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Last Friday Night

No pink flamingos in the pool.
No DJ's passed out in the yard...


Instead my bestie Lauren and I had dinner with my seesta,
a sweats & pajama night (so excuse the gross hair... it was warranted),
the comfiest couch like ever,
big bowls of bread pudding & ice cream,
and Breakfast at Tiffany's, which we watched for about eight minutes before watching last week's episode of Glee... not that we don't love Breakfast at Tiffany's, but because I was dying to see SJP sing.

Solid night.
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Dorm: Bookshelf Decor

Hi, favorite people! 
I'm so sorry that updates have been kind of slow around these parts recently - I am still trying to develop a solid routine and getting some extraneous stuff figured out. Posts should be a lot more consistent starting next week! 

My room is perpetually still in tornado stage, but I was dying to give you a sneak peek of my favorite spot - my bookshelf! Dorm room furniture is the evil stepsister in the room decor family, so anything not completely drab and ugly is a huge sigh of relief. The bookshelf is something that I have to see whether I'm working at my desk or hanging out on my bed, so beautifying that area was my number one priority.

I went to Target and got a roll of bright wrapping paper for $3 and wallpapered the backs of the shelf. Instant brightener for the room and so much cheaper than real wallpaper. I am also going to use the wrapping paper as shelf liners and cut out a few shapes and frilly things and tape them on the walls.

You guys. Actually though - invest in pretty cups and mugs! They are perfect for displaying lovely earrings and as alternative storage for small things. Super versatile.

Other than that, I mostly just hoard anything bright and resembling prettiness and casually make room for them on the shelf. See: chocolate bar with a turquoise wrapper, Tiffany's boxes, nail polishes, make up brushes, pink face mask, chai...

The most expensive things in this picture are my textbooks. Sad story. But it just goes to show that a college budget can still get you a very inspirational space! 

Have a great Thursday, everyone!
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Home Is...

I'm still getting settled in and these past few days have been exhausting.
The process of decorating, figuring out a routine, balancing classes with friends, and still finding "me time" is an ongoing one.
As I was organizing and rearranging my room though (can't wait to show you guys some pictures - our place is quite cute if I do say so myself!), I started thinking about what home is.

There's my home back in Texas with my soft bed and my family, beautiful memories, and all of my stuff. But then, there's this home. My home at school. The whole not-getting-to-call-my-freshman-dorm-home-anymore thing is just a huge downer, but then I realized...





...Home is my roommate's laugh.
...Home is ordering the same thing as Lauren unintentionally no matter where we go.
...Home is the back-and-forth sassiness of Karen and Kylie.
...Home is our core friend group, meeting up all over campus.
...Home is seeing someone from my freshman dorm.
...Home is my lovely bed with its jersey sheets.
...Home is our huge common/living room.
...Home is tight hugs.
...Home is everyone being in our common room, just chilling to music and talking.
...Home is Starbucks dates.
...Home is seeing all of the familiar sights on campus and recalling all of my memories associated with those places.


...What makes your home home?
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Play//Pause


Bags are all unpacked.
Stuff is strewn all over my shoebox of a room.
Froyo is about to be enjoyed.

I'm here!
The past two days have been super productive - packing, flying, purchasing, heavylifting (thanks, dad!) and moving in.
Now, I'm ready to press pause on my back home life and to press play on Stanford life!

More to come tomorrow.

:)
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Easy Treats: Hong Kong Egg Tartlets

This is the first summer in a lot of summers that I didn't spend in China.
I love China and all, but the novelty wears off after the first week or so...
And that's when I start being a really big brat.
For the remaining two or three months, I throw a couple of temper tantrums, demand McDonald's cheeseburgers instead of another round of Chinese food, and I Google "fun places in whatevercityIamin" which for the most part gets me nowhere.

After a couple of years of this, my sneaky family found a trick.
They started buying me stuff from Chinese bakeries - this stuff is really good.
My favorite of the bunch (other than iced chocolate macchiatos from 85degrees) is Portuguese egg tartlets.

The crust is flaky, buttery, delightful. The filling is light and subtly sweet.
My mom and I baked some yesterday and they are seriously so easy to make!




Recipe:
We cheated and used Dutch Ann's mini pie crusts, but you can be cool and make your go-to pastry puff/phyllo dough based crust!

Makes 8 servings.

For the filling:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups half and half
3 drops of vanilla (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until combined and starting to froth up a little.
Add the half and half and gently whisk until everything is a very pale buttery color.
Pour into the pie shells.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the filling starts to "puff up" just a little. (Don't worry, they sink back down!)
Pat yourself on the back.

Most people like eating it fresh and hot, but I like refrigerating the tartlets for a few hours. You can also serve with fruit - yum!

PS. These are mostly called Portuguese egg tarts, but I find the Portuguese ones to be more caramelized, and I associate these with China anyways, so I called them Hong Kong Egg Tartlets. Tomayto-tomahto.

PPS. I'm usually pretty friendly most of the time in China. Especially if I am allowed to go someplace new or do something out of the ordinary hanging-out-in-the-apartment-ish.

PPPS. If you do happen to go to China, the bakeries are a must! My favorites are 85degrees and Christine's Bakery, which I know are quite common in the Shanghai/Nanjing area.

PPPPS. Love ya. Have a great Monday!
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Quirks & Giggles


I don't know about y'all, but I'm really nosy.
I think it's the Psych major in me.
I love learning about people's idiosyncrasies.
"Wait, you expect an assassin to be lurking behind your shower curtain too?"
It's a bonding mechanism, okay?

Let's just be open with each other.
I'll go first:

I treat PEOPLE.com like a Bible.
-
I pick my favorite item in a magazine or blog collage and when it also happens to be the cheapest of the bunch, I get really... smirk-y.
-
When I'm in between that stage of having a nightmare and waking up, I groggily form a satisfactory, happy ending (the police arrive just in time! i found a silver gun and shot the werewolf in the heart!) and then spend thirty minutes convincing myself that this tied-with-a-bow-ending was what really happened.
-
Before going to a restaurant, I obsessively check out their menu online and figure out exactly what I'm going to get. And then I get to the restaurant and pretend to muse over the actual menu for a long time, and then get what I previously had in mind.
-
I don't like socks. 
-

The first step is always admittance, right? And the next step is rejoicing in our weirdness. There's no one youer than you, after all! 

Tell me I'm not alone... what are your quirks?

9

Life Lately

Happy Almost-Friday!

Lately, I've been...


getting inspired by some great words to live by //
relying on some interesting methods to stretch out these cute but too-small sam edelman flats! //
basking in this glorious beautiful texas weather by going on some morning walks with my dad //
enjoying a few peaceful moments at work before all the kids showed up //
in absolute awe of Texas skies - definitely one of the things I'll miss most about home! //
relishing that very first sip of my very first pumpkin spice latte this year //
getting giddy over the fact that it's officially sweater season, according to the stores //
greedily downing mom's cooking - this red-bean dessert soup is way tastier than it looks //
donning leopard flats and a sparkly skirt - my very favorites.

What've you been up to?
15

Currently Craving: Dorm Accessories Edition

I am well aware of the fact that I sound like an old broken record.
But I'll just say it one more time because it makes me want to clap my hands with glee:
This girl is going back to school in T-9 days!
I'm living in a single this year, albeit a teeny tiny one. Imagine Harry Potter's cupboard under the stairs. Now... cut it in half. That'll be my room! Browsing around the web, I found a few accessories that I wouldn't mind having to spruce up this little space of mine... if only I wasn't on a college budget.


1. The Container Store's Sapien Bookcase - it's a space-saving, textbook-wielding, aesthetically pleasing masterpiece! 
2. Tilly Maison's Lucite Tray - a place to stash my ID, wallet, cell phone, and other little things I always need but don't really have a place for!
3. MadeByGirl's LOVE Print - this + a few other pretty, uppity prints would both inspire me on my blegh days and also cover up the boring white walls.
4. IKEA's Storage Boxes - these would be great to stash belts in or just other random tidbits that don't really have a place to go; they'll also make my room look more spiffy and organized, when really they are just hiding spots for everything I own and can't trash!
5. Urban Outfitters's Zigzag Rug - so that I can sit on the ground and not blind my eyes with the gross green carpet that colleges just seem to love.
6. BromptonMarket's Vintage Teacups - I want darling little teacups as jewelry holders!

If only...

PS. Always remember to never forget 
21

A Peek Into My Mind...

...because it's pretty crazy in there!

via

1 // I've been making a conscious effort to be more organized. I bought a planner and cleaned out my hard drive/desktop/Pinterest boards/e-mail inboxes/entire life. This is just like when I buy expensive workout clothes to make myself get on the treadmill. Hey, whatever works, right?

2 // My group texts with my four best (college) friends are priceless. My here's-why-we-need-a-reality-show texts with my roommate are even more priceless. But my freakout texts with my best friend's mom through my best friend's phone about the finale of Pretty Little Liars is on a level of its own.

3 // I have a HUGE blogging crush on Aspiring Kennedy. Don't you love it when you find a blog and within 1.94 posts, you are head over heels in blog love? It's happened so many times to me - the blogging world is just bippity bloggity fantastic!

4 // Pumpkin spice lattes are back and I haven't gotten one yet. I am ashamed of myself. I think I shall make up for this lack of judgement on my part by picking up two (and a cake pop) when I go.

5 // Did you guys see the blue moon last week? My dad and I went outside and gazed at it for a couple of minutes and then I quipped: "Well it's very pretty and all, but... it's not really blue, is it?" Facepalm. My dad looked at me for a few seconds, realized I wasn't joking, and then went inside shaking his head. I think sometimes he's just overwhelmed by my intelligence.


38

What I Wore...

Hello, hello wonderful people!
Today, I started some preliminary packing for school.
Preliminary = the initial stage of overpacking + weeding out maybe's + throwing in some extra unnecessary items. It's all a very happy and zen process, I tell you. Not. 

To help me out a little with the weeding out process, I decided to post some recent outfits so that I can have some concrete evidence of what I actually do wear!

top - Gap :: jeans - Uniqlo :: wedges - Target :: bracelet - from Thailand :: purse - Coach

blouse - Hollister :: tank top - Aeropostale :: shorts - Gap :: bracelet - from Thailand

dress - Urban Outfitters :: cardigan - American Eagle :: bracelet - from Thailand

shirt - F21 :: skirt - "borrowed" from Kylie :: belt - F21

tank top - Aeropostale :: shirt - Victoria's Secret :: skirt - F21 :: wedges - Target :: purse - Coach

shirt - American Eagle :: skirt - American Eagle :: wedges - White House Black Market

shirt - Target :: skirt - Banana Republic Heritage Collection :: necklace - from Australia

top - Hollister :: belt - Gap :: skirt - Victoria's Secret PINK

Over and out.
Thanks for reading!
22

(Scent)sational

Three day weekends are the best. I mean, not that it really made the difference to still-comatose-and-in-summer-break-mode me (because I definitely need a break from sleeping and eating, yes?), but I hope that the rest of you got to enjoy the hard-earned day off!

I did manage to hit some stores and check out some Labor Day sales, but the highlight of my mall time was visiting the fragrance section of Macy's where I spritzed some Chloe eau de parfum and then proceeded to pour half the darn thing onto my wrists because it smelled so good.

Then, I got to thinking about some of my favorite (can they count as signature scents if I use more than one?) fragrances and decided to share with you guys!

1. Chloe. The new favorite. Feminine, pretty, springtime freshness.
2. Ralph Lauren Cool. At-school favorite (because I steal a spritz from my lovely friend Paige every single day). Summery. Brings to mind pools and popsicles. Popsicles after pool time, that is.
3. Britney Spears Curious. I know what you're thinking. Stop it. I think it smells divine. Don't judge me.
4. Marc Jacobs Daisy. Makes me feel fancy and glam. It tells me that despite my lack of invitations to fancy events, I can still wear red lipstick and high heels. You know... to do chores.

What are your favorite perfumes?
12

Hello, September!

can't seem to find the source of this. let me know if you know!

To me, September has always symbolized new beginnings.
Freshly sharpened pencils, the cracking open of new composition notebooks, name games in school.
It's the gradual mellowing down of summer as slightly cooler temperatures and a beautiful rainbow of leaves take the place of the sweltering heat and swimming pools.
Football games (GO CARD!). The return of pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkin flavored everything. Going back to school. Boots and cardigans. 
Oh boy, oh boy am I excited!

I hope September will be amazing for you! (And I hope you take lots and lots of risks and that they amount to major successes and joys!)

PS. I am most definitely at Platform 9¾ in spirit today with all those heading off to a new year at Hogwarts.
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