irish day approaches!

Oh my gosh you guys, can you believe that there are only 7 days until St Patrick's day and I have not gushed about it yet? If you have been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I am obsessed with all things holiday. I love celebrating, dressing up, decorating, making themed food and drink, watching holiday movies, making holiday playlists, I love holidays! And that love of holidays is written all over this blog in the form of coutdowns.

I've made a St. Patrick's Day countdown before, although it got kind of broken up because it was the first month of this blog and I flew from Portland to Arizona on st patricks day- so I didn't really have the time or motivation to write out my post on time. Also, I left my camera cord in prescott so when I got back to portland I couldn't put up any st paddy's day pictures. And lastly, that countdown was all about food, something I am totally not against whatsoever, but I think I could expand on it a bit :)

And so, in honor of St Patrick's Day 2011, I am going to be making yet another countdown. hooray!! I love this holiday so, so much. I'm a hefty percentage of Irish, and I love any excuse to have a big ol' celebration. There have been some really great years in the past and I'm sure this one will outdo them all!

The countdown will be 5 days long and will start in 3 days (the 13th) and end on March 17th. Here's what you can expect:

Day 1:Tunes
Day 2:Flicks
Day 3:Potations
Day 4: Irish Eats
Day 5: Throwing a St Paddy's Day Celebration

yay :) exciting. I've got some mighty fine ideas a-brewin', so get ready! Happy Irish week everyone!

<3
Em

How to Couch-Hop Successfully

Edit: This has become one of my most viewed/searched posts! So I'd like to add a little disclaimer: When I wrote this I was in the middle of a long and very frustrating period of time where someone was living on my couch and not doing so very successfully, as I've put it in the title. My irritation definitely comes through in my writing, but I didn't really think about it or notice it until rereading this post much later! So please don't take this post as being accusatory or harsh... It really is meant to be informative and all the tips ARE very important things to remember when couch hopping if you want to be on good terms with your hosts. Hopefully you can find the humor in my snarky attitude as I now find the humor in that crappy situation! If you're couch hopping, the best of luck to you!

I'm writing this not because I've done a lot of couch hopping in my day, but because I've received a few couch hoppers and I've figured out what they do right and what they do very, very wrong in their situation. Most people who read this probably won't have to couch hop very often if at all but if you do these tips can come in handy. Most of this is about how to not piss off the people letting you sleep on their couch so that you a. can sleep there again, and b. don't lose friends.

1. Remember that you are couch-hopping. This means you are hopping from couch to couch, not planting yourself on one couch indefinitely. The key is multiple couches. You'd be surprised at how many people will try to get around this.

2. Before you get yourself into a couch-hopping situation (if you have a choice about the matter that is), make sure you know at least 3 people who would be willing to let you live on their couch for 1-2 weeks. Don't decide to move somewhere all spur-of-the-moment and only call one friend there and ask to stay for a bit. The more people willing to take you in, the less annoyed each of those people will get with you.

3. Make a time agreement with your hosts before you arrive. The longest you should ask to stay any one place is two weeks, with one week being the best amount of time. Don't be vague- as good of friends with these people as you may be, they're still paying the rent as well as the utilities that you use while you're there. They are going to want to know when they can expect to have their couch back.

4. Cycle. This is where the above tips all become especially useful. If you have called multiple people beforehand and made reasonable time agreements, you can ask your hosts if they would be willing to let you cycle back around to them. Meaning, you spend 1-2 weeks on each person's couch, giving each host a 2-4 week period when they don't have to deal with you. See, you're hopping. from couch to couch. couch hopping.

5. Don't think of this as a permanent situation. If you want to spend the next six months sleeping on different people's couches, you better have a lot of people willing to take you in. Couch hopping is supposed to be something you do while you are trying to get back on your feet. So, you should be actively getting a job, working, and looking for apartments while you are living on someone's couch.

6. Seriously, get a job. Not only will you have extra cash to buy yourself food/pay your host/start saving for a place of your own/buy yourself stuff, you will get out of the house and let your host have some time in their house to themselves.

7. Don't ask for food. If your host doesn't offer it, they probably don't want you to eat it. If they do offer it, don't go crazy and eat everything. Look, this might sound harsh- if you're couch hopping you're probably broke and starving anyways- but that doesn't mean your host can afford to feed you. They're already giving you a roof over your head, and they are the ones that have to pay for that roof. Don't expect them to feed you too.

8. Pay in some way. Whether it's by doing chores, buying food, or by paying in actual cash, do something to make up for the space and money you're costing. Think about it this way: you are getting a place to live- probably with a comfy place to sleep, access to a kitchen and bathroom, and controlled heating. Your host is getting nothing in return. Not exactly a fair trade- so try to pay in some way.

9. Think about utilities. Ask your hosts what they pay for. If they don't have to pay for any utilities then feel free to go to town, but if they do don't be taking 30 minute showers or leaving all the lights/the tv/the computer on while you're not there/sleeping. Unless you are giving your host money to pay for utilities, you shouldn't be using more than you absolutely have to.

10. Don't try to hang out all the time. If you're couch hopping, chances are you have a lot of free time. The same might not be true for your host. Odds are they have work, school, or other responsibilities and they don't have time to always be hanging out with you when you're bored.

11. Do try to make new friends! go out to coffee shops, shows, community events, whatever. Getting out is the best way to make new friends, stumble on job/living opportunities, and get to know your new city.

12. If all else fails, turn to family. If you can't stick to cycling couches or paying your hosts in some way, you need to go back to the people who will take care of you no matter what. A lot of people who couch hop do so because they don't want to live with their family anymore, but if you can't couch hop successfully you shouldn't be making your friends pay for it. You might not like living with your family but chances are they will still take care of you.

13. Don't make it awkward for the host. If they ask you for money (if you are staying longer than you first agreed upon) or ask you to leave, do so graciously. If you can't pay the money, go to a different couch. If you are asked to move out, do so by the day requested and bring all your stuff with you. Your host's apartment is not your storage unit any more than it is your apartment.

14. Stay safe. Don't look for couches to sleep on on craigslist (unless you check the person out a lot beforehand) and don't go off to any stranger's house. If you planned ahead and found several people willing to take you in, this shouldn't be a problem. Unless of course all those people kicked you out- in which case refer to tip number 12.

15. Follow that old scouts camping rule- leave the place looking better than it did before you came. This means, wash a dish if you use it. Clean up your messes. Make sure the living room still looks like a living room, not like your bedroom.

There you go. If you follow these tips you should be able to couch hop without making your hosts hate you. Couch hopping can be something you do out of necessity or something you do for fun, but either way you have to remember that you are asking a great deal from people to sustain your current lifestyle. Be responsible and remember that even though you don't have to pay rent, your host does. The last thing someone wants to do while couch hopping is lose all their friends, so be respectful!

Happy couch hopping :)

Happy Mardi Gras!

Bonjour mon chers! Aujourd'hui est Mardi Gras, ou "Fat Tuesday". C'est une celébration très magnifique! Mon cheveux est dans un chignon français pour l'occasion.

Just kidding. If you can't read my cryptic french or are too lazy to go to google translate, the above says
"Hello my dears! Today is Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday". It's a very magnificent holiday! My hair is in a french bun for the occasion".

Mardi Gras is such an awesome holiday! Doesn't it just sound like the most fun idea? Huge street parties with plastic beads and cakes with sugar sprinkles and french creole food and all sorts of other fun stuff. The problem is that it's really hard to capture all that fun the farther away you are from New Orleans... which for me is pretty far. I've tried to throw a couple mardi gras parties in my day, although usually they coincide with someone's birthday or the superbowl so it becomes a joint party. This year I don't have time to go all out with a party, but I decided to do something fun and festive anyways. How do jello shots minus the alcohol because it's a tuesday sound?

Of course, if you want you can add in the alcohol. But if you leave it out it can be a cute little kid-friendly dessert! The idea with these was to make them look like confetti/jewels- because there's a whole lot of both at Mardi Gras! They are also in the colors of green, purple, and gold (the traditional colors of mardi gras). If I had had time I would have bought clear unflavored gelatin and played around with mardi-gras flavors, maybe concocting some sort of jello shot cocktail taste-a-like. However, I did not have time. I ran to the store after dropping stew off at school because I needed floss, and then I noticed the jello aisle. Turns out fry's does not carry plain gelatin. who knew? so anyways, grape, lime, and lemon it is.

At the end, you can go simple and sophisticated with squares, or go all out using cookie cutters or a knife to make creative shapes. You can also decorate them with colored sugar to make them sparkle!

Here's how ya do it:

These are incredibly simple. Hello, it's jello. A four year old can make this stuff.
What you need:
1 pack yellow jello
1 pack green jello
1 pack purple jello
3 cups boiling water
1/2 cup milk/soymilk
colored sugar sprinkles for decorating
2.5 cups cold water OR
1/2 cup water
2 cups vodka

you will also need:
a medium mixing bowl
two medium sized square containers. Just the right size so that when you pour one prepared package of jello into it the liquid comes up to one inch.

1. Begin by making your green and purple jellos. These will need to set completely before you can make your gold jello. To make, bring two cups of water to a boil. In separate mixing bowls or one at a time, measure one cup of boiling water and combine with the contents of each jello package. Stir for about a minute or until dissolved.

2.  Add one cup of cool water to each batch and stir. Pour into separate square containers, cover, and move to the fridge for four hours or until firm.

If you are making alcoholic shots: Pour 1/4 cup of water into each batch of jello. stir and wait about 5 minutes to let the mixture cool a bit. Then add 3/4 cup vodka to each batch and stir. Pour each batch into separate square containers. Cover and move to the fridge for four hours or until firm. 

3. Once firm, remove the jello from the fridge and cut into neat one inch squares.

4. Begin making the gold jello. Boil one cup of water and add it to the contents of your third jello package. Once again, stir until dissolved.

5. Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup cool water to the jello. stir, and let cool for about ten minutes.

If you are making alcoholic shots: replace the 1/2 cup cool water for 1/2 cup vodka.

6. When the jello is slightly warmer than luke warm, pour it into a slightly larger square dish. Add the squares of green and purple jello and stir so that there is some variety is position. Cover and chill for an additional 3-4 hours.

7. Cut the jello into two inch cubes and garnish with colored sugar sprinkles. Serve and enjoy!

Hope you guys have a fun mardi gras. Celebrate in some way! It's the little things like these holidays and opportunities to celebrate that make life so fun :)

(I might put up pics later, but my jello isn't totally set yet and I don't want it to be all deflated and goopy in the pics!)

30 Day Challenge- 30

 Day 30 - Your highs and lows of this month.

So... I started this thing on January 14th which means it took me almost 2 months to complete it! meh, whatever. I'll just go over the highs and lows of the last two months.

Lows aren't as much fun so I'll start with those.
- losing my wonderful grandmother. that's definitely the biggest low.
- having to deal with someone living on my couch. so sucky!
- losing a long-time friend because of a misunderstanding
- not having fun at the 2.11 celebrations
- leaving my camera in phoenix. such a bummer! I'll have it back by next friday so i can start posting non-phone-camera pics again haha.

that's enough of that. now for the highs!
- spending time with family that I don't often get to see
- finding out I'm going to greece!
- doing quite well in school
- meeting some new people in the blog world
- having great times with stewie, like going to the zoo for valentine's day and going on hikes and watching endless episodes of buffy, scrubs, that 70s show, and psych.

yay :) 5 and 5- not a bad two months. whew, i must say that I'm relieved this thing is over! It was fun, but also quite time consuming and I felt guilty the first few times I skipped days. I got over that pretty quickly though haha. Maybe I'll do another one in the future, but probably not for a while. anyways, thanks for sticking around and reading the posts! Let me know if you're doing a challenge on your blog so I can check it out and see your responses ^^

<3
Em

some links to kick off your week

 Yknow, I spend a fair amount of time stumbling- both on my computer or on my phone when I'm stuck somewhere waiting for something- and yet for some reason I never fill you guys in on the cool stuff I find. I know a lot of bloggers do links posts every so often, so I thought I might as well join the club. Here are some fun, pretty, cool, humorous, or delicious links to kick off your week and help you procrastinate this monday :)

I have been dying to make this concord grape and rosemary focaccia ever since I realized there are several very abundant rosemary bushes on campus that are just asking to be trimmed and put into delicious meals. Too bad Tucson seems to be devoid of concord grapes!

Stewie and I drink a TON of tea, so it's always fun finding cool tea accessories. Some of them seem pretty pointless (like the tea light) but others (like the tea bag coffin mug) seem pretty cool!

I really love this idea. Basically I love turning anything into a chalkboard anything :)


This list of life secrets and tips was really interesting. There are some great ideas there, like meditate every day, adjust your sleep schedule, come up with a life mantra, and read something inspirational every day. Some useful advice!

This wedding is full of crafty, beautiful, DIY touches. So pretty and so many good ideas- for any event!

How much would you love to spend two weeks here? looks like the ultimate tropical getaway. Soooo beautiful. And probably soooo expensive :)

You've probably already seen this viral video, but I think it is the cutest thing ever!!

This is my go-to bread recipe. It makes a ton and is really flexible- you can add garlic, dried fruit, herbs, olives, whatever. Also, it's vegan!

I really like this break down of restaurant types. I definitely agree with the thing about limited menu options vs everything under the sun- it's such a pet peeve of mine when people on yelp mark a restaurant down because there arent a gazillion menu options. It's way better to do a few things really well than 100 things mediocre!

This game shows pictures of objects from famous movies and you have to guess what the movie is hangman style. Fun :)

This vintage 50s dress from etsy is so pretty. Too bad 150$ is basically how much I can afford to spend on clothes a year!

There ya go! Hope you have a great week :)

Love,
Em

Movie Mondays: Camille

I promised you guys a non-psychological thriller/drama for this week, so here you go! I saw Camille floating around on netflix for a while, but I never watched it because the girl in the red wig weirded me out. I don't know why. It just looked lie one of those indie films that makes you go "huh" and "meh" at the end. Yeah, yeah, don't judge a film by it's cover...

Well anyways I finally got around to reading what it was actually about, and that perked up my interest. And the wig is there for a reason! It wasn't just some strange indie costume designer's brilliant idea. I also figured out that it has James France in it, and he's pretty cute... so I decided to go ahead and watch it.

Camille is an odd story. It's about a young petty-thief, Silas, who marries his parole-officer's daughter Camille in the hopes that he'll be able to use the marriage (and the honeymoon up to Niagara Falls) to escape to Canada. Silas is the moody, brooding, sulky type and he obviously has no real affection for Camille. She, on the other hand, has had a crush on Silas since the two were kids. She's perky, talkative, and absolutely convinced that she and Silas are going to have the most perfect wedding, the most perfect honeymoon, and the most perfect life together.

Unfortunately, on the way up to Niagara Falls the two get into an accident. Camille is flung from Silas' motorcycle and when Silas finds her, she seems to be dead.

However... this doesn't seem to stop Camille. She somehow gets up and starts acting as though everything is perfectly normal. She doesn't have the slightest idea that she has died, although it becomes quite apparent to Silas as she starts to decay with each passing day. Feeling guilty about the way he treated Camille, Silas decides to take Camille to Niagara Falls anyways, and starts treating her much more nicely. For instance, when all her pretty blonde hair falls out, he buys her a wig.

As you might imagine, Silas starts to straighten up and not suck so much. The two encounter lots of interesting and quirky characters on their trip, which helps round out the film. I won't give away the ending, but I will tell you it's sweet.

The movie is a tad off-beat, humorous at parts, and very cute/sweet. Definitely a romantic comedy, but that's not to say it's exclusively a chick flick. I think guys could enjoy it as well.

Here's a trailer:


kind of a corny trailer, but you get the idea. check it out!

<3
Em

30 Day Challenge- 29

Day 29- Goals for the next thirty days

I'm pretty excited for the next thirty days! Spring Break is in there, and that will be full of lots of fun and family and friends. Also, I will be turning in my second (and last) long essay for the semester so it will be nice to get that done and over with. Various other school things here and there but I'm not too worried about any of them... school has been pretty nice and non-threatening this semester haha. 

so goals, hmmmm.... I would like to adjust my sleep schedule/habits so that I wake up at 5:30 feeling alert and getting out of bed right away instead of hearing my alarm and convincing myself that waking up that early isn't really necessary. This article seems to provide a helpful method.

I'd also like to get out more and spend more time enjoying tucson. I'm so busy with schoolwork and chores and things that I rarely just go out for a cup of coffee or anything. Of course, this requires money, something which I am seriously lacking. Still though, I'd like to get out of the house- especially since glorious 75 degree weather has become the norm.

Keep the house clean! Now that our was-supposed-to-be-temporary-but-ended-up-being-2-months guest is finally gone, the place is ours again. As in, no one has commandeered our couch. This will make it much easier to keep the whole place cleaner, and it will also allow for us to hang out in the kitchen/living room without worrying about disturbing/dealing with someone else.

Find/start finding a place to live next fall. The complex I live in now is TERRIBLE. Seriously, they just majorly, majorly blow. I'd like to find a new place for next fall, ideally one with a shuttle to the university, a hot tub, and maybe a fitness center. Also, it should not appear to be made out of cardboard, have roaches, or refuse to perform any sort of maintenance. That would be swell.

Plan out the meals for the youth retreat this summer. I'm going to be on a tight schedule this summer (getting back from greece only a day or two before the retreat!) so the only way everything is going to go smoothly is if I am extremely well planned out beforehand. I already have a binder (complete with dividers! haha) and a general idea of what I'm going to do, but I want to plan out the schedule to the minute. I'm also going to make a lot of stuff beforehand and freeze it until the retreat. It's going to be a fun and exciting job, but definitely a lot of work and a little bit terrifying!

and that's about all i can think of right now. Thirty days isn't a very long time! hopefully everything will go smoothly :) hope your day is going wonderfully.

<3
Em

a few photos from the past week

What with all of last week's midterms and getting ready for spring break and everything, I have not been a very good blogger! I'm back again though and I plan on whipping up at least a few posts today that I can put up in the next couple of days. Before I get started though I wanted to clear out my droid pic gallery and show you guys some of the stuff that I've been doing over the last week or two.

Check out this lovely vintage typewriter! I bought it on ebay after a spontaneous middle-of-the-night search... first thing I ever bought on ebay. It only cost thirty dollars (shipping included) and it's in pretty good condition- at worst I might have to replace the ribbon but I doubt that will be too big a deal. I'm really excited to get it!

I love new shoes, and I love not spending money. I got these cute like-new cream pumps from goodwill for 3 dollars. Some people would probably think buying shoes from goodwill is disgusting, but I always find such cute ones that look like they've never been worn- and they're always so cheap! I love it. 

I took this picture while walking home from the university one evening last week. I love how the light from the sunset hits the mountains and makes them glow purple and pink and orange. So beautiful! The mountains that surround Tucson are one of the best things about the city.

Stewart bought me this beautiful rose for valentine's day and it bloomed magnificently. It stuck around for quite a while but a couple days after I took this pic I decided to dry it so I can keep it forever :)

And this is me this morning! I tried this messy side ponytail tutorial, although I didn't actually look at the tutorial while I was doing it (I just did it from memory), so it turned out a little different. Recently I've been having a lot of fun finding different hair tutorials and trying them out. I have all this long, thick hair, but I usually just brush it, curl my bangs, and go. I definitely don't have time to curl my hair everyday (nor do I want to), so it's fun finding other damage-free things I can do with it.

And those are some pics from the last few days! More posts coming soon, have a wonderful Sunday!!

It's official!

(click on image to see )

yaaaay! I know I've talked about going to greece this summer already, but today I received my official acceptance email! I'm so excited to get started on this amazing trip... Even boring stuff like going to meetings and getting all my health insurance stuff aligned sounds exciting to me :) I'm probably going to buy a tourbook or two as well, because even though I'm likely to have little control over the trip I want to know all about where I'm going! Eeek, I'm so excited. Clear blue waters, whitewashed walls, delicious Mediterranean food, here I come!

<3
Em

30 Day Challenge- 28

Day 28 - Something that you miss.

I'm sad to say that I have the unfortunate but all-too-common problem of not appreciating things enough when they're happening and then missing all the best parts about them when they're gone. Even if the thing made me truly MISERABLE at the time, I seem to forget all the pain once the thing is gone and only remember all the great things it took with it.

In a way this is a good thing because it means my life seems so full of wonderful things when I think about it. But it's also probably a tad unhealthy... I should be concentrating on appreciating all these great things as they're happening, not after they're all gone! It's a goal of mine :)

Anyways, a lot of things about living in Portland really irritated me/ticked me off/made me generally upset and unwell. However, at the same time there were lots of things I LOVED about the place. I often tell stewie that when I graduate from UA I'd like to look into moving back to portland. I think having my own place (as opposed to sharing a dorm room), having a car, and having a real job would make the experience much nicer.

Some of the things I miss:
the gooorrrrgeous campus. UA is definitely pretty too, but in a different way. LC is just... indescribable in a way. I'd love to go back and visit, as I still see it as one of my schools.

the shows! I saw modest mouse for like 30 bucks. Vampire weekend for 25 maybe, Passion Pit for probably about 20, Regina Spektor for 30, and Yo La Tengo for free cause I won tickets from my friend while he was doing his segment on KLC radio. I miss it so much! Going to the crystal ballroom was always a fun treat. some of the best times ever, to be sure.

Voodoo donuts. It's almost cliche to say so, but seriously they are soooo gooood. I do not even like donuts. but I like voodoo. My faves are the raspberry romeo (with powdered sugar, not glazed), the mexican hot chocolate, and of course the voodoo doll. Their raspberry filling is to die for.

Stumptown Coffee. It's located inside the ace hotel lobby, and there's an awesome couch area that you can chill in while you drink your beverage of choice. It's a great place to go do homework on a sunday when you seriously have to get off campus.

I also miss rainy days, brisk walks at night through the campus, raspberry mochas from the dovecoat, films at the fox tower theater, shopping at Pioneer Place, riding the max train through the city just for the hell of it, sitting on the steps on pioneer square, the pretty lights on all the trees during the holidays, kettleman's bagels, saturday markets, river parties, sitting in the starbucks on piosquare while waiting for the pioexpress to come, taking long walks through the city without knowing where I'm going, getting lost in powell's books, and going to the ceramics lab on a saturday afternoon.

Portland is a great place! There were some crappy things about my situation while I was there, but I can't wait to come back! A lovely city with some truly lovely memories.