- - ayiMori - -

I'm sure that I had other celebrity crushes as a child, but there is only one I can remember. And this guy is still my number one celebrity crush to this today.

via

Meet Ben Barnes! Beautiful brunette british wonderful Ben Barnes! Although, sometimes more recognizable to people as Prince Caspian from Narnia. 

via

He has also been in other films like Dorian Gray, Killing Bono, The Big Wedding, and most recently The Seventh Son. 

And if Ben Barnes as an actor wasn't good enough. Surprise! He also used to be in a boy band called Hyrise! Meaning Ben can sing!

With my departure date quickly approaching, I decided that it was time to pack. And pack I did! I managed to fit all my stuff into two bags; a suitcase and my backpack.

So using 2 bags for an 8 week study abroad program - this is possible!

Before I started packing, there was a few things that I did first. I was going to four different countries, so I made sure to look up the weather and the customs of dress for each country. Since I will be there in the summer, for the most part every place will be ~ 70 - 80˚F. But the nights will get chilly, reaching temperatures of ~ 50˚F. So that means lightweight pieces that can be easily layered.

Next, I started to plan out all of my outfits. I laid out some basic pieces and made sure that each top would match at least 3 different bottoms. I wanted to bring the minimum amount of clothes I could, but I wanted to make sure I could have many different outfits. One thing that helped me plan this was the app, Clothe to Me.

 

I decided to take - sorry I forgot to take pictures!

- 2 weeks worth of socks (and tights) and underwear

- 6 bottoms (1 leggings, 1 jeans, 2 shorts, 2 skirts)

- 10 shirts 

- 4 dresses ( 3 casual, 1 more formal)

- 4 layering pieces (2 cardigans, 1 sweatshirt, 1 chambray)

- 2 scarves

- 2 workout outfits

- 5 shoes (1 converse, 1 sandals, 1 heeled boots, 1 birkenstocks, 1 running shoes)

- 1 bathing suit

How did I fit all of this into my suitcase and still have room for other things? Two things - rolling, instead of folding all your clothes, and packing cubes, which are a huge space saver! I was able to use packing cubes to keep all of my clothes organized too!

After packing my clothes, I had a lot of extra space. Everyone kept telling me that things in Europe are more expensive here, so I bought a lot of my necessities here and will fill the extra space with them. I am bringing shampoo, conditioner, soap, face soap, sunscreen, lotion, makeup wipes, and dry shampoo. I also brought feminine products, polaroid film, tissues, towels, foldable laundry bag, foldable duffle bag, and a makeup bag (not pictured).

And here's all my stuff nicely fitted into my suitcase! Everything fits nicely together and is organized so I know exactly what to take out my first night there. Also, in case I do end up buying enough things that I can't fit it back into my suitcase for my return flight, I bought a foldable duffle bag. That way on my return flight, I can check my suitcase for free and carry on the duffle bag.

And that's it! I'm so excited to be going abroad! Everything seems to fit and work so well and I can't wait to meet so many new people and experience so many new things!!

Here is the travel bag (here)!

Since I am going abroad, I need a sturdy bag that will carry all of my stuff. My study abroad experience will be shorter than most, so I am trying to keep all my stuff organized and compact as possible. This goes for the same with my bag!

I found this bag at T.J. Maxx with my mom. However, I have learned the trick to look in the men's aisle because they have bigger and more useful bags. The bag is from Field and Stream, a hunting and fishing company. So naturally this bag is a nice neutral color, and more importantly has lots of pockets! There is one main pocket, with a laptop sleeve inside and a secret mesh zippered pocket inside.  There are four main zippered compartments on the outside of the bag; one on each side, one on the front, and one on the flap. Inside the front pocket is even more pockets and other organizers. The back of the bag has another laptop compartment and a sleeve that will allow the backpack to rest on a suitcase handle.

So what's inside my bag?

Here's what is in the main pocket:

Folder This folder holds all my important travel documents and other papers regarding my program

Journal This is my personal journal that I use to write about everything and anything

Planner I cannot go anywhere without my planner! Inside I have all my dates, birthdays, and assignments written down.

iPad I don't know - this one goes without saying. This will be my entertainment on the flight, complete with movies and ebooks. I also am bringing my computer!

Packing cube For those of you who don't own packing cubes, go buy some now! These are the best way to organize and pack clothes! Our program asked us to take one outfit in our non- checked bag (probably in case something happens to our luggage), so I fit my pajamas and another day's outfit into this

Stuffed bunny I'm not someone who needs tons of comfort objects, but I love my plushes! And this is one my boyfriend gave me last year on my birthday. So as a reminder of home, I am bringing this along

Hairbrush This also goes without saying - but after a long flight it will be nice to get off of the plane and touch up

And of course, I fit things in all the other pockets:

Wallet This wallet is great because there are two cash slots, so I can keep my USD separate from my Euros (similar here).

First aid kit This is a simple first aide kit, inside is just bandaids, gauze, some antiseptic wipes, and some advil. But hopefully there won't be anything too dramatic, which would make me need a larger kit!

Passport Okay - this one is really self explainable

Travel lotion I tend to find that airplanes dry my hands out, so a small lotion helps keep them feeling happy

Lip balm For the same reasons above, my lips tend to get really dry in airplanes too

iPod For all your musical needs and desires

Toothpaste and toothbrush I mean, this is a long flight, and at the end I will be meeting my new classmates. So, in order to put my best foot forwards - I'd like to be able to say hello with a clean smile

Dry shampoo A long flight will definitely make me feel kinda dirty and sluggish, so a quick spray of dry shampoo will at least let my hair feel better

Tissues You never know when these will come in handy!

Water bottle (not pictured) So you can't bring in large amounts of liquid into the airport, but once you get past security you can have liquids. So instead of paying for an expensive water, why not fill up your own bottle. The plus of my water bottle is that it's collapsible, so it's small when not being used.

Headphones (not pictured) You know... you need something to listen to music with

Pencil pouch (not pictured) I am going abroad for classes, so it may be helpful to have some pens

             10 minutes after applying - sorry about the hazing lighting (its not edited!!)                             12 hours after applying

I found that my face did not appear any more or less oily than usual. The coverage was very light, and I liked that I did not feel like I was wearing foundation or sunscreen. After around 4 hours, I noticed that there was a little shininess around my nose, but I just powdered my nose a little bit. However, after 12 hours my face felt oily, and I noticed some more shininess. But unless someone is mere inches from my face, my face looks fine and not as oily as it feels.

All in all I like this foundation! I love how lightweight it feels - and I'm all for eliminating a part of my makeup routine, but I will still use finishing powder. There aren't many shades, but I found it still matched my skin tone well.

This post is part of my Getting to Know Me Blogging Challenge, the goal of which to introduce myself to you. A list of each week's topic can be found in the Introduction post. If you would like to participate in the challenge or write up some blog posts from the challenge, let me know! I would love to read them!

Previous posts:

Week 5: 10 Favorite Foods

Week 4: My Guilty Pleasures

Week 3: Earliest Memory

Week 2: 20 Facts About Me

Week 1: Introduction

The idea behind this project is to leave my boyfriend various letters and small gifts to open while I'm abroad. Each letter has instructions of when he is allowed to open it. Most of my letters had specific dates to open, but some of them had more generic instructions like "open me when you're feeling sick."

My "Open Me..." presents were all letters and small gifts. Most of the letters were for dates that were important or special  to my boyfriend and me. But some of them had little gifts, like for example...

Open Me...

- When you're bored: a homemade crossword about things both of us experienced together

- When you're hungry: a box of his favorite pop tarts

- When you're feeling sick: a box of tissues

- When you really miss me: some bobby pins, this one was a joke - he hates when I leave these around

- When it's the 4th of July: red, white, and blue glow sticks

- & a jar full of hershey kisses, with one "kiss" for each day that I'm gone

I AM GOING ABROAD!!

I am so excited!!! This summer I will be going to Prague, Berlin, Paris, and Madrid on a CIEE psychology program. I will be spending 8 weeks out in Europe studying and experiencing new countries and cultures with other students from the United States.

As a chemistry major, I did not expect to have the opportunity to study abroad. However, after finding out about this summer term program, I did my research and applied! I have since been accepted and am busily working to prepare myself for this wonderful experience~!

I will try to keep you all updated on my journey - but I don't know how much access I will have to internet, so I can't keep any promises. But while I am still in the states, I will post about my preparation and other things I am doing before I leave. And once I am abroad, I will try to post about my travels and I will use #ayimabroad to tag all my instagram pictures. 

Food is so so so so so important to me! Not only do you need it to survive and function - but it's delicious and can even help turn a bad day around. I recently have started learning to cook for myself, and I have references from my friends, housemates, and boyfriend that I'm not too bad at it. So without further adieu, I'd like to share ten of my favorite foods with you!

1. Raspberries

via

Raspberries are hands down one of my favorite foods. They are delicious by themselves or mixed in with other foods. They are also the perfect flavoring for everything sweet; chocolate, cupcakes, ice cream. 

2. Chocolate

via

I hate to play into the typical female stereotype, but I do love chocolate. I stand by the idea of people giving chocolate instead of flowers on Valentine's Day. Although, I do have to say that I am not a fan of white chocolate.

3. Ramen

via

When I say ramen, I am not talking about your college 10 cents packets. I'm talking real intricate delicious authentic asian ramen. I love how you can customize ramen depending on what you are in the mood to eat. Because of this ramen is a wonderful comfort food and also a great dinner option (sometimes even breakfast after a late night)!

4. Grilled Cheese

via

Going along with comfort foods, grilled cheese is one that hits home. Paired with tomato soup, grilled cheese is the best and leads me to a great nostalgic feeling. Also I give mad props to my housemate for making some of the best grilled cheese I've ever had.

5. Peanut Butter Captain Crunch

via

When I was a kid,  I had different types of cereal every morning before school. This by far was my favorite cereal, and while I try to eat healthier cereals, I'll still eat a couple bites of PB Captain Crunch as a small snack. 

6. Chocolate Milk

via

With nearly every meal I have, I'll have a glass of milk with it. Chocolate milk is just a little bit more special and makes for a great treat. I especially love it after a long workout.

7. Dumplings (Gyoza)

via

Whenever Thanksgiving rolls around, I always reach for the mashed potatoes first. They're also a component in some of other favorite foods like shepard's pie. 

9. Sushi

via

In case you're not noticing a trend, I love Japanese food (blame my culture)! So naturally I must include sushi in my list. I'm not very picky on which sushi I eat, but I do love anything with salmon in it. 

10. Strawberry Calpico/ Strawberry Calpis

via

Calpico is one of my favorite drinks. It's a bit hard to describe, but Wikipedia states the drink as a slightly acidic milky yogurt flavored soft drink. So if you don't like yogurt, it's not your thing. But if you like yogurt this is the best drink! It also comes in many other different flavors.

These foods aren't necessarily the healthiest of foods, nor do they follow any particular pattern. But there you have a list of some of my favorite foods. If you want to be my friend, bring mee some and we can enjoy it together! Or tell me some of your favorite foods and we can eat that together too!

This post is part of my Getting to Know Me Blogging Challenge, the goal of which to introduce myself to you. A list of each week's topic can be found in the Introduction post. If you would like to participate in the challenge or write up some blog posts from the challenge, let me know! I would love to read them!

Previous posts:

Week 4: My Guilty Pleasures

Week 3: Earliest Memory

Week 2: 20 Facts About Me

Week 1: Introduction

  

We settled upon making cupcakes from a box kit that was sent to me during the semester. However, seeing as it is the end of the semester - we did not have all the ingredients listed so we improvised a little big. With that being said here is our recipe for...

Maple Sugar Rum Cupcakes (Makes 6 cupcakes)

Vanilla Rum Cupcakes

10 oz cake mix

7 oz water

1 oz vegetable oil

1 tsp rum

Pre- heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put water, oil, and rum in a mixer.

Add the cake mix. 

Beat together for 3 minutes at medium speed.

Portion into cupcake pan, lined with cupcake papers.

Bake 15- 18 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before frosting, frost with maple rum frosting.

Maple Rum Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes 2 cups)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 cup maple sugar

2 tbsp rum

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 cup maple sugar

With a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy.

Add confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, salt, and maple sugar.

Beat until smooth.

Refrigerate until ready to use. (May be made one day in advance)

And voila! There's your cupcakes! Let me know if you try to make some yourself and how they turn out!

Sorry for the late post! Finals week is just finishing up here at school so life has been a bit crazy. Between studying and attending review sessions, I'm also busily packing to head home for the summer. But to make it up to you guys, I'll try to post a little more this week! Maybe even start a new series of blog posts!

However, without further adieu - heres week four of my Getting To Know Me Blogging Challenge. Get ready to learn some of my guilty pleasures!

1. Netflix Binges

via

This is by far one of my worst guilty pleasures. I can spend a few hours at a time watching Netflix, whether it's for relaxation, hanging out with friends, or procrastination. Sometimes I wonder what people did before the age of Netflix. I readily have access to whole series of shows, and I can rewatch favorite shows or discover new ones. Lately, my housemate introduced me to Criminal Minds, so my entertainment while packing consists of intricate crimes.

2. UrbanOutfitters.com

via

I have a bit of a shopping addiction, and with the stores catching up with the internet it doesn't help much. I love Urban Outfitters and their website is super deadly to me. Every couple of days or so I get an email telling me of a new style, line of clothing, or something, and I always end up on their site searching. When I do eventually decide to buy something, I appreciate their shipping and return policy; free shipping for orders $50+ and free returns.

3. Loud Music

via

I have to admit I'm a huge music fan and an even bigger concert whore. There's something about driving down the highway and blasting my music really loudly that makes me feel good. I love being able to sing along to the music and have my voice being drowned out in the wind. I also am really productive when I listen to music. Whenever I go study, I always have my ipod or my computer, and I 'll listen to my music full blast with headphones on to concentrate better.

4. Fluffy

via

I love love love fuzzy things, whether it be a pillow or an animal. I even love touching my boyfriend's hair because it's sometimes so soft and fluffy. While I realize that liking fluffy things may not seem to be a guilty pleasure, I sometimes think that my strong love of all things fluffy makes it one. I love touching fluffy things like most people, but whenever I see something soft I really really want to pet it. I think my worse offense is blankets. I always need to sleep with a fluffy blanket, even in the summer despite the heat. And in the winter I'm the worst offender, I will steal all the blankets and leave my poor boyfriend out in the cold. He even jokes about getting two blankets so I can just cuddle up in my own big fluff. 

What's your guys' guilty pleasure? I feel like everybody has a few, and I may even have some that I haven't realized are guilty pleasures. 

This post is part of my Getting to Know Me Blogging Challenge, the goal of which to introduce myself to you. A list of each week's topic can be found in the Introduction post. If you would like to participate in the challenge or write up some blog posts from the challenge, let me know! I would love to read them!

Previous posts:

Week 3: Earliest Memory

Week 2: 20 Facts About Me

Week 1: Introduction

 

The food was delicious! The restaurant was Vietnamese, and the menu consisted of a variety of Banh Mis. We found a small park nearby and enjoyed the warm weather that recently found the Twin Cities area. Both us enjoyed spring rolls and grilled pork banh mi sandwiches. I also convinced Dylan to buy a small bubble tea for us!

After dinner, we drove to the second part of our evening... the Madeon Concert. In case you're like me and have never heard of Madeon before, Madeon is the stage name for 20 year old French music producer Hugo Leclercq. His music mostly consists of the electronic variety, but he originally gained popularity by creating a variety of mash ups. 

I'm one of those people who wears a million things around my wrist. Usually I have a collection of bracelets, hair bands, and my Fitbit. You may or may not have heard of it yet, but I have recently added a Live Lokai bracelet to my assortment! These bracelets are modern and simple and still really cute! I've even bought some for friends as presents!

Live Lokai bracelets are a constant reminder that life consists of a series of highs and lows. The bracelet contains one black bead and one white bead. The black bead is filled with mud from the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, symbolizing the lowest point(s) in your life. The white bead holds water from Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, symbolizing the high point(s) in your life. Both of these beads, worn together, symbolize your life as a combination of both highs and lows. Yet being in a circle, the bracelet reminds you that life will keep going.

I love the idea behind these bracelets- They are an especially good reminder to have as I head into finals week! 

I'm sure there's a lot of things that I remember before this memory, but for some reason this is one of the first things that came to mind. During the holidays, one of our family traditions is to send out a Christmas newsletter to friends and family, including some pictures of my brother and me. When I was eight years old, my parents got a new digital camera (back then film was still more prevalent) and they decided to take all the family pictures that year.

I remember the idea was a good one, and originally it seemed like lots of fun. But then my amateur photographer parents took it to the next level, attempting to take studio gorgeous photos in our own home. So shot after shot they placed us about and took photos. It felt like hours to me, but I'm not really sure how long it was in total. Eventually it reached a point where my brother and I were both extremely grumpy and unamused...

All we wanted to do was decorate the Christmas tree or decorate some cookies. There were so many other things that we wanted to do at that moment. Plus turtlenecks are not that comfortable. My brother and I fought a lot as kids, but when we both wanted to do the same thing, we worked well together. We plotted and usually came up with unique ways to make our schemes work in our favor. So with both us wanting to go do other things and stop taking pictures, we decided that if we stopped giving are parents viable pictures they would let us play. And eventually it worked! Because the last few pictures that my mom got that day were of the following variety.

What's your earliest memory? Did you and your siblings ever get into crazy shenanigans too?

* * *

This post is part of my Getting to Know Me Blogging Challenge, the goal of which to introduce myself to you. A list of each week's topic can be found in the Introduction post. If you would like to participate in the challenge or write up some blog posts from the challenge, let me know! I would love to read them!

Previous posts:

Week 2: 20 Facts About Me

Week 1: Introduction