Five Things

...that I've been very excited about lately.

1. the grand opening of the New Haven Shake Shack. and yes, we do have our own specialty concretes (boola boola blue, anyone?). the lines have been so long, but what my roomie and I have been doing is going at around 10 at night, right before it closes at 11. way shorter lines, a lot less noisy and we get a huge booth to ourselves.

2. my new rain boots. so I was kind of stupid to think I could wait until late October to go home and get all my fall and winter shoes and boots. today it was raining like crazy. so much so that I got four flood-watch warnings on my phone (who sends those?). after only 20 minutes in the rain, my converse were soaked through, so I caved.  in all, though, I am super stoked for the new season--sweaters, jackets, boots, scarves, cozy evenings, hot chocolate and lots and lots of blankets.

3. being featured on the front page of Bloggers.com this past Sunday! Bloggers is a great networking site--almost like a Facebook for bloggers. I've met some pretty cool people there, have found some awesome blogs and the forums have a lot of valuable tips. It really made my day when I woke up on Sunday to see my blog featured. :)

4. getting my first neuroscience test of the year over with. it was a rough night of studying, but the test itself went fine. now I'm preparing for the first onslaught of papers. I have three due within four days of each other! as intimidating as it is to start my first academic paper in months, I am kind of excited to get back into it.

looks like I'll be spending quite some time here...

5. my new vow to start sending more snail mail. I picked up a couple birthday cards for my family today, as well as a halloween card. I also spotted some awesome-looking fold-and-mail stationery. right then and there I decided I wanted to start setting more hand-written letters. at least enough to warrant me buying a pack.

among the many clever halloween cards...

have a happy weekend! I'll try to get these papers done, but I'm a bit preoccupied with the first major dance of the year...

We interrupt your regularly-schedule programming...

...to bring you this:

this is a crime. a disgrace. do you know how many people out there in new haven who are now without their pumpkin spice lattes? without happiness? without one of the items on their "fall to-do lists"?

I don't even like pumpkin spice lattes, so I was fortunately spared.

on another, happier and perfectly related note, I'd like to inform you all the salted caramel mochas are super amazing. I don't get Starbucks often, but I am definitely going back for more.

or maybe when I go home for fall break I'll try making my own?

happy thursday! can't wait for the weekend!

What I'm Loving Now: Colored Eyeliner

I love having a roommate. For many, many reasons. And part of the culture of having roommates (particularly girls) is that we tend to prep for the day together.

So yes, since I've gotten back to school, my morning rituals have gotten 29579283 times longer. And I guess that is what naturally happens when the days are a bit less structured and when I don't have to run out the door for work at 7 in the morning.

What also happens, as my roommate pointed out, is that we turn into those girls with 6-7 hair products in their hair at any given point in time.

Exhibit A: a recent purchase at Urban

(Batiste Dry Shampoo -- I was actually looking for a new one since the TRESemmé dry shampoo actually makes my hair more greasy instead of less.
Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray -- I'm dying to try the Bumble and bumble Surf Spray, but Not Your Mother's does look just as awesome and is a fraction of the price.)

But back to this prepping thing -- it's totally a social thing. Which, having taken my grand total of one class in cultural anthropology, I find incredibly fascinating. It's fun. It mentally readies me. It's something we just do.

And a product of all this prepping is the more frequent experimentation with things like hair bands, belts, and, um, colored eyeliner.

So the point of this post: I'm quite loving colored eyeliner these days. But only when it's subtle. So a common eye look for me would be a neutral smokey eye, eyeliner on lower lash line, and mascara. Having colored liner on just the lower lash line makes the look less overbearing and appropriate for the entire day.

I'm currently alternating between purple and green eyeliner. What do you all think? I want to try out more.

Perhaps blue?

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Hope you are all having a fantastic Monday! The weekend went by super-fast, but I'm glad I got a relatively good amount of work done. :) 

Happiness is...

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1. all-nighters. no homework, just fun. 

2. starting a new book.

3. pretzel m&ms. 

4. getting care packages in the mail from your parents.

5. youtubing every disney song imaginable.

6. finishing a problem set early. 

7. hummus and tomato sandwiches. 

8. knowing the right answer.

9. funny cartoons.

10. the beginning of autumn.

what makes you happy?

Dorm Room Love

So, as mentioned earlier, one of my goals this year is to really make my space my own. And, of course, this all starts with the dorm room.

This year's room is definitely an upgrade from last year's. There's a bit more floorspace and walking space. My bed is right by a window, with great sunshine. And there's definitely a good amount of wall space.

But it still needs a bit of work. I've been drooling over these amazing dorm rooms ("pretentious" as they are). These students really knew how to make use of their space and totally own it. My design skills are not nearly at that level, but one can't help but be inspired. :)

Here are some more dorm-y things that have been inspiring me lately.

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I'm in love with all of Pottery Barn Teen's dorm line. (do you spot the kappa letters on the upper right? oh yeahhhh) The bedding, the decals, the rugs, the accessories. I'm particularly taken to these wall murals (especially the MLB Stadium and the Key West ones!). I love how classy these solid canvas bins are--they would look great under my super-lofted bed. But alas I am not in need of any more storage bins!

So wall posters are definitely a must. The next time I head home I'm also going to grab a bunch of family photos--they'd add a very personal, homey touch.

I really like how these dorm rooms decorate with photos. The displays are simple but still look very deliberate.

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 Some fairy lights would be amazing. So, so awesome. And of course PB Dorm would have adorable bird cage ones.

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And if I have photos and fairy lights, why don't I combine the two?

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Some more favorites...

love the window!

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some comfy throw pillows would be nice...

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The color really adds to the brightness of the room. Also loving the use of the rug to cover floor space.

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I think my room gets enough light to keep a plant... yes? maybe? I promise I won't kill it! 

also -- I always hesitate to link to things on online shops, because, you know, they aren't going to be selling them forever. If any of the links don't work (and if you want to see some more dorm room inspiration!) check out my dorm room Pinterest board--it will have everything I mentioned here and more!


what do you do to decorate your dorms? living space in general? I'd love some suggestions!


have a super lovely weekend!

Some Semester Goals

So it's already been a little over a week of classes. Reading and problem sets have started. All my sections are scheduled, Kappa meetings have started and we've all found some strategic ways to avoid our fifth floor suite as long as possible. I'm finally getting into the regular groove of things. :)

So now that the weekend's starting and I have some legit work to get done, I thought I'd take the time to sit down and think about what I want to achieve this semester.

So, in no particular order...here goes:

1. keep up with all readings. with five classes which are all pretty reading-intensive, there's hundreds of pages of reading a week. last year I was always a little (or, a lot!) behind in reading for some classes. this year I'm making a huge effort to keep up--the payoff will be amazing once midterms and finals start up. 

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2. eat three solid meals a day. I skip breakfast all too often and end up having a late lunch. which means I'm not hungry for dinner. which means I end up eating whatever's around late at night. which is not always health. or wallet-friendly. or sane. 

3. keep a regular sleeping schedule. by the end of freshman year, it was physically impossible for me to fall asleep before 3 a.m. that can't happen again. it won't. 

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4. hit the library more. even when it's not desperate times.

5. attend more events, see more speakers. there are so many great talks, seminars and speakers on campus. it's a shame not to take advantage of them! I've been good so far... I saw Rick Santorum debate the Yale Political Union, and I'm applying for a seminar in basic web design.

6. decorate my space. so last year my suite and room could have definitely looked a bit homier and inviting. I plan on getting a couple posters, some more room lighting and some favorite family photos to brighten up the room and make it more personal. 

7. control my stress level. the monster inside of me will appear during particularly bad moments. 

8. go out more. during free time I'm much more of a hang-out type of person. seriously, if MTV did this, I would so be featured on True Life: I'm a Homebody. 

9. work out on a regular basis. not at 3 a.m. one day I will have Michelle Obama arms. 

10. become more involved in my various clubs and extra-curriculars. 

11. continue to blog! it's already been a bit of an issue finding the time and energy to blog. I promise promise promise blogging will not cease. I like it too much. And I have so many plans. 

see you soon! right now I have some architecture reading and an econ problem set calling my name. 

Mint Nails

So I've been dying to try out some green mint nail polish, and today I finally found the perfect shade at the drug store--Revlon's "Minted." This is actually the first Revlon polish I've owned--I quite like it! I'm usually an OPI or Essie snob but lately I've been branching out.

It has been so long since I've painted my fingernails. I kept them bare throughout the summer just because of my work, my work-schedule and sheer laziness (#problems, I know). I forget how much a simple thing like painted nails makes you feel that much more special and put-together. I need to get back into the habit!

So yes, this post is dedicated to how excited I am to be wearing mint nail polish right now. So far it's been a very relaxing Labor Day weekend. I hope you are all enjoying it.

More later!
Marisol

August Photo Dump

Happy September! Waking up today and reading the date on my alarm clock--it felt like such a fresh start. The start of a new month, a new school year and the ever-beautiful Labor Day Weekend (no Monday classes!).

Today we finally bought a futon. I'm still surprised to report that we were able to transport it back to our room and up the five flights of stairs without any fancy delivery men. So now I guess once we get it all built and ready (what we're currently doing) our common room won't look too much like a disaster zone. :)

But now, a final farewell to August. It was a very long, exciting month.

In August...

we made the most of our outdoor dining opportunities. 

many a starbucks were had. 

I've developed quite the love for barbecue chicken. 

I eased myself very nicely into school mode. not. 

I finished my internship. and wrote my report. and it's done but I'm sad. 

jersey shore. one last hurrah. 

I bought polka dot shower shoes. I'm very excited about them.
I also took one more step into adulthood. I bought my own swiffer.
I realized I get to wake up to the beautiful view of woolsey hall every morning.

august, you've been good.