I'll leave you with a quote...

"She decided that even if she got hurt,

there were certain things she

was going to do.

One was to hop on rocks across streams,

another was to love."

Heather Handler

Photo: Here

Obsession: Coffee

i have a love affair going on... with coffee. this love affair is definitely the longest one for me. it's been going on since 7th grade. every morning since then, i have made, found, or just latched on to some form of coffee. you might say it's the only thing to wake me up in the morning.

with me being away in college, finding a good coffee place is definitely a new priority. but in the mornings i don't feel like getting up early enough to walk to the coffee place. so this weekend i fired up the coffee maker in our room and have been drinking my beautiful, wonderful coffee in my personalized mug. this silent morning time with just me and my coffee has brought a sense of peace that i didn't think would be possible in college.

so thank you coffee. please don't ever leave me.

Today

today...

i will notice the good in others. not look for flaws.

i will walk alone confidently knowing i am never truly alone.

and i will smile.

(the new TODAY series)

Home

Today was difficult at times. I drank coffee and then got home sick. Simple as that.

It may have been because i was drinking out of a mug made by the best friend or because coffee made with your own coffee maker reminds me of home, but all i know is that i missed my home for a bit.

i knew this would come though. so i guess i was some what prepared. but overall, i'm happy. i am. want to know why i'm happy right now?

i'm watching The Family Stone, dreaming of christmas, snow, love, and the music in this movie is enough to make anyone happy.

A Voice

Sometimes a voice is so wonderful, that you want to bottle it up and keep it forever. You want it for those moments when you need some inspiration or just something soothing to listen to.

John Krasinski has one of those voices for me. I could hear him talk all. day. long. Want to join me by listing to him talk? Please hold off on thinking I'm crazy until you've watched the video below. Oh, and the link too because it's the cutest scene from Something Borrowed. :)

Click here!

You're welcome.

Blissfully happy

have you ever been wonderfully happy? so happy you feel you could burst? the kind of happiness that surrounds you and makes you warm like a blanket in the wintertime.

as i sat there last night, listening to the sweet, beautiful rain drops fall outside my old window with bricks in sight, reading a fantastic essay, (read it, I promise it's good) i realized how happy i was in that moment. after a hot, hot day with no end in sight, this unexpected dream called rain occurred. there are just some moments that catch you when you least expect it and they hold on tight.

those are the best. those, i live for.

What I'm loving/dreading

What I'm not loving:

PHoto: Here

Really, only one thing... desert heat. It's the worst. Running to my next

class with only 10 minutes in between is crazy. I end up arriving to class

feeling disgusting and hating all the other students who look all refreshed.

Meh.

But one of the nicer things are the warm evenings. Those I'll keep.

What I'm loving:

Photo: Here

My pretty beach bike that I can see from my window but

have yet to ride around campus on.

Photo: Here

Blueberry Odwalla's! They are so good! I actually don't like plain

blueberries but in an Odwalla, I'll have them any day.

Photo: Here

Exercise! I know, whaaa? Exercise?! But honestly, it has calmed me

and made me perkier at times. Plus it's fun working out with our little group

we formed. Today my friend Seth and I did 30 push ups (hey, they were hard)

and our goal is to eventually work towards 50! I love goals. :)

So that my friends, is what I'm loving/ not loving right now.

Now I should go back to my homework. Lord knows I've

got enough.

Dear Mr. Nice Guy,

Where are you?

I really hope this experience through college has me meet you... finally. Until then, I'll be anxiously waiting. And waiting...

If you decide to show yourself, care to give me a sign? Because I'm not the best at just throwing my heart at anyone. Honestly, I haven't thrown my heart to anyone yet. But I'd be willing to make an exception for you, Mr. Nice Guy.

Please get back to me.

Sincerely,

Allie

So This is College

I am all moved in! Granted, I want to put some twinkly lights up (who says you need it to be Christmas?) and I think we might get a curtain for my window, but I love my dorm room.

The dorm is one of the oldest on campus and has so much character. I am in a triple and so we have a large room with one bed and two desks (my bed and one of the desks is mine) and then a back room with two beds and one desk. It's spacious and we have 5 windows! So much natural sunlight!

Oh, and classes start tomorrow! Ah! Wish me luck please! :)

I was mapping out my route today but it looks like I'm going to be having quite the trek some days. Oh jeez. For now, here are some pictures of the room:

desk

bed area (the framed wall areas are amazing!)

side wall

Have a great day/night/afternoon!

So Long, Farewell

Tonight, I leave for college. COLLEGE! (insert screaming here)

We are leaving at 2am (yay! sarcasm) and have a long 14-15 hour drive ahead of us. Good job Allie for choosing Arizona. But to keep us busy, my sister and I are going to be watching season 4 of Gilmore Girls. You know, the season Rory goes to college. It's only oh, so appropriate.

bag with all my workout clothes, shoes, undergarments and Gilmore Girls

4 bags of clothes.

all the other good stuff.

I will continue blogging once I'm settled in and then you can expect a dorm room post!

A Day Carefully Planned

Yesterday, Katie and I met up to have one last full day to hang out before we both leave for college on Friday. We both made lists of everything we loved doing since we've been best friends and then throughout the day, we crossed off items and even added some more.

We made a wish list for college.

We visited our favorite Karma Cafe and their yummy cheese and fruit platters.
Katie with our lemonade smoothies with real lemons. None of this fake stuff.

Discovered Katie's pears on her platter were shaped as a heart.

And got gelato from the place down the street. Hers chocolate and mine espresso bean.

I'm going to miss that girl. :( And I honestly can't believe I leave in 2 days. Holy bezeesus.

Good-bye Room

Do you remember when I posted this post about my beloved room? Well, my friends, that room is no more. The other day, I sadly took everything off the walls and all signs of a well lived life in this room are gone.

Needless to say, there were tears. But now I am just trying to think forward to decorating a new room (my dorm!) and also the new room I'll be living in when I come home (sisters old room!).

In the end, I know change is good. And change that is difficult, is even better. Those are the moments when one grows as a person. I'm looking forward to some growth. :)

Also, Nat King Cole singing to me on my record player right helps a little bit too.

Photo: Here

Something That Moved Me: The Help

while my mom and i were in Newport, we went and saw The Help. we both read the book and fell in love and knew that once the movie came out, we had to see it. and let me tell you, it was everything i could have ever expected.

i cried, laughed, and smiled throughout. it was brutally honest, real, and the characters were tangible. it made me sick to my stomach thinking back to such a time in our country's history and i felt better educated for seeing this star of a film.

if you have the time, i'd go see the film. it's truly worth it.

Newport Getaway

Newport was everything I expected and more than I expected. my mom and i laughed, ate a lot, and got hit on by cute bus boys. :) oh, and some Sprinkles cupcakes were definitely consumed also.

i've always been told the ocean is the ultimate cure and this week definitely cemented that phrase for me.

Obsessions: Brick Walls

i sense a new recurring topic here on the blog and i'll call it... obsessions!

So today, the obsession is brick. Though, anyone that sees me all the time would know that brick is an obsession that is nothing new. I talk about it... a lot. I can't even pin point why I love it so very, very much but the love is there and it is strong.

My dream is to have a few brick walls in my house because I find that they are a great focal point. There is something so classy and sophisticated about them. But having my whole outside of my house being brick would be lovely also. :)

Here are some pictures found on Pinterest that I just love! The ones with the wall behind the beds being brick is absolute love.

In other news, I packed away my twinkly lights and picture frames for college yesterday. Slowly but surely I'll be moving out of here. And today I'm heading to Newport with my mom! So excited!

Have a great Tuesday!

Panic

i am panicing. Not going to lie about this. literally, i feel a panic attack coming on at any moment. it'll sneak up on me and like rain clouds rolling in, the tears will flow... and flow.

i wish this leaving thing was easier. i wish i didn't feel so undeniably close to my friends right now. i wish i could find a balance between spending time with my family and friends. i feel like these friends, if i don't keep watch and hold on tightly, will fall through the cracks and disappear. and i'm terrified.

i have exactly 3-4 real days left with friends and so much more i want to do.

Lord give me strength.

Letting Go

you see that rushing water next to me? that's a waterfall. in my dads hiking guidebook it said you could expect a small trickle during mid summer, yet this is what we saw. water was flowing at such a high speed. it was beautiful.

i figure that you can always be expecting something. expecting a small trickle of water, a sunny day, a good day for that matter, and sometimes (let's be real, most of the time) what we expect is never what really happens. but those are always the best adventures.

even for me, the biggest planner of all, i find those little unexpected adventures the best. i believe God has a way of waking us up a bit by surprising us with these adventures. it's His way of saying, "don't worry about it. you can't plan every little thing."

and that initial letting go is the hardest... but completely worth it.

Home Away from Home

Tahoe was crazy beautiful. But isn't it always?

Being with all my closest friends once again was unreal. Like pinch me, can life be this great, kind of unreal.

(see pictures below)

hike view

group shot

But then reality tends to hit you upside the head and wake you up a little bit. Or is that just me? Does it happen to you too?

I messed up a bit today and got into a wee bit of trouble and boy, was it harsh. But my sister and I decided to make the best of it and we ended up having a great evening.

"When life hands you lemons you make lemonade" kind of stuff. The best type of moments.

New Beginnings

have you heard the song "Closing Time" by Semisonic? it has a great

line that goes "every new beginning comes from

some other beginnings end." beautiful right? Sounds

simple but honestly, had you thought of that before?

my last day of work was yesterday and boy, am i happy, but

it also means i'm one step closer to my truly new beginning.

no more tip jars that i say are for my college fund but really,

it's for my play money (movies, food etc.) let's

be real.

My coworker brought me balloons to mark the occasion (because

she's literally a saint. not joking) and i got a wee bit emotional.

no tears or anything but i decided i may miss my job.

a little bit. this newfound freedom till i leave though?

that's going to be wonderful!

so friends, here's to new beginnings! cheers!