I Guess? Work Aint So Bad

I see some amazing things in my store, and I'm not talking about their product.

Christian and Ricardo are two of my favorite customers. Chris picked up this ridiculously awesome watch in Sasebo, Japan. Ricardo and I will totally be making a visit to Japan to pick up some sweet swag ;)

Fiyah came into my store a few weeks ago, sporting the most sparkly and beautiful hat and sneakers - which she customized herself. She's currently working on a website, but you can now contact her at yunfiyahyahyah@yahoo.com for amazing and unique makeovers of your own gear. I know my favorite Kitson kicks will benefit from her magic touch!

I'm in (Ghostland/Punk Rock) Heaven

Friday night caught Ghostland Observatory at the Masquerade, one of Atlanta's most entertaining and wonderfully affordable venues.

The floor bounced as the music moved every soul in Heaven (the top of the venue's three floors, the other two being - what else? Purgatory and Hell. Local legend has it that the world will end when Heaven collapses into Hell...which may not be far off, as apparently a stairwell outside of Heaven has already malfunctioned in this manner).

Ghostland put on a great concert. I still don't know a single song, but that light show! Epic.

Unfortunately the shot blurred, but this woman sported a divine sequined dress over black tights, so inspiring to have moved a sequin dress to the top of my fashion wish list.

Saturday night, the party was at Jesse's in Buckhead. Usually a posh destination (Buckhead, not Jesse's), this punk rock soiree was a surprising and welcome solace from the neighborhood's typical pretensions.

Birthday Boy on guitar, Nathan channeling punk's greatest, Jesse on drums and Greg on a five string bass???? I can't find any other pictures to verify what the hell he's playing on.

Jesse is a blur of light and motion

And I discovered PBR Light! By accident. When I bought some. BY ACCIDENT.

Ran off to MJQ to meet with some insistent friends...who weren't there. Caught some sexy vampires tho!

And made some other hilarious aqcuaintances

Spooky night in all

Fun and Mental is Fundamental

{Words of Wisdom from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium}

- What Mahoney needed was the opportunity to prove to herself that she was something more than she believed.

- We must face tomorrow and whatever it may hold with determination, joy, and bravery.

- I've lived all five of my acts, Mahoney, and I'm not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading...and let the next story begin.

- Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.

- Now, we wait.

No. We breathe. We Pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. 37 seconds well-used is a life time.

Friday Night Lights

Friday night kicked off with a stop at my new and lovely friend

John G's house. Although John's a native Southerner, the skateboarding aesthetic of his home blasted me back to California.

We took a meandering drive through

the Cabbagetown neighborhood after an encounter with a police detour that had drawn a huge crowd at a gas station. John and I jumped out of the car to investigate as I, perhaps insensitively, hoped to witness my first urban shootout. A little investigative work revealed that there had been an armed robbery at the scene. I was disappointed to miss a shooting, but found it pretty cool to see how the community gathered and spread news to each other in a crisis.

G describes Cabbagetown as the place where skateboarders go to raise families in Atlan

ta. Even at 1 am I loved the feel of the town.

I dropped off John after dinner and headed out to Tucker, GA to meet up with Kimmi and her

friends Serene and Aermone at the club Studio 72. Tucker sits

a ways out of DeKalb county into the suburbs where bars can stay open til 4 am.

Being inside this club was like being in a hip hop music video: lots of bling, booty, and black. Bottles of Grey Goose were freely passing hands. Perfectly synchronized dance moves, running commentary on the security situation on stage, and of course wild antics in the girls room made for an entirely entertaining foray into the darker side of ATL.

The Girls Room: Where the real action of the night goes down

We ventured back to Atlanta for a late night bite at R Thomas, a groovy raw and health food restaurant.

The first raw establishment I've encountered since Santa Monica, this exotic locale proved a treat even before walking in - bird cages housing sleeping parrots line the entrance. The There are plenty of regular food options as well for non-vegans, hippy music and real parrots and a monkey outside. I'll definitely be stopping back in the future for some raw food ideas, although not too soon. Like all raw restaurants, this one's pricey (it costs a lot to keep fresh stock!)

Brutes Clean Up

Saturday may be Rugby Day, but GT Rugby's Winter Formal took place last Thursday night at Stout Irish Pub in upscale Buckhead.

In current Cali Girl fashion, I rocked a Mohawk for this, my first college dance (and only 6 months after graduating!). The Brutes reveled in their finest formal wear: shirts, ties, and rugby shorts and socks.

Classic Southern food and drink, ie. chicken wings and Busch, were served. Graduating seniors received spiffy commemorative mugs and loving ovation...and this being a rugby party, the night ended with dirty oration, as the men roared traditional rugby songs about drinking, corpse-lovin' and a freaky villain known as the S&M man.

Boat Race Fail Loved this dress

The event ended early as we got kicked out for a local radio station's charity party. But not before catching the goods:

Congratulations to this season's Georgia Rugby Union champions

Forwards Matt "Dora" Perry and Zac Morford.

Tyler and me in Arden B dress, random boutique feather earrings, Vestal watch, thrift shop necklace, and BC shoes.

Hello Darlings!

Dearly Beloved:

Welcome to the misadventures of ME, Stephanie Anderson. But please, call me Steph or the Cali Girl Abroad. I am a native (yuppie, sunshiny, Rainbow sandals-loving) Southern Californian who has struck out after 24 years in paradise to explore the rest of the world.

You can expect to find stories of the restaurants, clubs, music venues, and other random sights I encounter as I travel the planet in search of AWESOME - sexy, unusual, exciting, delicious. Being the random type that I am, these sights will vary wildly. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave feedback on how I can make the blog better for you.

Read on for a little of my background:

I spent my last two years in SoCal at UCLA studying English (The best major in the world! While my friends stressed out memorizing facts from desert-dry textbooks, I laid around in the campus statue garden reading delicious novels.) The queen of prioritizing that I am, I lived my nights as inspired by the fantastical Lady G - partying like there's no tomorrow, leaving a trail of glitter and broken men in my wake. And three days after graduating, I closed the chapter on the Cali chapter of my life and set out for the great Northwestern state of Washington.

Summer passed in pastoral Kitsap county, where I came to realize that despite my idealistic intention of blissing out in Walden-esque solitude in a cabin in the forest...well, deep down in my heart, and especially on my splendid surface, I am a city girl with an appetite for the fabulous. Visits to Seattle kept me sane and quite entertained, but after finishing my job on the Olympic peninsula, I had to set off again.

I have just arrived in the TOTALLY foreign land of Atlanta, Georgia. Hot stories about everything noteworthy to follow. My narrative is part rock and roller, part Zen, and all love!

Til next times my dearests.