tgi ag(reat)h(air)d(ay)

you know when sometimes your hair is just killing it? my hair is today! except for my bangs which are continually trying to sabotage my life... 

ignore my awkward attempt at not having an awkward smile (oops too bad). 

anyways, here's to hoping you all have great hair days today! 

Popping by to say hello + something i made

Mmm.. I really must get better at updating often.

Good news: my mother is going to teach me how to sew! I've yet to find time (haha?) to actually go to her house and learn, but it's in the plans for this month. I also finally got my library card. I picked up Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He's my favorite author, but I just never got around to reading this one somehow. I'll let you know my feelings when I'm done with it.

It's also stopped raining every moment of every day in North Carolina, so I got to do a little sunbathing. I'm still pale as a ghost, but I think my body needed the sunlight. I've also been doing some group classes at the gym. Have you ever tried Bodypump?? Holy cow, my glutes are still sore two days later. One of the instructors that I loved in high school saw me leaving, and recognized me! He's approximately 95 and the buffest man I've ever seen. Might be an exaggeration, but I'm taking one of his classes tomorrow and I'm scared.

I've slowed down on some of my projects, and I've been watching more Netflix these past few days. Here's a quick and easy project I did a few weeks ago.

It's an easy peasy sticky note calendar! It was slightly time consuming, because I cut my sticky notes to fit the nice paper I had. It's purple and mint green, and I used a silver sharpie. I think it's cute for a calendar! At the very least, it occupied some time. I think it's self-explanatory, but if you need to know how I made it, feel free to ask. 

To end this post, here's some inspiration I found on the super-inspiring The Militant Baker website. 

(As far as I can tell, this is her personal image. I don't claim to have taken this photo!)

the blues

I've got the moving blues. I've officially moved into my new home. It's lovely, to say the least. I'm living alone, which is a nice change. I've been lucky in my living situations thus far in life, but I knew I wanted to live alone for this next year. I do much better with (a lot of) my own space when I'm under pressure, and with my first year of my new career, I'll certainly be under a lot of it.

Anyways, along with moving, I'm not making any money these days. So, moving to a new city, with no money, leads to a bored little Celeste.

You know, I've thought of the usual things. The library, for one. I went the other day, but apparently you need TWO things to prove residency, and silly old me, I only brought one. I baked a gallette the other night, to waste time. It tasted pretty good, but I didn't put foil around it, and the juice leaked all over my oven and made a smoky mess. For now, I suppose I'll continue my Netflix obsession. I'll check back in as soon as I have something of interest to report.

Books and things

I've been off on a trip abroad! I spent last week in Mexico, as a lovely graduation present from my parents. It was wonderfully relaxing.

Before I left, I was waiting to post again until I finished a book, because I really wanted to talk about it on here. I was moving my books from my parents' house into my new apartment, and noticed a book by Nicole Krauss on my bookshelf. I'd never seen it before, so who knows where it came from! It's called The History of Love, and I'd actually pinned it months ago. I read it over a few days, even though it's a fairly short and easy read. It's a mash up of several intertwined story lines, including a refugee from WWII, a Jewish girl whose father passed away, and an author of a book that changes all of their lives. It reminded me of Jonathan Safran Foer's novels, but perhaps a bit drier. It was perfect beach reading material, but I unfortunately finished it before my vacation.

On my vacations, I like to have several books to read, because I won't read most of the time at home. I spaced on stopping by the library before, so I stopped at my best friend's apartment instead. I picked up a couple books, but only got to one of them. Oddly enough, I chose to read Lolita on the beach. I had never read it, and I feel like the classics are something everyone should read. I don't know how I feel about the book. It was difficult to read, not because it was too dry or anything, but because of the content. It was easy to forget Lolita was a child, and that made it hard to swallow. I finished it however, on the night we got back from Mexico. Any thoughts on Lolita? What classics do you feel are a must read? Any other book recommendations? 

Next week, I'll be moving finally, so expect to hear more from me! 

Um, it's June.

Sorry, y'all.
Quick updates:

• I finished my internship back in April! It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. It took up all of my free time though. I was struggling to fit everything in. I had to make sacrifices, like only watching tv in the bathtub. 
• I cut off all my hair in February. Oops. 
• I graduated from college? What? 
• Due to some unfortunate events, I've been couchsurfing for almost a month. Luckily, I've been able to settle down some. I still won't be completely settled until July, so don't be surprised if I'm not overly present. 

So, I've just been working a lot, trying to get a tan, and drinking too much. I also started watching Grey's Anatomy. Oh my glob, it's so (bad)good. Anyways, with this roundabout re-introduction, I hope  to start posting again! Let me know you're listening. 

Goals?

To be fair, I'm starting this blog with a cold that makes me feel like I have a tube of sandpaper in place of my throat, but I'm too excited to not write another post.

I'm a big goal-setter. I write lots of to-do lists. I mean, probably at least one a day. Usually, I will write them while I'm supposed to be paying attention in class (oops), shove them in the pocket of my jacket or my purse on my way out of said class, and then forget about them until a minimum of two days later. Needless to say, this is not an effective method of setting goals.

The new year is headed fast my way, and I want to set some goals this year that I will keep track of on this blog. Now, I know all about SMART goals, but truth be told I'm feeling lazy. So, here's a list of the goals I'm thinking of.

Be healthier.
I think keeping my health is my main goal. I want to cook more, eat out less. Work on my fitness levels, watch less tv, read more. Maintain some level of sanity. Find a balance. These days I am pretty good about cooking as opposed to eating out. However, I am starting a full time internship in a week, and I don't want to see this habit go down the drain.

Save money.
This one I can be pretty smart about. I have a pretty sweet tutoring gig, but I've been blowing the income on my favorite things: drinks with my friends and useless home decor. I'd like to save all (or at least most?) of the money I make from tutoring this semester. You can tell the part of my heart reserved for fancy cocktails is already cringing.

Try new things.
I want to do a lot of new things. I want to knit. Ride a bike instead of driving. Join a CSA! Garden. The hard part is, which ones do I really want to do?

What goals do you have for the new year? What kind of goals have you stuck to and completed?
Any advice for my goals?

Dying for some action

I clipped this blog's name from one of my favorite songs. For me, it represents a combination of nostalgia and uncontrollable dancing.

I hope to use this space as a creative outlet, to share things I love, and to focus.

So who am I? I'm a twenty two year old student, about to start my last semester of college. I love cooking, pretty things, and my best friends. I live in a small house, in an amazing city. I'm a horrible writer, but enthusiastic about this space. Thanks for joining me on this ride!