Time Out

No Country For Old Men

3 More Days

I can't believe the holiday season came and went just like that.

Long Exposures

These were taken around 8pm and haven't been edited. Click the flickr link on the sidebar of this page to see more!

Orange County Pt. 2

More from our Sunday "road trip". You wouldn't know by looking at it, but this was taken in Mission Viejo.

My Name is Sara and I'm No Longer a Shopaholic (fingers crossed)

Dear Shopping,

Like most people, I spend hours upon hours on the internet, mostly reading blogs and looking at clothes. It goes without saying that in the past year, my online spending has become somewhat outrageous. Don't get me wrong--I've always loved spending time with you. You've repeatedly brought me the prettiest gifts and were there for me at a moments notice. But it's become my go-to pass-time whenever I'm bored. Or happy. Or sad. You know those people who eat their emotions? You and I have entered an unhealthy relationship like such.

It's so simple, what with the internet and all these days. Clothes and shoes of all varieties at your fingertips, ready to be shipped to your doorstep in 3-5 days. I remember when you sent me my first delia's catalog in 7th grade. The first sweater I ordered took 6-8 weeks to arrive, and the shipping was something ridiculous like $12. Now, you send me clothes from London within a week, sometimes for as cheap $6 for shipping. The point I'm trying to get at is that you're so available and in my face these days that it takes supreme will power not to get sucked in and become overly-dependent. I remember seeing one of those specials on MTV, True Life: I'm addicted to shopping where the people featured on it couldn't go 24 hours without you and eventually wound up attending Debtors Anonymous meetings. One of the girls was so compulsive, she would go to 24 hour stores like CVS or Wal-mart just to buy hairbands (or something bizarre like that) for a "fix" at 1am. Fortunately, I haven't succumbed to full fledged addiction like so, but there have been times where I'm in bed thinking about items that I regretfully decided not to purchase earlier in the day, and have gotten up and gone online to buy them. It's no surprise you fill up my inbox every morning with emails titled "New Arrivals!" or "Sale This Weekend, FREESHIP!"

I love you dearly, Shopping, but I don't want to become that girl at Wal-mart at 2 in the morning. So I think it's time you and I started seeing other people. You and I have shared a lot of great memories together, and you were always there for me in my hour of need. But you see, as much as I enjoy our time spent together and the awesome exchange we have going, I think it's time for me to move on to something with more depth.

About 8 months ago, you introduced me to the greatest purchase of my life and ever since, he and I have been inseparable. Yes, I'm talking about my camera. And although he came at a steep price tag, our time together is much easier on my bank balance than you ever were. We spend our free time roaming the streets together, staring into each others eyes; we've already gone on a few trips together. We're even thinking about adding another lens to our little family. As you can see, it's getting pretty serious. I know I'll miss you, dear friend, but I really think we need to spend some time apart. Spread our wings and grow. Don't be sad, you have millions of other admirers to replace me with.

I'm sure we'll still see each other around.

Sincerely,

Sara

P.S. Please don't be offended, but as a precautionary measure, I've spammed your emails.

Orange County

Have you ever walked through your home town as if you were a tourist?

I spent this past Sunday reacquainting myself with Orange County. I grew up in Chino Hills, which is a small suburb 40 miles inland from South Orange County, but I lived in Irvine for almost 4 years of college. It's been a year and a half since I graduated from UCI and moved back to Chino Hills, but still find myself spending most of my free time in the Irvine area (where Sister and Best Friend both happen to live). Like many others, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Orange County. I can't deny that I love the spacious and clean roads (+), but the lack of culture and diversity (-) and the immense amount of superficiality and plastic OC housewives (-) theoretically tip the scales in the other direction.

Brunch at a diner a few miles from Newport Beach fueled a mini re-exploration of Costa Mesa and various parts of coastal Orange County. We started our road trip through the neighborhoods of Costa Mesa that eventually emptied out on to the Pacific Coast Highway. We drove from Newport to Corona del Mar (my favorite little beach town) and spontaneously stopped at the Sherman Library and Gardens. The last time I visited these gardens was in 7th grade to write a report for my cultural literacy project. For $3, we were granted access to the entire botanical gardens and greenhouse. Unfortunately, the library (which focuses on the history of the Pacific Southwest) is closed on Sundays. With its koi ponds, fresh flowers, kind, eclectic staff and the sound of waves crashing in the distance, I can safely say the Sherman Library and Gardens is one of the most relaxing places I've visited in Southern California.

Next up, we continued on PCH to Crystal Cove, where we stopped for a shake at the Ruby's Shake Shack (it's literally a shack on a cliff that overlooks the state beach). We passed through Laguna Beach and into Dana Point, which is especially near and dear to my heart. True, my family lived in Dana Point (walking distance from the harbor) before I was born, but the amount of pictures I've seen and stories I've heard narrated by my parents have created a sense of nostalgia whenever I'm in Dana Point. I started taking pictures of this Jack in the Box on PCH, thinking it was one of the ones my dad managed as an area coach in the late 70s, but now I think I may have confused it with the a different location on El Toro Rd. Or maybe it was both? Who knows.

I don't remember how but from Jack in the Box, we eventually wound up on Oso Parkway and in Aliso Viejo. I had been to Soka University once before for a wedding, so we decided to stop there and explore. I don't know much about the school, but the campus is beautiful (although a bit weirdly isolated) and has an amazing view.

By now, it was well after sunset so we decided to cut our road trip short and head back into quiet, safe Irvine for a nice dinner.

I'll be honest, I'm not a big OC hater. But I understand the drawbacks that mold people's opinions of it. For our generation, it's a region famous for launching a slew of reality shows about the rich, white elite, setting a terrible example with a fraction of the human race. But I think if you look hard enough, you'll stumble across places with historical value and charm that add a layer--albeit a thin one-- of depth. I think at the very least, Orange County (like a lot of things) must have been cool in the '70s.

Black & White

I'm getting tired of photographing nature, so as an attempt to make it more interesting, I decided to shoot in only black & white today. I'm not sure if that makes this any less boring, but I just felt like taking pictures. I wish I had more people to shoot every now and then. I'm always willing to take volunteers to learn on :)

Does anyone else see a little tiki man/santa clause face at the top of the fountain?

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...Okay not really. I do love The Sound of Music but that has nothing to do with this post.

THING #1: Disneyland! I'm not sure if it's a Southern California thing, but I love love love Disneyland. I would be willing to go on any given day. It's clean, bright, well maintained & organized, and they put on an amazing fireworks show. You can't help but feel like a kid after spending a few hours at the Magic Kingdom, which can be a nice break from all the chaos and drama in the grown-up world.

THING #2: The Holiday Season. Yes, it's true, I don't celebrate Christmas. I still can't help but be enamored by the lights, decorations and holiday specials taking over the radio and tv. There's also a slight weather change around this time of year, so you're finally able to take out your winter coats.

We've had family visiting since Thanksgiving, so we took them to Disneyland yesterday. You can only imagine how thrilled I was to see Disneyland taken over by Christmas. Lights and trees everywhere, christmas songs, a holiday parade and fireworks show, fake snow as the park was closing...it was so cute and I'm glad the kids we took got to experience it. Some pictures:

THING #3: Home Alone. This kind of falls into the holiday category, but I thought it deserved its own spot on the list. I love this movie, it's such a classic! Conveniently enough, it's also in heavy rotation on tv between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are few things in life I enjoy more than sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching Home Alone.

On a side note, I am avoiding all malls and shopping centers for the next 28 days.

Happy Holidays!