What I Like About SPRING...

I wrote out a whole post last night and scheduled it, but it was just me ranting. There was no substance to it. In a nutshell, the post was about how I learned yesterday of the death of my second cousin's husband, as well as the death of one of my sister's classmates in high school. Two deaths in one day.

I went home this weekend to be with my family. I could go on and on about how sad I feel, how not only have I lost my grandpa and high school counselor this year, but now these other two people. But I'm not going to do that. When I wrote a diary in high school, I promised myself that I would always remain positive in all my entries, and the same is going to go for this blog. Being positive is key, I feel, for your mental well being.


So. Onto today's post! SPRING!

Via

Everyone's been posting their favorite things about spring (it was a Top 5 Tuesday question last week), so I thought I would too. Thought it would cheer me up!

1. Iced. Coffee. Drinks.

Via

I'm going to die one of these days from my coffee addiction. It's gonna happen...all the caffeine is going to give me a heart attack or something. I love hot coffee, but iced coffee? EVEN BETTER. I don't want to look like the Campus Crazy, walking around Loyola with an iced coffee drink in the middle of winter when it's -2 degrees. So finally, the time of year has come where it's actually acceptable to drink iced coffee without looking like a lunatic.

2. Floral Dresses

From Forever 21, H&M and Lilly Pulitzer respectively. Aren't they cute? 'Nuff said.

3. Shamrock Shakes

I got to volunteering an hour early on Wednesday. They have a McDonalds in the hospital I volunteer at, which I don't understand at all. Let's put the restaurant partly responsible for child obesity in the children's hospital. Great idea. Anyway, I can't complain much because I grabbed a Shamrock Shake and experienced an hour of bliss. I tell myself that they're healthy because they're minty, an argument that doesn't make any sense at all. But it helps.

4. Easter Eggs

I love decorating (and searching for) easter eggs. I'm not too old for them yet! And I've seen so many cool ideas on Pinterest for non tradition easter egg decorating. These glitter easter eggs are my favorite though, and I want to try them this year.

Source: designspongeonline.com via Becky on Pinterest

5. TV Show Finales

Everyone knows that crazy stuff happens during TV show finales. I mean, the Lost finales? Grey's Anatomy finales? I don't want to spoil anyone, and I don't know a better way to describe it: shit goes down.

I haven't been watching as much TV as I used to, and two of my favorite TV shows have already had their AMAZING spring finales. In Pretty Little Liars, they announced who "A" was (no, I'm not going to tell you). I don't know how they're going to keep the show going now that the secret is out, but hopefully they'll find a way.

Via

In The Walking Dead, I feel like everyone died in the last few episodes or so. Almost all of my favorite characters were killed off! Once again, don't want to spoil anything, but the show left off on a hang that will make me tune in next fall.

Via

What are your favorite things about spring? And is my attempt at trying be positive through all of this working?

Just Knitting It

So one thing I left of about me from the Versatile Blogger post is that I knit! Yeah, yeah, if you've got any granny jokes for me, get them out of your system. Because I'm a pretty badass knitter.

I've been knitting since my sophomore year in high school. Mostly, I just wanted to make one of the scarfs from the Harry Potter movies. Well, I did that and then some. I've made so many cool things, but here are a few of my all-time favorites:

I just made this blanket during Christmas break. I have some strange obsession of making blankets, even though they take forever. I don't know how many TV series I finished watching while knitting this: probably all of The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory and Pretty Little Liars.

This hat was for a challenge where you had to make an intricate project over the duration of the 2009 Winter Olympics. You cast on during the opening ceremonies and are supposed to be finished during the closing ones. I was shocked that I finished this hat in time, because it was my first time working with so many different colors. I even made a second one before the Olympics were over.

I made these socks the spring before high school graduation. I've never had any lace work come out as nice as this pair, so I'm very proud of them!

What I love about knitting is that I can look at a project I finished and it brings back memories of where I was at the time. Where I was, who I was, what I was doing...my knitted projects are like photographs to me. Sadly, I don't have any time to knit in college. I've been leaving my knitting at home lately because it's so tempting to say "I'll just finish this row and then do my homework." In case you can't guess, the homework never gets done when the knitting's around.

Stay tuned, I have so many more projects to show all of you. Do any of you knit or do arts and crafts?

Thursday Tip: What to Wear to an Interview

Last Friday, I had my first interview for a research position at my university. It went really well. The great thing about the professors at my school is that they aren't intimidating at all. You can tell that they're not just out to get another publication: they want to create new scientists in their fields.

We had perfect, clear, sunny weather everyday last week...except for the day I had my interview, of course. It was a torrential downpour, and my umbrella was nowhere to be found. I arrived an hour early, and spent about fifteen minutes ringing the wet out of my hair with paper towels. Yeah. 

This is what I wore to the interview:

I've talked to my friends who've gone through this, and nobody really dressed up for their interviews. They're very casual, at least at my school. I opted out of wearing jeans and instead wore some tan pants, a polo, some simple earrings and my Sperrys. By now, I'm sure you've noticed that I have a slight obsession with those shoes.

I wore this nail polish...

OPI Nail Polish "Just Tea-sing"

...because I looked down at my nails the night before and realized that the leftover, chipping green polish from St. Patty's Day wasn't going to cut it. I went to a mock interview way back in middle school, and the one thing I remember is that the interviewers say your nail polish is the first thing they notice when you walk in. Think about it, the first thing you do is shake the interviewer's hand, so it makes sense. You've got to keep your nails looking nice and professional.

A few things about the interview:

• I brought my resume and my unofficial transcript with me, and he seemed very impressed...I would recommend students bringing both of those to any interview
• I took notes while he spoke to me about his various research assignments and looked up what I didn't understand online after the interview
• I heard you're always supposed to come up with a question when they ask you "Do you have any questions?" at the end, so I made a list beforehand of a few. I think this was helpful and showed him that I was serious about this.

It was a great experience, and I'll keep you all posted as soon as I hear more!

--Becky

Harry Potter Ebooks

I just heard the announcement that the Harry Potter series is finally available as ebooks!

It's only around $50 for the whole series, which isn't bad at all in my opinion. All the hardcover books I have probably cost four times that.

Via

Guys, this summer is no longer going to be productive in any shape or form. The last time I read the whole series must've been when the 7th book came out. So this summer I have a date with my Nook and 4,182 pages of Harry Potter.

Source: skreened.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Still, the announcement is bittersweet. When I first started reading HP way back in the 2nd grade, I never imagined that by the time I was in college I'd be reading the series on a screen. It's strange, because I have such fond memories of reading the big ol' hardcover things. It was so special to hold the physical books at midnight the day they were released, smell the pages, and read the synopsis on the inside cover.

Embarrassing throwback time: my sister and I for one of the midnight book releases EONS ago. 

However, the Nook versions are going to be so much more convenient for me. Let's face it: at 20, you don't want to be seen reading a Harry Potter book, so I can read the things unbeknown to others on my ereader. Plus, the books are freakin' tomes. My backpack is heavy enough, thank you very much. There is no room for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in it.

If I have kids, I'm definitely going to introduce them to Harry Potter the old fashioned way with the hardbacks. However, the ebooks are a perfect solution for where I am right now in my life.What's everybody's opinions on the ebook versions?

How to Wear Sperrys

I've been getting a lot of hits from Google on my Sperrys post, mostly from people who've Googled "how to wear sperrys". So I thought I'd come up with a little guide on how I wear Sperrys in the summertime!

Casual

In my opinion, Sperrys look really good with shorts. On a day where I'm not feelin' getting too dressed up, I pull on a pair of shorts, a polo shirt or a cute vintage graphic tee, my fake Ray Bans and my Sperrys. My school colors are maroon and gold, which aren't the most summery colors in the world. Instead of wearing my school colors, I usually get Loyola shirts in bright colors, like the ones pictured above, and wear them with shorts all summer. The jean jacket is also a must if it's a chilly day or, like me, you have to spend your summer in a chilly air-conditioned lecture hall.

Classy

These looks embody a classic preppy/nautical look, which I love in the summertime. If you want to wear jeans with your Sperrys, wear a pair of bootcuts instead of skinnys...wearing skinnys makes the shoes look a little clunky.

Trendy

I wanted to try to make an outfit using a pair of non-traditional Sperrys, like the tangerine ones pictured above. I love the idea of pairing colored Sperrys with colored shorts and a simple top. In my head, the Sperrys look good with the skirts I pictured. Try it out and tell me how it goes!

Weekend Wrap-Up (2)

It was a scary weekend at the (insert my last name here) household.

My sister, the lead of the school play, came down with a fever the night she was supposed to perform.

GASP.

Literally every relative in the state (and some out of state) came over to our house to see the play. It was a freakin' zoo. My grandmas were here, my aunts and uncles, my cousins. My parents friends, their friends, my sister's friends...you get the idea. So she had to perform. She really had no choice. I wanted to go into her room various times that night, bounce on her bed and go "you're not sick! You're getting up! You're doing this play!"

Well, guys, she did it. And I have just a few (albeit blurry) pictures to show it.

Yeah, she did all of this sick. I don't think I could memorize all those lines, let along sing!

Seeing the play was a nice trip down memory lane. I was in one play and stage-managed a musical with my sister before I graduated. During our last show, my friend graffitied a piece of the wall backstage with our names on it.

Yep. Still there. I'm surprised I never got fined for it.

All the pictures I took with Katie turned out horrible! Not only did I forget to bring my contacts home, but everything was so rushed that the pictures ended up blurry. Oh well, here's one anyway! 

Sometimes I'm so happy I have a sister. Don't know what I'd do without her.

--Becky

April Blog Button Swap

Hey guys!

So I've seen a few bloggers do this and I think it's a great idea. Anyone want to have a blog button swap for the month of April? I'll post your button on my blog for the month of April, and you can post mine on yours. This will definitely help all of our blogs get some extra traffic and maybe a few new readers. And my blog needs some bedazzling anyway.

If you're interested, email me at beckygluc@gmail.com and paste the code I provided on the right-hand side of this page onto your blog. Then send me your button so I can put it on my blog!

Here's the tutorial I used on how to make a blog button, because I was pretty clueless on how to do it. My little sister sat down with me for a half an helping me design it on photoshop. I swore to her that the text wasn't centered, so we moved it one pixel at a time. Annoying, yes, but I guess it was sister-sister bonding time, right?

Again, let me know if you're interested, and have a great week!

--Becky

P.S. Miss Southern Prep is having a Lilly Pulitzer giveaway! Check it out!

Posters

For those of you going to college soon, be prepared: you are about to move into a shoebox. An overpriced, loud, smelly shoebox, otherwise known as a college dorm. It's a pretty hard adjustment. Along with having to share your room with a roommate, your sense of personal space is completely gone. Everything you loved about your room at home is no more.

The easiest way to ease the transition and make your dorm look a little nicer? POSTERS. Seriously, I didn't have posters in my room until about October of my freshman year--you do not know how depressing it looked in there before that. I found all my posters extremely cheap on Amazon. We're talking under a dollar here per poster! You do have to pay for shipping, but your posters come in quickly and in perfect condition.

Here's the posters I have in my dorm right now:

Oui! Paris! I love the vintage feel of this picture of the Eiffel Tower. I picture myself in a hotel room, waking up in the morning and looking out of the window to this view.

I wanted another black-and-white poster in order to match my similarly-colored bedspread. Since I love movies, I thought, why not? Every now and then I stop whatever I'm doing and read a few of the movie quotes, trying to remember if I've seen that movie or not.

These two are my roommate's posters. The Friends poster sums up our day-to-day life. We watch reruns of the sitcom on Nick almost every night! My favorite quote from it? "Never use 'we were on a break' as an excuse". I always crack up at Ross shouting "We were on a break!!!"

The Dalai Lama poster is due to the fact that the Dalai Lama himself is coming to my university next month! I'm sure I'll have tons more to say about the experience when it nears. The inspirational quotes are really nice to read, especially when I'm having a bad day and need to tell myself everything's going to be okay.

We put this poster over the futon in our living-room area. It's kind of fun looking at--it really makes me realize that I'm pretty illiterate when it comes to geography. Worse than Miss South Carolina? I know where Iraq is on the map, thank god, so at least that's something.

The main idea I'm trying to get at? Find posters that will make you happy. College can be so stressful at times that you need something to pick you up, even if its only a quote on a Dalai Lama poster. Or these wonderful words of wisdom from Friends: "Never let a chick or a duck near a foosball table".

--Becky

Hunger Games Mania

I feel like every single blogger is talking about the Hunger Games coming out today, so I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon. It's not just bloggers and teens that are excited about the movie. It seems like everyone on my college campus either went to the midnight premiere or are going tonight. So much for being just teen books, right?

My friends keep reposting this on Facebook, and I laugh every time I see it.

Via

Hunger Games nail polish! I have no idea which one is my favorite. I guess I like the Luxe and Lush color, but it's only a topcoat. Sigh...

Via

Via

By connecting with your Facebook at http://thecapitol.pn/, you can get assigned to a district. I really got a kick out of this because my profile or whatever ended up being so true. Take a look!

Not only am I in district 8, which is where I always thought Chicago would end up being, but it also says I would be a weaver. Guys, I already knit, so how perfect would that job be?

I don't know when I'll get to see the movie, since I'm going to be focused this week on schoolwork and visiting my family at home. For all those that go to see it this weekend, have fun! And may the odds be ever in your favor.

Thursday Tip: Organic Chem Lab

Every Thursday I write about my experience being a premed student. Today I'm not giving out any tips, per say. I'm on a time crunch and, by the time this post is published, will have taken my second organic chemistry II exam (!) My head is full of so many reactions and mechanisms that I can't even think straight.

Here's just a quick example of what we do in organic chemistry lab, along with pictures I took when the lab TA wasn't looking.

Labs are usually a big chunk of time: my orgo lab is three hours every Monday. Last Monday we reacted p-toluidine with sodium acetate and acetic acid. Not that this means anything to anyone. I don't even know what it means. This is my version of the lab:

We started out with these cool crystal-looking rocks....

We put some water and solvents in, and we got this:

Really, it doesn't look that hard but it's so finicky. We didn't end up with enough product because we started with about .01 grams less of sodium acetate than we should've (I'm serious). It's such a pain! But sometimes, when you think about it, organic chemistry lab is kind of cool. We're able to wield the power of turning materials like the rocks above into something totally different.

What makes it fun is when I relate lab to Potions class in Harry Potter. I must say, now I know why Harry always struggled with it.

--Becky

Sperrys

Summer (yes, I said summer, not spring) is here to stay, it seems. The weather in Chicago is going to be in the 60s and 70s for the foreseeable future. Yeah, I don't get it either, but I'm not complaining anymore. Summer weather means it's time for summer shoes.

Via

Aparently my feet need to get reacclimated to wearing flats instead of boots. The first day of warm weather I started off simple by wearing some black flats, kind of like the ones below. Being able to feel a fresh breeze on the top of my feet felt so good after spending a winter burrowing them inside of Uggs (sidebar: Uggs are kind of a staple in Chicago. That's just the way it is, since the weather can get to be below 0. Don't judge).

After about a day walking all over campus, going to Lincoln Park to volunteer, and walking up and down a thousand stairs, I wanted to kill my shoes. I wanted them gone, thrown out the window, never to be seen again. Showing you the blisters on my feet would probably gross you out and keep you from ever reading this blog again, so I'm not going to do that.

Via

To make a long story short, the six red cuts on my feet mean that I need to wear comfortable footwear for the next few days. I've been wearing my Sperrys. I absolutely love Sperrys! My mom calls them "clunky", but she just doesn't get it. They add some pizzazz to any outfit, like this simple one I was wearing the other day.

Via Polyvore

This is the pair I have, although the edge is pink.

Via

My friend went to a Sperrys outlet store when she was down in Florida over the break, and she got this cute pair. I'm so jealous, I'm a sucker for anything plaid.

Via

On the Sperry website there are now Sperry boots, Sperry high heels, Sperry everything. Out of the trendy shoes, I think I like these the best. They come in a color that's really popular right now, but they still have that classic look to them.

Via

--Becky

The Artist

So this is gonna be a long post. Just warning you. Skip to the part with my grandma, that's where it gets interesting.

Via

I'm a bit of a movie buff and I've been rooting for The Artist to sweep the Awards season ever since I saw it. I don't think a lot of people have heard about it, or if they have, they were turned off by the description right away (like I was). Say that it's a black and white film, and instantly 75% of the population turns away. Say that it's a silent film? Basically, you lose...everyone.

I never intended on seeing the film. My sister begged and begged me to go see it with her, and I told her simply there was no way in hell I would see a silent movie. I need sound, people! It's the 21st century! Hell, we can do movies in 3D, for gods sake! Why make a movie without sound?

One morning during Christmas break, my family and I received a phone call that my grandpa had passed away. We spent hours at home being miserable and in a state of shock, when my dad rallied us up and said we were going to see a movie to cheer up. We all just kind of went along with it and numbly went into the car. He refused to tell us what movie we were seeing until we got there. And guess what? We were seeing the freakin' Artist.

I honestly wanted to stay in the car. I was not in the mood to see a movie, especially this one. But this wasn't the day for me to act like a two-year-old. 

And I'm glad I watched it, because I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I don't want to give the plot away, but the movie is about a silent film star in the 20s and what happens to him when the "talkie" films come around. Your eyes will be on the main character, Jean du Jardin, the entire time. With one smile he'll pull you in. There is something so intriguing about him that makes the movie enjoyable to watch. His costar and love interest, Berenice Bejo, is equally impressive, maybe because she just seems so real. The talent of the actors, along with the exclusion of sound and color, transports you to the 20s and you'll feel like you're actually there.

Ok, enough with my love affair for this movie. There's also a DOG in the film! Uggie! See? He's right below, right down there! He went to all the Award shows with the rest of the cast this season. Dude, a dog gets to go to the Academy Awards. What's up with that?

Via

During my spring break, my dad and I took my grandma (the other grandma...not the one who just lost her husband) to see The Artist. We took our seats, waited for the previews to end, and suddenly the picture went out. Now, this isn't a good thing when you're watching a silent film. All we could hear was music, and my Grandma kept asking me "Is this part of the movie?" Eventually they got the picture up and running again after about fifteen minutes, but the whole situation was just very ironic.

Now, my Grandma is notorious for...everything. I love her, but I need to devote a whole blog post to her one of these days. Due to her personality, I did not expect her to enjoy this movie. But she couldn't stop talking about it! Halfway through the movie, she was so engaged that she asked us out loud, so everyone could hear her, "This is going to have a happy ending, right?" After it ended, she made me assure to her that she wasn't imaging things that Jean du Jardin really was attractive and handsome as she thought he was.

When was the last time you, your artsy 18-year-old sister, apathetic parents and quirky grandmother all enjoyed the same movie? Seriously, go out, see "The Artist" NOW with everyone you know, glue back together those severed family ties. "The Artist" is a true heartfelt movie, and we don't see many of those anymore.

St. Patty's Weekend Wrap-Up

Edit: I have two major tests and an essay due this week, so if I don't reply to your comments right away/comment on your blogs, it's because I'm super busy! I'll catch up after Thursday, though, when I'll be done.

This weekend was actually a lot of fun. It was St. Patrick's Day weekend, and not only am I college student, but I live in Chicago, where we go all out on the holiday. We have a parade, we dye the river green...but unfortunately I'm getting ahead of myself. Sadly, no St. Patrick's Day parties for me this year: I have a little friend called orgo visiting me next week--that is, in the form of a test. Trust me, you can't study this material with a hangover. It doesn't even make any sense without one.

Friday I have no classes. Yeah, don't be too jealous: the rest of my week is hellish to make up for it. I went in the afternoon to a focus group. It was only an hour and a half and I got a $50 gift card for attending. Win. The amazing gift card below:

At night my friends and I went to a free piano concert preformed by music faculty members. They professors were amazing, and it made me regret giving up on my piano lessons in college. There's no way I can ever be close to being as good as the performers. This is almost exactly what the concert looked like...same stage, same set up, same everything.

Via

We kinda snuck into an Islamic Awareness Dinner afterwards (hey, my friend is part of that Muslim Student Alliance association, so don't judge me). Yum, samosas...

Saturday was homework day. Yay. How fun.

I did get in the spirit of St. Patricks Day. See? Green nails! And all my notecards on aromatic substitutions.

None of us could go to parties or anything because of our fifty million tests this week. One of my friends has four science tests and a paper to write. Instead, we had fun listening to all the drunk people and ambulances outside of our window. It was very entertaining. Around ten p.m. we finished studying and watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

It was a weird movie, guys. We liked it, but none of us were prepared for what was in store. We all loved another one of Woody Allen's movies, Midnight in Paris, but it was nothing like this. Saying anything about the plot would spoil the whole movie, so I'm going to let you find out for yourself.

Sunday I slept in a little bit. I was able to talk to my roommate's cousin, who stayed overnight on our futon (sidebar: definitely get a futon for college. I've gotten so much use out of the thing and it's made my room feel like home!) Then back to studying...

The weather was so nice that my friends and I couldn't stay inside the whole day. We became restless and ending up going to the beach! It's about a block away from my campus, and is actually right next to the building I'll be living in next year. We didn't stay too long because it all of sudden grew chilly, but it was nice being able to feel the waves on our feet for the first time in six months.

Via (by the way, that's my apartment next year in the distance!)

We wrapped up the weekend by going to the. best. restaurant. of. all. time. I'm not a big lover of fast food, but Bop and Grill in Roger's Park isn't like any old burger joint. It's "Korean Fusion", so it mixes traditional Korean ingredients with the American food we love. I had a Kimchi burger, which is a heart attack in a bun but so good. Kimchi (Korean cabbage), fried egg, bacon, cheese, and a bunch of gooey stuff...weirdest combo, but so good!

Via

I can't wait for next weekend. Though I'm not even going to be home for 48 hours, I get to see my little sister in her last high school musical, West Side Story! Now I just gotta get through this week.