Musee d'ORSAY

ok...so i didn't actually go to paris...

i went to san francisco! The de YOUNG Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco to see the current exhibit, Birth of Impressionism. The Musee d'Orsay in France is under renovation, so this exhibit was brought to SF, once in a lifetime opportunity! Since Impressionism is up there with my favorite styles of art/music/ect. it was fun to see all of these paintings in real life. i had so many favorites, i will have to go to Paris to see them again.

i'm the fifer! i was hoping they would have clothes to dress up in like at the getty...but this was the extent of painting recreation

ashland, or

this was one of the best things i did this summer (finally telling you about the rest of my summer...now that school is a week in)

melissa, my dad, my mom and i took a little road trip to one of my new favorite places: ashland, or. its a tiny hippie town where the boutiques sell clothing made from hemp and the restaurants serve local organic food. it's also the home of oregon's own shakespeare festival. we saw two shows, twelfth night, so hilarious! and merchant of venice, less funny, but very good. the theater was set up like the globe and the actors were amazing. i thoroughly enjoyed eating some rocky mountain fudge while watching both performances.

during the day, we went to crater lake. it was so beautiful! the bluest water i've ever seen, took my breath away. we walked around, ate some food, had a photoshoot, the usual.

mom, me, melissa, dad on the edge of crater lake

on the way home from oregon, we (my family will tell you I) decided to take the scenic route home. MISTAKE. it was beautiful driving through redwoods, then unlimited amounts of fog, and then finally getting to see the ocean , but if you've driven down the CA coast before, you probably don't ever need to do it again. it took us about 10 hours to get home instead of the 5 it took on the way up. we stopped in some fun places though, Crescent City, Eureka, Santa Rosa, and finally DANVILLE! anyway, loved the trip, can't wait to go next year ;)

the lovely bones

i liked this book. i read it in a couple days, without doing much else, so i could really get into it. it was a good story. it reminded me a little bit of law and order: svu or 48 hours mystery but with a ghost whisperer touch. right up my alley.

the nanny diaries

i recently read this book, since i have so much free time on my hands lately. i'm sure i'm the last person on earth to read this, but i never really felt the need, since i lived it. turns out, the book is NOT fiction. although i did not have all of these experiences in my one year of being a nanny, i've heard my share of horror stories. this book was a collection of every problem a nanny could encounter. i enjoyed it, but, i also had a LOT of anxiety while reading it. i felt for Nanny, i felt Grayer, i felt for the mother, and so on. i started having nightmares all over again (something that happened frequently during my stint in CT). waking up mid-night wondering if i had done everything on my list, confirmed that appointment, planned meals for the next day, etc.

the most ironic part of the novel was right in the middle of the climax when Nanny is ranting to a stuffed bear-my phone rang, and when i answered, discovered it was my replacement. the new nanny. just as all my memories had come flooding back, i was telling someone new about the job she was about the undertake. it only took a few minutes to relax, and then i was able to tell her all the wonderful things about living with my pseudo-family in greenwich, ct!

it's friday!

and it's august thirteenth.

i wanted to celebrate this eerie...holiday? so lindsey and i dragged my mom to the WINCHESTER MYSTERY MANSION! (pronouncing it in an ghost voice is more fun. trust me, linds and i did it all day)

it was very spooky and very interesting. i learned all about sarah winchester who stood at 4'10'' and held nightly seance and had a fascination with the number 13. she lived in a beautiful victorian house that she remodeled until the day she died. we had a tour guide that made our tour seem forever long. lindsey couldn't help busting up laughing mid-tour when he informed us he had only been doing this for three weeks. like we couldn't tell? it was great, you should go.

if you're still not convinced, the house is directly across from santana row and a wonderful mall. bliss.

regarding hair

there are two people in this entire world that i trust to touch my hair. viet (cdm) and tony (nyc). my only problem now, is that i don't live in either of these places.

if i had a pet...

this is a conversation me and the girls i've been babysitting were having the other day. this is how it went:

A: "i don't think i would want a pet lion"

me: "me neither. i don't think that would be very much fun"

A: "i would want a baby elephant. or a baby giraffe. but they would always stay a baby. and eat everything that i ate."

me: nods

A: "or i would want a dog."

palo alto, ca

me and linds took tuesday off and went to...palo alto!

we drove through shady streets with beautiful houses. we want to move there! we saw the garage where HP was started and drove down professorville. we drove around stanford campus a little bit and then hit the stanford shopping center. it was surprising like fashion island...we definitely felt at home. i bought a lot of things. i think i was trying to make up for not buying anything all summer. don't worry, i took it all back today! don't make fun...especially since i do this ALL THE TIME. buy things, and then take them all back a few days later. whatever works!

we saw this sign and had to stop and take pictures! how often do you come across a street named FIFE?

oops...

i went shopping today and went crazy...

guess who i saw?!

i was standing outside miglet's gluten free cupcake shop...weird, i know. we were not aware of the gluten free part until AFTER we got there...but of course, had to try them anyway. so there we are, me, lindsey and my dad, standing in the shade eating our cupcakes and someone walks by with a couple kids. lindsey goes: that looked like kristi yamaguchi. i brush this off, like, wahtever, i hadn't seen her walk by and what are the odds? a couple minutes later lindsey and my dad are still talking about it, so i decide to go check things out. we walk back to where we saw her go, and stop at the polynesian dance place. i finish my cupcake quickly so i can go inside and see her! it was awkward and very difficult to pretend like i belonged there. long story short, IT WAS HER! and she is the tiniest person ever. i quickly turned around and reported back to lindsey and my dad who were waiting outside.

allison fife...hasn't blogged since april?!?!

fixing this problem now. here's what's new...

1. i moved back home. CT was great, loved my life back east...almost wish i could move back! i think i will once i finish school. (i'll have to blog all about this experience when i have a little more energy.)

2. i'm a nanny again?!? well, sort of. i started babysitting for a family down the street and now i'm there every morning! so i'm calling it a part time nanny job :) two super cute girls. we bake brownies, go swimming, sing and dance really loud while watching youtube, and play barbies.

3. i'm getting ready to go back to p-town. i'm gonna tear that place up with my new NY attitude...so get ready cougars. i'm living at UAC and couldn't be more amped! but don't expect to see a lot of me, unless you want to come hang in the library...

4. i'm addicted to tv again. i go through phases. i was on this no tv kick for a long time, but i'm back. since i have nothing else to do up here in norcal, i pay very close attention to my dvr. mondays are for the bachelorette, tuesdays are devoted to chopped, and wednesdays and thursdays are set aside for so you think you can dance. i fill the time in between with watching masterpiece mystery (guilty pleasure my mother got me hooked on...don't poke fun), dr. oz, barefoot contessa, 48 hours mystery, and say yes to the dress. i am an expert on all of these, so don't mess.

5. nicki and mckay are engaged! this really has little to do with me, but i just wanted to add this to the list because i have been spending extra amounts of time shopping online and need something to blame it on. congrats you two! can't wait until september!

6. i had a phone fiasco. lost my phone the day after i got home. it was on silent and then died...so annoying. after a couple days, i just bought a new one (was going to do this anyway since old phone was ridiculously broken). ended up finding it this week (three weeks later) under a folder...my mom always tells me i have to look under things...

7. my grandma came to visit! it was so much fun! we ate at the cliff house in SF, such a great view! grandma, my mom, and i went and picked peaches and apricots in brentwood. it was so much fun! and they were sooooo delicious. they were all i ate for days.

8. i visited helen in san jose! i hadn't seen her since i left p-town over a year ago! it was so much fun to chat with her again, i missed her so much!

9. i'm not buying any clothes this summer. its a rule i made myself. i bought enough clothes in NY to last me for years. so far, i've done great! it's really hard for me, there are several items i can think of right now that i have almost purchased. if you go shopping with me in the next few weeks, please remind me to leave my wallet at home!

10. i do a lot of yard work. my dad loves his new chain saw (all you have to do is look outside to see evidence of this). it's his new favorite hobby to chop trees up and leave them for me to haul away. so, i've spent many hours doing that, plus mowing the lawn, making wood piles, painting doors, and any and all other manual labor my parents can think up.

that's it. the intention of this post was to put off writing a conclusion, if you will, of my year in greenwich. so there's more to come-prepare.

spring break

spring break is turning into a distant memory, so i guess its high time i blog about it. my mom and dad came out to visit me! it was so much fun. i picked them up at jfk and we drove right into the city for dinner. we ate at max brenner's at union square. omgosh, so delicious. i could eat a chocolate banana crepe everyday.

saturday, we woke up and hit the road! did a miniature tour of greenwich and then kept driving north. we stopped in providence, rhode island for lunch--such a cute little town. we drove through boston, ma and new hampshire and then finally reached kennebunkport, maine. that's where we stayed for the night. we drove around and saw the mansion the bush family used to vacation at and the cutest little light house ever. i couldn't go to bed without eating some of maine's finest, so we ate a mabel's lobster claw (learned to crack my own lobster and everything!)

left maine in the morning--after eating homemade blueberry pancakes (apparently something else maine is famous for) and taking a little walk to beach. we headed back to new hampshire and ate lunch at dartmouth (another cute little town) and then off to vermont! we visited the birth place of joseph smith in sharon, and bought some maple syrup. after sharon, vermont, we drove to new haven and ate pizza and then headed home.

we drove around connecticut a little more the next day and then went back into the city. we walked a million blocks (i'm not even exaggerating) and finally sat down inside bobby flay's mesa grill. oh so good. we ended the night with promises promises, which was so fun to watch! drove back to jfk in the morning. such a busy busy weekend, but i had so much fun! thanks mom and dad!

mom and dad at nubble light house

lists

we all know i'm a little obsessed with lists (and checking things off). i have a file in on my computer devoted to these lists. in this folder, i have a to-do list (updated multiple times daily), a list of movies, a list of music, a list of books, a list of states, a list of things to blog about (this one is barely touched), plus a few more that aren't very interesting.

here are some updates:

states-29/50 (but by next week i should have 32/50!)

movies-41/100 (not too shabby...)

books- 10/100 (this one stresses me out. currently looking for a new list of top 100 books)

if you want to visit a state with me, or watch a movie with me, or read a book with me, please tell me! i could use all the help i can get!

the beach

i went to the beach for the first time this year on saturday! so exciting! the beach itself, not that exciting...the promise that summer will be here soon and there are many more beach days to follow, worth blogging about. east coast beaches are very different than california beaches. i used to think that northern california beaches and southern california beaches were categories of their own...but they are both more fun than the beach i went to on saturday. tod's point in greenwich is very beautiful, don't get me wrong. sand, water, grass, flowers, the cutest houses ever--i kind of felt like i was in a movie or something. but its on the long island sound, no waves, water is shallow, no fire pits, the sun was on the wrong side. it kinda felt a little like my south lake lagoon days.

even though it was a different experience, the sun was shining, i have all new tan lines that will take me forever to get rid of, a few more freckles, and sand in my bag :) summer is coming, i promise! also, i had to stop at taco bell on the way home for old times sake (no del taco within a 60 mile radius)

i might as well be camping...

connecticut just had an amazing storm. i have NEVER seen anything like this. granted, i grew up in irvine where it rains like 6 days out of the year. anyway...it starting raining on friday, ndb. it was really raining on saturday and then the winds picked up. CRAZY! i drove into the city that night (probs not the best idea in hindsight) and when i returned home, greenwich was in shambles. if mansions can be in shambles that is...

my house hasn't had any electricity, heat, or running water since saturday at noon and we're not expecting to get it back until wednesday, 8 pm. there are trees all over the roads, and they knocked down power chords and houses on their way down. something like 7 people have died in southwest connecticut due to falling trees. these are not orange county, just been planted 10 years ago trees. these are fifty feet tall, three feet wide, been here forever trees.

it finally stopped raining...so that's nice. i'm at the library right now...the only place to plug in my computer and have internet access. it's blue skies and sunny outside. 60 degrees. it is literally warmer outside than inside my house. school was cancelled yesterday and today. just heard word its closed again tomorrow.

hedgehogs

i finally finished my book, the elegance of the hedgehog. i'm embarrassed to tell you how long it took me. there are a few reasons it took me forever, and some could not be avoided. first of all, i had to wiki EVERYTHING at first. like philosophers, and authors, and all the little things the author added so that only really smart people could understand this book. my next problem was that it was a book we were reading for book club (which has dissolved) and when i'm told what to read and when to read it by, my pace grows ever slower. thirdly, i started reading jonathon foer's extremely loud and incredibly close--it was too good to put down. last of all, my library fines were getting a little out of control...so after renewing it a couple times and still only being a third of the way through...i just returned it and decided i would check it out again in a couple months. and i did check it out again! i'm happy i did so...if for no other reason than to be able to put it on my shelfari :)

time for a new pic?

i just wanted all of you to know about this picture of me in the top right corner of your screen. ever since i first started writing in 2006, this picture has been staring at you as you read. this is what i looked like as a junior in high school. funny, i look exactly the same. it was taken in laguna beach as part of a national charity league photo shoot during my junior year. these pics went in the program at our fashion show, the fashion show where i wore a fur stole around my shoulders and walked up and down a runway. please feel free to stop laughing at any moment. i'm telling you this story, because it has never been told before. now its over. also, i'm in the process of finding a more recent picture that makes me look half way decent, so say your goodbyes to 17 year old alli! she's all grown up now.

sunscreen?! its winter!

so i may or may not have come home with slightly pink skin due to a little overexposure in a certain tanning bed (darn you, free gym tanning). as some of you may know, my employer is a dermatologist--and she handed my a thing of sunscreen this morning. ha...subtle. also, it doesn't even smell good.

lindsey sent this to me. i thought, since i'm already filling it out, why not just post it here!

01. High heels, boots or sneakers? high heels. but really, i love all shoes and don't discriminate

02. What time did you get up this morning? 11:30...i have the week off, ok?

03. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
04. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? it's complicated, by myself this afternoon :)

05. What is your favorite TV show? 30 rock?

06. What do you usually have for breakfast? nothing, or CIB, classic

07. What is your middle name? n/a

08. What food do you dislike? chicken liver pate. don't ask.
09. What is your fav CD at the moment? where the wild things are soundtrack

10. What characteristic do you despise? holier than thou

11. Favorite Clothing? anything from anthro

12. Anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? someplace warm

13. Are you an organized person? yes. just don't judge me based on my room

14. Where would you retire to? the beach

15. What was your most memorable birthday? 21, it was last week

16. What are you going to do when you finish this? finish my netflix movie

17. Furthest place you are sending this? irvine

18. Person you expect to send it back first? honestly, i'll be surprised if anyone does

19. When is your birthday? february 11

20. Are you a morning or a night person? night

21. What is your shoe size? 8

22. Do you own any animals? no way

23. Any news you want to share? i'm going to start going to the gym again, maybe

24. What did you want to be when you were little? a chef

25. What is your favorite flower? the ones that smell pretty

26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? april something? when i have another week off?

27. Do you wish upon stars? nope
29. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? macaroni orange

30. How is the weather right now? freezing

31. Last person you spoke to on the phone? mom

32. Favorite soft drink? diet dr. pepper

33. Favorite restaurant? glory days diner

34. Hair Color? dark brown

35. What was your favorite toy as a child? dress-ups

36. Summer or winter? summer

37. Chocolate or vanilla? ch-ch-ch-chocolate

38. Coffee or tea? tea

39. Boy, do I wish I was still? tan

40. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes please

41. When was the last time you cried? monday

42. What is under your bed? empty boxes

43. What did you do last night? picked up lindsay from airport, diner, watched weeds

44. What are you afraid of? being alone

45. Salty or sweet? sweet

46. Favorite day of the week? saturday
47. How many people will you send this to? don't know yet

48. How many will respond? one?
49. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? of course

this week

a week ago, i turned 21! fun weekend. a few highlights were picking up natalie from the airport, going to dinner with friends on friday, buying t-shirts on the brooklyn bridge, showing natalie the city, getting e-mail address from astrit (man from kosovo, whom i met on the subway), gave me his e-mail address. oh new york...i love you. you'll have to check out pics on fb...i'm far too lazy to post any here.

the history of love

notice, a new book has been added to my book shelf to the right. the history of love. i liked the beginning and i loved the end. 'm recommending this book to anyone into sappy love stories like me :)

other books i have read recently and recommend: still alice. couldn't put it down.

extremely loud and incredibly close. similar feel and plot as the history of love. would probably recommend this one first. i'm still thinking about the little boy and its been months.

january

january was so crazy. i had so many visitors! lindsey and mike came back with me after christmas and we celebrated the new year at times square! so cold! but oh so fun. we spent a couple days in the city and connecticut. we ate at bobby flay's bar americain--i give it five stars--and mamaroneck's limoncello--also very good. we saw in the heights on broadway, so much fun! went ice skating in central park (it was on lindsey's list of things to do before she dies) and did lots of other things, i'm sure you can imagine

the next weekend was jared's bar mitzvah. which we had been planning for months! it was such a fun/crazy/busy weekend. chloe (the kid's nanny last year) came and was my buddy. we went to services at the temple, had lots of family meals, i met all the relatives, and we ended things with a huge party at sammy's (family restaurant on the lower east side). we pulled out all the stops. best bar mitzvah i've ever been to :)

then, michael holt came to play! he came to visit college campuses...grad school. i picked him up at yale after work on friday and we hung out in CT. the next morning we went into the city and won the lottery to see next to normal. i laughed, i cried, i could almost touch alice ripley we were sitting so close. we waited at the stage door and i took pics with all the men of the cast and loved every minute. that night we got student rush tickets to memphis. less impressed, 'nough said. i took the train home and met michael the next morning to have breakfast at the galaxy diner with our new bff's will swenson and audra macdonald. the nicest people ever. thanks to michael's sweet network, will swenson set aside tickets for us to see HAIR. SO GOOD! at the end, we ran up on stage and danced and sang. so...yes, i made it to broadway ;)

melissa came the next week! and we had SO much fun! she flew into Newark...gag, but at least she can say she's been to jersey now? we didn't waste ANY time getting into the city and hitting every site there is. saturday was filled with central park, the met, lincoln center, manhattan temple, times square, billy elliot, nyc public library, top of the rock, and so much more. we were so exhausted and our muscles were so sore, the next morning we had to sleep in a bit to recover. but we were still able to make it to the statue of liberty, staten island, ground zero, brooklyn bridge, little italy, canal street and everything in between. monday we stayed in CT and ate at meli-melo and i took her to the airport. her flight was cancelled and she got to stay with me one more night. we watched the invention of lying and woke up at 5 to take her back to LGA. crazy weekend...and i'm still recovering.

nobody came to visit me the last weekend, but don't worry, i didn't let that stop me from having way too much fun! on saturday, nicki and i took the train in to the city, ate brunch at alice's tea cup, shopped at bloomingdale's, and hit up the hells kitchen flea market. nicki went home, and i went to the guggenheim, back to bloomingdale's, and then met lauren inglish in the east village for some pad see-ew at the holy basil.

such a great month. a wonderful way to start off 2010. now its february and i can start saving money again, and go back on a diet :)

groundhog day

so even though i didn't pay any attention to whatever Punxsutawney Phil saw or didn't see today, i'm willing to bet anyone one million dollars that there are six more weeks of winter. reasons why include, but are not limited to, the fact that i cannot walk outside without a coat, my lips and skin are so chapped and dry thanks to winter cold and wind, and the promise from CT residents that February is the worst month of winter. toto, we're not in california anymore. but don't you worry, i'm perfectly content staying indoors and continuing to read books and watch netflix like i've become accustomed to doing. so thanks for nothing Punxsutawney Phil!

my life since last december

so here's the long awaited update. i've been dreading writing this since i feel like there is so much to say. but no worries, i'll keep it short and sweet.

this summer i decided to be a nanny! in august, i moved to connecticut and love it so much. i've been here for five months now. i live in greenwich, so posh. mallory is 14 and jared just turned 13. life is crazy and busy but i wouldn't have it any other way.

my favorite things to do here:

new york city

go out to eat

shop

read books

get music from the library

bake a lot

take naps

watch movies (netflix=my savior)

so pretty much, nothing has changed, ha!

i can't wait to start writing more about my past, present, and future adventures! my life as a nanny is so cliche and pretty much redonkulous (this is a word i never say out loud, but i'm constantly thinking). posts in the future will be funnier, i promise. or how about just don't hate me even if they're not :)