hearts day approaching

Once I warned Ted that I tend to go overboard with hearts day crafts, he decided he would try to outdo me...

At three in the morning, I got up to go to the bathroom and outside my door I found Ted working on this!  On the back of some of them are things to do for the corresponding day.

The next day I retaliated and gave him some hearts day mixes.

For the first heart, we went to go see a movie.  We saw The Artist and it was WONDERFUL, SO GOOD, SEE IT NOW, IT EVEN HAD A DOG.

Seriously, go see it now.

I spied some cute Valentines at Powell's.

At dinner (pre-heart door night) I told Ted that I looked back at a girl behind me in line and she laughed at me and it made me sad.  I then realized that this heart was on the back of my jacket.  Oops.

For the second heart, we had a baking day and made cupcakes!  Baking in college is always an adventure, but they turned out pretty good.  I used the raspberry heart gummies that I got from Elephants Delicatessen for our movie (I also got us two macarons--yum).

To even out the playing field, I gave him a little gift that I made over break.

Colored, glitter-glued Deathly Hallows wooden pins!

Happy Hearts Day crafting!

snowsnownoowowowowowwww!

Last Tuesday I woke up to my very first snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was all I could have hoped for.  I even got to walk to my first class in the snow.  SNOW FALLING!  SNOW ON THE GROUND!  SNOW SNOW SNOW!

Unfortunately it got rained away pretty quickly.  I did enjoy seeing more snowfall during my afternoon class though.  

FORTUNATELY IT STARTED SNOWING HARDCORE LATER THAT NIGHT.

LAMP POST IN SNOW!

TREE AND BUSH AND BENCH IN SNOW!

MARTY EATING SNOW!  (He's from the East coast, so it was no biggie.)

TED BASKING IN THE SNOW!

SNOWWW, YOU GUYS!!!!!!

Up next:  Posts containing so many hearts you will explode into heart-shaped confetti.  Yes, it's that time of the year again.

to do list

(slow like honey)

thursday thrills

(pinterest)

In love with Rue magazine.

Drooling over the food blog A Cozy Kitchen.

Wishing this video was my life (be sure to watch the other two videos too).

Cake pop maker?  Yes please.

A beautiful food blog, Kiss My Spatula.

college, man

In a few days, I am going to embark on the second half of my first year of college.  After reading Melanie's list of lessons learned, I thought I would create my own, because that's what college is all about after all!

Going to college gives you a lot of room (figuratively speaking--dorm rooms are tiny) to discover things about yourself and the kind of person you want to become.  I have been very lucky to have the opportunity to go to school in Portland, because as far as I am concerned, it is one of the most creative, thriving, beautiful, outright weirdest city ever to live in.

Things I've learned from my experiences:

• Netflix Instant can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  
• Coffee is beautiful.  Half coffee/half chocolate milk is a must in the Bon when you need a pick-me-up.
• Napping is a necessary pastime.
• The paper WILL get written, so there's no need to stress out about it.
• Sloth colonies exist, but you need a permit.
• It's acceptable to bring a sloth dressed in a girl's pink onesie and bow to a tea place.
• Bubble tea is delicious.
• Finding a job on campus is easier than you think.
• I have a LOT to learn about the theatre world.
• Ragging costumes takes hours and may result in injuries from seam rippers.
• Sometimes you need to construct a squirrel cape for a show.
• Baked goods will cheer up yourself, friends, and strangers.
• Laundry detergent is EXPENSIVE.
• Grocery shopping holds way too many opportunities to spend all your money on food.  Don't go unless you need something specific or have a list.
• Leaving the wikipedia page for "Procrastination" up on your web browser is a good way to remind yourself that you have business to take care of.
• College is a lot of reading.
• Explore the neighborhoods of Portland every weekend, or at least find a coffee place to study at downtown so you don't go crazy being on campus all the time.
• Although...sometimes it's better to lock yourself in your room than find somewhere cool to study.
• Make sure to find the things that are vital to your existence (macarons).
• Making new friends can be rough.
• ALWAYS watch Glee with fellow Gleeks on Tuesday nights.  (New Girl, too.)
• If you find a boy who loves baking and Harry Potter and has a beard, make him your boyfriend ASAP.
• Go to school events.
• Care packages brighten your day, your week, pretty much your whole month.
• Find at least one person you can spill your guts out to when you're homesick or overwhelmed.
• Cover your walls with photos, cards, and memories that you accumulate.  
• Mullets are back.  You heard it here first.  (And no, I do not condone this trend.)
• People can surprise you, in good ways and in bad ways.
• Sour Patch Kids are GREAT late night brain food.  No regrets.
• Stay connected with friends and family and blog often so you stay sane.
• Stay warm with copious amounts of blankets, sweaters, and scarves.  And bearded boyfriends.
• The rainy weather can effect your mood pretty poorly, so be sure to soak up the sun when it's out and stay positive when it won't resurface for days.
• Sometimes the best burgers are little.
• Smile at everyone, because you will see them at least three times a day walking around campus.
• FOOD IS SO GOOD.  EAT ALL OF IT.

And so, so much more.  It's about time to go back to learn some more...