My Little Secret

     The day I receive my wonderful and much-awaited anchor tattoo is getting closer and closer! I get butterflies in my tummy just thinking about my next little design. Yup, that's right, "next." As in... I have a tattoo already. Gasp!
     I've never mentioned this mysterious tattoo on my blog before, in fear that my mom/brother/anyone-else-who-will-yell-at-me would see it. And possibly yell at me. Since then, however, I've stopped caring what people think. I've grown a lot this past year, and I'm at a point where I feel like I have nothing to hide anymore. I'm nineteen years old. I'm smart. And I can take care of my own body. I've had this pretty little tattoo for almost a year now, might as well be proud of it. So here it is in all it's glory! (Sorry, mom!)

   That's right folks! I've got a quarter-sized tattoo of a sparrow on my right thigh. I got it done last Summer when I was 18. My best friend and I decided to get tattooed one day, out of the blue. We found a tattoo shop that was doing $15 tattoos for their 15th anniversary, drove all the way out to La Mirada (I think!), walked inside and went for it. I didn't even know what I was getting until I went in & chose a tiny little sparrow design from the flash book. Done and done! It was the definition of 18 year-old spontaniety.
     Even though the tattoo meant virtually nothing to me at the time, it's gained plenty of meaning this past year. For example, I chose a sparrow while my best friend Carrie chose a feather. Birds of a feather! Eh? Ehhhh? I didn't realize this one 'till much later. My sparrow has also come to represent being young & wild & free. (I typed that last part in Snoop Dogg's voice, by the way.) Doing what I want no matter what people think. Especially things like going out and getting random tattoos. Makes sense.

    My little sparrow also now marks a specific time period in my life. Although I wouldn't dare go into detail about my personal life on a public website, the people closest to me know that the past year or two has been absolutely insane for me. And I sincerely wish I could write about it. I wish I could spill all my stories, struggles and situations onto this blog. But I can't. The cheery, picture-perfect life I put on display for you guys to see is only the tip of the iceberg. And this iceberg descends into deeper and darker waters than most people will ever know. It gets bad.
    Anyways, I'll stop myself there before I get all poetic and emotional. I went through a weeklong phase where I started panicking about my body being inked forever... FOREVER... Ahhh! But that didn't last long at all. I don't regret this little sparrow guy one bit. I love him. He'll be perched on my skin until the day I die, and so will the memories attached. For better or for worse, but you can't pretend they never happened. It doesn't just signify the bad times I've been faced with... But me being set free from them all. Which is where I'm headed.
   

Lovely Weekend Links

• This made me so happy. I listened to 90's music along with it. What happened in your birth year?
• This fun little Spring to-do list is adorable. I wanna try #3 and #17 as soon as possible!
• I'm seeing more & more & more girls flaunting top knots these days.
• Day of the Dead planters! Easy to make, lovely to look at.
• This photo series of celebrities before and after photoshop will boost your self-esteem. Nobody is perfect!
• Soo0oo, that adorable little girl from "Matilda" grew up and started a blog. It's actually a pretty interesting read. Yay for child stars who grow up without becoming train wrecks!
• 30 days & 30 ways to be happier? Count me in.
• This exists? Awesome.
• Tired of boring family photos? Check out this awesome dad and the crazy, creative pictures he takes of his two daughters. 
• How to style a twisted side pony. Why don't mine ever turn out like the picture?!

It's BBQ Season!

     Living in the LBC, there's no escaping the celebration that comes around on April 20th of each year. Because this is such a public blog, I'm gonna keep it PG and let your street smarts do the guessing. But anyways, I decided to organize a little springtime BBQ to celebrate this year!
     I somehow got everything to work perfectly. No trouble, no drama, no cops, no hungry tummies. Everyone brought food to share and everyone got along. It was a hot, 90-degree Long Beach day, and we set up camp at this cute little park next to the beach. The only thing that wasn't cute about it were the bum fights going on around us, but that's just to be expected. Some cracked out lady kept screaming that people were "scaring her bird," which turned out to be a crow sitting in a nearby tree. I didn't even dare to look at "her" bird. Then another one started screaming from the opposite direction about some thug wearing a du-rag who stole her lighter. Interesting day.
     We ate lots of yummy food, climbed down the steep cliffs to the ocean, found an ice cream truck, took lots of pictures, and just overall had a lovely day. Mission successful!

Moses and I! (And some inappropriate hot dog action that you should definitely ignore!)

Carne Asadaaaaa! Oh, and the other stuff.

Carrie and I being pin-up girls. We tried.

Sooo0oo0ooo thankful that everyone brought food! 

This would have been perfect if it wasn't blurry. Booooo!

Kickin' it on the beach in Loooong Beach.

The view from the top & the view from the bottom.

If you look extra closely, you can see an ant-sized little Carrie making her way down the mountain. Which was, mind you, WAY bigger than it looks here.

Just me, casually being a free-spirited hipster on the sand.

The camera accidentally turned on and took a picture.

I'm not a model.

 These girls are crazy as hell in their own ways, but I loooove them all.

Feelin' Special

     I just felt like writing you a lil' THANK YOU note this afternoon. Yes, you! When I first created this blog a couple months ago, I was happy to see 5, maybe 6 or 7 hits a day. Somehow that number has shot up to almost a hundred. A hundred views a day. A hundred people read my blog. A day. Really?! And not just people that I already know--the map shows readers from Russia, Japan, and even Africa who have clicked on my blog. Seeing that number rise higher & higher makes me feel amazing inside. I know I don't own the most popular blog in the universe--some get hundreds of thousands of hits a day, making my humble little blog look like an ant!--But this is much more than enough in my eyes. It's such a great feeling to know that people actually read what I write. That people actually care. That every day, almost a hundred people take time out of their day to click on the word "LOVEZOFO." It's a wonderful feeling. Thank you all very much, and don't be shy to leave comments! I'd love to meet some of my readers!

My Latest Guilty Pleasure

     I'm a nerd in disguise. There, I said it, and now everybody knows it. No matter how much mascara I wear, how inappropriate I can be or how many friends I have... There's a nerd living somewhere deep, down inside me. Hm... Let me try that again without being inappropriate. Told you. I AM A NERD AT HEART. I get excited about things like filling out worksheets, reading chapters in my textbooks (only the interesting ones of course, I'm not that hardcore of a nerd), and most of all, a good book. When I find a book that captivates me, good luck prying it from my fingers! I will read & read & read 'till the very end, and nothing can stop me!

     I hate to hop on the bandwagon like every other teenaged girl in America, but... I love the Hunger Games. This book is great. No, this book is amazing. Hands down one of my new favorites. One friend of mine scoffs and turns up her nose every time I so much as mention the book's title, and her reasoning behind it was this: "Too many people are obsessed with it, it's too popular."
     Now don't get me wrong, I understand what she's saying. Before I picked up this lovely novel, I'd constantly hear people chatting about the movie and obsessing over the characters. Hunger Games this, Hunger Games that, blah blah blah! The hype can get pretty annoying. However, I would never let the fact that tons of people love the book stop me from reading it. Who gives a shit, honestly? People are obsessing over the Hunger Games for a damn good reason--because it's an amazing, well-written, captivating book. I'm not going to pretend I don't like it simply because it's now a "hop on the bandwagon" thing. If I enjoy reading the book myself, that should be all that matters.

     That being said, I'd like to recommend this wonderful book to ALL of you! Yes, all 60-70 of you that have been reading my blog a day. (More about that later!) Forget about the hype. Pick up this book and give it a chance. I did, and I've been hopelessly addicted ever since!

Lovely Weekend Links

• Simple, blonde-proof instructions on how to style a fishtail braid. So pretty!
• All the most common cooking mistakes and how to fix them. I don't even cook, and this was an interesting read.
• A beautifully put together DIY for making your own crystal skull oil lamp.
• How funny are these period panties? I'd rock the "Aunt Flo" ones.
• Mind your manners! These little dinner etiquette cartoons are adorable and helpful.
• Reading through these clever truisms made me smile.
• Cake batter rice krispy treats? Super easy recipe? Um, yes please.
• Mastering the art of self confidence can be tricky, but this article does the trick!
• Step-by-step instructions on how to perform a striptease. Where else are you gonna learn?

My Week in Instagramz

This week was spontaneous.

Coffee shops, awesome spots, Venice beach.

     I've been everywhere & back this past week, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm lucky enough have amazing friends who are down for anything, anytime. Yesterday we were sittin' on a park bench doing nothing when someone blurted out "Who wants to go to Venice Beach?" Needless to say, everyone stood up within 10 seconds and scattered into the parking lot, hopping into cars & slamming doors. Simple as that. We also discovered an awesome coffee shop a few days ago called Viento y Agua. It's day-of-the-dead style with vibrant colors everywhere. That handsome skeleton man up there added a nice touch as well. It's also right around the corner! Well... It might be a bit towards the wrong side of the tracks, but to be honest that's usually my favorite place to be. I'd rather live in a spot where there's always something going on & someone to talk to, as opposed to my quiet neighborhood full of old people and closet tweakers. Anyways, here's the rest of my week in photos!

This week, I started working out again! Jogging clothes to prove it.

This week, I hungout with Shannon the Cannon.

This week, I opened a bathroom door and found this.

Stay classy, Venice Beach.

This week, I got my toesies done!

 This week, a puppy came up to Eldo. Made our day.

This week, I got stuck in the rain at school.

And then I got rescued.

This week, I spend lots of quality time with my cigarette sista.

This week, I had a lovely little Easter.

This week, I drank loooots of yummy homemade coffee.

LIKE ALWAYS.

Now you see it, now you don't.

And here's this amazing photo for the 2nd time because I love it that much.