Falling for Color

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. When I first moved to Duluth, I was told that the leaves are just awesome during Fall. Let me tell you, the changing colors have not disappointed me one bit. 🙂 Last weekend, I took a drive up the shore to Gooseberry Falls State Park to do a little hiking and photographing of the changing leaves. Here are some pictures from my excursion. The first picture is from Silver Creek Cliff, which is on my way to Gooseberry. The rest of the pictures are from the park. One thing I found interesting was the closer I got to the lake shore in the park, the more vibrant the colors were. I don’t know if that means anything, it’s just something I noticed while hiking.

So, what’s your favorite season? Is it Fall? Besides the changing leaves, I love pumpkin! I especially love the Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. My other favorite Fall scent is apple. Yum! Now I’m thinking I might need to make some apple crisp this weekend…

Pinned & Inspired

In the past week or 2 I finally checked out Pinterest. Earlier this summer, I had started to hear chatter about this website from people I follow on Twitter and on a few blogs that I read. (Check out Young House Love’s Pinterest Challenge.) In essence, you can find pictures on the Internet (or already right on Pinterest) and “pin” them to boards you make for yourself. You could probably find just about anything and everything you’d want on this site. Personally, I have boards for decorating ideas, holiday ideas, scrapbooking, crafting ideas, and words of inspiration. I see photography and food being added sometime in the future.

To date, I’ve completed 4 projects inspired by photos I’ve found on Pinterest. Having a new apartment and work office give me the perfect reasons for getting my creativity on. 🙂 I completed a framed art project for my work office. I completed a few organization projects for items that were still a bit unruly from when I moved. I also did a fall themed project to add to the fall decor I already own. 

Most recently, I was inspired by this DIY art project.

Pic originally from http://younghouselove.com

The original art piece was made using extra paint chip pieces. I had the idea to adapt the project for myself by using scrap scrapbooking paper that I have on hand. The hardest part of this project for me was deciding what colors to use. I went with green and pink because they are two of my favorite colors. Plus, I thought having the bright colors up year round would help fight those long winter days that Duluth has. Since I didn’t know what colors I was going with when I bought the frame, I found a white one. It’s from Michaels and after the sale and bonus coupon from the Sunday paper, it was around $5. Not a bad deal. After I was done with the project, I decided that it’s going in my office at work. My office is in desperate need of color, pizazz, and stuff. I think this piece fits the bill.

Here’s another project I found: a bowl of flowers.

Project source at http://marthastewart.com

I loved the idea of taping the grid over the opening of the bowl to help stabilize the flowers. I found a decent size serving bowl at Target…on clearance for $5! I went with red for two reasons: 1) I wanted to do a fall arrangement and 2) it was the only one I could find that I liked and was inexpensive. I realized after I got arrangement all put together that I’ll be able to use the bowl for Christmas too. Yay! I had wanted to get some new fall florals anyway so I picked up a few small bouquets (all on sale at Michaels this week) and clipped them apart. I crumpled up some tissue paper to the base of the bowl (more stablization), taped a grid to the opening of the bowl, and added all of the flowers. It turned out nice.

Organizations projects: ribbon holder and purse hanging.

I found this cool idea for storing and using ribbon. It looked much more user friendly than the “ribbon boxes” I got from the scrapbooking store.

Project from http://spunkyjunky.blogspot.com

I found these to bins at Target for about $3 each. The handles flip over so that the bins can be stacked. I already love this method for containing all my ribbon since previously, my ribbon was stored in 3 different places.

The last project was pretty simple. It was a method for hanging purses using shower curtain rings.

Project originally from http://bhg.com

Since my move, my purses have been stashed in various closets just laying around. I went from around 12 wall hooks in my closet in my old apartment…to none in my new apartment. I had a set of shower curtain rings from my old apartment (I changed the bathroom color scheme when I moved) and repurposed the rings to hang my purses all in one place in a spare closet.

I’m loving Pinterest for the various forms of inspiration. While yes, the site can be a “time suck” (aka 2 hours have passed without you realizing it), but I have utilized some great ideas already. Yay! I’m looking forward to finding some more cool things to try out and DIY.

Have you been inspired lately? Have you gotten hooked on Pinterest? Found anything cool?

Waves Crashing

Last Sunday, I drove up the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was such a beautiful day! In Two Harbors, there is a lighthouse that has some awesome rock ledges that you can walk out on. Not did I only walk out on the ledges, I also sat down and stuck my feet in the water. Waves were crashing up against the rocks the whole time I was by the water. I took the opportunity to capture the waves in action. The horizon can be a bit unforgiving sometimes in pictures, but I’ll deal with it. Overall, I really like the pictures that I captured.

Watching a rock to the side of where I was sitting.

I also took pictures of the waves crashing right in front of me.

What do you think? Do my pictures make you want to vacation on the North Shore?

Good Weather, Good Water, Good Fun

Oh what a beautiful weekend it was in Northeastern Minnesota this past weekend. Besides the great weather, I had great company. My mom and aunt (my mom’s sister) came to visit me for the weekend. On Saturday, we trolled around Duluth (especially down along the lake) and on Sunday, we went for a drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior. The drive up the shore was completely spontaneous and was probably one of my favorite parts of the weekend.

One of our first stops (and one of the few places I took pictures) was Leif Erikson Park to check out the rose garden. The flowers are STILL blooming like crazy and have a lot of buds yet to open.

Next up was Canal Park…but I didn’t take any pictures. One of the cool parts of the park is watching ships go in and out of the harbor. The day we went, the only ship action was later in the evening. I really need to start checking the ship schedule before heading down to the water.

Last on the agenda on Saturday was the Harvest Festival at the Bayfront Festival grounds showcasing local artisans and a farmer’s market. I got some cheese and this cool shot of the suspension bridge and a sailboat.

On Sunday, I took my mom and aunt to UMD’s campus for a little tour. No pics here either. After a quick lunch, my aunt requested another drive along the water. Eventually, I had the bright idea to head up the shore a bit. We stopped at a pullout with rock ledges and checked out the lighthouse in Two Harbors. I couldn’t resist sticking my feet in the water. It was sooooo cold, and it felt so good!

I can’t really think of a better way to spend time during a late summer weekend. Fall will be here soon (leaves are already starting to change!!) so I had to soak in as much summer as possible. I really do love Fall, and I’m excited to watch the leaves change. Here’s to hoping the leaves don’t go too crazy in the next 2 weeks. I’ve got a mini hiking/photography excursion planned for myself and I want to experience some quintessential Minnesota Fall weather…in 2 weeks.

100 Things for the 100th Post!

Today’s post is covering a major milestone for my blog – the 100th post. I thought it be fun to do something related to the number 100. I broke it all down into 10 categories to share a little be more information about myself. Have fun reading! Side note: none of these lists are in rank order…that would have taken way too long.

1. Books I’ve Read

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2. Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
3. Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
4. The City of Falling Angels – John Berendt
5. Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
6. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
7. Ansel Adams in the National Parks
8. The Storm: What went wrong and why during Hurricane Katrina
9. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series – Ann Brashares
10. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

2. Movies

1. Jane Austen Book Club
2. Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightly verison)
3. The Holiday
4. Harry Potter series
5. Julie & Julia
6. Finding Nemo
7. The Family Stone
8. Flicka
9. 10 Things I Hate About You
10. The Devil Wears Prada

3. Places Traveled

1. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
2. Olympic Peninsula (Washington State)
3. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
4. La Grande, Oregon
5. Black Hills (South Dakota)
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Columbia River Gorge area (Oregon)
8. Madison, Wisconsin
9. Baltimore, Maryland (Inner Harbor area)
10. North Shore of Lake Superior (Minnesota)

4. Places I Want to Travel to

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Italy
3. Colorado
4. Yosemite National Park (California)
5. Acadia National Park (Maine)
6. France
7. Canada
8. Glacier National Park (Montana)
9. Seattle, WA
10. Austria/Switzerland

5. TV Shows (most of these are no longer airing new episodes)

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Glee
3. The West Wing
4. Friends
5. Will & Grace
6. Ace of Cakes
7. Everwood
8. Army Wives
9. So You Think You Can Dance
10. Anything on Food Network or HGTV

6. Books To Read

1. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years – Julie Andrews
2. How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research
3. An Inconvenient Truth – Al Gore
4. One Day – David Nicholls
5. Theodore Roosevelt – Nathan Miller
6. Things I’ve Been Silent About – Azar Nafisi
7. In Defense of Food – Michael Pollan
8. Girl on the Couch: Life, Love, & Confessions of a Normal Neurotic – Lorna Martin
9. Empowering Women in Higher Education and Student Affairs

7. Blogs

1. First Class Great Outdoors
2. Peanut Butter Fingers
3. Young House Love
4. Anywhere There’s an Airport
5. Healthy Living in a Hectic World
6. Iowa Girl Eats
7. Running Off the Reeses
8. Student Affairs Collaborative
9. Then Heather Said
10. Student Branding Blog

8. Things I Like About Blogging

1. Work on my writing
2. Share my thoughts on the student affairs field
3. Share my photography
4. Connect with people
5. I love that your blog can be whatever you want it to be
6. Keep friends and family updated with life when I’m not nearby
7. Reflect on the work I get to do with college students
8. Something to do in my free time
9. A way to keep myself accountable
10. It’s fun 🙂

9. Favorite Posts

1. 6 Months = Completely Different Life
2. A Summer of Learning
3. EOU Internship Week 5: Thank You!
4. Last Day to be an Intern
5. Things I’ve Learned at UW-Whitewater
6. I’ve Graduated!
7. What’s in a Brand?
8. I Have a Job!
9. Hiking & Wine: Pacific Northwest Style
10. To Portland & Back

10. Random Info About Me

1. I’ve seen Niagara Falls in a blizzard.
2. I like sour candy. Sour Patch Kids are a favorite.
3. My favorite Jolly Rancher flavor is cherry.
4. My favorite season is Fall, closely followed by Spring.
5. Before I settled on Oregon for a summer internship site, I was also looking in New England.
6. My favorite scents are apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon.
7. When I worked at Pier 1, I could identify all of our candles by scent and color (and we had lots of browns/creams/whites).
8. One of my favorite colors is pink (along with teal, green, and purple).
9. I LOVE photography…especially nature photography.
10. My favorite non-higher education job was working at Pier 1 imports.

My Latest Obsession

My recent free-time obsession had the seeds planted a few weeks ago when I was writing a blog post about what next my professional plans were going to be. I made a reference to an episode of The West Wing and spent almost an hour on YouTube searching for a particular scene. The obsession was further fueled by a conversation with a co-worker that involved a reference to The West Wing…and then we were both talking about how much we enjoyed the show and missed it. If you haven’t figured out the obsession (obsession is actually a little strong, but that’s what I’m going with), it’s with watching The West Wing on dvd.

In Excelsis Deo Season 1 (Source)

Personally, I think TV on DVD was an incredibly smart invention. I have seasons of shows ranging from Gilmore Girls, to Will & Grace, to the short-lived Joan of Arcadia, to Glee, to The West Wing. Luckily, I have 4 out of the 7 seasons of WW on DVD and was able to satiate my thirst for the show right away. I’ve loved this show since the beginning, even though I’ll be the first to admit that my viewership dropped off a bit during parts of college. Have no fear though, I have since caught myself up on what I missed thanks to when Bravo used to show 2 episodes each morning during the week. Yeah, that needs to be brought back in my opinion.

(Source)

So, my question to you…What is your favorite show that makes you think?  WW was smart tv. It made government seem accessible to the average person. It was serious, it covered a range of topics, it was funny, and it was thoughtful. Some of my favorite actors/actresses were on this show, including: Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney (LOVE her!), Martin Sheen, and Kristen Chenowith (in the later years). While I loved all 7 seasons (okay, season 6 was a bit dry), season 2 is probably my favorite. There are so many episodes that I love.

• In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (parts 1 & 2)
• The Portland Trip
• Shibboleth
• Noel
• The Leadership Breakfast
• The Stackhouse Filibuster
• 18th and Potomac
• Two Cathedrals

This isn’t to say that I don’t have favorite episodes in other seasons. It’s just that season 2 has several favorites. I love how each episode makes me think either about the issue(s) presented in the episode or how the characters handled the issue(s). Okay…so I’m going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the episode Noel from season 2. It is the Christmas episode for the season and centers around the character of Josh who is going through a therapy session for his PTSD issues. It’s probably the counselor in me who loves this episode, but I love the flow of story. Plus, Yo-Yo Ma is on the episode! (Get the episode on iTunes) The quote is Leo talking to Josh after his session.

This guy was walking down a street when he falls into a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, “hey you, can you help me out?” The doctor writes out a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, “Father, I’m down in this hole. Can you help me out?” The priest writes out a prayer and throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. “Hey Joe it’s me, can you help me out?” And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, “Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here.” The friend says, “Yeah but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.”  (Source)

Photo Friday: One Step Closer…

…to being a Minnesotan. I recently bought Minnesota plates for my car and attended the MN State Fair. I had some really good food at the State Fair. However, I did miss out on cheese curds, and that just bummed me out a bit.

No joke, I've wanted the Loon license plate since I found out I was moving to MN.

These were the cutest darn baby goats I've ever seen.

Award winning apples

…to having my apartment finally settled. Last weekend, I bought a couple great prints for my bedroom. I can’t wait hang them. Yesterday, my office/craft room (aka: the second bedroom) went from a disaster zone to almost completely organized. I had water issues in this room a couple weeks ago and those are finally cleared up.

Bringing the outdoors in

Office/Craft room post-flooding, pre-reorganization

Office/craft room in much better shape

…to the autumn season. First off, I just have to say that I love Fall. It has something to do with the smells of the season. Yum. A couple days ago, I had to break out a sweatshirt because I was a little cold. Even though it’s rather thin sweatshirt (which is awesome), it made me a little sad to have to break it out. Also, the academic year is starting! The buzz on-campus is definitely increasing and I’m excited to find out what it’s like to be at UMD while students are around.

The awesome lightweight sweatshirt I wore this week. Yay UMD!

…to being tech savvy. I recently got an iPad through work. Three words: I love it!

LOVE!