Lately I've been on a bit of a candle kick. I've pretty much burned through three Jo Malone candles and am just now sharing with you my newest obsession: k.hall designs MILK hand poured candle. Literally like milk and honey...or condensed milk. So yummy. Paired with my Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint, it's seriously heaven.

I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

23.
Such an armpit of an age, isn't it? At 22, it was so close to 21 that I could still feel comfortable justifying my actions and mentality as young and reckless. 23, not so much. 24 I feel is a nice, solid age. I feel like 24 will be a good year for us all...something about it just sounds good, solid. / Birthdays have always been a huge ordeal for me...birthday week it was aptly named. My friends would joke that August was coming up and it was almost time for my birthday month. This wasn't too far off from the truth, though. From my 16th birthday onward my birthdays involved all fashions of unnecessary extravagances- from limos and week-long beach house rentals to ludicrous amounts of champagne and suites at the Ritz. The past two years, though, I've toned it down. AKA got some sort of a grip on my ridiculousness and tried to humble myself out a bit. You are not P Diddy, princess. And also, I feel like I'm taking the credit for someone else's work...it's not like I gave birth to myself. That being said, I did enjoy my birthday festivities this past weekend. Another welcome reminder of how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
Thank you again.

xx

THE MORNING

Still reminds me of you.

We're not supposed to talk about it and as far as anyone is concerned, it never happened. / I'll kill you if you tell anyone. / I'll pretend this tick mark was written in dry-erase and conveniently rub it off with a wipe of my thumb. Dust off the fuzzy remnants from the pen on the side of my jeans and relish in the stark white emptiness of what's in front of me. Clean slate. This is what I'm used to and this is what I'll accept. Not some lapse in judgment of how many sips I can handle and how many whiskey shots I can down with a straight face. (One, for the record. Whiskey has never been my drink of choice). Amidst hazy memories of sideways smiles, flirty gestures, and the clinking of champagne glasses, I'll stow this memory away in my box of 'forget-me-sooner-than-nots'. / Up early the next morning and scramble to my phone to assess the damage. All deleted, wiped clean. Drunk me is quite the ninja. I shower, get dressed, step onto my balcony and breathe in the early morning air. What an intoxicating dream I had last night- touch so warm if I didn't know better, I could have sworn it was real.

I wish I could repeat some mornings as easily and as often I could this song.

ALREADY THERE

Yes, that's my shadow in most of the food plate pictures and no, I don't really care to edit it out. Went on a food date with my favorites to one of my favorite French restaurants in the area- Bouchon. The food is always on point and the view of the court downstairs, the lit-up fountain, and the lights coming from the Montage across the way really make for a lovely evening if you're sitting outside. Everything I have had at Bouchon has been amazing- from their escargot with little puff pastry hats to the bread they serve at the beginning of each meal. There's always a decent crowd to people-watch and eavesdrop on, too. Such fascinatingly mundane conversations. / I was texting a friend that night and sent him a photo of the fountain- his response was that it looked like a stack of beautiful, glowing upside down mushrooms. Granted, English is not his first language...I honestly don't know if I could have put it better myself. Sometimes it's nice to get a fresh perspective on the way we see things in the world. / It's been a weird topsy-turvy couple of weeks for me and looking back at these photos makes me realize what an awesome life I have. I realize that must have sounded uber-douchey, but it's true. I am inexplicably blessed and while I feel I'm always reaching for something higher up on the shelf, I'm thankful for moments like this that bring me back and make me realize that I'm already there. Everything else is just gravy...though I do love my gravy.

RHINESTONE COWBOY

I had the pleasure of joining one of my best friends and her family for the opening weekend at Del Mar Racetrack. As expected, there were the usual characters- thirsty ladies in ostentatiously floppy hats and almost-gentlemen decked in Eddie Bauer and Brooks Bros. double-fisting beers. We drove over to her house in the OC and took a train to and from the racetrack. This allowed for plenty of pre and post-boozing as well as an absolutely breathtaking view of the ocean on the way back. It's days like these that remind me of just how in love I am with this city.