dripping with passion

i soaked in my last days fully. and just stole a few pictures from others who documented the splendor and fun. thursday - i went to the botanical gardens in golden gate park and sat on a bench in a field of wildflowers and another on top of a bluff overlooking lush california vegetation. i love love love the botanical gardens. there is no way i could describe how beautiful it all was that thursday afternoon - a deliciously gorgeous surprise of beauty at every turn. yes - that description is so pastel compared to reality. friday - i biked around angel island with some friends. this is something i had been wanting to do for ages. we drove to tiburon, took the ferry, cruised around the 5 mile perimeter road, sat on the grass at the cove and had a picnic, then explored devastatingly charming tiburon for a while before heading back to the foggy city. it was just spectacular, all of it - the salty air on the ferry, the insanely beautiful views streaming past me as i felt so alive on my b

budget to decorate my room allowed for: a friend's leftover yellow paint, 2 paintbrushes, a drop cloth and some sand paper and a new pillow and sheet. this week i left this corner of home to a summer intern and left the city by the bay for two months.   i realized that my 10.5 months in this house is the longest i have lived anywhere since i was 18.   i've long adored (as the ward members call it) "the dollhouse," but this past week i recognized that it is actually beloved (a nearly sacred place) and will always live in me as a home that built me.   on my last night i stood on the roof with a 360 degree sunset (purple behind, orange in front) and felt amazing gratitude for all these crazy months - for the adventures and the rejections and the nights crying the car and the glorious jump-out-of-my-skin happy days and the dark, heartrending moments and the new friends and fierce love for the city and for my deepened spirit.   this picture was taken within mi

i got to spend my birthday in sunny san diego with some of my very most favourite people. they got me a pinata and a lot of candy.     my brother is tall. we had a barbeque on the deck after church and then rigged up the pinata.   it was quite a feat to burst that thing open, but the raining sweets in the end were worth it. we just sat on the grass and ate candy and had a quick dance party.   eli and julie were in san diego for julie's family reunion! i was so glad to have them around for (cup)cake and ice cream - made even happier with sparkler candles and candy on the icing.   my roommates and i were planning to get together for a treat on tuesday to commemorate some moving out and moving in. when i walked around the corner to the ice cream place, they started singing "happy birthday"! and turns out some friends were invited to come celebrate. emily made me a sign out of a grocery bag and stuck it by the front door of the shoppe. what a treat! i had been in be

when i heard my friend jonathan was getting married on june 11 in los angeles, i decided to scheme up a socal adventure to make it to his wedding. my plans changed a little along the way but turned out fantastic.   i flew into san diego, where my brother noah and his family recently moved, and took care of the kids for a couple days. on thursday i got to use the season passes and bring mckay and lyla to seaworld. it was my first time, and the kids showed me around, and it was super. maybe my eyes welled up a tad at the spectacles of the dolphin show. on friday i hung out with the kids at home. babysitting (which in this case is just playing with some of my most favourite people) made my trip to southern california free !   saturday morning i left san diego at 5:30am to make it to jonathan and polin's early sealing in the los angeles temple. i've said it before and i'll say it again - temple sealing = heaven. i stayed after for an endowment session. the la temple is re

so - this happened: you can't really adequately tell how crunched up the car is, but it's totaled. r.i.p. mercedes. when the cop told me it was probably a goner, i started crying. i was really shaken up from the accident (smashed from behind out of no where on the bay bridge) and i was remembering all the good times associated with this car. my mom chauffeured me everywhere in it as a kid, and since it became mine it has gotten me around a lot of places. the mercedes has cruised through so many roadtrips, held a lot of laughter and tears, and holds sweet memories in its corners. i think what i will miss most is the car phone. car phone! pure awesome novelty in 1997.   on tuesday i went down to the california highway patrol office to pick up the collision report. i left a little later than i should have and ended up running down 8th street where the tenderloin meets soma (super sketchy hood) to get to the office before it closed. if you ever want some extra compliments or a

the view from alamo square on saturday night after a rainy day the other day i was waiting for the bus in the castro. a girl with curly hair and a red peacoat was playing her guitar and singing on the street corner with her case open in front of her for spare change. the lights of bars and restaurants were lit up and crackling and quirky people of every kind were coming and going. the girl's crooning was a good soundtrack to the bustle. soon, a clearly homeless man walked in front of our street performer, and without hesitating, began to dance. he was dirty and wild and big and there on the corner he performed an extremely heartfelt interpretive dance. he closed his eyes and moved with astonishing grace, sinking to the ground for a pose or two, just really giving it his all. and people, slightly bemused but not enough to pause, kept going on their way with their own oddities peeking out of the pockets of their selves. sometimes i feel like the city of san francisco's mantra

a fantastic memorial day weekend was made up of these three: #1 - a little overnight visit to sacramento, where i got to go through the temple with my friend keri and sleep over at my new friend rachelle 's house:     keri was receiving her own endowment, and it was so exciting to be with her. rachelle and her family were the most gracious hosts. i liked the drive there (with sunset) and back (with rain). #2 - a last-minute visit from friends who drove from provo to hang out with me and jae : i loved having megs and sarah in town. chinatown, corona heights, city hall, sunday morning at the beach, sunday afternoon on my roof, lots 'o' laughs. #3 - a quick roadtrip down the coast with josephine: we cruised to gorilla bbq in pacifica, which i have been wanting to try for ages, and brought our grub to the beach for a picnic. we walked out on the pier, learned about crab fishing, took in the views and th