Because some days you're just sick.

That is me right now. I don't know why or how, but Monday night I started feeling yucky. Then, yesterday morning I woke up feeling worse and had to go about my day, which ended up being busy busy busy. I babysat for 3 different families in one day! My goodness. Then I crawled into bed and slept for 12 hours on a dose of NyQuil and Advil. Missed my morning classes and slugged myself into English class because that one counts the most. Then back home and into the hot shower, where I began to feel dizzy and I swear I had hallucinations about The Joy Luck club because that's what we are reading in English class. And then I had to also drag myself to nannying and they are being particularly trollish today.
That is all. Hopefully you'll see me around here good as new in a few days.

Guilty

I had a great laugh at this one because I am SO GUILTY!!

Sometimes it's just one of those days, you know?

Here's to taking our sweet time!

I like trees.

Guys, lately I have been loving trees. I don't know why. I really love their silhouettes and they can be so graphic. I have been taking photos of them with my phone on walks, and with my film camera and DSLR where ever I go. It's kind of a strange obsession of mine. Maybe it's like collecting mason jars?

It has been so nice forcing myself to take my camera places again. I just kind of stopped creating art for a while. Aside from taking photos for this blog, I have started taking more artistic photos again too. I have missed it. I guess I did take artistic photos for my film class last semester, but I have been getting back into doing with with my DSLR as well.

These trees were so lovely to shoot. I think I am ready to start creating actual art again. I know, I've been saying that for a while now, but I think I'm being for real now. One step at a time...

Have a lovely weekend! I'll be spending my weekend babysitting, visiting with my aunt, and relaxing (hopefully)!

Because I'll never go to school here.

This past weekend, we decided to visit the Stanford University campus since it is only about 20 minutes away from home. I had only ever been to the shopping mall right next to it and their hospital, but never to the actual campus. It is absolutely gorgeous! I had fun shooting a roll of film here and taking some photos with my DSLR. I definitely want to go back to explore more of the campus and to take some outfit photos. Even though that may be awkward...

It is so wonderful to be completely engrossed in something you are doing and to block the rest of the world out. That is how I feel when I am behind my camera lens. Everything else doesn't matter and I can truly be in the moment.

I had a blast shooting these so I just thought I'd share :)

Happy Thursday! Who is ready for the weekend?

It's a Japanese thing.

The other night, Dai dragged me out for something called "shabu-shabu." I will be completely honest, I was not so thrilled and was not really into the idea of trying something so new to me. So I dragged my heels and tried to convince him to go somewhere else, but I finally just sucked it up.

And you know what? I actually liked it. And it was kind of fun.

So here's the deal:

- You pick your broth. We got a split pot of spicy and seaweed flavored.

- You pick your meet. We got lean kobe beef.

- They give you a plate of veggies, a bowl of rice, and sauces as well.

- Then you dump stuff in the boiling pot of broth and it cooks.

- Then you dip it in the sauce and eat it.

So I guess this "shabu-shabu" stuff is Japanese hot-pot. I have never had hot-pot of any other sort, but I think I would like this one the most because it is simple and it is kind of fun to cook the stuff yourself. I know, it seems really counterproductive to eat out, but have to technically cook the stuff yourself. That's what I said too. But I guess you can just chalk it up to the "experience." Plus you don't have to prep or clean up, so it's kind of better than cooking at home :)

Shabuway is located at 145 E. 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA, 94401 

Davis + The Thrifted

Yesterday, I drove an hour and a half out to UC Davis to see my lovely old friend, Dena. We hadn't seen each other in about 3 years or so and it was great to catch up! She is a friend from back when I lived in San Diego, so it is awesome that she goes to college so close by now.

We spent the day walking around the campus and seeing the city of Davis. It is quite the college town, let me tell you. I love that it is filled with many little houses with character, like this one. And that a lot of them are businesses within the houses. We had a nice lunch and a walk around a big pond/lake that is rumored to have an otter living in it. No such luck on that front.

We also stopped into a couple thrift stores and I found this gem! I am in love with it. It is mod looking and lovely. And even better, it was only $12!! A steal, no? I was thinking of putting it at the end of my bed as a bench and then storing blankets on the bottom. We found this great piece and then set off on a long trek back to campus to fetch my car. We made it back and barely fit it and Dena into the car.

Oh goodness, I couldn't wait to get home to see how this baby fit into my room. Alas, it is a bit too big and it cramped near where it meets a big leather chair, but I am in denial and will eventually figure out something to do with it. It is too good of a piece! It just needs a little care and I am sure my dad can help me spruce it up a bit. Hopefully I can keep it around for when I eventually have a place of my own, because I love it. Now, what to do with it for now?

Currently // 2

Drinking // Water. Because it is good.

Listening to // The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie soundtrack. I am in love.

Anticipating // Starting a new babysitting gig tomorrow. Good-bye retail!

Planning // A trip to LA over spring break. I gotta make this happen.

Watching // Marly look so peaceful sleeping in his bed.

Missing // My best friend Tatiana.

Loving // My thrift store find from today. 

Going // To start mending more lost friendships from past years. It's going pretty well so far.

Making me happy // Trees.

Adventuring: Mt. Tam & Sol Food

Friday was such a BEAUTIFUL. In fact, this whole past week has been lovely. It has really been feeling like spring around here. As opposed to that Nemo stuff that went on on the East Coast last weekend. I am thanking my lucky stars that I live in sunny California.

So, with a sunny, fresh day and a holiday weekend ahead of us, my best friend Kaitlin and I set off on an adventure over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin. We took the winding road up and around the mountain, soaking in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, and the entire bay, as well as the fresh air of spring around the corner.

We took a nice little trek up the hill once we got to the walking trails and ate apples at the top. We talked openly of random things and we wondered how many people were listening to our gibber-jab.

Aaaaand because no trip to Marin is complete without a visit to Sol Food, we topped the day off with mango-orange iced teas in mason jars and a yummy late lunch.

Is there a better day than one with lovely views, delicious food, nice music, and good company?

I don't really think so.

Valentine's went something like this...

Happy day after Valentine's Day, loves. I hope it was filled with love; love for others and love for yourself.

I had the day off from school and spent the morning picking out a special new outfit and preparing Valentine-y things.

My guy took me out to a lovely dinner and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and being indecisive about what movie to watch on Netflix. It was perfect. Now, I am in full gear for this 6-day weekend I am in. Yes, 6! I can't stop smiling when I think about the loads of freedom ahead of me.

Life Lately via Instagram

Life lately has been pretty good. School hasn't been very fun, but I hope that eventually I will like it more once I can start taking classes in my major. For now, I'm just doing what I need to do to get to that point.

Lately I have...

- Made yummy, (mostly) healthy food

- Shot 3 rolls of film in a weekend

- Burned my lunch

- Been fascinated by trees

- Started a new semester

- Went on a surprise picnic

- Went to the drive-in for the first time in about 15 years

- Performed some ceramic pig surgery

- Hung out with my cute pup

- And went out for my birthday dinner!

If you'd like to get more of these daily glimpses into my sometimes silly life, you can follow me on Instagram @jpanian.

Hey hey it's Wednesday. Halfway to Friday. Hang in there!

Mimi's Chicken Soup

Hello friends! Today I have a family recipe for you. This is my grandma's (Mimi) chicken vegetable soup recipe! It is my favorite. There are some bugs going around out there, and while I was sick last week, my dad and I made a big batch of this soup. It heated me up and made me feel better!

I realize that I should have taken some better photos, but I was sick, so I think I can get off with an iPhone photo this time :)

Soup:

- 3 large chicken breasts

- 1 large onion

- 4-5 large carrots

- 1-2 yellow squash

- 1-2 green zucchini

- 1 butternut squash

- 5 cloves garlic

- 1 bunch (?) leeks

- 5 stalks celery

- 1 red bell pepper

- salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

On top (optional, but highly recommended!):

- tortilla chips

- lime juice

- shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Cut raw chicken breasts into pieces.

3. Boil chicken.

4.  Cut up veggies

5. Add veggies to cooked chicken

6. Let simmer for an hour (the longer the better!), stirring occasionally

7. Ladle into a bowl and add goodies on top

8. Enjoy!

*Note: You may need to add chicken broth to the soup, but this is completely up to you. We did not add any to the batch we most recently made because the chicken gave enough flavor, but you may want more.

And there you have it! My Mimi's chicken soup. We love having this in the house because it lasts a while and is a quick lunch or dinner to reheat. Plus, all of the amounts of vegetables can be adjusted to what you are in the mood for or what you like. We just happen to like all of these vegetables, but feel free to omit or add any others you would like!

Enjoy! If you have the unfortunate luck of being sick right now, I hope this helps :)

The City of Locke.

As I said yesterday, we stopped in this strange little town called Locke. It was basically two rows of rundown buildings that were rusted, leaning over, and a bit creepy. Some were worse than others. So, there was tons to take photos of!

Also, I kind of really like this yellow side of the building. It would be nice for portraits. I tried to get Marly to stand in front of it, but alas, he wouldn't stay put.

I actually think this one is kind of cute!

I really like the textures of the wood in this one, and the fact that there is a door leading to no where.

We spent an hour or so here, walking around and taking photos. I finished up 3 rolls of film this day and am really excited to develop them this week. Hopefully there will be some good stuff!

Oddly enough, one of the only things in this place was a bar. And there was a strange smell of pot pretty much the entire time we were exploring. One local told us about how the town used to have an opium den. So, apparently there's some interesting stuff going on here!

In other news, I finished that essay I was talking about yesterday in record time! You know, this morning... About 30 minutes before it was due... :)