The Happiest Place on Earth

My baby sister is turning the big 1-0 this week, I had to do a double-take because I sure didn't see those years go by. We may not always get along, but it makes me smile to see her start to find herself in the big wide world.

All sappiness aside, one thing she hasn't seen in her ten long years of life is Disneyland, so it was fitting that my parents graciously provided park hopper passes for us to take a nice mid-week vacation Wednesday. Which was convenient, because from now until April my school days are long and uninterrupted so a day off was much appreciated. And of course, we rode all the rides, wore out all the muscles and bones in our feet and ate all the cotton candy and kettle corn. I am also proud to announce that with the help of Space Mountain, California Screamin' and the Tower of Terror, I have successfully overcome my fear of rollercoasters. {Heights, spiders and zombies, you have yet to be conquered. Be very, very afraid.} OH, and one special little suprise treat we got to enjoy - we got to catch a glimpse of the cast of Modern Family that just so happened to be filming on site that day :)

When I say Disneyland was packed that night, I mean so-bloody-packed-that-the-crowds-looked-like-ants-swarming-a-picnic packed. PACKED. FULL. ABSOLUTELY STUFFED with humans. The happiest place on Earth was apparently the place to be Wednesday night. I had a lovely time, and I'm glad my sister got to enjoy it too.

On another note, despite all the stress and hard work, high school seems to be my "happy place" these days. I can always walk into the CoSA room and shrug off all the drama of the day and just have a good laugh with good friends. Eating cheap junk food after class is fun too :) I'm really proud to call myself a CoSA queer, our annual art gallery exhibit tonight went splendidly and I can't wait until I'm a junior next year.

I realize I'm blogging less often these days, do forgive me. I have early developing Alzheimer's disease and sometimes I forget I have homework to do instead of wasting time on 9GAG.

Happy end-of-week to you all, congratulations if you've made it alive this far.

love,
nat

One Last Thing

A few things, actually.

After a miserable school week, a nice day out is the best remedy for my dreary mindset. Seaside breakfast downtown with the hubby, tea on the beach and watching the Oscars together curled up under blankets eating banana cream pie... Yeah, it was kind of a perfect day. {Oh, and by "watching the Oscars together" I mean me oohing and ahhing at every dress while my ever-enthusiastic male counterpart counts down the seconds to the next commercial break.}

- Super proud of Asghar Farhadi tonight, as I'm sure the entire Iranian-American community is tonight. "A Separation" won Best Foreign Film this year!

In other media news, I've recently given in to all the hype this particular singer-songwriter has been getting, and I will say - as weird, distant and almost pretentious she can seem, Lana Del Rey's album Born To Die is pretty damn awesome. "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" are on eternal loop on my iPod right now. I also wish I had her face. That bitch is flawless.

More news! Yay! Sometime soon, after all this hectic school business settles down, I will be doing some renovating around this here lovely blog. I'm feeling in the mood for a new font... Keep reading, deat readers - it's about to get pretty kickass up in here.


Okay, ONE last thing -
My pick for Best Dressed at the Oscars: Ellie Kemper in Armani Privé.
I would wear that in a heartbeat.

Splendid week to you all :)
love,
nat

Music & Sugar

Sometimes, you just need a lot more than eight hours of sleep and a bowl of cereal to get you through the day. {I'm growing concerned that these kind of days are happening to me a bit too often...}

I'm not a huge caffeine drinker - the most hardcore drink I order at Starbucks is a sweetened iced Chai tea. But lately, my mum's been drinking a lot of coffee herself in the mornings before she goes off to work, and of course this gives me the impression that I would look considerably badass if I showed up to first period sipping my very own French roast in a cute little thermos.

So since I have a few more minutes to stay home Tuesday mornings, I brewed myself a coffee... And an Earl Grey tea. Loaded both with sugar and honey, respectively. Chugged the brew on the car ride to school, downed the tea within the first hour of class.

I'm feeling pretty alert by now. In fact, I'm alert enough in second period to remember I had a huge stash of Hershey's mini nuggets and Gobstoppers in my lunch... Can you tell where this story is headed now? I be poppin' sugar pills til my head hurts.

I did make it out of school alive, if not a little schizophrenic and ADHD. Now I just so happen to be simmering down to a splendid little soundtrack... {Highly reccomended for those who can't stop tossing and turning in their sleep}

1. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
2. Golden Slumbers - The Beatles
3. Caribbean Blue - Enya
4. Futile Devices - Sufijan Stevens
5. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
6. Bronte - Gotye
7. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons
8. Holocene - Bon Iver
9. Giving Me A Chance - Gotye
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
11. Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel
12. Hometown Glory - Adele
13. Blackout - Muse
14. Daydreamer - Adele
15. Passenger Seat - Death Cab for Cutie
16. Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground

Learn from my mistake - never consume so much sugar and caffeine in such a short amount of time {I will admit though, being kindergartener-hyper was pretty fun!}

love,
nat

Theres Nothing In My Closet Except Lack of Inspiration

There are too many trendy people at my school. Seriously, people, can we not show up to class looking like we walked out of French Vogue so I can feel better about wearing jeans and a Hollister hoodie?

I'd like to say I have a closet full of Alexander Wang and sample-sale Marc Jacobs to strut around in, but until I hit the jackpot and move to Beverly Hills, Forever 21 is my best friend. You'd be surprised how many decent outfits you can squeeze out of a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tee and a few different cardis {this post was obviously geared towards the chicks out there, sorry bros.}

A little inspiration can go a long way too - there's nothing better than hitting up the fashion district of the blogging neighborhood to pick up some style tips Leandra Medine, a.k.a the lovely Man Repeller happens to have the bloody coolest wardrobe on the East Coast... Someday I shall learn to layer like a pro and throw a proper arm party like she...

You're never too old for dress-up, ladies. <3

Splendid weekend to you all

love,
nat

Little Things

Little things.

Like the rain that comes in the morning before sunrise and leaves at noon, washing the sky with clear blue.

Like brownies for breakfast before class.

Like going to the drugstore to buy him candy, and buying yourself some too.

Like walking in wet grass barefoot.

Like the feeling you get when you do your hair and makeup and feel gorgeous, sexy and strong.

Like getting roses and chocolates and giving kisses and hugs.

Like sharing dessert and a few candlelit hours together, and feeling invincible.

Like knowing you're the person he's thinking about when he falls asleep.

It's little things like this... that make me the happiest girl in the world.

Happy Valentine's Day
{share the love}

love,
nat

The Times They Are A-Changin&apos;

So far this weekend I've had three debates with some of my older family members and friends about how my generation is different from the past two or three generations, and how the Internet has affected society (makes for some interesting dinner conversation.)

The overall opinion from most of these older folk about us teenagers these days is that most of us have a mentality centered around "instant gratification"- that the speed at which we can now access all sorts of information has made us a lazy, ignorant bunch who doesn't appreciate working hard and studying hard.

I dunno if it's just the school I go to or the group of people I hang out with, but I'd beg to differ - our generation looks like it's growing up to be one of the most empowered, passionate people I've met. And the Internet {Facebook in particular} has been such an amazing platform for our ideas and opinions on so many things that it's hard to think of us as being uninvolved or ignorant on topics like politics or humanities. Now that we have access to worldwide news at the touch of an iPhone button, we can educate ourselves, and talk about our opinions, instead of growing up thinking that our parents' views are the only correct views.

All the messes our parents' generation is leaving us in - the economy, the environmental issue, the political disaster we find ourselves in - I strongly believe my generation will be the one to rise up to the challenge and solve our problems, because we're growing up with the technology and the power to influence change and bring innovative ideas to the global table.

Maybe I'm just a little too optimistic about the potential a bunch of college and high school kids have, but hey, if we're not the smartest generation, we're definitely the most exciting.

There are my deep thoughts for the day, and put as eloquently as possible for a blog post written at 11:30 on a Sunday night :)

love,
nat

Nostalgia

Long week.
Long weekend.
I can finally catch up on all the breathing amd sleeping I forgot to do during school.
A remote control for life would be extremely comvenient right now, complete with a "fast-forward to summer vacation" button...

Will be finishing up the Hunger Games series this weekend, as well as dying ma hurrs! {a dark chocolatey red}
i would also like to add a "make Peeta Mellarck marry me" function to that remote control, while we're at it!

Any ideas for Valentine's Day nails? Me and my unhealthy addiction to manicures have a date Tuesday evening with the hubby, we meed to be lookin' sharp.

The sunny weather probably won't be here for long, knowing how the climate here is a tad on the bipolar side.
It's always splendid feeling that warm, hopeful breeze in your hair and laying in the grass... Tossing a hackey sack around and slacking off during CoSA... My definition of successful Friday.

Gonna get me some R&R this weekend, I'm feeling a bout of photographical inspiration coming on... Should probably pull out the camera and act on that :)

Have a lovely weekend, littles

love,
nat