Toast and Nutella: happiness

Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

Where the lights don't move and the colors don't fade

The southwest corner of Foster and Orrington. I hated that one corner during the wintertime. Those darn students renting that house never ever shoveled and it left a build up of ice looming in front of the sidewalk. Actually I preferred when it was frozen because then my feet didn’t get wet. Every single time I needed to go anywhere I had to cross that stretch of ice/slush. I'd do anything to avoid it, walking on the ice around it or crossing the street a good amount to avoid shoe damage.

Last week when I left my college apartment for the last time, I realized that the ice puddle wasn’t there anymore. It hadn’t been there for a long time. That one corner, the bane of my existence in the winter, had slowly returned to concrete and grass. Yet I hadn’t given it a second thought when the snow was melting. I’d forgotten to be thankful for the easy walking that warmer weather had brought.

Lying in bed in my old room. Post title from Stay Alive by José González.

Peace out homies.

Can you feel it under your skin?

Can we just talk about this weekend. So much goodness.

Friday, I went to The Happy Show at the Chicago Cultural Center. It is free and runs until end of September, so if you are in Chicago, you must must go. I loved the simplicity and truth, and there were interactive elements as well, including riding a bicycle and free gum. Always a plus.

Saturday, my high school friend visited me and somehow scored two free One Direction tickets! We joined preteen girls screaming over five boys who were not all that enthusiastic about their songs and seemed slightly hungover and grumpy. However seeing my friend for a day and dancing was so much fun. It made me slightly jealous of these preteen girls who seem to have no worries in my eyes, but then I remembered they were in middle school and all jealousy vanished.

Sunday, I went to see the Oh Hellos. Let me tell you, the Oh Hellos are great live! Maybe the best I've ever seen. They danced, laughed, jumped, and seemed so genuinely enthusiastic and joyful to play music with each other. I would definitely see them again, and I've been listening to their songs on repeat all day at work. The Lament of Eustace Scrubb was amazing live. Oh man that energy. The post title is from Second Child, Restless Child.

So that was a high. After reading my friends' blogs about their summers in Athens, Greece and cross country biking, I gotta be proud of my little moments of excitement even if they pale in comparison :)

You and me, we got our own sense of time

My best friend is studying abroad in Athens this summer. I've been keeping a list of the things she needs to bring back for me, like new sandals. We spent four days in Athens when we backpacked through Southern Europe together last August. I miss it a lot. I remember we could see the Acropolis from our hostel balcony. Yeah I know, I got the travel bug again. Whenever I think of moments in my short life of intense happiness or fear, many of them fall under that period of traveling. So I can't help sometimes wishing I was somewhere else sometimes (especially when exams are close).

I stumbled upon some beautiful photos from The Colors of Travel 2012 by The New York Times. Stoooop I want to go to there.

Enjoy your Friday! I'll be sleeping on the Warren Dunes tonight in Michigan, which is the closest thing I have to traveling these days... :)

Post title from Hannah Hunt by Vampire Weekend.

Montpellier, France

Turkey

Penang, Malaysia

Hyderabad, India

It was the moment

I remember one morning getting up at dawn, there was such a sense of possibility.

You know, that feeling? And I remember thinking to myself: So, this is the beginning of happiness. This is where it starts. And of course there will always be more. It never occurred to me it wasn’t the beginning.

It was happiness. It was the moment. Right then.

The Hours

If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.

Thomas Dworzak

“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy,

and exclaim or murmur or think at some point,

‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

- Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

A collision of atoms that happens before your eyes

I recently received an amazing marketing summer internship.

I'll be workin' in the John Hancock building this summer.

What the what the what the what is life.

Looks like I be in Chi-town (or really Evanston) this summer again :)

So between that and general springtime giddiness, I feel pretty darn good about life right now.

So it is hard to find motivation to do homework.

I waste quite a lot of time.

This Time Wasting Experiment recounts how people actually spend their time.

It pretty much sums up my weekend.

Post title from Bravado by Lorde. She is great.

I got a love that keeps me waiting

Wait, this video. I love it so much. Work it. I be dancin like him during my study breaks.

Can I get a minute of not being nervous

I love this. One lady put up a wall where folks can write down what they want to accomplish before they die. It started in New Orleans and has been continuing in other cities and countries. I need to find the one in Chicago!

"It was an experiment and I didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was bursting with handwritten responses and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, hold her one more time, eat a salad with an alien, see my daughter graduate, abandon all insecurities, plant a tree, straddle the International Date Line, get clean, live off the grid, build a school, be someone’s cavalry, be completely myself… People’s responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of my life."

Berlin

Chicago

Johannesburg

Brooklyn

Post title from Slow Show by The National.

I could see for miles, miles, miles

My life long dream has been accomplished. I am in the lovely city of Maastricht in the Netherlands with my dad who has work here. And while wandering around, I found the store I have stalked online from my dorm room in Evanston far too many times. Yes it would be Scotch & Soda, an Amsterdam based fashion brand, which I previously posted about here and here. If I had endless amounts of money, I would dress me and my future man in everything from this store. I have to bring my dad back, just to have an excuse to return and go through the men's clothing.

I bought myself some pants way on sale, and can now say I am a proud owner of Maison Scotch pants. Ah what a life. Even the people working there were attractive. I never thought Dutch was a beautiful language, but it never sounded so good coming from a well dressed young man.

Post title from Holocene by Bon Iver.

Everyone thinks I'm a liar

It is 9:20 pm and my host family hasn't called me for dinner yet. It is taking every part of me to resist having that chocolate bar in my drawer.

Anywho I'm taking a history of photography class, and for our field trip today we visited la Maison Européenne de la Photographie. I loved the exhibition by Claude Nori. It made me miss summer. It has been raining and overcast for the last two weeks in Paris which could explain why I am so drawn to the lifestyle and weather these photos convey :)

Post title from Submarine by The Lumineers.

Now I'm pointed north, hoping for the shore

So I turned 20 this weekend. Woah there. I am really happy to be this age. I'm old enough to be responsible. But young enough to be forgiven if not responsible ;)

It turned out to be a much better weekend than I expected. Some highlights: Skyping a friend I miss and haven't seen for so long. Being surprised by friends with cupcakes at the Tuileries Garden. Checking out the cutest English bookstore and later treating myself to Junot Díaz's new book. Dancing to old songs at an adorable Parisienne bar that night. Walking through the Palace of Versailles on Saturday and getting angry at their placement of modern art in the Hall of Mirrors. Eating cheese and drinking wine by a canal for dinner. Going to my first Parisien club and realizing that I like pop songs much better than electro. Taking the night bus for the first time. Going shopping in Le Marais and running into a parade of drunk and high teenagers.

This city is pretty great. The only thing it needs is to-go coffee, and all would be perfect.

Photo from Tumblr, this is the bookstore in Paris that I can't stop thinking about. Post title from If I Had a Boat by James Vincent McMorrow.

Who’s got two thumbs, speaks limited French, and hasn’t cried once today? This moi.

Credit

Yes I got this title from Liz Lemon :)

I've been a little confused about life lately to the point where I ate Dove dark chocolate squares in hopes that the wrappers would give me some sense of direction. Didn't work. "Do what feels right?" "Give a little love?" Hmm perhaps... but not really the advice I'm looking for.

I definitely have been near tears too many times this month (read: overly emotional and super annoying). 2012 is bah. ugh. ew. so far. But I'm tired of being stressed and cold and sad so I've decided to write a list of things that I'm thankful for.

1. the weather. Today was 30s and sunny... I wore converse today.

2. going to a school where it is not weird to stay in and do homework Friday night... or Saturday night... or pretty much every night in my case. It gets crazy.

3. les amis. I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch tv, eat, drink, or discuss religious and philosophical musings (true story). Although I still haven't found someone to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with me... anyone interested?

4. Chicago. Walking downtown is a real wakeup call that I'm not the center of the world. And that there is life outside the bubble of Northwestern.

5. The parentals. They are pretty great. And cute. And I miss them.

6. Taking 20 minutes every night to read. So what if I have a paper due in two days on a book I haven't read half of yet... I'm gonna give myself 20 minutes to read whatever I want. I'm looking at you Margaret Atwood.

Dude, I got this. Winter Quarter got nothin' on me.

City life

Chicago is so cool! I am in love. This weekend I went with a friend to this beautiful vintage independent movie theater near Wrigley Field called the Music Box Theatre. We saw this French film called Love Crime, which was brilliant yet very dark. I also ate at some great restaurants this weekend: Uncommon Ground if you are looking for natural unique food, Carmine's if you want a classy Italian dinner, and Cozy Noodles and Rice in Evanston, yummy and quirky.

And if that's not enough to make me obsessed with this city, I'm also so excited to go next month to the special presentation at the Chicago International Film Festival of Like Crazy, that movie I was raving about a few posts ago!!! I cannot wait. Apparently it is rumored that Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, the lead actor and actress, will be there! I am trying not to get my hopes up, but I'm afraid it is too late for that.

Some options I envision wearing for this event, black dress and a trench coat or jeans and a loose blouse:

I can't think of a blog title right now

Let's talk about some things that make me happy. Why do you care? Well this is my blog so you have no choice. First I love belts.

Next I love black dresses. I recently got one from Banana Republic for $20. Think about it.

I am also very excited for Fall weather. I look at my new blazer and mini trench coat, and I get all excited about Autumn in Chicago. Btw big dog in next picture scares me.

And finally, just a few little things that make everything better:

It's plain now this is all me, now this is all me

So… its official. I am spending this summer in Chicago! Wow. Is this happening? To get my excitement up for these four months of bliss, here are some plans I’ve made for myself. This summer, I will:

Try my hand at interior decorating