Acts of Stupidity, by Yours Truly (& Co.)

Y'all, last night I ate leftover pizza in bed while watching Parenthood. And it was awesome. For awhile, it felt like any second my mom would pop her head around the corner to yell at me for the lack of greens on my plate, but homegirl is a four hour flight away so pizza it is.

Times like these, this living on my own thing can be pretty darn cool. But on the flip side, there have been... let's call them special instances when my friends and I have jumped and shot towards the hoop only to realize we threw complete airballs. You should've seen me the first time I bought eggs. SEVEN DOLLARS?! I was very much personally offended. As folks who spent the last four years with house chefs who have cooked for former presidents (allegedly) and the nicest cleaning staff and students specifically appointed and paid to make weekly Costco runs to stock our snack pantry with five kinds of dip and three boxes of Bagel Bites and taquitos, this transition has at times proven tricky. 

Judge lightly, people, as you check out these gems. I hope you find them slightly endearing?

Exhibit A:
Someone I cooked some eggs #humblebrag #youjealous? and then left the spatula on the pan on the stove along with the rest of the dirty dishes to wash after one I ate. Poured half a bottle of Cholula on eggs, ate the eggs, watched an episode of FRIENDS. Then, one I went back to the kitchen, grabbed the spatula only to find it SCORCHING hot and thought, oh must not have cooled yet. 
THREE HOURS LATER. The spatula is still burning hot, and it is then that one I realized the stove had been on the whole time. Thank all good karma and juju that it was on the lowest of low settings and that I one finally stopped being a dunce, but still. Bird brain.
Exhibit B:
Friend: "I set my microwave on fire when I made oatmeal today."
Exhibit C:
Friend: "I locked my car keys in my trunk, and my spares in the car."
Exhibit D: 
At the grocery store, a friend clicked 'no' to the default 'Help End Child Hunger' screen on the credit card machine. The cashier totally called him out on it (awkward), and he just goes "well first I need to end my own hunger."
Exhibit I Lost Count:
Friend: "Did you know you're not supposed to eat raw chicken? I got salmonella." To be fair, he was in Japan and thought raw everything was standard.
Exhibit More:
I made my friend come over to teach me how to use my own (in-unit thank GOODNESS) washing machine because it looked intimidating. This meant I had to hold off on laundry for ... some time.
Exhibit Last:
As I was (proudly) hand-washing my dishes all fa-la-laaaaaaa humming as Cinderella would, my roommate walks in, takes one look at the scene, and just goes: you do know that we have a dishwasher right? As a matter of fact, no I didn't. Not even after living here for three weeks. *faceplant* *bemused face emoji*
Tell me I'm not alone! Please?!?!

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What Not To Do In Rome

Fire crackers and champagne alike exploding too close for comfort, Italian gibberish a deafening roar undulating in my perimeter. Chilly days, but warmth still able to be found under the sunshine. The friendliest bellhops, the most beautiful piazzas, indulgent dinners with course after course of pasta.

That Rome, the Rome in which I welcomed 2014, is a Rome of teenage girl dreams.

This Rome – in the heat of summer, the overbearing, suffocating heat – with tour buses lacking functioning air conditioning, with masses of tourists and nary a pocket of fresh air, with restaurant hosts basically herding you to their menu of overpriced, underwhelming food with the promise of free (but snail's pace) WiFi... is not so lovely.

If I had one piece of advice for you, my friend, it's to avoid visiting Rome during peak seasons.

The appeal of Rome stems from its history, from its romantic atmosphere. But the sad thing is, all of that fades when the greatest number of people come to see it. It's hard to process the capacity for brutality and energy and bestiality of gladiator fights in the Colosseum, difficult to understand how many centuries the stones have survived, when you're jostled by the selfie sticks shoved into your side. It's hard to imagine the foundations of democracy in the Roman Forum when you're SO frustrated by how hot it is, your only concern is finding the closest exit. The rotten cherry on top of this sad milkshake, is that most of the landmarks were under construction. While upkeep and maintenance is of course expected to a certain extent, it kind of sucks when the Trevi Foundation is completely shut down and every attraction had some sort of scaffolding.

When in Rome...

DON'T ... visit in the summer. Just go to Epcot.

DO ... go as far away as possible from the touristy areas for food. I found amazing al dente pasta at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant owned by a really nice Italian couple {Trattoria Re di Roma} and THE MOST AMAZING TIRAMISU OF ALL TIME {chocolate & banana tiramisu at Pompi} close by. In tourist central, don't miss out on the popular cappuccino walk-up bar, Caffe Sant'Eustachio and Don Nino, a deeeeeelicious gelateria.

DON'T ... take one of those tour buses. Lines are long, routes are roundabout and not very convenient, and it's not the cheapest. Also, you may or may not be led astray by a limping sweet-talker who makes you walk twenty minutes simply to buy the tickets. Learn from our mistakes, people! The Rome metro will take you anywhere you need.

DO ... visit: Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, and Piazzale Napoleane, the lookout above Piazza del Popolo. The prettiest. Also, next time I go (yes Rome, of course I'll give you another chance), I want to stay in the Trastevere neighborhood. I've heard that it's authentic, classically Rome, and has food that's top notch.

DON'T ... limit yourself to any packed itinerary. My favorite Rome memory from this summer might just be when Cassandra and I succumbed to the smell of Belgian fries, shared a huge bouquet of them while chatting in a tiny park in the dark. My other favorite is probably when we watched an episode of Buffy in the hotel, tiramisu in hand (it always comes back to that tiramisu).

DO ... as Lizzie McGuire would do. Because no matter what, this is what dreams are made of. Hey now. Hey nowwwwwww!!

The end of our stay in Rome also marked the end of Kelly's portion of the trip. After we waved her off to the train taking her to the Rome airport, we prepared ourselves for Naples and all that's left ahead. 
Naples might be the sketchiest place I've ever visited. But, you'll have to wait to hear about that. That, and how the pizza made it all worth it.
For more posts about Rome (from New Years 2014, and it was bittersweet to read how much I loved loved loved Rome in chillier times) :: 1, 2
Um, that SuperBloodMoon? What?! Did you see it?? I was with my roommates - we pulled over on the top of a hill on our way to get Vietnamese food, with the bay on one side and the San Francisco skyline on the other. The red, slightly translucent orb. Otherwordly.

8

In Pursuit of A Happylist

With my summer tan quickly fading, a hamper full of now-wrinkled fresh laundry from Tuesday because I was distracted by the sudden inclination to cook all the things and proceeded to completely give up on folding, a floor covered with dirty laundry because well where else is it going to go, and a sharp pang from forcing myself to check my credit card statement, you would think the balance of headaches to smiles is comically tilting towards the former.

Not so, friends. My happy list is miles long, you see.

There's the bridal shower I'm hosting for my sister tomorrow. All week, I've been drowning in tassels and mason jars and a little website called Pinterest.

There's my bestie slash roomie (it turns out that's the only kind of roomie I can have), Hanna, coming home from Europe.

And I've been attempting to cook, guys! You know me. I've failed at boiling water before. In a kettle, too. But I've been quite successful with scrambled eggs and chicken quesadillas! (The chicken was bought pre-cooked, but shh. Details.)

I've been seeing friends! Oh, how good it is to catch each other up on respective summer shenanigans over Happy Hour margaritas or favorite coffee joints that turn into a grocery run because we use the same Safeway.

I got a San Francisco library card!

Also I Google 'Viral Vines' and can watch and laugh for hours on end.

Lengthy phone calls with my faraway best friends, those are lovely too. I get to hear all about law school from Lauren on my way to Target or a party store, and all about LA from Cassandra while we're TV show FaceTiming. It's our new routine. We watch our favorite shows together over FaceTime, how genius is that.

Football's back! Last weekend, Leah and I hit up a bar in the Lower Haight and joined a Stanford watching party. I almost started crying, I was hit with such overwhelming emotion during half time and at the end because everyone was screaming and chanting. I love this community so much. We beat USC, a favorite rival, after a close match and it was the best.

Speaking of Leah, she's been spending weekends adventuring and exploring my new neighborhood with me. I took her to a favorite bakery, and then we walked along the water by the baseball park, then onwards to Chinatown where there was a Mid-Autumn Festival happenin'. We watched the lion dancers, made some paper lanterns, and then scurried on over to a take-out dimsum place. I ordered a container full of my favorites and then we carried our precious cargo over to Washington Square Park (across from Tony's! hands-down favorite pizza in SF) to nosh in the shade. Then, we browsed around in City Lights Bookstore and then trained it home for a long nap. 

New bling makes me happy! How cute are these earrings? The Happiness Boutique kindly sent them over, and y'all. I'm in love. I wanted to show some school spirit in honor of our game, but school tees can be kind of blah. Et, voila! A little sparkle is the easiest way to jazz up any outfit. You should've seen how giddy I was when they came in the mail. The delivery people are becoming fast friends. They can tell ya.

My room's my oasis. It still needs some work, but I've been putting up little touches here and there, and I kind of don't ever want to leave it. Problem?

Living with seasoned real-worlders has more than a few perks, but one of the top top top faves have been that they have long arranged for cleaners to come every other week. These cleaners do work! I came home one Saturday to find not a speck of dust on my floor and my bed made to perfection.

Thanksgiving tickets are booked for Seattle! Wincing only a little because man, Thanksgiving flights are steep. But it'll be my first time in Seattle, seeing my sister's new place, and plus I'll be reuniting with the kitties.

Oh, and this weather? Well, it's been fluctuating dramatically. 90's on Monday, 50's on Tuesday, 75 on Wednesday. But on the days it gets low (get low get low get lowwww to the window! to the wall!), I pull on worn, thick sweatpants and a sweater two sizes too big and it thrills me as it chills me. 

And apparently, my still ongoing affair with Coca Cola. I challenge you to find a blog post without that fine red in it. They really should sponsor my life this blog.
I want to know... What are you smiling about these days?
Heaven statement earrings c/o The Happiness Boutique. As always, all opinions are mine and mine alone! Thank you for supporting this blog and the brands that support it.

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Exploring (And Falling For) Florence

Firenze had me feelin' some type of way. Some type of, like, real good way.

When we stepped foot off of the train and into the busy station, I'll admit we weren't all that impressed. No fancy gilding, no ornate 'Welcome to Florence' plaque, not even a lone bench on which we could situate ourselves. I distinctly remember Kelly saying (only half-jokingly), "are we sure we got off at the correct stop? It's just, you know, this is Florence. You'd think it'd be a little more... more."

But, guys, I think that's precisely how Florence stole our hearts in the end – its allure comes from how understated it is. How, despite its flurry of tourists, it feels no need to prove anything, to glamorize itself. Very "take me as I am." It is also home to the friendliest people, generally speaking, that we encountered in Europe. And most importantly, the best gelato.

Our insane digs helped, of course. This Airbnb was our temporary home, and goodness. It was wonderfully earthy, with Pinterest-worthy details and the best location on the quieter bank of the Arno, mere steps away from Piazzale Michelangelo, where you find jaw-dropping views of the city. PLUS, if you lock yourself inside by accident (YES that door up there is the offender in question *side eye*), I can confirm that the host barely laughs at you & is the nicest person ever about Americans making typically dumb mistakes. I refuse to stay anywhere else in Florence on my return trips in the future because trust me, I WILL RETURN.

Much to our delight, the good people of Florence were celebrating San Giovanni Day our first night. Every Italian city has a patron saint and one day every year, they have a big ol' party in honor of him. Lucky for us, we caught the tail end of San Giovanni Day, which ended with the most spectacular fireworks display I have ever seen in my entire life. Disneyland, for shame! New Years Eve, step it up! Fourth of July, psshhhtt!! San Giovanni Day is where it's at.

Extra lucky for us, the best view in all the land was actually right from our kitchen window. I was in silenced awe for a whole thirty minutes. And by 'silenced,' I actually mean whisper-yelling DID YA SEE THAT ONE? WHOA! LOOK! OOOH! ARE YOU LOOKING?!

The rest of our time in Florence was spent rather leisurely. Our itinerary remained quite empty outside of our wine tour (priorities, people!) and so mostly we were found strolling the streets, stopping for a sandwich and a Coke here and there, and admiring the sunshine-hued architecture all around us.

I told you the sight from Piazzale Michelangelo was unreal! 

Kelly, exhausted from cruising through Tuscan vineyards all day and most likely wanting some peace after spending two weeks with two 22-year-olds, urged us to go take a walk as the sun set over the river Arno.

Ehm... no... we'd rather rest. Friends of ours will know that Caroline and Cassandra's ideal vacation includes food, TV, and naps. 'A walk' sounded a bit ambitious, know what I mean?

Girls... go find some gelato.

Fair point. Who were we to argue with that?

My best friend and I took our time walking alongside the Arno, discussing our favorite moments on the trip so far, all that's left to come, how crazy is it that we're college graduates, and how we were unbelievably fortunate to be watching the sun disappear playfully over the Ponte Vecchio, lighting up the expanse of the sky in purples and corals and peaches.

This is everything we ever dreamed of.

No wait, that is everything we ever dreamed of.

Naturally, we walked in circles around the Ponte Vecchio, going into markets and liquor stores and asking the employees in broken Italian where we could find their favorite gelateria. They pointed us to La Strega because of its close distance, but let me tell ya. My favorite gelato thus far has been at Gelateria Vivaldi, which was super close to our apartment. Uh-mazing.

Our final half-day in Florence, we had reserved for the more typical sightseeing. We'd visit the Accademia Gallery to see the Statue of David, work our calves in ascending the steps of the Duomo, we had grand plans, y'all!

Grand plans that were completely shattered by lines that wrapped around the block, an estimated two hours before even hitting the entrance. Disappointed, we made the best of it and let our feet lead us to wherever they felt like, which ended up being outdoors statue galleries, small markets, and the Ponte Vecchio of course.

Prepare yourselves.

CAN YOU JUST.

This is our host's labrador puppy, Pablo, and he was so hot that he refused to budge even a paw from the shady spot he had found. She whisked him into her arms, into the wicker basket attached to her bike, and called a cheerful, "I'm off to see if he can swim!" as a farewell to us.

Needless to say, we took it easy in Florence. Didn't brave the sea of tourists to see any of the more famous landmarks, didn't do anything too touristy at all in fact. For the most part, we chatted with locals, walked the beautiful streets, partook in lovely traditions. Perhaps this played a part in how Florence became a favorite, if not the favorite, city on the trip.

And what with Cassandra doing the honors in rubbing that boar's nose, it looks like we'll be coming back for David and Duomo and all Da gelato.

Firenze. Did you love it or hate it? PLUS, how do you feel about gelato?!

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