Friday, September 30, 2011

Reason #167 Why I Like Savannah

It is a wellspring of learning. 


This morning I am sitting at a new coffee shop getting work done and enjoying the semi-cool weather that greets me outside. This morning is dewy and shining golden in a way that I feel like I had almost forgotten. Still, there is enough heat to make me side with the tank top with the skirt instead of the jeans and the sweater leaving still my long sleeve shirts to wait their turn. 

I have been so blessed in the past few weeks with a calm that I don't think I have ever experienced before. God has provided something this year that has allowed me to meet each day with joy and a heart of learning. Learning about myself, learning about what to expect of my future, learning amazing things in my classes and learning to love my neighbors. I feel grateful and ready for the challenges ahead of me instead of dreading them with an insecure anxiety of my inadequacies of years past. 

I am just excited to grow. 

This morning, I am guilty of one of my worst habits, eavesdropping. 

While waiting in line waiting for my peach tea and rosemary cornbread, two SCAD professors come in behind me discussing the importance of late medieval pottery and how it is being lost on our generation. Apparently we lack appreciation for "Roman ceramic building materials." This makes me smile. Moments later, they are joined by a third professor limping in on a cane. She orders a vegan sandwich. This consists of bread, lettuce, tomato and mustard. Depressing. They all say hello. After the caned professor walks away, one of the two that are left whispers,"She is amazing. I listened to a lecture of hers last Spring and I haven't been so inspired by 16th century Roman Working Class Culture since my early 30's when I was really heavy into that sort of thing." The other professor nods in a knowing sort of way that says "Oh, we've all been there..." I didn't know it was possible to be inspired by 16th Century Roman Working Class Culture. Now I'm curious. 

At the the table behind me sits two businessmen having a morning meeting discussing the discipleship of working. I missed the question leading up to this, but they are talking about being able to rest in your work. They are bouncing back and forth about the fruitful ways and the dangerous ways of being fulfilled by what you do and one of the men said,"You know, let's forget about that-- right now what I want to be focusing on is people. Discipleship and ministry through people and fostering relationships in our community through God's hand in our daily lives. Let's just forget about the rest and focus on that right now." Bingo.  

And to my right, the owner of this fairly new coffee shop/ print gallery sits with a journalist writing an article on her budding business. They she seems to be meeting for the first time. He has a ponytail and red glasses and she's wearing a vintage paisley shirt with a head scarf. They are discussing art and small businesses and the inspiration and frustrations they face everyday as artists and citizens of Savannah. In her early 20's and a SCAD alum, she is explaining the hoops she's had to jump through to be here and he's condemning the practices that government takes with small businesses such as this. But she's here. Her coffee shop is open and full of people on this Friday morning. I can't help but assume that at some point she wondered what kind of life she would have. And wondered whether or not she'd be happy or feel fulfilled.

These conversations remind me how long life is. The time from one stage to another involves many conversations and hurdles and decisions. And cool times. And hard times all just as interesting and important as the next. Once again, I am reminded of this peacefulness in my soul that allows me to be excited about what is to come in my future. 

I could sit here all day, but my tea is cold. 

Which one my roommates just texted me this?

" i just clogged the toilet...
  • i was so embarrassed.
  • i had to take it out and put it in the trash. "













    That's one secret I'll never tell. 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Move. Learn. Eat.

I came across these videos the other day and was instantly filled with so much happiness.

Andrew Lees, the guy in the videos, took 44 days and traveled to 11 countries recording his adventures along the way. The footage is not only beautiful, but also inspiring. I'm about to get cheesy. Real cheesy. So get ready: Turning 20 has made me feel so old. And these videos along with other reminders this week make me realize that I'm only young once and I. Am. Running. Out. Of. Time.

Olivia just dyed her hair hot pink. This is what I'm talking about. That is so great.

Also, I  have a small crush on him. So, there's that.



Monday, September 26, 2011

Birthday fun.

Newsflash: I love my birthday.

Every year I make it into a way bigger deal than it needs to be and force all of my friends and family to celebrate me far more than ever should be necessary. I was the kid who started planning my birthday about 8 months ahead of time and would schedule meetings with my mom to discuss theme and color scheme. (What am I saying? I still am that kid).

You may already have known this if you noticed the hype that I have been building for about the last month and a half. 

With all of that being said, I still felt that this year needed to be extra special due to the fact that I am turning 20. My roommates knew this, maybe because every time a candle was lit in our house for the last two weeks, I would blow it out in practice for the big day. And they and prepared for it. 

My parents gave me that instax camera that I have wanted for the longest time and it has been sitting in a box under my desk for about two and a half weeks. I wanted to save it to have something to open on the big day and when I finally did, I documented all birthday festivities with it. I absolutely love it. 

This picture was taken after I was woken up on Saturday morning at 7:00 with a choreographed dance to a song called Birthday Sex. Video coming soon. It was amazing. 

Then everyone went back to bed. But I can't sleep in to save my life, so I watched Grey's anatomy. 

After we all got in pretty outfits, we headed over to Back in the Day Bakery to enjoy some coffee and Brunchy treats. 

THEN, we went shopping and I walked away with an adorable top, a cool vest and a ridiculously un-Julia tight red dress that the roomies talked me into. You're only 20 once, right? 



Here I am in my ridiculously tight red dress with all of my lovies after a delicious dinner at Ele. We had a smashing time. 

We went back home and were joined by some boys as we enjoyed a delicious dessert of  chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. 

And thus concluded one of the best birthday I've ever had. 

Thanks for all of the sweet messages and notes. You are all so great. 


Sunday, September 25, 2011

A little pro pro for the birthday girl.


We've discussed this before. Usually I'm on top of things. I really hate procrastination when it comes to homework, because I am DEFINITELY not one of those people who spits out her best work under extreme pressure. But today was different.

In a post birthday (and "in my twenties") world, I just couldn't get my act together. It started out strong... I got up at 8 and had my morning devotions... but at about 10 or so, something went downhill.

I won't even waste our time with a rehashment (is that a word?) of what I did all day, but let's just put it this way: I didn't put a bra on until about 9:00PM and my first steps outside our front door came at about 10:45 to get my notebook out of my car. Oops.

So, here is sit, at 12:05, with a hot mug of vanilla tea and my glasses on and it's go time. I have a small paper to write and then I can hit the hay. That's not bad, right?

Wish me luck.

*Real quickly, let me just address the pink elephant in the room-- AKA my bangs. I understand they look somewhat like a hairy octopus on top of my head. You can laugh and point. This is what happens when I let them air dry. Hardy har har.

CLOCKING IN AT 1:03. I just finished my paper and I must say, not bad. Not bad at all. 

Theme



Proverbs 31:25

Friday, September 23, 2011

Yes.


I have had such a great week.
I love my house.
I love my roommates.
I love my classes.
Actually, I like Shakespeare but I love Creative Thinking Strategies and Fashion Tech.
I made meatloaf.
I made soup.
I made cookies.
I made breakfast.
It's raining.
I met with my academic advisor and we mapped out my future.
New friends are great.
Old friends are so great.
It feels like there are new experiences are everywhere I look.
I have so much to learn.
And there are so many opportunities to grow.
My room is clean.
My birthday is tomorrow.

I'm a happy girl.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Happy Fall


I am thrilled to say that it is the first day of Fall. This is by far my favorite season and I can't wait for it to get into full swing. One of the great things about not living in Southern California is getting to experience seasons. Granted, Savannah is not known for it's extremes in regards to weather, but one thing I've noticed both this year and last year is the almost spot on accuracy in which the weather changes take place. The calendar says it's the first day of Autumn? Last night we had a thunder storm. First day of Spring? It gets about 15 degrees hotter. I like that. I can count on it. 

*Sike! The first day of fall is on Friday. My bad. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The best thing I've seen in a while.



This makes me so unbelievably happy, I don't even know what to say. I can only hope that I have this much zest for life at their age. I'm going to go watch this for the 8th time now.

Heart Palpatations

I saw the Marchesa Spring Ready to Wear 2012 collection last week and I literally can't stop thinking about it. 

I tried to pick a couple to share, but I guess I ended up accidentally showing about half of the collection. 














In other news, I had a meeting with my academic advisor and finally dropped that pesky writing minor. Flavor of the week: Fashion Design Major with a Fashion Marketing and Management Minor.

To see the rest, click here.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Whole Enchilada: The Fantasy Suite Edition

Ok. So I promised you pictures and here they are. It's been about 2 weeks since moving in and I really do feel so settled in this new home of mine. Today, after finishing all of my homework, of course, Spencer and I took a tour around our abode to snap a couple pictures of the rooms that make up our palatial palace in dear old Savannah.

Fair Warning: This is going to be a picture heavy post. We took a lot and I like all of them. So, ah-get ah-ready.

We's gonna start with my room.

I love it.

My favorite feature: The amazing natural light. I have five great, big windows that are made of this speckly old glass.



Because my room is technically the dining room, that means no closet. And no closet means lots of creative storage. Rolling racks galore.




Fun fact: someone walked in my room the other day and asked if I was an architecture major. I was flattered. And wanted to know more. Why would my room reek of architecture? I like it... but why? What do you guys think?

My desk is pretty neat. And so are my clothes. Ok, let's move onto someone else's room because talking about mine is boring and I feel weird. 



Ok, let's take a journey up our split staircase.


Alright. Spencer's room. You may recognize it if you were one of the 89 people on Facebook that liked it. Major controversy. That definitely was not my room. It was definitely not my room for one reason and one reason only: I will never be as effortlessly chic as Spencer. 

Let me expunge that puzzled look on your face by answering your question: No, Spencer is not a midget. Far from it, actually. Her bed is just turned sideways. 

Please note that Spencer has both leather and fur in her bedroom. This explains so much about her lifestyle.


Oh, heyyyyy. It's Spencer and I in her folding mirrors! Folding mirrors?!? Welcome to the 90's, Mista Banks! (If you're counting, yes, that's two Father of the Bride references in the last week)



Cool details make Spencer Malinski Cool. Cool.



To quote Spencer,"Oh, yeah. Get a picture of my jewelry because that'll make me look cool."


Style.


I decided that you can tell so much about someone by their closet. What does her closet tell me? Somewhere out there, Joseph (of Bible fame) is missing his robe. 

Welcome to Claire's room. Claire's mom, Patty, actually made all of her bedding and the matching bulletin board and I think that the light blue theme is just so relaxing. Claire just added that colorful Indian pillow and tapestry today after picking them up at a very eclectically mellow (and undeniably Claire) store we found in Jacksonville yesterday. 



Claire absolutely loves color and I feel like as the year goes on it will become more and more "her" as she adds personal touches one at a time. 


A textbook on textile design-- a true Fibers major. 


Claire's closet is the most visually stimulating. There are J Crew boxes, a pink trench coat and enough fur to make a coat for a bear. Gotta love her. And yes, those are pink rain boots to match her pink trench coat. 


 Oh, hello, Frances. Frances Russell. The Queen of neutrals.


If anyone finds the missing pieces of Frances desk that hold up the bottom shelf, she'll bake you cookies. That duct tape is not cute.



Working on her repeat pattern project. I don't know where she's going with this, but it's gonna be cool. I just know it.



Frances' closet is all about her shoes. The shoes are where it's at. The rest all kind of blend together in this sea of Madewell knits and men's shirts.


And finally, the baby roomie, Oliiivviiaaaaaa. She has the smallest room, but please don't prejudge. It has a big heart.


Olivia picked up this little ditty at the very same place that Claire and I purchased those legendary ginormous poppy chairs that will be pictured below. Haberhsam Antiques, we thank you.



"Love is in the details." -Oprah. What wisdom. 

Olivia has the coolest clothes BY. FAR. You know that little girl in Kindergarten who's hair is in pigtails and her clothes never match? Well, that was Olivia. Or, wait-- Is Olivia. Because she still wears pigtails and clothes that never match, but makes it look SO COOL




That's it for the bedrooms, but there's plenty more where that came from. It wouldn't be home without a comfy couch and a Real Housewives franchise on TV. 


Ahh, yes, here we see Beverly Hill's Taylor Armstrong experience a touching personal moment with her co-star Kyle Richards in, naturally, a hot tub in Beaver Creek. 


Our fireplace complete with Mantle and art. This table typically looks just like this: covered in paper and crowded with happy little homework faces. "La ti da, we love school!" the children chant.


Wait... what is lurking behind those doors?



Why, it's the sunroom of course! What? You didn't have a sunroom when you were in college? You're lame.

Right now this room is blazing hot because it is basically a glass oven that doesn't have any AC. So we wait. We wait until it's winter... and then it inevitably, it will be too cold. Soo... I bet we'll really never use this room.

At the end of the room, there are these two frosted doors leading outside. I have yet to open them and I can't see through the glass. So, it could be OZ for all I know. I hope I never find out.


My favorite room, the kitchen, conveniently has a door directly to my room so I feel that I have a special relationship with it that none of my other roommates have.



Here, young Frances and I bake a cake. First we're sweet...


...then we're sour.


We each have our own shelf. Bushkainthecity trivia: which shelf is mine?

...THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS THE ONE HAVING TO DO WITH OREOS.


That's it, guys. Now you have seen our house and could sufficiently bug or burgle us if need be.

I leave you with these. Gewdnight.