I run to be...

[tristan, alec, me, and nicole after crossing the sf half marathon finish line this past april]

[images via Run Infinity]

Thursday I'm flying to San Francisco to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon! (Last year I ran the full marathon version of this race and it was amazing, but this year I'm sticking to the half to save my legs for a marathon somewhere else.) This specific race is very special to me for a multitude of reasons:

1. It's an excuse to spend four days in my favorite city with my best girl friends from college. 
2. I get to run through the normally busy streets of San Francisco and glamor at all the pretty buildings and breathtaking views of the harbor. 
3. The race-day on-course entertainment and support is off the chain and unlike any other race! There will be the Oakland Interfaith Choir at mile 1.5 singing their heart out for every runner and each runner affected some way by Leukemia and Lymphoma; Parkour acrobats defying gravity at mile 2.2; Rock Force Dance Crew rocking out at mile 5.5; and the Blue Devils drum line and DJ Zita dropping beats at mile 10.5. 
4. NWM is the largest women's marathon in the world. Girl Power!
5. The race helps raise awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
6. San Francisco firemen, dressed in tuxes, greet each runner at the finish line with little blue Tiffany & Co. boxes. Damn straight!
7. My best friends wait for me at the finish line! Couldn't ask for better support!

I've been training pretty hard for this race within the last couple months, but I could always use some positive energy waves sent my way come Sunday! I'll be sure to post how I do in the race along with the fun things I do in San Fran because I'm sure there's going to be a lot...there always is :)

flea market finds

[our flea market booty]

[all photos for one life in stills]

From yesterday's adventure through the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It was my first time and and I was amazed to learn that this particular flea market is one of the most famous markets in the world because it features over 2,500 vendors and 15,000 to 20,000 buyers a month. Holy toledo! I'm a goer for life!

After 4 hours of walking through row after row of one-of-a-kind vintage and antique pieces, Lidia and I called it a day. We walked out of there not only with some really unique pieces, but with money still in our pockets! Lidia scored a rustic metal-framed mirror she's going to put up in her new apartment, a blue leather-weaved bracelet to pair with a bracelet she already owns, and a gold whale tchotchke (she forgot to barter for this one!) I left with a pair of vintage levi jean shorts, a few candle stick holders (I'm going to start collecting these to place on my fireplace mantle!), a gold, silver, and brass cuff, and a few rusted metal pails that I'm going to plant succulents in. 

Can't wait to revisit this ginormous (that's gigantic + enormous for those of you who don't combine words) market to look for larger pieces to furnish my own place with. 

[fresh spring rolls from redwhite+bluezz]

["full bodied blondes" (I'm anything but) wine flight. the rose was my favorite]

[heaven in a cupcake, vegan style baby!]

Lidia and I then had lunch at Green Earth, a vegan cuisine restaurant in the heart of Old Town Pasadena. The food was absolutely delish! We ordered fresh spring rolls with mint (a spring roll staple); Lidia got the portobello mushroom burger and I got the mushroom panini sandwich for lunch. I guess you could say we were feeling the fungus! After lunch we walked to redwhite+bluezz, a swanky wine bar and restaurant just around the corner from Green Earth, for chilled wine and good vibes. We even got a round of sangria on the house by making friends with the bartender! On the way home Lidia and I stopped by Baby Cakes, a vegan bakery in downtown LA famous for their exceptional vegan cupcakes. What a day, what a day! I can definitely say my Sunday was a Funday! 

a little reminder...

"A little reminder for everyone, everywhere, 

that no matter what there is always someone, somewhere,

who loves you and that life is bigger than your day to day 

worries, aggravations, and limitations."


By Chanel Blinn via bywayofney.blogspot.com

first rain, forever a tradition

na·ked run  /ney-kid/ /rən/   Adjective 

An event at UC Santa Cruz held every year the night of the first rain. A group of students from all walks of life goes around from college to college (i.e., dorms), collecting more people along the way, in nothing but their birthday suits. 

Holy banana slug! I think I just saw Tim from the fourth floor join in on the nakedness that is the naked run. 

Freshman 1: Hey, is it raining outside? 

Freshman 2: Yea, it must be; Kelly is running around the lower quad stark naked. 
Freshman 1: But it isn't the first rain. 
Freshman 2: She doesn't know that. 

[naked boy butts at UC Santa Cruz]

Happy first rain, everyone! Too bad Manhattan Beach hasn't adopted a tradition like this. Better yet, good thing Manhattan Beach hasn't adopted a tradition like this... And in case you were wondering, I NEVER partook in the naked run when I attended UC Santa Cruz, but I DID watch from the sidelines (and giggled a ton!).

weekend wonderments [1]: all's fair

[post race refreshment at the beer garden, danny post penguin slide across the table (hence why the table is tipped over0, galaxy game, chevron friendship bracelet, silly finger doodle, hoover and I in the garden, me at the mb pier after crossing the finish line, geneva and I making silly faces, lovebirds danny and mike, beer cup tower, my cousin carly's new and nameless golden doodle]

Friday: Unfortunately the icky weather kept the kids I nanny for and I inside all day; and I mean ALL day. I'm with them (Geneva: 2, Nicky: 5, and Christian: 7) from 11 to 8 Monday through Friday. After what seemed like hours of Pokemon battling, playing dress-up, and weaving chevron friendship bracelets, I was let off early in order to get some rest before Saturday's race.

Saturday: Woke up long before the sun with butterflies in my stomach, a regularity before every race I run. After coercing myself to eat a cliff bar and banana (I'm usually still asleep and therefore not hungry at 6am)  I met up with friends Alex Curry and Jeff Nisen at the start line. The race was a blast! It's really fun to run a race in your hometown because you get to run with some many people you know! Call me crazy, but in preparation for the Nike Women's Half Marathon I'm running in San Francisco in 2 weeks, I decided to run 4 more miles after crossing the finish line. Post run I reconnected with friends in the beer garden! What better way to refuel a tired body than going to a fair's beer garden? Yep. Definitely not the best for you post race, but it feels real good at the time ;) After the garden, I joined my Aunt Heidi, Uncle Bruce, and cousin for the Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake game at the Home Depot Center. They scored a 2-1 win while I scored an autograph and sensual hand caress by Donavan Ricketts, one of Galaxy's most valuable players (he's the best goalie in the league for crying out loud) and, in my eyes, overall human to look at (i.e, he's VERY easy on the eyes!) 

Sunday: Played in my soccer game against "the team with the girl with the nipple piercings." Oddly and unfortunately, I personally know she has nipple rings because two seasons ago after tackling her on the field she yelled, "shit, you almost ripped out my nipple rings!" Whoops. Maybe you shouldn't wear metal in your boobs during a high contact game. Anyways, we won 2-1! Later that night, I treated my sore body to a restorative yin relaxation yoga class at The Green Yogi with Matt Rothert. It was a lovely way to end an eventful and physically challenging weekend! Hopefully my "activeness" and energy will carry well into the week :)

killer style, astonishing skills, california sound

Came across this stunning video of stylish and skillful skateboarder Kilian Martin today on Honestly...WTF. His moves (spinning-like-he's-on-ice move at 1:25!) are redic (i'm all about making up words these days) and his style makes me want to be attached to his arm. Not kidding... 


The music in the video is even something to talk about! After listening to the first 10 seconds of this song by Ricky Nelson, it immediately made me think of the cool California sound of my good friend's (and LA based) band, THE ALLAH-LAS. On their Facebook website, Nick Waterhouse sums up their sound perfectly: "ALLAH-LAS sound like the Old, Weird Los Angeles: Strains of true surfing music, American harmonies, Sunset Strip backbeat, desert ramble filtered through Goldstar Sessioneers; That pre-fuzz pedal ‘electrified folk’ music and pop groups hitting that California sound with the tambourine on just the right beat. When you hear it, you see things — Venice’s arches lit at night with the ocean in the distance; mid-century hamburger stands and slow-moving main drags in residential nights; Teen-age revues at 400 person ballrooms; Ferus Gallery beatniks; bungalows in canyons; hidden deco stairsteps peeking from leafy hillsides; kustom kars and dovetails and chicks in OP shorts with long, long hair. Like a Dennis Hopper photo come to life. You look at their well worn Fender guitars, their real surfer tans, their dusty suede boots - and you see it’s a sound natural to them; This isn’t an act."   Sweeeeet!

[Man About Town starring Kilian Martin]

[THE ALLAH-LAS- "Catamaran"]

Enjoy these videos. There's something raw and refreshing about them. Maybe it IS the fact that this isn't an act ;)

manhattan beach 10k

Happy October 1st everyone! This morning I ran the 34th annual manhattan beach 10k run! I used to run this race in the father/daughter division every year with my dad when I was a little kid. Even though I couldn't persuade my dad to run with me this year (he could have totally finished), I still had a blast! Now its straight to the beer garden for some ice cold happy juice and live music! Cheers :)