Throwback: When We Became Best Friends

[tbt: cape cod  and she's prepping dinner]

During weeks like these, I only really settle down after I've gotten a chance to talk with my mom about everything. It took me until senior year to open up to her, seeing her as a whole person. In high school, we never seemed to look at a situation the same way and I had resigned into thinking that she could never understand me. And then finally, I spoke honestly with her. Not just complaining about my stress but actually letting her in on what was going on that was causing me to break down and freak the fuck out. And then, she let me in. My mom is my absolute best friend because I know she would never judge me, and will always snort with me and find me funny. 

I Facetimed her earlier because the pressure of the week had been coming down on me hard and I just needed to chat with her. The conversation started off tense while we debated on my academic path, mainly because I feel at a lost and decided to just shun it all. I know she has always wanted the best for me and it hurts her to think of me swallowed by the world after graduation. I was getting a little frustrated, so I started showing her my Pinterest boards. I felt at ease and let her in on all my thoughts instead of just fabricating disagreement. She completely understood the stress that I am feeling right now, reminding me that she went to college too. And got some pretty shitty grades too. And knows that in the grand scheme of things, that's okay. And knows the feeling of a time crunch over multiple days. And felt the need to find a passion. Even at rare glimpses of a time, I need to stop forgetting that she is such a real person. Not just my mom, but my best friend.

Adobe Wasteland

A simple and stoic adobe wasteland. 

Home Sweet Home!!

[?]

Paleness, Away!

Let the sun shine!!

Spent the morning and early noon working an event so when it ended, I bolted for the outdoors. Traded in my polo for a tank and grass. Sam rocked his new neon pink sunnies from Avalon and I threw on paisley prints from J.Crew...outlet clearance, of course. Had a sun bathing good time for an hour before I had to develop some prints and dinner date with a friend [oh HI HEATHER!!] 

Rock some pink shades:

college classic

heart

cool cat

oakley classic

aviator

And some paisley pants:

black harlem 

floral

yellow

black&white

fuchsia

The Stomps of Blue Footed Boobies

What a revitalizing weekend!

Been feeling a bit boggled by academics lately- the mid-college slump? future planning strugs? should've been in architecture? ShouldaCouldaWouldas of a week.

So instead, I painted all Friday and we hiked around Laumeier Sculpture Park today before I returned to touching up the painting. It was terrific, and just what I needed. More photos of the painting to come as it gets finished up, but I realized that it's not always hard to do what you love. I'd like to think that my logical self is appeased on the regular by my studies and academic direction. And even my whole self knows that I truly do enjoy marketing. But more recently than ever, I've been wistfully wishing that I had been brought up just a little bit more liberal, not that I could ever blame my beyond impressive and hard working parents. But I wonder what I'd be like if I had dived into art years before the latter half of college freshmen year. Right now, I've just breached the threshold of "oh, this looks like a painting." I haven't quite reach the confidence level that would allow me to fully believe in my skills so I struggle a bit to commit. It's been 5 months since I last painted- EEKS! I don't even plan on waiting more than a week this time around.

I think I have very sporadic and choppy thoughts..

On a brighter note, baby blue footies [!!]:

keds

converse

vans

sperry sneaker

puma

superstar

spiked wedge

And Had A Really Really Really Good Time

MACKLEMORE!!!

Had the most AHMAZING internal-organs-squishing-front-row-pit-jamming concert ever yesterday. WUSTOCK is one of WashU's largest free concerts to the students and...MACKLEMORE CAME THIS YEAR!! But because of a freak snow storm to welcome spring, the concert moved to the Pageant venue and only 2,000 people were allowed. I lucked out and was able to go.

I am IN LOVE hearts and all with my sequin shirt from Avalon. I wear it to Macklemore. I wear it to lounge.  I wear it on gloomy days. So here are some more snazzy sassy sequin tops:
black leopard
geo block
heart cutout
leaf tee
colorful ombre
floral

We held him up standing above the crowd. And then everyone fell and my legs were flattened by the weight of the crowd (actually.) I cried during Same Love and Otherside. And And Sam caught a water bottle Macklemore threw. And Julie and I pleaded with security to let us take it out.

Then we walked a couple miles in the snowland home. Basically, perfect.    

Montreal: Up Close and Personal

Here are just some more pictures from the Jean Talon Market and the Underground City of Montreal!!

And a YOLO!!! 

[needed to be done]

Old Montreal Youngins

And we're backkk!! Sprang Breaked in Montreal like a bamf. We ate and walked to the next place we'd eat. And perused art galleries home to a dog named Moose. I'm dedicating this post to Old Montreal- a beautiful section of the city that housed crafts of all different sorts and felt oh-so-European. The air was pretty balmy in the 40s so we strolled around the nestled cobble paths for most of the day, taste testing maple butter and pastries along the way. 

  

J-Chilling With My Pug, Belle

[courtesy of the bros]

It's been Towelfight 2 vs. Midterms since Butterscotch Shenanigans released their first full-fledged, pimped out mobile game yesterday. It's a teeny tiny bit odd since I've been watching Sam work on it for the past few months with Seth (via gchat, of course) and now it's the real thing with Hardik's face splashed all over the App Store!! With big names in the gaming world not only talking about it, but raving about it. WAHHHHHHHT WHOA. 

And now to my Market Research notes. 

Envy Twines

HAPPY INITIATION WEEKEND, KENZIE!!!

I got my sorority juices flowing this weekend and got to wear a wreath!! WHY are they no longer in fashion? Oh but wait, they are. I'll be making a flower wreath for my next DIY project. Um, YES. 

And wow, a photo of me wearing stuffs. I haven't exactly been focusing on style and fashion and textiles and design and bargain hunting as of late, transforming this blog into more of a collection of my sporadic thoughts.  I do feel a bit scattered in actually most of my pursuits, but maybe it's a good to not have things set in stone. Scattered could also mean freed to think and do without limitations. But I am looking to add some more fulfillment into my life somehow someway. 

Heading to the Fox Theater [unreal. un-real.] to see The Book of Mormon with Sam's family brought me into the broader and grander real post-college world, but my not so grand exam score brought me back to the reality of today. Even before this weekend, I've been trying to figure out the value in everything that I do. I'm in a limbo of sorts, envying people who have such direct and true passions. I guess I'm kind of back at square one again. Eh, not a horrible place to be. 

Undercover Big, Undercover Rash

Cheers to this mish-mosh post!! I've been infested by a rash, explained to me as pityriasis rosea [at least the second word is cutesy?]. aka my body is rejecting me. It's been taking over my skin since last Saturday, the last time I posted. That top picture is a visual of my attempts to dress this week. Hidden. Clothed. Beyond modest? 

Anyways, IT'S BIGLITTLE WEEK!!!!!!!! I've been showering the nugget with crafted gifts but I can't reveal too much except that I feel so lucky. We clicked on a deeper level much quicker than I thought I would be able to with someone within just a couple of weeks. It's funny because this is the one year anniversary of mine and Gwen's love affair, and I feel special to get to have them both. I got the chance to skype with her for a little today and it made me so happy. Seeing her happy makes it for me. Actually continuously surprised by how I was able to find people who are my "people" here. 

Must do more work. While refraining myself from scratching. 

Twitch.

To Play

Friday night was breathtakingly magical. To the point that I actually had my mouth hang open multiple multiple times. On our way out earlier in the night, fireworks began exploding in the sky. For a hot second, I was a bit freaked out. They were big, the in-your-face kind of big. We noticed that they were coming from Mudd Field and ran. Shooting from the ground were sizzling colors and light. Chinese New Years lit up the sky.

And on our way home, fat, fluffy, sticky flakes that looked like pulled-apart cotton balls were falling. I walked home blissful and stood astonished when I approached the Swamp. Snowmen were already built and the roar of a hundred laughs accompanied the throws of a hundred snowballs. It was the first time I felt like a kid in college. The blinding feeling where cold cannot be felt and screams follow laughter and laughter follows screams. 

Best night.

1.2..3...

I have been actively avoiding the blog. Actively. PROactively. Because all I wanted to do since seven days ago is flubber about my industrial piercing. And all I could think about was how my mom would know of my doings through a blog post. And that, would be not so ideal. I Facetimed with her the week before I did it and told her I wanted to get another piercing. She thought I just meant a simple second hole and was vehemently against it. Not the aggressive type of vehemently since she's more liberal than people give her credit, but simply that it would not be a good idea. For my pain threshold. For the aftercare nuisance. For my future employers. [ >_< to the last comment ] I told her I was actually looking to get two holes in my cartilage. Heh. Pretttty sure she thought I was playing around with some wishful thinking but little did she know... 

On 1/23 in the year 2013, I got my industrial!! Went to Self Inflicted Studios downtown and sweated out 3 pounds before they 3-hole punched my ear. Gwen has one too and basically exposed me to this phenomenon  I miss her and she's in Brasil, but I thought of her a lot during this whole thing. And VAVABOOM I gots one! 

I Facetimed my mom again today and impulsively wanted to show her. Mom's reaction?
"Hahahah, you're silly." 

[before: my hands were shaking with sweat.]

I DID IT.

Yellow Daydreams

Had a beautifully delicious and captivating moment today while I was sprawled out on my back in College Hall. The yellow wood and sunshine made the air particles hit by light sparkle and dance right above me. We were taking a ten minute break from our Event Assistant training, and Adam played a tune through the speakers. The sound of strings to a western wailed in a surprisingly delightful way throughout the space. I was brought back to sweet memories from the past that had been somehow tucked away. Memories from when I was about ten and spent most of my days outside. And my first days of experiencing romance in its purest and most unrelenting form with no other considerations to think about. To a specific memory that shocked me with my own drama and sweet desperation.

...

On the morning that we were driving away from New Jersey up to Massachusetts, my mom made a stop for me two miles away from the home we were leaving. Drenched in tears, I entered a full classroom of my friends and hugged them all in their shock. I made my way to the desk and placed a poster size card of imissyous into its open-face drawer. The boy I was saying good bye to had stayed home for the morning after our last performance. We were both the leads in our fifth grade musical. And less than twelve hours after standing on stage together, I was on my way up north to a whole new place. 

...

Not-real-life-real-life moment. 

Thanks Danse Caribe for such an innocent and loving five minutes today.         

4evr a Kid

Disney is my jam, actually//literally/for realz. It was beyond nostalgic and sweet exploring the parks with Dan since he had never been to Disney World. I was his age when we first went down to Florida, which I cannot BELIEVE because I am pretty sure I had coherent and mature thoughts..which means my little brother is having thoughts on that level too? Or I am just egotistical about my eight year old self? Regardless, it was a magical experience with him. We ran head first into Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland, so much so that Dan actually tripped and face planted on the ground. But I hoisted him up so we could pass the threshold together. I miss that nugget.

It's been an apt day to daydream about Disney since this first week of classes already requires me to use whentowork for figuring out friend dates. Not really, but I should. o_O 

Birthdays Will Always Be Awesome

To a Happy New Year!!

Spent the past few weeks soaking in the love of the people who I love and didn't bother wrestling with molasses level wifi so there's much to show and chat about! Sam's twenty-third birthday was right before I left for Disney so I planned a balloon fiesta and surprise Skype party with his family. The 23 balloons carried notes of a narrative I crafted with some relevant gifts attached. The pieces of paper bound into a 23 page booklet as the final present. The sight was beautifully cheerful. :)