fickle friend friday

Holy moly it's Friday.

And I'm STILL WRITING. 

I'm happy about it! It's odd, but it makes me feel very... validated. Which is nice. I think we could all use a healthy dose of self-affirmation. It's kind of like writing in a gratitude journal or repeating a mantra in front of a mirror, but without making awkward eye contact with myself.

I've decided that instead of a usual "I-can't-believe-Jenny-is-putting-this-on-the-internet" post, I am going to start a special Friday series. 

Well, maybe a series. You know me. Like the title of this post, I am rather fickle and wary about various forms of blog commitment. Just giving you fair warning. But let's try it out, shall we?

In my ample spare time at work (don't tell anyone I said that), I have become an avid reader of several blogs-- mostly lifestyle, fashion, cooking or home-based. They're fabulous and I take a lot of inspiration from them. My only gripe with some of these blogs is that they mostly show impossible perfection. Where's the fun in that? Yes, their hair might be beautifully coiffed and their outfit adorably matched with their fancy jewelry. I can appreciate a good hair day and a pretty bib necklace. And then yes, of course, they can make their handsome, husky husband juicy pulled pork sliders in a crockpot after getting off of work as a miniature cupcake designer. Hey, I can't blame them-- I like rugged men and mini anything. And then--- what?! Now they're on a yacht in Cape Cod with their all-American family drinking strawberry mimosas? Well. Good thing they have their fancy camera on a neck-strap they made from a vintage tie to capture all of those precious memories. 

...Close window. Back to budgeting and looking for affordable car insurance quotes.

But really, I love keeping up with them everyday. I like pretty things and I like feeling inspired.

Some of these blogs offer a "Friday Favorites", if you will, summarizing their favorite things in life or on the internet that week.

Quick, to-the-point, and a perfect send-off for the weekend. So let's see how this works. And let's do this Peas & Queues style. 

................................................................................................................................................

Let me talk about the title of this post a bit. 

My freshman year of college I started saying a silly phrase that has since morphed into a life motto.

Life is a fickle friend.

I began saying this just because it was something funny to say in an exclamatory Ron Burgundy voice with a hint of emotional instability. I have no idea where it came from or how it started, but over the years it has mellowed and simmered and become a somewhat important part of how I look at things. Because let's face it, life IS a fickle friend. One day you feel like an unstoppable, wild force of nature and the next people think you look old enough to responsibly have several children. I like this kind of rhythm. Happy and kind of sad, funny and really awkward. I would take humorous and bumbling over a surface-level utopia any day!

So I'm going to share my favorite things/inspirations (...fickle friends) that currently move me to give us both a break from silly Jenny antics. 

Ahem. 

There are several things I love about this:
(1) The message. Be happy. Happiness is so becoming.
(2) The colors. I love multi-colored anything. I'm an infant.
(3) Roald Dahl. Singlehandedly responsible for 45% of my imagination.
see: The Witches, The BFG and introducing me to the artwork of my favorite illustrator, Quentin Blake. 

800 Degrees. This place is a freaking pizza revolution. Like Subway or Chipotle, but for pizza! Their ovens operate at  -- you guessed it-- 800 degrees. By the time you're done in line, your pizza... is READY. It's insane. Insanely brilliant and insanely delicious. Don't you wish you lived in LA?

I'm breaking out the old dirndl this Sunday (my traditional Bavarian dress), as I'm headed to the LA Oktoberfest! I'll take any excuse to wear my dirndl-- especially when it grants me free entrance.
[This picture was taken on my 21st birthday in Germany at the Dult in Regensburg.]
I look happy. And full of beer.

This is why I want to go to Thailand. Elephants and breakfast. Look at the sharing.  

Fall. Beverages. You put pumpkin or apple into anything and I'm interested. I'm not much of a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte girl but I'm sucker for this Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice ground coffee. And then, while I have not yet made this Honeycrisp Apple Sangria on the right, I'ma gonna.
With a cinnamon stick for good measure. Yum-O.

The PBS Documentary series, Half the Sky. I've been watching this in slow installments since my sister suggested it earlier this week. The film covers some very harrowing moments as it takes a look at women's oppression throughout the world and what is being done/can be done to help. Just like most honest truths, it's uncomfortable and heartbreaking at times. There are some empowering moments of triumph however, and it's really worth the watch. You can stream parts one and two online here. But they're only available until October 8th and 9th, so act fast!

Uh... I kind of talked to Dick Van Dyke on the phone yesterday. He was springy and polite, despite my waking him up from his afternoon nap. After he made a few silly old man jokes, I transferred the call to my boss. Then I slowly hung up the phone and sat there in giddy watery-eyed silence.

I am a professional Ross shopper. Look at these boots I found--- the only pair they had in the store and such a deal. Though I have yet to wear them. ...They intimidate me.
But they're just perfection for fall. Once I wear them.

Well!

...I liked this. This was fun. Fickle Friend Fridays, it is.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Go do something October-y! 

Kisses, 

Jenny