saturday brunch

I don't seem to get much quality time in the kitchen as of late. This isn't to say I haven't been eating (quite the opposite, really) but that breakfast and lunch at work mean I don't really have to plan food ahead at home. It also means I don't have a lot to eat at home.

Oftentimes having scarce ingredients leads me to abandon my cooking venture altogether, but lately, I've had Tamar Adler's voice in my mind saying, "Don't go out and buy more ingredients. Use what you have."

So on Saturday morning I did just that. A feta salad and truffle-poached eggs over toast








... in bed.

libraries

I've always felt the perfect mix of awe, overwhelming and excitement whenever I'm in libraries. Especially big ones. Or ones in Europe. Or big ones in Europe. Even though tomorrow is only my second day of classes, I'm already tired of reading because I'm obligated to.* I can't wait for the day that I can go into a library and pick whatever I want to read because I have time and energy for pleasure-reading. It's going to be glorious.

*Welcome to my life as an English and Classics double major.

son of a witch

I will admit that my goal to read more this summer hasn't been met with the same fervor that I'd hoped for, but I finally did finish reading Son of a Witch and I can't say enough good things about Gregory Maguire. This book is the sequel to Wicked, a book that I picked up as soon as I finished watching the musical it inspired in San Francisco.

For those of you who haven't read the original novel, I will say that the book is different than the musical. Both are the story of Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West, but the musical and novel approach her story differently. Anyway, Son of a Witch is exceptionally written. I literally finished it this morning and immediately went to the library to get the third volume of the series!

Also, sorry this is really vague and doesn't tell you much about the story itself. I, myself, hate to know even the general plot of things before I read them, so this is more of a suggestion to read with my guarantee that it will be good and worth your time. Happy September!

your thoughts on books

just a little while ago, david and i were talking about this summer (no, it's not summer for us yet. we still have classes for our study abroad programs and won't be home until july 24th). we both agreed that we wanted to read a lot so we're hoping to make lots of trips to the library once we get back.

what are your absolute favorite books?

or, just some books you read recently and really liked?
we need some literary inspiration (:

{my photo of the corpus christi library in oxford}

welcome to my room!

{i wear christmas socks year round...}

these past few days have been relatively uneventful, so i thought i would take the opportunity to show you my humble little room. it's not very big but it seems very spacious to me because of its high walls and the open space at the center of the room.

what you see when you first enter the room.

the first half of the room.

bookshelf of students past. including but not limited to

the great gatsby,

a walk to remember,

and the perks of being a wallflower-

some of my favorites.

ender's game is also there, to remind me of david.

surely, this is destiny.

cozy little desk complete with journal, polaroid of raine, and a card from my sister <3

a photo taken by my host father.

it's actually 4 photos put together to make 1 whole.

i think it's amazing.

the other corner of the room.

i love that there is art everywhere in this house

closets weren't originally built with apartments in florence. so we get these cute little cabinets. this is my whole wardrobe for the next 6 months (give or take a few travel purchases...)

the view from my window.

to the left, the way to the train station.

to the right, the piazza santa maria novella.

the several-century-year-old fresco on the ceiling.

it's fairly simple, but i think it makes my room unique.

weekend

i'm currently in santa cruz, spending the long weekend with david

before i go home and have thanksgiving with my family.

in the mean time i'm enjoying santa cruz.

i went to school here last year, and it was nice being surrounded

by something so beautiful all of the time.

on saturday i went to caffe pergolesi

downtown there are quaint houses everywhere

and during autumn they look even more charming.

hopefully i'll be able to share them with you soon.

favorite movie scenes

lately i've been feeling a lack of motivation, a little,

when it comes to school and today started to think about

things that i inexplicably love.

that genre of things, however, is a little too broad,

so i thought today i'd narrow it down a lot and post my

three favorite movie clips:

#3

pride and prejudice (2005)

well, my favorite scene from this movie is actually when

darcy helps elizabeth into the carriage and upon hand contact

there's an immediate connection between the two-

and as darcy walks back you get this shot of his hand that shows

he just felt something electric.

but.. i couldn't find that on youtube :(

but this ending scene is a close second for me.

especially that they agree that they are both

"perfectly and incandescently happy"

#2

breakfast at tiffany's (1961)

this movie is one of my favorites.. if not my absolute favorite ;)

after the whole movie, though, i think that the greatest scene is

when paul finds holly singing "moon river" in the fire escape.

this whole clip is so beautiful to me.

#1

beauty and the beast (1991)

although this isn't my favorite movie,

this IS my favorite moment in all of cinema.

maybe it's stemmed in my love of books and classic things

(or just plain nerdiness?)

but when beast surprises belle with the library,

and i see the shots at 1:03 and 1:05

i just swoon.

it makes me really regret not seeing this in imax.

what are your favorite movie scenes?

slightly unrelated

but, i want to post again and this is the closest news related to travel that i have. for the classes i'm taking abroad, i needed to buy a few books, one being a reader which is only available at one store.. in los angeles.

i'm currently in santa cruz.

well after telling me it was not available to purchase over the phone, the bookstore told me i needed to fill out an online form. the form they sent, that i filled out and sent back, "was not the full application." also, not that i really want to get into this or anything, but their idea of sounding sophisticated and professional only leads to confusing and non-English.

on the brighter(?) side of things, i finished two finals today... although i don't think i did very well. i have an italian final tomorrow, a greek final on wednesday, and 2 papers to finish before friday. this is probably the most hectic finals week i've ever had.