198/365

~6:00pm on July 17, 2010 in Escondido, CA.

when the sun is really low and bright, and i'm not driving, i love leaning my face towards the warm sun and soaking it in.
:-)

~n

197/365

late afternoon, July 16, 2010 in Julian, CA.

it was such a beautiful day today, and i was lucky enough to spend part of it outside. i looked up just in time to see the sun streaking through the trees and was shocked that the picture came out as good as it did!
:-)

~n

196/365

10:30pm on July 15, 2010 in Pacific Beach, CA.

i visited one of my favorite happy hour spots today with some friends. one of the things i love about it is that it's right on the boardwalk at the beach, and no matter how late i leave there are always people outside enjoying the ocean and taking a walk. so imagine my surprised when i found the boardwalk nearly empty. i just couldn't resist capturing the view!
:-)

~n

195/365

11:00pm on July 14, 2010 at home.

have you ever had one of those days when you just see things differently? i had one today. i have no idea why, but i found the oven with these two dish towels VERY fascinating. sometimes you can find art in the simplest things
:-)

~n

194/365

6:30pm on July 13, 2010 at home.

i'm not going to lie. living with my mom in a 1-bedroom apartment until she moves into a new house is not easy. that being said, it does have its perks. case in point - FOOD :-)
these are her home made empanadas. my favorite are the beef, although her cheese & onion ones are quickly gaining ground.
by the way, this picture doesn't even come close to doing them justice!
:-)

~n

193/365

mid-day on July 12, 2010 in Vista, CA.

it all started with a banana....
i don't have many decorations at my desk at work, but i can't resist displaying some random items here and there. for example, my sticker collection. not just any stickers, though. these are all fruit stickers. you'll all be happy to know that since this photo was taken, i've added a couple of apricot stickers.
:-)

~n

192/365

11:00pm on July 11, 2010 at home.

ahhhhh.... freshly painted toes..... :-)

~n

191/365

~7:00pm on July 10, 2010 in San Marcos, CA.

one of the things i love about california is that one minute you can be in the hustle and bustle of a town center, and blocks away you can find yourself completely alone with nature. this was taken outside of a new development, on a road that i never knew existed until today!
:-)

~n

190/365

mid-afternoon on July 9, 2010 at home.

i love my books. and while i don't have the free time or the focus to read as much as i'd like to lately, i could collect new books every day and never get tired.
nothing beats the smell of the paper pages of a new book... or better yet, the smell of a library book :-)

~n

189/365

~11:30pm on July 8, 2010 at home.

one last look at my hanging lantern before i close my eyes for some beauty sleep.... :-)

~n

188/365

~9:00pm on July 7, 2010 at home.

who says ikea products all have to look the same?? this may not be product photography by any means, but it does show off the product design. this is a white metal tea light lantern, as seen from above. it's the perfect amount of glow for sitting outside on a cool summer night. :-)

~n

187/365

late night on July 6, 2010 at home.

i wish i could remember more information about this charm... i can say it's asian... hand-crafted... and has some wonderful symbolism that completely eludes me at the moment. i promise to post more info when i get it. in the meantime, it just looks pretty :-)

~n

186/365

midday on July 5, 2010 in San Diego, CA.

we had to move some stuff around at the storage unit today, but we had my nephew with us. being a 2-yr-old, he's just a wee bit hyper.... until you start a movie. thank goodness for dvd's and animal crackers!! :-)

~n

185/365

~11:00am on July 4, 2010 in Irvine, CA.

i attended a house blessing / house warming get-together today. the ceremony was quite long, but thankfully it was so casual that we could eat and chat during the whole blessing! my favorite part was probably seeing all the different offerings that were gathered for the gods. i'll definitely keep those in mind for the next time i move.
:-)

~n

184/365

~2:00pm on July 3, 2010 in Oceanside, CA.

Oceanside beach is still one of my favorite beaches ever, and i especially love the pier. it's got a peaceful and exciting vibe both at the same time.
this afternoon the pier was busy, but what caught my eye was how relaxing the boats looked. i would've loved to be one of the people floating on the pacific this afternoon!
:-)

~n

183/365

~10:00pm on July 2, 2010 at home.

what to photograph today...? what do i feel like shooting....? how about my sheets! yep, that's right. the bed sheets. why? no idea. why not?! :-)

~n

182/365

~6:00pm on July 1, 2010 in La Jolla, CA.

there was major traffic on the freeway today, so i took a side road. unfortunately, so did everyone else. thankfully, by this point i could look back and laugh at all the fools that were still behind me and waiting for their turn at the traffic light.
:-)

~n

181/365

midday on June 30, 2010 at home.

this is a photo of my mom and nephew racing each other with his toy carts. a sudden burst of energy? nope. my nephew is now quite fond of forcing one of us to race with him through the living room. and this is why we all have back pain now
:-)

~n

180/365

~11:00pm on June 29, 2010 at home.

as usual, my day ended with a visit to my computer to take a quick look at the latest happenings. i couldn't concentrate, so i took a picture of the keys instead :-)

~n

179/365

sometime during a timeless void, on June 28, 2010 in Vista, CA (work).

oh, planner, how you tease me so. while i sit at me desk, wishing i was anywhere else but at the office, you sit there flaunting your puffy white clouds and peaceful hammock in the shade of a palm tree. someday i'll be in that hammock. mark my words... someday i'll be in that hammock....
:-/

~n

178/365

~4:00pm on June 27, 2010 at home.

to get into the spirit of the world cup, i stopped by BevMo and got some quilmes beer. yummmmmm.
move over corona, there's a new beer in the fridge.
:-)

~n

177/365

~8:00pm on June 26, 2010 in San Diego, CA

this is what happens when you mix a room full of artists, a bunch of magnetic letters, and a fridge.
:-)

~n

176/365

12:45pm on June 25, 2010 in Vista, CA.

this is still one of my favorite travel souvenirs. i bought this rosary at a street fair in Mendoza, Argentina during my last trip there in 2007.
:-)

~n

175/365

10:00pm on June 24, 2010 at home.

i have to admit there's a part of me that still gets giddy at the sight of school supplies, especially if they're in fun colors like this notebook! it makes me want to spend my days sketching everything in sight and spreading elmer's glue on my hands to peel it off after it dries :-)

~n

174/365

12:30pm on June 23, 2010 in Vista, CA.

since we haven't seen farmville or mafia wars enough on facebook, 7-11 has decided to make them into slurpees. yes, you read that correctly. slurpees. with farmville.
:-/

~n

173/365

~11:00pm on June 22, 2010 at home.

i have the bad habit of treating my sunglasses horribly, so i never like to spend more than $10 or $15 on a pair. thank goodness for LA! i picked these up during my trip to the fashion district and still love them.
:-)

~n

172/365

~10:00pm on June 21, 2010 at home.

Akayla loves notebooks. and sketchbooks. and journals. so it was no surprise that she was journaling a bit tonight when i was looking for inspiration.... but i promise that i didn't force her to write this!
:-)

~n

171/365

~9:00am on June 20, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA.

a quiet moment of contemplation before we head out of the hotel... :-)

~n

170/365

~6:00pm on June 19, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA.

the fashion district... where the LA dogs smell like heaven, the traffic sounds like hell, and the mannequins all have JLo booties.
:-)

~n

169/365

~6pm on June 18, 2010 in San Diego, CA.

there was heavy traffic on my ride home from work today. again.
i took the Carmel Valley route home today. again.
i looked out my window while sitting in an intersection (again) and was caught off guard by how pretty these wildflowers looked. they made me smile :-)

~n

168/365

~6pm on June 17, 2010 in San Diego, CA.


this turned out to be one of those views that looked great in person but turned out to be tougher to capture than i thought.
this was taken in Carmel Valley, as i sat in line for a stop sign intersection... it made my heavy commute feel not so heavy today :-)

~n

167/365

~7am on June 16, 2010 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA.


thank goodness for modern technology! i probably wouldn't say that if i was just traveling with friends, but when there's a 2-yr-old involved i quickly learned to appreciate the power of a movie screen... no matter how small that screen is
:-)

~n

166/365

9am on June 15, 2010 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA.

bacon on the grill! i expected to love this. bacon = awesome. grill = awesome. bacon on the grill = not so awesome. the taste was wonderful, but we quickly realized that bacon drips way too much and that makes it very easy for nice big fires to start. not to worry, nothing burned down :-)

~n