Nerd-o-Rama

HERE!

I am the featured guest blogger on Living in Yellow - the hilarious and down-to-earth blog from Erin! Erin is amazing - she's funny, sweet, and real. Go check out her blog now!!!

And now, onto the post...

 I am a major nerd. Harry Potter all the waaayy!!!

I'm wearing my Gryffindor T-shirt, my Luna Lovegood glasses, and my own special wand :)

 Hehe! Sorry for the mistake!

Do it.

Embrace your inner-nerd.

Everyone has some nerdish quality about them.

Don't be shy. Don't be embarrassed.

EMBRACE YOURSELF :)

I love to read, I love Harry Potter, I love playing Risk, I love to play videogames, and I actually like going to school and learning! (Shhhh.... it's a secret!)

#1  Black coffee for all you nerds??? We need some caffeine to help us through late-night papers, midnight videogaming, and weekend long comic conventions. Double espresso black is the answer.

#2  Top 10 Books Nerds Should and Like to Read...

• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
• Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein
• Eats, Shoots, and Leaves - Lynne Truss
• The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
• War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
• Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
• The Year of Living Biblically - A. J. Jacobs
• Heir Apparent - Vivian Vande Velde
• Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

#3

(Blouse, Jeans, Sweater, Suspenders, Glasses, Earrings, Shoes)

Have a great, nerdy day :)

A Glimpse of Heaven

Have you ever stopped and thought about what happens next? What happens after this life on earth? Death, heaven, reincarnation, elsewhere...? Where do we go? Who do we become?

Every once in a while, I feel I catch a glimpse of heaven in the sunset...

On my way home from volunteering tonight, I saw this beautiful sunset and caught a picture of it. Something in me feels that there is something more behind this sunset than gravity and the laws of the universe. I feel like I see a glimpse of heaven...

#1 In my heaven, I would curl up with this super comfy IKEA blanket (it actually is my favorite blanket) with a cup of coffee and books. I love whip cream, so I would put some on my cup of coffee or my hot chocolate. I am in love with Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate. Oprah released the recipe: check it out! It is sooooo delicious and just perfect for a comfy night in.

#2 I only pictured 2 books, but I have three books on my heaven book list:

1. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - a classic Mitch Albom novel about the people who teach you life lessons in heaven. This is a tear-jerker that will pull at your heartstrings, and make sure you check out the movie!
2. Life's Golden Ticket - one of my favorite non non-fiction novels (BTW: a non non-fiction novel is a novel that deals with real life non-fiction advice in the form of a fiction novel). It is an amazing must-read novel about second chances and the circus.
3. Elsewhere - probably my favorite books as a teen about what happens after life. A teen girl dies and goes to Elsewhere, in which the author tells an interesting, unique, and witty depiction about heaven and life after death.

#3

(Peace T-Shirt, Leggings, Face Scrub, Nail Polish, Slippers)

Comfy, comfy, comfy clothes are my ultimate favorite things to wear after a long, stressful, and tiring day/week. I love to unwind in leggings and a comfy tee. To have a relaxing and cozy night pull your hair up in a cute top knot, wash your face with this awesome face exfoliating scrub, and paint your nails with this cool mint color (Essie's Mint Candy Apple). After you throw on fuzzy sock slippers, your night will be complete.

Take a break every once in a while - you deserve it :)

P.S. Play some soft, calming music. My favorites: Jack Johnson, Amos Lee, Colbie Caillat, Adele, Mumford & Sons, The Script, Florence & The Machine, Fitz & The Tantrums, and The Goo Goo Dolls.

Where You Lead, I Will Follow

I am obsessed with Gilmore Girls.

Seriously. I own every season and watch them repeatedly to the point of madness. It is quirky, witty, and downright hilarious. You will laugh, cry, and hope to god that you have that kind of relationship with your mother/daughter.

It is seriously one of the best shows and I would recommend anyone to watch it. You will not be disappointed.

Anyways... here is a Gilmore Girls inspired post...

1) Confession: Gilmore Girls started my coffee addiction habits. Lorelai (mother) and Rory (daughter) are coffee fiends. Coffee is a must at all times and is a major theme to the TV show. Lorelai and Rory often get coffee from Lukes - the local diner in the town. Lorelai and Rory are both avid coffee drinkers, but Lorelai is a tad bit more ecstatic and vocal about her coffee needs. Take a look at this video...

Mmmm... coffee coffee coffee!!! :)

2) Reading, reading, reading! Another central theme to the show are books! Rory is obsessed and she gets Lorelai hooked too. Here's another video about Rory's obsession with books (sorry for 2 videos in one post)...

Here's a list of most books Rory has read...

• Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
• Moby Dick - Herman Melville
• Mencken Chrestomathy - H.L. Mencken
• A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
• Emma - Jane Austen
• The Group - Mary McCarthy
• Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
• The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
• Howl - Allen Ginsberg
• Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger
• Inherit the Wind - Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
• Letters to a Young Poet - Rainer Maria Rilke
• The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
• Snows of Kilimanjaro - Ernest Hemingway
• Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
• Atonement - Ian McEwan
• The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer
• Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
• The Art of War - Sun Tzu
• Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
• The Raven - Edgar Allen Poe
• On the Road - Jack Kerouac
• Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
• Farneheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

There are soooo many other books Rory or other characters have read or talked about... but I think this is plenty :)

3) Clothes are also a huge part of the Gilmore Girls' life. They love to look cute and always do. Lorelai has a more quirky and trendy style, while Rory's style is more conservative, classic, and feminine.

Lorelai dresses very business appropriate, because she works at an inn. She also loves to wear dresses and is seen wearing boots multiple times. Rory wears a uniform to school for the first 3 seasons and we see her in comfy clothes a lot. As she grows older and heads to college, her look becomes more refined and ladylike with many cardigans, blouses, blazers, and skirts.

Here are some looks I put together...

LORELAI

(Pink Dress, Jacket, Blouse, Vest, Red/Black Dress, Boots, Scarf, Jeans, Necklace, Coral Dress, Heels, Earrings, Purse)

RORY

(Oxford, Blazer, Plaid Skirt, Knee-Highs, Tennis Shoes, Messenger Bag, Sweatshirt, T-Shirt, Jeans)

 (Cardigan, Blouse, Black Skirt, Purse, Flats, Earrings, Necklace, Lace Top, Floral Skirt, Heels)

Thanks for reading! If you don't watch Gilmore Girls, maybe you'll start now... :)

Animal Inspiration

Leopards, Tigers, Giraffes, and Zebras... Oh my!!!

You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. You have entered the jungle, filled with wild, fierce animals. Here's the advice they gave...

1) Coffee!!! It's grown in the jungle, it has health benefits, and you can drink it in these cute mugs (tiger, zebra, giraffe, & leopard)...

2) Read The Jungle Book. Though must people think of the animated cartoon movie that we all know and love, but the book is even better! (Not The Jungle by Upton Sinclair about America's industries and manufacturers.) The novel is written by Rudyard Kipling following the adventures throughout the jungle and life in the wild. The novel also is of historical importance, for it shows a new view of nature that was popularized by Darwin's The Origin of Species. The Jungle Book is actually a series of novels that are different than the movie. This classic series is a must-read for a great adventure that will bring back childhood memories.

3) Animal print is your friend. Wear it!

Giraffe

(Dress, Belt, Earrings, Bracelet, Scarf, Shoes)

Leopard

 (Dress, Belt, Earrings, Watch, Shoes)

Tiger

 (Dress, Clutch, Earrings, Ring, Shoes)

Zebra

(Top, Skirt, Bangles, Earrings, Shoes)

I hope you have a cheetah-licious and wild labor day weekend! 

Confessions

Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm a shopaholic.

Confessions of a Shopaholic is one of my favorite movies. Gorgeous clothes, funny lines, and a cheesy ending - does it get better? Plus, Isla Fischer stars in it! Sooo... Isla, when you decide to chop off your beautiful red curly locks, please send them my way. Thanks.

Anyways, I went shopping today... again. To the same 2 stores... Forever 21 and H&M will always have my heart and my wallet.

These are my confessions...

1) Despite my love for strong coffee and it's bitter taste, I love the "watered down" coffee drinks. They may not have the jolt I need, but they taste like "Christmas in a cup," as my friend says. The white chocolate mocha is a special treat I like to drink in the winter.

2) Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen... Yes, I said it.

 

The Last Song made me cry and A Walk to Remember is one of my favorite movies. I got Safe Haven for Christmas, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I feel that Nicholas Sparks are for non-reading readers, I admit that I have enjoyed a few of his books. They capture your heart with romantic fairy tales located on beautiful beaches in North Carolina.

I love Sarah Dessen books, even though, like Nicholas Sparks, I feel her books are for non-reading teens. Whatever Happened to Goodbye, Along for the Ride, Just Listen, Lock and Key, and The Truth About Forever are all wonderfully captivating novels about teenage girls dealing with life. Dessen's books really speak to teen girls and get them hooked after one chapter.

3) Shop 'til you drop. This is how my friend and I roll. We spent about 4 hours in just 2 stores... Yeesh! Here are a few of my favorite fall pieces I picked up...

#1 - Dress (H&M) + gold locket + pearl earrings
#2 - Metallic Top (F21) + black skirt + silver hoops + chunky bracelet
#3 - Oversized Sweater (H&M) + black leggings + heart necklace + pearl headband
#4 - Jean Shirt (F21) + Tribal Top (F21) + brown purse (H&M) + black leggings + brown headband

Which outfit do you like the best?

Aaannddd.... do you have any confessions? :)

Release Your Inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin.
No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in.
No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips.
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open.
Today is where your book begins...

In life, I stress sososo much about the future, what comes next, what everyone else thinks, et cetera. Last night, I could barely fall asleep without thinking about college, applications, ACT, school, looking my best, what to wear, who I want to see me, and more. Yawn. I'm pretty tired today. I really hope my insomnia doesn't kick in tonight.

This song (Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield) came on the radio today and really de-stressed me. I need to let go and focus on myself and the present.

So take a deep breath (go on... do it right now... I'm waiting) and focus on you and you only. Think about the things that you would like to accomplish with the new school year.

• I want to not let other people's opinions get to me.
• I want to enjoy my senior year, without worrying every second about the future.
• I want to be and feel the best I can be, but on my own terms.
• I want to realize that I still have a long journey ahead of me, but my life is ever-changing and right now I am unwritten.

What do you want?

Here is me releasing my inhibitions:

1) I want to drink a white chocolate mocha or a caramel frappuccino with whipped cream or a macchiato without feeling guilty. I want to be able to indulge myself without beating myself up afterwards. I also want to be able to limit myself, but still enjoy the delicious coffee drinks.

2) I want to be strong and independent like Jane Eyre. I want to learn to overcome my judgments like Elizabeth Bennet. I want to have a strong moral backbone like Scout. I want to be beautiful and elegant like Daisy. I want to be ambitious and blunt like Jo March. I want to be intelligent and courageous like Hermione.

3) I want to wear heels, a dress, and red lipstick without being told by my mother that I look like a hooker. I want to let go of how I want others to see me, and wear what I want to wear. If you love your outfit, you will be able to pull it off with confidence. Confidence is beauty.

(Dress, Earrings, Lipstick, Clutch, Bangles, Shoes)

... The rest is still UNWRITTEN.

Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

Uh-oh... Things are starting to disappear around my house. Not cookies, but ice cream bars.

My favorite latte bars have dropped from 4 left in the box to 1... I strictly told my family that these were for me only (since I bought them with my own money).

So now, it is time for me to play detective and solve the mystery of the latte ice cream bars.

1) Every good cop needs her cup of joe. Coffee and cops go together like peanut butter and jelly. In every good detective TV show or movie (or cartoon), there's an officer drinking his coffee and eating a jelly doughnut.

I wonder if cops feel cliche when they drink coffee and eat doughnuts on the job...

This is what I would look like if I was a police officer...

Hot stuff, right? :)

Yeah... I got my coffee in my hand, a doughnut in my mouth, and my aviator sunglasses.





2) As a kid, I loved Nancy Drew books. I devoured book by book, making my way through the series.

 I have 11 sitting on my shelf right now, and probably more throughout my house. They were awesome books with a kick-ass main character (girl-power, baby!). But, here are some other great mystery novels...

Gilda Joyce - She's a middle-school psychic investigator, but the author writes her with maturity, a know-it-all attitude, and a little bit of silliness.
Agatha Christie - A classic writer with hundreds of mystery novels. Any book you pick up by her is one of the greatest mystery novels. One of my favorites is And Then There Were None.
Sherlock Holmes - Enough said.
Owls Well That Ends Well - This is a funny mystery novel following Meg, whose yard sale doesn't go as planned when a dead body is found.
Bury Your Dead - A classic mystery novel about Inspector Gamache and finding the person who filled the eccentric man looking for a burial site of the town's founder.
Letter From Home - This novel is about Gretchen, an elderly woman looking back on the summer of 1944 during WWII, where her friend's mom is murdered in a small town.

(That's Kira-Kira sitting next to my Nancy Drew novels... It's an amazing novel about an American-Japanese girl who is taught everything by her sister Lynn, while her parents work night and day in terrible working conditions.)

3) Of course, every detective must look stylish when catching a criminal. Even if high heels are waaay to uncomfortable to run, jump, dive, or basically do anything besides walking, they must be worn. I find this very sexist on cop TV shows. The female police officers look gorgeous wearing 3-inch high heels and they can break into a sprint to catch the criminal. Seriously? I can barely walk in those things. But, here are my adorable detective clothes, because god knows I won't be running for anybody.

Blouse, Lipstick, Shoes, Trench Coat, Sunglasses, Pants

I am in love with that $1,200 trench coat. It's burberry and it's so stylish and I want to wear it everywhere. That is all :)

P.S. My dad gets really hungry at like midnight and goes digging through our kitchen... Mystery solved!

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

As a little girl, I watched every Disney princess movie about 100 times. I loved their beautiful dresses, the melodic songs, and of course the handsome princes. Then I grew up and claimed that "chivalry doesn't exist and these movies are setting up young girls for disappointment!"

Pffft.... Nope that was not me. Despite my feminist values, I happen to love Disney princess movies. I sing along with the songs (A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes is one of my favorites), I stand up and dance with my little cousins, and I swoon (just a little) when everything ends up happily ever after. Though maybe these movies aren't completely realistic in that every couple ends up perfectly together, but the underlying values throughout the movie make it worthwhile. Cinderella and Tiana both show the value of hard work, Jasmine stands against what she believes is unfair, and Belle shows that a girl can rescue the boy too.

So here is a Disney princess inspired post.

1) What coffee do you think these princesses drink? Soy lattes or mocha cappuccinos or black coffee? ...

 Belle is very true to herself and always stays grounded. I think she would drink just regular coffee with a tablespoon of cream and a teaspoon of sugar, every day without change.

 Cinderella is very kind, generous, and makes friends with everyone. I think coffee might be a little strong for her sweet personality, so maybe a Mocha is her gateway coffee drink.

 Jasmine doesn't like to be told what to do and wants to explore the world and try new things. I think she would try something very different that what she's used to, like a Cappuccino with a pinch of cinnamon on top.

Tiana is one of the most hard-working princesses. She is all work and almost no play, so Tiana probably needs some coffee to stay awake throughout the day. I think she would drink a strong coffee with a double shot of espresso.

2) Besides the traditional stories of these princesses, here are a few modern and witty princess-esque novels:

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? - a cute romance/girl-power novel about a girl with a stepmom and two stepsisters trying to navigate her way through high school.

Avalon High - not exactly princess-y, but it's a fairy-tale about modern day Camelot.

Fairest - a well-written novel by Gail Levine for middle-school-ers about a mixed-up version of Snow White. (Check out Levine's other mixed-up fairytales, such as Ella Enchanted.)

Innocence - a coming-of-age novel about a girl who gains a new stepmother and deals with the strange things happening at her school, losing her innocence along the way.

Straight On 'Til Morning - a modern-day Peter Pan novel about a boy who must rescue a girl by embarking on a faraway and unimaginable journey.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - the story of Cinderella told through the eyes of her stepsister who often reflects on beauty and ugliness throughout the novel.

3) If only I could dress like a princess. They wear fabulous ball gowns, beautiful diamonds, and high heels effortlessly! Here are some princess-inspired outfits:

JASMINE

(dress, earrings, necklace, headband, shoes)

CINDERELLA

(dress, earrings, headband, clutch, shoes)

BELLE

(dress, flower, earrings, clutch, shoes)

TIANA

(dress, necklace, bangles, clutch, shoes)

My wish is that I will be able to have the elegance, beauty, and style of a princess :)