Tag Archives: lifestyle

I’m a Professional

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Hello everyone!

Happy Friday! Blogtober is going in full force, and I almost feel as if my day isn’t complete if I haven’t visited Watch Me Juggle at least once.

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I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, by any means, but if there was a job with any of these traits in the job description, I would be hired in a millisecond…

I’m really good at tripping going both up and down stairs. On a similar note, I’m really good at high heels. Ok, I’m decent enough at walking in them, but I can always find the most amazing bargain when it comes to shoe shopping. I found the above Pour La Victoire shoes for $11.50. That’s right. $11.50. Brand new. I win.

I can make a mean at-home latte. I’m also a professional coffee drinker, if that were a real job.

The boss lady says that while I may look pretty, it certainly doesn’t stop me from being a complete and utter goof ball; usually to get a laugh or a smile out of even the most stoic people. It makes me happy.

I’m like a chipmunk with a cheeseburger. You’ll wonder where I put it all, it disappears so fast.

Google-stalking people. I can do it.

As the infamous Jenna Marbles says: “Goo hoarding.” I excel at keeping bottles, all just shy of empty, all over my bathroom. If you need enough volumizing shampoo for a hamster, chances are I have it somewhere.

I can kill hours in thrift stores. I’m a professional Thrift Store Wanderer. I usually come out with some amazing treasures, too.

I have a knack for finding the best parking spot…approximately two seconds after someone else does.

I’m also a professional at:

  • Wearing Lululemon
  • Awkward somersaults
  • Drawing directly on my eyeball with eyeliner
  • Leaving my dishes in the sink forever
  • Staying up way past my bedtime
  • Making funny noises
  • Petting cats for hours
  • Making mimosas
  • Dancing

Add these to my resume.

EVA♥

20 Things 20-somethings Don’t Want to Hear

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Hello all!

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Today, I thought I would put together a little list. As you can gather from the title, I’ve taken some time to chronicle some of the things I, or some of my fellow 20-somethings have heard that just makes our collective blood boil. Admittedly, this is entirely from a female perspective, seeing as I am one. But, spoiler alert: contrary to popular belief, not every 20-something is consistently drunk/unemployed/tweeting. I came to this lovely conclusion after doing a bit too much research on the internet. And by internet, I mean reading horrible lists on Buzzfeed.

Enjoy!

  1. Why aren’t you married?
  2. Why don’t you have a boyfriend/why are you still single? Any derivative of this. Just don’t.
  3. You’re going out again this weekend?
  4. SO….what is it you do again?
  5. What ever happened to that guy…? You know…the last one?
  6. When I was your age, I was married with my second child on the way!
  7. You’re going to regret that tattoo when you get older.
  8. Well, you could always do fertility treatments in the future!
  9. Will you be needing a plus one?
  10. You’ll have to be careful with all those margaritas, you know, when you get older.
  11. I would like grandchildren, please. (Thanks Mom/Dad!)
  12. Wow…you going to eat all that?
  13. You planning on settling down anytime soon?
  14. You know, your metabolism slows way down as you get older.
  15. You really shouldn’t compromise comfort for style. Those stilettos aren’t good for your alignment.
  16. That’s an interesting outfit.
  17. Wow…you can afford to live on your own?
  18. Look at you! Living in your Lululemon!
  19. That’s an interesting career choice…
  20. Just wait ’til you’re thirty!

 

EVA♥

 

Fall List

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Hello everyone!

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Remember my Summer List? Well, here’s the fall edition!

I had quite the busy summer, and while I didn’t manage to buy myself a new swimsuit, visit the Hippie Tree, or go paddle boarding, I did have a summer filled with visits to the farmer’s market, the Alameda Art & Wine Festival, and plenty of sundresses. You might be able to recall that I also wrote about my day in St. Helena, and my beautiful birthday dinner at Foreign Cinema. I would consider my summer a success. Yet, seeing as fall is one of those proverbial in-between seasons, I didn’t expect it to be quite as extensive as my summer list. Here’s what I have so far:

…Drink as many Starbuck’s pumpkin spice lattes as possible…
…Wear my favorite warm sweaters…
…Carve pumpkins…
…Go apple picking…
…Do something, anything for Halloween, in a fantastic costume…
…Have a girl’s afternoon tea at the Neiman Marcus Rotunda…
…Attend Off the Grid, Twilight at the Presidio…
…Buy an absurdly large bag of Halloween candy, all for me…
…Wear lots of dark, berry-hued lipsticks…
…Dance as much as possible (as usual)…

While I’m sure that many ladies have those pumpkin spice lattes on the top of their lists, it’s relatively respectable, right? I’m working on those Halloween plans, and the afternoon tea reservation is already made. So far, so good!

Happy fall!

EVA♥

Fall Recipes

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Hello all!

Congratulations on surviving your respective Mondays! After an action-packed weekend, I’m soothing my soul with home cooking and a rerun of The Notebook on Lifetime. Yes, yes, I’m a giant cliché

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Photo c/o Smitten Kitchen

Now, while Fall doesn’t seem to have reached the beautiful Bay Area as of yet, I wanted to share one of my favorite comfort food recipes with you today for Blogtober! I made this for the first time two years ago after coming across it on the fabulous Deb’s website: Smitten Kitchen. I can’t wait for it to cool down enough so I can make it again! It’s one of those hearty, potato-based soups, and while it feels incredibly indulgent, its primary base is simply chicken broth and a whole ‘lotta sweet potato. Healthy and full of flavor!

 I amended it a bit because I had a hard time coming across fresh chorizo, so I used Trader Joe’s chicken andouille sausage instead, which also packs quite a punch. I also like that it’s a one-pot meal, so clean up is really minimal.

According to the recipe, you’ll need:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 10- to 11-ounce fully cooked andouille sausage, sliced.
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 pound white-skinned potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 9-ounce bag fresh spinach

  • Simply sauté the sausage with a generous amount of olive oil in the stock pot you plan to cook in. Remove the sausage and add in onions and garlic until translucent.  “Add all potatoes and cook until beginning to soften;” then add broth, and simmer until potatoes are fully soft. Smash potatoes with a potato masher (a large fork will do the trick as well) and stir in sausage. Add in spinach and cook until just slightly wilted. (Deb’s original recipe called for a remaining tablespoon of olive oil to be added, but I always skipped this step.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

If you prefer a creamier soup, I’ve been tempted to stir in a spoonful or two of sour cream, which I think compliments the spiciness nicely. The Afghan in me can mix yogurt or sour cream into pretty much everything. I’m always looking to expand my repertoire- what are some of your go-to Fall recipes? If you’re on the lookout, I can’t recommend Smitten Kitchen enough. It’s a wealth of amazing recipes, complete with beautiful photos. I have yet to come across one that I don’t like.

EVA♥

If I Were President…

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Hello everyone!

Welcome to the first ever Saturday edition of Watch Me Juggle!

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Today’s Blogtober14 prompt is, appropriately enough: “If I were president…”

Why is this so appropriate, you may ask? Well, primarily because the president himself was in my backyard yesterday. Before you ask questions, yes, my backyard is totally the W Hotel in San Francisco. I’m a busy girl, so P made sure to tell Mr. President I said hello, because I had a ballet class to teach and couldn’t make it, naturally. I also got sent this super blurry photo of him:

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See? It’s totally like I was there.

Now, I can’t pretend that I’m wildly involved in politics at this point in my life. Unfortunately, the older I’ve gotten, the more disillusioned I’ve become with them. I’ll admit that it’s difficult to stay optimistic when the men and women in office are so gridlocked in their own political party differences that they can’t even perform their basic job functions.  Not to get overly political on the blog or anything- that’s not what I’m here for, to be quite honest. Yet, there are a few things I feel passionate enough about that I would want to change in this country, if given the chance. I’m sure that this is a gross oversimplification, and that none of things would be even remotely possible at this point, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

I would love to improve the quality of public education in this country. I’ve received an exclusively public school education, from kindergarten to university level, and was quite satisfied with my experience. But, I would love to make art and music education a priority. I dream a country in which the vast majority of schools are arts-based. It’s my personal belief that many of the problems we’re seeing in younger generations, the inability to express feelings until they’re vastly out of control, the penchant for violence, etc. could be almost entirely avoided if we valued the arts more in this country. Unfortunately, we are a completely consumerist culture, and don’t see enough value in investing in the formative years of life, or in our “twilight years,” for that matter.  We dump an obscene amount of money into entertainment and sports, but most of these things aren’t thought-provoking or personal the way that the arts can be. If we put them on equal pedestals, instead of dismissing artistic endeavors as a gross waste of time or a childhood occupation, we would be all the better for it. I’ve personally committed myself to an occupation that, while paying jobs do exist, will leave you in a constant struggle to make ends meet. Once upon a time, dance was government subsidized, and there were a vast number of successful companies touring the country. Now, you’re lucky if you see upwards of $100 for all your hard work.On another note, the mental healthcare system in this country is deplorable. Just walk anywhere, anywhere in San Francisco and you’ll see what I mean. The people who need this help the most aren’t getting it, and I’m sure statistics will point to the fact that many of them are veterans. I could go on and on, really. These are just a few things that have been on my mind since I first caught sight of today’s prompt.

*Phew*

And lastly, if I were president, I would also say:

Free chocolate for everyone. 

That is all.

EVA♥

Who knew…

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Hello everyone!

It’s finally Friday.

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Yes, that is a tiny umbrella. The kind you put in tropical cocktails.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you seem to have too much to do and not enough time to do it in? Coupled with the fact that this week seems to have dragged on forever, it’s been quite the roller coaster. And what do I do when things get crazy? I close my shades, light my favorite candle, and schlub around the house with a cup of coffee for company. Glamorous, right? Oh, so productive as well.

I never thought blogging would be the one thing that I want to do in the day. To the point where I would curl up with my laptop in the same manner that I might curl up with a book at the end of an evening. I never thought that it would be the thing that would make my life seem calm and normal, a comforting thing, really. Sure, I tend to get really down on myself when I don’t make it point to publish on time. Of course, this schedule is entirely imaginary and entirely dependent on me. Then again, what schedule isn’t totally arbitrary when it comes down to it?  I’m really enjoying giving myself challenges, and cultivating my little space on the internet. I didn’t give much thought as to how much time and energy I would want to pour into Watch Me Juggle when it all began a little over a year ago, and while the idea of being a full-time blogger sounded beautifully appealing, I had no idea of how to even remotely get there. I just remembered that I once had a dream about being a writer, and that I wanted to write, regardless of whether or not anyone was reading. And that’s all you need, really. So, who knew?

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and Happy Fleet Week to all of my San Franciscans out there!

EVA♥

Halloween circa 2008

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Hello everyone!

Here’s a little belated #TBT for you!

Halloween is coming up, and is frequently the topic of discussion between myself and my students. (“I’m gonna be a dead race car driver!” Creative.) I sometimes make a point of telling them that Halloween is not quite the same when you’re an adult. The emphasis is less on your fantastic costume, and more on how to get the more belligerent trick-or-treaters to stop doorbell-ditching your house.Yes, I’m slowly turning into the “Get off my lawn!” woman.  Sure, some of my more festive friends host little parties, usually involving pumpkin carving or a horror film screening, but that’s about it. While I lament this “aging-out” of Halloween fun, I’m totally satisfied knowing that there once was I time where I celebrated Halloween in the most ridiculous manner conceivable.

As some of you might already know, I went to college in Santa Barbara, which also happens to be land of the week-long Halloween. This is not an exaggeration. Every year, thousands of college students would make the pilgrimage to Isla Vista, and fill the flood light-lined streets.  It was a whole weekend of mayhem- streets were closed and mounted police invaded our beachside town to corral the mob of costumed students. Speaking of costumes, you were some sort of loser if you didn’t have at least three different costumes lined up. Case in point, the below photos are all from a single Halloween my senior year.

I was an 80’s rockstar, who, by the end of the night looked like Alice Cooper, as we all got caught in a surprise downpour and my mascara ran down my face, leaving black tracks.

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A pirate, a rag doll, and myself, alongside the Powerpuff Girls. Oh, and a grown man dressed as a crayon in the background.

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Walking down Del Playa Dr. One of the main streets in Isla Vista.

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I was also Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, which was possibly the most comfortable costume ever! My version of Lara Croft wears Uggs, okay.

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My roommate Maren and I made quite the team; she went as Indian Jones. I brandished my two-dimensional guns, and she discovered the lamp in our living room…so many adventures.

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Photos c/o Maren Masterson & Jessica Rodriguez. Hi ladies!

We always managed to host a new group of friends in our living room every year. It’s not everyday you come back from class and have to step over five people to get to your room! Costumes not pictured that I wore the same year are: Mango, the Chris Kattan inspired exotic dancer from SNL, “Super Gaucho” our school mascot, and a fairy, specifically for ballet class the day of Halloween proper. A total of five, altogether.

After that, it’s hard to find anything that lives up to the Halloween memories of my college years. No matter how spectacular your costume is, it’s just one costume. And you might be surrounded by friends, but not all of them want to sleep on the floor of your living room, or want to take twenty deliberately embarrassing photos to post to Facebook. Those were the good, uncomplicated days. There’s a lot of things that I miss about them. Gaucho ’til I die.

EVA♥

Five Things

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Hello everyone!

It’s still Blogtober, but I’m going rogue today! And, by going rogue, I mean I’m doing the exact same thing I do every Wednesday: Five Things! Yes! It wouldn’t be a normal Wednesday without it. Let’s hop to it!

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What’s a Watch Me Juggle post without an ode to doughnuts? Lucky for me, my favorite little SF doughnut shop has a kiosk walking distance from P’s house. (Yes, I’m calling him “P,” I’m not quite that clever yet.) When you walk up, they have all their flavors on display in a pretty cake stand. On this day, I opted for something out of left field: a gluten-free doughnut. Now, before you accuse me of jumping on that bandwagon, it was the only chocolate-y one there, with raspberry glaze. So good!

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I discovered this gem hidden on my phone this week! A little throwback to this summer’s St. Helena adventures at the Castello di Amorosa.

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In the beginning of the school year, I introduced the boss lady to the world of Instagram. We celebrated this last week’s World Ballet Day by watching the livestream of San Francisco Ballet’s rehearsals in the studio, while documenting it, of course.

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The lovely crepe dessert from a mother-daughter lunch last week out in Pleasanton. Filled with warm, crushed berries, it was one of the best desserts I’ve shared in a long time.

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Photo c/o Bath & Body Works

I recently splurged on one of my favorite fall-scented candles. I know, it’s a silly little thing to consider a “splurge.” I must say, Bath & Body Works does their seasonal scented candles right! What I love about this particular scent is that it’s not horribly sickly or overwhelming, like some scents can be.

EVA♥

That One Time I Went to Hawaii…

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Hello everyone!

It’s day number two of Blogtober (or seven, if you’re counting correctly), and, as the title suggests, I’m revisiting one of my favorite vacations. It’s a fit of nostalgia I’m glad to indulge.

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I took 800 pictures of turtles. Turtles!

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My fabulous travel companions.

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For my 26th birthday, two of my girlfriends and I went to Hawaii, Oahu to be exact. Seeing as most of my family lives outside of the country, the majority of my vacations have consisted of running around Europe every year. These trips are amazing, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never quite had the opportunity to go on a trip just to relax. You know, just sit on the beach and read. It was an absolute break from real life- I didn’t put on an ounce or makeup, and never thought to touch a blow dryer. By the end of the trip, my hair was a mess, and I lived in my swimsuits. I bought a pair of shell earrings from a beach side surf shop and I wore them everyday.  I have never felt better. The sun and the salt somehow makes you feel beautiful, no matter what.

The day we arrived, I was so relaxed, I fell asleep sitting upright around a bonfire in our local friends yard; passion fruit beer still in hand, wrapped in my sarong. One evening, the power to our complex went out completely, and we wandered through the dark down to Turtle Bay Resort where we had piña coladas and my friends sang karaoke at the bar. On my birthday, we had acai bowls for breakfast, and inadvertently ended up swimming with sea turtles on a secluded beach. My “cake” that day was a large sandcastle, and I mimed blowing out my candles, making a wish. Writer Isak Dinesen says that “the cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” I only got two out of three this last vacation, but it was perhaps the most healing few days I can remember. Those little vacations are important. You deserve some time to put yourself back together-  irregardless of the current state of things. Your life could be going splendidly well, you could be on the precipice of something, or somehow unhappy with the way some things have turned out. No matter what, give yourself the permission to be happy, and indulge in new and beautiful things.

EVA♥

Thank You

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Hello everyone, and Happy Friday!

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A little note from my dear friend Brooke surprised me in the mail this week!

I hope everyone is having a good day thus far. Meanwhile, my day isn’t even half gone, and I’ve already experienced what I would deem as 800 kinds of ridiculous. I woke to the sound of the local high school band practicing what sounded like taiko drums in the street outside of my house. About an hour later, add in the sound of a weed-whacker and you have an idyllic morning. I later figured I would do a few things around the house, and, to my horror, discovered the largest spider I have ever seen in suburbia nesting in my lovely purple shower. Like any girl with good sense, I attempted to hairspray it to death. When this did not work, I panicked and resorted to running about my house like a crazy person. Life is really glamorous sometimes. I digress.

Today, I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank you. 

It’s been almost a year since I first posted on Watch Me Juggle, and it’s been such a wonderful experience. I have about 70 followers, some of whom I know, some of whom I consider my “internet friends.” So, if you’re reading this: thank you. My blog started out as something fun and indulgent, and I frankly didn’t expect many people to take interest in it (aside from my mother- Hi mom!).  I can’t believe all the positive feedback I’ve gotten. So many of you have been so supportive and kind, I really couldn’t ask for better. Thank you for encouraging me to write, and for supporting all of my crazy dreams. My little corner of the internet wouldn’t be the same without you.

Love,

EVA♥