that one time i woke up looking strangely like...rihanna.

Not to make light of a very serious incident but the other day I woke up looking like Rihanna circa February 2009 post-Chris Brown beating. Unfortunately and thankfully the picture does not show the full extent of my ugly swollen puffiness but it's just one of my many tragic bodily functions (bleeding feet, night eating, you know): every so often I wake up with an allergic reaction. This time I think Nyquil is to blame. Used as a cure for colds or for insomnia, if I really am allergic to Nyquil, the world of Aubrey will get just a little bit sadder.

confessions of a closeted smoker.

Meet my friend Blake*. He is an obsessive, addicted smoker of marlboro reds. He has somehow managed to hide this fact from his poor unsuspecting parents for the past three years.

To avoid being caught with the scent of cigarette on his hand, he often wears a glove (see below picture).

(Note the gold watch over the glove. Always classy.) He wears this while we are in public and it's really creepy and it's really embarrassing.

When not in public, he often comes over to my house and wraps his fingers in plastic with painting tape. And I wonder why I'm his friend every day...

*name has been changed to protect the innocent, though if you're reading this you're most likely my close friend and most likely know exactly who is photographed.

what scares me most.

i was asked what i was most afraid of in a job interview the other day. WHAT THE WHAT?! i offered some lame answer about the economy and global warming, whatever came to mind superficially. but really, i am most afraid of the moment in time where i look at a picture from high school or college or early adulthood and don't remember. when i have to scan my brain to put a name to the face, "OH! that's her. we were really good friends in high school."

gentleman, good night. ladies...good morning.

songs i listen to that get me ridiculously pumped up to begin/endure running many miles:

1. frontin' - pharrell williams (stuck in 2002 obviously, but this is my current favorite song. i usually begin with this, the rest are no particular order)

2. bowl of oranges- bright eyes

3. american boy- estelle f. kanye

4. new york- jayz f. alisha keys

5. photobooth- friendly fires

6. no you girls- franz ferdinand

7. animal- miike snow

8. big pimpin- jayz

9. senorita- justin timberlake

10. wake up- arcade fire

11. the big guns- jenny lewis f. watson twins

12. daft punk is playing at my house- lcd soundsystem

13. going up the country- canned heat

14. the skin of my yellow country teeth- clap your hands say yeah

15. knife- girl talk's remix of grizzly bear

p.s. tomorrow is september, then it'll be october and then october 18 and that's when i run the real deal. crap.

sometimes training for a marathon is dangerous.

last night i finished 6 miles to find the top of my normally silver shoe red.

i took off my newly dyed shoe to find my normally white sock also red.

there is no sign of how this injury happened.

sometimes training for a marathon is dangerous.

nineteen.

you are my human form of Zoloft.

happy birthday D.

recent revelations.

there are no poorly lit camera phone pictures of food for this. just sweet and simple aspects of life that make me inextricably happy.

-drinking stale, year-old beer with two friends. giggling over things that probably aren't that funny. making pacts to never drink alone. making pacts that when we are alone, we will come to each other, always.

-foreign films, faking accents, and falling asleep in beds together.

-the security of home. the automatic best friendships that occur with siblings.

-scones and green tea. early mornings with lots of fog.

-girl crush on Angelina Jolie. pretending that i know her and that i will be exactly like her character in Salt.

-planning birthday parties. surprises, cake.

-long walks and late night talks.

-economics. reading economics, learning economics, i might be the only person who really enjoys economics.

-not too distant future plans: marathon, tattoo, london, boston.

going to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches.

oh hello peach blueberry cobbler!

I spent a quiet evening in the kitchen with Bob Dylan, my stove and the juiciest, most delicious peaches from the Redlands farmers market. Of course I had no choice but to add blueberries and create a cobbler out of these.

Recipe with modifications:

For the fruit portion

- about 4 c. peaches (whatever that means, I sliced 4 large peaches into 16ths but used about 40 slices) pitted and sliced*

- 2 c. blueberries (I used frozen berries from Trader Joe's to save on costs and because they're freaking amazing)

-1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar

-2 tablespoons flour (I used whole wheat)

-2 tablespoons lemon juice (I forgot to add this, it's not necessary but will help ease the sweetness if you prefer a more tart taste)

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon salt

For the biscuit crust

-3/4 c. flour (again, whole wheat if you prefer)

-1/4 c. corn meal, yellow or white (I used yellow)**

-3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

-1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces for easy mixing

-1/2 c. buttermilk (I used soymilk because I had it)

Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange a layer of peaches with a cup of blueberries at the bottom of a 2-quart ovenproof dish or pan. Toss in the sugar, flour, lemon, cinnamon and salt. Add another layer of peaches and the other cup of berries.

Form the crust by mixing the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Toss in the butter and use a fork or pastry blend to get it chunky. Add the milk to form a tough that's sticky and thick.

Drop spoonfuls of the dough on top of the fruit filling. Do it haphazardly, it looks so much better when it's organic and not too smoothed out. The dough doesn't need to completely cover the fruit either. Bake for 20-25 mins (mine was about 17 mins though, oven variation). The crust should be golden-brown and the fruit juices should be bubbly. Let it cool and scoop into a bowl. Top with whip cream, vanilla bean ice cream, or sorbet! (You can even have it for breakfast with greek yogurt, cottage cheese or plain yogurt) Viola!

*You can peel the peaches to avoid that weird skin crust. Just cut an X on the bottom, dip the peach in boiling water for 30 seconds and the skins will slide off.

**To transform this into more of a cake, use a cornbread mix or even a yellow cake or angel food cake mix. Wanna be sinful? Brownie mix!

This recipe was an experiment and that's why it's so awesome. It's versatile and can fit any occasion or taste you're going for. This one is a traditional peach cobbler but I've also made a crust with half granola, half biscuit crust for added crunch.

"i work long time, 4-hour, so tired."

Another day (in a row!) spent in the city with three of my favorite people. We started early (9am, after a night of three hours of sleep. ooowee!) and walked miles upon miles from Union Square to the piers for delicious tomato soup, then to Gihardelli Square for delicious chocolate and coffee, through Little Italy and almost China Town and back to Union Square again. We fail at bargaining but managed to save two whole dollars on a ring for me and hats for Mike and Erin. Just about collapsed of exhaustion on the BART home but when D rings for party crashing later that night, do I opt out and sleep? Of course not.

sexy train station.

I wasn't aware of S's fondness for train stations..."What? Well, I guess that train station is sexy..." Turns out if was a joke from junior year of high school. Good to know I'm still as sharp as a butter knife.

We walked the route we will be running for our half-marathon in October and ate dinner as well. Lovely evening out in a city I love with a roommate/friend I love.