An Ode to Fall

Fall is unbelievably beautiful.

When days are like droplets of dew that I wake up to find each morning on the grass: clear and fleeting and simple. The sun is out and the sky is icy blue, and looks farther away than it did in the compressing summer heat. The wind is tickling the leaves of trees, which crunch together like chimes, turning orange and yellow and brown. The air is brisk and hurts a little when it enters my lungs because it’s so fresh and cool.

Shopping My Way Through Vancouver

So, back to my Vancouver trip! Sorry it’s taken so long for me to continue this; summer is turning out to be just as busy as the school year. You can see my other posts in this series here (the general stuff) and here (walking my way through Vancouver).

Personally, I didn’t do much shopping. I told myself beforehand that I really didn’t need anything, because– let’s face it– I have enough stuff. I only bought one thing, which, I think, is pretty good considering the number of stores we went into. Anyway, enough about my shopping habits, you want to hear about all the cool stores I saw!

As I said in my last post in this series, there were a few streets which were really packed full of shopping, but mostly big name brands like Adidas, lululemon, old navy, etc. we didn’t really go into those because we weren’t interested this time around, and because we have those in Seattle.

However, we did find some cool stores:

Is This Real!?

Dear USWNT,

I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that yesterday actually happened. My throat is still sore from cheering.

I think that I can pretty safely say that going to the women’s World Cup final in Vancouver was the coolest, most amazing thing I’ve ever done. Right now I really can’t think of anything cooler.

A Fishy Salad

Hello! I was just working on a longer post, when I suddenly realized that I’ve missed Food or Thought! I’ve just barely been out of school for a week and already I don’t know what day it is.

Last Thursday I took advantage of not having practice to make dinner. My mom had picked up some halibut that morning, so I had to find something to do with that. I looked up halibut recipes online, and I decided on this one from Real Simple:

Avocado and Chickpea Salad with Halibut

Serves 4 

Hands-On Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Four 4-ounce pieces halibut

kosher salt and black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

8 cups mixed greens

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

One avocado, sliced

One half small red onion, thinly sliced

On Inspiration, and an Amazing Spoken Poem

I am the most easily inspired person I know.

Which is a good thing and a bad thing, I guess, because you realistically can’t do it all.

Videos, a life story, quotes (I love these, I actually collect quotes), statistics, hearing about something someone did somewhere, even the cheesiest inspirational advice you’ve ever heard– it all gets me super excited to go work hard, push myself and/or change the world! And don’t even get me started on motivational speeches.

Summer 2015 Bucket List

Today is my first day of summer vacation! Woooooo! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to say that!

To kick it off, I thought I’d share the summer to-do list that’s been accumulating in one of my notebooks. In no particular order, here’s what I want to do in the next couple of months:

Bites of Joy

Have you ever bitten into a little ball of delicious happiness?

If not, you’d better run over to Trader Joe’s right now, and ask for a box of Chocolate Coconut Almonds. A few weeks ago my mom brought a little plastic container of these chocolate balls home, and since then we’ve always had a stock in our cabinet.

If you shop at Trader Joe’s, you’ll know these little morsels are dangerous the second you see them.

Of Monsters and Men

Oh my goodness, everyone! I have so much to write about and not enought time to write it! Oh well… Summer’s almost here!

Today I wanted to make you all aware of the excitement that will be taking place on this Tuesday, June 9th! 

Drumroll please…. Of Monsters and Men are releasing their second album, Beneath the Skin!!!

For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain.

Back in 2011, some band from Iceland released their first album, My Head is an Animal. And some radio station in Seattle called the End started playing a song from it, called Little Talks. And then, some little girl told her dad to get her mom that album for Mother’s Day, because the mom really liked that song.

One sunny almost-summer day, the mom was playing the album on the house stereo, and the little girl, who was sitting on the backyard patio, caught these words: “the forest that once was green, was colored black by those killing machines…” And she was hooked.

I hadn’t ever heard such a good song that so gracefully told a story. I love mythology, and the song has something of a folklore feel to it that I was attracted to. It was also the first time I really got into listening to music.

For the next three months, I listened to that album every. Single. Day. I loved it. Correction: I do love it. That was the first album I completely memorized. When one song finished, I could begin the next before the song even started. I knew every word.
I still know almost the whole thing, but of course after a while I started listening to other artists and sort of forgot about OMAM for a little bit.

But now they are releasing a new album and it’s going to be AMAZING! So far, they’ve released four songs from it that I know of. I’ve linked them all below. My favorite is Empire.

The other excitement is that I’m going to see OMAM live this August! Yay! I was lucky enough to see them in December of 2013, but they were part of a nine-band concert, so the focus wasn’t so much on them. This time, though, it’s going to be all OMAM all the time. I can’t wait!

Enought about me, now… More about the music!

OMAM has a distinct style. They’re an indie/alternative band. Their songs range from pump-up sing-a-longs to calming, put-me-to-sleep melodies. They are very catchy (I find) and easy to sing to. Like I mentioned before, a lot of their songs tell stories. So once you listen to them a few times and start to really pay attention to the lyrics, you are rewarded with a beautifully told and sung story. A story which which is told in a way that leaves it up to interpretation, making the song a sort of personal experience.

If you’ve never heard their music, I strongly, strongly suggest you listen to their album (soon to be albums!), and basically fall in love with them like I did. If you have heard their songs, then don’t forget to get super pumped for Tuesday! And regardless of wether you’ve even heard of Of Monsters and Men or not, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Links to the latest releases:*

Crystals

Empire

Hunger 

I of the Storm

*As usual, I recommend you don’t watch the video when you listen to the song, at least at first, because associating something visual with the song right away can ruin your own understanding of it. These videos are all just lyric ones with people dancing, but just listen first. Then if you want to watch later.

Image credit: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/filters/guests/131726

I Gurt, You Gurt, We all Gurt for Yogurt!

The other week when my grandma was in town, she and my mom brought home this new kind of special yogurt that my grandma said is amazing (I think they got it at Whole Foods). It was coconut flavored with shredded coconut mixed in. 

 

this is the lemon one. (obviously.)

 
The company is Noosa, named after Noosa, Australia, where the company is located. I just took a peek at the nutrition facts for one of these things, and it’s got a lot of fat and a ton of protein in each serving, exactly what I look for in yogurt! 

I’m sort of lactose-intolerant, so I didn’t try it right then, but a few days later, I had to try a bite of that coconut.

 

the flavors currently in my fridge.

 
And the best part about this new treat? It may as well have been dessert. It was so good. I also tried the lemon. I’m not normally a big fan of lemon flavoring, but this was delicious. 

Bottom line: get Noosa Yoghurt. You won’t regret it.

Check back next Monday to satisfy your appetite!*

  
So… Obviously I’m not posting as much as I’d like. It’s going to be like this at least the next couple weeks, because next Friday I have an AP exam that I really need to study for. So I’m going to go for shorter posts so I can hopefully post more often than I have been.

*I know for most of you it’s not Monday anymore, but it is for me, so this food or thought is on time! 😉

Hot Cakes: Molten Joy

Happy Food or Thought Day! This week, once again, the eater in me has taken over the thinker. So food today it is!

This Saturday, my family and I went on an outing down to our neighborhood’s Market Street. It was my birthday a couple weeks ago, and instead of getting a bunch of stuff, my parents gave me the much better present of experiences! Certificates like: tour the chocolate factory (that trip will be written about), get a pedicure, etc. One of these lovely treats was “Go to Hot Cakes”.

There’s an adorable little cakery down off Market with a rustic/classic bakery sort of design. The front window displays chopped logs and jars of chocolate sauce. The name of the shop– Hot Cakes–  is self-explanatory; just imagine! A whole bakery that specializes in molten chocolate cakes. Brilliant! It’s a small space inside, but it had nice wooden tables and a bar along the far wall. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the place was starting to get busy.