play me like i am made of strings

Everything seems more official if you blog about it. So I'm going to officially announce my problem. And it's a serious one that I have addressed many times, but forget about in the instant it takes to buy an unnecessary headband. I have a shopping problem. Now I know what you're thinking. Every girl loves to shop. It's normal. But I recently went through my pay stubs from this summer and it's depressing how much money I've made and how much I actually have. Where did it all go?? I have honestly been trying to find a second job, but it's been a slow process. And getting a job at J. Crew is the stupidest thing I could have done, because I rationalize all of my purchases. A $12 cardigan doesn't seem so bad, but when it becomes a weekly occurrence- well that adds up.

I remember reading a paragraph in Confessions of a Shopaholic where the main character describes how walking into a store makes her feel safe and happy. How she loves touching all of the clothes and seeing all the pretty colors and the thrill of making a purchase and that warm feeling you get when you leave the store completely satisfied. I totally knew where she was coming from. And that's scary.

So this is my official statement of shopping abstinence. My name is Ynna Padilla and I shop too much. I am going to try and go 30 days without spending money. And to help myself see how much I do spend, I'm going to write all of my expenses on this nifty little thing so not only I, but my loyal readers can track my frivolity. Wish me luck!

19

happy 19th birthday maren!

Maren Bennett was my first friend when my family moved to Lancaster. We met in primary and were never in the same class all the way through elementary and middle school and finally had class together our senior year. I have grown up with Maren and her whole family is like my second family. We played Barbies together after church, I had my first sleepover at Maren's house and we always get in trouble for laughing during the prayers at church. Still.
I love Maren because she has always been such a good example to me. I have always looked up to her in every situation. She's brilliant, hilarious and so, so beautiful. My favorite thing about Maren is how much I laugh when I'm with her. I can't even begin to think of all the inside jokes, nicknames for boys and stupid secrets we have. We are very similar in so many ways, but complete opposites in others. We have a joke that I am always the mean one in the relationship and I make fun of her all the time. Which I do. But I say this all the time, but Maren has gotten so much funnier. Like at school, she was a riot. And she's always been funny, but now more people know about it. Maren completely accepts my childhood indulgences like Disney Channel and the glorious Jonas Brothers. She has an awesome sense of style and I love stealing clothes from her. Today she is 19. So I hope you are reading this, best friend. I love you very much. Thanks for always being there and just being you. Happy birthday!

won't you be my honey bee?

Before I begin telling you about my week, let me just say that I went running for the first time in a long time like 2 hours ago and I feel awesome. I run on the elliptical because by the time I wake up in the morning it's way too hot to run outside. But my mom made an exceptionally good dinner tonight, and I took the liberty to eat more than enough Ghirardelli brownies resulting in a definite food baby and need to exercise. So I went to the park and ran like 4 miles right as the sun was setting. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there. I love my daddy with all my heart.

Check out this nice candid pic. I gave my camera to some random who decided to snap shots whenever his little heart desired, resulting in no good pictures of our Kina Grannis meet and greet. This past Wednesday Maren, Sarah and I ventured to Philly and listened to the sweet melodies of Kina Grannis. She's kind of like a poppier version of Ingrid Michaelson mixed with Vanessa Carlton plus Michelle Branch. So pretty easy listening. The show was in a nice part of the city in a cool little club. Very low-key. We got there kind of late and sat towards the back right next to the bar (yes!), but our timing ended up being perfect because we were the very first people she talked to. She was really sweet and so pretty and little! I think that was the main observation. She looked so much bigger onstage. Her opening act was pretty bad, but thankfully he did about 4 songs and then took a seat next to us. It was a really nice evening and even though the weather report was calling for rain, we didn't experience any. Prior to the show we ate at a yummy Asian bistro (represent) and had gelato. Btw did you notice my summer must-have item?? By chance, I found the fedora on sale for $12. It was a little windy, but it made its debut in the city of brotherly love. Someday I will be a legitimate fashion blogger and have sweet Nikon D90 shots of my effortlessly cool outfits, but for now I'll just describe them to you.
The days I haven't been traipsing through the city or folding clothes at J. Crew, I've been watching the World Cup. Duh. USA vs. Slovenia. I don't think I've gotten so worked up over a sporting event in years. So here's my theory. Slovenia is in cahoots with Koman Coulibaly. Like check out this shot from earlier in the match. Ref's handing out a yellow card to Slovenia with a huge grin on his face. They were legitimately giggling about this call. Weird? I think so. I think I watched the 85th minute of that game maybe 24+ times. I'm still baffled by it. I mean, it was the guy's first time reffing a World Cup game, but that should've been a 3-2 match, USA. Whatever.

Finally, last night after work my family spontaneously took a trip to the movies to see Toy Story 3. There is no sarcasm in this statement: Toy Story 3 was fantastic. Seriously. I felt like a little kid again, getting nervous for the main characters during scary parts and was pretty close to shedding a tear towards the end. Pixar movies are generally all pretty great, but I have to say that all 3 Toy Stories were really well done- which is a rarity for Disney trilogies and sequels (Lion King 2 anyone?). So way to go Pixar, for tugging at my heartstrings, making me laugh and getting me scared during stressful toy escape sequences. Go see it, it's worth your $10. Plus, everything else in theaters looks kind of stupid.

I finished No one belongs here more than you and Looking for Alaska and I have about 50 pages left in On the Road. Ok, so NOBHMTY was mediocre in my opinion. I watched her film, Me, You and Everyone We Know and thought the same thing. Like, what's the big deal? It's just random stories about random people. And I've always harbored a hatred for short stories. I'm not entirely sure why, I just don't like the idea of reading one small little segment of a couple characters' lives and then abandoning them completely and moving on to another set of completely unrelated characters whose lives may or may not be as exciting as their predecessors. So, thanks, but no thanks Miranda. LFA was great. I've always been fascinated by boarding/prep schools, so the whole setting of the story was great and very reminiscent of A Separate Peace. I loved the simplicity of the characters and just how John Green told the story. You could tell that he once had an Alaska in his life, and remembered all the quirky little things he loved about her and incorporated them into the main character. I love hearing those things. I love to hear the weird things guys love about girls that girls would never think is remotely attractive. Even if they're really bizarre. I just think it's the sweetest thing and is so evident of a guy's adoration. I read On the Road a couple years ago, but didn't fully grasp it. The second time through, I'm still not impressed. I mean, I'm aware that it's some people's Bible, but I'm just not as into it. Kerouac is brilliant, no doubt about it, but I guess I still don't fully appreciate the apparent genius that OTR is. It's very good, but I don't think it will be making my book sidebox. Next on my list is Choke and Emilee found The Hunger Games online. Does anyone have Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson? I keep doing library searches for it and it never comes up.

Ok, I'm done. I know I said I would try and avoid the supa long posts, but I was slacking. You're lucky I didn't include my resort reviews...

oscar resort 2011

I just ate breakfast and am attempting to procrastinate working out as long as possible. You can't work out on a full stomach though, you know? So naturally I decided to check out some resort collections on Style. What a great decision. I fell in love with Oscar de la Renta's 2011 resort collection. I'm amazed that I managed to only include 4 looks, because the entire line was stunning. First look reminded me of the naked woman/cat prints at Miu Miu this fall. You should see this one from the back. Just as gorgeous. I fell in love with the crazy green color of this second look, and I'm such a sucker for off-the-shoulder. There was a ball gown done in this green and I hope a redhead celebrity takes advantage of it. Third look was just so cute. I love the tailoring of the shorts and how structured the jacket is. Perfect for a dinner date. I think the final look is my favorite. Oscar's color palette was flawless and the orange with the ruffles is too gorgeous. I'm obsessed with everything going on in this one. I guess my breakfast has been fully digested at this point *sigh* Expect more resort reviews because I think these shows are a good remedy to my recent shopping problem.

go portugal

World Cup 2010 starts in a couple hours. No, I am not awake at 6 AM because of the 10 AM kickoff. I have no idea how I'm awake actually. But, happy Friday. Go Portugal :)

hot like mexico

Mother Monster is at it again. Alejandro just premiered on the east coast like an hour ago. In between my running and yoga, I decided to procrastinate working out by going on the Internet. As a faithful follower of Lady Gaga's Twitter, I saw the news and clicked on the link. I actually like this one better than Telephone, not gonna lie. True, it's more pornographic, but that's not why I like it. Come on, that's gross. But this one actually has a more relevant storyline. Kind of? So like, Gaga is this Queen right? And she's got a thing for Alejandro... one of the better looking naked soldiers. But she just can't be with him anymore, even though she loves him, hot like Mexico. So she tries to forget about him by having kinky dominatrix sex with the other soldiers. (Btw, cute haircut choice Gags. Like, the bowlcut? Seriously? I mean I guess she was going for a uniform look that matched hers but I was not feeling it.) But I actually like the dancing in this one better. I could do without the mock dominatrix scenes. Also got some Catholic vibes from this one? Whatever, she's a freak, but she knows how to keep people talking. I think we're going to be hearing a lot from her for a while. So I guess you can hate on her or embrace her freakiness. Personally? Her songs are good and she knows how to perform, and if I had the extra cash, I'd definitely see her in concert. Way to go Mama Monster.

you don't even know my name and i know every constellation

This is why I have a blog: to cure my random bouts of insomnia. When did it become ok to go to bed at 1 AM and wake up 3 and a half hours later? You tell me.

I finished re-reading Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk 10 minutes ago. I first read that book in 8th grade, and it's amazing how much more I got out of it this time. Some of it I wish I didn't understand so much. Isn't that weird- how all of a sudden, or gradually I guess, you become less sheltered about weird, taboo topics and really horrifying things don't shock you anymore. It's a little bit sad. But I really enjoyed that book. You should read it, but I warn you it's wildly inappropriate. Rated R for disturbing images and lots of sexual content.

It feels good to read for fun again. I've compiled a summer reading list. I'll add to it periodically and post it and every so often to track progress:

Invisible Monsters- Chuck Palahniuk

Choke- Chuck Palahniuk

On the Road- Jack Kerouac

Looking for Alaska- John Green

No one belongs here more than you- Miranda July

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Hunter S. Thompson

The Bird Room- Chris Killen

Trainspotting- Irvine Welsh

(re-read) Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey- J.D. Salinger

I would love suggestions. And if you have any of these books and are willing to lend them to me, even better!

Guess what? Yesterday I passed my driver's test! I know, I know. It took me long enough. But I passed and now I can officially drive cars in the state of Pennsylvania. YAY!!

I can hear birds chirping and the construction directly outside my window will resume in about 4 hours. Should've taken Nyquil.

P.S. It's really flattering when people tell me they read my blog. So thanks for reading :)