in the spirit of the season, here are just a few of the many things i am thankful for:

• a loving & supportive boyfriend (who cherishes me better than anyone ever could)
• a sweet & caring family (that i cannot wait to see this friday!)
• the ability to go to law school (and, hopefully, finish next year)
• a great community group in san francisco (it’s like a bible study, but focused on service too)
• a healthy body
• the fact that finals will be over by this time next month (and this is a killer semester because i have 5, yes 5 finals coming up!)
• the even more exciting fact that next semester will be my last time to take law school finals.  you have absolutely no idea how thankful i am for that.

i am so, so very lucky.

♥

happy thanksgiving!!

xoxo

i was reading a design*sponge post which mentioned the art of practicing handwriting & learning the alphabet in grade school (and also included a graphic designers’ favorite ABC cards for kids – all were beautiful).

[photo credit: from brooke reynolds' guest post on d*s]

this picture of a little boy sitting at a table with milk & cookies brought back a flood of wonderful memories.  i LOVED handwriting homework in school.  i remember the joy i found in writing letters and forming words with those letters.  i loved those big books of lined paper (& dotted half-lines) we used to practice our handwriting.  i liked the way that my kindergarten teacher, mrs. key, would remind us to cross each “t” and dot each “i.”  i was not nervous at all for our “test” at the end of the year which consisted of recognizing and naming each letter of the alphabet.  i loved trying to make my letters look exactly like the sample even if it meant practicing page after page.  i liked experimenting with different handwriting styles.  and, oh, learning to write cursive… well, that’s an entire blog post in itself.  i loved it all!  i was a total school-nerd from the beginning.

all of this got me thinking… (as i write this on my little macbook) are we missing out on something by doing most of our writing on a computer? do we gradually chip away at our ability to hand-write graceful words as we pull away from the traditional process of taking notes on paper & communicating through written letters?

i forgot my computer charger for class one day a few weeks ago. i had to take all of my notes by hand.  it didn’t seem like a big deal at first.  but it was a disaster.  without the repetition and daily practice of writing notes on paper, i found that my ability to write quickly and accurately had eroded significantly.  how sad!

i’m not saying computers aren’t useful.  i couldn’t live without my laptop in class for a million other reasons than just to crank out my notes quickly – i use it to keep dates organized in an online calendar, to check hastings info on their site, to search quickly through past notes for a certain word/phrase, to look up cases, to keep up with email, to search terms i’m unfamiliar with, and so much more…

but i’m also committed to sticking with handwriting for certain things:

• i still send handwritten letters.
• i still make reminder notes to myself on post-its.
• i still write groceries lists by hand.
• i still mark up & write out notes in the margins by hand in my casebooks.
• i still hand-write overview outlines for each class before exams (i think the process of writing these out by hand helps me remember them better).

there’s still something very important and useful about handwritten words.

why do you think we still hand-write our signatures at the bottom of so many things (contracts, cover letters, hallmark cards, etc.)?  the handwritten word still seems to have more meaning – even in an increasingly digital age.

xoxo

While U.S. President Abraham Lincoln had his share of successes, he had more of his share of failures.  He failed in business, ran for the Illinois State Legislature and at first was defeated, went into business again and went bankrupt, ran for Speaker of the Illinois State Legislature and was defeated, was defeated in his efforts to secure nomination to the U.S. Congress, was rejected for an appointment for the U.S. Land Office, was defeated in a U.S. Senate race, and two years later was defeated again in a nomination for vice presdient.  Then, in 1860, he became our 16th president and saved the Union.  To the best of my knowledge, not even his present-day detractors call him incompetent.

- A Class with Drucker, William A. Cohen

tonight, robert & i made dinner.  i’m talking an all-out, homemade-everything meal.

for the last few fridays, we’ve been trying new recipes of dishes we’d never attempted before.  it’s a fairly inexpensive, fun way to spend a friday night, if you ask me!  ;)  martha stewart would be proud…

tonight, we made gruyere & chive scones from scratch. you can find the recipe here.

we also made homemade risotto with mushrooms, asparagus, and parmesan cheese.  so delicious.  i highly recommend this recipe for anyone who loves risotto.  it does take quite a bit of time of stirring the dish while standing over a hot stove, but the final result is completely worth the effort!  (at one point, i had to leave the freezer door open to cool myself off … darn, my teensy-weensy, stuffy kitchen.)  you can find the risotto recipe here.  (it’s a recipe from martha stewart’s personal chef, so i guess we should’ve known it would be a bit complicated.)

any new recipes you’ve tried that you’d be willing to share here?

ciao,

could these flower arrangement be any more perfect?!

i don’t think so . . .

[both pictures from a "we like it wild" post this morning on design*sponge. eat your heart out!]

perhaps it will make you smile too…

i love the emotion on their faces. such conviction.

after reading posts about fall on the blogs of a dear friend and my sister, i thought i’d capture what i love most about this season.

autumn is great because …

• the films: i can watch you’ve got mail with a cup of coffee on a saturday morning and chalk it up as a personal, fall tradition (not that i don’t watch the movie other times of the year) … the only problem with this little tradition is that it makes me want to book a plane ticket to new york the very minute the opening credits roll. other favorite fall films include: love actually, funny face, father of the bride, & any of the friends episodes that revolve around thanksgiving (i cheated, that’s not a movie, but close enough!)
• the food: they sell pumpkin pie at the grocery store … one of my favorite desserts! and, oh how i love trying new fall recipes from here & here. last but not least, let’s not forget about thanksgiving dinner – hello, fall feast!
• the colors: changing leaves and warm-colored flowers are right up my alley.
• the decorations: i can buy mini pumpkins to decorate my apartment. they are just so darned cute!
• the smells: williams-sonoma sells their spiced chestnut candle that i buy, as a treat for myself, every fall … it smells like a homemade pumpkin pie is in the oven. nothing better! and while we’re on the “smell” theme, i will admit, i’m a fan of pumpkin spice lattes (so yummy & sweet), and oh how i love the smell of coffee shops as they’re making these fall-themed drinks!
• the clothes: now, i realize that in san francisco, the weather tracks fall almost all year round, but i am a girl with a heart for fall and winter clothes. i do love dresses, but my favorite seasonal clothing has got to be layered sweaters, jackets, jeans, boots, and clothes with hints of dark browns and greens. truth be told, i don’t spend much money on clothes these days, but i do love to check out the fall trends on j.crew.com, even if merely to window-shop!
• the music: maybe it’s just me, but i also love listening to fall-themed songs this time of year. a few of my favorites? –  ”i love the rain the most” by joe purdy; “fire” by rachel loshak; “the city” by matt kearney; “nobody knows me at all” by the weepies; “both sides now” by joni mitchell; “if you were coming in the fall” by carla bruni; “sea green, see blue” and “corduroy” by jaymay; & pretty much anything by frank sinatra.
• the upcoming break: it’s not long until christmas and a month-long break (although, this will most likely be my last such break). also, this break doesn’t come without a price = final exams!

enjoy your fall, wherever you are!

xoxo

for those of you that wait anxiously for updates to this blog (most likely none of you)… i would like to apologize for the extremely long gap in posting.

these last few weeks have been filled with more running around, stressing out, & altogether anxiety than normal.

i am hoping that a brief recap of things i’ve been up to will fill the void in your lives that has been empty for so long (almost a month – since my last post on candyland, august 19, to be exact).

what i have been up to -

• going to class, reading for class, and (due to my own misfortune) being called on multiple times in every one of my classes.  these include:  federal income tax (challenging, but surprisingly, i love it!); corporations (the professor is a renowned corporate law expert – he shows up on news stations all the time & gets cited by courts in cases; we aren’t required to buy a casebook but must subscribe to the wall street journal); state & local government law; administrative law; and contract writing & analysis (highly practical & super interesting).
• training 2Ls how to do journal tasks & doing my own editing to law journal articles — this requires copious amounts of time spent up on the 22nd floor of the mcallister tower, in the law journal office (at least there’s a really cool view).
• applying for clerkships with federal judges for after i graduate law school — although i do not intend to even get interviews for any of these highly-competitive positions, i’m proud of myself for sending out dozens of applications.  this includes drafting cover letters, acquiring recommendations from professors, editing my resume & writing sample, among other things.
• applying to internships for next semester — this includes pretty much everything mentioned above.
• stressing out.
• cooking & baking to de-stress — this includes: one of the best homemade blackberry pies robert & i agree we’ve ever tasted (the recipe is from molly’s recipes); homemade tacos with homemade guacamole (& homemade margaritas, to boot!); cookies; homemade arugula and fontina cheese pizza; etc.

exciting events that passed & those that are coming up -

• robert & i celebrated our third anniversary  earlier this month —  oh, how lucky i am to be with sweet robby austin.  as we like to say, “we’re still in love after all these years…”  ha!  robert rented a car, drove me to an undisclosed location (turned out to be adorable los gatos, ca), & had an appointment for a very fancy pedicure for me when we got there.  it was all so thoughtful & a fun way to celebrate!  we even used the car the next morning to drive over the gg bridge to sausalito for breakfast… man, i miss having a car here sometimes.

• a cousin’s wedding in charleston, south carolina on october 3!  – this is the first camp cousin wedding.  i’m sure it will be nothing but classy and fun.  robert is also excited since he’s never been to charleston before.  i just know he’ll fall in love with the city.
• graduating in may 2010 — when i first began law school, they sent me a magnet that said “class of 2010″ on it.  it made graduation seem so far away. i mean, i wasn’t even sure how to say it … twenty-ten or two-thousand-ten? … but now 2010 is so close i can almost taste it.  this is VERY exciting.

*this is the name of a song by carla bruni. (my interpretation of the song: we all make promises sometimes that are so crumbly & weak, yet sweet, that they fall apart the minute you try to grab onto them – like pie crust.  / i promised to update this blog regularly, and this song is a reminder that we all, at times, make good-intentioned promises like pie crust.)  other carla bruni favorites include:  l’amoureuse, le temps perdu, l’antilope, l’excessive, la derniere minue, & quelqu-un qui m’a dit.  yes, this is the “loose” woman (also: singer, songwriter, & former model) who is married to the annoying french president nicolas sarkozy.

i still like her music.  especially the french stuff.

xoxo

for the 60th anniversary of candyland they have turned the crookedest street (lombard) into a life-size version of the board game!

this is what the street normally looks like: 

i have SO many memories of playing this game with my sister, brother, and friends down the street on seven oak court… do you remember the gingerbread people? king kandy? gramma nut? mamma ginger tree? princess lolly? princess frostine? lord licorice? & gloppy the chocolate monster?

from this: 

to this: 

from SF Appeal: “the street will be closed to traffic as children from the university of california, san francisco children’s hospital participate in the game as colored game pieces and interact with life-sized game characters, according to organizers.” (why do only children get to play?! oh well…)

i haven’t been able to head over to see it, but i just might have to take a fieldtrip today to see my favorite childhood board game come to life.

i’ve been meaning to update this for awhile…

the list (10 things i would like to do before i’m 30): 

• 1.  pass the california bar
• 2.  go skydiving
• 3.  run another (half) marathon
• 4.  cook an entire meal (from appetizers to dessert) for at least 15 people, all by myself 
• 5.  visit italy (lucca, in particular) for the first time + visit london again
• 6.  climb an extremely tall mountain (mt. whitney?)
• 7.  take another french class (+ read a french novel?)
• 8.  watch more oscar-winning films
• 9.  volunteer more to help the poor & homeless in san francisco (and any other city i find myself living)
• 10.  get a dog

do any of you have any ideas of things i should add to the list? 

what’s on your list?

[julia child with a very large monkfish, 1979.]

the julie/julia project. if you haven’t seen the movie, i highly recommend it. full of humor, mouth-watering food, real characters, and cuteness. what more could you want from a film?

i found the original julie powell blog. if you’ve seen the movie already, you will probably enjoy this more. 

and, yes, i saw julie & julia TWICE last weekend. i loved it that much!

[amy adams as julie powell in julie & julia.  © 2008 columbia pictures industries, inc.]

it has become common for college students, graduate students, law students, and those seeking permanent paid employment to take on summer, fall, or spring internships that are unpaid.

i have done my fair share of unpaid internships, and i’ve always looked to them for valuable experience that paid jobs could not provide. working hard for the [future] money, i like to say.

this new york times article & this story got me thinking about the issue.

i will keep my own editorial comments on this topic myself, in the interest of finding out exactly how you all feel about these unpaid internship experiences and the employers that so willingly take on summer employees in exchange for free work.

so… [drumroll, please] … i introduce to you the very first poll on this blog!

please participate. i’m interested to hear your thoughts.

thought i would make another grace in the small things post …

today, i am thankful for…

• an awesome summer boss (he’s a judge) & yummy chocolate cake this morning for his birthday!
• coffee, specifically blue bottle’s bittersweet blend
• sunshine that provided a glowy tan (well, a tan by my skin’s standards. i still look white against most!)
• iphones (yes, i know. this makes me evil. but i am really thankful for it & all the games/internet/phone calls it provides on the long bus rides to & from work.)
• fresh blueberries.
• the dream of a dog in my future. preferably a springer spaniel. one that looks like this! i plan to name her millie. 
• college friends and trips with our moms! 

grace in the small things… it’s never a bad idea to look for things to be thankful for in our daily lives.

as oxford english dictionary defines “grace” — elegance of movement; courteous good will; attractice qualities or behavior; the free and unearned favour of God; a short prayer of thanks. [all great things!]

today, i am thankful for…

• a healthy body that allows me to walk, run, ride my bike, go to yoga, & enjoy lots of outdoor activities
• trips with friends, moms, & dads (camping!  oregon!  caribbean cruise!)
• my african violet that always stretches over to the window to reach for the sun & continues to bloom cheery little purple blossoms every few weeks
• unusually warm weather in san francisco
• margaritas! chips & salsa!
• good books & a great local bookstore (browser books, on fillmore)
• fresh-squeezed, homemade lemonade
• real simple magazine
• iced coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
• sweet boyfriends

also, another reason to love my name: “anna” means graceful one.

i took a few snapshots on the way to & up in the beautiful mammoth mountains where we went camping for a few days last week.  trips like this make me so thankful to live in such a beautiful state.

what other state has countless wide, sandy beaches, mountains up to 14,000 feet [and snow year-round], deserts, valleys, rolling hills, and so many geographic formations it’s hard to keep track? only in california.

[the whole crew!]

[a ride up the gondola, just for the view]

[at the top - still snow]

[ashley's yummy kebabs with pineapple, bell peppers, & onion - grilled over the campfire]

[on the way to a super mountain bike ride - bikes piled in the back of the truck]

p.s. someday i WILL climb mt. whitney [the highest point in california] … who wants to go with me??