Tuesday Tunes

I finished all my finals, and all I have left to do is...nothing! Nothing but sleep, and get as much time in with my friends before they leave. I pretty much spent the past week listening to certain songs on repeat while trying to focus. One of them, which gets to be today's featured music, was "Past Lives" by Ke$ha. It's not really a homework-y song, but sometimes it's just nice to listen to something a little different from my standard homework fare of "screw everyone".

What's your current favorite music?

one more week!

I honestly just have one more week till finals and freshman year are done with. I'm really happy about the idea of finals being done with, and really upset that freshman year will be over, because pretty much all my friends will be leaving. At least some of my friends are staying over the summer like me! But it's definitely going to be weird. I hope it'll be fun, though...

Some of my favorites for the week (other than finishing my Accounting final...) (Also wow, I've totally given up on transitions, what would my English teachers say? Probably something about finals killing brain cells, I dunno...)

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This belt is absolutely adorable.

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I think I've got one project I need to do this summer, now. It's so cute!

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Can I become Zoe Saldana? Because seriously, she's so amazing and gorgeous and talented and I would very much enjoy being her. (Alternatively, can I have this dress and actually look as good in it as she does? Please?)

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Refinery29 is basically one of my favorite spaces online, because they post an absolutely lovely mix of silly things, awesome things, 'need-to-know' things, news, and really useful things, like this. It's a guide to how to start running as a kind of serious thing, and I hope it'll help me as I try out one of my summer goals - "find a type of exercise that I like and can do regularly". I know that I hate running, like, with a fiery burning passion, but I hope that maybe I can figure out a way to like it, because you can do it anywhere and any time, which, y'know, is a good thing.

What are your favorites this week?

need a little neutrality

I said on Twitter, in a fit of upset early this morning, approximately two am, that I wouldn't have a post today. However, with a final at 12:30 PM and my studying finished an hour and a half before that, I realized I could post...and that I should really make an effort to breathe normally, considering that grades are not the end-all-be-all of my life, and the fact that about 95% of why I'm stressed is that everyone else is stressed and I feel like I'm not being a good student if I'm not intensely emotionally distressed right around this time. I hope that I don't regret not trying to cram more, once I start the exam, but it's a chance I'll take right now.

One of the things that I really want, and which I'm using as an incentive to study and work hard and not collapse into a wibbling pile of sobbing student is neutral/brown-ish sandals. Yes, I know. Standard staple. For everyone but me, I think. I don't believe I've ever owned a pair, but they look marvelous, and they fit with my whole 'making an effort to wear something other than black' thing. The one I've been failing miserably at, since even my sundresses are black. (No, seriously, they are - they have floral patterns, but they're black, and I barely have anything colorful, though all the colors I do have are super-bright).

1. American Eagle / 2. F21 / 3. Zappos / 4. Steve Madden / 5. Alexander Wang / 6. F21

I know, not entirely neutral, but I can't resist some bright stuff with brown. I need to have something familiar with it, right? I think my favorite of these is probably the Alexander Wang sandals, but I'm equally certain that I can't afford them, alas. I'm definitely using some pair of sandals as a finals reward, though, because I honestly need the motivation.

Are you significantly lacking in any serious summer staples? Got a wardrobe kick like my basically all-black one? Ready to learn to murder abstract concepts like finals and economics like I am? (Yay finals...) Lemme know (especially if you want to learn how to kill abstract concepts or know how, because I think I need that before Monday, when my econ final is... I'll survive. Maybe.)

I Can't Believe

It's Wednesday, and I have a final tomorrow, and I'm actually writing this on Tuesday, at which point I haven't yet done any studying or started work on either of my ten-page papers yet. I'll be a good student eventually, maybe?

Anyhow, onto this topic... (Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that link-ups are a thing? Cuz I truly am...)

I can't believe...that it's finals time already. Seriously, where did this semester and year go? It's so strange and crazy and weird. I've done so many things this year that I never expected to do or to be able to do, and life looks like it might keep going that way. I don't think I can explain how excited I get when I realize that I have no idea what comes next, and that I can't really predict my day-to-day life.

I can't believe...that I'd never seen washi tape in person before. I talked about ordering it in my March Shopping List and finally did and it's so cute! (Also, totally didn't remember to do one for the second half of the month...or any for April... Ah well!)

I can't believe...that I'm going to turn 20 in November. Yes, I'm thinking about this just a little early, since this is just barely May, but still. Nobody can dismiss me as a dumb teenager now! (Instead, they'll dismiss me as a dumb twenty-something, but at least it'll have a slightly different sound for me to be vexed by).

I can't believe...that I've never used spotify before. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to things I haven't heard before and it's pretty neat.

I can't believe...that I'm still writing this instead of studying. EEP!

What can't you believe this week?

Tuesday Tunes

Guys, I have a Gatsby problem. (Gatsby, what Gatsby? I'm not obsessed at aaaaall...) Seriously though,  about all I want to do right now is watch the trailers for The Bling Ring and The Great Gatsby and just have fangasms over how cool and exciting everything is. I really like what I'm seeing (and hearing) for these movies. Gatsby fever is probably more intense right now, though... (I know I should be excited for Iron Man III, but considering I was introduced to the whole series by someone who has since decided that our entire friends group isn't even worth the time required to tell us that she doesn't care, I'm kind of feeling a little sour about it right now... I'll recover, but it's definitely not on my priority list right now).

Probably my favorite Gatsby thing out right now (besides those trailers, because damn, those are intense) is the Lana del Rey song. I can't stop listening to it. It's definitely an addiction.

Are you excited for Gatsby too? What are you especially excited to see? (Any tips for dealing with irresolute friendship breakups? Cause I could use those...)

leather skirts and excitement

Well, last week was the last full week of classes, and it saw a great resurgence of energy. I even got started on my papers this weekend, finally! I'm excited for doing things with my friends (in-between studying) and getting done with finals. I managed to be decently fancy this week, so I'm pretty pleased with myself! Now if I can be fancy while I'm doing nothing...

Monday was a somewhat uneventful day, just the standard class, work, Skyrim kind of day that I seem to do.

Shirt/skirt - F21 | Tights - WalMart | Shoes - Target

Tuesday was similarly uneventful, just projects and more of the same as Monday.

Sweater - The Limited | Shorts/bracelets - F21 | Necklace - Claire's | Shoes - Payless

Wednesday was...more of the same.

Headband - ? | Necklace - gift | Shoes - F21

Thursday was more of the same, until about 4AM (okay that's 4AM in what was technically Friday, but I was doing laundry, so), when I hurt my knee trying to kneel to put stuff in the washing machine. Apparently I screwed up one of my tendons somehow, so I've started doing exercises to try to make this stop being a thing, since this is the second time I've had that issue.

Cardigan - Deb | Shirt/necklace/pants/boots - F21

The weekend wasn't particularly fancy or outfit-picture worthy, but it was spectacularly fun - I went to dinner with my friend Ally's parents and a bunch of my friends, since they came up to see us, and then I smashed cars and played a boardgame at a frat (it was an event for smashing cars, they like, picked them up from the junkyard and basically best stress relief EVER). Saturday, I worked at Springfest for my fraternity for a few hours, went to Writer's Club, did homework, and wound up at another frat playing card games. Sunday I went to a concert, and here we are now, Monday, looking at a week where I go to even more events, even though I'm also frantically studying and writing papers. This is the kind of busy I like.

How was your previous week? Does this week look like a good one?

almost there

Next Monday marks the end of classes. I'm kind of sad, kind of relieved. My freshman year of college is almost done, and it's been such a roller coaster of just...everything. I never knew how much I could miss a person, before this year, nor did I anticipate that people could manage to become even more confusing as I got to know them better. I also completely underestimated how easy joints are to injure just doing normal things - here's looking at multiple sprained ankles and my second knee injury of the semester (how do I keep doing this???). Hopefully this means I'll get better at taking care of my body this summer - it's a more low-key environment, I hope? One of the things I want to do this weekend, in between papers and helping my friend update the site we run, is to draw up a list of what I want to do this summer. A list of summer resolutions, I guess, to build off what I've been doing on my New Years' Resolutions. There's always room to grow, change, and transform, and I think my favorite thing in the world would be to able to say that I'm a better person each day than I was the day before.

Speaking of favorites, here are a few of my favorite things from the past week. (Look at that smooth transition... I actually can't tell if it's smooth or not, honestly, I'm writing this at 2AM and occasionally having to deal with tears because I injured my knee just an hour ago so it hurts a lot right now, so I may come back to look at this at like, 3PM to wonder how I thought this ramble was a good idea... We'll see!)

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These come in a roommate-approved color, for the record. My roommate really loves yellow, and so the only fashiony-ish things I show her are yellow. The actual thing I love about these is that they're really cute little sneakers, which I'm really craving right now, for some reason.

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This is pretty much what I had to tell myself constantly when I made the decision to not live with my friends. It was really difficult, but even now, I feel wonderful about having done it. It's definitely something for me to try to always remember - if I'm not wholeheartedly giving myself to something, I shouldn't be doing it.

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Florence Welsh's house. Need I say more? It's amazing.

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This picture of Lily Aldridge is 100% the reason I'm contemplating finding pleather shorts. The article/interview with her is really cool, too, so you should read it!

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Taylor Swift's outfit here is absolutely gorgeous. It's a pretty cool performance outfit, shiny and hopefully comfortable. I definitely love the shoes and shorts!


ps: I did look at this again this afternoon...and I'm okay with that ramble, I think, even though it's super ramble-y.

"What if Money Was No Object?"

Back on Tuesday, I was on facebook before class when one of my classmates and fraternity brothers (professional fraternities are great for confusing people with words, by the way) posted a video on her wall. Its title is something my mother always likes to ask me when we're discussing what I want to do with my life: "What if Money Was No Object?" I, personally, think it's pretty powerful.

I'm a business major because my only tangible goal with college has been to learn something practical so that I can make money. It's not a real interest in the material - though we'll see if that changes when I enter the marketing and management courses. I've never allowed myself to honestly think about what I'd do if money was no object, because money's always been an object - I've always brushed aside the question with a non-answer such as "heck if I know", and very consciously avoided thinking about it. Watching this, in the front row of a lecture hall, I actually slipped and thought about it, and well: I'd do everything. I'd write, I'd design clothes, I'd make art of all kinds, I'd study how the human mind works and why it works, I'd work with animals, I'd do everything I could in order to experience the full range of life that I am capable of living. I didn't want to really think about it because it's not really possible, but I suppose, now that I've thought of it, I kind of want to see if I could do it.

What would you do if money were no object?

I Can't Believe

I love that this linkup is a thing - I like to have reasons to pay attention to the good things happening in my life, because sometimes they get overwhelmed by the crazy things and the negative things.

I can't believe...that I listened to Hips Don't Lie for two hours on repeat while doing homework last night. I'm pretty sure that's not homework music, and yet...

Seriously. It's not homework music, and yet it was the only thing I listened to while doing my Accounting last night.

I can't believe...that this is the last week of classes. (Okay, Monday there are classes still, but who cares, it's literally just Monday next week!)

I can't believe...that I forgot my umbrella this morning despite seeing that it was already raining in the area. Not the smartest thing I've ever done..

I can't believe...that I'm going to get to attend an event where you smash cars with sledgehammers for free. Best pre-finals stress reliever EVER.

I can't believe...that I'm officially a member of Alpha Kappa Psi! I know it happened last week, but it's still pretty exciting!

What can't you believe about this week?

Tuesday Tunes

I think my favorite thing about having just given myself a specific thing to write about for Tuesdays is a wonderful thing - I think, of all days of the week, I'm least inspired on Tuesday, and I'm actually (usually) more tired on Tuesday than I am on Monday. It's a lot easier to just be able to write something and not think about it again, except to remember to stick a link up on twitter and facebook (you should follow me on both, by the way - I've got buttons in the sidebar, y'all).

I know the main question about the music I'm sharing this week is probably "is it Puella Magi again? |: " and the answer is (surprisingly) no. I still haven't stopped listening to it, though - it's very useful for doing homework. It's actually Psy, because I might have a tiny bit of obsession with his music. He recently released another, somewhat odd, music video for one of his songs, and while I don't like it as much as Gangam Style, I'm certainly intrigued. (I really want to know why he likes that style of pants so much...)

Is there any music you're into right now? What do you think of Gentleman (and/or Psy's pants)?

Cleveland Spring

Cleveland Spring, the phenomenon of spring in Cleveland, is probably the most bizarre season I've witnessed. By which I mean...it's not so much a season as it is the Frankenstein's Monster of seasons, with all of them stitched together. We had an 84 degree day last week, followed almost immediately by a snowy day, and we've had everything in between, all just to mess with us as we try to push through the last few days of classes before finals. Needless to say, I've been crazy busy, and I only managed to get one of my outfits from last week. Not that the rest were anything that great, but still.

Last week was, overall, pretty stressful and busy. I don't really remember more than a quarter of it, other than that I accidentally skipped one of my classes because everyone else was unintentionally late. I also went to Relay for Life at some point, and ate a bunch of s'mores, and worked on papers. I think that's an accurate summary of what I remember from last week. Monday, the day I accidentally skipped class, was the only outfit I managed to shoot.

Dress/belt/ring - F21 | Shoes - thrifted

This week is going to be as crazy as last week, but hopefully it'll actually be worth remembering.

How was your week last week?

Helloooo Saturday

I spent most of this week sick, sleeping, sad, and playing Skyrim. At least two of those go together, unfortunately. Still, we're closing in on the end of classes, and the ability to sleep an entire weekend away sounds very lovely. This is a very late post (I might've forgotten to schedule it, got on after leaving Relay for Life tonight, and then realized I didn't post... Oops?)

Some of my favorite things from last week, since I was too distracted to do it on Friday...

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I really want to get a blender this summer, so I can actually ensure that I eat breakfast some of the time...

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I can't have longer hair fast enough. I really wanna be able to do something cool, like this!

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This faux-Malachite painting tutorial is really cool, and I'm going to have to remember it for if I'm ever bored and have the things needed to actually make use of it. Probably never, but you never know...

What were your favorite things last week?

I Can't Believe

I can't believe...that I'm sick again, or that I'm actually considered a capable adult when my response to sickness is to not sleep and play Skyrim. I mean, I'm not gonna have access to it after finals so?

I can't believe...that I didn't think to even warn anyone when I realized I wasn't going to have the energy to post yesterday.

I can't believe...that there's really only one week of classes left!

I can't believe...how confusing apartment and utility stuff is! I'm glad I only had to research it for a project...

I can't believe...how nice it's been here lately! It's nice and not super-cold and it's wonderful (other than all the pollen, but oh well, let's ignore that stuff).

just breathe

Last week was the kind of week you generally try to pretend didn't happen. It was stressful thing after stressful thing after yet another stressful thing. I only looked decent twice, and spent most of my time in my room because I just couldn't function around people for the better part of it. I'm too exhausted to really write much, and this week's going to be a light one, due to my continued existence in a swamp of needing to do too many things.

Monday was probably the easiest day of it all, other than the crippling migraine I developed in the evening. Playing soccer indoors on a tile floor in a very echo-y building is a bad idea and hopefully people will figure that out sooner, rather than later. I didn't really have to deal with too much, beyond a paper and studying for my pledge class final.

Jacket - thrifted | Shirt/ring -??? | Shorts/boots - F21 | Necklace - Claire's | Purse - London Fog (from TJ Maxx)

Tuesday was just "paper awkward conversations paper paper paper paper PANIC". That's pretty much all I actually remember, honestly. Wednesday was panicking some more over the paper, and Honor Court for my fraternity, which added a bit more stress. Thursday was my pledge class final, the day I received another project in Accounting, and the day I scared everyone by falling down the stairs (and then brilliantly decided to go attempt my final anyways, despite being in enough pain I couldn't control my crying... It wasn't a good idea, shall we say...) Friday...I slept most of the day and had Mongolian food for dinner. Saturday I just didn't stop moving until I collapsed to sleep, and Sunday was pure homework.

Blazer - thrifted | Dress (as shirt)/necklace/shoes - F21 | Skirt/tights - Target

My only hope for this week, right now, is that I spend less of it freaking out over things.

How was last week for you? Do you think this week will be better?

cool stuff

This past week was, well, crazy. I think I should stop saying that, because it's pretty redundant - I almost always have an insane week. I guess I'm still getting used to the concept that my life now consists of more than sitting around in my room on the internet trying to be quiet and not bother anyone. It's pretty weird the difference going away from everyone and everything you know can make in your life. If only moving up to Ohio could've changed my inability to function in life without injuring myself... The least expected part of my crazy week was falling down the stairs yesterday. It was obviously one of the finer moments of my life... (This post is actually very late almost entirely because I decided to sleep in - a lot - today. But I do feel a lot better, so I think it was worth it).

I went with some of my floormates to visit a Mongolian place tonight, it was a fun conclusion to the school week (before the "how many events can I pack into one day and still have time to breathe?" weekend I've got ahead (which will be fun, because events, and terrifying because one of them involves my job eek!)). The restaurant was good, though the prices were a little ow for my wallet. Still, it was fun, and definitely one of my favorite things this week, along with the following...

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A gallery of Kristen Stewart smiling and being adorable is pretty much the best thing. While I hate what she's known for (Twilight ahem), I think she's very adorable and very interesting - and definitely possessed of more than one facial expression.

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Skyrim started me on liking malachite, and this kind of did it for me. Too. Pretty.

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Already ranted about this here, but Debenhams, guys.

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Sometimes life just sucks, and the past two weeks have tilted more to the sucky side. I've kind of decided that my room next year is going to have a bunch of things around it to remind me I just have to keep dealing when it gets like this. I know it on a personal level, but it's nice to have something agreeing with you!

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According to a recent study, bras could be bad for you.

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As my seventh grade self (the age when I finally gave in to the pressure to wear a bra) and my current self can both attest to, I only had ribcage and back pains when I wore bras as a kid, despite my very abrupt B-cup at the age of eight. Maybe it would've been different if they'd immediately been the size they are now, but I know that I never had problems not wearing bras. They sagged a little, but they never hurt. I'm not a scientist or really knowledgeable about how anatomy functions, but I definitely would love to go back to not bothering with a bra and not feeling ribcage/back pains.

What were your favorites for the week, and what do you think of the whole bra situation?

Debenhams

I'd never heard about Debenhams till about 2:00 PM today when I finally managed to get onto my computer and started filtering through my Refinery29 emails. (Sidenote, those are really useful for keeping up with what's up in fashion, especially when your life is primarily covered in homework). Featured in these e-mails was a story about Debenhams' summer lookbook. Lookbooks aren't an unusual story for Refinery29, but they were interested in this one - and for good reason! The lookbook showcases an absolute array of people of different shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and even physical capabilities. And, though it might be shocking for some people to realize it, it does not make the clothes somehow less beautiful or interesting. Personally, I think it makes them even better.

Some of my favorite shots featured with the story...

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I hope you're as happy that this is a thing as I am!