Things I Love Thursday

Here’s a list of things I am in love with this week — & it’s pretty travel-focussed, because I just (as in, a few hours ago) touched down in New Zealand!

Girl Talk — Oh, he was so good live. The atmosphere was amazing, like a nu-rave convention. I swear, I have never seen so many American Apparel lamé headbands in one place in my entire life! But damn, I danced my ass off, from the start to the finish! & I didn’t stop there! I danced in the subway station, I danced on the train, & then I danced by my window, before slithering into bed where I tapped my toes until I went to dreamland. I took a guy I don’t know very well, but he is a music nut, so we sang the lyrics to one another the whole way through while we boogied. It was so good! The best thing is that Girl Talk is also playing in Wellington in January. I am so there!

Seeing my parents’ new house — It is amazing! They’ve been remodelling it since January & it’s just been completed. It is the kind of house Nubby Twiglet dreams about. The whole thing is red, black & cream. I have nicknamed it the Swiss Hotel. It’s totally weird but awesome to be in this house I know so well but which looks so different! & my parents are so happy with it. Aw, bless.

Hearing New Zealand accents again — It’s so weird to me! Being back here is like being in a Flight of the Conchords episode all the time!

Things I Love Thursday

Sammy — Arrrr, she is so cute. She picked me up from LAX & we sped along the freeway to Santa Monica, where we ate grilled sandwiches in a vegan-friendly diner. Later, we met “the devil from Vietnam” (he looked pretty white to me), & went to the boardwalk where we saw a girl rollerblading with her dog in her arms, a guy playing a guitar on a skateboard, & some crazy monkey people swinging from hoops. After some quality photobooth time, she took me back to the airport & I boarded my flight to Auckland. She is lovely! We were both wearing Frye boots — she was wearing a pair I was thinking about getting, & I was wearing the pair she was thinking about getting! (I think I need her ones now too, they are the Frye Engineer & they looked gooooood on her.) We had never met before & it all turned out really well! We laughed & talked & it was awesome. Yay! Such a good way to spend a stopover, instead of in some stinky lounge, bored out of my mind!

Watching the sun set over Santa Monica & then rise again over New Zealand. It was pretty beautiful, both times.

Long flights which seem short — 12 hours & 50 minutes is a long time, but somehow it went really quickly. What did I do to entertain myself? I ate mashed potatoes from aforementioned diner. I read some of Sundays With Vlad (which is SO FUNNY & awesome, I had to cover my mouth so as not to drive everyone around me nuts. Buy it now & visit Paul’s blog!). I watched Baby Mama (um, not good, do not recommend) & Hot Fuzz (which gets better every time I see it). I slept & drank apple juice. & boom! Just like that, it was all, “As we’re now approaching our descent, please ensure your safety-belt is fastened, tray-table stowed, seat-back upright & all electronic devices are turned off…”

Planes with wifi! I love that. Technology makes me so happy! Thank you, American Airlines! Communicating from the clouds is pretty cool. I chatted with Nubby, sent some emails, browsed Etsy… It was a good time.

Honourable mentions: Pinkberry with Chloe (she is my new girlfriend, didn’t ya know?!); cute girls who appear at your door with hand-knitted garments; Arizona half iced tea half lemonade; Bose products (their SoundDock & headphones make my world such a good place); photobooth strips; realising how many cute, smart, creative, awesome girls I know; having conversations with people you’ve just met but totally getting it & understanding one another; spending up at MAC (glee!); my Eat Raw Live Long shirt from One Lucky Duck (I bought it at Pure as a reminder to eat good food!); warm weather; being by the sea; MAC Studio Tech foundation (I just picked it up & I am reeeeeally happy with it); finally having a shower after hours in the sky; seeing my parents again (they are so cute, they always meet me at the gate & always look SO EXCITED to see me!); feeling the days stretch out in a glorious expanse. Yum.

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” — J. B. Priestley

Bring on the magic! What’s filling you with delight today?