Happy Thanksgiving!

For awhile, I sat in front of the computer trying to determine how I was going to approach this post because honestly, I have so much to be thankful for. Do I express my gratitude for the countless number of "little things" that make my life that much sweeter? Or do I aim to be thankful for the bigger things that I'm so privileged to have, like upcoming travels and an education? Should I thank specific people who've gone above and beyond for me, or all those who've graced my life and as a result, taken part in shaping who I've become today?
I think ultimately, I'm just going to say thank you. To everyone. For everything. I'm more blessed than most, and I hope I never take that for granted.
I'll be signing off for the rest of the week to savor time with family, so I hope that everyone has a most special Thanksgiving and are able to score some sweet deals on Black Friday (but PLEASE don't get trampled or be the trampler!). What are your Thanksgiving plans, people?

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Virtual Coffee Chat, 0.1

Grab a snowman cookie while you're at it! Even though it seems like I'm on this blog all the time, I sometimes feel like I'm not completely in tune with y'all, in the sense that I literally can't let you know about everything in my life. I can narrow my life into conceivable moments, into posts that focus on what I wore one day, where I ate, what I did. But I can't tell you about the ten million things running through my brain all at once. It bothers me that with each highlight I choose to talk about from my life, there are also thousands of things happening in my everyday that I don't get to talk about. If only for my own sake to look back on years later, I'd really like to start doing these "coffee date" posts (aka gibberish).     So, friends, if we were having coffee this morning, I'd tell you that Thursday was one fine day. It started off bright and early with a field trip to the Exploratorium (more on that later!) and ended with a fiery date with my girl Jennifer Lawrence (Catching Fire, that is. It's not often that a sequel is the better movie, but y'all, Catching Fire rocked my socks off). It was the momentary reprieve from school that we all needed, and I think everyone took conscious note of it as we sat on the edge of our seats waiting to see what Katniss would do next (or to see if Finnick would take off his shirt... wait, what?), and eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream with our fingers because we were cheap and made a pit stop to Safeway, but forgot to bring spoons. 
If we were having coffee right now, I'd tell you about what a stress-cluster Friday was. I didn't end up packing a single thing until two hours before I left for the airport. But I eventually managed to fit everything into my suitcase, ran into a couple of friends at the airport which made for a much less painful travel experience. My travel luck inevitably ran out though, as I suffered through hours of delays due to rain in Las Vegas. The desert. Didn't know that was possible, but okay.
If we were having coffee at this moment, I'd tell you that I didn't mind any of that trouble at all once I saw my parents and stepped into my house. I haven't been home since July. It's funny what home can do to you - it can wrap you in its familiar walls, feed you a heaping bowl of your favorite beef noodle soup, and lull you into deep sleeps until noon the next day. Blissful. 
If we were having extra hot, hot chocolate right now, I'd let you know that I somehow stumbled into the Ice Age, Houston edition. It's FREEZING here, more than I can remember Houston being at any other Thanksgiving week. The chilly, rainy weather combined with my daily shortbread and tea has me all kinds of excited for Oxford. Throughout last week and this week, I've been treated to multiple bouts of rain (one of my favorite things on Earth) and I'm a little wracked with guilt. There's this girl in my writing class who has fibromyalgia. She wrote about it for her final essay and it was powerful. She feels literal pain and depression when there's rain. It shocks me that something so ordinary that brings me so much joy can bring someone else physical pain and stress. I still love the rain, but it certainly does shed some perspective.
Speaking of my writing class, if I were having coffee with you, I'd let you know how it's become one of my favorite classes ever. There are only eight students in it, but these are eight students who are passionate about writing and stories. None of the eight students are Creative Writing majors, so it's been really interesting to see how everyone's areas of study influences their writing. We had two distinguished authors come in to talk to us last week, both of whom were incredibly inspiring and motivating. Goodness, and they were so handsome.
Lastly, if we were having coffee right now, I'd tell you how this quarter went by so quickly. I say that all the time - when the seasons change, when a temporal landmark like the holidays hits us, but I've felt this junior year more than ever before. Time decided to hit the Fast Forward x16 button, and didn't think to warn any of us. I'm leaving for the UK soon, and am currently experiencing fears about studying abroad coupled with knowing that it's going to be over in no time. I'm so excited to see how this is going to unravel.
Alas, we'd be running out of time because we'd have also spent forty minutes going over your life updates as well. We'd stand up, give each other one of those amazing, tight squeezes and promise to see each other soon for another cup of joe. And we will. In about two weeks, maybe? 

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Am I Being Too Forward By Inviting All of You In?

Happy Wednesday, duckies! Listen. This is a happy day indeed. Why? Because it's raining (it's pouring, the old man is snoring). Yesterday was the first rain of the season here at Stanford, and I'm giddy with glee. I pulled out my Hunter's of course, and my bubble umbrella. I had a mug of steaming green tea, turned the TV into a fireplace, and plugged in all the Christmas lights. The ambiance, you guys. Ridiculously charming.
In the matter of four hours, THREE different people took a nap in my bed. Two of them, twice. I won't name any names, but maybe one of those was me. My pillows are right by the window, and so of course when it's raining, my bed is the ultimate napping spot - chilliness, the sound and smell of rain, cozy blankets, and all. 
I realized then that I haven't shown you guys my room. So here I am today, righting my wrongs. Come, my people. Come see my room.

She's actually massive, by college room standards. You can't see my wardrobe at the foot of my bed, but it's nothing special. I'm quite attached to this room already, and am very sad to give her up in three short weeks - I'll be abroad by then, and will come back in April to a different room. *Deep breaths*
Take a peek at my freshman dorm room and my sophomore dorm room, while you're at it. For now, I'm saying ciao, buddies! and am off to enjoy falling asleep with the rain as my lullaby. 

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Not Another Fashion Blogger (No But Really, I'm Not)

I'm just going to go ahead and state the obvious. I'm no fashion blogger. The proof is in the pudding, guys. {Whatever that even means.} Or actually, let me just break it down for you:

Thanks, girl.

Reasons Why I'm Not A Fashion Blogger:

1 // My usual outfit = sweats. Sometimes gray on gray. Making an effort simply means putting on Lululemon leggings instead. 2 // Upon remembering that I really should snap some pictures of these ridiculously beautiful trees before they turn brown, I decided that maybe I should put on real people clothes today. Just so I look presentable to you guys, and don't accidentally ruin your vision. 3 // But then I didn't brush my hair (as you can see) or put a smidge of makeup on my face. And it's fairly obvious, so my roommate was a true pal and didn't even bother to capture my money(un)maker. 4 // I look so stupid. Not only because I didn't know how to stand or where to put my hands, but also because I wore tall socks with low ankle booties, and did I really wear this all day?

Shirt // Gap. It's old. And therefore, soft.

Pants // LOFT.

Blazer: Forever 21.

Scarf // my suitemate's closet. But a little birdy (my suitemate) told me it's from Target.

Purse // Longchamp.

Bracelet // Urban Outfitters for THREE DOLLARS.

Ring // Forever 21.

Socks // Uniqlo. The men's section at Uniqlo.

Booties // Target. On sale for seventeen buckaroos! Run, don't walk.

Lesson learned: I ain't no style bloggess.

But aren't those trees really something? Truly spectacular.

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I Ate A Donut, And All Was Well

I tell myself on Sunday evenings when I sit down to write my Monday posts, that I'll write about something thought-provoking and interesting and skip the whole recapping of weekend shenanigans thingamajig that's the usual course of action.   But, I can't. The heart wants what the heart wants, and the fingers type what the fingers type. And gosh dangit, Monday's are pretty hard as it is - so I say we all be a little selfish and let ourselves relive our wondrous weekends without bloggers' guilt! (Yeah!) Is anyone else feeling a little pumped for battle right now, or is that just me?   First of all, the weekend started out on one great note:

That was one wild Friday night, I tell you. Consumption of donuts in rapid succession is not a joking matter. After sleeping that one off, I proceeded to immerse myself in good food and good company on Saturday, bright and early:

Accompanied by my roommate and my sister {who happen to be two of my favorite people in the Milky Way, I can't vouch for how I feel about martians outside of that realm}, I marched forward to conquer brunch at the picturesque and sunny Stanford Barn.

A rich and deeply chocolate-ly cup of hot cocoa and some tasty morsels of deliciousness later, we realized that time {and the Caltrain} waits for no one, and we needed to get our move on real quick. My sister needed to stop briefly at Nordstrom to return something, and this is what ended up happening:

Twinning in capelet/poncho cardigans! And as if that wasn't enough shopping for me, Kylie and I decided to head out later in the evening for an Anthropologie, Lululemon, Urban Outfitters, and Target run. Oh, and of course pit stops to Starbucks and Taco Bell were made.

^^^Guess what's in that cup?    HOT BUTTERBEER. I was that person who held up the line and asked for the kind barista to make this buttery, caramely concoction of lore. It definitely tasted very different from the butterbeer that you get at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but it was comforting and lip-smackingly good nevertheless!   If you follow college football at all, you know that this weekend wasn't a happy one for Stanford. But I'd like to think that we're pretty good at picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and moving forward. So, in an effort to cheer our crew up, Kylie and I surprised everyone and brought home a Christmas tree, some lights, and ornaments. Candles were lit, Christmas music was played, Love Actually was on the TV, and all was good again.

(Our own little Nerd of a Tree) Sunday was a mellow one, but I had a bright smile on my face the whole morning. It was just one of those slow-moving days that I'm grateful for moving so slow: the sun was up and shining, the air was brisk, I had my softest sweats on as I threw everything into the laundry. And when everything was clean and toasty, my roommate and I took the longest nap in the fresh and hot sheets. Then, another run to Urban Outfitters and Target was obviously necessary, so I managed to snag these pretty booties (for seventeen dolla dollas!) and some fake snow:

Yep, at this point, I was pooped from such a happy weekend. But I managed to gather all the strength within me to put a huge parka on, meet a couple of friends, and head over to one of our auditoriums for a screening of We're The Millers. That Jennifer Aniston, she can steal every heart and then some.   OK Monday, you're up. Treat us kindly.

Edit at 1:15pm, about six hours after publication of this post: I knew something was missing from this.

I FORGOT THE PINKBERRY.

HOW DID I FORGET THE PINKBERRY.

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Five on Friday

Good morning and Happy Friday, my friends! I thought you might want to know what's new with me (or not, but I'm going to tell you anyway), so today I'll just let my brain take over and say whatever it wants to say, no holds barred.

1 // I woke up with two honking spider bites, one on each butt cheek. There's also one on my right foot. They might not even be spider bites, but I saw this huge, disgusting spider on my wall the day before, failed to kill it, and am now assuming the worst. Upon finding these massive bites, I walked into our common room where two of my suitemates were watching TV, pulled down my pants, and said "not that I actually want to be crossing any boundaries or anything, but you guys have to look at my butt right now." Boundaries. Crossed. Also, I'd totally post a picture here, but I think that might be inappropriate material for the Internetz or something like that. (What is TMI?)

2 // Last night, in a sudden phase of needing to be immersed in knowledge and questions, we watched the documentary, Blackfish. It's amazing and heartwrenching, and the consensus is that SeaWorld is a big, fat lie. Take that information and do with it what you will. Our reaction during 93% of the film:

3 // While watching this fascinating piece on killer whales, my mind was suddenly taken over by ideas of about pages, navigation bars, signatures, blogrolls, and so on and so forth. You never know when inspiration strikes. And today, you're seeing the results of that. Call me efficient! (Also, Sarah at Venus Trapped in Mars has the best tutorials - so easy to follow!)

4 // Post documentary-watching, Kylie and I hit up In-N-Out. Because what else would you do thirty minutes before midnight? It's a bit shameful, really. It's also a bit shameful that it took me literally thirty attempts to get a semi-decent picture, and it didn't even turn out semi-decent. But here you go - I'm hoping that you get an idea of how wonderful a chat with your best friend, lots and lots of unhealthy grub, and country music cranked up high are. Yes, you get all of that through this one blurry, dark image. You're good.

5 // Gratitude. Always. For breathtaking sunsets, for not having 5:45am wakeup calls every day, for The Mindy Project, for friends and laughter, for coffee, for the holiday season and the warm, fuzzy feelings that come with it, for family, for chefs who make us delicious food, for life.

10

Story of My Life

"Awkward" is a word that largely defines my lifestyle. I accidentally stumble into situations that make me look half like an idiot, half like I have real potential as someone to befriend, since I at the very least will be wildly entertaining to observe. But it's all good because at the end of the day, sometimes I reminisce over these moments and they give me plenty to burst out laughing in pure silence over. Again, awko taco.

Exhibit A // Yesterday at 6:45pm, we get an e-mail from our university alert system and I quote, it said "don't go over-exerting yourself or breathing too hard outside." There was a recycling plant fire in the neighboring county, and we definitely started smelling the toxic plastic fumes around 1:00pm, so I guess it's kind of awkward that I was watching my friends play softball outside in those 5+ hours and breathing/getting poisoned, instead of sheltering in place like we were apparently supposed to? This is the first time I can actually use "SORRY FOR BREATHING" literally. Wow.

Exhibit B // Speaking of those softball games, I was sitting in the stands with the softball parents for a long time [#teammanagerperks] and listening to them talk about how hungover they were, how much they had to drink at the three four bars they went to the previous night [I lost count after the three martinis and a Bloody Mary], and how dancing afterwards easily burns off all the calories. You know what we, the college students, were doing the previous night? Passing out at 9pm.

Exhibit C // I've been dying to tell you guys this story, but haven't had a chance to. Two months ago, my roommate and I were on our way to a meeting with the coaches. Halfway there, we see the trainer in his golf cart just driving merrily next to us, waiting to see how long it took for us to notice him. Well, eventually we did (eventually), and he very nicely offered us a ride to the athletics department. We got on, he drove fast, and long story short - as he was making a quick and sharp turn, I literally went FLYING out the side of the cart. Flailing. In. The. Air. And then my roommate, great friend that she is, fell out after me because she couldn't contain her laughter and was rolling on the ground, in tears. (No one got hurt, thanks for asking.)

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Exhibit D // A brand new, multimillion dollar gym just opened up like 3 minutes from where we live (glad to know my tuition money is going somewhere useful). I decided to go today to check it out, maybe get an idea of what I'd be missing out on because obviously I won't be working out regularly, who do you think I am. Anyway, not only is there a super nice pool and locker rooms and a soundproofed study lounge, there are dozens and dozens and trillions of super fancy, brand spankin' new machines. And I seriously felt like a grandma because I stood stationary on a treadmill, pressing random buttons for no less than 7 minutes, trying to figure out how to get out of the e-magazines collection (GLAMOUR HOLLER) and into anything that would start the stupid machine for me. I found this, and then consequently found myself running for forty minutes/two episodes. Don't even regret it, nor will I be regretting the six desserts I'm justified to eat today.

Exhibit E // When this is what's bought in bulk at Costco:

Exhibit F // Literally as I'm typing this, the housing people knocked on our front door. We weren't expecting any guests and people usually come to clean on Thursdays and not Mondays, so we half thought it was a thief or something, and my roommate and I just hid behind my open door, and turned the lights off... it didn't occur to us that if it was indeed a thief, our big screen TV is out in the common room - and we probably wouldn't even have done anything to stop them from taking it. (Just please don't steal our food please, that's actually pretty necessary.)

There're plenty more where these came from. Just wait until you hear about the time I accidentally stole an ice cream (in a cake cone w/ sprinkles...) from a little boy at Disneyland. Shucks. Or the time we almost stole a cat. Or that my favorite shirt in the entire world was stolen from a communal laundry room by one of our guy friends, and shared by a few of my girlfriends. (Also just realized that these all involve stealing... I swear stealing's not my other day job.)

 -

21

Nerd Nation

OK, OK, OK, forgive me, but I can't do anything else today except to commend Stanford Football.

How 'bout that game last night?!

Yes, the fourth quarter was a bit of CARD, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING a scare.

Yes, we lost to an unranked Utah two weeks ago,

and yes, Pac-12 might be out of the National Championships now (you're welcome, FSU), BUT

The very first picture of our entire suite! :)

...I had goosebumps up and down my arm all last evening...

because our boys fought so hard, played so beautifully, and protected this house of ours beyond anyone's expectations.

because our fans and Red Zone rallied with their everything, nonstop. The energy was wild.

because here, when we have such a momentous win, security guards automatically open all the gates and help all of the students climb over fences to celebrate with the team, the players who are our friends and colleagues, dormmates and classmates, co-partiers and breakfast buddies.

because everyone here fully embraces the nerdiness:

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So, I salute you, my Nerd Nation. I couldn't be more proud to be a Cardinal.

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8

Fall, I Love You. Kind Of.

You know how everyone and their mother likes to claim that they're indie or hipster or whatever these days? Or sometimes, they don't claim it - they just make it very clear to the world by listening to their Mumford & Sons in combat boots and fringe shirts, pretending not to give two cares about anything?

Well. That's not me. I'm as mainstream as it gets. Like, I'm right now at Starbucks drinking an extra hot grande dirty soy chai latte, no water please. I'm wearing Lululemon head to toe, scrolling through my Instagram feed while judging everyone else around me scrolling through their Instagram feeds, thinking about how they should really try and "unplug"/"disconnect" now and then or our generation is doomed.

I'm mainstream. And I'm especially blogger mainstream. As in, I love all the cliches. I have the bubble necklace. I just bought a single mason jar with a few mustache straws [so. precious!]. I like chevron, glitter, and J.Crew. So naturally, I love fall. It's my favorite season. ...Until I question it all.

The best things about autumn, a list:

1. // FALL-SCENTED CANDLES ... Until they burn your suitemate's hair.

{... she didn't even see it coming.}

2. // SNICKERDOODLES FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN SO SOFT THEY ARE PRACTICALLY STILL DOUGH ... Until your stomach starts to hurt from eating one too many.

3. // CUTE FALL CLOTHES ... Until you realize you'd actually much rather just stick with this:

4. // TORY BURCH SHOES ... Until your calves get too fat for the boots, and the flats kill you, one blister at a time.

5. // PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES ... Until everyone in the suite starts fighting for the ONE bathroom for the PCP [post coffee poop... TMI, sorry bout it]. And you're paying ~$5 for this crap. (Literally.)

6. // BORROWING A BOY'S SWEATSHIRT FOREVER ... Until it just reminds you that you don't have a boyfriend to snuggle with.

7. // BRISK WALKS OR A CRISP BREEZE THROUGH THE WINDOW WHILE YOU'RE STUDYING ... Until you realize you're studying.

8. // COLLEGE FOOTBALL ... Until you lose to an un-ranked Utah. As a #4 team.

9.  // FALL TV ... Until... Hahahahahaha, just kidding, fall TV will never not be the best.

10. // THE ANTICIPATION OF HOLIDAY SEASON ... Until Starbucks gives you a "short" holiday cup, instead of a "tall." Thanks. Thanks for that, buds.

But rest assured, dear Autumn, you're always going to be my favorite. Even if you play hard to get sometimes.

--

Linking up with Niki & Kar-Kar Kim today!

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