Five Things

Posted on April 8, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hi everyone!

Five Things has quickly become the milepost of my week, that and Jenna Marbles’ videos, the joys of Wednesday! This week has been an interesting one, punctuated with sighs from yours truly. It’s a funny thing that I’ve noticed about myself lately. Whenever I find I have a lot on my mind, or if I’m feeling down-in-the-dumps, I’ll let out a big sigh. I didn’t notice it until recently, when the woman sitting next to me on my day-to-day commute started looking at me oddly. I get so preoccupied sometimes I think I forget to take deep breaths. Does this happen to any of you, dear readers? Like many things, I guess it could be worse.

I digress, as always, but Five Things means that there are pictures of puppies and/or cocktails that have come to save the day! Let’s get to it…

I’ve been mildly fascinated with the Parisian-style macaroons at Chantal Guillon in San Francisco, as of late. I really enjoy all the creative flavors, and will one day need to find an excuse to buy a whole box full. They sure are pretty to look at.

Photo c/o PopSugar

I’ve been fascinated with these trendy Flash tattoos as of late. I’m just dying to get my hands on pack and go completely overboard. It’s like semi-permanent jewelry! I can just imagine myself teaching ballet class in a leotard and entirely gold arms. As if my students don’t think I’m quirky enough already…

Adventures of Maddie the Dog return. In this episode, Maddie enjoys being tucked in while simultaneously taking up the whole couch. Bless her, she’s a funny one.

My girlfriends and I discovered another quintessentially hipster bar in downtown Oakland over the weekend. We had a hard time finding the Double Standard, but enjoyed it once we got past the rather foreboding, graffiti covered entrance.

Meanwhile, I introduced the boss lady to some of the finer points of Pinterest, and her pinning enthusiasm has worn off on me. You can find my Pinterest boards here. hey’re a work in progress, and I sense quite a bit more to come! My personal favorite has to be my “Notable Quotes. Quotable Notes” board- it’s where I keep the simple quote above. It’s a beautiful reminder that everyone needs now and again.

Until next time,

EVA♥

Secret Single Behavior

Posted on April 6, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

If any of you, dear readers, have been hanging around Watch Me Juggle for long, you’ll recall my mentioning some of my more embarrassing habits. Like talking to myself and using my blowdryer in lieu of an iron/microwave. So, today I decided it was time to write a very long overdue “Secret Single Behavior” post. You know, your “SSB?” It was featured in an infamous episode of “Sex and the City,” and has even made it all the way to Urban Dictionary; “potentially embarrassing (or disastrous) if discovered” behavior. I was inspired earlier by the lovely Helene in Between, who listed it in her recent Spring Blog Post Ideas. If a legitimate blogger lists it as a thing, I have to do it, right?

Of course, no 20-something blog is complete without some good gifs.

newgirlgif

…Sometimes I put on all the lipsticks I own, just to see what they would look like before wiping them off and leaving the house with just chapstick on…

…I eat sushi in bed. Yeah, don’t judge me. Chopsticks and I work well together, and sushi’s relatively healthy. It’s like an indoor picnic…

…Whenever I go grocery shopping, I open a bag of whatever I just bought, keep it on my lap, and snack as I’m driving home. Whatever, I do what I want…

…Sometimes, I dim all the lights in my house and dance around to Beyonce/Rihanna/Iggy Azalea. Or classical music, because ballet…you know…

…I watch Youtube beauty tutorials, vlogs, and reruns of Nick At Nite shows in the bathtub…

…I watch more Tv Land/Hallmark channel shows than is acceptable for someone my age…

…I fantasy online shop. Translation, everything and anything I see goes into my shopping cart, but I’m too lazy to get up, get my credit card, and punch in the numbers. Luckily…

Whatever floats your boat, bakes your cake, lights your candle… you should be able to do it without worrying about whether or not it’s potentially embarrassing, or silly. Just my two cents.

EVA♥

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up…The Hilarity Continues

Posted on April 2, 2015 by 4evamaria

Happy Friday eve everyone!

In the spirit of #TBT, I’ve decided to post the above photo including Dance Arts Project’s very own Miss Julia.

Remember when I promised a Part III of my “Kids are Hilarious” post? Well, it’s finally here! I’ve been trying to keep track of all the ridiculous things I hear on an almost daily basis while teaching class. They’re awfully amusing, those young people. Truth be told, there’s been a lot more physical comedy going on than anything. For example, I have one five-year-old student in particular that loves to lick the metal barres after warm up. I mean, walking with her tongue dragging along all ten feet of the barre. Ew and why?! I’ve now busted out the Clorox wipes more than I would like to admit.

Another unforgettably comedic moment happened a few months back, conveniently during one of two weeks that parents are permitted to observe class. One of my littlest students decided it would be a good idea to get, ahem, handsy with my teenage assistant. She also decided to narrate while poking her: “Boobies. Boobies. BOOBIES!” Luckily, my demonstrator has a great sense of humor, and found this about as amusing as I did. Needless to say, the little girls’ parents were mortified.

I’ve found that the most humorous things are often totally spontaneous, and, on occasion, volunteered.

“I broke my leg two days ago, and had to get crutches, but now I’m better.” Well, okay then. We’re all glad your broken leg healed quickly enough for you to come to dance class.

“Oh, has anyone read the story of The Mermaid Dance?” I asked one day. “No, but I have contact lenses.” From the mouth of a seven-year-old.

“Miss Eva, I want to be an entomologist!” I wasn’t not sure how we got on the subject of careers, but I was impressed a six-year-old knew what an entomologist was. She then followed up with “I’m gonna study rolly-pollies!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it’s not all rolly-pollies out there.

I also enjoy the random observations from my students as to how difficult ballet actually is. It’s not all sugar-plumming about, you know. Or, as one student put it:

“Basically, it’s really hard to point your shoe.” That it is. That it is. I always tell them, if ballet was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Occasionally, I try to engage with them on subjects outside of dance. If we have the time, I like to chat about everything and anything. Today, I asked my students to tell me about one exciting thing they did at school. Many shared stories about their trips to the library, or their fun music classes, and then one replied, “No…nothing exciting. It’s school. My favorite subject’s recess.” Well, okay then.

They sometimes like to ask me about my life as well. These questions usually have to do with my age or personal life, “Miss Eva, are you someone’s Mom?” This was asked so earnestly from one of my little ones- she seemed so sweetly convinced that one of her classmates could have belonged to me.

“Miss Eva, do you have an Instagram? You look like the kind of person that would have an Instagram…” I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean, but I’ll take it as the pre-teen version of a compliment…?

And, lastly, one of my very favorite recent quotes comes from one of the many (yes, many!) little boys in our Monday class. He’s four, adorable, and fully aware of it. Whenever someone exits the studio, he chimes in with the age-old “See ya later, alligator!” catch-phrase. Except, one day, he couldn’t get it quite right:

“See ya later, alligator! After a while….croca-gator.”

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Love,

EVA ♥

Five Things

Posted on April 1, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hey all!

Remember last week when I said that my Five Things was the place where all the random things of my life go to live on the internet? Well, while I was getting this week’s post together, I realized a pattern I seemed to have. Just take a fancy looking cocktail, something cute (preferably a puppy), and something I bought this week, and voilà! You have Watch Me Juggle. I might be horribly predictable, but I’d like to think I’m fun nonetheless.

I tried to mix it up a bit this week…see, no cocktail picture! But I did run around San Francisco and go shopping- gradual change is good.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for everything mermaid-related lately, seeing as we’re performing our own rendition of The Little Mermaid for this year’s “Big Show.” This shirt from H&M made me laugh.

So, my singular Alex & Ani bangle was looking awfully lonely. My latest edition is the “Love” bangle. Pretty self explanatory- I love jewelry with a little message.

I spend an awful lot of time attending ballets at the SF Opera House, and, hence, I spend an awful lot of time looking at the City Hall building. It’s quite beautiful, though. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I was recently at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts for work and had to take a photo (albeit a blurry one…can’t wait for a new camera!) of this statue in the lobby. It’s beautiful, and always catches my eye.

I’ve been really loving I Am Her Tribe on Instagram as of late. I find their posts inspiring, and not overly schmaltz-y. They’re a great combination of both the serious and the light-hearted. Go check them out!

EVA♥

80% Sass, and a little Coffee

Posted on March 29, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Sass, snark, smart-assedness (yes, that’s a word I made up, thank-you-very-much), those are just a few words that describe Anne Taintor. If her name doesn’t sound too familiar to you, don’t worry. You’ve probably seen her vintage-style art out and about. A wall in my apartment is sporting an Anne Taintor calender, currently turned to a quote “following the ‘if you can’t say something nice’ rule proved to be more challenging than she anticipated.” I sometimes take my morning coffee in a “Martinis: they’re not just for breakfast” mug, which occasionally makes its way to class, and is slightly embarrassing. You may also know her from this news story that happened a while back, where a woman sued when her yearbook photo appeared on a flask decades later. I found the whole thing funny, but I’m guessing we do not share a similar sense of humor.

There’s just something about her art that just tickles me- I think it’s the combination of oh-so-proper vintage prints and the unrestrained sarcasm. I would like to think that the majority of the people pictured in her prints would relate to their newly appointed captions, even if they weren’t quite allowed to say them at the time. Her artwork covers a variety of relatable topics, such as

Shopping:

My justification is not if, it’s when. Life is short, buy the shoes, and all that jazz. Remember those studded stilettos I bought a while back? Wrote about it here. Those are my ass-kicking shoes, and I think it’s important that every woman have a pair. They’ve recently come back into stock in a nude/white patent and I’m horribly tempted to buy them.

Dating:

Isn’t that always the case? Quite unfortunate, really. This image makes me laugh- ladies, I’m sure that most of you out in the dating world have been here at some point or another. I pride myself in being fundamentally optimistic, even when it defies logic. But, if I have to go on one more mediocre date this next month, I’m just going to get a dog. On the bright side, it’s done wonders for my conversational skills, and I’ve eaten some pretty incredible meals.

Cocktailing…?

This has become my mental M.O as of lately. Being responsible and all, I’ve found myself with a latte in hand, more often than not. That counts, right?

Fitness:

With all the classes I’ve been teaching, I’ve been admittedly putting off the yoga classes I’ve mentally scheduled for re-runs of “The Royals.” It’s basically a ridiculous, thinly veiled British soap opera, but I love it. Stick a pint of ice cream in my hands and I’m a 20-something manifestation of Bridget Jones. “I choose vodka…and Chaka Khan.”

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on March 25, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hi all!

If you’re relatively new to Watch Me Juggle, there’s a distinct pattern here you might notice. Every week, usually on a Wednesday, I like to do a little post called “Five Things.” Originally inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes and Cashmere, these generally feature five glimpses into my life. Glimpses of things that have caught my eye, made me laugh, or made me think- sometimes a combination of all three. Oh, and also “Five Things” sometimes turns into a stream-of-consciousness post that contains everything that possibly comes to mind at the moment. Makes sense, right? We all have to put those things somewhere.

This week’s “Five Things” contains a little bit of everything from my many moments out and about. So.. let’s get to it!

In the wake of the big gala I helped organize at work, I took myself out for a little mani-pedi. I’m the worst when it comes to committing to a color (it’s embarrassing how long it takes me, really), so, I thought it was only appropriate to do a ballet-themed manicure. The two colors pictured are from OPI: I Love Applause, topped with Pirouette My Whistle. Maybe it’s totally crazy, but it made me happy!

On my way to work one afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a little Pinkberry. I don’t tend to vary my toppings up too much. I’m a fan of the chocolate-strawberry combination, if you couldn’t already tell! it turned out so beautifully, I had to be a ridiculous girl and take a picture of my yogurt. Again, embarrassing behavior, I know…

(Excuse my scary dancer feet- they’re not as bad as they used to be!)

My sore feet and I finally caved and bought some “practical” shoes at the Nordstrom triple point sale this last weekend. These are the Silver and Pearl White Gizeh sandals from Birkenstock. I ended up buying the white and love how comfortable they are!

Deal of the day! Nordstrom has been featuring these exclusive, pre-set Mac Pro-palettes lately. If I didn’t already own more eyeshadow than I knew what to do with, I would have absolutely snatched this beautiful, neutral palette up.

There’s a new trend beginning in restaurants: tip-included dining. I experienced this first-hand on my visit to Bar Agricole in San Francisco over the weekend. Carefully-crafted cocktails and a rustic food menu make it well worth a trip. Pictured above is their signature brandy “Sleepyhead” cocktail. Brady, champagne, ginger and mint- delicious!

EVA♥

Girls Night, San Diego Edition

Posted on March 22, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

It’s been exactly a month since I’ve seen some of my best girlfriends. The general consensus is that that’s much too long of a time, but, seeing as we live across four different states, hundreds of miles apart, we must make do. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we like to have full-scale reunions every year-or-so, and this last one was quite memorable. A different kind of memorable from our last one, where seven of us all piled onto the floor of my studio apartment, but I digress.

Out and about, we joke that we constantly photograph like a sorority. Things have changed a bit over the years, exactly half of us are married, and there are children and post-graduate studies, but we’re still a good-looking group. (Toot too! Yes, that’s some unabashed honking my own horn.)

The weekend wasn’t nearly long enough, but we managed to cram quite a bit in. Walks around Little Italy, good food, a farmer’s market, some sailing, hot-tubbing, long conversations, and, of course, dancing. I’m proud to say we were that big group of girls “standing in a circle around our shoes and our pockets” positively screaming the lyrics of every song in each other’s faces. Yes, that includes “Get Low,” of course.

We had a great view of the city from the condo we were staying in. It allowed for this little bit of photographic magic to happen:

My friend Kelsey’s parents happened to live in another high-rise condominium complex across the way, so we coordinated with them to take a picture of us all standing out on the balcony one day. My fear of heights was tested with this one, but it was so worth it!

Little Italy’s colorful Saturday morning farmer’s market on a Saturday morning. I was surprised at how big it was! Really worth a visit, if you’re ever in the area over the weekend, dear readers.

Colorful friends to go with the colorful market! My friend Devyn has introduced me to Lilly Pulitzer’s fantastic prints, all with their own whimsical names. I’ve been coveting a number of dresses online, but I’ve got my eyes peeled for this fun leopard print!

USS Midway. Not pictured are the people lunching on the stern of the ship. Convenient place for a cafe, I must say.

We teetered from the trolley to the infamous Gaslamp district in our heels on Saturday night.

Shiny, happy people at the rooftop bar at the W Hotel.

It’s important to make time for those worthwhile people in your life. Sure, the distance can be tricky, but it’s nothing a little G-chat and coordination can’t solve. It took us a bit of time to put this trip together, but it was well worth it, and couldn’t have come at a better time. Spending time with friends can be rejuvenating in so many ways. Just being in the same room as these ladies makes me feel better about everyday worries. You know, the things that all of us are preoccupied with on a daily basis. When you find people that can make you forget your troubles, don’t let them go anywhere. Cross an ocean for them, if you have to. They’re very much worth it. If you’re reading this ladies, until next time!

EVA♥

10 Adult Things I Did This Week

Posted on March 19, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

Image c/o all the Instagram accounts ever.

Today, I’m going to start a rather obviously titled segment, “Adult Things I Did This Week.” Because, let’s face it, us 20-somethings need a little validation every-once-in-a-while, being Gen-Y and all. So, I’ve gone off the deep end and decided to make a list. Once started, I quickly realized how utterly mundane this list was going to be, but hey! Props to all of you adults out there that make these things look easy. My students all think that being a grown-up is all eating ice cream for dinner, but this stuff is hard. You can only eat so much ice cream for dinner before you start feeling really sick. Trust me, I know…

….

1. I got a parking ticket. Your welcome for my generous contribution, City of Oakland. I can’t believe you wrote me a ticket for parking in a dirt patch that’s designated for “cleaning.” Ah, irony.

2. I chatted with my neighbor! I’m getting to know my neighbor across the hall, and it’s genuinely nice.

3. I learned about IRA’s. Yikes. That’s scary sounding stuff, right? But, I’m down for anything that’s considered an investment and makes the IRS not mad at me.

4. I bought work supplies. And, seeing as my work involves a lot of jumping around, “supplies” pretty much consists of ibuprofen and/or ice.

5. I went to bed at a decent hour! Those of you who work long or odd hours perhaps know how challenging this can be. I find myself dawdling around my apartment listening to horrible trap music all too often on a Wednesday night. Yes, this is totally embarrassing, but I know I can’t be the only one that does it…!

6. I corrected my text grammar. I’m not really that proud of this one. It’s really hard to try to impress someone when you need to send a follow-up text with an “Oops! *yours.” Because who the hell thinks there is a word spelled your’s?! Mortifying. Come to think of it, I could probably lump this into the “Non-Adult Behavior” category. I blame allergies for the stupidity.

7. I put my foot down. This one actually seems like it doesn’t belong on this list at first, but I think it’s important to have boundaries. Because sometimes all you really want (and need to do) on a Friday night is sit at home and do whatever it is that floats your boat. Like watch re-runs and make cookies. Am adult!

9. I catch up on NPR headlines on my commute. I know, you’re probably thinking “Dear God, that sounds dull,” commuting and depressing news? But, NPR truly has something to pique everyone’s interests. Remember how NPR’s Serial podcast was all anyone could talk about for a while? There’s some fascinating stuff there.

and,

10. I met with my accountant, got my taxes done, and didn’t cry! I was actually relieved when I left his office. I swear, as a person who has numbers-induced anxiety, accountants are a gift to humanity. It’s like magic, you give them a pile of receipts and they give you complete tax forms.

…

Next time, I’ll probably slap together a contrasting list of the 382 “Non-adult” things I’ve done lately. For everyone one thing on the above list, I have at least 10 ridiculous things to counteract them. After all, you’re only as young as you feel!

EVA♥

You Look Like a Ballerina

Posted on March 16, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

Look! It’s the most ballet-ic selfie I could find…

I’m writing to you today at the end of a very long week this week, so please forgive any rambling/total nonsense that manifests itself on my blog. I swear, I’ll be back to normal next week. Maybe…

….

One of my students said a rather curious thing to me the other week. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about since. I was teaching the final class of the evening on a Friday night, showing a little combination at the barre that I initially meant to be simple, but, as usual, turned out ridiculously complicated. We paused, to turn around to the other side, when one of my senior students blurted: “Miss Eva, you look like a ballerina.” I suspected that she was slightly hopped-up on cold medication at the time, but she said the whole thing with such sincerity. It was possibly the sweetest thing I’d heard all day.

It’s not quite the first time I’ve heard something like this, but it made me wonder, what is it that makes you “look” like a dancer, a ballerina? I’ve had theater-goers confuse me with a dancer from whatever performance we had just seen. I met the man I’m currently dating, with his opening line of “You look like a dancer…” I’m usually full of excuses when this is brought up “Oh, it’s just the way I’m wearing my hair” or, “I just came from class, it’s all the Lululemon, really.” On worse days, it’s “Have you seen an actual ballerina? They certainly don’t look like me.” It makes me sad that I always feel the need to explain myself in whatever context this is brought up: “I am a dancer, but I mostly teach now…” “Well, I’m not with a company right now, but I have my degree in dance.” Truth is, I’ve been training and dancing for almost twenty years now, and it’s been a lot of hard work- not by accident. Dance is the one thing that has become a non-negotiable in my life, and I’m lucky enough that I’ve made it my livelihood. I ran the audition circuit for a while, I gave myself a few years to explore possibilities. I may not be dancing the 6-8 hour days that I once did, but I still break a sweat in the studio almost everyday, in a different way. I try to reconcile myself to the fact that I’m not necessarily the dancer that I wished to be, and that I should be grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had. But, I still feel the need to undermine myself, to explain things away. In the meantime, telling me that I look like a dancer makes a big part of me ecstatic, even if it’s a simple compliment that I can’t quite accept yet. The boss-lady tells me I’m “as much of a ballerina as I deserve to be.” I like that, the rest, well…I’m working on it.

EVA♥

I’m On a Boat

Posted on March 13, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

They say that you make lifelong friends in your college years, and I have little evidence to refute this. Even though it’s been many years since we’ve found ourselves biking around Santa Barbara, and we’ve all gone our separate ways, my college girlfriends and I still make a point of getting together for “girls trips” over the years. We had our first full-scale reunion here in the Bay Area (see pictures from my post here)a little less than two years ago, and decided we were long overdue another one.

After many months of planning, we all agreed to meet in San Diego, where we had generously been offered a fabulous place to stay right in Little Italy. Last time we got together, seven of us all crammed into my studio apartment, it was totally absurd, but also like an amazing adult slumber party. Anyway, I decided to share a few snapshots of just one of our many recent adventures together: on a boat.

and, look, I was even there too:

We spent a chunk of our Saturday sailing around San Diego. The same family friend of my good friend, Kelsey who had let us stay in their penthouse, also let us “borrow” their boat for a day. Luckily, my friend Maren is quite the experienced sailor, having pretty much grown up on a boat in the Virgin Islands, took charge. (She’s the one standing in the photos above. Most of us remained seated, for fear we might fall overboard…or was that just me?) She’s really made me appreciate sailing- just listening to her describe the basics makes my head spin. I find myself frequently asking her what feels like really stupid questions. “I’m sorry…but is the jib sheet the small sail-thingy?”

We had a little cheese, crackers, and drinks to hold us over for a few hours while we enjoyed the views of the San Diego skyline. I haven’t spent much time in the area, but I have a feeling it won’t feel quite as exciting without these girls. Miss them already.

Have a great weekend!

EVA♥