One Day at a Time

While reading the September issue of Shape magazine, I came across a little blurb about Colbie Caillat. Now, I don't particularly like Colbie Caillat's music, but she gave some pretty good advice about how to keep yourself happy:

"Everyone feels self-doubt at times, but you have to work through it and give yourself little treats. While writing my second album, I got really insecure about whether it would be any good. To snap out of my funk, I did one thing that as good for myself every day: getting a manicure, going for a quick run, or putting on a pretty outfit. It wasn't long before I was myself again" (Shape 32).

Tomorrow I am driving back up to Boston and then I start working on Wednesday and class on Thursday. Once things in Boston get into full swing, it becomes pretty typical for me to get overwhelmed and stressed. Sometimes during those really busy weeks I can't even figure out how to make room for even 30 minutes of television, but this has inspired me to try my best to put a little happy something into each day. I am putting this goal into the atmosphere so I can tell you guys about the really great things that I do- maybe this way I will actually make time to keep myself calm and content.

Making cupcakes!

So Olivia's post at Everyday Musings about cupcakes the other day inspired me to make some red velvet cupcakes that I had been meaning to get around to. Also inspired by her post, I decided to include some pictures. Sorry to do the exact same thing, Olivia, but your blog is adorable, and imitation is the best form of flattery I think!

Here are some photos of me and Mel wearing silly aprons, dancing to music, and making red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

Mel mixing the batter


Me modeling the coolest oven mit ever


The end result!


Modeling a candy dot


yeah, we were feeling a bit hyper. Most likely from all the sugar. The cupcakes were quite yummy though! I had one as soon as they were done.

Aim & Ignite. the Fun. cd out today!

So the name of the band is Fun. The lead singer is formerly the lead singer of The Format, one of my old favorites. Fun opened the Jack's Mannequin show i went to see in November, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Nate had come out with something new- The Format had sort of been unheard from for a while. It was nice to hear Nate's voice again! It's really unique.

Slowly, Fun has been leaking some songs and keeping fans up to date on facebook, twitter, and through e-mails and their myspace page. Their song "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used to Be) was intentionally leaked a long time ago, but now their whole cd is finally out and available on iTunes!

Go here in order to stream their album- it's a lot of fun and kind of silly, but also very insightful. Right up my alley.

shiny shoes!

I've never been very good about shopping for shoes- I tend to stick to the same two or three standby pairs that go with everything. These shiny shoes called out to me, though, from the freepeople.com site. Sadly, these shoes are currently 218 dollars and realistically don't have much of a purpose, but I would love to have these shoes in the gunmetal shade because I think it would go with a lot more things, and I could wear them more on a day to day basis.

My birthday is coming up, so fingers crossed! Usually I can't really think of anything I want for my birthday, but this year I've been doing so much blogging that I keep coming across things I like, mostly on sites like etsy. For example, the other day I found this necklace and e-mailed the link to myself so I would remember to ask for it. and then I did the same thing with this hat. Not to mention I really want a fisheye lens for my camera and a lomography camera, but since 22 isn't really a very significant birthday I am not expecting much, especially since my 21st birthday gift was a lease on my jetta.

I can't believe I am going to be 22 years old. scary! AND a senior in college. absolutely frightening.

One very big reason to watch Summer Heights High- Mr. G!

one of the reasons you need to see 500 Days of Summer

i'm sorry, but how can this not make you extremely happy?
it's even better in context.

eco friendly coffee cozies

I just bought this super cute coffee cozy off of etsy.com

waysideviolet makes a bunch of different ones. I think they're a great idea if you are an avid coffee drinker like myself. I use a coffee sleeve every day in the fall and winter on my daily, sometimes more than daily, starbucks trips around campus. I could save a lot of paper this way. I bought a pink one too to save for someone as a gift.

brunette

I dyed my hair :)

well hello there, bike of my dreams <3

I've been wanting a beach cruiser since last summer and have been looking on beach cruiser websites on a regular basis for quite some time. Anyway, I've found this one and I've fallen in love.

And it comes with the cute wicker basket!!

Step Brothers clip

So, I didn't really like this movie very much, but I can't help but burst out laughing every time it gets to the guacamole sequence.

It's the weekend! & Newport Folk Festival

Hey all, sorry to have been so MIA this week. I went to the Newport Folk Festival last weekend, and then this week got a little jumbled so I haven't really had an opportunity to post something substantial.

This is one of the first mornings I haven't been exhausted or in a rush so I am watching one of my favorite movies, I am Sam. I am sure most of you have seen it. This movie has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, and I've been a fan of it since the movie came out in 2001. I haven't watched it in so long. And of course every perfect morning involves a cup of coffee, so of course I am enjoying one.

I also decided to pick up a book that I haven't read in a few years, I think since before senior year of high school, that I still consider one of my favorites. It's called Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, written by Mary Pipher, Ph.D. It is a psychological discussion of the difficult period of female adolescence. It discusses how adolescence has evolved throughout the years to become a more trying time due to the influence of the media. As Pipher has pointed out, female adolescence in particular had not been thoroughly discussed by anyone at the time of the book's publication in 1994. The title refers to the Ophelia in Hamlet whose adolescence is the cause of her demise. It sounds pretty depressing I know, but it's rather insightful, and I believe the first step towards solving the problem is to realize it. I first read the book when I was fresh out of my rebellious adolescent phase and it comforted me to know that I wasn't the only one who went through a difficult phase, and that it ultimately was beyond my control. If this is the sort of thing that interests you, give it a read. I think it's a pretty important book for anyone to read, especially important for women.

well then! On a lighter note, the Newport Folk Festival was great! I got to see some incredible artists and incredible things. Instead of continuing to be so wordy, I'll provide some pictures!

Ben Kweller


Brett Dennen


The Cliffside B&B


Tie-Dye


Newport Water


The Cliff Walk


Mumsy and the Ocean


Happiest Family Alive, but I don't know who they are.


These people I know, Mom and Aunt Jenn dancing to Pete Seeger in the rain


I hope you like these. You can check out all of them on my Flickr page. It was an incredible festival and an incredible weekend.