The in-between

I neglect my blog so much. Mainly because no one reads it, so who cares? Anyway...
What have I been up to lately?!
DIY!!!
Photos to come over the next week or two.

Face Jugs and Heritage

Last long overdue post!:

Today my mom and I were supposed to go to the Folk PotteryMuseum of Northeast Georgia. It is an AMAZING place to go and it is my favorite museum; pretty much of all-time. But, it was closed, much to my chagrin. So, instead we made the best of the situation and went to the Mark of the Potter – my all-time fav place to shop for handmade pottery and cuties. Today I got some great finds. But the part of it all that was most interesting was the fish. My mom and I go there almost EVERY SINGLE year to feed those dang fish.

Me and my momma! She's amazing!

Sautee-Nacoochee Center beside the Folk Pottery Museum

Where we ate lunch! It was soooooooooo good!!!

The Fox and the Stripes

Another long over due post:

I'm pretty much just going to barrage you with pictures. Enough said.

My grandpa Cook made this. He's an amazing carpenter.

Rainbows, People! RAINBOWS MADE BY THE FALLS!!! Isn't God magnificent?!?!?!?

Myself, my big bubby - Jason, and his wife - Joy in front of Tacoa Falls at Tacoa College.

There be Gold in them thar hills!

A long overdue post to be sure, but I wanted to share it anyway:

Of course there is! That's what makes Daholonega and NE Georgia so lovely!

Today was awesome!!! My mom and I drove to my fav little town, Dahlonega <3 With my brother and sister-in-law, of course.

I wore my adorable new fox pin, my vintage brass bar earrings. It was rainy and dreary and slightly miserable, but a lovely day in lovely city nonetheless.

We ate lunch in the Picnic Eatery Cafe... Always AMAZING!!! and I am always a little over-obsessed with it.

A Bad Ass like Lady Godiva

Few people know the real story of that woman riding a horse on the gold chocolate boxes. That woman is a bad ass. She is - in essence - everything a woman should strive to be. Lady Godiva was a bad ass! Basically she had compassion for the poor peasantry in Covington. Her husband pissed her off by ignoring her; but then he said, "Ok, mount your horse naked and ride through the market." Instead of being embarrassed and outraged, she simply mounted her horse and rode through the market naked.
Bad ass. Muckraker. Awesome.
It is known that well-behaved women rarely make history. Even Mrs. Adams is well known because she told her what's what. Not as BA as Godiva, but hey, in her day women were three steps behind men and silent.
You have to be willing to be a BA in order to make in this world as a woman. This guy in my Berlin Conference group asked me what my career plans were and I told him that I was thinking about joining the CIA, etc. and working abroad. He said that I was bad ass. You've gotta be one to get ahead in this world.

Lady Godiva

In love with color and pattern play!!!

I am hoping that everyone has been noticing the recent surge in pastel and neon colors along with the clashing of patterns and print!
I. Am. In. Love!!!
This photo from Madwell sums it up!


Polka dot sweater over plaid shirt, neon blue skinny belt with mint skinnies, and red heels.

What's not to love?!?!?!?! This was found on this blog My fashion picture file is blowing up with nright pops of color and pattern play...
only, I don't really have any patterns in my closet. I'm sort of plain jane.

Granted, I live in what is probably the least fashion friendly state in the US... Florida. Right now it's pretty nice out: 60F
But the highs for January have been in the upper 70's and close to 80, and humid... not conducive to winter fashion. I've been breaking out Spring fashions. All in all, it just feels miserable. Too hot to wear anything cute.

Russia's Foreign Minister vs. DIY Master

Why is it that when you have a gajillion things to get done, you suddenly find a gajillion things more intersting than what you should be doing?!?!?!?!
Like staring blankly at your screen and getting up every five minutes to walk into your living room.....
In my Balkans class we are doing a Congress of Berlin Simulation... I am Russia's Foreign Minister.
Awesome, I know.

This is me doing what I am supposed to be doing. The paper is due in 2 hours.
It's not done.

My mind is wandering all over the place in la la land full of books to read, dishes to clean, research to do, recipes to try, and of course the DIY projects that I want to start, like NOW!

But, Imperial Russia is where I must stay until 9:00PM tonight. Ugh!

On the bright side my Undergrad Research Grant proposal is done and was submitted last night. Hooray!
Now it's time to pray knees flat.

I can't wait to start these projects, but first I have to make it to Spring Break '12 without failing to do my school work...

P.S. I have decided to grow my hair out. I'm tired of short hair. It's been awesome for a year, but I miss my long-ish hair. And so does my mom.

Pipe dreaming, overdosing on nostalgia, and piles of research

 Oh, my poor blog!

How I have neglected thee!

Seriously, though... this semester has been crazy!

I am currently taking a break from re-re-re-re-re-editing my Undergrad Research Grant proposal for my DIS! Which I am so stoked about!

The possibilities seem endless this semester!

It is amazing to note this difference in myself. And I find it amusing that a single course can make one feel depressed and hateful towards their academic institution for so long...

But now that German is over, I am ready to conquer the world and my major! HUZZAH!

And I have started that by developing a DIS project with one of my fav Professors.

This project should have me back in the Balkans by the summer and if that happens, then I will be doing a second DIS in either Prague or Greece.

But I have a strange realization... my passport stamps will all look the same :/ Blessings, for sure, but for a nomadic spirit, it pains me a little.

I mean, I just went there last summer and experienced all that is wonderful and amazing about the region - even the summer heat was a marvel for it is unlike that here in Florida. I had such high hopes for going to Istanbul for Study Abroad this summer, but those were popped due to family circumstances and the realization that it sort of doesn't fit and that DIS is more important to my future as a Grad student than more undergrad courses. I mean, when I had this realization, I began pipe dreaming and overdosing on nostalgia by drinking Višnjevača and listening to Croatian folk music from a concert I attended in Dubrovnik. Which made me more depressed…

But, then God reminded me of something. My professor at the time offered a DIS the following summer for the same course… and the Grad School Workshop that I had attended the night before where my other fav professor talked about grad school and great ways to boost your chances including the importance of DIS! DUH!!! 2 birds, 1 stone.

I could travel again, but more importantly, I could do a DIS project on something I want to learn more about anyway! Perfect!

Then, a few days later, I find out that I have to do at least 6 hrs of DIS and/or internships for my international affairs minor… uhmmm, can you say fate?

But, the fact that I may be going back to a country that I just experienced seems sort of………… defeating.

I have a list of places that I HAVE to go to before I die, which could be any day that God chooses to call me home.

I WILL – I am all about proactive language – go to Egypt, Istanbul, Rome, Paris, Normandy, basically all of France, Dublin – which has a nice airport… it was so tempting to just miss my flight back to the US and go exploring - , Scotland, Kenya, Russia, Vietnam, Peru, India, Iceland- and by that I mean Reykjavik, because that’s kind of all there is - , and the list is never ending! I just have to go!

I feel like I will feel I have cheated myself of an amazing life if I don’t do all these things! I have been dreaming about travelling the world since I was a little girl! Literally, the only fantasies I have ever had, has been of me travelling the world. In the 3^rd grade we watched this video about the leaning tower Piza and how it was closed down because of the instability of the infrastructure. I vividly remember praying to God to not let it fall over until I had visited it! Ridiculous for a 3^rd grader you say? Not for one born with a spirit and a nomadic heart. I can even remember of being jealous and slightly mad at my dad for going to Switzerland with his Swiss friend and not taking me! Granted, I was like… well, really little. I never dreamed of getting married or having kids or a house… only of travel. I obsessively watch Samantha Brown’s shows and am ridiculously jealous of her travel life! Her, and Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain. I mean, come on! Look at their experiences! Totally jealous and envious!

I just have to get out there and learn and see things and experience things and get lost – check - and have adventures and just live. I just have to. It is the greatest desire of my heart! And part of me is afraid that I am wasting my chance to go somewhere new by going to a place that I have already been. But, I know that it will open up opportunities to go to Prague or Greece for other education opportunities. So, new experiences wait through the same experience.

I wish that I could somehow these passions to my parents… especially when I feel like they don’t get it or don’t understand what I’m talking about, or why it means SO much to me to just go somewhere! My feet can only tread the same Earth for so long…

P.S. I have those posts from the rest of my vacay with my mom in NE Georgia. They’ll be awesome! Full of fun and craftiness; and new posts are in the works as far as some new DIY projects are concerned –I’ve got some great ones!

Check out this blog for SOME great DIY projects… I don’t approve of all of them, but that’s just me :)

New Year, New You

Happy New Year, y’all!!!

In the spirit of clichés, - and as much as I don’t see the point in them - here are my New Year’s Resolutions in a list of lucky 7’s:

1: Read more poetry; the good stuff.

2: Be more organized

3: Listen to the wind

4: Sit outside in the grass more often

5: Have closer connections to my friends that I miss.

6: Workout (cliché and obvious...)

7: Take on a Bible reading plan/ study (It’s something that I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do, but never took the time to do)

I feel as though these “resolutions” are very decent ones and are quite obtainable. They will of course take some work, but since when has finding new inspiration ever been easy? I hope that you all find new inspiration in the new year : )

Here's a list of inspiring books:

The Help by Katherine Stockett

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

She Walks in Beauty by Caroline Kennedy

Treasue Island!!! by Sara Levine

P.S. I have some new posts coming up about my family's trip to the Appalachian Mountains. Check back soon!