How was everyone’s weekend? Did it go by as fast as mine did?

Friday night, I had the chance to meet two blogger friends in real life, both of whom have guest blogged for me in the past. Ashley of Your Super Awesome Life and Ashley of Ashley Riordan were in town, so we met up at the Black Cat here in Silver Lake, just down the street from me. They were super sweet, smart and fun. Yesterday, John and I took advantage of the free museum day to check out the LACMA… and so did everyone else in the city, apparently! All that looking at art and dodging strangers with cameras made us hungry, so we checked out The Golden State and got ourselves some delicious burgers with applewood bacon and fresh buttery buns, jalapeño cabbage slaw, and french fries with curry ketchup. (Yeah. It was awesome.)

Unfortunately, I also woke up to the news that there had been a shooting at the mall in my hometown, Columbia, Maryland. Three people including the shooter were killed. This is not the kind of thing you’d expect to happen in Columbia. The town is about as bland, suburban and—usually—safe as it could be. I worked in that mall for about three years back in high school. The two people killed were close to my age—people I could’ve gone to school with. One was a mother. The whole thing is just sad. I was almost ever-so-slightly desensitized to these senseless shootings—until one happened where I’m from. I’m sending my thoughts back home.

Here’s what you came for—the interweb finds of the week:

If you’re like me and spend most of your waking hours in front of a computer, you might want to try this exercise. Very effective at curing the feeling that you’re becoming a hunchback.

I’m obsessed with these magical photos taken on one family’s farm. This is exactly what you imagine when you fantasize about growing up surrounded by animals and nature.

Pictures of cats sneezing. Nothing else needs to be said here.

Why the grammar police are bad writers. (I’m a grammar fanatic—but I agree that the practice of smugly correcting people’s grammar online is obnoxious.)

You ready for four amazing new recipes to try? Quinoa stuffed bell peppers. Indian chickpeas and kale with rice. Skillet lasagna. Quinoa cauliflower bowl with almond sriracha sauce. You’re welcome.

I’m thinking Tallulah Bankhead—a wild and witty actress from the flapper era—will be my next girl crush after I read this book:

“Tallulah found herself hailed as one of the wits of Manhattan, and she worked hard to make sure the reputation stuck. In private, she could still be assailed by childish terrors and weep in her dressing room from stage fright, but in public she could launch herself into a room with a stream of slick, rude and seemingly spontaneous one-liners: ‘I’m as pure as the driven slush,’ she would remark, tossing back her hair whilst taking a calculated drag on her cigarette. ‘I don’t give a fuck what people say about me so long as they say something.’”

This gothic industrial loft isn’t really my style. And yet I’m drawn to so many aspects of it—like the spiral staircase, the dark hardwood, the long bookshelves and the tall, arched windows. Absolutely gorgeous.

And that’s all from me today. I’ll have some fun photos taken around Los Angeles to share later this week. Have a good start to yours!