I like this, this, and this. Oh, and this.

I've been discovering lots of things that I like lately, so excuse me if this post is a little bit sporadic.

For starters, Jenny & Tyler did a show on Friday night in the Dixon Center. I had never seen them before, but I'm officially hooked. They are really talented, completely adorable together (seriously--and I don't say that sort of thing often), and really sweet, personable, and friendly overall. Their songs are so well-written (some of my favorites are "One-Eyed Cat," "Deepest Parts of Me," "Muse," and "Love Through Me") and their voices go together perfectly. Also, I love the design of their This Isn't a Dream album cover, especially the back!:

What can I say? I just really like artsy, well-designed things! That being said, I've been looking at lots of design blogs lately. It has come in handy, too, because it has inspired my roommate and I to come up with ideas for our apartment next semester (only 5 months away! I am so excited). One blog I've been reading a lot is design me daily. I was going through some of the archives yesterday and stumbled across a post on there that lead me to Single Stone Studio's Etsy shop that features lots of really cool wall decals. Hello, living room decor! A few favorites:

 

I love the way everything in this picture is designed. I wish we could use paint in our apartment, because I would so do this! I like the two-tone thing for the flowers.

 

Simple, but very cool and classy. You can also get it in your choice of one out of 40 different colors. Love it.

I apparently have a new thing for this whole birds and cherry blossom design thing, because I've found a lot of things like it that I really, really like. Too bad this decal is $75. :( Not quite in my budget.

Anyway, yeah, I'm getting really excited about this whole apartment thing. I love simple, modern things, and these with a nature-y theme are just a plus. Definitely my thing. It makes me wish I was getting my own house so I could go all out with paint and everything. Having an unlimited supply of money would be awesome, too... Sigh.

Something else I love: Photography. All kinds. For real. Favorite thing ever.

  © Mandy Lynne Photography 

This picture makes me really happy for some reason. I don't know if it's the colors, the lighting, the little girl, the fact that it's outside, or all of the above, but I like it a lot.

 © Max Wanger

I have a thing for engagement photos in general. :)

One last favorite thing: Sunny days in the park with friends!

 

Sunday afternoon, a group of about 12 of my favorite people went to Fletcher Park to have a picnic to celebrate Tuna's 20th birthday. It was gorgeous, and I loved getting to spend time with all of them so much! (My nose is still suffering from a run-in with a Frisbee, but other than that, it was a great time.)

Okay, sorry for the overload. Trust me, there could have been way more!

Hello, sunshine!

It's amazing what a little sunshine can do for me. I know I mentioned this the other day, but all this wintry weather has been getting to me. I've never been one to be prone to depression, especially not just because of the fact that it's winter, but good grief, enough with the clouds already! And really, if it must snow, can we at least get enough to cancel classes? 'Cause that'd be awesome. Let's have one or the other, preferably the warm and sunny stuff. I mean, really, it's gotten so bad that I am super excited that The Weather Channel (best thing ever) says it's going to be 56 degrees on Sunday. That's almost 60! And 60s = SPRING, SPRING, SPRING!!! Don't let me down, weather.com.

Another thing that made my life a little happier today was seeing my Little Pal, Katie! I love that kid so much. Every time I go to the Boys & Girls Club, she always makes me really thankful that I finally got around to joining BPLP. We are so much alike. It's ridiculous. Not only do people say we look like sisters, we have tons of things in common. Neither of us are super girly (but not tomboyish, either). We both love outdoorsy stuff, reading, and art. Other than a zillion common interests, there are a bunch of little things, like the fact that we both randomly skip when we walk, or that we both really, really like broccoli (as I discovered today). You know, just random things. I love it. No questions here--we were meant to be!

Okay, it would probably be a good idea to do a little more studying for the Social Psych exam I get to take in the morning. (I'm super proud of myself--for the first time in forever, I have been exceptionally focused tonight!) Cognitive dissonance, self-efficacy, fundamental attribution error, blah blah blah. OKAYBYE!!