be excellent to each other

wonderful wednesday

2011-10-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

linda and me - rader's family farm - normal, illinois - october 25, 2011.

with the stress of work today, there was nowhere less i wanted to be than at my desk today.

then my phone started blinkingred.

a new message.

it was from my friend alex, who i haven't talked to in a while, and who i haven't seen in an even longer while.

hearing from him made me smile (genuinely) and made me remember how good it can be to hear from good friends, where distance may keep you apart.

that got me thinking of the things that make me genuinely happy.

by default, i am a happy person. my laugh can be heard all the way across the office. people tell me i am easily entertained. i'm rarely bored or upset for too long.

but today, alex's out-of-the-blue message really made put a smile on my face and gave my voice a happy spring.

here are 15 things that make me smile.

1. unexpected messages from old friends.

me and alex, sophomore year, fall 2007.

3. a full tank of gas.

4. crisp fall air.

5. comfortable silences between really good friends.

6. navy blue and white striped shirts, of which i own about 5.

7. boys who wear boat shoes or toms or classic blue vans skating shoes.

8. when the dress you want fits perfectly.

9. waking on your own time to a day with absolutely no plans. or a day full of fun, exciting, adventure-inducing ones.

10. when your friends uploads the pictures from a great weekend before you even get home.

11. driving home after 10 on a sunday and unexpectedly tuning in to dawson mccallister's radio show on kissFM. always a treat to gain some perspective on your life right before the work week.

12. finding things i "need" on trips to ikea!

13. planning vacations with or to visit people i love.

14. the atmosphere at a really, really good concert.

i'm in the cut-offs, getting my juke on at deadmau5 - epic dance party at lollapalooza, august 7 2011 (as you can tell by the annoying date tag in the corner).

15. airports. being on an airplane. take off and touch down. ascent and descent. delays. airport food. magazine shopping at the gate. 8+ hour flights to new worlds. people watching. the fact that everyone is going somewhere. being in the sky before the sun rises, and staying there after it has set.

san francisco to chicago - october 17, 2011.

what always makes you happy? what brings out your laugh lines?

mi casa

2011-07-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

hello, little blog. so much has changed since i lost posted in... april. i've been super busy at work thanks to the disastrous weather in the midwest, but i've moved out, gotten an orange kitty named bill, and planned a trip to San Francisco with my friends from work.

this is bill. he is three and he has a dreidel cat toy and he likes playing with my ponytail holders.

my place is unpacked for the most part, but not all decorated. i'm holding off of on that for; i want to devote an hour a day to sorting through all this introductory mail that has accumulated in various piles in my apartment, reorganize the tchotchkes that have found their way onto my mantle and dresser, hang up more pictures/locate frames, and set up my wii.

as always, per my "strive for constant improvement" mantra, i'm in a workout challenge class with one of my friends (down two pounds!), drinking lots of water, and i'm looking forward to taking advantage of this nice weather with some early morning or late evening bike rides (i finally have my bike here from my parent's house!). i'm trying not to be as computer or television-centric, and trying to get up off my butt, keep things at least slightly clean, and maybe get around to folding this week-old pile of laundry in my basket. i want to get to sleep on time and wake up in time to get some hours of OT in the morning at work. basically, i need the energy to get up and check things off my to-do list. such a better feeling than knowing you've spent the day doing productive things, rather than napping while watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family.

as i get everything together, my life has been full of friends and awesome things that are getting me out of the apartment. i won passes to an advance screening of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and i took my friend cory. i also spent the weekend of the 4th at my friend's pool, betting (and losing) on horses, taking in an awesome fireworks display, hitting up a hot air balloon festival, and going to a Sox game. it was a great weekend that took a lot out of me, and i'm still recuperating.

for now the focus is on busting my best at work in the week ahead, riding my bike in the evenings, and eating as healthily as possible (turkey, water, egg whites, peppers). what is your focus of the week?

be excellent.

travel tuesday: 11.3.10 - barcelona, spain to paris, france

2011-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

1. saying goodbye to barcelona

2. españa from the aire

3. caroline's student foyer in paris looked just like the interior of the hogwarts express

4. paris by night, overlooking the seine just outside of the latin quarter

5. notre dame

6. my first glimpse of the eiffel tower from the plane

7. bathed in parisian twilight, right before we had some stella artois at shywawa

travel tuesday: 11.2.10 - barcelona, spain

2011-04-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

1. my old dried fruit seller friend at la boquería

2. sunset on top of la sagrada familia

3. overlooking the sunlit modern side

4. twilight exterior of casa batlló

5. enchanted forest interior of la sagrada familia

travel tuesday: 11.1.10 - barcelona, spain

2011-04-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

1. parc guell

2. looking up at the palau de la música catalana on a clear november day

3. making insects out of recycled objects in parc guell

4. quite possibly the best night out i've ever had

5. the view off the balcony at my old homestay with a view of the fc barca stadium in the background

6. exploring right off las ramblas

7. me and my old host mom

8. so many good nights out at this bar on passeig de colón

things i loved in february

2011-03-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

all things pink and light and airy and printed and girly.

clean up, clean up everybody everywhere

2011-02-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Living at home has its perks. For one, every two weeks a nice woman named Anna comes and cleans our house. However, when she gets to my room she just rearranges the dozens of nail polish bottles on my dresser and throws my shoes in my closet (see picture four). Not much to clean in a room that has a fine layering of clothing that acts as a floor. She'll stack up the DVDs and magazines and books I have scattered next to my bed (see the last picture) and then gently place all discarded clothing in the pile in front of my desk (see the picture below).

Now that I have a move-out date in less than two months (!!!!! MY NEW PLACE IS AMAZING !!!!!), I think it's time to stop having "piles" of things and time to start getting rid of things. Maybe the best way of picking out my clothing for work each day would be to look in my closet or drawers; not by kicking through a mound of clothing with varying levels of cleanliness. So, after I wake up from my morning nap, it's mission cleaning. I feel like I'm always devoting myself to this cause. But this time, it's for real. Please enjoy the following "before" pictures, which feature gift bags filled with still unpacked Christmas gifts, old copies of US Weekly, and boxes of yet-unpacked home headbands and jewelry from college (for a point of reference, I moved home in late May 2010). Excellent!

Stay excellent. And cleaner than me! But I don't think that will be hard.

the thursday things: things i am excited about edition

2011-02-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

caroline and i in France, November 2010. purple tank and gray messenger bag, Gap; earrings, Claire's.

normally my "thursday things" posts are dedicated to things that are, at that moment, making me feel happy, warm, tingly, excited, joyful, exuberant, enthusiastic, etc. however, with visits to see some of my best friends in the next few weekends, i realized that the things that make me happy consistently are not things; they're people. here are a few of the people who make me all of those synonyms for happy, and who i am lucky enough to see in the next few weeks, and a bit of what we'll be doing!

one of my best friends, Julie, who I am visiting in Boston at the end of February! excited to visit the MBMJ and Betsey Johnson stores with her, eat delicious Bah-ston style food, and to go to Salem and my first East Coast Girl Talk concert!

floral top, Julie's; pearl studs, C.

my Kappa Delta pledge family: me, granddaughter/fellow European explorer, Caroline, and pledge daughter, Linda.

I'm going down in a week for our annual Crush Dance. Excited for getting ready and dancing the night away with all of my Kappa Delta sisters... and for Portabella Ciabetta and Lobster Bisque from Kelly's Bakery. Top, Forever 21; jeans and flats, H&M.

Stay excellent.

the thursday things

2011-02-03T21:58:00.000-08:00

dinner with my pledge mom. sangria and tapas at the restaurant we've been frequenting for 4 years.

perhaps I'm late on the Tim Lincecum bandwagon but that GQ cover? he-llo. i'm a freak for the freak.

the baha'i temple. always a favorite, and especially at night.

this sweet print at ikea. i want to frame this print and put it all over my new apartment (when i move in, if ever).

quotes on the women's bathroom wall at Lasalle Power Company. i love them to no end.

negro y blanco

2011-01-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

Black and white. Until I get a boyfriend who will act as my faux-tographer for outfit posts, expect to be seeing a lot more shower curtains. This ensemble brought to you in celebration of my friend Katie's 23rd birthday in early January. I've enjoyed the darker colors that winter gives us the liberties to wear (as evidenced here). However, with spring sniffing the air, I can feel my pastel obsession warming up...

Military jacket, H&M in Barcelona; black and white ruffled top, Target; quilted cross-body bag, vintage; black belt, Charlotte Russe; straight jeans, ATL; white watch, Michael Kors; bracelets, TOMS.

Stay excellent.

the thursday things

2011-01-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

Texts from my pledge grandbaby Caroline, keeping me up with the latest Kappa Delta gossip.

These are the things I've been loving this week. With the snow in Chicago being as unwelcome as a pair of white pumps in my closet (read: very unwelcome), I've been especially loving things that have been leaving me feeling especially warm and fuzzy and tingly all over.

A thank you note that one of my clients sent me! She said in it that my company is very lucky to have me. This kept me smiling all day long today.

Daft Punk; especially the Tron: Legacy soundtrack; especially Castor. Daft Punk isn't exactly warm, fuzzy music, but my brother got me into Daft Punk (starting with "Digital Love"), and this soundtrack reminds me of him.

The engraved silver bangle my mom got me for Christmas to match the one that she has had since before I can remember. I wear it everyday.

This sweet bedding from Ikea. I adore the red buttons on the pillow case!

Taco night.

diada deu en barcelona

2011-01-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

First picture: musical musings near Via Laietana. Second picture: Spanish babushka (she brings this cat around the city, and I remember her from when I was abroad in Fall 2008). Third picture: blue mosaic in Parc de la Ciutadella. Fourth picture: sunlit afternoon on the beach. Fifth picture: late afternoon cocktails at Opium Mar. Sixth picture: rented bikes on the beach; best afternoon in Barcelona. Seventh picture: sisters; matching sunglasses compliments of Kappa Delta Bid Day 2010; yellow and grey breton shirt, Gap. Eighth picture: Halloween sand sculpture on the beach.

On Halloween, our second day in Barcelona, we rented bikes and toured all round the old industrial district, Parc de la Ciutadella (Park of the Old City), and the blissful beach. We stopped for drinks on the patio of Opium Mar nightclub and watched the sunset over the Mediterranean (my favorite body of water). It was total bliss. How I wish we were still there, watching pretentious twenty-somethings with fake accents smoke cigars while Caroline and I leaned back and (legally!) toasted to an excellent second day in Spain.

BE, xoxo.

Auld Lang Syne

2011-01-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

My mom's decorations from the 2010 Holiday Season. First picture: a wreath from a local florist. Second picture: pines swathed in lights along our front walk. Third picture: our mantel on Christmas morning. Fourth picture: Santa's excellent gift-wrapping. Fifth picture: Our REAL tree (a very happy moment for me every year, following the fake tree crying incident of 2001), complete with the ribbon wrap we use every year and a thumb print reindeer I made in preschool.

Yes, I know Christmas is over, but with the the only thing on my mind being moving out, getting my own apartment, and having my own things, decorating my place for Christmas 2011 has me excited already. My mom always does such a fantastic job decorating for the Holiday Season (very necessary to capitalize this), and it keeps me feeling festive way before and far after New Years.

I'll admit that it's a bit far in advance, but the post-Christmas sales have let me stock up on decorations, ornaments, and even Christmas cards for 75% off. I hit up Target, Pier 1 Imports, and our local garden and home decor store, Pasquesi, and procured (I knew my $3 English major words would come in handy somewhere) some cheap decorations that I'm eager to put up as soon as the 2011 Holiday Season begins. Now I just have to find that apartment.

BE, xoxo.

christina, carolina, barcelona

2011-01-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

First and second pictures: La Boquería. Third picture: Caroline at Happy Pills. Fourth picture: Universitat Pompeu Fabra Communication Campus; scarf and yoga pants, Old Navy; gray shirt and gray cross body bag, Gap; chestnut boots, Charlotte Russe. Fifth picture: dinner off Placa St. Jaume. Sixth picture: after dinner; purple tank and gray cross body bag, Gap; black cardigan (left in a taxi the next night), Old Navy; belt, Charlotte Russe; nail polish, Lincoln Park After Dark by OPI.

The post-Christmas blues and days of working 8-5 with little time to do anything remotely photo-worthy has sent me venturing through my photographs from what was dubbed "EuroTrip 2010" ... I went to Barcelona and Paris for 10 days back in October and November, with my good friend Caroline who was studying abroad in Paris. We met in my old stomping grounds, Barcelona, for 4 days of sun, seafood, and serious architecture, and then jetted off to Paris for 5 days of everything quintessentially French (berets, baguettes, bateaus, etc.). These are just a few pictures from my first day in Barcelona. I've only been back for 3 months stateside but these bitterly cold days with ambiguously-minded snow are sending my thoughts back to Europe.

BE, xoxo.

the holiday season, and whoop de doo

2011-01-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

First two pictures: ruffle-top dress, Francesca's; tights, Express; black leather flats, Guess; gifted cultured pearl studs. Third picture: grey ruffle top, Old Navy. Fourth and fifth pictures: one-shoulder ruffle dress, Forever 21; red quilted cross-body bag, vintage Chanel. Last picture: dolman sleeve striped sweater, Gap; rope of faux pearls, borrowed from a friend... 2 years ago.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm really going to miss the sparkle and dressed-up spirit this holiday season ushers in. I spent November and December traipsing around Chicago in ruffle-y tops and dresses, shiny hair, and accessories that I have been yearning to pull out of my closet all year, especially black on black tights and this red Chanel bag that I've had since high school (found in a scummy rummage store for $14!). I can't wait to see what accessories will become special mainstays in my wardrobe rotation in 2011.

My 4-day mini break has been pretty low-key, and staying in this vein, today I'm lounging around in leggings -- online apartment hunting, scooping all my holiday clothing and gifts off my floor, and watching the Pretty Little Liars marathon, in anticipation for the return of PLL and Greek (eee!).

Have a good return to the real world this week, everyone. Be excellent to each other!

it was the most wonderful time of the year

2011-01-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

After every holiday or vacation or birthday, I always seem to go through what my mom calls "post-vacation letdown." After the exciting events of these special days, like dressing up and indulging in festive foods and attending parties with friends decked out in just-purchase-for-the-occasion attire, life has to return to what it was before: work, routines, and less festive everything. The return to the everyday always makes me feel mundane and sad that the holiday-friendly excuse to wear sparkly cocktail rings and statement necklaces everyday or to eat my mom's peanut-butter-and-Hershey-kiss cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is no longer acceptable.

The day after New Years always brings these feelings to a head. Even in the days after Christmas, there is NYE to look forward to, with its welcome attitude toward sparkly clothing and the celebratory mood it garners. It gives everyone something to celebrate, regardless of faith. The end of a calendar year. A fresh start. A new attitude. Promises to eat no carbs. Promises to volunteer every Saturday. Promises to hit the gym two times a day, everyday, in 2011. Promises to get organized. Promises to learn Turkish. Promises to teach the cat how to flush the toilet. Promises to be more patient with one's in-laws. As you can tell, not all of these are realistic. But the air of the holiday season lets us believe in something that seems unrealistic and magical, that we're capable of something that the March or July versions of ourselves didn't have the chutzpah to even think to attempt.

With that air of magic, to me, comes the desire to dress in a way I wouldn't normally during the other months of the year. I'm normally a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but December brings out black tights, sparkly jewelry, curly hair, and glittery heels. Something I hope to bring into the New Year with me is this reinvigorated sense of style.

My picks for a sparkly New Year include:

This Lee Angel 18-Strand Gold Necklace. I purchased it at a trunk show where Peach Carr, of Project Runway fame, debuted her new tennis line. It is light and festive; I've worn it to work with a black scoop neck tee and on NYE with a strapless black lace cocktail dress. It was way more than I would normally spend on a piece of jewelry, but I see it as an investment (which is what I had to keep repeating to myself as I handed the saleswoman my credit card). However, it has proven itself to be the perfect last piece to several outfits.

These Rhinestone Leather Ballet Flats have been my go-to shoes for winter (other than the Uggs I use to slog through the parking lot during my morning and even trips to my car). They complement my Gap really skinny pants perfectly, which is the constant lower half of my work uniform. I've become something of a Gap addict in the past few months.

Lately, I've been investing in plain tops and bottoms (mostly from The Gap), and buying less expensive accessories. I've found that Charlotte Russe has a really current, on-point selection of belts, necklaces, bracelets, and rings that are pretty inexpensive. I own the first necklace and I plan on going back soon and buying the last two. They would look great with a plain shirt or a cardigan.

I hope you all had a safe, excellent New Year. Here's to a sparkly 2011.

new year, new interests

2011-01-02T05:59:00.000-08:00

I've had this blog for over a month, and have come here several times in an attempt to make an interesting, aesthetic-ly pleasing post, but have been too intimidated by my lack of knowledge of HTML or uncertainty about resizing and posting the pictures I have taken for months, with the intention of putting them on this blog,

However, I figured, with a New Year comes an attempt at new things, new interest, new ventures, so, inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Cupcakes and Cashmere, who I think takes such lovely pictures of everything she does, I decided to start my own. I'm still finding my footing in the "blogosphere," but I hope to take some of you along for what I hope to be an interesting ride.

For now, I'm signing off. Until next time, be excellent to each other.