dysfunction = love.

it kinda looks the same as the one on the box. am i right? 

kindly ignore the fact that:

1. we used scissors to cut the front and back of our gingerbread house because the cement (frosting) was being temperamental and couldn't hold the roof up
2. our house is not wind/rain/thunder/air/burglar proof
3. there is grass (green stuff) growing on the ground, yet snow on the roof
4. mr. snowman is doing headstands on the front yard. 

in gingerbread house land, rules are for the birds. and anyways, if my house were made of candy, i'd be homeless (and large) in no time.

"maybe christmas doesn't come from a store. maybe christmas perhaps, means a little bit more."

- the grinch 

sounds good to me.

a random smattering of inspiration on a busy busy busy tuesday morning:

+ the above picture = from one of my favorite sites for those tuesday blues, for those winter-it's-starting-to-get-dark-at-4-pm blues.  lisa congdon successfully combines my love for calligraphy with my love for doodles and quotes. A+ girlfriend.

+ now that it's post-thanksgiving time, check out this cheery playlist put together by my one and only roommate :) - perfect for those long hours toiling over your research papers and chemical equations in central lib.

+ this. this project is amazing.

"i wonder how many people i've looked at all my life and never seen." 

- john steinbeck

turkey break travels, part II.

thanksgiving dinner in atlanta was a wonderful dinner indeed. my mom decided to book dinner at a vineyard right outside atlanta called "chateau elan" because my brother only had one day off from work. what is this real person schedule nonsense!?

my brother and i bond the best over buffet dinners - whether it is organizing our plan of attack, comparing our plates, or figuring out the best way to make it as awkward as possible for other diners (this year, we almost took the topping off of every cake on display, surpassing the actual cake itself.) i'm pretty sure that if my brother and i ever got in a fight in which we weren't talking for 10 years, you could put a buffet in front of us and we'd be high-fiving and dancing around in no time. 

i'm finally back in nashville, in a quiet dorm probably full of 3 other kids whose parent's don't love them either (just kidding!).  i can't believe that i'll be back in florida in a mere 2.5 weeks.  until then, i've got a bajillion hours in the library on my planner, listening to jingle bell rock and looking forward to the merriest month of all. 

"never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along." 

- rae smith

giving thanks.

I'M THANKFUL FOR: 

my wonderful parents, who always mean the best. 

my brother, who gave me my sense of humor.

my sister, who is one of the most caring people i know.

my friends at home, who never fail to make me laugh...

....my friends at school, who put up with my 2 am giggle fests (if i'm still awake, that is)...

...and my friends from afar, who remind me that i can find amazing people wherever i go. 

finally, my friends that are boys - this one in particular, who has made me smile more than any other. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

- william arthur ward

turkey break travels, part I.

1 sister loves me \ 2 mom and pops cheesin \ 3 palm tree obsessed \ 4 sister hates me \ 5 solo shots \ 6 artsy attempt \ 7 artsy attempt part two \ 8 my parent's first apartment in miami beach circa 1988 \ 9 bonding sessions \ 10 mini coconuts my dad collected when he was young \ 11 obsessed \ 12 obsessed part two \ 11 calling in the brother to make it a family affair. 

written in miami on our hotel balcony this morning:

DRINKING: my morning coffee, small dash of soy, 2 splendas

EATING: a guava-cheese pastry from the cuban cafe

LISTENING TO: the waves crashing against the beach below

READING: my dad's old new york times magazines i salvaged from the house

WISHING: i could stay here always

HOPING: you are enjoying your break as well.

"some of the best memories are made in flip flops."

- kellie elmore 

life lately.

{from this....}

{....to this}

{mYsPaCe selfies + cozy sweaters + favorite scarves}

{dreamy, creamy pumpkin....go to bath and body works + spend 3 hours smell-testing like i did}

{post-halloween means that my suite can whip these out, right?}

{my much anticipated view for this coming weekend}

this week was a rough one. as per usual, professors jam-packed our schedules with midterms and papers right before we leave for break.  thanks to my work, i can now recite the 3 main objectives of michelle obama's 'healthy, hunger-free kids act' (helpful), as well as the 4 noble truths of mahayana buddhism (less helpful).  nevertheless, my flight tomorrow back to the 407 is at 7 am and i don't even currr. so excited for family//friend time, miami beaching it, cuban pastries, lazy days at home and thanksgiving day in georgia!

hope your days are filled with lots of turkey and love. 

"the miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see." 

- dr. robert holden

carolina on my mind.

{my single, solitary picture from elon}

{chapel hill randomness}

you know what is the greatest thing about having a blog? you only need to salvage, like, 6 pictures TOPS for a post to come to fruition.  aka my jank camera this weekend only produced a few pictures that weren't blurry. but not to worry. those pictures, like the people contained in them, are gems. see above. 

i love visiting people at their respective colleges. i get to see the backdrop in which the people i love have been flourishing for the past 4 years: the library they trudged home from at 3 in the morning before that econ test, the dorm they nervously moved into freshman year, the psych department building that became their second home. 

not to mention that whenever my high school friends and i get together, we can pick up right back where we left off, like we were never separated at all. we can talk about how ricky pooped his space suit at space camp (hi ricky!), or about how miserable those 3 weeks were when we thought summer camp was a good idea.  we can talk about how i was once grounded for a month because a football player decided to climb on top of my stove and break the glass (TRINITY PREP FOOTBALL CHAMPS 09!!!).  we can also talk about how cool it is that although we're growing up, we're not growing apart.  there's that whole "i knew you when you were pre-pubescent and brace-faced!" thing going on, and that's pretty freaking cool. you guys are the peanut butter to my jelly, the macaroni to my cheese, the broken stove to my house party.  

i've got schoolwork up to my knees this week, but thanksgiving break starts on friday morning! considering my break consists of miami beach and atl, i'm not complaining. AND graduate school applications, but we'll just ignore those for the moment.

"time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters."

- margaret peters