Travel

Travel
Travel

San Francisco

San Francisco
San Francisco

Laugh With Me

Laugh With Me
Laugh With Me

The One Where We Tried To Be Grown Ups...

...and realized maybe we just aren't ready for that yet.



(yes, memes with Kate Walsh's face on them are indeed our suite decorations...
is that weird?)







The first night back from break,
three of my suitemates {Cassandra, Leah, and Ty} and I decided that
we wanted to be grown ups.
We'd get all dressed up
and wear sky high shoes & drive into Palo Alto for dinner.
It was all very Sex and the City.

But then we put on our heels & walked about ten feet to the car,
and just about cried from the pain.

{You have to understand,
Stanford is a type of place where we go out to party in flip flops,
and "dressing up" = riding boots.}

We went to Palo Alto,
and made a necessary visit to Cheesecake Factory
for some pasta & milkshakes to distract us from our poor feet.

Moral of the story:
We're not exactly Carrie Bradshaw and her friends just yet,
because those girls can handle their Blahnik's and Choo's
as if they were walking barefoot.
{I don't think they even knows what flip flops are...}
Us, we'll be pro's after a couple more attempts, right?


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Obsession Confession

Sometimes, I get a little obsessed with things.
Jennifer Lawrence, the Modern Skinny jeans from LOFT, Pantene Pro-V silicone-free shampoo for fine hair {volume & billowy hair for days, oh my!}, and chocolate milk.
You know... all the healthy things in life.

I also get really obsessed with specific colors or trends when it comes to buying clothes.

Remember this?



On my Spring Break trip to New York City last year, I tried on nothing but mint colored clothing of all shades. Pants, shorts, shirts, scarves, you name it - it was in my dressing room.

For a long time, it was lilac. And then lace. Actually, I'm still grabbing every single thing adorned with lace and casually throwing it in my "need-not-want" pile.

Well, it's happened again.

Observe, my shopping selections for the fitting room last week:



Currently, I am obsessed with all things coral, peach, blush, and everything in between.

And then, on Black Friday.
All white, black, or gray/silver.
It was like shopping in grayscale.

It's like for each shopping trip, I can only handle looking for one specific trend/color/whats-its and can't even begin to process any other super-cute-and-flattering piece of clothing out there. Except that this phase usually lasts for two or three or fifteen months before I move on to the next obsession.

#TooMuch[Mint/Lace/Coral/Neutrals]InMyCloset

What about you? What are you obsessed with?
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Likes of the Week


Welcome back to the real world, folks!
I imagine everyone is 5 lbs heavier and a lot more well-rested,
after that amazingly timed break.
Those Pilgrims knew just when to throw a party! :)

This past week,
I was busy eating, sleeping, and shopping.
Tough life.
And other than that, I liked...



Have a lovely Monday, beautifuls!
xo
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Happy Thanksgiving!


Today, and everyday,
I am thankful for...

My family //
My friends //
Stanford //
Food on the table, clean water to drink, a roof over my head, warm clothes //
All of the special luxuries like sparkly things and hot chocolate and festive music //
And of course, this blog & and all of you! //

Thanks so much for reading,
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(and have a safe Black Friday!)


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Sister, Sister

Before flying home for Thanksgiving,
I spent Friday night/Saturday with my sister in the city.
I always have the very best time
when it's just the two of us.

A look at my busy, productive, crazy-fun weekend:


After spending the day out and about with my best friend Mollie,
I chilled by myself at my sister's awesome apartment,
chowing down on gelato, sipping some pink lemonade, and reading some blogs!
It was a big-girl moment, guys.

On Saturday, we were up bright & early
to get some brunch at Chez Maman.

chips & guac

the sister's carne asada quesadillas.

salad + croque madame.

And if that wasn't enough of a food coma, 
we then paid a visit to...


Smitten Ice Cream,
which is a shack-like ice cream place
that serves up the best liquid nitrogen ice cream I've ever had.
I've never had liquid nitrogen ice cream before,
but I'm certain this was excellent :)
I had cinnamon apple spice with caramel syrup! Dee-lish.


Afterwards, we got our eyebrows done,
and then hit Anthropologie!
I'm loving all of these holiday displays,
it's a huge reason as to why this is my favorite time of the year.



And then I fell in love.
With these little ones above.
We volunteered for the SF ASPCA by "greeting" people outside of the Macy's window displays where these guys were hanging out [they get lots of play time and food/water, don't you worry!] and it took everything in me not to go adopt this puppy myself.
It was also wonderful to see people lighting up when they saw these fellas-
it just shows - a puppy is the answer to world peace!

That wasn't all.

After hanging with the cutie pies, we went and grabbed Starbucks,
then saw Pitch Perfect (hilarious! why can't I sing!),
then stopped by the new city Target (heaven!),
where I got lipstick, brie, crackers, and the new Glamour for my plane ride.
And then forgot the brie for the actual plane ride. Boo...

(Pause for a breath) and then we went back to my sister's apartment,
where I caught the Stanford/Oregon game on TV
SUCH an exciting, exhilarating, excellent game! (totally not biased!)
Then, after some spaghetti & meatballs,
I was on my shuttle to the airport to the plane through the night to my dad's car to home to bed where I currently am right now.

Happy Tuesday!
(and a big kiss & a thank you to my big sister who made the weekend so wonderful!)
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Likes of the Week


This will be a slightly abbreviated "Likes of the Week,"
because so many joyful things happened last week,
that I'll probably dedicate a post to each of them.

The picture above was snapped on my flight back to Houston for Thanksgiving.
I took the redeye and this was around 6AM,
we were beginning our descent,
and the sun was rising...
it was absolutely spectacular -
the rising sun and its colors against the still dark city & its city lights.
It was probably one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen.
This picture fails to do it justice,
but this week,
I am just so thankful for everything that I have,
and this moment really helped me realize that!
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Happy Weekend!

This is my 100th post on Perpetually Caroline,
and I just wanted to say thank you all for reading.
Here's to 100 more!

C for [Perpetually] Caroline!




These pictures are from two weekends ago.
Cassandra and I day-tripped it to SF,
and we ate and we shopped and we had a great time.
And then we capped it off with a drive to Twin Peaks,
this really big hill where you are supposed to be able to see all of SF.
Google Maps led us to the middle of some neighborhood,
but we did get some pretty fantastic views.
We'll try to find the real thing next time.

I am so thankful for family, friends, and everything in my life.
Words cannot express how blessed I am.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Life Lately

I haven't done one of these in a few weeks.
Here's a sneak peek at what I've been doing,
as told through my Instagram account!


we missed our Psych class one day and went up Hoover Tower instead;
midnight snacks;
we heart Hunter Hayes;
matching pens... yes, we went there.;
en route to the Carrie Underwood concert;
came home from my IR midterm to find my lovely suitemates made me these posters;
going out on the town - doesn't happen often;
sharing milkshakes with Mollie;
late night Krispy Kreme runs.


and some more...

we got a new creative writing teacher, who brought Starbucks for us on her first workshop day;
sleepover, college style;
there's nothing like driving down Palm Drive at dusk;
the view out of my classroom;
a day in the city, accompanied by Taylor Swift Christmas songs;
the best time of my week is when our dining hall fridge gets restocked;
casual dinners with my big sister;
Gold Card holder;
black tea apple juice + psych essays.

I promise I'm not affiliated with Starbucks,
but I might as well be.
This is a little bit ridiculous...
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Guest Post: Holy Guacamole!

Hello folks,
I have a special treat for y'all today!
My roommate/suitemate/best friend for life Cassandra decided to write
a post while I'm busy watching the entire season of Hart of Dixie on Netflix.
I know you guys will love her just as much as I do!


Ciao!
Hello lovely bloggers! Firstly, I would like to thank you all for reading Caroline's blog - I find it to be quite wonderful and I hope you do too. Secondly, I would like to congratulate you for making it to the third line of my post and for not giving up on me so soon... I am not nearly as talented as my lovely roommate (false. <- from Caroline.) but would like to share a very special night with you despite my deficits in blogging abilities. Now enough of my petty self-deprecating pity and onto the more important - or maybe most important -topic... GUACAMOLE!

A simple 'how to' guide on making guacamole - in a college dining club - with a few simple ingredients...

Most importantly, you'll need some avocados. To be honest,  I don't even know when these delectable orbs of goodness are in season but what I do know is that we are chalk full of them here at Stanford... for now. Hence the reason why Caroline and I share one at almost every meal. Is that even healthy?

Step 1: Avocados 
I gave Caroline the task of mashing the avocados while I scavenged the salad bar for the remaining ingredients. (Maybe you don't have access to a 24-hour salad bar? In which case, you'll need to find another way to acquire the remaining pieces of the guacamole puzzle).

Step 2: Onions

Step 3: Tomatoes

Step 4: Salt
And boom bam bang! There you go! (We also happened to find some lime juice and garlic powder by raiding our chef's secret area- definitely add some of that if you have it).

Now, the coolest - and most 'blogworthy' -  part of our guacamole adventure was our chip-making abilities. We had no chips at our disposal but we did have tortillas and a panini maker... We put our noggins to good use and VOILA!



Homemade (and quite delicious, if I may add) chips! 

I am confident in ALL of your guac-making abilities but I am now making you aware of your scavenging and 'being creative' abilities. What can I say, food inspires us!

Caroline and I had a wonderful evening filled with laughter, good food, and great company. How about you? Any good food-inspired stories?


HOLY GUACAMOLE!

Cheers!
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Likes of the Week


Mondays get a pretty bad reputation,
and I think that's one of the reasons why I choose to do this feature on Mondays.
It gives me a little something to look back on,
and gets me excited for all that'll happen in the coming week!

This week, I liked...



Have a great week, people!

11

Rain (Wo)Man




this last picture is unedited. wow, right?

I've always been a fan of the rain.
The gothic atmosphere.
The smell, the sound, the soothingness.

We're getting into rainy season here,
and I'm loving it.
I pulled out my Hunter boots, a short trench coat, chambray + plaid,
for a very Northeastern prep look.
one of my best purchases ever.

It was a beautiful day -
the raindrops brightened all of the fall colors,
I had an All Dessert Day [let's not talk about that...],
and just look at this sunset at the end of the day.

Hope you're keeping warm and dry and safe!
19

Election Night

Before you check out,
this isn't going to be a political post.
I'm from Texas and I go to school in California,
and I have enough political mambo-jambo from both sides to last me until 2016.


Nope, look, cupcakes!
Now do you believe me?

I don't really pay attention to politics.
I should, and I will, but I don't at the moment.
But my best friend does.
She is head-over-heels in love with politics;
it is what she wants to do with her life;
it is what sparks that fire inside of her
it is what makes her giddy;
it is to her what writing and blogging and social media are to me.

And in the late afternoon, early evening yesterday,
when Florida was neck-to-neck,
I knew she was close to either passing out,
or inflating like a ball of stress and eventually exploding.

Which wouldn't do.

So, my roommate and I hopped in the car,
went to Sprinkles,
picked up these cute election day goodies,
and I showed up at this little restaurant/sports cafe place
that my best friend told me to meet her at.

I showed up, thought it was kind of weird that it was so packed,
and surprised her with cupcakes.
Everyone was crowded into this tiny little back room,
and when the 11PM polls closed and the results began to show up on screen,

Senate keeps control.
Screaming. cheering.
Blue state.
An uproar.
More blue states.
People were going crazy.
Obama is re-elected president of the United States of America.
The place... was just gone. Done.
And I know I'm in northern California,
but I still thought it was a bit excessive.

So then five minutes later,
after I had finished my cupcakes of course,
and we parted ways,
I started heading back home,
and that's when I see a huge sign on the door of the restaurant
that I had somehow missed coming in:

Stanford Democrats Viewing Party.

Oh. Well, that explains it!

Congratulations, Mr. President!

13

Likes of the Week



I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!
This past week, I liked...

22

Mollie in SF + The Creamery

First of all, I want to wish my big sister Sarah the happiest of birthdays!
She is everything to me and is the very best sister in the world [so many of my friends want to steal her, but I'd give up food before I let that happen!] and she more than anyone I know deserves the most splendidly perfect day!
I love you donut and may this year be the very best one yet! :)

Rewind to last weekend.




 



{ awkward sun spot thing }

we were actually there w/ seven of my other friends, but this one's the only one always up for being photographed...




I had to be in SF last weekend to do a project,
and my friend Mollie came along with me.
Her family recently moved to the Bay Area from Houston,
and it's been so special having her so close to this other world of mine.

It was the weekend before the Giants won (woohoo!),
but everyone was already super riled up and the entire city was a sea of orange & black,
we walked along Embarcadero and went into the Ferry Market Building
for some Ciao Bella gelato!
{ Can you tell I'm obsessed with that place? }

Then, we chatted like little girls while walking all the way to Pier 39.
We weren't there for long and only managed to snap a couple of pictures
because the view was especially beautiful that day,
but then we took a taxi during the gorgeous Golden Hour back to the train,
we went up really high hills and saw the moon next to Coit Tower...
I love SF.

We met up with some of my besties at The Creamery,
one of my very favorite places to eat in Palo Alto/Stanford...
Having southern fried chicken & mashed potatoes brought us southerners right back to home.
But it was those milkshakes that made the day...
I'd print them a certificate for best milkshakes on Earth { even better than Shake Shack's! } if I could.

I'm back in the city tomorrow,
and I'll love every second of it!
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