packing for two weeks in Spokane.

In July, I went packed my things and sat in a car for six hours, arriving in the city of Spokane, WA. I was to spend the next two weeks sleeping in the dorms, going to lectures, and eating college food. That was basically the camp at Gonzaga Debate Institute. Knowing how tiny the dorms were supposed to be, I realized that I had to bring as little clothes as possible. Not only did I have to bring things to wear, I also had to bring sheets, a pillow, a ton of food, and basically everything I needed to survive (comfortably).

So, about three weeks before I really needed to start packing, I planned out what I was going to bring. I don’t have much artistic skill but I ended up drawing the items I wanted to bring on little post-it notes. These were super helpful just to see everything visually.

There are tons of formulae out there telling exactly how much of what you should bring based on how long your trip is. Six felt good to me, so I brought six tops and six bottoms. For bottoms, I brought four shorts, leggings (which I didn’t really wear), and I replaced that skirt with sweat pants (fantastic idea). For tops, I brought three tank tops, two tees, and a long sleeve that replaced one of those gray shirts. I also brought a light hoodie and a rain jacket.

Spokane in July is pretty hot, though the mornings are comfortable enough for me to wear sweats and a long sleeve. I spent about eight hours of the day in a heavily air-conditioned classroom so everything that I brought was actually too cold. But outdoors, it was perfect.

If everything coordinated, there would be 36 outfits which is plenty for a two week trip (we has access to a washer and dryer too). But since everything I brought didn’t require much outfit planning, I just grabbed what I wanted.

All of this, plus two pairs of shoes, towels, and toiletries, fit in a duffle bag. Success.

going to the movies (alone)

My usual volunteering partner was gone for the day, so I got off of my shift a few hours early. About two and a half hours really, a perfect chunk of time for a movie.

I checked my phone every few minutes as the bus turned from street onto bridge, bridge into Chinatown, and finally into the heart of downtown. I raced up to the top floor of a shopping mall and ran up to the tired college student behind the glass. I was late, but like all movie theatres, there were 15 minutes of ads before the actual movie.

What movie was I watching? Paper Towns. I’ve talked about how much I liked the book, but the movie was different. John Green himself has said that the movie and book aren’t meant to be water and ice. The movie was good, kinda cheesy at some moments and lacking in interest at others, but not too shabby. The entire time I was sitting there, in the middle of the theatre with no one to either side of me, I could help being… uncomfortable. There was a family of girls above me and a couple my age (hands intertwined for all 118 minutes of it) below. And, being the weird person that I am, I kept imagining a shooting like the one in the news.

Going to the movies alone was weird. I got distracted a lot. That might have been because of the movie but I had a desire to check my messages, my social media, as if to remind myself that, yeah, I had friends. It happens at parties too, when there’s a moment of not-doing-anything, I grab my phone and check in with the internet. I used to be good with being alone for a while. I had fun hanging by myself all summer. But this past year, I met people I actually wanted to spend time with.

So I guess this desire to not be alone all the time is not a bad thing. It does make movies weird though.

renegade seattle 2015.

As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed late last week, I found that the infamous Renegade Craft Fair was finally coming to Seattle. And, it was located just a few blocks from my house. It was definitely meant to be. Into Hanger 30 I went, with questions and a recording app in hand. It was a great opportunity to get some unique interviews for my project. I was pretty excited for the pretty flowers too.  Every craft fair I’ve been two (all three of them) has featured creatives from all walks of life.  So talking to the owners and makers was a memorable experience. 

One of the people I talked to was Felipe, a man from Columbia who makes the most beautiful wooden watches. Those are real flowers from Columbia in the watch faces. It takes at least eighty hours to make each one.  Then I met a woman who used an old camera (tripod required) to take vintage photos.  All around there were pretty shops selling beautifully crafted products. SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough moolah in my wallet to go around.  What I had to buy though, was food. I had smoked turkey tacos from one of the food trucks with blackberry lemonade. Was it worth the half an hour wait? Yes. Any longer and it wouldn’t have. The mini donuts however, were to die for. Mango and coconut on one half and curry and caramel on the other. Too bad they weren’t full size.

While I has a blast looking at each new booth, I didn’t end up buying many things. The only thing I did buy was a DIY air-plant terrarium featuring Steve the dinosaur. The shop ran out of rope, packaging, and basically everything but the basics, but it all I really needed was the air plant and Steve.

Craft fairs have always been fun. A little anxious sometimes ( creative people doing their dream jobs is hella intimidating) but I love seeing my favorite Instagram accounts come to life.

palouse falls, WA

Just a little hike from the parking lot, Palouse Falls is an oasis amidst a desert. We arrived in the late afternoon but the sun was still high in the sky. There were people camping, hiking, painting, and just hanging out. As the teens say these days, it was pretty chill.

2015 summer goal.

This year’s “summer to-do list” is the longest one yet and it’s constantly growing. Little tasks and reminders to keep this break going make up the majority of the list however there’s one big task that sits above the others.

This summer, 2015, I want to make enough money for a Sony A5100 (or an A5000.)
I did a bunch of research, looking at the spec of these mirrorless DSLRs. Originally, I was looking into one of those hefty DSLRs that you see the pros carrying around. But then I saw the smaller versions in this video and I was in love. They’re smaller and lighter, making them easier to carry around, and they have just as many lenses as classic DSLRs. With something so expensive (to me at least) I had and will keep researching. I watched this video, and this one. Both are great videos reviewing the camera.

Can you tell how excited about this I am? I’d love to get my hands on one of these and I’m hoping to put that excitement into making some money this summer. I’ve got it taped on my wall so I can see it every morning. It’s the first time I’ve ever saved money for a specific goal/reward. Let’s see how this works.

New camera also means more and better blog content. Win-win for everyone. 🙂

read in April.

In an effort to read more this year, I read two books this past month:

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

It’s a autobiography/humor/memoir kind of thing. It was good, and funny at times. I really liked the first part about looking back on her childhood. It’s probably because I’m in that age right now that I relate so much to it. From the butter croissants from Costco to diminishing group of friends. I totally got her. The chapters after that were less and less relatable for me as she moved to New York and wrote a play. By the end the funny bits (like her random selfies) were a little boring.

and Paper Towns by John Green

Love love love this book. It made me happy that the night out with Margo took up almost half of the book. And the ideas/themes/discoveries of life Green includes were very… real. They struck a cord with me. The string, the grass, the cracks in our watertight vessel. And after searching high and low for this girl, she *spoiler* didn’t want to be found. Q learned so much on this adventure, and I’m glad he didn’t get his “prize”. He kept returning to that mall though, and it became almost repetitive. But that was when things began to happen. I can’t wait for the movie.

Tell me in the comments what books you read or what you thought of these! (Happy Wednesday)

seattle // UVillage Part 2

This is Part 2 of my trip to UVillage. Read Part 1 here.

After getting my hair done at Swink and doing a little shopping, we stopped for lunch at Eureka!.

LOOK AT THOSE ONION RINGS.

I think that was the first time I couldn’t finish everything. Yes, I was a bit sick but still. It was pretty good.

As we slowly made our way outside, under the cloudy skies, the bright liveliness of a single storefront caught our attention.

It was Paint the Town, a childhood favorite of mine. You walk in, pick a ceramic piece, and you start painting. I’ve always loved painting. Picking out the paints, painting layer after layer of beautiful color.

I haven’t been surrounded by so many colors in ages. It was nice to go back again. And this is for you has become a mantra of mine that I keep in my head. I’ll do a post about it soon. 🙂

It was the to such a wonderful day, visiting all the places I’ve always wanted to go, and places I’ve always loved. Being near my home, I stop by often, and now I have another reason to hang around this local shopping village. If you aren’t convinced to visit just yet, let me remind you that UVillage (fully known as University Village) is right next to the University of Washington, which means (if I use the vernacular) hella good food.

What are your favorite parts of your city? Tell me in the comments!

seattle // UVillage

In a new series exploring the wonderful places in Seattle, I went on a day out shopping. Yes, yes, I spent a whole Saturday eating, shopping and getting my hair done. Just for you. It was hard, but I made it though. 😛 Now let me tell you about it.

I started my day with a hair appointment at Swink Style Bar. It’s the first style bar in Seattle. Throughout the years, I’ve passed by Swink many times, always sneaking a peak into what happens inside. So when they offered a complementary ‘do, I took it. I’ve never gotten my hair done before and after just getting a new haircut, I was nervous. But I walked right in, got seated, and witnessed my hair become a piece of art.

The lights were shining, and the mirrors glimmering. I sat down, unsure of what I wanted. The stylist talked me through everything, ending with me choosing the G&T look. Excuse the weird face I’m making. It’s hard to be composed when my hair looks so. freaking. good. The stylist even gave me a braid to finish it off. ( I am the worst at braids)

With my hair looking fabulous, my friend and I hit the streets (@UVillage) and did a little shopping.

We walked across the sunshine-filled village to H&M, where I’m finding is becoming less and less my style.

In a sad attempt to showcase the hair and braid, I of course took some selfies in the mirror (it’s more interesting than the clothes there).

That’s just a small (small!) piece of the wondrous University Village that I’ve been visiting since I was a kid. An open-air shopping area, right next to the University of Washington (which I’ve also been going to since I was a kid), it’s one of the places you should visit after the classic tourist attractions. Gives you a feel of what the people are like here in the PNW. Shopping and hair styling, could it get better? YES. I’ll be posting part 2 of UVillage next week! Stay tuned.

Thanks again to Swink Style Bar for giving me the chance to feel awesome for a day. ❤

the future.

I know what it will be like in 5 years.

You definitely don’t.

I bet you wonder if you’ll be knee-deep in college homework or maybe at a job you were miraculously offered. The thought of not making it into a university and not doing anything probably wandered into you head a few times too.

I know what it will be like in 5 years.

But honestly, I know only one of the possibilities. Any one of your decisions could change me and throw me onto a different course. That pro and con list could decide if you get rich, or get lucky. Every choice you make pushes me a little further. A shove there. A bump there. Who knows where I could end up. There are so (so) many things I could be. And you hold the ability to choose.

You get to choose what I am.

I could be your best friend, your glory days. Or I could be utter hell and reck your house in the blink of an eye. I’d be ok with being either, but I think something in between would be perfect. It’s all in your hands, anyways.

Sometimes I hear rumors, from various people throughout their life. They say I’ll end up being ok. They say everything will be ok. They say who I am is as good, or maybe better, than what they thought I would be. But I don’t know. Maybe I really am ok. Or maybe, they just dream big enough.

(weekly posts resumes…now) 

pretty packaging: korean skincare

My cousin came back from Korea with a suitcase filled with beauty products. While they can serve odd purposes, these products have such cool, colorful packaging that I couldn’t resist sharing with you. This facial soap is made in the shape of an egg, and packaged a mini egg carton too. Awesome packaging idea and branding. (also these photos turned out pretty good, I think I may try photographing at this time of day again) This above-the-lip-fuzz remover sports and cute face on the front and two little hands that pop out of the back to make the brand name come to life.And finally, a 3-step black head removal system that is cute, instructive, and with oh-so colorful packaging + graphics. As for the products themselves, I haven’t really tested out the egg soap and fuzz strips but the blackhead remover works like a charm (and you get to see all the dirt come out when you peel off Step 2).

What products do you think have some stunning packaging? Share in the comments!