dream big, people.

why would you be satisfied with any ol' jack-o-lantern?


when you could have a barak-o-lantern?


or a barak-o-biden-lantern?


and, being the political neutralist that i am, i'm still lookin' for the mccain-o-palin-lantern. any takers?

snadorable.

she's works hard for the money.

sometimes at work, i get to draw pictures. it's embarassing. what's so bad about drawing pictures, you ask. well, nothing. as long as you're not attempting to recreate structural and architectural drawings with nothing more than a piece of paper, a pen (no room for mistakes) and the skills i picked up in my drafting classes.

wait, i didn't take drafting classes. uh-oh.

prepare yourself.

exhibit a.


this is the most recent photographic evidence of my idiocy. apparently, i couldn't be bothered to use a ruler during this creative process. in addition, i basically asked the architect to do something that may not even be possible structurally. i can only imagine the guffaws emitted on the receiving end of that email. buh.

by the way, i'm sure you realized, but it's not to scale.

i love my job.

countdown to election day.

as most of you know, we're in a countdown to election day. i'm ashamed to admit, but this is one of the first years i've been aware of the political issues on the table and really made an effort to educate myself. better late than never, right? it's been very enlightening to listen to debates, read articles and even do some campaigning related to the november 4 election. as we get closer and closer to the big day, there have been a frenzy of pep-imbibed emails being sent out about keepin' the momentum right up until the last possible millisecond. it's the final countdown, people!

which makes this juicy bit even more applicable...sort of.



if that's not inspiring, i don't know what is!

hello lover.

uuuuhrka.

this is my coworker erica. she makes me laugh. a lot. we're friends 'cause she laughs at all my jokes. even the dumb ones. and sometimes she laughs even when i don't make jokes. it's funny. but sometimes she doesn' laugh. like, when i screw up the billing or don't approve my invoices on time. mostly, we just laugh.
erica has a new best friend. her name is valentina. erica loves valentina more than all the cholulas in the whole world. now, erica says: "cholula who? have you met my friend valentina?" whenever she says that, we laugh.

desperate attempts at opposition.

i've recently had an opportunity to work with victims of vandalizing in conjunction with YES on proposition 8. i am shocked and appalled by the reports rolling in of slashed tires, broken windows, swastikas on fences and much more. so, when i saw this video this morning, i had to laugh. and then post it straightaway.



in the final days of the fight for this cause, we must not lose our momentum. sure, opposers can steal our signs, slash our tires and break our windows, but they can never, NEVER take our voices! and, ultimately, that's what this is all about - preserving an individuals right to speak freely. regardless of your sexual orientation, will you allow that right to be taken away?
vote YES on prop 8.

top that.

in case you can't tell, i've spent a good portion of the past week blogging about pop culture and other frivolities. maybe i'm subconsciously trying to add levity after days of political blogging. or maybe i'm attempting to drown my general dissatisfaction with my life in an endless round of pop music videos, dreamboat pics of lee pace and videos of snl skits. who knows? at any rate, i'm only mildly embarrassed to share my love of all things pop culture with the world.

for today, i hearken back to the days of acid washed jeans and hot pink scrunchies. you know you love it. listen up, ladies. there's some very insightful dialogue about men in here. can anyone name this movie?



oh, and for all you worried mother-types out there, i'm not dissatisfied with my life. maybe just mildly annoyed that i can't find an occupation that requires me to lay out on the beach, sipping fruity beverages and chatting on facebook all day. if you have that job and your company has any openings, you let me know. in the meantime, just know that i love my life. even if i do have to do my own laundry and scrub my own toilets. it's my trial to endure. yes, pity me.

happy birthday, shari!

shari is the cutest sister-in-law a girl could ask for! she is all sweetness and love. and, in case you haven't noticed, she's currently incubatin' some more nephews for me! yep, we're havin' twins! she's been a most fantastic addition to the family! well done, benny-boy. well done!

think of lee, think of lee fondly.

meet lee pace. object of my latest obsession. if you're ever going to have a celebrity crush, he's the man to be crushin' on. as ned the piemaker in pushing daisies, he's quite delicious. throw a little moody pianist in the mix a la miss pettigrew lives for a day and i'm sunk.

i rarely get celebrity crushes. or crushes at all, for that matter. but, on the off chance that i DO develop a crush, it generally becomes an obsession. i'll gorge myself on the object of my affection well past the line of ridiculousness. i can't help it, i have an addictive personality. in the case of celebrity crushes, i'll google them, rent every movie they've ever starred in and bring him up in conversations as much as possible. like i said, ridiculous.

i won't tell you what i do when i have a real life crush. like with someone that i actually interact with on a regular basis. it's scary. no, really. you'd be scared. anyway. back to lee.

i've been exceptionally obsessed the past few weeks. it could be that pushing daises has started a new season and i'm getting a regular dose. or it could be that i just happened to see that target has miss pettigrew on sale right now. whatever the reason, tonight, as i settle into my bed with a diet coke in my hand and lee pace on the telly, i sigh with a silly little grin and dream of life as mrs. lee pace. what? it could happen.

if only he'd answer one of the six hundred and forty three letters i've sent. i'm sure he's just busy. you know, bein' a celebrity and all.

who's your celebrity crush?

scooby dooby doo.

the week in videos.

okay, i'm totally obsessed with beyonce's single ladies (put a ring on it) music video right now. more specifically, i'm obsessed with beyonce's body in the video right now. she looks UH-mazing! not a jiggly bit on her. seriously. ridicalous. i'm embarrassed enough to be blogging about it, so i couldn't possibly post the video.

no really. i couldn't possibly.

too embarrassing.

i couldn't.

oh, alright. but don't watch it if you're in any way sensitive to divalicious women wearing what equates to about as much as a swimming suit while shakin' what her mama (and personal trainer) gave her. i'm just sayin' - i never pretended to be something other than a total pop culture fanatic.

roll it.



now that i'm thoroughly depressed by the fact that i'll never have legs like beyonce, please excuse me while i drown my sorrows in saltines and water.

halloween festivating.

oh, man. knott's scary farm got the juices flowin' last week and it just keeps gettin' better! the halloween party invites are rollin' in and i'm getting more excited by the minute! i've even managed to show a couple of halloween grinches the joys of dressing up - robot costume, anyone? in true paula fashion, i have two halloween costumes - le work costume and le weekend party costume. it's gonna be good times. good times, indeed. and yes, there will be photos. lots and lots of photos. stay tuned!

ridiculous, i know.

edward cullen has ruined me for any other man. yes, i realize that he's a fictional character. doesn't matter. if he's not edward, i'm not interested.

day o' politics.

i'm not usually too big on politics (yeah, yeah - shame on me, i know), but this year i've watched a good portion of all the debates and spent some time readin' up on all the candidates and their campaigns. my favorite part about keepin' up with the campaigning is that the snl skits are so much funnier. no, seriously, they are. anyway. a lot has been said about sarah palin - good and bad. regardless of whether or not you love her, you're gonna love this video.

prop 8 fashion

who says prop 8 politicos can't be fashionistas, too? not i. i'm not generally one to wear my heart on my sleeve. or my cause on my shirt, for that matter. but these prop 8 shirts are cute, inexpensive and for a good cause. what more reason do you need?

warms the heart, eh?

hey batter, batter.

just two weeks ago (give or take), the single adults of the church were counseled to invest a HUGE amount of time promoting prop 8 in any and every way possible. on sunday, the leaders of the church narrowed our focus a bit - we have been asked to make over 1 million phone calls leading up to the november 4 vote. from reminding the YES voters to actually vote to explaining to the undecided voters why it's so important to vote YES, there'll be many calls made over the next two weeks.
yesterday, was the first day of the new campaign and, i must admit, it wasn't too bad. there's a new-fangled internet system that initiates all the calls. all you have to do is wait for it to connect and jump right into the schpiel. and considering that in addition to yesterday, i'll be making calls today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day and many days after that until november 4, i'm glad the powers that be have made it easy on me. yeah, i'm lazy like that.
i'm so proud of all the single adults that have stepped up to the plate. mind you, there have been some grumblers - and admittedly, i haven't always been the sunshiniest about it - but for the most part, people are pushin' up their sleeves and gettin' to work. it's a sight to see.
now, if only i could get them all to choir.

absolutely incredible.

blogs of yore.

this week, i spent some time going back through old blog posts. i started this blog when i moved to california in 2005. man, i've had some good times since then! anyway, i came across an ode to california posted awhile back. it made me smile and i thought i'd share. what do YOU love about california?

birthdays and bum taps.

this year, adam and i gave seth weezer tickets for his birthday, only to realize later that the concert actually fell on adam's birthday. so, in honor of adam's birth, we went above and beyond mere concert attendance. we decided to play tourist and hit up a couple of california landmarks before headin' off to the concert. as usual, hilarity ensued.
after we got our fill of the hollywood sign, we tooled around beverly hills a bit. dinner in westwood revitalized us for the trek to inglewood for the concert. the relationships, tokyo police club and then angels & airwaves opened the show. during the breaks, we had some fun with the camera. adam took a time or two to get himself in the shot. while we waited for him to figure it out, seth and i got fresh. don't judge. it's how we roll. oh, and please note our matching t-shirts. that glow in the dark. hell-O! awesome.
and finally, along came weezer. they killed it! it was one of the most energetic concerts i've been to in a long time. the crowd went crazy the entire time - it was out of control. if you ever get the chance to see weezer in concert - do it!

things are lookin' up.

iron(ing) maiden(s)

i was lucky enough to score a few tickets to the rock band live concert in la this weekend. we kicked it in a sweet suite while listenin' to the cab, plain white t's, dashboard confessional and panic at the disco. it was good times. the best part was when we got the chance to compete for some stage time. we got our band of four together and gave the rock band 2 our best shot.


here we are. the iron(ing) maiden(s). get it? it's okay if you don't. most people didn't.


we took our places. see how i settled right into the drums and was ready for my closeup? that's what you call a natural. yeah. i'm kind of a big deal. people know me. our bass player was a girl krystle managed to coerce into playing with us at the last minute. and the rockin' began.


in those first bars of music, we WERE the all-american rejects and the dirty little secrets were ours to keep. see how i'm singing AND drumming? like i said, natural.

after about 4.7 seconds...we failed.


i was sad. really sad.


but we walked away with our heads held high. krystle was most sad but perked right up when she saw the plain white t's at the table down from us. it took a bit to tear her away, but we made it back to the suite just in time to catch dashboard and panic. we drowned our sorrows in hot dogs and nachos. good times.

tall drink o' water.

okay, okay. i'm a little late on the tribute, but i came across this photo again today and just had to post it. that paul newman. what a babe! seriously, it's rare that i lose my cool over a man, but he's got me all kinds of overheated. ridiculous enough for you?! i hope so. yeowsas! i'm considering a newman night - cool hand luke, maybe. any takers?

the divine institution of marriage.

tonight, we had a special satellite fireside with elders ballard, cook and clayton regarding proposition 8: the amendment to protect marriage. elder ballard specifically asked the young adults of the church to utilize the internet to encourage others to support prop 8. the campaign needs callers, sign posters and anyone willing to chat, but all of that will be worthless if the californians don't get out and vote! for more information, visit: http://www.protectmarriage.com.

halloweenie.

i heart halloween. which, given some of the horrifying experiences i had as a child, is mildly surprising. werewolves and boogeymen be damned, the affinity remains. mostly, it's just because i love dressing up. cocktail parties or monster mashes - if it requires a new outfit, i'm there.

angel and i have started putting together our costumes - yes, plural - for this year. oh, man. i'm so excited! we may or may not be roping two find young men into the insanity with us. poor suckers. they're gonna love it. you are, too. just wait. to hold you over in the meantime, here's a quick recap on the past few years' costumed delights. like a fine wine, my costumes are gettin' better with age (can you SAY that about halloween costumes?!). or more ridiculous. you be the judge. but keep it to yourself. my self-esteem is not particularly high this week. i can't handle the criticism. oh, enough of the emotion! let's recap.

my first halloween in the oc, i kicked it old skool and adopted a fringe and feather look. i'd always wanted to be a flapper. the hair, the pearls. good times.


the next year, marge and i had a great time paintin' the town. granted, i've never actually SEEN star wars, but even i know who princess leia is. home sewn? yes. totally awesome? you betcha!


and then last year, angel and i whipped these babies up then roped jared and kombod into sporting my latest creations. i may or may not have been sewing fred's spots on into the wee hours of the morn before the party. but, at the end of the day, when we had the award for best group costume and everyone was wantin' to meet the flinstones, it was totally worth it.


next up: it's a secret. for now, let it suffice to say that you're gonna LOVE it! be excited (or afraid)!

blast from the past.

you know how when you're a pre-teen, you think you're so cool? like, rockin' the side pony, the boys all love you 'cause you roll your socks and peg your pants cool? yeah, that was me. as far as i was concerned, i was the hottest little thing on the block. and my family wasn't far behind on the cool scale. we had it goin' on.

exhibit a.


you gotta love the color coordinating pictures, right? right?! RIGHT?!?! oh, please. don't act like your mama didn't make you do it. mostly, i have to laugh at the looks on each of our faces. apparently, i am ecstatic to be there at olan mills. and i love that i'm a head taller than both of my brothers, one of which is just older than me. yeah. it was an awkward stage.

and then there were the visits to gram's.


i'm pretty sure my little sister is in a nightie. and i'm mildly embarrased to think of my darling gram in sassy red high heels, let alone trompin' around in that slinky little number. and mr. stetson in the back there is freakin' me out with his crrraaaazzzzyyyy eye. next to the gangsta cowboy, ramona's wearin' enough layers to run the iditarod in perfect comfort. far as i can tell, brittney and i are the only ladies of the group. although, i am lookin' pretty scandalous in my off the shoulder confection. thanks for the memories, gram!

and last, but certainly, not least, we've got the davis family photo (parentals included). oh, man. aren't we a bunch o' hotties? we've got fullets, flat tops and flowy necklines. that's right folks. we're a family o' lookers. always have been.


you know, after awhile, the chokers (that i DISTINCTLY remember my mama sewing minutes before the photos were taken) and crazy hair styles (doesn't ben look like that guy from kid 'n play?) kinda grow on you. besides, ruffled necklines and chokers were the fashion du jour. thanks, mom, for keepin' your finger on the fashion pulse. otherwise, this family photo would've been SO embarassing.

and the coolness lives on. just try to deny it. i dare you.


mind you, we're not perfect. just super cool. crazy eye is now crazy hair. and yes, that's miss red high heels in the front row. ben traded the bandanas and general gangsta-ness for striped buttondowns (a marked improvement, i might add) and ramona abandoned the iditarod gear for a happy grin and general awesomeness. we've got lots more babies now - ben, brice and little regina have all contributed to our growing numbers. all in all, my family is lookin' GOOD. always have, always will.

viva le davis clan.

two thumbs way, way up.

two thumbs, you say. lemme 'splain. michael cera is adorable. and his co-star ain't bad neither. there are some pretty great one-liners in this movie delivered as only michael cera could. yes, he's a bit of a one trick pony. but as of right now, the trick's not old yet. i've talked to a few people that HATED this movie. i can't understand why. i mean, sure it's totally teeny-bopper. but it's not like we don't know that going in. it's adorable. in fact, if you need a movie buddy, i'm in for part deux. call me.

fun while it lasted.

after a wonderful week together, it's over. and all i'm left with is this emptiness. isn't that just the way love is sometimes? buh. lucky for me, unlike my last boyfriend, i can just run to the grocery store and get a perfectly satisfactory replacement. wait a minute. hmm.

a hobby, if you will.

i love to spoon. anywhere, anytime and with anyone. almost. okay, maybe not ANYONE. but i do love it so. there's just something so absolutely delightful about it. okay, so now that you think i'm a total freak. moving on.


last night was nat's final evening at the granite palace. the eternal slumber party had come to an end. we wrapped it up with a trip to powell's sweet shoppe for some delicious gelatto and then headed back to the granite palace for some project runway. martha got me addicted to it when we lived together, so it was the least i could do to pay it forward.


oh, natalie. have fun in utah. we'll miss you here in cali. the beaches'll miss you, too. and the awesome restaurants. and powell's sweet shoppe. and all the boys bangin' down the door to take you on a date. and our tivo will miss you. but most of all, i'll miss you. yep, it's true.

ain't he cute?

miss martha.

in honor of martha's birthday, i'd like to make a list of the things i love about her. well, some of them, anyway. we both know there's way too many to count. here we go:

1. getting lost in LA everytime, and i mean EVERYtime, we went there
2. the plethora of pet names (po-po, honey, pau, bunny, mar, muffin, peanut)
3. coming home and busting her watching the hills after months of her ridiculing me about the fact that i was totally addicted. along with the fact that she STILL watches it. even though she has to sneak it from her parents.
4. our mutual affinity for queen latifah
5. her crush on zac effron (a la hairspray, not hsm)
6. zz top
7. the christian bale shrine
8. martha poppy corn
9. rock band
10. saturday spoonin'
11. project runway
12. piano duets
13. peralta/archuletta '08
14. rob & big

i'm sure there are many more things i love but forgot to mention, but that's just a short list of the delights that have been my life with martha so far. she's the best bestie ever ever EVER! yep, it's true.

happy birfday, peanut.

california dreamin'

in a race against the clock, i hauled buns to laguna beach from my office trying to catch some backlighting to fulfill my latest photography assignment. i was too late for much backlighting but i managed to make it just in time to catch the last few minutes of the sunset.


ain't it purty? some days i can't wait for the next relocation adventure. but most days i wonder how i ever lived without all of the california delights. on days like today, days with waves and the sunsets, i can't imagine ever leaving. california livin' is the way to go, m'friends. until the next adventure, anyway.

nothin' but love

it was a whirlwind weekend - paula style. sealings, ceremonies, and so you think you can dance. good times, good times. i'm exhausted but wouldn't have missed any of it for the world. i guess it all started early this week, with cassie's super fun bachelorette party.


matt and cassie were sealed in the san diego temple on friday night. i had the honor of being cassie's escort in the temple. it was a wonderful experience. the bride's rooms are glorious and i was happy to share that moment with cassie. it's funny, we were talking on friday just before they were sealed, and we realized that cassie and i are friends because of visiting teaching. we were in the same ward for years but it wasn't until i, along with martha and tessa, starting visiting teaching her that we became great friends. funny how that works, eh?


saturday, matt and cassie had a ring ceremony. kim, tessa and i cut and arranged flowers, set up tables and placed food for hours before the ceremony. the culmination of it all was a beautiful ring ceremony. i am so happy for matt and cassie and wish them much happiness in the coming years. they are a great match.


and THEN, on saturday night, we rushed from the reception and headed up to anaheim for the so you think you can dance tour. oh, that was some seriously good times. i was able to score 10 tickets (thanks, angel!) to the show, so i grabbed some peeps and we headed up. a good time was had by all and we clapped, laughed and did a little dancin' of our own. good times, good times.
life is good, ya'll.

some things never change.

i'm holding a picture of myself in the 5th grade. in case you were wondering, yes, i've always been this awesome. i give you full permission to be jealous.

did i mention i convinced natalie to try the look?

i am what i am.

i am many things. athletic is not one of them. i love many things. kayaking is not one of them. what i DO love is making my friends laugh. prepare to do so. during seth's birthday weekend, we spent most of the time at the beach. i was coerced into trying my hand at kayaking. hilarity ensued. mind you, this is only a smidgeon of the delight that was me kayaking that day, but you'll get the gist of the experience as a whole.

seth's birfday

this weekend, the peeps gathered in santa barbara to celebrate seth's birthday. oh, how we laughed.

we went to the beach.

we took pictures in front of the whale.

seth loves whales.

happy birthday, seth! who knew we could have so much fun with a stack of envelopes?!

groupie love.

i've been a not-so-closet fan of jason mraz for years. i regularly frequent his website to peruse his travel journals and tour photographs. look, don't judge me. if you can't be honest with your blog readers (whoever you are), who CAN you be honest with?! anyway. okay, then. the man is a genius. lyrically, dude's got it goin' on. that's all i'm saying. which is why i don't know why i waited so long to buy his latest album. i'm halfway through the first listen and just had to blog about it. yeah, i'm a groupie like that.

love it.

the side effects of singleness.

you know, sometimes i'm pretty good at convincing myself that i'm not worried about being single forever. i'll get all settled into my awesome schedule in my awesome life which includes awesome friends and lots of other general awesomeness. most days, i feel pretty good about my place in this world. and then i read articles like this. awesome.

ain't i domestic?!

over the past few years, i've really developed a love for sewing projects. that may or may not be directly related to my parent's sewing machine gift awhile back. at any rate, i love to sew.
the women in the ward decided to get together to make a friendship quilt. everyone selected 4 fabrics they liked and they felt "represented" who they were as individuals. being ineffible, i had a hard time finding fabric for my quilt. as i dug through my fabric bins, i found this delightful little cowboy print. and, right alongside cowboys, i love polka dots. i have tons of polka dot fabric. luckily, i happened to have a bit in my favorite color - RED! so, i packed up the cowboys and dots and headed on down to tall mouse to find some matching fabrics. two weeks later - voila! i've got a quilt square. oh, so the idea is that everyone makes 24 of their own square and then we all swap. so, at the end of it all, i'll have 24 different quilt squares, one of which will be my very own cowboy, polka dottie number. yea-hoo!

miss natalie

our beloved natalie is back from her european gallivant. she's crashin' at our place for the next few weeks and we are ECSTATIC to have her back - even if it's only for a little while! so, last night, we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning laughing like loons and chattin' with the aussies. our roommates hate us (sorry, paola!) and i'm not exactly at the top of my game today, but there's nobody i'd rather suffer with. besides, it was totally worth it to get my new nickname: spooner! australia, here we come!