brunch for dinner!

Sitting down to brunch...for dinner. From the left: Joanish, Ailissa, Natasha, Janea, Stephanie, Britta and Iva. More pictures of the dinner party below

After we ate we decided it was time for some trivia!

Here is me giving Boyan look, or rather the look I always give him when he annoys me.

AFTER trivia it was time for DUET KARAOKE! Mostly Broadway and oh yea, some TLC.

Ailissa and Tanya started it off, but I had to use the "It's my birthday bitches do as I say!" to get them to sing.

Somehow Tanya ended up on the floor.

Here is me doing my best Belle from Beauty in the Beast impression.

My birthday party ended up being a blast! We had a great dinner and a lot of fun joking around and recounting old times.

I ended up drinking too much--the next day my head felt as if there was a knife being shoved into my brain stem while being pressed together by a vice. This last drink, what I called, "The Hot Chocolate Kiss," was more like my kiss of death.

One part Hot chocolate, one part vodka and baileys--all topped with Whipped Cream.

Not the best idea after having a tom collins, mint julep, bloody mary and mimosa but hey, you only turn 23 once right!

Meet George Jetson...

Posh his wife!

im gonna be sick...

I just ate poptarts....

and yesterday I ate mini powdered donuts

ew. what is my problem.

To the moon and back again

So much has happened in the last month! New job, new apartment, new In-Laws, new everything!

Let's start at the beginning.

August 26th came quicker than we expected, before you knew it Boyan and I were packing our bags, hoping in our car and beginning our journey to a magical land called Bulgaria.

I was ready to let my perceptions of the place and people I had heard so much about collide with reality and to form new opinions of my newly adopted country land and family.

Mom, George, Boyan and I got up at the ripe hour of 4am to be driven to LAX . The cabby was late picking us up, and we never imagined how long the lines at the airport would be at 7am on Sunday. After checking our bags (I hesitantly allowed the woman at the Delta desk check my wedding dress only after promising her a painful death if it got lost) we headed down the corridor outside the terminal and about 100 yards down the sidewalk to get to the back of the line. After waiting an hour we got bumped to the front of the line (our flight was leaving in 30 minutes) to go through security check-in.

Before we had left the house we had packed and repacked everything and as a result, the 200 dollar bottle of brandy my parents had purchased for Boyan's father was placed (safely we thought) in Boyan's carry-on. We quickly learned the error of our ways when while going through the x-ray scanner, Boyan's bag was commandeered by one of the security officials and we were informed that the bottle would have to be confiscated because it was more than 2 ounces of liquid. Duh. I had packed all my liquids in small carry-on size containers and placed them in my zip top plastic bag but had not even thought of that rule applying to the liquor. I got upset, starting whining, bargaining, yelling and finally telling the man to take it and that he was "going to drink it later anyways." He wasn't too happy with me--he made us wait longer so he could check the bottle for explosives and told me he was offended. Fucktard.

So we finally make it on the plane (we were the LAST people on) and I'm sobbing and pissed. I don't think I've ever been more upset or more emotional (in public no less) in my life. Not a great way to start a vacation. The man sitting behind me offers me a percocet (asshole), I refuse as nicely as I can in my state and try to sleep.

We get into Atlanta and our flight is delayed 2 hours (which was fine, our layover in Milan was supposed to be 6 hours) due to a rainstorm. Once we do get on the plane we realize our seats have been upgraded to first class, and I enjoy my trip across the pond sipping champagne, watching Hot Fuzz and eating butternut squash ravioli (yum!) and gazing at the alps thousands of miles below me.

16 hours later we arrive in Bulgaria. The airport in Sofia is very clean, very new and relatively empty—a stark contrast from the 60's retro, Asian toileted Milan hell hole we had spent the last four hours in. I go through the passport check relatively easy. The lady who checked my passport didn't speak English very well so she kept her answers at the minimum. The one question she did ask me was, "Why are you visiting Bulgaria?" to which I answered without thinking, "To get married." A quick pang of panic hit me as I thought, 'SHIT! What if she thinks I'm some sort of mail order bride! ' thankfully she either didn't understand me or…well she probably didn’t understand me so I walked through to the baggage claim and waiting for our luggage to come out…and waited…and waited.

George and Boyan's bags came out with no problem. Soon after I see my suitcase but eventually the conveyor belt stops and my mother's luggage and the garment bag holding my wedding dress are nowhere to be seen. Immediately I think of the woman at the Delta counter whose murder I will have to cover up when I get home (turns out it's not her fault, Alitalia is notorious for losing luggage) we fill out some paperwork, make it through customs checks to find a smiling batch of Syarovs waiting for us on the other side.

The minute we are outside everyone lights up (a trend that would continue throughout the trip) and we stand in a circle exchanging pleasantries, trying to understand each other and finally hop into the party bus Boyan's father had rented for the occasion. It would be four long hours until we made it to Sliven, the moderately sized mountain town which had at one time produced great military Generals and most recently produced one great husband. Once we did get there it was dark, and we were tired. It had been 42 hours since we had left my parents door in Newport and we were ready to crash. Instead we found a meal fit for kings prepared for us. Boyan's father poured us small glasses of Rakia which was strong but smelled sweet and went down smooth and we sat around the table laughing and inhaling second hand smoke. We finally made it to bed and prepared ourselves for our first day in Bulgaria.

Week One: Baptism and Wedding Madness!
We arrived in Bulgaria on Monday and I was baptized on Wednesday. In order to have our wedding in the church I had to be baptized and logged into the registries for the Orthodox Church, so Boyan's and my family headed over to the church so I could get some water poured on my head. The ceremony lasted 45 minutes and the church was sweltering. I don’t know if it was because I was a foreigner and the priest wanted to give me the full treatment, but Mariana (boyan's mother) said it was the longest baptism she's ever been to. I left the church a little more blessed than I had entered and spent the rest of my week running around Sliven picking up things for the wedding. Flowers and jewelry and oh yea! Britta and Ruth! Britta and Ruth arrived on the Friday before the wedding (they had lost Britta's bag as well, gypsy Romanian airline) and had very little time to acclimate themselves to Bulgarian culture, which was evident when Boyan's father gave Britta a glass of Rakia, and like the good little drinker she is she took that as "Take a shot! Take a shot!" and downed the whole thing, to her dismay, in one gulp. Oh well, let's continue.

The day of the wedding came at last, as I was shuttled around to get my nails done, my hair did and finally to my parents hotel room to get ready. I spent most of the time lying around, stealing cigarettes from George (weddings are stressful!) and eating greasy ham sandwiches. Britta came up and started on my makeup which I think turned out fantastic thanks to her fine artistry and my Shuemura lashes. I slipped myself into my dress and had all the necessary items: Something old, the earrings I wore were a 200 year old pair that had been smuggled out of Ukraine by Boyan's family who were nobility during the revolution. Something new, my dress of course! Something borrowed, Britta's friendship necklace and Something blue, my shoes! I also had a tuppence in my shoe which my mom had kept from our trip to England two years ago.



I was ready just in time for Uncle Itzo to come up and fetch us down to the lobby where the entire wedding party was waiting for me to make my appearance. I later told Boyan the scene had reminded me of the scene in Goodfellas after Jimmy is arrested for the first time.

We made it to the church, which was not cooler in the later day as the grandma's who kept up the property told us it would be. Boyan was sweating from every pore, and the candles we had to hold throughout the ceremony did not make it any better. Interesting facts about Bulgarian weddings: 1. Every couple has to be sponsored by a married couple who are unrelated and baptized in the church. 2. Bulgarian's wear their wedding rings on the right ring finger. 3. There are no recitation of vows.

All of these facts made the wedding relatively easy for me because, unlike my baptism, I would not be made to repeat anything in my hack sawed Bulgarian. Now, comparative to the first time I got married in the courthouse, I was much calmer and much more relaxed this time around. I was more excited about how the ceremony would be conducted (I'm a sucker for tradition…TRADITION!!!) and concerned for the amount of sweat coming out of Boyan's face (no one wants greasy wedding photos). The wedding was pretty quick, only about 25 minutes long. We exited the church and met the wedding attendees in the courtyard. 10 minutes of well-wishing ensued until the rain which had been threatening us since the morning began to fall—just in time to ruin what was supposed to be our outdoor reception. It did not rain for the remainder of our stay in Bulgaria.

We were crammed into a little room along with a balloon arch and heart (funny note, the Bulgarian word for balloon is 'baloni' pronounced like bologna!). The night after that was a haze of Bulgarian folk dances, loud incessant Chalga (pronounced Chowga) which is a mix of Bulgarian folk music and techno (picture me pulling out hair—yelling at 4 foot DJ) while watching Mariana's best friend from high school Zdravka, attempt to not fall out of her dress (God bless that woman). There was a fire works ceremony (we had all huddled out in the ran to see it), I threw the bouquet and went home, tired, happy and just a bit tipsy.

For more pictures you can visit my flickr album here, or get another account of the wedding (with again more pictures) on Britta's blog here.

Week Two and Three: The countryside and an appearance by the Black Sea
The rest of my time in Bulgaria was spent relaxing, eating lots and lots of food (everything there is SO TASTY I ate pounds of food and lost 5 pounds!) and visiting different towns.

Our first foray outside of Sliven was for a short day trip to Jeravna, Kotel and Medven. Jeravna is a small village that is protected by UNESCO and therefore preserved as a historical cultural site. All of the houses are brilliantly done (the architecture is from the medieval period) with stone and dark wood. People actually still live there and the community thrives on tourism and farming.







Kotel and Medven were next and these small towns didn't have much to document. We by chance ran into Boyan's father's employee who took our wedding photos (he was on vacation in Kotel at the time, its a very small town).

Our next big trip was to Bourgas and Nessebar. Both cities are on the black sea and ripe with tourism as well. The streets were so congested--it looked like Venice Beach had exploded in Bulgaria. But amongst all the knock-off watches and fake perfumes there were old houses, Byzantine churches and forts used to fight off the turks.

We didn't stay very long, there were more things to see and of course more shopping to do! I forgot to mention how cheap clothes and shoes can be over there. I was happier than a pig in...well you know.





The rest of our trip was uneventful but beautiful. We spent a lot of time relaxing--sitting at home with Mariana, watching T.V. and eating Shopska Salad. I am so excited to go back again and visit my new family. I plan on uploading more pictures once flickr gets it's act together and realizes how lame it is to put limits on free accounts (screw those people) and Picasa realizes they don't have to upload my entire photo library (get it together google). Until then, here are some more pictures just for fun.