Good-bye 2011

There is currently 8 hours left in the year 2011... I've been reading lots of bloggers' end-of-the-year/ year-in-review posts, so here is mine. 

When I started thinking back on this year, I realized that I was able to do some pretty new and exciting things, the biggest of which was my trip to Italy. It was the first time I'd left the continent or even been on a plane. I was re-reading my posts from the trip, and looking back I can say that it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! 

I also had other fun little trips and adventures, like visiting Georgia for a weekend and going to Michigan for the first time. Plus, college in general has been pretty great - I've done well academically this year, taken some pretty awesome classes, and had so much fun with my friends. But to say this year has been really good wouldn't really be true - it's been a very up-and-down year for me. I don't want to be ungrateful because the good times were really good, but the low points were very low too. It's not really stuff that I talk about on here... I'll just say I get rather discouraged about things sometimes. 

I read this quotation yesterday by Hal Borland: ‎"Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."


I guess that's true... nothing is going to magically change just because we decided a new year would begin on January 1. I think I have learned things though this year, and I am trying to make changes to have a better year this year. 
So here are some things I hope to achieve in 2012:


- Travel: I've been itching to travel somewhere lately. If I could, I'd love to go back to Europe, but that won't be happening for a while :( At least I am going to be visiting at least two states I've never been to in the next couple of months! Hopefully I will get to do even more traveling. 
- Write: My poetry class forced me to write poems, which was great. Now I need to keep up the work and keep writing. I'd love to get something published, but even if I don't yet, I want to keep reading and  writing. 
-Maintain/lose weight: In the past year and a half, I have at least 15 pounds. At very least, I want to maintain my current weight, but I'd love to lose another 5 or 10. I have been doing well exercising over this break from school, but the tricky part is keeping it up when I get busy. I want to continue eating healthy and find new healthy recipes to try :) 
-Blog: I haven't done as much with this blog as I could. I really want to blog more regularly, and add more focus/creativity.

Christmas break

I hope you had a lovely Christmas! I have been home from college for nearly two weeks now, and the time has quite been flying by between getting together with friends, a weekend shopping trip, my birthday, and Christmas celebrations with relatives. In my down time, I've been trying to catch up on much-needed sleep and also read some pleasure books. As an English major, I spend so much time during the semester reading required books that it's really only on breaks that I have time to read books just for fun. 

I had been wanting to read this book, Wide Sargasso Sea, ever since one of professors recommended it. It's a sort of retelling of Jane Eyre, from the perspective of the character "Bertha," whose actual name in this book is Antoinette. The plot mostly takes place before the events of Jane Eyre and tells the story of Antoinette's childhood and unhappy marriage to Rochester. Having just studied Jane Eyre in my Victorian literature class last semester, I enjoyed another perspective, although it definitely does not present a flattering picture of Rochester. 

On a different note, I am currently in the middle of Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Yes, I confess I have jumped onto this bandwagon. As an English major, I am a little wary of some popular fiction, but the story really does just suck in the reader. I read the first book as part of my young adult lit class last semester, and ever since have been waiting to read the second two. 

The most recent other significant thing I have done is dying my hair for the first time! I had been thinking about it for some time and finally decided to just try it. My friends and I had a little hair-dying party last night and here's the result: 

At first, I was concerned that it was too dark, but I think I've gotten used to it and like it :) I'm looking forward to having something new. 

Finally, I received many pretty pieces of clothing for Christmas, so I really will have to try to do some outfit posts soon. I haven't done any in a very long time!

Gift guide

My first bit of news...


I am done with classes/papers/exams for the semester! Yay! Today I had my last exam, and now I am free - so I can finally write a post that I have been wanting to do for a while. 


This year for Christmas I am trying to buy gifts from smaller stores or independent sellers. For one thing, I think you can find more unique things, and for another, I'd rather give my money to individuals. Just an idea :) 


So I thought I'd share some of the websites (from etsy) where I found some items. I won't share exactly what I bought, in case someone I bought things for reads this. 


Folding Chair Designs - They have some really cute hair accessories
Moonbeamwishes - Awesome greeting cards 
PlaidCupcakeDesigns - A bit of this and that 


Another place where I actually asked for something for myself is Violet Bella. I adore her jewelry and have been wanting something from there for quite a while :) 


If you want even more gift guide ideas, check out this list from Scathingly Brilliant. 


Happy Christmas shopping - only twelve days till Christmas! 

DIY - "Book Shelves"

I may not be a naturally "crafty" sort of person, but when I saw this DIY project on Ruche's blog a while ago, I thought it was so cute and would be a perfect way to decorate the painfully white walls of my dorm room.  Early in the semester I bought some books at a used bookstore with the intention of making them, but alas the semester nearly went by before I got around to putting them up. However - finally today I put together this "book shelf," and here is the result:

Hmm... one looks a little crooked 

Now my wall is not so sad!

The original instructions can be found here. I modified the instructions a little to make it work for me. My dorm does not allow larger than 1-inch nails in the wall so that is what I used to attach the brackets to the wall. I used the screws that came with the brackets to attach the brackets to the books. For the largest book I used three brackets to make it sturdier. I am a little worried they won't stay on the wall because of the 1-inch nails, but so far since last evening they have stayed up. If something falls on my feet while I am sleeping, however, it will not be so good :P

Here's how I screwed in the brackets before I put them on the wall
(It would have been much easier if I had an electric screwdriver, but I used what I could find) 

(long overdue...) michigan adventures

I've been meaning to post about my trip to Michigan in October - so here it finally is: 


Initially I was just going to stick around town for my college fall break, but a few days before fall break, one of my best guy friends invited me to go with him and another friend to Michigan. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to rest up enough if I went; however, once he convinced me to go, I was quite excited. I'd never been to Michigan before, or really anyplace in that region so I was glad to be able to visit someplace new! 


We spent five days doing LOTS of riding in the car there and back and also traveling around the Detroit area. Not only did we get to see the city (where we visited the Detroit Institute of the Arts), but we also went to an apple orchard and picked apples. Another evening we crossed the border into Canada for dinner (that's where this picture was taken - Detroit's in the background). 


Thankfully it wasn't extremely cold when we were there (my idea of Michigan was freezing temperatures, something like the North Pole - haha) although I'm sure it's gotten much colder since our visit. 

New Ruche Lookbook

Ruche recently released their new lookbook: Cherished, A Romantic Winter. They have some absolutely beautiful pieces... in fact, I had been wanting to order something new from there, and when I saw this lookbook I decided to order a piece from it. I'm so excited for it to arrive! It's a surprise for now, but I will have to post pictures. 


This lookbook definitely has a romantic mood - very cozy and dreamy :)


Check out the video for the lookbook here
View the lookbook here

halloween & things

Growing up, my family didn't celebrate Halloween. I didn't really mind too much, considering that Halloween decorations in stores scared me as a child. 
I've still never been trick-or-treating and I don't know if I really "celebrate" Halloween (this evening I just stayed home, cooked some yummy chili and hung out with friends), but I have to admit that I have really enjoyed dressing up for costume parties around Halloween since I've come to college. I had two such costume parties in the past few days, and I was quite excited about my costume this year! I hope it's okay if I spend my twenties doing all the dressing up at Halloween that I wasn't allowed to do as a kid. 

Can you guess who I am? 
I am Juliet :) 
No, I didn't have Romeo, but that's okay. When you really think about it, Juliet's life end up so well after she met Romeo so she would probably have been better off by herself. 


I was thrilled when I found this costume at a used-clothing store for only $10! I needed a literary character costume for my English majors' costume party, and this dress was just my size. I also wore it to another costume party at a farm (which is where these pictures were taken). 


What were you for Halloween? 

PS - Remember when I visited Juliet's balcony? Just another reason why I enjoyed dressing as her. 

I Never Win Anything ((except now))

Often some of the blogs I follow have giveaways, and I usually enter because hey, who wouldn't love to win something free? I feel like I've never won much of anything in my whole life except maybe a free CD when I was little, but I thought that maybe I would eventually win one of the giveaways. And just recently I did! The giveaway was from Tieka of Selective Potential and I won an outfit comprised of this dress, ring, and belt from Sosie! 

I'm so thankful to have won this outfit! The dress isn't something I would necessarily have picked out for myself, but it's very cute :) I added the sweater and leggings to make the it warmer.

These pictures were actually taken a couple of weeks ago one afternoon on campus. I just hadn't had time to post recently because I've been so busy at school . My friend Devin took these pics for me. 

Side bun - Ruche style!

Today after I was finished with classes (yay weekend!), I was looking on the internet and found a new DIY YouTube video from Ruche showing how to do an awesome side bun! Here is my attempt at reproducing the style. I kind of wish I would have known how to do it earlier today because it would have been fun to wear it to classes, but I can do it again another day. Check out the video here. My only variations were that I tried to curl my hair a little before (since the model's hair was already curly) and that I didn't use hair spray because I don't have any now. 

DIY projects are great when you can try it yourself right away! 

This dress I wore today is from Ross last year, and it has become a staple to my wardrobe because it's cute and comfy. My leggings are from Target, and the belt is from Rue 21. 


Thanks again to Ruche for this fun DIY video :)

Fashion Trends: Horse Print

A trend that I've noticed popping up on some of the blog I follow and in websites recently is horse print:

Elegant Equestrian Printed Dress from Ruche

Belted Dress in Carousel Horse Print from ASOS

Prancing Dress from Francesca's Collections

Galloping Horses Scarf from Le Mode Accessories

I don't have any clothing with horse print, but I hope to sometime soon! I think it's a cute and fun trend. 

Here are some of the ways bloggers have styled this trend:

A horse print sweater

Horse print altered into unicorns  (so cool!)

Back to school :)

I'm so very happy to be back at college. I'm settled back into my apartment, and we have just about finished decorating. Classes started this week, which means an outfit for the first day of school! One of my friend's Facebook statuses was about how she's in college and still picks out her "first day of school outfit," which seems perfectly normal to me since I do the same thing :) I wanted something that was cute without looking too overdone and actually put quite a bit of thought into what I would wear. I ended up wearing a simple pair of jeans with a new shirt and new necklace. Simple, perhaps, but I wanted everything to work together in the details to create a classy outfit. 

I love the detail on this shirt from Maurices - a lovely neckline in the front and lace in the back. 

I also love this key necklace that I recently ordered from Ruche. They are out of these specific necklaces, but they have other beautiful key necklaces like this one and this one. I had been wanting a necklace such as this for quite a while, and am very happy with my purchase :) 

Do you still plan out a first day of school outfit?

All Dressed Up...

 I bought this "In a Bed of Roses" dress from Ruche about two months ago and have been anxious for a chance to wear it. I felt it would be odd to wear when I was just around the house during the summer so I was looking for an excuse to dress up! I told my friends that we needed to go out to eat before I left for college and that we should get a little dressed up for the occasion.


We decided that since we were all dressed up we definitely needed to take some pictures. The trouble was that in the area where we were there really wasn't any place really great to take them - no pretty buildings or scenic areas that were easily accessible. We ended up going to a nearby park and managed to take some pictures before it got too dark. Many of them ended up actually turning up really well :)

I really enjoyed wearing my dress - it's so cute and flattering

I feel like this picture and outfit are very Clothes Horse-inspired :)

Playing on the swings as it as dusk set in

Outfit details: dress - Ruche; cardigan - Rue 21; belt - Maurices; tights - Urban Outfitters; Shoes - Blowfish via Ross; purse - Target 

Here's the dress and belt I got from Francesca's Collections last week! I couldn't find the dress anymore on the website, but it was on sale so I must have snatched up one of the last ones. The dress is a little bit more flowy than I normally wear, but I really liked the way it felt when I walked - sort of like a fairy prancing through the woods (or what I imagine one would feel like)...

Twirling around :) 

If you feel just like a tourist...

"And if you feel just like a tourist in the city you were born
Then it's time to go
And define your destination
There's so many different places to call home"
- "You Are a Tourist" by Death Cab for Cutie


I've spent the summer in the same town where I have lived my whole life {except for college}, and yet it doesn't feel like like home anymore. Sometimes I feel as out of place as a tourist in a strange land, but I do not have new places to delight me. I'm someone else living in someone else's home when I'm here because so often my mind and heart are far away. 


Sometimes nothing has changed. Laughter and hours spend with my friends from my childhood is something I can come back to like always. But interspersed are those moments where I am a stranger in a place I am supposed to be long-known. I have changed. And in some ways nothing else has - which is the problem. It's like a pair of childhood gloves that used to fit, and now I've outgrown them. Or did they shrink on their own? 


Only a few more weeks until I can be back at school...

Second Time's a Charm?

Earlier in July my sister, two friends and I attempted to go on an exciting shopping trip. Before we could go to even one store, however, we got into a car accident. Thankfully none of us were hurt, but my friend's car was totaled, and that was the end of our shopping trip. Yesterday I went with one of those friends, Erin, on a smaller but still fun shopping trip. I was honestly a little nervous about the driving after what had happened last time (and I don't have much experience driving in cities), but we made it okay! I even managed to make it through the rush-hour traffic because, of course, we would leave at about the worst possible time. 


I found a few good deals shopping, and possibly the most exciting part of the day was discovering the store Francesca's Collections. I had heard of it through this post on the blog Selective Potential. Thinking it looked very much like my style, I went on their website just to see where the nearest one was (although I didn't expect to find one too close since I'm not near any major cities). I was thrilled to see that there was one only forty minutes away and couldn't wait to check it out. It was amazing - I seriously liked just about everything in the store! I ended up finding a dress, belt and scarf all on sale, and the saleslady said that they frequently have good sales so I will definitely be visiting again soon :) 

Erin took these pictures of me when we were shopping downtown. My outfit was pretty simple, which is good when you have to try on a bunch of clothes! The jeans are from American Eagle, the tank is from Maurices and the cardi vest is from Forever 21. 

A closer look at my Keds - these are one of my absolute favorite pairs of shoes I've owned.  I love that they have lots of color without being too crazy-looking :)

Memories remain

 It's hard to believe that about a month ago I was still in Italy. If I close my eyes, I can picture beautiful Tuscany and see the buildings all around, some of them older than I can understand. 


In some ways, I feel as if it were another world, one to which I can only hope to return someday. But then again, it was so real, so close that it seems I should be able to get back with a simple car ride. If only. 


I still have countless memories, numerous photos, and many friends through which I can journey back on occasion :) And I have this shirt... 

This was the shirt that I wore the day I went shopping in Florence. I almost didn't buy anything for myself when I was there because I was so busy trying to buy presents for others. I am, however, very glad that I stopped in a little store and found this though! In Florence we passed some of the major fashion stores like Gucci, but there were places that were actually in my price range as well. 

I wore it with one of my favorite pairs of pants: black skinny pants from Maurices. I love all of the little lace details on the shirt :)
(And sorry about the rather uninspired background to these photos - it has cooled off a bit from the heat wave we've been having, but it's still rather warm for outdoor shots).

Summer Resort - New Lookbook from Ruche

Ruche is one of my very favorite online stores, and they just released their new lookbook yesterday! Its theme is "Summer Resort" and it has lots of beachy and exotic-looking outfits. Check it out!

Here's a peek from inside...

I think this is my favorite piece from the lookbook. I love the little bow details. You can buy it here.


Happy shopping :)

Italy Day Thirteen: Milan (the last day)

We spent our last day in Italy exploring Milan and began by going to the Milan Cathedral as a group. By this point in the trip we had seen many cathedrals (unfortunately almost to the point where we were starting to get used to their beauty). The cathedral in Milan, however, in addition having being magnificently Gothic in style, was unique in that we were able to take an elevator up and walk around on its roof.

One of my friends said the top of the cathedral made him think of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and the scene in which the Beast and Gaston are fighting :)

On top of the roof we had a splendid view of the surrounding city as well as of the magnificence of the cathedral. After seeing so many cathedrals, this one definitely stuck out to me, and it was definitely one of my favorites on the trip! 


After going into the cathedral, we had free time for the rest of the day, and I went with a group to go exploring. As I said in my last post, much of Milan seemed to have a very modern feel. We did, however, discover a wonderful historic site where we spend much of our afternoon looking around. We found the medieval Sforza Castle, which was originally built in 1360 but had to be rebuilt in 1450 when Francesco Sforza was duke of Milan. Now the castle houses a number of museums that display art and historical artifacts. We were able to look around a few of the museums, which we were excited to find out had free admission because we were under the age of twenty-five. 

Our last day ended with a farewell dinner at the wonderful Ristorante Torriani 25 where we enjoyed a feast of amazing food 


And so our trip ended although we still had the complicated process of getting home... let's just say it involved leaving our hotel at 5 am, finding out our flight was cancelled, not knowing what we were going to do, and having our group get split up on two different flights. But in the end we all made it back safely, and now we're left with ever so many memories. 

Italy Day Twelve: Verona and Milan

On day twelve we made our trip to the final city at which we would stay, Milan. As we traveled by train, however, we stopped part of the way and spent a few hours exploring Verona. 

There was really only one thing that I knew about in Verona that I wanted to see, which was "Juliet's Balcony." The house where the balcony is supposedly belonged to Capello (Capulet) family in Shakespeare's play. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is indeed based off a story from Italy, but I'm not sure if this was definitely her house (and apparently the balcony was added within the past hundred years). Nevertheless, as a big Shakespeare fan, I thought Juliet's House was quite charming and enjoyed going up to the balcony and looking around the museum within the house. It was fun to at least imagine that this was where Juliet stood. One could even write letters to Juliet (like in the movies Letters to Juliet). 

Statue of Juliet in the courtyard 

Later in the afternoon we continued on to Milan. The first thing that many of us noticed about Milan was how much more modern it seemed as compared to the other places we had visited. While places like Rome, Florence and Venice seemed very intent on displaying the aspects of their history, the buildings in  Milan were quite modern (although we did discover some of the historical places the next day). Milan is a very large and fashionable city, and it was even somewhat intimidating to walk around in the evening, looking for a place to eat and feeling a bit out of place. But my two friends and I did find a place to eat and managed to do alright even though it seemed none of the waiters knew English (unlike most of the places we had previously visited). We had quite a lovely dinner during which I enjoyed some delicious gnocchi :)

Waiting for our food to come -
(this photo was taken by my friend Tyler on his camera)