Carrots and Chocolate

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Calm before the Crazy

A little calm for the packing frenzy/insanity.

Friday, July 23, 2010

My room is in complete disarray right now. It's past embarrassing. It's not dirty, just a jumble of stuff, like clothes to donate, books and notebooks from college (and high school... and grade school, oops!), and random housewares from my apartment. I'm trying to transition from college to real life and it's hard. I have no idea what I need to take, what to wear for javascript:void(0)work, and what I should just toss. Only 15 days too. I better get a move on it, but right now, I'm procrastinating, finding hilarious and adorable youtube videos, looking through etsy sites, and listening to new music. I'll get everything else done eventually, don't worry mom! But in the meantime, keeping with the theme of making lists of everything else in my life (Thank you notes, packing lists, emails to send, etc), I've made a list of my current favorite things:

1. Babelgum, Kids Reenacting Jersey Shore. (also watch the Hills and the Real Housewives of New Jersey)

2. Eminem ft. Rihanna - "Love the Way You Lie"

3. Flo Rida ft. David Guetta - "Club Can't Handle Me"

5. Lo Bosworth, from "omg, guys, this is like our last prom ever" to almost engaged, she's one of the best (and seemingly most normal) Laguna Beach/LA girls. and she's gorgeous.

4. Iker Casillas' interview by girlfriend Sara Carbonero after his World Cup Victory

5. 43 Things. The creators decided that people need obtainable goals and that 43 was the maximum you should be thinking about at once. You can create your list and see how many other people have the same goals. You can also see their tips on achieving similar goals, root for others (and they can root for you!), and be inspired by others hopes and dreams.

6. Anchor Charm Necklace, $16, urban outfitters. Nope, I'm not over the anchors yet (delta gamma is for life, so it's ok : ) And the envelope says, "only you can hold me down". So cute.

7. Dear Girls Above Me, Hilarious thoughts of a guy living below some 20-something girls. He makes me worried about some of the stupid stuff I might have once said.

8. I'm maybe falling in love with tumblr. It's a perfect way to waste an afternoon scrolling through page after page of pictures. Not that I ever waste time looking through blogs.... Anyway, two of my recent faves: twentythree: and Just be spLendid

9. Forget Me Knot ring, MoMA, $65.

10.Quotable Cards I think I could read these cards all day everyday and never get bored. Only very very inspired.

11. Nicholas Sparks' Dear John. He's fantastic at capturing the emotions of a LDR.

12. Personalized Silver Ring, $32, tinahdee on etsy.

13. My Growing Heart necklace, $25, onelifejewelry on etsy.

14.Dear Blank, Please Blank.Short little letters you want to send so badly, but could never really send or say. Examples:
"Dear energy saving co-worker who religiously turns off the lights after leaving the restroom,
You might be overdoing it.
Sincerely, I'm still in here."
"Dear film industry,
Please stop with the 3D craze. The movies aren't better, I get headaches, and no one will look good in those on dates.
Sincerely, Step Up 3D? Really?"

15. Lovely Engagement Photographs. I'm addicted to looking through blogs of engagement pictures. I think it's amazing how much love and personality can be captured in photographs. Like these taken by Shannen Norman:

But I can't help but think about the statistic from senior year religion class that fifty percent of engagements don't actually end in marriage. That's a lot of money to spend on pictures that you aren't going to want to keep. Hopefully that rate has decreased since then? It seems so high!

Yay! Now that I've posted some of these things, I can close the tabs on my firefox windows. I had about 30 tabs open at the start of this post and it was getting a bit too overwhelming. like my messy room that I'm still staring at...

Happy Friday!

Spread some love this weekend!

Listening to: The Script, "Man Who Can't Be Moved"

Thought of the Day: "Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good." -Minor Myers, Jr.

{Image via: Just be spLendid}

Friday, July 9, 2010

Words of Wisdom

from the streets of San Francisco

Architecture Love

I think one of the best things about going to be a big city is seeing the architecture. I love how it changes from region to region, depending on things like the cultural influences and the resources available. In San Francisco, buildings obviously have to cope with the scarcity of land and the plethora of hills.

{I would hate to drive these streets in my manual car}

{those corner offices must be gorgeous}

{I want to curl up in those window seats with a book}

{compact!}

{these owners must have a very sunny outlook on life}

{Tiffany's-esque?}

{blue doors and window boxes}

Thought of the Day: "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."

Listening to: "Magic" B.o.B.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

California Here We Come

I don't know where this summer is going. All I know is it's going super fast. I was going to be so much better about blogging regularly, but that obviously didn't happen. But hey, according to Wikipedia, only 12% of people achieve their New Year's Resolution goals, so at least I'm in the majority for not sticking to it, right?
I'm going to be taking a more official break with Carrots and Chocolate though because in 31 days, I will be on a plane to San Jose, CA for JVC training, after which I'll be moving for a year to Los Angeles! I just received my Casa assignment today and the names of my community members. I'll be living in East Los Angeles with 4 others all volunteering a year to serving those in the Latino community there. I'm so excited!!
Before this though, I'll be taking a trip to Kansas to see my grandparents, having a family reunion, figuring out what I need to take to LA, working in as many trips to St. Louis as possible, and trying to see everyone before I go!
Before I leave though, I thought I should end with some amazing pictures of the trip my sister and I took to the Bay Area to visit our brother this past week as well as some helpful things we learned along the way :)

Tip #1: the SF Pride Parade is not very exciting. Even the Backstreet Boys only played for 25 minutes. lame. For the real fun go to the party/celebration the night before.

Tip #2: Watch out for sketchy guys at the parade selling brownies that guarentee to make you happy. If you wouldn't normally eat something in a zip-lock baggie out of a random guy's backpack, don't start now. (I don't have personal experience with this, but as a sane person who watched it happen, it doesn't look too legit.)

{one of the more exciting floats}

Tip #3: Be selective about touristy places in San Francisco. For example, Chinatown was cool to look at for half an hour max. Ghirardelli Square was a complete waste of time and the one measly sample of chocolate did not live up to expectations.

Tip #4: If you decide to go to touristy places in the Bay Area, you might think about learning some other languages, such as French, Spanish, or Chinese. You will probably be the only American-born tourist there.

Tip #5: When in Chinatown, follow the locals; they might lead you to a Dr. Pepper truck off of which you can get free Diet Dr. Pepper. yum!

{Chinatown}

Tip# 6: If you go to Yosemite National Park, be sure to look for trails outside the Valley unless you want paved trails with hundreds of foreign tourists. We backpacked around the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

{lovely Reservoir}

{Annie under a pretty rainbow from the waterfalls}

{we didn't have a pack animal... we had Joe}

Tip# 7: If you go to Sequoia National Park, don't listen to your older brother on any trail-related information. If he says it's only .2 miles more, assume it is 5 more miles. If he says California doesn't have mosquitoes, bring tons of DEET 40 repellent. And if he says it is a flat trail, expect to hike straight uphill for a few miles.

{halfway there!}

{we climbed over 4,000 feet and went through snow for these views and...}

{...to sign this book at the top of Alta Peak!}

Tip # 8: Pack warm clothes.

Tip # 9: Enjoy diverse foods. Some of my favorites: Taste of the Himalayas, Fentons Creamery (when you want a lot of deliciousness), Tara's Organic Ice Cream (when you only want a little, but want some crazy flavors), Cafe Gratitude (go for the experience), and Tropisueno.

Tip #10: Drive on Highway 1, but avoid being behind a semi-truck.

Tip #11: Despite locals sunning themselves in parks and on beaches in bikinis and speedos, do not get the idea that it is warm enough to pack a swimming suit. It is not, nor will it probably ever be.

Tips #12: Take a drive up into the mountains and stop on some of the pull-off areas around dusk. They're worth it and you might pick up some good date ideas, like setting up a little table and having a candle-lit dinner with your lover. Adorable.

{view of the Bay Area from the Berkeley side}

Listening to: "Honey and the Moon" - Joseph Arthur

Thought of the Day: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Emerson

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Pull On and Go

Constantly on the hunt for "easy, breezy, beautiful" summer dresses, I've been hitting up T.J. Maxx quite frequently because they're cheap and usually have a lot more character. But then I found this store online and I am so super bummed that it is online only. I am so fickle when it comes to dresses and usually end up buying every 10th one I try on, so I don't really want to order any and end up having to constantly return. But the prices, styles, and varieties offered on Asos makes it very tempting.