the hills are allliiiivvveeeee

now.. the REAL reason for going to salzbug:

when i was 6 years old

my eldest sister, marelene, let me borrow her walkman

and her cassette of the sound of music soundtrack.

i listened to it on repeat.

when i finally watched the movie,

i already knew all of the words to the songs.

when i turned sixteen, i was ecstatic that i could finally sing that

i was "sixteen going on seventeen."

i was especially ecstatic when david turned 17 a month before me,

so that i could sing "you are seventeen going on eighteen"

and have the entire song be true to our ages.

now that i am 20 going on 21,

i still love the movie.

so when david and i were planning out our adventure route,

i asked to go to salzburg to fulfill my sound of music movie dreams :)

when we got there i wanted to do the sound of music tour,

but it was 38 euro per person,

and i didn't think it would be fair to make david listen

to the soundtrack on repeat on the bus

so i looked up the sites and found them on my own:

the mirabell gardens,

where maria and the kids sing "do a deer"

the above fountain can be seen here

and the plant arch thing is where they ride their bikes through :)

this is where maria and the kids stand during the same song,

as seen on the second photo of this blog post.

after running through the streets of salzburg from the abbey

to the von trapp mansion,

maria dances and sings along this house's walls

as seen briefly here, with some help

(watch it, it's funny)

there's a scene towards the end where the nazis are looking for the family

and the nuns hide the family in a cemetary.

that was filmed in hollywood...

but some tour guides say that it was filmed here.

nonnberg abbey

after maria leaves, the children go to the

abbey to try to find her.

gretl says, "we're looking for fräulein maria"

to the nun at this gate

i wanted to be liesl so badly!

so i was excited to twirl around in this

and sing "i am sixteen going on seventeen"

but it was locked :(

and i think it's just an imitation...

but it was still so cool to see!

hopefully i'll be able to go back with my family in the future :)

instant sunshine

today was a pretty normal day,
until i received my pen pal letter in the mail from angela beth...

then it was an AMAZING DAY.

i have felt this way for year and years,
and maybe this makes me a simple girl
but getting snail mail is pretty much instant sunshine in my book.

angela and i found each other through nicole's pen pal project
and i couldn't have asked for a sweeter pen pal.
just reading her cheerful letter brightens my day!

we make a funny pair because while i'm studying here in italy,
she just discovered that she has family over here
(in calabria (at the italian boot's tippy toes).. one of the most beautiful regions in italy...)
and will hopefully be coming here this summer (:

now... to write back...

preview

last night i went to go see paramore at the warfield in san francisco. i have a lot of homework to do so i will dedicate a blog to the concert this weekend, but here's a shot from the night. pretty good considering i was in the balcony? more to come <3

things

lately things have been overwhelming so i thought i would take

a few minutes to make a happiness list.

{via cococake}

1. this cupcake photo/ idea

2. white christmas lights

3. checking errands off a "to do" list

4. chocolate pudding

5. phone calls, however brief, just to say, "hello"

6. full moons

7. visitors who stop by to chat

8. no longer needing a brace but still driving a golf cart around campus

9. surprise birthday plans

10. my "the office" daily calendar

list of happiness

i've been inspired to write this list because of this lovely blog, but decided to extend it a little because.. well i just couldn't resist.

1. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
2. stationary and writing letters
3. tulips and tea parties
4. the sound of my mother's sewing machine
5. finding the right words
6. being speechless
7. cooking with david
8. "dancing in the moonlight" - the song and the action
9. fall foliage
10. old couples holding hands
11. being in love
12. greek
13. jim and pam on the office
14. remembering how much my family loves me
15. and how much i love them
16. baking
17. perfectly imperfect photographs
18. being organized
19. allowing myself to be unorganized
20. the oakland a's
21. swings
22. chai tea lattes
23. rain[e]
24. getting things done
25. the fact that david's arms feel like home