Clutches and Lunches

We've been obsessed with bento boxes for a long time now. For those of you who have no idea what a bento box is, it's simply a japanese box divided into compartments for lunches. We discovered such boxes at Best of Bento, and have lusted over the idea of having our lunches packed in such pretty little containers.

Val and I ventured to Uwajimaya today and picked up our very own. It's a bit of a challenge to make them visually appealing and just the right size to fit in a lunch box. Here's my first attempt- Stir-fried noodles with green beans! For a change I'm actually looking forward to my food.

I found an amazing clutch on Ebay today. It's another peice by Coach. Instead of the typical signature print on canvas, they have an embossed leather that's completely amazing. I'm a huge fan of Louis Vuitton's Vernis pieces, but know I'll never ever be able to afford them. The coach version is like a poor man's Vernis. At any rate, it's lovely and I'd adore having something like this to keep my various checkbooks in. Anything to help keep me organized!

I'm not a huge fan of pink for a purse. For an accessory though, why not? The sheen on the leather is just unbelievable, and the kiss clasp is adorable. I love the rare peices like this- it's nice to see something different.

Adam's Going Away Party

Adam's surprise going away party was today. It was great to see him and Leah again! It's been entirely too long... and in truth it was hard to leave knowing that it'll probably be yet another year until I'll see him again. I had a great time, and I hope life treats him wonderfully... he is one of the few people who deserves the absolute best that life can offer.

Val and I have finally found a potential place to live. It's tiny (550sf), but quiet, small, with a 24 hour pool and hot tub for $235 less than what we're paying now. If only we can scrape up the cash necessary to move in.... life will be awesome.

Has anyone else discovered Quady's orange muscat wine? It's incredible- so sweet, so delicate...It's perfect for a quiet stay-at-home-date complete with ripe strawberries and a good movie. We discovered it purely by accident, but ever since have been head over heels for it.

"No, we're never going to survive unless we get a little bit crazy."

There's a special kind of peace on finds when they wake up cuddled next to the one they love. Somewhere between the tickling, giggling and pointless teasing there's a sense of contentment that you just can't find anywhere else.

What a glorious feeling it is.

And in superficial news the Coach site has been updated! There are definitely a few handbags out this year that are to die for. I know a lot of people have been complaining about Coach's recent decision to up the price, but I have to say I'm a huge fan of their newer, more sophisticated designs.

A Coach purse is still a Coach purse though. For the hefty $428 price tag, I'd rather save up a few hundred more and invest in a Louis Vuitton. I still am lusting over the Papillon 30 and could find a vintage purse built like a tank that will outlive me. Now if only I had that kind of money to spend...

And on a side note, my beautiful and entertaining friend Amber celebrated her 25th birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Amber! May this year be even better than the previous!

Facebook!

DigiPen is FINALLY on Facebook! It's about damn time! I remember back in the day when I was living on Frat Row and listening to drunk Greeks fight in the alley while writing to Facebook... Thankfully the Facebook gods have decided to share the love with our geeky friends. Now they too can waste their precious lives.

And in other news, Key Bank is giving away free IPod Nanos!

Antsy

For those of you who have known me for more than 6 minutes, you probably already know that I go through rather predictable phases of frustration and angst. Anytime I get close to making a large decision or feel cornered I turn defensive and hypersensitive and paranoid. I'm right in the middle of one of those phases.

I know that there's nothing I can do other than wait it out and convince myself of the following:

I am not wasting my life.
I am not wasting my life.
I am not wasting my life.

Rinse and repeat.

It's not that I'm frustrated because I don't have any kind of career aspirations, friends I regularly see, or money to run off and travel. I'm really just bored with where I am. My life right now simply isn't what I expected for my mid-20s.

On the road again....

It's that magical time of the year.... Moving time!

Val and I renewed our lease 5 months ago- oh how time flies when you're having fun! We've spent the last 4 hours driving around with little luck... 7 apartment complexes, 2 had apartments available for August. One was out of our price range, the other smelled like urine. What's a couple to do?

We drowned our sorrows with orange chicken and perused Craigslist... Lo and behold, there's a complex that is renting a 1bed/1ba for UNDER $1000. I'm so excited! We drove over to check it out and it's really clean, the pool is awesome, and the people are nice. It looks like we have a winner!

Retirement

I started saving for retirement today! I had a financial advisor set me up with a slew of investments. It may be a lofty goal, but I'd like for us to retire young and with a large chunk of change to play with.

Let's Play Catch Up!

I try to NOT be a slacker, but lately all I can do is make it through a full day of work, go home, force the boyfriend into slave labor (read: venture out to get the princess food) and fall asleep on the couch. Not a very exciting life, I know, but the bills are paid and we have everything we need.

So to catch up:

Independence Day was a blast. Val and I drove home on the 3rd to visit my family. We camped out in the orchard and woke up to sunlight streaming through the tent. After getting Frugals for breakfast, we hung out at the pier and harrassed some sea cucumbers. We met up with my brother at home and smoked some salmon with some guidance from my father- there's nothing in the world like freshly smoked salmon. It's just unbelievable.

We headed home at dusk and watched the fireworks from the ferry. There was quite an impressive lightning show that managed to scare the crap out of us. I don't think I've ever been so thrilled to make it home in one piece before.

Fast forward through 4 days of week.... and BAM! A 3 day weekend! There was much rejoicing! Saturday: Sleepage. Sunday: Mt. St. Helens!

Val and I attempted to visit the volcano on our anniversary last year. After 3 hours of driving, the mountain was completely covered in fog. This time we had a simply incredible view... She was smokin'! Quite literally, in fact. Thanks to my sweet Kodak with a delicious 10x optical zoom, I was able to zoom in a bit... Behold!