once it ends, it begins again.

Listening to: "Specks" by Matt Pond PA


Wondering: where J-term went... and February...


Okay, so exciting news! I found my new favorite website/app...

Remembering things has never been easy for me, and since I have a love for fashion, typography, and photography, this nifty little thing has helped a lot. 

There is a button called the "clipper" which allows you to take a picture from the web and add it to your Evernote notebook, keeping track of where you found it. 

So, for all of those things I want to keep track of, but don't necessarily want to go through the hassle of pinning to one of my boards on Pintrest and then opening my account to find, I can just clip it and add it to my Evernote account. Even though I only have the free app, it does hold 60 MB of memory per month. In the long run, this should be enough. We shall see though.

On Friday, I will find out who got PA (AKA: an RA) on my wing. I'm nervous. And I really want the position, but I know God will allow the right people to have the position. If I am not that person for next year, that is fine with me. I will probably be upset at first, but God has different plans for me if the latter is the case.

friday finds.

Listening to: "Take Me (As You Found Me)" by Anberlin


With all of this extra time I've had during J-term, I have spent much more time than normal looking at Pinterest and fashion blogs. 


While browsing pictures on Pinterest the other day, I found these beautiful shoes. I then linked back to the blog they were found on, only to find out the person who posted the picture below did not know where the shoes could be found.

So my search began. I looked closely at the shoes to find that they have red soles. That could only mean one thing: Christian Louboutin. Of course that means that the shoes aren't cheap. I searched and searched to find knock-offs that looked very close to the originals. The closest I could find were the shoes below from Target. Unfortunately, they are not the exact same... and they are only sold online.

Since the woman in charge of the blog I found the shows on did not know where to find the shoes, I posted a link to the shoes for her only to get this response: "Thanks Diana for looking this up… I guess I could skip a couple of nights out and do the $159! ;)."

People can be crazy when it comes to fashion. Especially when the shoes are normally $845 when new from Christian Louboutin. 

Speaking of Louboutin... these 8-inch heels are a pair that the designer made to be auctioned off. The proceeds were to go to the English National Ballet.

Shoes are not the only things that people will seem to spend a fortune on these days. 

This German-made clock will cost the customer an arm and a leg. But isn't it nifty? The things that people come up with these days.

follow the red brick road.

Listening to: "Beautiful Things" by Gungor.


I have been blessed this January to spend time with friends that I have not had as much time to spend with during the semester. This J-term has been filled with class (of course), relaxation, and unexpected adventures. 

On Saturday, I went to Marion with a couple of friends for the afternoon. We went to Starbucks (nothing out of the ordinary... especially when we all had Starbucks gift cards from Christmas to spend). 

Then we went to Walmart for random things. I needed honey for my tea... 

And then somehow we ended up in Jonesboro... Well, that was mostly because we wanted to find the brick road that is the material for one of the streets in Jonesboro. And we ended up finding train tracks...

So, Lisa and I had the brilliant idea of throwing snow in the air for a picture. 

We didn't have gloves on.

Cold fingers.

Very cold.

But, we had fun and eventually found the red brick road. I like that college is making me more adventurous. I think I'm starting to be okay with it...

beauty before the kindle.

Listening to: "Heartbeat" by The Fray

I am a nerd and I'm proud of it. Today is Harry Potter day. I'm currently wearing my Marauders tee from this lovely Etsy shop and I watched most of Prisoner of Azkaban before class this morning (therefore I had to wear this tee). 

So, thanks to Pinterest, I have been wasting time I need to be studying lately. But, I have found some pretty things.

Books and bookshelves. 

I am completely obsessed. 

I love reading (assuming I actually have time to do so...) and I love old books. I love smelling books. I love flipping the uneven pages.

Over the summer I was able to go to my friends cottage for a few days with my best girlfriends. While we were there, we left the lake to go into town. The main reason was to go to a bookstore. This bookstore is filled with books. The bookshelves above look like the entire store. Even the books that I despised in high school looked beautiful on the shelves. There is something beautiful about an old book in print.

I purchased a 1943 copy of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. I am obsessed with the illustrations which were printed from wood carvings. I love the yellowed pages. I love the smell. And of course I love the story, and most people think I'm crazy for calling this book my favorite of all time.

I took my time to browse the store. About 2 hours to be exact. It was beautiful. I didn't even look at 3/4 of the store in depth because we just did not have the time. Next summer, I'm thinking another trip may be in order. :] 

What I want to know is why people think the Kindle and Nook will ever make books completely obsolete. It just makes me sad. I understand that they are convenient and handy, but it's not the same. I would rather actually flip a page instead of just touching a screen with my finger.

Books will never cease to exist. The Kindle may become the main form of reading books, but when I grow old, I want to curl up in a chair under blankets reading a book with actual pages. There's something special and enchanting about printed books. Hopefully enough people will be able to see that for years to come.

coffee and new beginnings.

Quote Love: "Hug the snow for me...yes I said hug."

-My friend, Emily, who loves the snow, but is currently in Israel so she cannot hug it herself. :]

Listening to: "Everything's Right" by Matt Wertz

Happy New Year! Yes, I am fully aware that I am about a week late on getting this post written, but my Astronomy class has kind of eaten my life. I wish I could say that I understand everything I am supposed to be learning in this class, but unfortunately, I'm not understanding much. This is probably because I am focusing on the mathematical problems and I have no ideas how to do any of those. 

Anyways, I am quite happy it is Friday! Class from 1-3:20 pm and Lab from 3:30-5:20 pm today, and then I'm done with my first week.

Speaking of Astronomy though, I was going to watch the Meteor shower the other night (yes at 3 am) but the cloud cover was too great and it would have been pointless to freeze out in the cold and not be able to see anything. I wish I had been able to see the shower though. The actual observation part of this class intrigues me. I cannot wait to spend time outside looking up at the stars at night, because I have to. Sometimes I forget how amazing the night sky is. God created more than just the galaxy I live in. He created thousands!

Each one of those bright spots is not a single star, but a galaxy! God created each of them uniquely. Just as He made us uniquely to proclaim His glory.

Now, my year in review.

I never realized how many good things happened within the bad in 2011. I have met some amazing people throughout the year of 2011 and I have found some pretty great friends.

I went to Haiti. I met the child I now sponsor in Haiti long before I even thought of sponsoring a child. It is a complete God thing that I am sponsoring her because I did not even request to sponsor her.

I just got this letter from her this week! :] She is absolutely precious!

I was able to go home with my roommate for Fall Break. And we brought along our wonderful "third roommate" with us (who wrote the wonderful quote from the beginning of this post).

I somehow conquered my fear of Ferris wheels... But only for the amount of time I was on it. I don't think I could ever go on one again.

I am beyond blessed for the amazing people God has placed in my life this past year. Without any of them, I have no idea where I would be.


And now on to the other topic of this post: coffee.

I absolutely love coffee. I am not addicted though, because I can drink it everyday, or not without having to worry about getting withdrawal headaches. 

I love Caribou Coffee. I brew it myself & go to the closest shop to me when I am home for breaks. Unfortunately, the closest Caribou to me here at school is 60 miles away on IU's campus. That is an hour away! So while I am at school, I am stuck with Starbucks. Unfortunately, I am a coffee snob and I don't like Starbucks. I will drink their froufrou drinks, but I am not a fan of their drip brew.  I will drink Caribou Coffee all day. I am in love with Mahogany, one of their dark roasts. For being a dark roast, it does not have a bitter aftertaste and it is smooth. I am in love with it. Unfortunately, when I go home now, my favorite barista  is no longer working at the shop by me. 

When I go to Starbucks here at school, I usually get a Caramel Macchiato, and then I wonder why I wasted my money on the drink. So much money for such a small amount of happiness in my life. Oh well...

At least it looks pretty, right?

Yesterday I splurged for a White Chocolate Mocha (with an extra shot of espresso, of course). 

I mean, coffee is always a good idea, right?


May this Saturday be a day of rest and peace as 2012 continues to roll right on in.

a little Christmas cheer.

Quote Love: There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. 
-Ernest Hemingway 

This past week has been quite crazy. From the Christmas pick-a-date to Christmas Open Houses to Silent Night (with a flash mob by MY residence hall... that Justin Bieber tweeted about!) to a night of caroling, ice skating (well, attempting to) and Ihop, it has been a crazy week. And now I have finals week!


One take-home final, 2 in-class finals (tomorrow), and 2 final projects in 2.5 days. I can do this, right?


Here's a little video (the one mentioned above. the one that J Biebs retweeted!) for a finals study break. Enjoy!

begging for a break.

Lyrical Love: "If you're partial to the night sky / If you're vaguely attracted to rooftops..." from "Hannah" by Freelance Whales

Today is the first day all semester that I get to go home. Thanksgiving break, you are much needed. I am ready to get out of Upland for a little while and be with my family (and go Black Friday shopping at my favorite mall).


I have been running on empty for a few days now so it is nice to finally have a break, even if it is just for a few days. 


So, Michigan, I'm coming! :]