rain, rain, stay awhile. (a guide to a hoopla filled rainy day)

January is the most awful month in the whole world. WHO EVEN CAME UP WITH THIS MONTH?

There is absolutely nothing to be excited about in January. Unless you hate holidays and love the bitter cold. Then party on.

I feel as if eeeveryone has the January funk, this year. That would be all good and jolly if that was the latest dance craze (I'm sending myself to the corner for that joke) BUT. IT'S. NOT. It's lame and awful and lame and I cannot wait until February because that means Valentine's Day and that means I can throw heart shaped things at everyone. YESSSS. Last year, I wanted to karate chop every single couple holding hands apart just because I was slightly bitter. This year I still want to do it...because I still think it would be fun.

But I digress. A lot.

This particular January has been especially weird because the weather has been flinging itself around. Just a week ago, it was snowing. Today it was in the 60s and stormy, yesterday it was SEVENTY. Whaaaa? I don't know. Apparently January forgot it was January and is trying to be March. YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE MARCH, JANUARY. NEVER.

Anyways. Put on some warm socks (this phrase is in no way a thing, but I'm making it a thing) because I have compiled as list of ways to handle January's insecurity. Even though there are only two days of January left. But whatever. RAINY DAY COPING MECHANISMS, GO.

(i love you, warm polka dot socks. i do.)

Basically, this includes socks (but we've already covered that...that being feet. with socks.), twinkly lights, many blankets, Arcade Fire, and a recipe for muffins. bald cupcakes.

Earl Grey Poppy Seed Muffins:

ingredients:
4 Earl Grey Tea bags (or about 4 tsp loose tea leaves)
(1 cup) milk
(2 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
(3/4 cup) sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
(1 stick plus 1 more tbsp) butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
To glaze or serve: marmalade or apricot jam

First of all, preheat that oven to 350°F and line a 12-hole cupcake pan with liners, OR folded squares of baking paper, if you want to get all fancy. Then warm the milk until it's almost boiling in a small saucepan, add tea bags, and set aside to infuse and cool. Place the flour, sugar and poppy seeds in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the milk/tea mixture, butter, and eggs and use a whisk to gently combine until smooth. After you spoon the batter into the cupcake pan, put the pan in the oven and have a 25 minute Arcade Fire dance party. THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO THE INTEGRITY OF THE MUFFINS. I REPEAT, ESSENTIAL. Try your best not to over-dance/over-bake them because they will explode. Not really, but you WILL have some dry muffins. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Finally, spread some apricot jam on those muffins and prepare to never want to eat anything else ever again. Seriously. 

(ESSENTIAL.)

After you have sufficiently stuffed yourself with muffins, I recommend curling up in your nest of a bed, turning on all the strings of fairy lights you have in your room, listening to the rain/ thunder, and taking a nap/ watching a movie. 

I wish I could marry my bed. 

And THAT is how you handle a rainy, not snowy, day in JANUARY. (let me reiterate that you need to pull yourself together, January.) I'm ready for you February. Valentine's Day and the anticipation of spring, HERE I COME! 

actuellement.

 

     

currently, I am...

loving: this weirdo transition my life has been in the last two weeks. Nothing worth noting has happened, but  boy do I feel it. Although I have been loving it, I also hate it times two.

reading: Franny and Zooey... I'm completely loving it so far, but I expect nothing less from J.D. Salinger. note: I'm still chugging along on The Hobbit, as well. I forgot about it for awhile, but I'm going to give it another go.

watching: Downton Abbey! The new season's started, and I've already fallen behind. Tonight has consisted of a marathon, and ohmygoodgollygosh, IS IT GOOD. Also, Chinese food. I ordered it tonight and hello good life choice.

anticipating: springspringspring. Winter has always been my absolute favorite season, but this year that isn't so. I'm so completely over it. I'm in a wintery slump. Bring on the spring weather!

listening to: oh, let me take this opportunity to present you lovelies with a PLAYLIIIISTTTT!

planning: You know, I'm more of a "fly by the seat of my pants" type of gal. ;) no but really.

working on: cleaning out my closet. RIDDING MYSELF OF CLUTTER. If only I wasn't severely attached to every single thing I own. This is bad.

wishing: to settle back into a groove. I had such a good one going, and then the holidays came and I haven't been able to settle into a new one! And I've just felt so OFF. HOLIDAYS, YOU THREW OFF MY GROOOVEEE.



Also, I want to apologize for my lack of blogging.... if my life were more interesting maybe I would have something to blog about. SIIIGH. I blame winter.

moins et plus.

Things I need to do less of:

worrying

biting my nails

picking at my cuticles

procrastinating

complaining

being a crankypants
talking about myself
making mountains out of molehills
eating DAIRY (maybe I should be vegan again. YES.)

buying things

being lazy

WORRYING

Things I need to do more of:

reading books

eating healthy

having solo dance parties
listening
appreciating myself and my lovely little life

doing laundry
enjoying

shaving my legs (ew gross, self)

throwing things away
being satisfied with what I have
keeping my room tidy

blogging more (ahem...)
practicing being a better daughter, sister, girlfriend, etc... basically just the best version of myself possible.
having more silly photoshoots, shamelessly. it's good for the soul.
making a conscious effort to be happy...
i'm learning that sometimes that doesn't just come,
even if you have the most fabulous circumstances.

also, this is my first blog post of the year.

2012 went by a little too fast for my taste.

2013, I hope you are as kind to me as 2012 was. 

We really were grand old friends, last year and I.

conversational meows.

You guys, it happened again. I had a moment with an animal last night. I'm beginning to think I'm the second coming of Eliza Thornberry or something.

Last night, as Michael and I were walking into his house, I spotted a cat across the street. So naturally...I meowed at it. And Michael was like, I think it just meowed back at you. I didn't hear it, so of course I meowed again. And it meowed. And I meowed. And it meowed. And we carried on like this for like FIVE MINUTES, just meowing back and forth. And then Michael tried meowing...and my kitty friend just stared. And then I meowed again after this... and it meowed AGAIN. It had a conversation with me and completely snubbed Michael. HA! It would start to walk away and then I would meow again and it would stop and turn around and meow. I just hope my meows were nice meows and I wasn't unknowingly telling it that it's mother is fat and has a catnip problem.

Let's not talk about the fact that I stood in my boyfriend's driveway conversationally meowing with a cat for a good five minutes.


p.s. I think I just beat the record for "most times using 'meow' in a blog post." I would like a plaque and an honorary place in the crazy cat lady hall of...meows.

things that say a lot about us.

"things that say a lot about people:
the way in which they treat the waiter/waitress
how they feel about the weather
whether they dog ear pages or highlight in books
fingernails
and hands in general
their preferred creative outlet
how much they dread/enjoy talking on the phone
whether or not they drink coffee
if they ever forget to eat
how honest they are with themselves (and others)
if they correct your grammar
and whether or not they get nervous before haircuts."
by this person

i. I tend to treat waiters and waitresses with cautious politeness. Cautiousness, because ordering food just makes me feel so awkward and nervous. I don't know why. But my heart thumps and I get nervous and my voice comes out really small, or at least I think it does. When I'm in a group, or even just with one other person, God forbid they let me order first. I like being very last, thank you. But I treat waiters and waitresses and really any other stranger with extreme extreme politeness and I like to say thank you a lot, because I know they probably had to deal with at least one extreme jerk that day. 

ii. When I think about it, I like all weather. I love a good, warm, summer day, I love rainy days, snow makes my heart happy, and who can resist frolicking in spring-ish weather?! Although, my curly hair and I LOATHE humidity. He is our biggest foe.

iii. My heart breaks every time I see a page in a book dog eared. Books should be treated with a ridiculous amount of care, really. Although I do love a well loved book. And I don't mind a highlighted book, or a book with notes in the margin. Again with the well loved thing!

iv. My nails are a hot mess, usually. I just painted them yesterday, and already, every single nail is chipped and picked at. I bite my nails. My cuticles are the worst. I have a horrid habit at picking at my nails when I'm nervous. Which is most of the time.

v. I have teeny tiny first grader hands. I'm judgemental about hands and feet so I'm really glad I like mine. They're extremely soft, and my fingertips are tough from years of playing the violin. I have permanent blisters on the palm of both hands from 4th grade when I taught myself to do the monkey bars. It was seriously THE only thing I would do at recess everyday, basically all year. I was so set on learning. And there is not much more I like than holding hands!

vi. Photography and writing are my creative outlets of choice. Writing, mostly. This semester, I've been taking a creative writing class, and it's been such a joy! I never enjoyed poetry, not even a little before this, but now that I've grown to really love it. And photography, well I love photography oh so much. I just haven't picked up my camera seriously, in awhile. I need to do that.

vii. I actually really enjoy talking on the phone, depending on with who it is. If it's someone I know very well, it's nice. If you can't see the person face to face, it's so much better than texting. I have a love-hate relationship with texting. It causes an unbelievable amount of worry and anxiety for me, in some cases, but at the same I just really love it. It's complicated. But I, just like everyone, prefer face to face over ANYTHING. 

viii. Oh coffee. Another love-hate relationship. It tastes so good, but it makes me so twitchy and I react to it so awfully. But that doesn't stop me from getting some every day before work. On Valentine's Day, I had the worst reaction to coffee that I ever had and I stopped drinking it for months. And then I had some a few months ago, and it's just been downhill from there. Curse you, Starbucks!

ix. It is a very, very rare occasion that I forget to eat. My life basically revolves around food. They don't call me the human garbage disposal for nothing!

x. I think I'm brutally honest with myself. I think. I don't know. I don't think I lie to myself to make myself feel better about things. If anything, I think it's the opposite. I get all panicky about things that I really know aren't true, but I convince myself they are true. I don't even know if that makes sense! And I know I am very, very honest with everyone. I don't really count this as dishonesty, but a lot of the time, it's so much easier to just tell people I'm fine than try to explain why I'm feeling blue. A lot of the time, I don't even know myself, so how the heck am I supposed to explain it to someone else?!

xi. I am awful about correcting people's grammar. I've gotten better about saying it out loud, but mentally, I always am correcting, If I said it out loud, I would have more enemies than friends. 

xii. Well, this is fortuitous timing! Yesterday, I had eight inches of hair cut off. I was a nervous wreck. I haven't had my hair this short in a very long while. I kept teetering back and forth between wanting to do it and backing down. But, I was surprisingly confident when I walked into my hair studio yesterday. I told my lovely stylist, Angie, that right then I was absolutely sure I wanted to do it, and that we had to get it over with quick before I changed my mind. Let me tell you, guys.... I have never ever loved my hair this much! It's so bouncy and swooshy and lovely. 

(sorry for the instagram picture. Anticipate a better picture in the next few days!)