This Week in Photos

     Hello there!

     Greetings, practically non-existent readers! This week has been plenty wonderful. In other words, nothing terrible has happened. That alone makes for a pretty good week in my books. Here are a few memories I've snapped within these past seven days, just some random bits & pieces that seemed perfect to share. Enjoy!

My boyfriend gave me a photoshoot at the park, he is the sweetest. I bought that fabulous dress at Target for a mere 20 bucks! It's an instant favorite, and I feel like such a 60's girl in it!

Oh, and the purse came from Target as well. It's a store of wonders!

That awkward moment when your boyfriend looks like the guy from "The Shining." By the way, this is Joe! My sweet boyfriend of two years. A happy Zoe is a happy Joe. Yeah, he actually said that once.

On Monday, I went to my friend Cody's apartment to hangout for a couple hours. He has a pitbull named Lala. She's sweet, but SO GOD DAMN SHY. It took me half an hour to get one good photo of her in which she wasn't running away or hiding. I swear, someone must have beat her with a camera when she was little.

Eugh, I hate thinking about the terrible things we put in our body. But I love taking pictures of them.

This, on the left, is my coffee. Sitting on a desk. A desk attached to a recliner. A recliner in front of a flat screen TV. A TV playing Family Guy. A TV playing Family Guy which is located inside my school. Oh, college! Could you make me feel anymore at home? The "buff me" photo is from a wall in the girls restroom. Buff that shit, bitches. They'll just keep making more graffiti. Girl power.

 Cuntaaaa! My boyfriend has a parrot at his place, along with like 20 small dogs. Note the little feet in the background.

The vintage photobooth app on my iPad works wonders!

Wonderful Wednesday. A better view of my haircut, although I'm probably the only person who can even tell the difference. Oh well!

Yeah, we can be cute sometimes.

Joe lookin' like an army boy! I'm a sucker for a man in uniform, maybe one day this will be a real one. 

Max, Joe and I messing around with Photobooth. Tell me that last one doesn't remind you of Pinky & the Brain?!

 On Thursday night, I went to the Queen Mary to see a play for theatre class! "The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer." Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Ehh. I didn't have a ride there or back, so I literally went on Facebook and offered gas money to the first person who'd be willing to take me. A good friend Mike replied. We got off the wrong freeway exit twice on there way there, and accidentally got on the bridge to San Pedro! The bridge you can't turn around on until you go all the way across & into the next city! When we finally arrived, I sprinted my ass to the front gates and made it inside at 8:02. Two minutes late, but who's counting?

One of my bestestestest friends, Carrie, came to pick me up. After circling around the parking lot twenty times looking for the exit, we came across this beautiful view of downtown Long Beach and couldn't resist having an impromptu photo-shoot! They turned out so amazing. I love this city.

Hopefully I'll stick to this idea and post a "This Week in Photos" every Saturday. I encourage you all to start carrying your camera around everywhere you go, just like I did! Have a wonderful week!

10 Things to Do Instead of Wasting Time on the Internet

     In this day and age, we all love surfing the web. There's an unlimited flow of information, photos, blogs, tweets, status updates, news articles, and so on... But how much is too much? What happens when the internet becomes exhausting and you find that hours of your life are being whittled away into cyberspace? I've created a handy dandy guide for those in need of, well, something to do. Read it and take action, folks!

     1. Start a blog! One of my main inspirations for creating a blog was to stop wasting countless hours on Facebook and other mindless social networking sites. I wanted to add meaning to my life instead of taking it away.  Nobody cares that you "went grocery shopping today." Write something people will actually care about. Spill your secrets. Speak your mind. Give the blogging world a peek into your lovely brain. It's your blog, so do whatever the hell you want with it!

     2. Do yoga. I swear by this. Take 10 minutes out of your oh-so-busy schedule and let the wonders of yoga into your life. Yoga comes in tons of different variations and difficulty levels, so your bound to find a workout you'll love. After just a few minutes you'll feel completely refreshed, stretched and energized for the entire day. Those yoga masters from India really knew whats up, man.

     3. Awaken your creative side. Start a project that will keep you busy for days and days. Tear down everything on your bedroom wall and start anew. Sew a patch of your favorite band onto your purse. Make a record bowl. Grab a camera and take artsy pictures of things at obscure angles. Nowadays, anyone can be a photographer. Speaking of photography, print out some fond memories and create a photo album. Light some candles or incense. Paint a self-portrait, even if you end up looking like Big Bird. Buy a cork board and pin up a bunch of pictures that inspire you. Buy some flowers to add life to your desk space. Write a quote on your mirror with a dry-erase marker to wake up to every morning. Make your own jewelry. Pick some flowers and put them in your hair. Need I go on?

     4. Bake something from scratch. Throw some heart-shaped cookies into the oven or bake some yummy vanilla cupcakes. Bake a cake for someone you love. Or bake a poison cake for someone you hate. Here's a fun recipe to try- Instagrahams! (Horrible pun, cute cookies.) Baking is good for the soul, so get to it! Or get baked yourself, which ever you prefer.

     5. Catch up on your favorite TV shows. Instead of wasting time on the internet, waste some time watching television. It still counts, right? But don't make your time in front of the tube a total waste, invite a few friends over for popcorn and an old-fashioned TV night. There are SO many good shows coming on this season. "The New Girl" with Zooey Deschanel, "Pan Am," the life of four flight attendants in the 1960's, and "Two Broke Girls" featuring Kat Dennings. Cannot fucking wait!

     6. Give yourself a photoshoot. Get all dolled up and ready to press that "self-timer" button. Spend a lil' extra time perfecting your hair and makeup, and wear your favorite outfit. Venture out into a garden or a local park and let your inner Tyra Banks shine! Instant self-esteem booster. It's okay to be completely full of yourself, we all deserve that once in awhile. You'll end up with tons of pretty pictures you can upload to Facebook... LATER. Since you're already lookin' hot now, go out and enjoy yourself instead!

     7. Be a tourist in your own city! Grab a camera, 20 bucks and a friend & you're set! Take public transit everywhere you go. Try out a hip new restaurant or coffee shop. Relax on a bench and people watch. (Yes, it's okay to make fun of that girl wearing neon green tights and a weave that looks like it took twenty My Little Pony dolls to make.) See a movie, shop local and visit a museum. Run those streets. Whatever you decide to do, make sure to take tons of pictures!

     8. Attend a local festival or event. Google search a list of events happening in your city. Trust me, there will be tons of 'em! Local events are usually free and can provide an entire day of fun. Festivals, block parties, conventions, you name it. We have a "hemp-con" festival in Long Beach. Go figure. We also have a crawfish festival, a chocolate festival, an annual vintage hot-rod show, comic-con, and a pirate festival on the pier! Search your little heart out, fill up your calendar with events and get going!

     9. Try some retail therapy. Try this idea out. Set a $20 budget for yourself and hit up a local dollar store or thrift shop. Buy a bunch of junk. Yep, you heard right. Buy some candy, lip balm, cheap rings, nail polish, coffee mugs, keychains, hair clips, whatever your heart desires. Then go home and play with all your little treasures!

     10. Visit a coffee shop. If you absolutely cannot resist spending hours scrolling through your Tumblr and checking status updates, try this. Instead of sitting on the computer at home alone, take your computer to a coffee shop. Coffee shops are one of my favorite places to be. The smell of fresh coffee grounds, the ambient music, the big comfy chairs. The atmosphere inside most coffee shops is warm and welcoming, so get out of that dark room and take your laptop down to the local coffee shop. You might even end up coming back with some new friends, caramel cappuccino in hand.