from raleighwood to hollywood

holy sh....

so, i know a lot of you are wondering what's been going on since the big move a few days ago. where have i been, what have i eaten, which celebrities have i seen? well the answers are: target, chicken flavored ramen, and myself in the mirror. although, while i was at the west hollywood trader joes two nights ago it occured to me that i should have swung by lindsay lohan's nearby condo to wish her good luck on her trial. i don't think it would have made a big difference..

as for everything else, things are going well so far! let's start from the beginning. i hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan...

oh wait, that was miley cyrus. i got off the plane in my peace college longsleeve and was greeted by one of the most wonderful sights. and her name is ebony.

okay this isn't what she looked like when i walked out of LAX, but it was the only picture i had. a friend of my sister's had picked her up when she arrived in LA about two weeks ago and that was my ride home from the airport :) that car is a part of me, and to be back in it again felt like having a friend from raleigh by my side in this scary new place. i once heard (in an adam sandler movie) that magic sunglasses can make you invisible when you're scared. sadly, my favorite pair of sunglasses had recently broken, but when i got in the car and opened the center console. to my surprise...

ebony must have known all along! after dropping my sister's friend off, i realized that it was the very first time i was all by myself in this big town. it was exciting. it was scary. and it was slightly awkward because of course i didn't realize until AFTER i called sara that you're not allowed to be on the phone while driving in california so i spent a good portion of the ride home covering the phone up with my hair. i made my way back to my neighborhood, picked up some groceries, drove up and down my street for a year and a half looking for a parking spot, and then spent about forty minutes dragging these items (all individually, and all by myself) across the street, through the gate, and up the stairs: one 50 lb. suitcase, another 50 lb suitcase, nine bags of groceries, three trashbags full of clothes, seven things to hang on the wall, a TV, two turtle doves...

you get the picture. speaking of pictures...

the funny thing is, i feel like i've gone through SO many cliche situations of somebody who is living by themselves for the first time. it feels like i should have a camera crew following me around. on the plus side, all of these slightly unfortunate situations have all taught me important lessons. after my first trip to the west hollywood target--which is a blog in itself--i brought home a brita faucet attachment so that i wouldn't have to carry bottled water across the street and up the stairs every week. as i began trying the different attachments that "fit most sinks", i realized that my sink apparently was not "most sinks." my dad has always taught me to read the instructions, so i flipped open the pamphlet and read: YOU MAY NOT NEED ATTACHMENT FOR FILTRATION SYSTEM TO CONNECT TO FAUCET. after tossing the faulty attachments aside and thinking to myself "why didn't i just read the instruction manual!", i forced the filtration system around my faucet. even though it wasn't connected in any way, i assumed that filtered water would still come out if i held it in place. as i awkwardly leaned over the sink (pushing the brita up against the bottom of my sad little faucet), i slipped on hand around the sink and turned the knob. not only did water come spraying at me from all different directions, it shot me directly in the eye, and then flew over my head putting the flame out of my brand new lavender candle. lesson number one: never read the instruction manual.

speaking of candles...

another interesting lesson i've learned about living by yourself has to do with wax, hardwood floors, and plastic cutlery. as i sat at the desk in my apartment yesterday morning--blogging and chatting with sara about deep dish pizza--i was enjoying the smells of my brand new candles. i couldn't find a lavender vanilla candle so i was forced to buy one small tahitian vanilla candle that came in a glass jar, and one lavender candle that looks exactly like the one pictured above. for some odd reason when i lit my candles a few hours before, it didn't occur to me what would happen as time passed and the candles started to melt. it didn't occur to me until the moment i heard the "drip. drip. dripdripdrip. dripdripdripdripdrip..." coming from the kitchen. not wanting to interrupt sara mid-story, i let out a silent f-bomb and leapt across the room to stop the wax statue that was forming alongside of the counter. and the hardwood floor. having only dripped candle wax on carpet before, i must admit i was pretty unsure about what to do. after picking at it for a while, i fumbled through a drawer and found a plastic knife. i spent the next forty five minutes scooting thick purple wax off of the floor with a tool that had most likely come from a drive thru. lesson number two: plates should be used under candles and knifes should be used for spreading peanut butter.

you know how sometimes you turn the water on to get in the shower, and then you realize you have a few other things to do first? lesson number three: unless you are building an ark, you most likely want to keep the water INSIDE the shower.

as for everything else, things seem to be falling into place one step at a time. on my second day, the cable was hooked up--and just in time too because tyler florence was making roast chicken. it only took one day of quiet for me to realize that having food network on in the background 24/7 is one of my biggest comforts.

even though it took me about three days to find jersey sheets that i didn't hate, i got my bed all set up :) i tried to make it as close to home as possible..

although i got a few more things to add to my walls today, i took some pictures earlier of my first attempts at fanny-ing the place up. the apartment itself is very quaint--nothing fancy...THIS is fancy...

...but it's starting to feel a little more like home every day.

the fridge is full of cards from the people i love most (mostly inspirational cards about moving, but some are birthday cards i just love to reread). i spend most of my time near the fridge anyway, so i figured it was a good place to have encouraging words. there are more things to hang and more pictures to take tomorrow, this was just a sneak preview. other exciting things that have happened so far...

my first dinner in my new apartment! also known as "the first supper." you really can't go wrong with pizza and beer.

my first jamba juice! definitely a winner, it reminded me a lot of smoothie king. i spent fifteen minutes looking at the menu and informed the girl that it was my first time. she then raised her eyebrows at me and responded with "REALLY?!"

i wanted her to ask her if she had ever had a cajun filet biscuit combo from bojangles before.

my first trip to birds, which is a very popular local hangout spot in franklin village. i went for the cajun grilled caesar wrap, sweet potato fries, baked mac and cheese, and buttermilk ranch and buffalo sauce for dipping. everything was great, but the sweet potato waffle fries and the ranch were the highlight of the meal.

first trip to the oaks gourmet market where my mom treated herself to the lobster club. best decision of the day. not only was the guy behind the counter extremely helpful and patient as my mom asked about almost every item on the menu, but his brother lived in charlotte. small world right? thank goodness for southern hospitality because we were treated to these...

if someone stopped me on hollywood blvd and offered me a s'muffin i'd most likely slap them in the face. so it's a good thing the man offering my mom and i free s'muffins was standing in front of a deli case. YUM.

so all in all, things have started off well! the only bad news to report is the raging 95 degree weather that decided to follow me from north carolina. had i been an eskimo, or decided to go for an apartment that actually HAS airconditioning, these circumstances might not be as brutal. but that's what these are for..

so far this is my biggest fan.

tomorrow, my mom and i go to look at a potential new living space for when my two months on beachwood drive is up. it's a brand new guest house and it's located near west hollywood in a place called miracle mile. not a bad location name for a town where 923,239 are trying to do the EXACT same thing as you. i'll keep you posted on all of my upcoming adventures, and thank you for laughing along with me at all of my mishaps. i've learned that life isn't always going to go smoothly, and the only thing you can do is laugh outloud at yourself. when an inch of water floods your bathroom, grab a snorkel. it's like that old expression: when life gives you lemons, drink coors light. you may end up with wet socks or tap water in your eye, but at least you'll have a good story to tell and advice to share with somebody else.

i've also found that when things aren't going perfectly, it's somewhat of a comfort because the truth is that everybody goes through days life that. the imperfections are what make life so hilarious, and sharing those ridiculous moments remind us that we've all been there--so it's like we're all in it together. even if we're by ourselves two thousand miles away in an apartment that feels like africa and smells like bath and body works. so i encourage all of you not just to laugh at yourself when something goes wrong--but share it, turn it into a funny story. as i dug through my glove compartment looking for napkins today, i stumbled upon these very suitable words of wisdom that my dad wrote to me many years ago.

moral of the story: shit happens.