Sunshine Dreams

I love football. It's red-blooded America in its most concentrated form. The thrill of pushing towards a first down, the uneasy tension of a close game, uproar over a horrible call, the sudden excitement of a great run or a pick six. You get the point. And now you're wondering, what does all this have to do with the photos above?

Traveling with the team, friends. Possibly the greatest benefit of my brother playing college football. I am itching to travel in Europe and Asia during spring and fall of 2014. For now, excursions in the U.S. will suffice to satiate my appetite for new places and experiences.

L.A. is one of our destinations this coming fall. 

(special thanks to L.A. based Joy Cho at her blog Oh Joy!, where I got the yummy photos from her 'Eats')

Sisters, Sisters

"I'm so lucky to have such a fun sister like you!" If that isn't the ultimate compliment, then by golly tell me what is!

My sister, Caroline, is 10. She is the only child (besides our dog) that is still at home with my parents. My brother and I are just a short drive down the road; 30 minutes down the freeway to Seattle (me) and another 30 minutes to Tacoma (him). I'd say as a family we all got a pretty good deal out of the whole in-state college thing. My parents are welcome to come visit either of us at any time, and we have the luxury of being able to go home when our schedules allow.

As wonderful as it is that my family is able to spend a good amount of time together, I have come to understand the importance of building a personal relationship with my sister, just us two. Now that I am graduated and living with only 6 girls (as opposed to 15...) I am better able to devote time and have the space to entertain her. 

One of the most wonderful things about loving someone is that, oftentimes, just being in their presence is enough. While Caroline and I surely had some adventures over the weekend when she stayed the night with me in Seattle, even just sitting in my room and reading our books in silence was ok by us. 12 years may separate us in age, but at our core, our interests are roughly the same. Caroline is beyond her years, and I still feel a connection to many things I enjoyed in my childhood, making it easy to find things we enjoy doing together. Our Sunday night included seeing Monsters, Inc. in 3-D at the $3 theater, snapping iPhone pics of ourselves, painting our toenails neon colors with heavy glitter overlay, and making a 10 PM trip to Target, the result of which was becoming the proud owner of a Hello Kitty air-popper popcorn machine. 

In the morning I surprised Caroline with a trip to Pike Place Market. Saying that she and I both love farmer's markets is an understatement. We watched rustic men sling fish while she ate a giant pickle from the old-fashioned jar at DeLaurenti, and I sipped on an Americano from the original Starbucks. For lunch we sat at the glass window of the Crumpet Shop, watching a man cut away excess dough from crumpets freshly pulled from a giant oven. We made our treats last as long as we could; me with my crumpet topped with ricotta and raspberry preserves, and Caroline with her apple cinnamon piroshky. Our efforts were further prolonged when I took a bite of her pickle, its juice flying in spout-like fashion over her head and onto the glass, causing a bellowing laugh from the man sitting next to us, and the need for more than a couple paper napkins. We made friends with the man selling jazz apples on the corner, who I think through his witty banter was trying to sell more than just apples to me. Caroline showed her love for everything truffled as we sampled many things flavored by those extraordinary little fungi. 

As if her sophisticated taste for truffle wasn't enough to stun me, Caroline remarked how the jewelry in the antique shop was so very Lady Mary and Downton Abbey-like. We picked out our favorite engagement rings from the 1920s, and oogled over diamonds and fabulous costume jewelry. Walking along the pier, Caroline enjoyed salt water taffy from a brown paper bag as we guarded ourselves with our down coats against the sea breeze and watched the ferris wheel turn. 

Most importantly, we laughed...at everything. I think people thought we were a bit ridiculous. We were just amused by ourselves and enjoying being together. More than once we were asked by vendors how we knew each other. The formality and ignorance of people astounds me. "What do we live for but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" Wise words from Mr. Bennett of Pride & Prejudice, and exactly the aim of these two sisters. All we cared about was sharing the little world we created between the two us.

We're not lucky; we're blessed, yes.

New Year's Eve

Moveable

The kiddos went back to school today. For the first time since before the start of preschool, roughly 18 years ago, I did not join them. I saw students with fresh books and a hustle in their steps walking en masse down Greek Row and onto campus. As for me, I sauntered and lagged behind. I fancied a good laugh right about then over how ridiculous I had probably looked in the past, struggling to make it to class on time (on more than just a few occasions), just like I saw others doing now. 

To be fair, I am sure I will miss school at some point in my life. Nostalgia will inevitably arise during some random 40 hour workweek. My brain will skip over the stressful former reality of studying, and instead choose to focus on the countless pajama days I once enjoyed, and of hours spent in my bed writing papers and reading. Even now it sounds horrid, but I'm sure the day will come when I long to reclaim my youth and the constant acquiring of knowledge that came with it.

Knowledge, however, doesn't stop at age 22. While the end of school is clearly the finale of my educational foundation, it is also a jumping off point for the rest of my life. To compensate for my failure to feel distraught over not having to back to school today, I started my book club read. Yes, I am in a book club. A few friends and I started it. Four young women; three graduates, and one still in undergrad; two international studies majors, one English major, and one art history and communication major. It is a small group, but our interests and backgrounds are guaranteed to result in tasteful reads and fantastic conversation. There will probably also be treats, not only for the mind, but also our stomachs (girls, I promise to always bake new treats for you, so long as you approve of being my taste-testing guinea pigs). We are to call ourselves "The Moveable Feast". 

I hope to engage in a moveable feast all my life. Just as Paris stayed with Hemingway for the rest of his days, I too anticipate my experiences, influences, and memories accompanying and shaping me along the way (hopefully with personal memories of Paris thrown into the mix). I also hope to be part of other people's moveable feast, impressing myself and therefore my God upon them in a way that is positive, and hopefully eternal. 

Shall we strive to always be learning and growing? Let us do just that. Let us never be satisfied with being content. 

So It Goes

Today I was thinking about my final hours as a college student. The day was nothing special, besides the fact it happened to be 12/12/12. It was the worst kind of rain outside: Seattle drizzle. That misty stuff that nestles its way into my tresses, doubling its size, and not in a lusciously voluminous Pantene way at all.

The center cushion of the couch had become "my jam" as Julie put it, and I spent the morning sitting there in my pjs with laptop in its appropriate lap location and flashcards in hand. There were a lot of Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram breaks. Oops. Obviously I was ready, or just really bored of studying, or just didn't care anymore; most likely a combination. I drank two cups of English breakfast tea, one of peppermint green tea, and a 20 oz. bottle of VitaRain. (My bladder proved surprisingly resilient, despite the fearful reality that I was literally locked into one of my exam rooms for two hours that afternoon.)

I walked down into the basement of the Art Building to take my last final, ever. Down in that cement hallway were three types of people. The art advisor was giving a tour of the building to future students of the university who looked a little out of sorts, perhaps anxiously anticipating sleepless nights in the studio, and fateful reviews from professors and peers. There were also test takers waiting outside the exam room, buzzing with excitement in having nearly finished the first of three rounds of finals this school year. Then there were people standing silently and staring into space. That was me. Maybe some were graduating seniors pondering their future and thinking, "Oh crap." But maybe the other silent bystanders were, like me, experiencing a curious and unexpected inner calm. I felt it necessary to imagine myself a wallflower, physically detached and taking it all in one last time.

While waiting to be let into the room, my professor came up to a group of us, erroneously taking our reserve as a sign of nerves. She told us not to worry; that she had created a very fair exam. What she didn't understand was my sense of peace. I had spent the entire quarter endlessly reading, rereading, memorizing, and gaining understanding of concepts, and frankly I was done with it all. I was ready to move on; ready to stop listening to the unoriginal obnoxious overachievers and moody future art historians; ready to regain a balanced life; ready to see the light of day (literally) and the friends I had been missing so much.

Two hours of writing later, I emerged. I called my mom. I called my brother. Then I walked home, got in my pjs, turned on Father of the Bride, and rearranged my bedroom. Thrilling way to celebrate, I know. But it was necessary. I felt the need to re-nest, and the need for the comfort of home by watching my family's favorite movie.

Weeks later I still have felt no particular "I'm done!" moment. Perhaps it would have been more grand and momentous if I didn't have to wait until June to walk in my graduation. Is this depressing you? I hope not. I apologize for not being more exciting. What I realized through all of this is that life moves on pretty quickly. One moment you're slaving away at your studies, and the next you're set free and released to the world. It's all rather surreal, isn't it? I imagine Dali's images of warped clocks, which appear as if they are melting over the objects on which they hang. Time is a continuum of moments fusing into other moments, always moving forward and never really having a beginning or an end. Such is life, as I have learned.

I have been blessed to be able to come home to my family for several days this Christmas. As I prepare to go back to Seattle, one of my mother's favorite phrases is written on the interior of my forehead, "Waste not thy hour." It is with great intention that I go back to my life away from home with the motivation to make each moment count for something, and to enjoy life to its fullest. Maybe the New Year syndrome has something to do with my zeal. Yet I also acknowledge that, thanks be to God, joy is at my fingertips, and I can find it in every situation depending on how I choose to approach each moment.

Cheers!

Where To Begin?

Freedommm! Cue Liesl von Trapp lifting her hands and crying "Wheeeee!" after dancing with and kissing Rolf in the gazebo. 

Class, work, workout, dinner, study, sleep. Repeat each day for three months. Side effects may include becoming a recluse, letting your social life fall by the wayside, and exhaustion.

It was worth it.

I'm a college graduate. And I did it in under four years. It's surreal. My diploma from the University of Washington is in the mail and on its way to my house. It will officially declare me a Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in Art History and Communication. I'm graduating with baccalaureate honors. 

Am I bragging? No. I am merely telling the truth that I worked hard.

Want to know more of the truth? I love learning. Now my education lies in my own hands, and not those of professors and authors of scholarly material. It's going to require more effort on my part. What will I study? Whatever my heart desires! How absolutely freeing, and yet completely daunting! My tendency for indecision is going to be half the battle. I intend to triumph!

For now, I am abusing my friend's Netflix account, and developing a list of things I want to start doing and people I need to catch up with. Basking in my achievements and dreaming of new ones is my current reality. 

It has been less than a week since I finished my last final. How am I doing so far? My friend and housemate summed it up best when she recently said, "I love that you're not in school anymore. You seem happy." And indeed, I am. 

Did I Mention I Recently Went To California?

The "Father of the Bride" house. I adore Pasadena and its gorgeous neighborhoods.

Riverside Farmer's Market

So many famous British and American artists to take photos of at the Huntington!

John Constable's "Salisbury Cathedral From The Bishop's Grounds". Swoon.

Beautiful, and so reminiscent of something you'd see in a Jane Austen film.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, & Botanical Gardens. My Mecca.

I suppose Ariel is my Disney Princess soulmate since my spirit animal is a mermaid.

It was definitely a jolly California holiday with Mary.

Unreal. Mainly because as a 22 year old this was my first Disneyland experience.

Laguna Beach

Lovely turquoise birds

The sun setting on a fun weekend getaway, made complete by Virgin America setting the mood for us, and a PLU win over Redlands (after all...it was the purpose of our trip).