October Musts:

So I don't think I really did a post all October.

For that, I apologize.

In my defense, it was freaking nuts! My family moved, I had midterms, I actually started hanging out with people, and I have three jobs. I know, right? But it's a blast and I love it!

But here are October Musts:

(unfortunately I had to miss out on half of them this year due to my insanely busy schedule. But starting up next year again, I will do better!)

Make pumpkin bread

Make pumpkin cookies

Make other awesome holiday treats

Take pictures of leaves changing colors

Eat candy corn with peanuts (it's a... family thing? perfect way to go!)

Plan out your costume

Plan others costumes (because you obviously know best!)

Make cut outs of crows, bats, pumpkins and witches!

Buy a black crow from the dollar store anyways and give him a post to watch others

Decorate the house appropriately

Pull out your winter clothing

Watch movies*

*Movies consist of:

Young Frankenstein (best enjoyed on Halloween Night)

Frankenweenie

Beetlejuice

Hocus Pocus

Halloweentown

Addams Family

Ghostbusters

Paranorman

Coraline

Edward Scissorhands

Corpse Bride

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

The list goes on....

And there you have it, my friends. The October Musts. Am I missing anything??

Fa-SHUN

Okay so I said would do a piece about fashion and thought I would get it through really quickly!

Not that I'm saying I don't love fashion- because I do enjoy dressing myself (and friends) up all the time. It's just when it comes to magazines, celebrities- there, you will lose my interest.

Let me start this off with: FASHION IS YOUR OWN THING. 

Meaning it's an "eye of the beholder" kind of deal. We all have different fashions. I mean, ten years ago my sisters thought I really needed fashion help. Now, they always want to borrow my clothes. (To be fair,I like borrowing their stuff too).

Not only is it in the eye of the beholder BUT it's got to work for YOU as in soul and body. Especially body. Please, yes, the body.

Zooey Deschanel

Step One:
So figure out your shape!

Here are a couple of sites if you are not entirely sure:
Find Your Body Shape
Body Shape Calculator
And there are dozens more!

Me? I don't quite cut an hourglass shape like my sister or the athletic one like my other sister (thanks guys for taking my favorites), but the delicious pear shape. I just need caramel and I'm the whole deal!

Haha, but seriously.

Olivia Wilde

Step Two:
Know what to high lite and what to hide!

We'll use my shape for example, obviously. It's the best I have to work with. And I adore compliments because it means I'm doing something right. I am emphasizing particular features that I want to work best with.

I emphasize: my waist. It's fairly quaint.
AND most importantly: it takes the attention away from my hips.

My best chance: Fitted at the waist, and loose falling down. I don't want attention to my thighs personally, so I hide those.

What do you want to high lite? (Emphasize/Show off/Make bigger)
Your chest? Wear something showy and bigger. Like ruffles.
Your waist? Like I said, show how small it is. Make an hourglass figure.
Your legs? Short cuffed pants, tight skirts
Your hips? Plum tops and skirts will add volume!
Your shoulders? Off the shoulder and strapless.

What do you want to hide?
Make smaller.
Hide your chest? Wear plainer tops and suit jackets. Cardigans sometimes make them bigger.
Hide your legs? Long skirts and heels if you're daring. Wear pants well fitted- NOT baggy.
Hide your hips? Emphasize the waist then- or even block that and wear something empire waisted!

Emma Watson

Step Three:
Try it out.

The only way you will know for sure is to test it out! So be daring! I am still trying to convince Katie, who has lovely long legs, to wear those flowing pants. Which I can't wear because I'm short and have big hips and not great legs which will only look chunky in those.

Also, look for fashion icons with your shape and try that out as well. Even those who aren't your shape, you can try- like most of my fashion roles.... Yeah. Hm. I should work on that. But still ;D

Also in this step: be willing to admit what you can't wear. I cannot do the short skirt and leggings. I can't do it and it kills me. Skinny jeans are also an insanely risky venture for myself.

But be willing to go crazy and try all sorts of things, in all sorts of different colors and designs and such!

Charlavail

Warning:
I am not trying to make anyone feel bad about themselves. Fat or thin, skinny or chunky, blonde or brunette (or redhead!)- 95% of women are self-conscious and somewhat insecure. Don't be. Learn to love yourself, whichever body shape you have. Is a square better than a triangle? All shapes can be beautiful. So dress yourself up and feel free and be comfortable!

**Pictures are of outfits I enjoy as well as a few of my personally favorite fashion icons. 

It's just my thing. 

So what's yours?

Me

And Pesto!

So the other week-

I know, a while ago. Anyways-

I made pesto!

Katie came in towards the end to assist with the finishing touches and be my ever loyal taste tester. For some reason, I leave that to her and not myself. Even though I always love my food. But.... okay continuing on-

And here's a simple recipe.

Okay to be honest, this isn't specific. It's three recipes mashed together and instructions taken from Katie's huge and awesome cook book. Just saying.

You need: Measuring cups and a food processor.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups basil "crushed"
2 cloves garlic
1 cup toasted pine nuts
2 tbspn olive oil
.4/.5 cup parmesan cheese
3 pinches sea salt
2 tsp parsley


Instructions: I cut the basil to go easy on my machine, you can do what you will. It took me about an hour, though. Put those in the food processor with the salt and oil olive. Toast and chop pine nuts, toss in and let grind for 20 seconds. Crush garlic, chop parsley, and put the rest in. Grind until fine.

And that should do the trick!

Ours was a bit thicker than I expected which more olive oil would have taken care of, but we liked it the way it was.

The basil and parsley was taken right from Katie's fresh garden, too!

Overall, it was a success and even our roommates thought it was delightful! This made about a full cup worth, to be honest and could have made more with more oil. But it's been a few days and we still have it and it's lasting us a good while- a little goes a long way!

Minimalists

By now, I'm sure you've all heard of them. They've put out documentaries, put together a fabulous blog that us bloggers can only pray we will someday attain. They've done TedTalks, and so much more.

The Minimalists. They're actually really cool.

Two friends who formed a habit and are sharing it with the world: minimalism.

And being the junkie and hoarder I grew up as, I've been working on trying to reach their ways. It's been a long process, but I assure you, so far, there has been much success.

Of course, half of it's there because of Katie.


We haven't had to share a room in months but once it was time, we also knew it was time to toss some items. Five bags later, I still have twice as much as she does- but we're a lot better off with it!

And there's always things to toss. I've already started another bag!

So between the famous Minimalists and my darling Katie, here are some tips:

It's not always about having a little amount, but keeping what you value. Yes, I have like two shirts in my closet that I rarely wear, but it's because I value them. Like I said, I'm a work in progress. But if you don't value it- junk it.

If you haven't worn it in a year (they say six months but hey, it's ok), then you will not wear it in the next year. Junk it.

My personal lesson: those 'together' outfits are great. You know what I'm talking about- that fun belt you have just for that special skirt, or those shoes that only work with that fun shirt. Guess what? It's not usually worth it. If you have an item that goes with only one thing, and it's not getting worn very much, then junk it.



One of my next posts is going to be on shopping, which I know sounds stupid but trust me, you might gain another skill even about junking things. Stay tuned!

 

First Day of School! Again!

It doesn't feel like school, truth be told.

But my body sensed it so I didn't really sleep much. If at all!

Hey, I survived!

First class: Raquetball. To be honest, I totally mixed it up with Badminton and now I have realized my mistake. All the same, I do believe I'll stick around and test it out, just for fun. It can't be too hard, right? And it's the first day so we didn't really do anything except take off one shoe and do a get-to-know-you game.

Second: Spanish. Accidentally let another girl sit with me? Whoops? Sorry Katie! Not intentional. But she was friendly. And apparently much of this class will be spoken in Spanish. Here comes the mini heart attack! He gave us a little test sheet to see how much we know. Basically nothing. He should have compared words and then maybe I'd have a shot! But that's about it, jeesh.

Third: Psychology. Freaking packed. We cannot be late or we're in trouble. I'm not even kidding. There has to be nearly 50 of us! And the professor is an oddball. A character. Which is usually amusing but I guess I was expecting more of a Sherlock Holmes deductive sort of character, I suppose? I know, I shouldn't have such high expectations. What does that say about me?

Fourth: Mythology. The professor isn't as cool as I had hoped. None of them are. Except for Raquetball dude, he should chill. I think he gets sandwiches at my work a lot, too. Hm. But anyways, this sounds like it should be an intense study class- even though it's not upper division! Super hard core. I'm a bit worried. Plus, this is where you start getting the English and Drama nuts. They worry me. Just overwhelming, that's all.

So yeah. There's a chance I'm in waaaaaay over my head. Especially with another online class and then handling three jobs. Definitely a lot to balance on my plate. I have no idea how this is going to work out, by any means. I kid you not.

That's the fun of it, right?

Wish me luck!

Spelling and Stories

My major is English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Is anyone really surprised? I didn't think so!

Anyways, spelling is always a tricky thing because English has so many rules which don't make sense and are more often compromised than one should be. So, here's a few basic tips.

To/Two/Too: Yeah, it took me a while. But I had some awesome elementary teachers who I believe are the ones who taught me this trick.
To: I'm going to the store. The word is short because the point of it is short.
Two: It has a W with more than one V, so it's a number.
Too: essentially, much or more. I have too much stuff. I want to do it, too. An addition- so there's an extra O!

Then/Than: Okay this one I figured out about the time I was 16. Just because I could write doesn't mean I could spell- don't you love how flawed we are?
Anyways, I don't have any clever tricks for this one. Do you? I just know that the word with A is a comparison. The one with E is more of a time frame. I'd rather go kayaking than cycling. I'd rather go kayaking then cycling. See? They have different meanings.

And that's enough for now. I could get us started on grammar but that's... well.... another time.

Here's a quick story as reward for paying attention:

All that has ever happened to me, has happened in the rain. I was even born in the rain, some eighteen years ago in the middle of April... I lost my first tooth in the rain, slipping off a step. I made my best friend in the rain, jumping in the puddles. I had my first kiss with my next door neighbor, Rusty, in the rain.

But then... somehow things began to change. Good things stopped happening, you know? I fell down the school steps and broken my leg when I was fourteen. The next year, my sister's car crashed in a rain storm. Then our backyard flooded and our basement ruined. My best friend moved on a rainy day. I even had my heart broken in the rain.

"What are you going to do?"

I glance over from staring down at my big, red rainboots. "Excuse me?"

"You don't have an umbrella," the boy says plainly, gesturing lightly. I cock my head, wondering if I know him. Average clothes, hair, bag, everything. Average boy doesn't seem to have a familiar face, I decide.

"I know," I say finally.

He shifts his bags, eyes glancing around between his large framed glasses. He looks like a nerd. But... not a nerd-nerd. A nerd boy... How can I explain it? I don't think I can. I mean, slim body and glasses and his backpack say it. But he's not that much of a chicken, and he's got nice hair, and he's not having a problem with his bag, either, so...

So he's sort of average, maybe.

Like me, I guess. Dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, a few freckles. I'm not fat but I'm not skinny either, and I don't care for dressing up too much or putting on lots of make up. In fact, I'm wearing a long-sleeved top over a dress and jeans and my red boots. Kind of odd, I guess, but... it's average-me, you know?

"You want to borrow mine?" He offers me after a moment of somewhat-awkward silence. He's got a nice voice though, I decide. Not high and squeaky like some, and not too low either. I glance at his hand, holding a clear umbrella.

"You need it," I shake my head, glancing back out to the rain. What will happen this time? I can't help but wonder. Something always happens in the rain. Almost like fate, destiny, or something. It just... happens. Something, that is. And I never know.

"I walk in the rain all the time," he continues talking even as I turn away a little, persistant but not to the point of just plain annoying. "Honestly, I'd feel bad about taking this and leaving you to walk in the rain."

"How do you know I walk?" I glance over, mildly surprised.

He chuckles, fiddling with his hair. "Because you do, every day. For one, it's just community college, and you're in some of my classes, including the last chemistry one. We leave at the same time, every day. Except I like to walk slow, and when you turn right at Burberry Lane, I turn left."

"Are you stalking me?" I ask finally, and wonder why I hadn't ever noticed myself.

"No, I just pay attention to my repeated surroundings," he sends me an impish smile. "Now please, take it?" He holds out the umbrella towards me once again.

I look at him for the longest time, and turn back to the rain right before us, as if it's silently taunting me, staring me down. Droplets fall from the building's edge and pounce on my red boots. Why did I get these silly things? Because my sister thought they were cute, I guess. And she still hadn't been too well when I bought them, so... I still have them. They make me smile, and feel different. Confident, I suppose.

"I could walk slow." Chewing my lip, I glance over at him hesitantly, wondering what he'll say. Or maybe he's getting picked up, is that it? Or am I too strange- or worse, boring- to be around? I wait and watch his smile widen a little.

"Sounds like a plan I could agree to," he says, and pops up the umbrella. "It's not much, but it'll protect us a little," he says needlessly, shyly stepping closer.

Ready to brave nature's wrath, we take the first step together, and the next, and then we're walking down the sidewalk. It's quiet for a while, but it's not too bad. And we find just the right pace to walk at, for both of us. Maybe a little slow for me, a little fast for him. But I don't mind.

"So you like chemistry?" I ask finally, and almost wince. It's conversation, but it's also pathetic conversation. I mentally kick myself as I glance over, wondering if he'll just kick me away at my pathetic attempt to converse.

"Yeah," he grins. "I actually almost went into art history to major, but then I switched." He explains shortly, and I notice his smile isn't average. It's crooked, actually... and kind of cute, if you like crooked smiles anyways.

Art history? Only really, really smart and talented people get into that, I think and nod slowly. I kick a pebble out of my way, and wonder again why I'm wearing these ridiculous clothes. But my sister likes to fiddle with my clothes, and I just barely decide what I wear these days. I don't blame her, though. She hasn't been right since the crash, after all.

"What about you?" He inturrupts my thoughts, kicking his own pebble- or was it mine? I'm too distracted to tell. "You know, chemistry?" He reminds me, shifting the weight of his bag.

"I cook," I say finally. "I failed it last year, so I'm retaking it." He raises his eyebrow and I feel the need to explain. "I love cooking and playing with it, but I never really cared about... you know, mixing other things together. I just like to make it look pretty and taste good."

"Yeah, I don't see how it could be too fun in our classroom," he nods with a chuckle. "But cooking? That's really impressive."

"Thanks," I mumble shyly, and wonder why my cheeks are heating up so much. All the same, I can't make them stop and it's really embarassing. So I pull my hair down, glad I didn't pull it back today, and make it hide my face a little, just enough I pray.

Our conversation is slow and mellow, but it's nice and peaceful at the same time, and he seems like a good guy. In fact, we stand on the edge of Burberry street for over ten minutes, still talking and unable to leave.

"Well, I guess I have to go," he sighs at last, seeing the time on his watch. "I have to go pick up my little brother," he explains. "Elementry school, just down the street." He pauses, hesitating. "Here, take this," he says finally, offering me the umbrella.

I shake my head, biting my lip. "No, I mean, you need it. You have farther to walk, and your brother..." I trail off, fiddling with one of the strings on my dress. My heart beats a little faster than normal, and I feel myself tempted to take the umbrella, but I really shouldn't...

"Please," he laughs, shaking his head. "Mikey loves the rain, and would never stand under an umbrella. You, on the other hand, should really take it. I'm the one with a hooded jacket, after all," he smiles, and stretches it over to me at least. "Just for today?"

"I'll return it in class," I nod at last, and gingerly take it.

His hands grab onto his backpack, smiling crookedly at me before he steps away to leave. I look over him again, unable to help myself. Talking to this boy... he's not average, though he may have looked it before. Actually, I can't tell what was so average before. Because he's not. He's got a future, a family, plans... he's got a real life playing for him, it seems, a really good guy.

"I'm Melanie," I blurt at last, realizing I don't know his name.

"Hello, Melanie. I'm Trevor." He gives a little wave-like salute. "I'll save you a seat in class, okay?"

"Promise?" The word slips out before I can help it, and I start blushing again.

His smile widens, and I think his cheeks are heating up a little as he ducks his head, glancing at his sneakers. But then he looks up one last time to meet my eyes. "Promise." And then he turns away, into the pouring rain.

I stand there with Trevor's umbrella for several minutes, just watching him. Grudgingly, I eventually begin walking in the other direction, my thoughts playing over our conversation and walk. But I won't analyze this, it's too special to me. I don't know why, but it is.

I'm walking up my driveway before I know it. Before I reach the porch, however, I pause to look up at the dark, cloudy sky. Droplets continue to pelt the umbrella that protects me from the rain, and I watch them bouncing and sliding around. My thoughts stray again, and a little smile begins forming.

Dropping the umbrella, I stretch out my arms to the rain, receiving with my heart and mind. Today, was good. It rained. Maybe my luck is back, and maybe it's not luck. Maybe it's just life. I finally stop twirling on the grass before I ruin my bright red rain boots, pick up the wonderful clear umbrella, and I step inside, the smile still there.

College Points

I've been in college for a while.

In and out, that is.

For about four years. And in this accumulation of times, people, and adventures, I realize I've learned a few things. However, these are the only things that I can think of off the top of my head. Also, I am currently living off-campus from my university, and I do believe this could count for whatever circumstance other students are in:

1# Be friendly. Smile and make friends. It makes things a lot easier. You can share books in class and put together a study group (do it EARLY on if the class will be even slightly tricky. I waited until it was just for finals which worked, but it would have been twice as fun a semester to really study and bond with classmates).

2# Go to the events. Don't go if you hate them. I mean, I go to the occasional football game, but more for the atmosphere than rooting on the team. Sorry, Thunderbirds! But still, go to some of the events. It's a great way to have fun, usually for cheap- and hello, you're paying your student fees. You better go to some of those! Also, join a club. I joined archery. I didn't know a thing going in, but there were teachers and people at all levels.

3# If like myself, you're paying your way- or most of it- pay attention to your budget! But still make room for fun. The occasional movie, the midnight run to get that mexican burrito your roommate is craving, and so on.

4# Have fun, and take advantage of every adventure. SAY YES. Not like Jim Carry "Yes Man" style because that could be dangerous. But they want to go on a sudden trip to the Grand Canyon? Yes! Go camping in the middle of nowhere? (If that's your kinda thing) Yes! They want to try making pad thai? Yes! Sneak into a movie? Yes! (Okay, I'm not advocating that either.) Go to the park in the dark and spin until you're sick? Yes! Find out what your school can do for you, learn about all the hidden nooks and crannies of your town/city, and find a way to go places whether it's walking, biking, or driving. Try it out!

And that's all I can think of. By doing these things, I'm enjoying the small town college life without going too crazy. Because that can happen. But I know people who work themselves into panic attacks (when they don't really have a problem, usually, but they push too too hard), or all they do is work and are too tired to do anything else (aka fun).

So wake up, and smell the sunshine! Do what you can while you still can! Trust me, even if at first it seems awkward or insane, you will cherish those memories in the time to come.

Is there a country song that seems to echo my point? I'm not positive.