Song of the Day

I've been listening to my "Starbucks Playlist" a lot recently, which consists of the free songs I've downloaded thanks to Starbucks. (Remember the cards they used to give out?) This song especially has practically been on repeat. It makes me feel warm & fuzzy.

Madeleine Peyroux - "Instead"


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Happy Birthday, Boyfriend!

Dear Jonty,

Surprise! I set this post to show up on the morning of your big day! I'm so happy to be celebrating with you today. I'm incredibly lucky to have you, & I (partially) have this day, twenty-two years ago, to thank for that. Anyway, I'm thankful you were brought into this big world, & I'm thankful that the world is still small enough that, of all the millions of people I could have met in my life, I met you. You're the best thing since sliced cheese. I hope you have a lovely lovely day today, celebrating you! Happy birthday!!!

Love,
Me
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When was the last time you filled out a survey?

I haven't done one of these in a while. Tina from English Muse posted this one, and it gave me a mild flashback to junior high e-mail surveys, so I thought I'd post it too. At least it isn't a chain letter, right?

1. Where is your cell phone: It's not misplaced or being dropped, which is out of the ordinary.
2. Your hair: is long, brown, thick, straightened at the moment. I usually can't be bothered to dry/style it, so it's in a French braid or slightly wavy/awkward.
3. Your favorite food: is cheese, alone or with anything: crackers, fruit, broccoli, noodles. My life motto is, "The more cheese, the better."
4. Your dream from last night: involved me getting in a huge fight with my dad's wife at dinner with like my entire family (Mom, etc. included). My family also got really angry that I couldn't just keep my mouth shut and thus ruined everything. (Yikes, right?)
5. Your favorite drink: is fresh squeezed orange juice.
6. Your dream/goal: has become a bit hazy. I used to be very sure of where I wanted to be. Now, I have a general direction but am open to life possibilities. I like my new view better.
7. What room are you in: my bedroom, on my bed. I should be going to sleep, actually.
8. What are your hobbies: blogging, reading, crafting, traveling, cooking.
9. What is your fear: My fear is always that someone close to me, especially my family, will be hurt or have trouble. I'm very protective over my fam, especially my sister.
10. Where do you want to be in 6 years: Hahaha. I've been thinking about this question a lot recently. Literally, I have no idea. But hopefully by then I'll know where I want to be. In general, I think I want to be living in the U.S. at that point, preferably in/near a city. And I want a nice apartment with a blue door and lots of sunlight. And if Jonty was there I wouldn't complain.
11. Where were you last night: Home, on the Internet. [I will say "ditto" to Tina, because I was home, on the Internet, being thankful that my flat is finally connected to the world again.]
12. Something you are not:
13. Muffins: are great with coffee, especially almond poppy seed muffins, which are my fave.
14. Wish list items: Some money for living expenses in Bristol would be superb. But second on my list is a Polaroid camera.
15. Where did you grow up: Sacramento, California--the best city in the world.
16. Last thing you did: Skyped with Jonty. I'd like to Skype with Sissa & Mummy sometime soon!
17. What are you wearing: black sweatpants and an olive green long sleeve t-shirt
18. Your TV: is in California, 5210 miles away. We don't have a TV in our flat, just the Internet, our laptops & a projector.
19. Your pets: are the coolest cats ever--Molly & McGee. Sometimes, I talked to them on Skype.
20. Your friends: all meet the following requirements: (1) slightly nerdy/goofy/random, (2) like to read, (3) funny, (4) have a creative side, (5) I slightly want to be like them. I'm pretty picky about who I surround myself with.
21. Your favorite store: is probably Borders. I also love independent book stores, especially those that sell used books, but the Paperchase section of Borders gets me every time. Plus, they usually have a Starbucks, at least here in the UK.
22. Your favorite color: is teal.

Bedtime for me. I'm meeting some classmates for breakfast tomorrow, in an attempt to motivate each other to be out of the house by 9am. Good idea, right? We'll see if it works, especially considering it's now past midnight...

<3

Blogger Love

As of this afternoon (yesterday, actually, since it's just past midnight 'round these parts), my flat is finally connected to society via the world wide web. It has been an entire month since I have had easy access to Internet, as it's been available at nearby coffee shops and in university buildings only, plus my couple of visits to Jonty's house have given me my fix. Although I suppose I haven't exactly been living in a cave--I have had some connection to the world--it's so nice to be online in my pajamas in my own home.

And after a long session blog-checking (as well as procrastinating--hello again firefox), I realized how much I have missed the Blogger world. So this post is dedicated to some of my favorite blogs/bloggers--to tell them how much I missed them and to give you some pages to explore.

1. Observations and Musings of a Bystander
First & foremost is my baby sister's blog. Sissa is creative, stylish, nerdy, witty, and intelligent--& her blog definitely reflects this. Her posts always have something interesting to check out or somely lovely to look at. She's also terrible at spelling and doesn't proofread, but that's part of what makes Sissa so special.

2. Quiet Like Horses
Let's set aside the fact that this blog is one of the first I began following when I developed an interest in all-things-blog this past summer. Let's also set aside the fact that Sobrina is the closest thing I have to a blogger friend, as well as the thought that I would be friends with Sobrina in real life had I met her in the actual world rather than the virtual world. And please ignore the similarity between our names (Sobrina/Sabrina). Apart from all these packets of knowledge, Quiet Like Horses is still a great blog. Sobrina has a wonderful way with words, whether she writes about her struggles with her boyfriend Alan's cancer, a childhood memory, or jeggings. She will always make you either think or laugh--and many times you find yourself doing both.

3. you are my fave
With a name like this, how could this blog not be one of my faves? Some of the greatest things about it are: positivity, simplicity, great style, fantastic party ideas, bunting & polaroids. Plus Melanie is just too cute! Check out this interview on My Favorite Things to read more about her.

4. A CUP OF JO
Joanna's style is classy, simple & vintage--three of my favorite things. My favorite part of following A CUP OF JO is that every Friday Joanna posts a list of links to lovely things on the web that we may have missed over the week; you can always find great stories and photos on that list, as well as new blogs to check out. I adore her & her blog to no end.

5. Des in Real Life
I love love love me a good quote, and Des in Real Life is full of them! My quote notebook has had quite a few entries from this blog, and I like to write them on Post-it notes and stick them to my walls as well. Des also posts interesting works of art, music, videos & more.

These are all Blogger bloggers. Perhaps sometime soon I'll give a list of external sites that I like. Also coming soon: music inspiration, a shout-out, & a tour of my (still new) flat!

I'm very excited to be back online--I missed you all!

<3

Life To Do List

I'm very much a list-maker. Lists make me feel organized, like life is going is some kind of forward-moving direction. And checking things off my lists make me happy. I even add things to my lists just so I can check them off (or 'tick them off,' as they say here in the UK)! I have decided to create a sort of Life To Do List--which will include overall ways to better my life, as well as just some things I want to do soon. Here are some items I've decided to include:

1) Learn to cook more meals/items from scratch.

2) On that note, be more inventive in the kitchen (and at the supermarket).

3) Sing in the shower, without fear of who's listening.

4) Get up before 9:00 on weekdays, even if I don't have any meetings/appointments/lectures.

5) Take my vitamins everyday! (And get a flu shot...)

6) Buy a rain-proof jacket. (It rains a lot in Bristol--usually lightly. They call it the Bristol drizzle.)

7) Plan a housewarming party in our new flat, and invite all of the tenants in our building. Perhaps it will be Gatsby themed, but more than likely it will simply be a classy affair. Planning ideas to come soon :.)

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Great New Bag for the Start of Term

I bought this bag on Friday at House of Fraser. Isn't it absolutely perfect?

Today begins my first official week as a postgraduate student. I'm currently in the Postgraduate Study Room in The University of Bristol's new Graduate School of Arts and Humanities. I'm using the 'net here because my flat isn't connected to the world yet (which explains my lack of posts lately). So far, my living situation is great. My housemates are nice, fun, and considerate. We've had a few communal dinners, which has helped us settle in quite nicely.

I finally organized my room (for the most part) last night, so I finally feel ready for this week. Well, ready-er. I'm still quite nervous about this semester. I know it's silly to be nervous, but it can't be helped. I really just have to be confident because I have the ability to do well in a grad school environment. I love school, so if I can't do this then what can I do? I have a meeting with my adviser in two hours, and I have to tell him what essay topics I want to write on. I'm not sure if I need to decide about next semester, but this semester I want to write about the Philosophy of Education. The problem is... that's about as far as I know. I haven't really studied the topic much, so I don't have it narrowed down. I know Plato and John Dewey are two of the biggest influences in the field, and I'd like to discuss something about the purpose of education. And I don't really know if that's enough. I suppose I'll find out soon. The thing is, I chose the program here because in my undergraduate career I didn't get to study much of what I'm really interested in. (It's not that my classes weren't interesting; they just weren't in my particular areas of interest.) So I was hoping to use the opportunity to explore new areas. Therefore, I don't have a lot of past knowledge in the areas I want to write about (and, key word: research). Bleh, I'm blabbing on and on... That's exactly what I do when I'm nervous.

Anyway, there are a lot of really cool people in the Philosophy Department. I met quite a few people at the postgrad/faculty party last Thursday. [Wine + Philosophers = Entertainment] Despite the butterflies in my tummy, I'm really excited to begin.

On another note, I plan to set up an Etsy account soon to sell some of my handmade cards, which should be a lot of fun. Does anyone know what the copyright rules are? I'm wondering if it's okay to cut pictures/letters off flyers/bags/whatever to place on my cards (as I sometimes do when I make them for friends/family), or if that will somehow be claiming their images as my own? It would be good to know just in case... Also, what I really want to do is make invitations, announcements, etc by order. So if you know someone who is getting married, having a baby, throwing a halloween party, or who just wants some handcrafted Christmas cards to send out, please refer them to me! :.)

Off to decide what to say in my meeting! Once our flat gets the Internet I'll give a virtual tour.

<3

Moving Day

Today I finally move into my new place in Bristol! It will be nice to stop living out of suitcases and get my stuff organized. Also, I get to start decorating my room (and bits of the shared living room).

So excited! But it will be a long day...

And I won't have internet for a while :.(

But I'm sure I'll find a way to connect with the world. Whiteladies Road (near my flat) has lots of coffee shops, and some are sure to have WiFi.

Photos coming soon!

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