5...4...3...2...1

I'm sitting at my desk, munching on chocolate covered Joe-Joe's (Trader Joe's version of oreos) and feeling all bloggy. What to blog, what to blog...

5 things I want right now:

5) The movie Public Enemies to come out, as it has both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale (::swoon::) in it, and good God, I don't even care what it's about. But the trailer makes it look pretty damn good anyways.

4) a lobster quesadilla

3) tickets to a Tori Amos concert - I'm working on it, I'm working on it...

2) this dress (look at the third picture of it, with the girl under water. How gorgeous is that?!)

1) two words: beach picnic

4 activities I should be doing instead of blogging:

4) working

3) editing my script

2) writing another article for the Examiner

1) finishing The Blind Assassin, now that it's getting AMAZINGLY GOOD

3 places I need to go to:

3) The new crepe place that just opened up across the street from my favorite movie theatre in Burbank

2) Laguna Beach

1) the New Jersey shore

2 things I'm looking forward to this week:

2) Dinner with a good friend of mine on Wednesday night at her place

1) Seeing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged at Shakespeare Orange County this weekend. Hilarious show, and I worked for this theatre company for four years while in college. I get to see old friends, AND laugh my ass off!

1 quote that is getting me through it all:

Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source.
Tolstoy

smile like you mean it

Hello. Nice to meet you! I'm Tracy.

I realize that I never officially introduced myself back when I began my blog, mostly because it started off as a blog I never intended anyone to find, way back in 2008 when I needed a cheap therapist (and blogging is just that, believe me), and then when I re-vamped it in 2009 to use as a vehicle for which to plug projects I was working on as a writer, actress, photographer, whatever. And I named it Res Ipsa Loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself") because I wanted my blog to speak for itself, and I wanted to avoid the whole "this is who I am as a person" blog because, let's face it, sometimes those are redundant. I mean, if you can't tell my personality from my writing, then I'm not a very good writer, am I.

Wait, don't answer that last question.

At any rate, life has me struggling to keep up this week, I'm not sleeping very well, and I've been busy throwing parties instead of giving gifts (stay tuned later this week for my epiphany on what the hell that means, even though it wasn't really my epiphany).

So here I am, feeling the writer's block, looking to reach out and touch faith (mmm, Eliza Dushku...wait, where was I?) and I dunno...SHARE. Something. Anything.

Things that make me smile like I mean it:

Ray LaMontagne's song "Meg White." Adorable. Watch a homemade music video of it here.

This place has the best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had.

Two words: deep-dish Chicago style pizza. Root beer brewed on the premises. And a pizookie (a just-out-of-the-oven, melt in your mouth cookie that's the size of an individual deep dish pizza. With ice cream melting on it.) Wait, that's more than two words, isn't it. I love this place.

Why haven't I bought this already?!

I'm just starting to watch this show, and it makes me laugh so hard I cry.

I'm celebrating the fact that I no longer watch this show, so I don't have to tear my hair out waiting for the next 8(!) months to see what happens.

My obsession with fresh mozzarella, sweet potato fries, and Cherry Garcia continues. Not all at the same time, though. Ew.

blowing bubbles + kitten = hours of free entertainment

This trailer. I am so excited to see this movie.

I am currently reading this. It's getting really, really good.

Enjoying root beer floats for dessert after dinner every night.

and a partial list of other joys: daffodils, watermelon, strawberry smoothies, chocolate sauce and raspberries, fresh green beans, butter and salt, goat cheese, snooze buttons, good running shoes, clean pillowcases, a new pad of post-its, comfy flip-flops, sunshine and shade (and just enough of both), hot milk at night before bedtime, used bookstores, sprinklers, puppies, laughter, and hot fudge sundaes.

And now you know almost everything there is to know about me. Almost.

gray days and good weekends

Don't get me wrong, gray days aren't so bad, especially when you're a resident of Southern California and the temperatures reached the 100s last Tuesday, breaking previous records set in the 1950's. It's nice to feel like spring might actually hang out for a couple more weeks before the stickiness of summer sets in again, and occasional gray days are a nice break from the blinding sunshine that Los Angelenos are used to conducting their days in. But sometimes when you're having the kind of day where the morning dreariness never really leaves, you feel a little...down.

Granted, I don't really have any good reason to feel down. A couple weeks ago I just finished a weekend of shooting behind-the-scenes and extras for Hell Froze Over, I occasionally get to share my office space with a dog that looks like a cross between a pit bull and Doby the House Elf, I have discovered the glory that is the cinnamon melts over at McDonald's, and I can only describe this past weekend as Damn Near Perfect. Yes, it needed caps.

So there is always good to be grateful for. Always. But I do like being warm. And I like my gray days to be my Saturday mornings when I can snuggle under the comforters for another half hour before getting all productive with my day.

In the meantime, I believe I promised a weekly blog that highlights some ways to enjoy life while not necessitating borrowing money for rent. Sounds easy enough. Here's today's tips:

• Are you a big online shopper like I am? Go here to find coupons for 30,000 (yup, that number is correct) online stores. Enter in a store's website in the search bar at the top, then a list of coupons for that store will pop up. Be warned that some coupons are expired or simply don't work (look at the coupon's success rate before using), but I've gotten discounts for many, many online purchases this way, and if nothing else, there's usually free shipping codes to be found for most stores. Try it out and see!

• If you haven't discovered the joy of Etsy yet, for the love of God, stop what you are doing and go visit it. No really. Tell your boss I said it's okay. Etsy is all things handmade and vintage, so you're supporting individual artists with awesome work ethics from all over the world. A lot of the things on Etsy are one of a kind, so don't waver too long on a purchase, and there's a TON of affordable stuff on there. Plus, you can search by color, location of artist, and fun categories that include "geekery" and "books and zines." Some of my favorites on Etsy right now: this, this, and this (I like the owl and giraffe one).
  

• Want that new Tom Clancy novel but can't afford to buy it? There are lots of book exchange websites out there, but here's one that strikes my fancy. (NB: I haven't used this one yet. Let me know how it goes if you use it, and you're not allowed to blame me if things go horribly awry.)

Do you guys know of any awesome websites out there that help you save money, exchange stuff, or get a good deal? Lemme know. And I hope you enjoy your day, whatever color it may be.