friday five

1.

yesterday we had our first day of sun!

it didn't last long, but it was refreshing to see blue skies.

2.

the city lights haven't gone away yet! although they'll probably go down this weekend... but they're still so pretty to see. i was thinking of starting a petition asking the city government to keep the lights up year-round? well, not seriously.. but they are so gorgeous. i can't get enough.

3.

last night we had a little field trip to galileo's house. it was very.. empty. and the tour was in italian so i didn't understand much, but i will say that it was very cool to be there and to know that's where he stayed (even if it was by force under house arrest).

4.

bottled water- sparkling and flat

prosciutto

penne with bolognese & ricotta ravioli

roasted chicken & bistecca florentina

some delicious chocolate and custard creation

after the house tour, we had a scrumptious dinner sponsored by donors of stanford's study abroad program. it was wonderful- and 4 courses. the italians really know how to eat!

5.

wednesday was a holiday - la epifania - so i had the day to myself to explore. during my trek around the town center, i kept running into couples holding hands. i guess its super creepy of me to have this picture, but i absolutely love seeing older couples. they warm my heart.

friday five

1.

13 days until europe!

i'm flying out on new year's eve and am slightly anxious, slightly terrified, slightly ready.

i'm going to meet this darling girl in rome

and from there we're going to head up to florence where

we'll be for the next 3 months!

and two nights ago david and i just booked

3 nights in paris

for our adventures together in late march/ early april

i can't believe this is actually happening.

{via Giampaolo Macorig}

2.

a few days ago i saw this beautiful photo

from johanna at whirly bird

(she has a wonderful blog!)

so i thought i'd give it a try...

fail.

my lens aperture doesn't go low enough

(which i found out after johanna & kurt kindly gave me tips)

but i did get this photo when i experimented

with the city lights from my porch.

i couldn't get the hearts that i wanted

so i sort of forced my aperture to give me hearts

and they came out upside down..

and i kind of like it (:

3.

i would like to introduce you to my dear friend camille.

as you can see, she's not part of the blogger community

but she has an amazing tumblr

and she always finds the most beautiful things.

and, she's in love with

"beauty and the beast" & "breakfast at tiffany's"

just like i am

so she always posts GREAT photos from those two movies

love her <3

4.

yesterday i babysat my other niece, raiza.

she is adorable.

and she is extra cute when

her sister, raine, is trying to take care of her.

5.

i'm headed to windsor for the weekend

with david and his parents

a vacation within a vacation?

it feels weird not being in school

and having no stress

but i think i can get used to it :)

7 days 'til Christmas!!!

friday five

1.

as of 10:30 this morning.. i am done with autumn quarter!
this quarter was kicking my butt and i had my toughest final this morning.
now i can focus on planning for europe!

2.

can i just say reiterate how much i believe that everything works out in the end?
i came to campus this year knowing nothing about where i was living,
who my roommate was, what the other people were going to be like
and living in my co-op has
introduced me truly wonderful people
and reinstates my belief that true, genuine people exist.

3.

of the wonderful people i met,
one sent me this video while i was suffering-- i mean studying..



watch this. it WILL make your day.

4.

today was my last day at work for one of my jobs.

we had a tea party with hot apple cider and russian pastries.

best last day of work ever :)

5.

and last but not least, raine says "happy holidays!"

{first two photos via weheartit}

friday five

every friday, one of my favorite authors posts a "friday five" on her blog.

about everything and anything, and i love what she has to share.

so i thought i'd adopt the idea myself:

1.

finals week is fast approaching. luckily i survived this past week, and only have a paper, and 2 finals left. these 2 finals are going to be brutal, though. however, i cannot wait for noon next friday. why, you ask? freedom, that's why :)

2.

i live in a co-op on campus and my cooking job as a resident is to bake bread from scratch once a week. these are the before and afters of what i made last night. super easy crescent rolls. i thought they were pretty tasty.

3.

one of my favorite things about baking is that i'm forced to spend time in our communal kitchen for a long amount of time. while i'm there, i get to run into people and hang out with whoever else is cooking. my friend, jireh, was making some indonesian barbeque last night and while i was baking he started boiling some lemon grass. he then add a ton of honey and poured me a glass of delicious iced-lemon-grass-honey-tea. delicious, and so very-sweet of him.

4.

yesterday while i was waiting for my 6 o'clock section to start i ran into my friend, karmia. we lived in the same hall as freshmen but hadn't seen each other for more than a year, and like magic, i ran into her. i guess running into people is really common, but it felt so good to reconnect with someone i adore so much. she is also a published poet. she's amazing.

5.

{via joy williams}

last and finally, i was wondering if i could get some input from my [few, but very important] readers. i'm leaving to study abroad in florence this january, and then going to oxford in april. in between sessions, i have a 3-week period free to travel and do as i please. magically, david is also studying abroad [in germany] in april, but is coming early and we're going to explore parts of western europe during that time together.

i grew up watching "the sound of music" and thought that austria would be a beautiful place to visit. my thoughts were reaffirmed when i found the above picture in joy williams' adventure blog.

do you have any suggestions on where to go, or are there places you've always hoped to visit?

i hope the weekend finds you well <3