Over the Top

So, wow, I am really, really, really behind on Marvelous Mondays. I formally apologize, and offer up this post on a Wednesday. I'm going to do them all this week, and hopefully one day I'll get a shot outside! I think we all fail to understand just how gorgeous my campus is.

The first theme I'm behind on is Over the Top. While I'm occasionally a bit of an obnoxious dresser, I generally tend towards more simplistic looks. I think I'm turning into a minimalist. I wore this obnoxious pattern party with much more low-key accessories. I was so excited when I woke up this morning and it was cold outside! I've been waiting to wear this sweater since I put it away for the summer.

Sweater, collared top, dangly earrings: Forever 21 | Dress (worn underneath): Image | Leggings: WalMart | Boots: Forever | Cuff: Vintage | Headband: Christmas present | Necklace: Claire's | Studs (worn later): Mudd

And my mom sent Halloween decorations in her last care package! While we haven't gotten around to hanging up some of the cooler ones yet, we have started decorating. One of my roommates even brought these cool Olvera Street guys to hang out with some leaves and stuff.

And finally, I wrote a short article about my love of biology and the importance of education for a local environmental group. Maybe go check it out?

Kind of Obnoxious

Welcome back, dear readers, to yet another Marvelous Monday!

This week's theme: neon!

I don't know if this will come as a surprise or not, but I don't own any neon clothes. I know, it's shocking, right? Well, I do have some neon accessories, and I wore a couple of them with a simple black and white dress for extra impact.

That fantastic, aggressively neon bag is a Nine West bag my mom and I found in Ross last December. I loved it so much that my mom ended up getting it that day and then giving it to me as a Christmas present. Considering the fact that it's Nine West, it was dirt cheap, and an amazing find.

The necklace has a much less interesting story. It was a dollar from Forever 21.

And I have to apologise for the state of my room. Half of it is dominated by Kittentopia (which, unfortunately, will be dismantled toward the end of the week, as we're starting to find homes for them), and the other half by boxes. That whole moving thing is starting to get pretty real, and I'm so incredibly excited. And on top of that, I'm starting to get things together for our upcoming family vacation. Things are a bit more frenetic than usual, and it's manifesting as a mess in my room.

I've also started getting into painting. While I don't paint faithful representations of the fake daisies on our dining table, it is a lot of fun for me. I'm planning on painting and embroidering a bunch of stupid things and putting them on the walls of my room in the dorm.

And then, I did something crazy a couple of days ago: I sent a query letter to a literary agent. We'll see where that goes, if anywhere.

Finally, I've started speaking to some of my suitemates. It's weird to start thinking of them as real people I'll be living with for sixteen weeks, rather than blank entities I'll live with eventually, in the vaguely distant future. I don't mind it, actually. And at least one of them has a face, as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, enough of that. How about some clothes and paintings? Yeah.

Dress: Image | Headband: Dollar Tree | Necklace: Forever 21 | Bag: Nine West via Ross

I want this in the kitchen. I hope my roommates aren't put off
by that.

My favourite quote.

Some of my things and an AWESOME present
from Dani.

Now that you've experienced my babbling and wild mess, go cast your eyes in the direction of the others!

Sian: Sort Life Out; Buy Milk

Jocelyn: Fat, Fashionable, and Feminist

Cheri: Cheri'z Style and Angel Luvin

L: goodbye hollywood

No Snowman Balloons for Us

It's been a long week, which is sort of funny, considering the fact that it was technically a short week. Hooray for bank holidays! Whoo!

Of course, since I had Monday off and Erika ditched classes that day (terrible student), we went to the mall.

I know.

The rest of the week passed as expected, and I discovered that I really, really love working with pastels. They're definitely one of my favorite mediums, up there with ink. It's funny, probably only to me, because I hate working with charcoal because it's so messy. Pastels, however, which are INCREDIBLY messy, are just the best things ever to me.

I know.

We watched a clip from an Italian horror film in Italian (surprise!), and now I'm really disappointed that it's not streaming on Netflix. It's a really campy horror, with a fantastic score. You can find scenes from it on Youtube. It's called Suspiria. Or something very similar.

Today, I went to the mall with Erika and an old friend of ours, Yesenia. I haven't seen Yesenia in a couple of years, and it was really lovely. The trip there was fraught with danger, though, since Erika's car decided to stall or something in the middle of the road. Luckily, she was able to get it back to life and it's working well enough, I suppose. But to top it off, she misplaced something that kind of ruined her night, but we got that problem solved pretty quickly. It was just one of those nights.

And of course, because I have a problem, I spent more money that I should have. But I can justify it because I finally have combat boots and I am happy, okay? Okay.

I'm going to the mall again tomorrow.

I know.

There were too many people in the way of a good penguin 
picture.

The Three Choclatiers! No? Okay.

Dress and Jacket: Forever 21 | Tights: WalMart  
Shoes: Payless

Cold hands and darkness make for shaky photos. 
Sorry.

Necklace: DIY | Bangles: vintage | Bracelets: Claire's Ring: Boolvd

Boris Karloff bow: Boolvd. Aww, yeah.

Rainy Days are the Best Days

It's scientific fact.

Because it's cold and rainy and I actually have to go out into the world, I'm dressing as warmly as I ever do, minus the tremendous wool coat that I just can't wait to break out.

The green tea makes things warmer and fuzzier and generally 
nicer.

Sweater: Thrifted | Dress (as skirt): eShakti | Tights: WalMart | Boots: Payless

Now, I'm off to take Charlie to the vet (nothing bad, just a booster shot), assuming my brother is finished playing video games.

No, not assuming.

Hoping.

A lot.

Sigh.

Oh, and before I go: I gave a presentation in my Italian class (on Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. Google him if you're interested in marine biology) and didn't mess up! Cue proud moment. It was made nicer when the guy immediately after me did a presentation on spaghetti and meatballs, complete with samples on the class. Man, I love Italian.

Now With More Fire!

This weekend has been a fairly busy one! I spent Friday night at Casey's, where I learned how to extinguish a torch (not the best time to realize just how much you dislike fire), watched Casey play with fire, spent more time watching/quoting Archer than people should, and, you know, sleeping.

On Saturday, we went to breakfast with Erika. There was a brief exploration of a nearby Dollar Tree before dropping Casey off at the train station. After that, Erika and I went thrifting. It was the first time she'd ever gone, really, and she actually bought something! I also got a great black sweater and a tee-shirt for my upcoming costume.

I'm so excited for Halloween.

I also got five more books. Not a proud moment.

Anyway.

Today, I spent it at Erika's house, painting her nails, watching Sabrina (not the teenage witch), and teaching her a simple yoga sequence.

And that, folks, is my weekend in a fairly small nutshell.

This is called fleshing. It makes me cringe.

Epic Monopoly Piece Battles

Friday night, I was actually a cool kid. Leather jacket and all.

I spent Friday afternoon at the mall with Erika. She went to get a slight problem fixed with a shirt she bought last week, I ended up buying two more pairs of sunglasses.

I don't have a problem, I swear.

After wasting time with dinner (I made scrambled eggs for the first time, with sausage and cheese and garlic, and oh man, it was amazing) and whatnot, we went to It's a Grind. There was an open mic, and our friends were playing.

We lurked (well, I did—the jacket ensured it) for a bit outside, while a couple of high schoolers became virtual groupies of Noel's bass. Also, Erika played with Beyrin's guitar for a bit. Or something like that.

They played two songs, and honestly, they were fantastic. The band, Kingyo, is amazing. I'm continually impressed that I'm friends with such talented people. Everyone in the coffee shop enjoyed it, and Beyrin found some new fan(atics) of his own. Well, one fanatic. Who kind of sort of tried to hold his hand outside. I think he was one of the ones saying that he loved him during the second song. No one will ever know.

While Erika and Beyrin disappeared in the coffee shop for coffe (wild!), some of the high school kids got a little rowdy. When they got back, we joked about how we broke up the fight. But, of course, I am who I am, so I said that I actually started the fight (which didn't actually exist, for the record). Traba said that I had blood on my spikes, so I looked down and said that I thought that I'd cleaned them off.

This is what happens when I'm allowed to talk to people.

There were more kids lusting over Noel's bass, french fry piles at McDonald's, ketchup stains appearing magically on Edgar's shirt, and bromantic serenades from Traba to Beyrin before I finally went home.

Since when do I have a life?

As if to make up for it, I spent my Saturday doing art homework and getting caught up on TV. That's right.

Forever 21 Jacket and blouse.
Natural intimidation.

Terrible picture of fantastic music. Whoops.

Hi, Cap, You're Cute When You Sleep.

Last night, I went on an adventure with Erika. By adventure, I mean we walked around the Boulevard and smelled stuff, went to dinner at Farmer Boys, and wasted time in Target. Target, where the Halloween stuff is out already.

Right, well, we couldn't help ourselves.

This is how I spend my life: acting like a fool in the Halloween section in Target with my friends. Also, accidentally buying new books, which I really shouldn't do. I already have a ton to get through. Le sigh.

Best Pirate Ever?

I became Captain America. Or something.

I also became a gentleman.

She doesn't look very angry to be an angry bird.

I am a pretty, pretty princess!

Dress: Torrid | Necklace: Forever 21 | Bangles: Forever 21 | Bag: Mulberry x Target | Shoes: Payless | Cutlass: to be feared

And now: Italian homework.

Livin' the life over here.

Yesterday's Makeup, Today's Sparkles

Let's start with yesterday's look, since I forgot it yesterday. Whoops.

Right.

Today, I have an outfit, too. Hooray! I finally broke out my black lurex stockings, and have since decided that I need more black glittery things like that.

 Dress: Forever 21 | Stockings: Torrid | Shoes: Vans | Bracelet: vintage | Watch: WalMart | Necklace: Forever 21 | Cat: mine

Also, pink. Yeah.

Finally, I (sadly) did not get into my biology class. Which sucks, because I love biology. Oh, well, at least I have art and Italian to soothe my soul, and archaeology to...watch videos in? I don't know.

You Enjoy Your Fashion Week

I'll enjoy my...naps? Don't you worry, I'll find a sufficient method of curing boredom.

Real quick update: spent the day with Erika yesterday. We did some homework (I now know the difference between Lei and lei in Italian, if you're curious), went to an open mic night at a coffee shop, and ended up spending a good hour eating pizza and buffalo wings with friends. I definitely need more nights like that!

Now for makeup. It's still very light and subtle (except for the blush, but it doesn't help that I was flushed beneath the makeup. Heat is awful), but also very blue. I don't know.

We Missed This

For the first time in a (very) long time, Casey and I went to the Boulevard, for the Farmer's Market.

I know—weird, right?

We walked there, got smoothies, wandered and reconnected with old friends (by that, I mean we got more free samples than we could handle. Everyone missed us), made new friends (the same way), and went to the town's new museum. It's actually really cool. It's a combination art/historical museum, which I enjoyed. I never realized that this town could actually be interesting.

After dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, we went to watch an open mic night. Always fun.

I wish I could lead a more interesting life for you guys, I really do.

Wandering the High Sierras

So I've been gone a while. I went to Mammoth for a few days with my family. It was a sort-of family reunion, which was really nice. My aunt came in from Tucson, my aunt and uncle came up to join us (it was their trailer, after all), my cousins came up from San Diego, all that jazz.

On the way to Mammoth, we stopped at this restaurant, Schat's Bakery. It's a great bakery, with fantastic sandwiches. The whole place makes me think of Denmark in the 70s. It's so fabulous it hurts.

I say strange things.

We finally got there, we were thrilled. Seriously. Mammoth is this great mountain town, so all week it was about 75 or so. Vastly different from my hometown, which is stuck in the middle of the desert and averages an easy 105 all summer long. It feels like death, if death feels like an oppressively hot summer.

We had dinner at this good restaurant, Roberto's. Awesome shrimp quesadilla, awesome chili rellano, awesome lime Jarritos. Really, I could spend all day talking about how much I love lime Jarritos. Specifically lime.

My uncle arrived the next day, bearing barbecue. We all chilled for a while, just enjoying the weather and all that.

After that was a day trip to Yosemite. Third national park of the summer. My aunt kept a tally for me.

Next was my other aunt arriving, my cousins coming to the campsite, barbecued dinner, general excellence. Also of note, I drove. In traffic. To and from the grocery store. Look at me, learning new things!

And then we came home.

Sigh.

Thrifty's is the best.