The Never-Ending Semester

Most days I have no idea what I want out of life, and it is surprisingly scary. I was voted Most Likely to Succeed in 9th grade (oh the pressure!), but no one ever told me how vague the idea of success is. No life looks the same, at least I'm hoping, because the minute I try to follow the pattern of my friends' lives, I fail.

I tend theorize about why we love college so much-yes, it's the friends we make and the freedom, and learning something new each day about life and about ourselves. But lately, I think we like it so much because it has set beginnings and ends over and over again. A new semester brings fresh subjects, teachers, a clean slate, new friends, and the strange comfort that it will end. There will be finals; you'll be evaluated as good, bad, or mediocre, but really it's just nice to be evaluated. In this post-college life, I find my silly self waiting for finals...

...how precious is the Ultimate Hope we have in Christ, otherwise I would be utterly lost and a total failure.

Greetings from San Fran...

sooo I'm a bad blogger...

I'm thinking of starting a Blog for 30 days Straight Project. In which case, I will have to find something interesting (or not so interesting) everyday to share with my oh 5 friends who read this. I think it might be surprisingly hard. In true procrastinator style, I'll put this off for a while.

In the meantime, here are some images of San Francisco that inspire me. Some of them postcard style (like of the Golden Gate Bridge) and some of them just beautiful colors and people.

Love and Greetings from San Francisco...

because the heart of life is good...

SeptemberSea.com




"the circle of your friends will defend the silver lining" -John Mayer



Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rachel, Carol Hannah, and Kaili for doing this for me today (and always)!
I am so lucky to have friends like y'all.

visiting hours...

Today I visited Valentino, the purse I will never be able to afford. I like to refer to him as a friend I'm going to see. It's just like we have prison visiting hours (aka the hours Nordstrom's is open: M-Sa 10-9, Su 11-7) but will never be able to be together. And they keep Valentino on a leash so we won't try to run away together to live happily ever after. It's too shameful to want something this expensive so I will not even mention the price of Valentino's freedom here.

project lie for a year...

about 300 days ago...my best friend Carol Hannah left for L.A. to compete in what is my opinion the best and only reality tv show worth watching, Project Runway (this of course excludes the new NYC Prep, which has definitely entertained me). She left our sweet home of Charleston, SC excited and thrilled about this adventure in her life, and yet could tell no one where she was going. She left for L.A. for 10 weeks then to NYC to live and follow her dreams of being a designer.

And she is doing incredible! Her creations are beautiful and inspiring. The kind of clothes that empower women and make men swoon.

Check her out on PR starting August 20 on Lifetime (the new hip network apparently). You will not be disappointed by her designs and you'll be charmed by her sweet, witty love for life.

Thank you Carol Hannah for lying to your friends for a year, so that something really cool could happen and wonderful secrets could be revealed.

move over martha.

an afternoon practice at being domestic...

sweet Karissa hard at work, baking cupcakes for her friends
(she's already domestic)

my creation- caramel frosting the consistency of play-doh. yikes! maybe I'll make mom and grandmother Sybil proud next time.

Karissa and Liz's creation- precious red velvet cupcakes

mmmm...

barefoot contessa making it look easy

Had to plop the frosting on since it wouldn't spread.

hearts make everything sweeter.

simply impressive.

sort of look like poopcakes
still tasty though.

Thank you Karissa and Liz for a beautiful domestic goddess afternoon!

have yourself a merry little Tuesday...

perhaps it was the fact that I saw a man's breath smoke last night on the bus from the utter coldness or simply my inner desire for the warm comfort of a familiar melody, but this morning I am guilty of listening to Christmas music on my way home from work. As my ipod shuffled through my, oh say, 150 songs (yes I'm lame), it landed upon the gem of a different time of year, a happier time, a sparklier time, and I am guilty of not shuffling on.

...and then I wondered...what is everyone else shuffling through on their ipods this morning on the bus? I look around wondering what could be playing behind those ear phones...punk rock probably...emo...something in spanish I don't know...some obscure band I don't know...rap...more rap...or maybe (at least I'd like to think) everyone is just listening to christmas music like me right now, dreaming of frosty lights, warm fires, mugs of hot chocolate, and hugs, lots and lots of hugs.

swimsuit, schwimsuit

since moving to the city by the bay, I can count on one hand the number of times my legs have seen the sun, and I know for a fact that I was more tan 24 years ago as I came out of the womb than I am today...

today I braved many a woman's fear or maybe just mine- the swimsuit dressing room- I had only one emotional breakdown, actually left the store with purchases, and have eaten since then, so ultimately it was a great success. Below is one of my new suits designed by JuicyCouture (p.s. that's not me in the picture...just in case you were confused)

dress me in layers...

hoping that tomorrow the constant struggle to stay warm in the city will become a little easier...

mountain hardwear mynx

All my dreams came true...and then I threw up.

A detailed account of my disneyland adventure (the important parts)

Friday
corndog
sliced apples
coca-cola
Space Mountain
Madhatter Teacups
It's a Small World
Big Thunder Railroad
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones
fudge
pretzel and cheese
cream cheese filled pretzel

Saturday
mocha frappaccino with whip cream
cotton candy
Grizzly Rushin River
California Screamin roller coaster
Orange Stinger Swings
fettucine lasagna
chicken panini
glass of merlot
Tower of Terror
Mulholland Madness
coca-cola
Soarin Over California
giant pixie sugar stick
Pirates of the Caribbean
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster
Matterhorn
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
Splash Mountain
cheeseburger
fries
chocolate milk
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Peter Pan's Flight
King Arthur Carrousel

Sunday
mocha frappaccino with whip cream
cinnamon chip scone
Star Tours
Mickey's Toon Town
pretzel and cheese
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn
Tarzan's Treehouse
crabcakes
cooked veggies
bread and butter
gumbo
deep fried turkey and ham sandwich with jelly
coca-cola
Splash Mountain
Space Mountain
Downtown Disney
California Screamin roller coaster
waffle fries
onion rings
more coca-cola
Tower of Terror
Madhatter Teacups
fantasy funnel cake
Bus ride to Hotel
Sick and writhing
Vomit.

a magical vacation...

...where your only worry is how
dizzy
a ride will make you.

give me coffee or give me death

Let's just say that there's one glorious perk to working the graveyard shift...a fabulous coffee maker...individual sized flavored coffees...feeling like your own barista...and all of us know the best part- the best 4 letter word ever uttered--FREE! For 2 wonderful caffeine-filled months, we enjoyed the plethora of flavor options...Colombia, French Roast, Chai tea, Green tea, hot chocolate, the list goes on and on...

Today, which will from now on be known as D-Day (disastrous, disappointed, dead-tired, decaffeinated), I walked into work to see that the beautiful, easy-to-use, clean lines of our Keurig coffee maker (can you love a machine?) was not only missing, but worse, much worse, it had been replaced! Just missing and maybe it had an unfortunate over-worked day and needed to be fixed, cleaned, tweaked...no big deal, show it the love it deserves! But replaced! There before me stood...a pot? Two coffee pots!...I didn't even want to stand too close to it...Complaint and concern spewed from my mouth...the alleged "coffee man" had come and taken it away this morning. Who is this man who controls the coffee? Why don't I know him? Shouldn't I know him? He must have been an intruder; he stole it...Didn't anyone check for some ID? If only I'd been here..I wasn't even here to say good-bye...a farewell cup...we didn't have enough "clout" around here to keep it he had said. It was too expensive at 50 cents a cup for the budget. What does that mean? Isn't being tired enough pull? Isn't coffee a staple? Isn't luxorious, expensive coffee the thing employee satisfaction is made of?...

GEt ReAL

Confession #1. I really don't like it when people untag pictures that I've taken of them on Facebook. And I apparently have taken an uncommon amount of detagged pictures. Does that mean I'm a bad photographer?...

Confession #2. the best thing about having a blog so far is that people can't untag the pictures. :)

This is one of my best friends, BaRclay...she's as cool as her name sounds and would like to be seen as mysterious and intriguing, which she is, but let's "get real" for a second- is anybody as mysterious as they think they are?...

The day blow-up rides lost their luster...

Excitement fills Kaili's eyes as she sees the blow-up slide from across the marina field. I can feel the joy of air-filled plastic expanding us all. Oh to moon bounce or slide 12 blissful feet! My life might be complete...

...what's that? wait! how can they say no to this precious face of Kaili's?! A city that says no to no one?...must be 12 and younger...must be under 5 feet?...

So easy to complain as I get older and apparently taller...