ode to lovely

10 day hiatus

 

I had no idea 10 days had passed since I last said a word on this blog of mine. Here's a slightly boring update of the last 10 days:

• Been cooking a lot. Made a huge pyrex full of guacamole the other day. It was the best one I've ever made. I've also made tacos, cheesesteaks, lots of chinese veggies, and sweet potato hash browns.  
• My boy and I went to 宜蘭 (YiLan) this past weekend on a school-planned trip. Yilan was a cool place. But the tour-guide company my school hired SUCKED. I felt like they wasted my weekend.
• I've been yoga-ing every Mon-Fri for the last 3 weeks. I am such a yoga addict now. I seriously can't get enough. 
• Bought new purple chucks that only cost $23. Such a sweet purchase.
• We have a new gecko living with us this summer. Hopefully he won't end up like our last friend. 
• Played around with my camera today and took some awesome jumping-on-my-bed photos.   
• Making to-do lists of what to buy, what to eat, who to see, and where to go when I go home next month.  
• I've decided to give up cheese for 3 weeks. I've been so sad without it. Life really isn't the same without cheese. Cheese makes EVERYTHING better.
• It's been raining a lot lately. And I love every second of it.

thoughts on the bubble dress

I used to be a big fan of the bubble dress. But matt has always called them "trash bag" dresses. He absolutely whole-heartedly hates them. He thinks they are the most unflattering dresses ever. And after seeing this picture, I might have to agree. But my mom gave me this dress. And when I wear it, I always think of her. And so for that reason, I still love this dress with all my heart. And the shoes too.

my bowl is chipped

Today, I am locking myself in my craft room and getting my quilt done even if it kills me. Then, I'm going to watch episodes of girlmore girls and not feel guilty for wasting time on silly tv. Lastly, i want to curl up in bed with harry potter book 3, some tea, and maybe even some cookies. But not before I go out for japanese food tonight with my boy and some friends. I plan to soak up today. Because tomorrow is a homework day. And those are never fun. 

mid month status report

• Love my new $8 tank. It's the most perfect shade of purpley-grey.
• My current necklace: purse and high heel charms on a long-ish chain.
• Signed up for a boutique yoga studio. So expensive. But so worth it.  
• I've worked out 12 out of the last 15 days. High five for that. 
• I'm trying hot-yoga for the first time on Friday. Bring on the sweat!  
• Halfway done with the semester. 4 more weeks. Then home! 
• I'm loving kiwis and cherries. Oh and bananas too.   
• It was my half birthday yesterday.  Now I'm just getting closer to 28. Ugh.
• I think July is turning out to be a lovely month, don't you? 

shaking in my pj's

At 2:04 am I was awaken by a serious shaking of the earth below me. It lasted for a solid ten seconds and it was really quite scary. According to the news, it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that shook taiwan in the middle of the night. Although I experienced a baby earthquake last summer, this one (which really was not that big after all) still had me kinda freaked out. But luckily all is solid and stable now and I can go back to my regularly schedueled program. Off to school. 

color me happy

Do you want to know one of my favorite things about living in Taipei? That you can buy pens individually! All colors. All brands. And you can test them out before you buy to make sure that you like how they write. As a child, my favorite day of the year was back-to-school-shopping day (I loved buying new markers, crayons, mechanical pencils, pretty colored pens, hi-liters, etc.) so living here is a nerdy girl's dream come true. I love the stationary stores here. If only they had letterpress, then it really would be my dream come true. 

and there goes the weekend

Me and my boy finally had a weekend alone and it was so lovely. I hardly see him during the week, and for the last few weekends we've had a house guest, so I was extremely excited to have him all to myself. We watched The Hangover yesterday, which I highly recommend. I must say, that Bradley Cooper is one damn-good looking man. Especially with the long, curly, I-just-got-out-bed-looking-this-sexy, hair. So yep, I'm a big fan. Anyways, in other fantastic news, I FINALLY found a ring setting that I am madly in love with. Yes it took me 3 months and yes I'm incredibly picky. But if I have to wear this ring for a lifetime, then it should be perfect right? I can't wait to go home next month, get the diamond set, and rock it with pride. Now let's hope finding the location for the wedding doesn't take me as long as the setting did. 

localized

My new thing: I rock an umbrella even if it's not raining. The locals do it, and at first, I thought it was strange. But then I started seeing sun damage on my face.  And so, I learned my lesson. I mean, just to give you an idea on how strong the sun is here...Taipei and Miami are on the same latitude. And the last time I went to Miami, I burned to a crisp. Not many foreigners in Taipei do the umbrella thing, but perhaps I can start a trend? I wonder what my friends would say if I tried to bring this "custom" back to the states. I think they'd just laugh at me. 

the new mrt

Taipei's new Brown MRT line opened up this weekend. I live right at Daan Station so this was very exciting for me. I rode it up to Miramar (this big mall with a ferris wheel) and I was so excited to see this:

A mini Fourth of July celebration! I was so happy to see the American flag combined with Chinese characters. There was beer. American food. A mini-concert. American flags everywhere. AND, they even had  a photobooth. It turned out to be a random, yet lovely fourth of july after all. 

another fourth away from home

Today I'm going to:

• Workout
• Go to the movies 
• Go to happy hour 

I should be:

• At the beach with Nesha
• Wearing my fourth of july bathing suit 
• Having drinks on the beach 
• Eating hamburgers and hotdogs 
• Watching fireworks  
• Going out in Dewey at night 

bonjour juillet

Hello July! Two thumbs up for a new month. Today, I feel so inspired to GET MOVING.  A fresh month always inspires me to reevaluate and regroup. I've decided to make a list of things I want to accomplish in July. It's a very reasonable list and I can't wait to start crossing things off. One of my to-do's is to take a photo-a-day for all 31 days. Today's photo is of my new textbook, which has officially bumped me into the "advanced" chinese category. Whoop whoop! So here's to a new month, new challenges, and crafty to-do lists. Raise your margarita glass and let's toast this one together, shall we? :)