SWELL Clothing

I've been going through all the random shit covering the floor and table tops and shelves in my room and getting rid of as much as I can part with. Today, I found a gem in the form of an old SWELL Clothing catalog. Since it was out-of-date, I went online to swell.com to look at their current collection (laid-back summer surfer I shall soon be!) and now I wish I hadn't. Way too many adorable dresses for my wallet to take! (especially since my interview today didn't exactly go as planned and I still don't have a summer job :[ ) Here are some highlights:

Spare Lace Dress



Gentlefawn Highway Dress



Spare Bluebell Maxi Dress



Billabong Miss You Dress

Or maybe I'm just obsessed with this model... ahhahaah

Taking Back Sunday

Just picked up the new album. And sold my day, and possibly my week, to it.

'nuff said.

Marriage Equality in New York

On Friday, June 24th, 2011 (just before midnight, so almost on the 25th), New York Govenor Andrew Cuomo signed New York's gay marriage bill into law. The measure, passed by bipartisan vote, makes New York the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriages (following Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C.) and the third state to legalize same-sex marriage through legislation, not by being forced to do so by a court (following Vermont and New Hampshire). New York is also by far the largest state to provide equal rights to same-sex couples, so I believe that other states will follow suit, especially ones that have supported marriage equality in the past, like my two homes, Oregon and California.

The crowds outside Stonewall Inn in the West Village,
where the gay-rights movement began more than 40 years ago.

I wish I could be in New York or even San Francisco for the wicked awesome street parties and celebrations that I'm sure are going on now and will probably be going on for the next couple days!



New York Govenor Andrew Cuomo, center, after the vote.

I love love! I'm so glad that the world is finally seeing that we should celebrate all types of love (even those different from our own, especially those different from our own!) because there is enough hate in our world already!

Check out this article on www.msnbc.msn.com for more information!

T-Shirt Quilts

My mom and I are going to make me a t-shirt quilt this summer out of all of my old high school t-shirts (from volleyball, leadership, the play, other sports). I'm so excited because this way I get to remember all of the great memories that go along with these shirts even though I don't wear them anymore! I'll put up a photo of the finished product!

Taking Back Sunday

I just saw Taking Back Sunday live for the second time this past weekend and they were so much better than the first time I saw them live. They were so incredible that I can't even explain in words. And what's even more incredible (if that's possible) is that their new album Taking Back Sunday is coming out next Tuesday the 28th. I'm so stoked; I'm buying it the minute Everyday Music in Beaverton opens. This latest release from the band has the goods to be their best yet because the Tell All Your Friends line-up is back and in fighting form. So I'm thinking Taking Back Sunday will have the raw sound and emotion of their 2002 album as well as the maturity that shined through in Louder Now and New Again. The guys are obviously a whole heckuva lot happier in this line up than they were in any of the other line-ups since Shaun Cooper and John Nolan left in the first place (if you don't believe me, pick up the July 2011 issue of Alternative Press Magazine and read the Complete Oral History of Taking Back Sunday or read it online (and in pieces) at altpress.com).

The question is... what will I do until the 28th? Well, possibly what I've been doing for the past three days since the concert, listening to Tell All Your Friends on constant loop in my car at a volume level that can't possibly be good for my future as a.. well... hearing individual.



Here are some shots I took on Friday at the Roseland PDX. They aren't that great because I'm a mediocre photographer at best and I recently misplaced my decent camera and had to bring my mother's not-so-decent camera to this show:

 

 

 

 

Paul Rodriguez



2010 Dew Tour: Wendy's Invitational in Portland, Ore.



Can't wait til August 11th for the first day of Portland Invitational! Thursday brings us Skate Street Prelims; Friday, Street Semi-Finals; and Saturday, Street Finals. Ahhhh! I'm so stoked.

Gossip Girl: Season 1

I started re-watching the Gossip Girl series and they're so young in the first season! Jenny is so cute and innocent. And Blair is so deliciously bitchy and Chuck is loving himself some scarfs!

summah reading

Just finished Sing Me Home by Jodi Picoult and now working my way through One Lonely Degree by C.K. Kelly Martin.  I love having nothing to do but read!

MTV's Teen Wolf

I started watching Teen Wolf two days ago and I had to catch up, so I've watched three episodes already today! I'm loving Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, aka Teen Wolf, Dylan O'Brien as Stiles, aka Scott's goofy best friend, and Crystal Reed as Allison Argent, aka Scott's love interest and "new girl in town with a dark family secret" (I don't want to give anything away, but I have a feeling the family secret is going to get in the way of Scott and Allison's relationship!).

I just love how cute Scott is with Allison; how he totally acts like an awkward sixteen year old around her. But that may be because he is an awkward sixteen year old (even though Tyler Posey is actually nineteen years old and older than I am)!

And as always...

Remember Maid in Manhattan with Jennifer Lopez? Well Tyler Posey was her son in it!

Tyler plays also guitar/vocals in the band, Lost in Kostko (second from the right).

Look for Crystal Reed in Crazy, Stupid, Love. out July 29th!

vegan cooking (and baking)

Sorry I haven't blogged in days! My life has been crazy with the end of finals then packing up my SCU life and heading back to the OR. But things have settled (although my room is still a mess), so tonight I'm tackling some vegan cooking like Jason Street tackled a Westerby Chaps player in the pilot episode of Friday Night Lights. Well actually, hopefully I'm a little more successful and don't become paralyzed as a result!

But I'll keep you informed of my progress! Making Vegan Pad Thai and Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs tonight and hopefully Mac N' TeaseCheese later this week (if tonight goes well!). And keep your eyes open for pictures and a review from the concert I went to last night (Austin Gibbs, the Maine, and Augustana) as soon as I get the pictures from Ms. Emily Tait!

*All recipes courtesy of "Living Vegan for Dummies"

being done with my freshman year of college

Highlights?

FALL:



WINTER:



SPRING:

...Sorry about that plethora of photos, but it's been a great year. And honestly, more than half of the best moments aren't on here because we were too busy having fun, being crazy, racing, practicing, laughing, drunk texting, flirting, singing, dancing, stalking, sleeping, snuggling, screaming, beer-ponging, traveling, just living in the moment and making memories to worry about taking a picture...

So, sophomore year... got the goods to beat that??