10.27.2010

the postcard inn...



... was fantastic. absolutely fantastic.

a quick rundown:

the lobby is as amazing as all the website pictures appear, with a number of adorable little seating niches - perfect for hanging out with wine, knitting (or, in my case, attempting to knit) and gossiping. the concrete floor had this delicate stenciled pattern on it and the front windows had curtains made from millions of hanging woven/crocheted string (the kind i remember from my childhood, where you could pull a thread at the end and unravel it in kinked nylon excitement).

there are 3 types of rooms, it seems:
- rooms that face the parking lots
- rooms that face the courtyard
- cabana rooms near the pool

we splurged and got one of their courtyard rooms from a getaway weekend deal, which was TOTALLY worth it. the room rate was less than normal, you get a bottle of wine, a day-long on-the-beach cabana rental (shade!) and a ridiculously delicious pulled pork sammy picnic lunch with 2 ice cold beers. SCORE! the courtyard rooms are totally worth it - you can leave your door open and it's beautiful. we even had a mini-fridge and a small seating area with an adorable ceramic light.


from the beach cabana (& where i wish i were right. this. instant.)


mmmmmmmmmmmmmemories...... (of the first night, second night was rough... if you saw my tweet, you know why....)

the good: no roach infestation in the room (as some of the reviews seemed to imply) (thank CHRIST); super cold air conditioning during the day; excellent water pressure; clean sheets; 1st floor room meant no stairs!


super foofy pillows!

the bad: box springs are very creaky (which made me feel like the beds were cheap); 1st floor room meant we could hear the people above us, including their toilet activities (not *too* bad); super cold air conditioning seemed to fail in the middle of the night, wherein i woke up hot & sweaty; we were never told, even at check in, that there would be a wedding that weekend.

sadly, i did not take 500 billion photos as i originally intended. the first night we just relaxed and took it leisurely. and then.... starting saturday morning... the courtyard was completely taken over by the wedding - photographers, caterers, tables, linens - it was awkward. each time we came out of the room, we felt a little like we were invading a private event. (hello? a little warning?! thanks.)

the magical nighttime photos planned for saturday night? utterly scuttled.

in fact, we pretty much had to scoot off the property for a while, either going to look at thrift stores or relaxing on the beach (which sounds ridiculous, i know, but sometimes you just want to have the choice of relaxation venue). the cute little letter we got from management for our getaway weekend seemed to imply that we wouldn't even need to leave the property, it was so relaxing!! try again. we just felt like outsiders at a wedding that took over the entire hotel. towards the end of the night, as we got progressively more drunk on wine and cheese, we sat on the concrete slab in front of our room and watched the wedding and ended up meeting our swedish hotel neighbors.

1) (violeta) she's a server who gets paid $15 an hour. (one of her actual quotes: "yes, we get paid more, but we don't have the same tipping rules. i mean, maybe on a night... i get... maybe $150." WTF, $150 was a crazy good night for me when i was a server. note to self: move to sweden.) he (bjorn) was a bartender that worked 3 nights a week. THEY GET SIX WEEKS OF VACATION. in april and october, they take 3 weeks each and vacation in florida. poof. just like that. also, he wears an engagement ring.

2) i took my first drag on a cigarette. um...... FUCKING NASTY. meaghan was going on and on about how good it tastes with alcohol so i had the itty bittiest suck/inhale/baby drag from the cigarette she bummed off violeta. it burned. it was gross. (fucking gross.) and my hands smelled like old ashtray. smokers? ya'll are nasty. sorry.

and then, at the very end, when we were REALLY drunk, we ran up onto the stage/dance floor and had a rollicking' good time. if only we'd gotten some cake and had the balls to get pictures at the photo booth. damnit!

10.21.2010

30 Things Every Woman Should Quit Doing By 30

utterly stolen from madge


  1. Buying clothes from the junior section. (up until a year ago, is till bought clothes from the children's section at target. but now my ass is too big.)
  2. Forgetting her parents’ birthdays. (never! though i often stop to remember which is first - they are both in june.)
  3. Making out with her BFFs at bars for attention. (i like laid back and casual bars. i hate the bars where 30-somethings are trying to reclaim their 20s - it's so pathetic.)
  4. Making out with her boyfriend at bars for attention. (really?)
  5. Filling her bed with stuffed animals.
  6. Carrying a torch for anyone she hasn’t seen in the last five years.
  7. Rebelling against her parents for the sake of rebelling against her parents. (i don't think i ever rebelled. hm.)
  8. Declaring an entire gender “all jerks.”
  9. Holding a grudge against anyone who wronged her in high school. (i will never forgive justin l. for being total racist jerk.)
  10. Skipping regular gyno exams.
  11. Going to bed without washing and moisturizing her face. (if i skip this, i break out like crazy.)
  12. Being “that person” who had a bit too much to drink at the office party.
  13. Crushing on Justin Bieber.
  14. Thinking she’s got it all figured out.
  15. Calling her father “daddy.” (ewwwwwww.)
  16. Engaging in sibling rivalry.
  17. Trying to get by on her looks. (right. my 12 yr old boy looks!)
  18. Living paycheck to paycheck. (workin' on it.)
  19. Expecting a man/knight in shining armor to swoop in and save her. (what about a winning lotto ticket in hand?)
  20. Aimlessly jumping from job to job.
  21. Using MySpace to pick up guys. (oh GOD, that sounds so dangerous. craigslist was way safer.)
  22. Expecting a man to do all the wooing.
  23. Wishing she had someone else’s life. (nope, just their money. their cold. hard. cash.)
  24. Expecting everyone to drop everything because it’s her birthday ... (i love a good birthday party!! but if you can't come, you can't come. but if you CAN - then PARTY!)
  25. ... or because her “boyfriend” of two weeks dumped her. (or because her ex knocked up some girl, or because her ex started dating someone else, et al. - i know someone who could benefit from this one.)
  26. Measuring her self-worth by a number on the scale. (let's see... how many lbs of sushi can i ingest....)
  27. Being cheap. (buying quality products definitely means a lot more now. ... except couches. i cannot imagine paying over 1k for a couch.)
  28. Quitting a job without having a new one lined up first (especially in this economy!).
  29. Blaming her mother for all her issues.
  30. Romanticizing her 20s. (i loved my 20s! *shrug* it was fun. so was high school. not that i want a do-over. i'm a total in-the-present girl.)

10.20.2010

feelin' halloweenie!


image.jpeg, originally uploaded by gimchi.

broke out the decorations for our tensday party, but we still have a long way to go. more bats!!

it seems funny to decorate for a holiday when we won't even be home to celebrate! anthony and i are planning on a trip to orlando to visit our current favorite fancy-pants restaurant.

(AND i'm hoping to finagle a little side trip to h&m.)

10.18.2010

is it friday yet?


image.jpeg, originally uploaded by gimchi.

i have a girly weekend planned this friday - sunday. i am soooooooooo stoked! here's my tentative list so far of items to bring.

i know, you're jealous.

10.13.2010

fall means pumpkins!

image.jpeg

have i mentioned the pumpkin battle? (that link *should* work - it goes to a facebook group.)

it runs from october 1 - november 25 and the goal is to eat as many pumpkin flavored items as humanely possible. anyone is welcome to join! each item is worth a point, however, you can't just drink 20 starbucks pumpkin lattes for 20 points - that would only count for 1 point.

while i'm definitely not in the running to be a winner, as long as i get more than 20 items in me, i'll be pleased.

current score: 11

10.11.2010

ooooo ahhhhhhh

image.jpeg

spray painted white!

we had a tensday party yesterday (fabulous) and i'll post pics of the house and the lawn picnic later.

i'm kind of hung over today. :(

10.07.2010

wip


wip, originally uploaded by gimchi.

i know, i've been boring. but i have been doing stuff! right now, in fact!

10.06.2010

image.jpeg

busy much?

YES!

and october shows no sign of slowing.

as noted, i've been painting the living room and dining room. then i thought i'd do the ceiling. ...and finish up the trim at the same time! turns out, they must not have used as high a gloss white as i bought for the trim. (i have no idea if that last sentence is grammatically correct. my head is ever so fuzzy.) so i ended up doing all the trim in the kitchen and the dining room/living room. the trim around the door had never been painted! the sides of the trim were messy with old paint! it was terrible, but now it is clean and lovely.

friday at work i started to get sick - it culminated in a sinus pressure head-fuck on monday. regardless of how i felt, i still went to ikea and home depot with ant and while i napped, he installed new lights in the kitchen! they. are. awesome. i love love love them.

i went to a zombie-themed film fail last weekend and a birthday party - all in the same day! i had fun, but wish i could have had more time at both. the impending sickness didn't help, of course. i think i wasn't as excitable as i could have been. october has always seemed the month for parties, though. i missed a sushi birthday dinner scheduled the same night as the film fail and the other birthday party. too much party! and this weekend we're having a tensday party and the weekend after... ugh, oh yes, i work. but then i have a girly retreat scheduled soon after. we plan on subsisting on wine, chocolate and lemon loaf - i'm so serious.

my conference was sadly scuttled, but the girly weekend should take care of any relaxation needs. i have books on the way and knitting plans afoot. *sigh* there's never enough time. ever.