Thank You

I started this project as a creative outlet for my writing, as a space to organize and clarify my own thoughts about weddings and marriage, and as a space to advocate for local businesses and therefore support economic diversity and sustainability. Along the way, I've already had the opportunity to interact with numerous other bloggers, and my own wedding and life experience is already enriched by the developing dialogue.  I'm lucky that they seem to feel the same way, and several bestowed the Kreativ Blogger Award upon my little project here at A Los Angeles Love.

I, on the other hand, have been terribly remiss in not posting a huge thank you.  Also, according to the internet rules for this thing, I'm supposed to post seven facts about myself and pass this award along to seven other blogs. Unfortunately, I am the woman where chain letters go to die, so passing along this award isn't going to happen.  However, in the spirit of etiquette and true appreciation, I am going to reply with a hearty thanks to the three ladies who tagged me.

• The Bowie Bride:  I love Britt's exuberance, writing, and all-out-fun.  (Have you read her Hipster Bride Style Guide?  If not, go now.) Also, I love pretty much every single one of her wedding ideas. If I were having the urban loft danceparty, I'm almost sure we would have had twin weddings, completely inadvertently, because I like her style. 
  
• Westside Wedding: We're in this L.A. budget battle together, and Westside has been sharing excellent lifesaving tips, iphone apps and google doc spreadsheets that make the local wedding planning madness easier.  Also, I grew up on the Westside, and I love that someone is representing, even if it's not perceived as nearly as cool as the (so-called) Eastside. I know and love its hidden corners (and qualitatively improved air quality.)
  
• A Cupcake Wedding: She quotes Neruda, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Method Man, and has embraced the cake-alternative movement too.  What more do you need to know about her awesomeness?
  

I love these ladies and have them all in my google reader.  But I also love a ton of other ladies out here in wedding blogland, so I don't really want to choose seven presumed favorites from among them.  So I'm sending a heartfelt thanks to the ladies who tagged me, to all the other readers who have been stopping by, and to all the blogs that have inspired me along the way in this little writing endeavor.  I appreciate the dialogue we have going here and elsewhere on each of your own sites. And as for those seven random facts about me (in case you hadn't gleaned enough from this blog already):

• I grew up in Los Angeles, but despised it here.  I always knew I belonged in San Francisco or London. I lived away from L.A. for six years but ended up back here when I ran out of money for traveling. About five years ago, I decided I'd either get my dream job or get a job that earned me enough money to finance a move to San Francisco, whichever came first. I got my dream job the next month and I've never looked back. I genuinely believe that life is what you make of it and so I search out those aspects of this city that I love and try to overlook what I don't.  
• I played rugby in college and briefly in Santa Monica. This always elicits surprise, because I do not look like your mental image of a rugby player.  And yes, I was entirely badass.
  
• I studied abroad in Kenya and did a month-long research project on cultural change in Maasai-land.  I lived in a Maasai village for the duration of that month.  It changed my life in a multitude of ways.
• I lived in Madrid for two years after college.  I taught English, immersed myself in Spanish, Argentinian, and British culture (my roommates were from Argentina and my colleagues were all British), and took full advantage of the Madrid nightlife scene.  I came back to the U.S. speaking English with a British accent and Castellano with an Argentinian accent.  I was a glorious linguistic mess.
  
• I am a giant policy wonk nerd and news junkie.  NPR, NYT, Calculated Risk, Paul Krugman, numerous environmental policy newsletters, LAist, LAObserved, and numerous other Sacramento and DC blogs and online papers are daily must-reads (along with an ever-growing wedding blog list).
• I am not cool (see item above).  I shop at Anne Taylor Loft for work and can't be bothered with a significant degree of originality beyond that in my free time (and with my "spare" money).  I try to compensate with funky accessories and decent jeans.  Sometimes it works. 
• I like bad puns, wordplay, and anything that pokes fun at itself. 
  

So yeah, that's seven aspects of me.  I'm enjoying the process of meeting all of you in the comments and in your various blogs.  So thank you for stopping by and feel free to drop me an email anytime to say hi or share some great L.A. tips (wedding related or otherwise).