A Lovely Mod Dinner

Last night those of us in our mod who didn't travel over Interterm went out for a nice date to get sushi in Wichita. It was so good! It was hard to believe that it was the first time we had all gone out together- halfway through the school year.

A few things I love - Decor and Chapstick Edition.

This title = "What?"

That's really an appropriate reaction. This post is all over the place, I'll admit.

I recently got a Bamboo Tablet which lets me add handwriting to photos- exciting, no?? Anyways, I've been messing around with that with every spare moment I have. It is a lot harder than I imagined to make it look like your actual handwriting. At first I thought it was hopeless, it was so hard to get used to, but with enough practice I definitely think I'm getting the hang of it.

Interterm is halfway over - as of tomorrow. That means that I'll be able to sleep in 40 minutes longer and we won't have to drive to Hillsboro anymore! Really, this is going to be the best. Tomorrow is the last day that our class has to drive to Tabor, for the last half of January they will be driving to us instead. This class has been interesting, but I've been all over the place with my relationship with it. Because for Interterm we cram about a weeks worth of class into one day - 3.5 hours worth - if I'm lost, I'm really lost. I think my attitude switches every single day. Today, I enjoyed it. Yesterday, time crawled. I'm curious to see how I reflect back on it at the end of the month. So far, when I look at what we've gone over by now, I really enjoy the class. Today we learned that rectangles don't exist. See, it's cool. Maybe it's just the feeling stupid that I don't enjoy, but details like that glaze over with time.

I have recently become a figurine hoarder. All this thrifting and antiquing is going to cause me to run out of space in this little room. Nevertheless, I will continue to photograph the seemingly mundane. As I haven't done a whole lot besides go to class, work, and watch Portlandia, I haven't had much to shoot besides fawning over decorations. They're still new enough that I can't help but coo whenever I look at them. I have to consciously resist the urge. Even right now as I type this. 

Awwwwww.

See, I couldn't help it.

If it isn't figurines that run me out of house and home, it may just be books. With the combined power of my cookbook addiction and Jocelyn's mountains of History and Communications books we're looking very knowledgeable. It might be my parent's giant wall of books at home that has infected me, but I love the look of having a bunch of books. It makes everything cozier.

Speaking of obsessions, chapstick. Chapstick isn't exactly decor, but naturally I had to use a picture that I wrote all over, my tablet is new after all. You ought to expect such behavior from me. I may as well explain. Babylips is my newfound love. They're tinted, but not overly assaulting. You really have to be in the right mind set to do the assaulting-lip-thing. These are a nice in between, along with being chapstick. That is why plain old lipstick sucks. No moisturizing qualities. Dummies. 

Burts Bees though man, Burts Bees can't be beat. If I was a poet, I would write a nice sonnet all about Burts Bees, but I won't because I'm not. But that is how much I love Burts Bees. All those variations are great, like mango and grapefruit, but you just can't beat the classic mint. Can't do it! If you dare to claim that you know of some competition, please let me know. Because that has got to be some good chapstick. 

This is how much I love chapstick. Two paragraphs worth of chapstick love.

I hope you leave this post feeling much more enlightened about figurines and chapstick. This is what happens when I have other things I should be doing - posts like this happen. I apologize.

Settling Back In

I've never been a fan of new years resolutions, but I like the idea. I suppose you could say that I'm more on the fence, but, if I was to have made a resolution, (other than making the new blog as wonderful as possible) it would have to be to take more pictures. I've been inspired by many lifestyle blogs lately, and there is just something nice about documenting the small things. I know many people feel like always having a camera around takes away from the actual experience, but to me it is less about snatching up all my memories with a lens, but more about seeking out those small details of everyday life that really are beautiful.



I've been filling up my spare time thus far with crafts and discovering more and more addicting internet sites. (Ever heard of Chictopia? Me either until now. Ah.) Only one week into the new year, I can already tell that e plus l has influenced what I'm interested in. Because I was determined to figure out the HTML for the layout, something I've done very little of in my life, I've scoured Pinterest for every tip there is. That and the design category. I've learned new things to do with Photoshop, not only for editing pictures, but also for making graphics. Hopefully as time goes on you will be able to watch me improve and learn even more. Everyday I find more and more things I need to try out.

happy new year, I'm alive!

We didn't have any trouble on our drive across half the country, only some ice when we were still leaving Oregon. It was a little nerve wracking, as there are some pretty steep hills, but we made it through just fine. Once we got to Kansas and I had slept in a real bed, I found out that the morning after we went through that same pass there was a huge bus accident where a tour bus lost control and slid down the hill, killing I think 9 people. Hearing things like that really makes me realize how lucky we were that we didn't even encounter any minor issues. It is so good to be back in Kansas though! I'm glad that we made it safely. With as many road trips as I've been making lately, it really is a miracle.

The new year greeted Newton with a nice layer of snow, my first snow of this winter. I find it fitting that the first day of the year is so beautiful. Everything is covered in snow, but the sun is shining and it is wonderful. Leah and I have taken advantage of the free day to work on our new blog, e plus l, which we launched today! Having no commitments is great.

I'm excited for 2013, I feel like this will be a good year.