everybody loves surfing...surfin' usa.

I didn't even realize it's been a week since our last post...so much for trying to do something on the list everyday. anyways, not much has been happening with us, mainly cus it's been about a steady 90 degrees every day. however, we did take advantage of the heat by going surfing yesterday. this was technically our second time (the first time, jer, pat, and josh were here from reno), but yesterday was the first time i really tried it. The weather was perfect and the beach was crowded, and the ocean was glorious. But it really was hot. Anyways, we rent surfboards for $8/hr and found an awesome parking spot (which i must say took us at least 15 minutes). It was so hot the sand burned my feet.

But anyways, onto surfing. I think I swallowed so much salt water that I probably shouldn't eat anything with sodium in it anytime soon. However, those gallons of water finally paid off because... i stood up ON THE SURF BOARD!!! Granted, it did take me about an hour to finally do it. Matt is pretty much an avid surfer by now, he's even thinking about looking around on craigslist to find a decently cheap board. He loves it. And I do too, even though I had a pretty nasty accident. Let's just say there's a fat and colorful bruise on my left ankle. I think I must have gotten hit by my own board, how embarassing. But hopefully it'll heal soon. We can't wait to go again!! Learning to surf really just makes San Diego that much better :)

Anyways, the pictures are still on matt's camera, but when i get a chance, we'll update some pictures. There aren't many, but we'll put them up. Anyways, I have finals this week and Matt has final projects due, so I don't know how much we'll get done off the list, but keep checking back with us :)

Update: pictures!! Matt made me put a picture of my shiner up.

ouch.

the del mar farmer's market

Today we went to the farmer's market! we also went to lunch at a restaurant called double happiness. how could you not like a restaurant with that name? anyways, we ventured down to the farmer's market and absolutely loved it. there were so many different stands, filled with fruits, vegetables, hummus (we love the hummus man), nuts, flowers, and KETTLE CORN! We spent exactly $9.50 and bought a tomato, two peaches, a grapefruit, avocado & cilantro hummus, and basil. And matt even bought me a pretty sunflower, which we named Sunny. So as part of our list, we planned an entire meal around what we bought (with some stuff we have in the pantry/bought at ralphs on our way home). We love the farmer's market!!!

Farmer's Market Dinner:
Bruschetta with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella
Salad with grilled chicken & dried cranberries
Peaches & Grapefruit
Chocolate covered frozen bananas

matt w/ sunny

After lunch and the farmer's market, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, because they transformed the museum into an architectural showcase for the summer. So we wandered through the work of 9 popular San Diego architects and saw some really cool models. If you're a student, it's completely free to go, so we definitely recommend it :) especially if you love architecture!!

lists for every season

Sorry we've been slow to update you guys. we've both had midterms and projects and we just haven't had much time (or internet, because my roommates and i just moved into our new place). however, we did come to a consensus that we want to a do a list for every season, so when school starts, be on the look out for our fall/autumn project!

the 1000-puzzle

so number 19 on our list is finish a 1000-piece puzzle. we didn't want to pay a lot for the puzzle, so we scavenger hunted on craigslist for a cheap one. after getting lost for about an hour, i finally found the house where the puzzle was and bought one for five bucks. what a steal! anyways, i'm not guaranteeing that we'll finish this anytime soon, just that we have it on hand now! so get excited...because we are!!!

wish us luck!

architecture samples

here's some examples of what i'm doing in school.


a sketch inside the USS Midway


a valve detail


my finished model for the rooftop reading room


a sketch of the reading room


a street perspective of the reading room

what i'm currently doing: designing apartment housing for newschool students

the time traveler's wife

so you know how i said i read the time traveler's wife...well today me and my roommates went to see it (although we almost saw it last night at midnight) and it was amazing. i think danielle and i cried for a good 10 minutes....actually i bawled. it did a good job of staying true to the book. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance, though i also recommend that you read the book before you watch the movie. anyways, it was a good girls bonding night, especially since we've all been dying to see this movie for months.


here's the trailer:


also i saw another really good movie coming out. it's called the blind side featuring sandra bullock. this one gave me chills too



sorrry for all the video posts lately, but i'm just so excited for all the great movies i have seen/want to see.


Update: tim mcgraw is the dad in the blind side. how different does he look!!

clouds

Cloud - These bloopers are hilarious

disney + pixar = amazing. this short movie is my new favorite...enjoy!!

very cool website

i know this is technically two posts in one day, but please just roll with it. i just found this really cool website and i wanted to share it. it really makes me think, so check it out. Honestly, how cool would it be to give free hugs for a whole day? or park your car across an intersection to help an elderly person cross the street? some of these make me appreciate being alive, others made me realize that there are some really great people in the world.


lastly,
today's our day, giants!! beat LA!

books, books, books!

so i'm trying to update this blog at least once a day (usually during class haha), but to update it everyday, i feel like we should accomplish one thing on our list every day. so far we haven't really done anything beyond making the blog and the playlists. but we did already go to a concert. and i have already read some pretty sweet books! so i think that's what i'm gonna write about...my nerdy and semi-hermit-like devotion to books. since the summer started, i think i've already finished a good handful....

here's margaret's list of books:
the time traveler's wife by audrey niffenegger
sail by james patterson
the pact by jodi picoult
the shack by william p. young
sunday at tiffany's by james patterson
harry potter and the deathly hallows by jk rowling


i think the list says i have to pass on the book, and i feel like i've done a decent job of that. i have passed the time traveler's wife onto to ranjeeta, danielle, and hopefully sharon and jessica soon. the sail was actually passed on to me by meghan and the shack was actually one of matt's books. i stole sunday at tiffany's from danielle. and i'm actually about to start another jodi picoult book (of which i can't remember the name). it was kindly lent to me by matt's mom....and it's jodi picoult so i'm pretty stoked for it. like i said, it's kind of embarassing how much of a bookworm i am.

speaking of being a bookworm, i'm really really excited because i just found out that there is a public library near matt's apartment complex! i love libraries!!!!!! i've been looking for a public library for a while (i think the one in la jolla charges an annual fee and the ucsd library never has any good novels to read). i think today i'm gonna drag matt to the library with me so we can get library cards. if i find anymore good books, i'll definitely post them on here. i really can't get over how excited i am to go to the library today :)

here's matt's list of books:
the shack by william p. young
towards a new architecture by le corbusier
the appeal by john grisham


UPDATE: this branch of the san diego public library is quite possibly the smallest library ever. i didn't check out ANY books, but i did put some on hold, so eventually, maybe i'll get some good books to read. but for now, come on giants.

the jack's mannequinn + the fray concert

So instead of paying attention in class, I'm gonna write about another check on our list. Matt's friends + brother came down to visit us in july. we had all these amazing things planned out, like riding bikes in coronado, getting pizza at Sammy's (since Jeremy is obsessed), learning to surf at the beach, etc. etc. We also bought tickets to a sweet concert headlining the fray and featuring jack's mannequinn. Six of us went to the concert (me + matt, jeremy, pat, josh, and sharon) and it was one of the best nights of summer so far! We started off with a stop at the local AM/PM, where we picked up some grub and some road sodas. of course, the concert had to be super far away at the crickett ampitheater, which is like 5 minutes from the US/mexico border, but it was worth the drive. we've been there before for the rascal flatts concert. this time, we got actual seats in the 300 section right in the middle, so we definitely had a great view.

so anyways...onto the music. some other band opened for jm & the fray, but i can't really remember who it was. jack's mannequinn was awesome. Of course, matt's favorite song, dark blue, played when he decided he needed a bathroom break, so he didn't even get to see them play. actually sharon was laughing when the guys left to grab drinks, cus she was like "omg i bet they'll play matt's favorite song right now" and five seconds later...there it was. jack's also did a sweet cover of tom petty's 'American Girl.' It practically sounded like the real version. The fray was also phenomenal. They really put on a show...for at least an hour and a half. They played all their hits, like You Found Me, Syndicate, Happiness, Where the Story Ends, etc. etc. They even played their Heartless cover of Kanye West's song. Honestly, best 20 bucks I've spent all summer (granted my roommates and i did just buy a couch for $20). If you guys can catch these dudes in concert somewhere, I definitely recommend them. So here's another check on our list of 40...go to a sweet concert :)

enjoy the pictures.

PS the giants are playing the dodgers this week. come on g-babies!

the summer 2009 playlist

we weren't kidding when we said we had started the project already. the easiest ones seem to be starting this blog and making a playlist. but it's actually way harder to pick 20 songs to define your summer (it's only 20 because only 20 songs fit on a cd). so here we go....and we're sorry if there are any overlapping songs between the two of us. can you tell we like country?

margaret's playlist
1. love drunk - boys like girls
2. down - jay sean ft. lil wayne
3. i gotta feeling - black eyed peas
4. it's a business doing pleasure with you - tim mcgraw
5. use somebody - kings of leon
6. big green tractor - jason aldean
7. you belong with me - taylor swift
8. don't trust me - 3OH!3
9. waitin' on a woman - brad paisley
10. lookin' for a good time - lady antebellum
11. summertime - kenny chesney
12. just a friend - biz markie
13. broken - lifehouse
14. everything is alright - motion city soundtrack
15. chicken fried - zac brown band
16. kiss a girl - keith urban
17. wedding dress - matt nathanson
18. life is beautiful - vega 4
19. where the story ends - the fray
20. undeniable - mat kearney


matt's playlist
1. summer nights - rascal flatts
2. smile - uncle cracker
3. out last night - kenny chesney
4. your body is a wonderland - john mayer
5. fallin' for you - colbie caillat
6. back to her - five way friday
7. by your side - tenth avenue north
8. everything is alright - motion city soundtrack
9. down the road - kenny chesney
10. sunday best - augustana
11. san francisco - brett dennen
12. what a beautiful day - chris cagle
13. dream girl - dave matthews band
14. mellow mood - slightly stoopid
15. 31 flavors - trevor hall
16. margaritaville - jimmy buffet
17. you found me - the fray
18. honey let me sing you a song - matt hires
19. roll if you fall - barefoot truth
20. other ways - trevor hall

our summer project

hello world,

we're matt and margaret. and we are in love. with summer. and each other.

we know this is kind of silly and dumb, but we think it's a great idea, so just play along with us. this is the beginning of our blog and our project. this is our project for summer 2009. i know it's a little late, but we just started a list of 40 things we want to do this summer. today is august 10, but this is not our start date. the beginning of our project is the beginning of summer. school starts officially (for margaret) on september 24...that is the day we determine whether or not we succeeded on our project. follow along with us and see how many things we can accomplish.

here's our list of 40:
1. enroll in a scuba diving class
2. start a blog
3. learn to surf
4. road trip!!!
5. create a summer 2009 playlist
6. build a really good sandcastle
7. go hiking/backpacking
8. have a sleepover with pizza and movies
9. get a summer job during the summer for the fall
10. bake a really good pie
11. stay up all night to watch the sunrise
12. build a fort and watch movies all day
13. buy a beach cruiser surf board
14. go skinny dipping
15. organize a scavenger hunt (with pirate hats)!
16. buy sparklers and have a party
17. have one...maybe 2...housewarming parties
18. build a time capsule
19. (buy and) finish a 1000-piece puzzle
20. host an eating contest eat-a-thon
21. go to a baseball game
22. find a really good drive-in movie
23. have a picnic on the beach
24. place a bet at the del mar races
25. go to a haunted house
26. find a cool piece of art (and hang it in your room)
27. pick wildflowers
28. go to a concert
29. plan a trip somewhere
30. watch 500 days of summer
31. read a really good book (and maybe pass it on)
32. win something from a claw machine
33. eat at a new pizzeria
34. fly a kite
35. go to a farmers market (and plan an entire meal from what you buy)
36. make lemonade
37. have a bonfire
38. run through sprinklers
39. learn to BBQ ribs
40. have the best date ever :)

so there's our list. keep checking back for the random things and pictures we'll put up. wish us luck and feel free to add suggestions to our list.

~margaret (and matt)