Sunday, December 23, 2012

Home for Christmas

"Home" for the holidays in Missoula. Christmas will always be that much better at my mom's house in snowy small town Montana. But as I've traveled from Salt Lake City to Portland to Missoula in the past couple weeks, I realize more profoundly just how uprooted I feel. Salt Lake doesn't feel like home to me. Portland feels like home, but I've accepted that I will never live there again. And Missoula feels like the memory of home, a place that used to be home, but is now simply familiar and comforting without the feeling of coming home

Now it's people who feel like home to me -- Greg most of all. After a year away in London, I hate being apart from him. Perhaps it's because I suddenly feel like I'm drifting without him. After all, I moved to Salt Lake City for him, and he's the anchor that's holding me there. It's a weird feeling, not knowing where I belong. I want so badly to carve out a little Meg-sized niche in SLC but I don't quite know how. Maybe with the new year will come some inspiration as to how to make friends in Mormon land. I know I'm being a bit melancholy considering it's almost Christmas, but what are you gonna do.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Outfit no. 33

Skirt: F21, jumper and shoes: New Look, shirt: wholesale-dress.net, glasses: Ray-Ban

If it isn't one thing it's another. My camera's battery died while taking photos today, and obviously I'm too lazy to sit and wait for it to charge and finish taking pics. At least I got a couple okay ones! Victory.

We're supposed to be dressing in "business casual" again this week and once again I display my complete ineptitude when it comes to business casual. Business? Casual? Most of the girls at work seemed to be wearing dress pants with basic tees and cardigans or blazers. Is this what I should be doing? Huh. I just figured it would be okay if I steered away from giant leopard-print platforms and sheer or something for the week. Although I guess I concluded that blasphemy was okay when I got dressed this morning. (Is it blasphemy if I just think crosses look cool but want nothing to do with a Jesus tacked onto it?) What even is office appropriate I don't know.

Last night I downloaded League of Legends because I've been saying I want to learn to play it for months, and finally Greg kicked me into gear. He plays it all the time with his friends and I was like "Greeeeg I wanna plaaayyyy" but he kept telling me I'd hate it. While also encouraging me to play it. Mixed messages!? Anyway, he finally said "just download it and I'll teach you!" And I replied, "I'm gonna suck so hard at this!" and he said, "Yeah. Yeah you are." :| LoL, I'm gonna SHOW YOU WHO'S BOSS (by which I mean lose one game and then cry disconsolately into my Coke Zero). Do any of you play LoL? Is it awesome? I hate strategy games so I have a feeling I will hate it... but you never know.



Monday, December 10, 2012

Outfit no. 32

Dress: River Island, jumper: H&M, booties: Blowfish (very old), coat: New Look.

I tweeted that I'd wear a bodycon dress today... so I did... but then the shoes I was planning to wear with it went out the window, as did everything but the need for comfort, so here we are! It is also snowing and really cold outside so there will only be one photo today. I am the worst.

I got these Blowfish booties from my parents for Christmas back in college, so maybe... 6 years ago? Christ. That's ridiculous. I basically only wanted them because they were called the "Hobbit" bootie and of course that was back when they were one of the few styles that Blowfish was offering. They're so, so so comfy though; pretty much the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. It's like wearing slippers all day! Which is obviously why I wore them.

This coat was purchased last year at the Chimes shopping centre in Uxbridge, after realizing that I was freezing to death and that I didn't have a proper coat for winter in London. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, but I absolutely love this coat! It's fleecy and soft, and super warm. Maybe not the most chic or stylish coat ever, but I managed to shove it into my luggage when I moved back to the States instead of getting rid of it, so I guess that means something.

I've been listening to a lot of One Direction lately and I don't know what that says about me or my life.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Cecily at the Fox Hunt

How kind of you,” said Cecily, noticing that the Viscount Hembly had spotted them and was making his way near. He looked like a huge red growth on top of his horse, his considerable girth sliding from side to side as he rode towards them. For a man in his sixties he looked uncannily like a giant baby, his thinning hair standing up in a tuft at the top of his head.

Are you quite all right, Cecily?” asked Nettie, her eyes wide with concern. “You've gone rather pale.”


~

Whenever I feel I need a break from writing, but still want to think about my characters (when do I not want to think about them, really), I usually end up drawing them. Yesterday I came across this coat on tumblr, and knew I had to put it on Cecily. So here's my crappy version of it (I didn't use a reference, obviously -- references are for LOSERS!), with Cecily looking understandably horrified by the approaching Viscount Hembly. Although if I'm honest... Cecily looks like this pretty much all the time. Especially when she's around the Duke, who is constantly offending her with his badly tied cravats and disheveled hair.

And now I am off to draw the Duke next. Have a wonderful evening! x

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

SLC Writers Group

My ~Writing Station~ aka bed.

Last night, as I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the SLC Writers Group for the first time. I've been craving some in-person writerly discussions and workshopping lately, not to mention straight up old-fashioned social activities, so I forced myself to go. I'd been eyeing the group for a while on facebook, but finally decided that last night was the night.

I was so, so nervous beforehand. I was pacing the house and clutching at my knotted stomach, gurning and wailing. But I kept telling myself: if I can move to London on my own and give my writing to a bunch of strange Brits to read and critique, I can probably drag myself across town and sit in a coffee shop for a couple hours with new people. So I did. I got lost twice on the way there, but I found it at last, and I'm so glad I did! It was exactly what I needed.

Have any of you attended or taken part in a writing workshop? If so, then you know basically how this went. Everyone went around and talked about the pieces they'd read from the previous meeting -- what they liked, what didn't work, and what the author could do to fix it. I just sat there and listened, as I hadn't read any of the pieces they were workshopping, but it was great to see how they worked as a group. I was actually a bit surprised and really happy to see how serious everyone was about it, despite the friendly, casual atmosphere. Tangents happened, and people went off topic regularly, but it always came back to the writing. Everyone's feedback seemed to be thoughtful and detailed. These were writers, and they knew what they were talking about. I had no idea what to expect, really, so it was wonderful to find that I could get a lot of writerly help from this group! Plus it seems like it'll be a lot of fun.

I'm really disappointed because we're going to be out of town for the next two meetings, so I won't be able to share my feedback or bring in my own writing or read more of the group's pieces. Gutted! I will be attending this week's write-in, however, which should be cool -- they meet every week at a cafe just to write. Which seems like a pretty awesome idea to me, and I'm looking forward to it!

I'm just so happy to have found a group of people who seem like they're a lot of fun, but are also ready to buckle down and get some serious writing and critiquing done. This is exactly what I needed! I could spend my whole life just hanging out with writers and talking about writing and and and... I am gonna go write now.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Outfit no. 31

Dress: New Look, cardi and necklace: F21, boots: Blowfish, glasses: Ray-Ban

A question I often ask myself (i.e. almost every day) is, would this be a practical outfit if today is the day I'm transported to a magical world wherein I must have many adventures and save the realm from a tyrant queen? Usually the answer is no. I'm not sure what kind of getup is suitable for adventures in a fantasy land, but it's not this. I imagine some sort of jeans/sneakers/sweater combo would be most practical, but as I'm never going to wear jeans no matter how likely I am to fall through a dimensional portal, dresses and ankle booties will have to do.

After all, Virginia went around in a mini-skirt and a hoodie. Although I'm pretty sure she was also sporting Docs or something, so she was okay for off-roading and climbing the occasional beanstalk.


I always wear this dress and completely forget that the seam on my tights never fails to show through. So dumb and annoying! I need to fix that somehow. It's not even a dress I particularly like, but I wanted to wear burnt orange, so I had no choice. Alas!

I'm starting on draft four of my manuscript today. I got some really great feedback from my friend Rachel (who, incidentally, I met for the first time in Heathrow Airport -- yay internet friends!), so while I wait on further feedback I'm gonna tinker around and see what I can do. Yay writing!

Speaking of writing, I found a writers' group here in Salt Lake City that meets twice a month for workshops, and every week for write-ins. I'm super excited about this, as I've been missing my fellow Brunel MA writers something fierce. I love being around other writers and creative types; they're so inspiring. Tonight I'm just gonna sort of sit and listen, and meet everyone, but I'll definitely try to attend some write-ins and hopefully make some writer friends. I'm nervous, but also super excited. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Outfit no. 30

Skirt: Love Culture, shirt: H&M, jacket: F21 (via eBay), scarf: Target (gift from Mom), necklace: wholesale-dress.net, shoes: Blowfish, glasses: Ray-Ban

I've genuinely forgotten how to dress myself. I pulled out stuff for three different outfits last night, hating all of them, until finally I just said, "what would a vampire hunter wear" and this is what happened. I mean all vampire hunters obvi wear crosses and leather jackets and boots with buckles, right? And then my sparkly skirt is to be used as camouflage amongst the lame sort of vampire, and the scarf is for when I... go hunt... Scottish vampires?

OKAY I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING. I am just really obsessed with the Mortal Instruments series and vampires and werewolves and since I'm not a vampire I can just go hunt them instead, but then suddenly and accidentally fall in love with an attractive vampire and become like the John Smith of vampire hunters, and my new vamp boyfriend would be the Pocahontas of vampires. You see what I'm saying.

I need this ring.

It's like I'm 16 again; all I want to do is read books about teen girls falling for the bad boy vampire.


Now that I'm doing nothing with my novel but sitting and waiting for people to tell me what bits are horrible and need to be changed, I'm super ridiculously painfully bored. And impatient. I've been thinking about starting the next book in the series (if it ever becomes one), but I need to come up with a plot before I can start. I've learned that's how I need to write -- outline first, writing second. Otherwise I just go off on tangents and start introducing 50 useless characters and it's a nightmare. So, yeah... how did I plot my first one again...? Uhhh.

Or I might just take a little break from writing and play WoW more. I dunno. I feel weird and aimless and I don't like it! I also don't like how badly I've been eating lately; I just ate a doughnut at work, and came home and ate a huge brownie and now I feel like I'm dying. I just can't resist baked goods. :'(

I really liked this last photo, it's super dorky but it was way windy while taking these pics, and my skirt kept blowing up so I had to hold it down! "Teehee I'm so silly" says Meg in the picture. It looks like a dumb catalogue picture where they're like "oh hahaha I'm just laughing for no reason, look at my fun life, don't you want to buy these clothes?" Also who gets catalogues anymore, I don't know I'm sorry.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Outfit no. 29

Dress: H&M, jumper: Primark, shoes: Blowfish, belt: wholesale-dress.net, necklace: Topshop

Aaaand I have a blog. I forgot for a few days, I really did! I've been a slave to my novel over the past couple of weeks, especially this last one. I was so close to finishing the third draft and I couldn't think of anything else. I was constantly making notes in my phone when I thought of things I wanted to add/change, and spending basically every free moment writing (when I wasn't reading the Mortal Instruments series). 

So, you've likely guessed it -- I finished the third draft of my novel! I think it's finally really close to how I want it to be, and hopefully with some more tweaks (after my poor friends and family give me their thoughts on it), it will be ready to look for an agent. But we'll see. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself or get too excited about it, because who knows, everyone might tell me it's dreadful and needs another year's worth of edits before it's decent. Augh! WRITING.


I'm trying to get back into the swing of dressing well enough for outfit photos... and failing. I don't really like this outfit at all! My brain is just not with clothes right now, it's with Cecily and the Duke. I will try to be a good blogger, though, and wear non-boring outfits from now on. Gahhhrgh, I have too many interests and not enough time!


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Outfit no. 28

Skirt, shirt (old), necklace, and cardi: F21, belt: wholesale-dress.net, shoes: New Look, glasses: Ray-Ban

I feel terrible, but blogging has been the last thing on my mind over the past several days. I wish I could fully blame the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, but I've also been drawn 100% back into the writing game. It comes with the territory -- when I get really into reading a book, I also become motivated to write. And now that I'm even more determined to show B how wrong she was about my novel, all I want to do (and all I've done since last Friday) is work on my novel and read.

I'm so addicted to these books it's insane. I cannot get enough of them. I think about them all day, and all I wanna do when I get home is read them. But I'm taking a few hours every day to write, and the novel is coming along so well! I can feel it taking shape and becoming a full-fledged story, not just the bare bones of a first draft. I'll let you know how it goes.

So please bear with me, in the meantime! My blog is super important to me, but unfortunately my novel is more important... so there may be fewer posts, although I'll try my best to update as much as usual! x



Monday, November 19, 2012

Glasses Are Cool*


Why does Meg look so goddamn cool here, you ask, with her attempted sexy face and awkward pose? It's because she is wearing glasses. Yes. It's true. If she took them off, she would wither into a shapeless, Lovecraftian horror. It is the power of glasses.

Seriously though, glasses are really cool. I love my geeky hipster eyeglasses! I've been wearing glasses since my junior year of high school, which seems like a late time to start, but I was having a hard time reading the whiteboard in AP US History (my favorite class, obvs), and it turned out I needed reading glasses. Well I loved my glasses so much that I wore them every day all day, which meant that eventually, my eyes got worse! Now I need to wear them no matter what! It's a glorious thing, ruining your own eyes so you can be a full-on geek, but that's what I did. I always wanted glasses, and when I finally got them I feel I found my identity. Maybe. Kind of?

Well, whatever. From the first time I got glasses I really wanted big, thick-rimmed, black nerd glasses frames because I thought they would be cool. Sadly, since hipsters weren't really a thing yet when I was 16, LensCrafters and your typical glasses shop didn't carry such frames. Luckily years later in college I was able to find a pair online.

And that's where GlassesUSA.com comes in! They contacted me about sponsoring a post and I was immediately down for it. I'm not just someone who wears glasses -- I love my glasses. It's really important to me to have the right pair, since I wear them every day and they're a distinct part of my look. I took a little lookie-loo around the site, and there are some pretty swank frames up in thurr. They have a "Try-It Mirror" that allows you to make dumb faces and try on sweet tortoiseshell professor frames. Like so:


I'm not sure I could ever tear myself away from my black Ray-Bans, but if I did, I'd probably go for something super nerdy like this! If any of you wear prescription eyeglasses, GlassesUSA is the perfect option for finding cool frames. They have a huge selection, and they're pretty well priced too! Yay!

Try it yourself if you like! (Not sure why the spacing here is wonkadoodle, please forgive.)

And lastly, as a lovely bonus, here are some discounts for any of you glasses wearers out there. GlassesUSA is offering 15% off, storewide, PLUS free shipping (on orders over $50), with code FS15. And for 10% off any order of prescription glasses, use code Blog10! Yay!

*This post is sponsored by GlassesUSA.

Friday, November 16, 2012

City of Bones


Turns out, when I have a new fandom, aka something to geek out over, it makes me really really happy. I was in such a good mood today thinking about coming home to this book! I was so eager, in fact, that I decided to skip outfit photos in favor of picking up the next two books in the series at Barnes & Noble. Oops? It is payday, though! What is payday without new books?

I'm a total sucker for YA fantasy romances, which is basically what I'm writing right now, except mine isn't YA. For some reason I thought City of Bones would be like... the demon hunter version of Twilight, but the writing is actually pretty good! Well, for YA anyway. When I laugh while reading it's because something funny happened, not because the writing is a disaster. Which is awesome! I mean, I'm only about a quarter of the way through this book so I can't provide a decent review (I will try to write one up when I'm finished), but so far I'm completely addicted!


Here's the trailer for the movie in case any of you haven't seen it. It's the reason I started these books (like when I read The Hunger Games because the trailer looked so cool), and based on the the cast, I think it's gonna RUUUULE! (I mean okay it might be super cheesy but you guys I will love it anyway that's just how I roll.) Has anyone read this series? What did you think? And NO SPOILERS please!

Now back to reading...


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Outfit no. 27

Shirt and necklace: wholesale-dress.net, skirt: eBay, shoes: (mostly) c/o Oasap, glasses: Ray-Ban

You guys I am so excited -- I finally got this skirt almost a full month after ordering it. AT LAST. It's so awesome, and it was so cheap! I did wait a month for it, but I'm considering the pain worth it, because look at it. It is the ultimate skirt. Everything should be in velvet. Everything.

I'm super in love with these shoes as well, but I stopped at Weller Book Works in Trolley Square today after work, and just walking from the car to the shop and back made my feet hurt. Grumble. Good thing I don't do a lot of walking in life? Gross. But seriously it's really nice to be back in the States where I can drive everywhere and therefore wear heels on a regular basis! I would have died trying to wear these around London. Shaun and I nearly tortured ourselves to death wearing high heels to the Olivier Awards, and that was mostly sitting! Yeesh.


I also want to say thank you so much to everyone who has read and commented on my previous post so far! It's so awesome to know how many people have experienced similar things, and just to know that I have support from so many wonderful people. It means so much to me. I will dedicate this book to all of you in my heart! And I do want to clarify that the Brunel MA program was incredible overall, and I learned so much and grew so much, and my writing has really improved since I started last year. But to end on such a sour note was super frustrating to me, and I had to get it off my chest. So thanks for listening! x

Before I go, I have to share this song that I've become suddenly obsessed with. Someone at work suggested I listen to Imagine Dragons, so I gave them a try on Spotify... and I AM ADDICTED. This song is my favorite!


 I am now going to listen to it and start reading City of Bones, which is gonna be sooo gooooood you guys; the movie trailer looks amaze. I need something to replace the void that Twilight and 50 Shades have left in my heart. Trashy fantasy YA romances, let's go!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A Fantasy Writer's Rant

Random pic of some of our books, because I couldn't find a more relevant photo for this post.
So you're all probably at least vaguely aware that I'm a writer, and I've written the first draft and most of the second draft of a novel, and that I wrote it for my MA program which was in London, and that I've been banging on about my dissertation results on social media for a couple weeks now. Well. At last, at long last, the results arrived last Friday. I was so excited upon finding it all mangled in the mailbox that I ran up the 3 flights of stairs to our apartment and yelled at my mom and Greg to Pay Attention while I opened it and read the results.

And then.

Well.

Let's just say the results weren't exactly what I wanted. They weren't even what I expected. They were worse. And I, the horrible drama queen that I am, ran into the bedroom and laid prone on the bed, the manuscript tucked under me, and tried not to cry. Then Greg came in and poked me or said "calm the hell down" or something like that, and I proceeded to throw my hat, my glasses, my phone, and the manuscript itself violently across the room while screaming that I may as well give up and that I was a horrible writer and that everyone else got an A* and I hated everything and wanted to die.

I overreact to things. On a regular basis. I really shouldn't have this time, as I got a B overall. A B really isn't that bad? I think? And Matt, my tutor, said nice things but was pretty clear that my novel needs to go through at least another draft before it's ready for publishing. He did say it could find a publisher, though, and that a lot of my writing was remarkable for an MA student. So thanks, Matt!

However. My second marker, who I shall call simply "B" did not quite agree with Matt. In fact she disagreed with him. Very markedly. She gave me a C overall, and said basically that she expected more from an MA student, and that if my style of writing was typical of the fantasy or YA genre, that this was a weakness.

This is what frustrates me so much about writing programs. The people who grade you are going to base pretty much their entire assessment of your work on how they feel about it. They aren't going to be objective. I guarantee it. They will say, "Hmm, do I like this? Is it what I like to read? Is it what I consider 'good writing'? Is it what I consider a quality genre of fiction? Am I in a bad mood or a good mood right now? Am I PMSing? Does my horrible neighbor whose dogs take shits in my yard look just like you? These are all factors that I must take into consideration when grading your work!" Seriously, it's awful.

That's what I really liked about Matt, was that he seemed pretty open to any genre, and seemed to realize that not everybody writes the same way, and that some styles of writing work better with certain stories and genres, etc. B, from the first day I met her, pissed me off because of her close-mindedness. So I shouldn't have been surprised that she gave me a C. In fact I blatantly disregarded some of her suggestions for "improving" my writing in the Planning A Novel module. Not because I'm a brat (I am), but because I didn't feel that her preferred very literary style of writing fit the story I wanted to tell. So I wrote the way I wanted to, and the way that I believed was right for my story and characters, and she still gave me a C. Because she simply believes in a more literary style of writing. This wasn't a literary novel-writing course, it was a novel-writing course in any genre.  Right from the start she wanted me to write magical realism so that I could fit into a more literary genre. NO! That is not what I want! I want to write fantasy, comedy, light-hearted romantic adventures. She straight-up did not get that. And it really, really frustrates me.

This opens up the broader subject of: why don't academic people take fantasy literature seriously? And why do academic people, like B, think they can brush off the fantasy genre when they have not even read any of it? She said, first day of class, that she "doesn't read fantasy." And then she criticizes me for not reading a broader spectrum of genres and books. No. Does not compute. If I were to read one of her prose poems (ugh why do these exist), even if I were to read every single one of her books, I would not be inspired; I would not be influenced. This isn't to say her books are horrible, as they are likely very well written and insightful and moving and whatever else books can be. But they have nothing to do with what I write, and so why would I list books as inspiration and influence when they haven't actually done so? I got graded down for being honest? I don't actually understand.

And the fact that she said, if my style is indicative of the greater fantasy and YA genre (my book is not YA, just to be clear), she considers it a weakness -- just makes my blood boil. A weakness of the entire genre? Does she not realize she is being extremely judgmental, prejudiced (coming from a woman who "does not read fantasy"), and worst of all -- pretentious as hell?

I'm so, so tired of these ~writers~ being so condescending about genre fiction. What's the problem? Is it too entertaining? Too popular? Too easy and fun to read? I mean, I suppose it can be fun to play the elitist hipster douchebag to a point, but... really? To criticize an entire genre just because it's not the same as ~literary fiction~, the land of prose poems (god help us), is just plain ignorant.

I was feeling really depressed and mopey about the whole thing, but after a few days and a think, I've realized -- it doesn't matter what B says about my novel. She may absolutely despise every word of it. And that's okay! Because you know what? I'm not writing it for her. I'm not writing it for anyone who reads the kind of book that she reads. I'm writing it for the geeks, the fantasy fans, the girls who want to read a fun romance. I'm writing it for the people who will buy it. And most of all, I'm writing it for me. I still love my characters, and my story, and the world I created. I love all of it. It needs a lot of work, but I'm so happy to put in that work to make a better book. And ultimately, I can't wait -- I cannot wait -- to sell a buttload more copies of my book than B will ever sell of hers, because I'm writing popular fiction, it's what I want to write, and it's what makes me happy. So there.

Outfit no. 26

Skirt: Love Culture, cardi and necklace: F21, shoes: New Look (old), shirt: wholesale-dress.net, hat: H&M (old), earrings: Topshop, glasses: Ray-Ban

Okay! I'm back, wearing clothes and taking photos of myself in them. I don't know about you but I'm excited about this! Now, down to business. This skirt is a new one I picked up over the weekend with my mom, and since it fit well and I loved it, I bought it in black as well. The only minor problem is that it's a bit thin, and rather hugs my thighs and butt area? Also it sheds glitter everywhere, but that's not really a problem so much as slightly embarrassing -- I feel like a grumpy, sleep-deprived fairy sprinkling dust wherever I go. Regardless, I shall have to procure a slip for these skirts! Not that this is too big a hassle; I've been needing a slip for a while so now I have motivation to get one.

You probably hadn't noticed but I'm going to point it out to you: I got a haircut! Nothing major, just a few inches off and a bang trim. My locks were in dire need of a sprucing. Now I just have to retouch my roots, as they're really dreadfully brown and I look like a teen goth whose mom has decided not to let her buy anymore black hair dye.


Apologies for my awkward hand position in the above photo. Not sure what I was meant to be doing? I'm sure I wanted to look natural yet show off my rings in the photo but it ended up looking weird. As per usual. You'll also notice my thumb is completely torn up and gross. I pick at the skin around my fingers and it gets worse when they're dry, and when I'm stressed. Both are happening right now. Not sure why I'm stressed, but it likely has to do with 1) my dissertation grade (will go into that in a future post), and 2) a bunch of traveling I'll be doing in the next couple of months. Money, time off from work, etc. are all factors. It's stressing me out. But as Greg would say, "you're always stressed out." So this shouldn't be a change from the norm, and really, it isn't. I'm just complaining about it because it's giving me stomach aches and making my thumbs all gross. Well, more gross than normal.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Whoopie Pies With Mom


Many apologies for the prolonged absence -- my mom was visiting from Montana for a few days and I took a break from the blog to spend more time with her. I was so excited to show her our new apartment and go shopping and everything! We didn't get matching cardigans, but we did make these AMAZING pumpkin whoopie pies (recipe here).

I've been wanting to try making whoopie pies for a while now, and since my mom is an incredible baker, I thought it would be fun to make them together! They turned out so good, but you guys... they are so disgustingly bad for you! I had to stay home today due to a sick stomach, and I have a suspicion that the whoopie pies are to blame. We ate way too many of them over the weekend; there are only three left, and we started out with about a dozen. In the frosting alone there's 8 oz of cream cheese, 3 cups of powdered sugar, and a whole stick of butter! And then the cookies themselves have 2 cups of brown sugar in. I couldn't even finish the first one I ate, they're so heavy. But so good.

If you guys end up making these, don't go crazy like we did and decide to make them bigger than recommended! We were like "ONE TABLESPOON IS TOO SMALL" so we made them huge, and they are quite difficult to eat. But clearly it's possible, as we ate like 10 of them.

I'm sad that my mom has gone back to Montana, but we'll be visiting her for Christmas next month so it won't be too long! Sadly we won't be able to bring the XBox with us in order to sate her new addiction to Peggle.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Greg's Outfit!


Since I didn't take any photos of my outfit today (I just started my womanly moon cycle and I wore the frumpiest/most comfortable outfit I possibly could and I refuse to show you photos of it), I've decided to show you guys these pics of Greg in his Halloween costume! We never actually made it out that night, as I had a minor mental breakdown and cried a bunch so we just watched Ever After and ate popcorn, so tragically nobody got to see him in his hipster costume! Greg is basically the anti-hipster, which is hilarious since he's dating one, so this is a pretty funny outfit for him to wear, and even funnier if you know him.  The jeans belong to our friend Sam, the t-shirt he found in the lost and found bin in high school (it glows in the dark), the cardi was his grandfather's, and the scarf and glasses are mine (bought the specs at Brick Lane in London).

Feel free to tell Greg how amazing he looks as a hipster so that maybe, by some bizarre miracle, he is convinced to dress this way all the time. Yes, I think it's super hot!! Even the rolled-up jeans, god forgive me.

Greg, I fucking love you! ♥


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Outfit no. 25

Dress: wholesale-dress.net, cardi and necklace: F21, hat: H&M (old), shoes: c/o Sway Chic.

Okay! You should be able buy yourself the dress, cardi and shoes, thanks to my handy links above, if you're so inclined. Sadly I couldn't find the necklace; I found it on sale so it's probably not on the site anymore! Luckily they have about 5 billion more gold chain necklaces on the site and in store, so hopefully this is not too tragic. I mean really, what's the point of a style blog if not to be a glorified advertisement for clothes and accessories?

Speaking of which, I'm super happy to show off these new shoes from Swaychic.com, a fun California-based boutique that was nice enough to let me review them! I think they're amazing in that they go with everything (well, at least in my wardrobe), but after wearing basically this same outfit out on Saturday night with different shoes, I decided to try it with these for daytime. Perfect, in my opinion. Can I just wear this outfit every day, or...? I'm really loving the idea of maxi dresses for fall, since it's like wearing a built-in blanket all day! Sway Chic has a bunch of good maxi dresses I'd like to try, but my bank account is yelling at me after buying all these cardigans and things.


This cardigan is another new favorite for fall. It seems like Forever21 was exploding with cardigans when I went over the weekend, most of them cableknit! I love a good cableknit cardigan. I'm crossing my fingers that when my mom comes to visit this weekend (she arrives on Thursday, eeee!), we'll get to go shopping and then maybe we can be dorks and get matching cardis! When she came to visit me in Portland a couple Christmasses ago we definitely got the same dress in different colors. Ha! Back in high school I would have killed myself before wearing the same thing as my mom, but now it's super fun. I flipping cannot wait to see her! We're gonna get Thai food and drink hot toddies and bake. That's what I'm planning in my mind and she'd better be up for it. You reading this, Mom? BAKING.

I'm really excited to find out how today's election will pan out. It's always so close, but I have a feeling our man Barry will win out. I'm not opposed to discussing politics on my blog! What do you guys think? What do you want for the country, and why? I support Obama wholeheartedly, and honestly the social issues are what's most important to me -- women's rights, gay rights, etc. It's depressing that there are still candidates for president in 2012 who oppose a woman's right to choose, and the right for same sex couples to get married. Seriously guys what medieval dark age are you living in? I won't get into more of a rant than that, but those issues are what's important to me this time around. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! x