Room Sweet Room

Today, I headed to Ikea to pick up a few essentials (like, for instance, scissors, since I couldn't even cut the zip-tie on my pasta pot a few nights ago!) and ended up getting a couple of things just because they were SUCH a great deal.

Here's my room with the stuff from Ikea assembled and incorporated, including the birch veneer table ($12.99!), bedside lamp ($9.99; the one I'd brought from home fizzled out the first night), four baskets of varying sizes ($9.99), an Elephant's Foot Palm and a pot to put it in ($12.99 for both), and a wonderful comfy chair, of the sort Dad's house is filled with.  Normally, these chairs run from $89 to $229, depending on which wood and cushions you choose, but today only (for Memorial Day weekend), all chair frames (cushions included!) were only $39.  I got a medium brown frame with a black cushion.

Here's the view from the other side of the room - at least the closet's got lots of space and built-in shelving!

A couple of close-ups of the bedside table, with laptop, framed engagement session picture, books underneath, and a basket of writing/wedding supplies... I love the lamp's soft, lantern glow:

This little tree makes me so happy, and its trunk does look very similar to an elephant's foot!  It reminds me of a plant I had for a couple of years in college: a nice Gingko Biloba that Joan at UCLA's botanic garden (where I volunteered) had given me... 
This room still doesn't feel like "home" but it sure feels a lot more personal and cozy, and I think it's a little more presentable for when friends come over now, too :-)

Todd's Visit

The post I just finally published was written on Thursday evening.  Since then, we've had a wonderful couple of days.  Here are a couple of photos we took half an hour ago when Todd left to drive back up to San Fran in time for work at 3:00 pm.

(Taken by me)

(Taken by Todd)

I must now convince him that longer arms don't necessarily make for better self-portraits!

On Thursday evening, we relaxed for awhile at the apartment and then - since my original plan for that night had been for a gym workout/ dinner with Chrissie - we decided to scrap the workout part (bad bride!) and just meet up with Chrissie at Miceli's for a scrumptious Italian dinner.  Then, Todd and I headed back to my apartment, and I just reveled in the fact that he was actually here, having the feeling of a spoiled child that gets exactly what she's been hoping for. :-)

On Friday, I headed to work (somewhat less enthusiastically than previously) and spent a fairly calm morning researching and writing.  At lunchtime, Todd and I met up downtown, explored a bit, and went to Quizno's for sandwiches.  I discovered that, just down the street from the FPD, in the completely opposite direction from where I'd always gone, there is a bustling little shopping/eating center perfect for going to at lunchtime!  There are several sandwich shops, a chinese place, Johnny Rockets, and a few clothing stores, including the spectacular-but-hard-to-pull-off-on-an-imperfect-body, American Apparel.

That afternoon, there was an office party to celebrate the administrative staff moving to a new building across the street.  It was a great opportunity to meet everyone, and I went up to as many random people as I could and introduced myself.  

About halfway through the party, I saw these two upper-middle-aged gentleman standing in a corner, not really talking to anyone, and so I went over to say "hi."  The men introduced themselves as "Sean" and "Dean," and I realized with a shock that I was meeting the Federal Public Defender and his Chief Assistant FPD, whom Ali (my supervising attorney) had forgotten to introduce me to when I arrived.  Although my face  did turn beet red upon recognition of who they were, we had a great conversation.  Dean told me I should come up to his office next week for coffee and a chat, and Sean was talking about how he was going to run the LA Marathon this weekend.  They were just such friendly, unprepossessing people, and I'm actually glad I didn't know who they were before I met them, or else I probably wouldn't have had the courage to go over!

Todd picked me up after work (and a change of clothes) and we decided to drive to Disneyland.  We wanted to go someplace where we could just wander around and spend time with each other (rather than see a movie, or something like that).  Once we arrived, we went on the Matterhorn, walked around, had literally the best pizza in the world at Naples (SO excited about having the rehearsal dinner on the terrazza there!) and then watched the fireworks from a good vantage point at 9:25.  There's something so - alright, magical - about just standing together looking up at a dark sky exploding with light and sound, just enjoying the spectacle with one another.

We headed home after that and slept very soundly.  Then, this morning, Todd was off!  But he'll be back next Thursday, so that we can see Up at the El Capitan with a bunch of friends!

As much as I hate to admit this (liking to think of myself as a strong, independent woman - but maybe the two aren't incompatible), a large part of me just doesn't feel right when Todd's not with me.  Sure, it's a blast to see friends, re-discover LA, and work at a pretty terrific place, but I'm just not the same person I was three and half years ago.  I'm someone's partner now, and I like that, and I love the fact that I'm going through life with Todd.  Now, you could call that co-dependence but you could also call it just the realization (as Jack Johnson once said in a song) that "everything's better when we're together."  I think having a partner doesn't make you less your own person, it just makes what you do more connected to another.  And that connection is the steady and sweet feeling people call love... 

I wouldn't have it any other way! 

First Few Days in LA

These are the obligatory first-day-of-anything pictures for mom!  I took them in my new room on Monday morning.

The place has good light because it has windows as well as an angled ceiling and skylights.  While it's small, I hardly have anything to fill it with, so I don't mind.  The apartment building is in an absolutely gorgeous area, right up from Hollywood Blvd on La Brea.  The building is pink and covered with bougainvillea and honeysuckle.  

I arrived on Saturday at about 3:oo pm, and spent the next few hours unpacking, buying sheets and a pillow, and calling various friends to let them know I'd arrived.  That night, I met up with Chrissie, Matt, and Jenny after they'd finished shooting Chrissie's short film, and we had a yummy late dinner at 25 Degrees (at the Roosevelt Hotel), followed by hanging out at Chrissie and Matt's apartment.  

The next day - Sunday - I slept in, and then drove to Pasadena, for both nostalgic and practical reasons.  I did some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, then had a lovely picnic lunch in Victory Park, near where I grew up.  Later that day, I met up with Chris, we hung out at my new apartment, and then we went to dinner at a great little Indian place on Melrose called Anarkali.

Monday was my first day of work at the Federal Public Defender's Office, and it was hectic!  After getting fingerprinted and sorted out with HR, my supervising attorney gave me two assignments - one regarding a petition for certiorari, and one regarding an upcoming narcotics case - and I got set up at my nice little cubicle at the far end of the law library.

The FPD is right in the heart of Little Toyko in downtown LA, about four blocks from the federal courthouse, and three blocks from City Hall.  I also discovered that it was only about a 15 minute walk from the Civic Center Metro Red Line (subway) stop!  On Monday night, Seth came over, and we watched the two hour season finale of 24, followed by a selection of fabulous gourmet cupcakes at Chrissie and Matt's.

On Tuesday morning, I got up early and walked down to the Metro Station at Hollywood & Highland.  The trip was quick, easy, and much better than sitting in traffic - plus all of the ticket fares are reimbursable at the FPD!  Another busy day at work.

Tuesday night was hard.  It was the first night where I was just at the new apartment, getting my bearings.  I made pasta and watched a marathon of Whose Wedding Is It, Anyway? but I couldn't help feeling sad and displaced.  Todd and I talked, and I felt a bit better, but the enormity of all the changes over the last few days - new apartment, new job, new city, no Todd - really hit me hard.  I listened to some music on my Ipod touch and then went to sleep.

Today was a lot better.  I again took the Metro to work, and when I got there, my assignments were interesting and engaging.   Being an almost-lawyer is fun!  I had lunch with Jeremy at a sushi place right around the corner from the FPD.  Tonight, Eli drove over from Pasadena and we got delicious frozen yogurt at this place called Yogurt Land on La Brea.  We took a long walk around my old Miracle Mile stomping grounds, and spent some time catching up.

Phew!  It feels like it should be Friday already...

UPDATE: I posted this last night but the internet was down so I didn't publish it.  As I was walking home from work on Hollywood Boulevard today, Todd called.  I picked up and he said "I'm here!" He'd surprised me by driving down this morning for his two days off!

Who says grand romantic gestures have to end with the courtship?

I seriously can't believe that this is the guy I am lucky enough to marry soon! :-)

FREEDOM!

it feels so good, like this hot springs waterfall in Guatemala's  Rio Dulce preserve :-)

I am officially a 3L!

Going to relax with Todd tonight before driving down to LA tomorrow morning...

And Monday will be my first day in Federal Court!

It never stops but that's okay - these little breaths of fresh air and freedom put everything refreshingly in perspective.

Now, if I could only figure out how to use my new bluetooth headset so I can fill tomorrow's 5 hour drive with some long overdue "catch-up" conversations...

The Getaway Car...

One of the wedding traditions that I'm unreasonably excited about is the getaway car... 

Even though we're not going to be leaving our reception early to make a "grand exit" and will in fact be driving back to San Francisco the next day, at mid-morning, for some reason, I still think it would be really fantastic to have a completely "done-up" car to make our trip up north in...

There are as many ways to decorate a getaway car as there are creative members of wedding parties.  

These run the gamut from the classic "tin cans tied to the bumper" --

To a beautiful "Just Married" sign gracing the back of a carriage (sorry for the small photo!) --

To stunning - and undoubtedly labor intense - garlands of flowers draped over the car and trailing behind it (this photo reminds me of all the carnations in Monsoon Wedding!) --

To a simple window cling and sweetly tied bow with flowers --

Getaway cars can also be decorated with shaving cream, washable "window chalk," streamers, and flags...

Since we'll be using my car, it's white exterior will hopefully be the perfect palette for making it a true "wedding getaway car" :-)

What's your favorite way of decorating the getaway car?

Happy Mother's Day!

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such a fantastic mom and such a fabulous (almost) mother-in-law! :-) (And I think Todd would agree...)

Wish we could celebrate with you!

Love,

Em

Best Combination EVER.

On Friday, Todd and I decided to go on a fairly long hike on Russian Ridge, in the hills above Palo Alto.  We took a long, winding drive through country roads punctuated by many "Horse X-ing" signs (and at one, a rider was actually crossing!), made some wrong turns, discovered a fabulous little square at a junction way up in the mountains, stopped at the "Skywood Trading Post" to get drinks to go with our packed picnic lunch, and finally made it to the trail head.  

We started the hike, through wide, grassy slopes filled with hundreds of varieties of wildflowers (I judiciously decided NOT to take the camera, as I wanted to enjoy the hike without documenting it...).  It was beautiful - brilliant yellows, pinks, and purples, blue and white and orange butterflies, dells cluttered with ancient gnarled oaks and brush-choked streams.  There was good mix of sun and shade, steep climbs and easy rambling downhills.  We ate on a lichen-covered boulder overlooking Stanford University like a tiny red speck in the distance.  

However, much like our drive to the hike, our hike was also filled with a few wrong turns, meaning that a five miler ended up being more of an eight miler, a hard eight miler.  We were very relieved and happy to turn that last bend and see our car waiting for us in the parking lot.

On our drive back down the mountain, we again stopped at the trading post and got a huge bottle of water. The proprietor recognized us from our first visit (when we were much less  exhausted and bedraggled looking) and chuckled at our further hydration...

When we got home, we decided to reward our tired, hungry bodies with dinner so we headed to Domino's to try potentially the most "wedding day diet" destructive food on the planet: PASTA, covered with CHEESE, in a BREADBOWL.  And, boy, was it good.  And totally worth it. :-)

Come on, we still have two and a half months to go before my dress has to fit, right?!

Tired.

Tomorrow is my third to last final and, truth be told, I'm kind of running out of steam.  I mean, I'm just kind of bone-tired.  But at least the two remaining finals after Criminal Procedure - Constitutional Law II and Community Property - have their virtues: one's a 24-hour take-home, and the other has a fairly circumscribed and straight-forward set of laws and precedents attached to it.

It's kind of shocking that in a little over a week, I'll be driving down to Los Angeles, and the Monday after next, will be starting my clerkship at the Federal Public Defender's.  The HR woman just sent me all the tax documents today (fun!) so it's finally beginning to seem real.

It's only ten weeks, but I know Todd and I are going to miss each other a lot.  One of the stop-gaps to that is the fact that we already know we'll be seeing each other at least a few times during that period:

- when he flies down so that a bunch of us can see the new Pixar movie Up on opening night at the El Capitan on May 29

- when we fly to south New Jersey for Suzi's wedding in late June

- potentially, when I come up to San Francisco over July 4th weekend for my law school friend Anna's wedding (and my 26th birthday)

- and my job will end on July 17th, so I'll be driving back up to help with the last minute things for our wedding and then we'll drive back down to Disneyland together on July 23

Looked at from that perspective, we're really not going to go more than three weeks at a time without seeing each other!

In wedding-related news, we stopped by the post office to weigh our complete invitation "suite" and found that it comes in just under the newly increased postage rate of 44 cents - yay for it being light!  And the post office woman showed us a beautiful (and non-pastel-entwined heart) wedding stamp: a photograph of two brilliant yellow gold rings falling together.  We'll probably be mailing the invitations around the third week in May through the first week of June, with the international invites being sent out first.  Also, Todd found out that couples can send their wedding invitation to the White House six weeks in advance, and we'll receive a signed photograph of President and Mrs. Obama -- I can't wait!

Also, following a trend recently remarked upon on WeddingBee (and bucking superstition), yesterday, I signed up for a new e-mail account, one that I won't use until after we're married of course.  I was really happy it was still available, given the popularity of my first name!  Starting after our wedding, and in accordance with my name change, I'm going to discontinue my current gmail account, and begin using this one: emily.rosenfelt@gmail.com :-) it makes me happy to know it's there, just waiting for me to settle into...