Game Changer

Top: Eddie Bauer, Skirt: Forever 21, Shoes: Kenneth Cole, Necklaces: Loft and DIY'd

 At this point, you must be thinking that all I wear are skirts. 

While the evidence does not seem to be in my favor, I do occasionally don shorts, or even pants, but skirts are the easiest way to stay comfortable in the heat.

My goal with this outfit was to be as colorful and cheery as I possibly could because my emotions are absolutely affected by what I'm wearing, and I hope it shows in these photos. A good outfit is a total game changer!

How does what you wear affect you?

xoxo

Hannah

101 in 1001 Update

It's hard to believe that I started this long-term to-do list (based on Mackenzie's) freshman year...boy does time fly.

A lot of these goals were made so that I would be accomplishing something during the time period I set, which ended up being the length of my high school career...sigh

Recently, I took another look at the list and was surprised to see how much I was able to cross off, but at the same time, I was reminded of what I had wanted to accomplish and was motivated to complete as much as I could.
I compiled 10
goals, completed or otherwise, to give you a little update on what's going on in my life.

# 5: Weed out my closet once a month

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I have nowhere near the amount of clothes necessary it would take for me to actually get rid of a lot a clothes monthly. I'd have literally nothing to wear by the end of the year. However, because I'm noticing a major shift in my style and what I like, it's becoming necessary to get rid of the old to make room for the new and improved...natural selection of the wardrobe, if you will. So in short, I will be weeding out my closet in the near future in order to make room. To be completely honest, I never miss the stuff I get rid of anyways.

# 6: Visit the bso at least 5x a year 

So far this year, my family and I have gone to see the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra perform The Pines of Rome, The Rite of Spring, La Mer, and Candide (especially close to my heart considering the Wind Ensemble that Anastasia and I both participate in performed the overture for one of our concerts). Although that's only 4 visits, I definitely plan to go again before the end of 2015. Everything has been amazing and life enhancing in some way. I've really enjoyed exploring the world of classical music and hope to continue seeing beautiful pieces performed live. 

#34: Publish another issue of twirl (online magazine)

Anastasia and I tried this sometime last year but it's just so much editing and formatting work!! Maybe we can try to get it done as second semester seniors...

#44: Learn how to drive stick shift (or to drive in general) got my permit 7/7/14, took driver's ed 8/11-22/14

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Mmk there's no way I'm learning how drive stick...I've learned on an automatic so far and neither of my parents know stick. Maybe once I get my license (hopefully beginning of next school year...August if I'm lucky), I'll try to learn...

#46: Hold monthly meetings about the blog

The only reason this doesn't happen is because we usually just communicate whenever we have an idea or something happens. However, we may start having to do this more often as we've applied and gotten into the Her Campus Blogger Network (as evidenced by the button now proudly displayed on our sidebar). Check it out!

#64: Try at least 10 new foods (or as many as possible) fried banana, prosciutto, peaches, lotus, eel, torte, pea soup, sushi, fried shrimp heads, spanish tapas, crepes, Indian food

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What I love about this goal is that I can remember when I tried each of these. The first seven I tried on our northern Niagara Falls/Toronto road trip last summer. The next three were in San Francisco (ohh man the fried shrimp heads were so gross...). It's weird how vividly I can remember it all but each food name triggers a specific (and happy) memory.

#65: Go to one of my friends' dance recitals

I always say I'll go to Anastiasia's Greek festival but this time I mean it. This year she came and saw me Irish dance at a Christmas festival and she's taught me how to do some simple Greek dances before but I want to see a performance and support my friend. 

#67: Go to Disney world again 3/27-3/31/14

Marching band is a fantastic thing. Going to Disney is like going on an amazing road trip with your closest pals, and this year, we'll be doing it as seniors. I thoroughly enjoyed my last visit and can't wait to return to the most magical place in the world for my final high school marching band performance. 

#73: See every James Bond movie 

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I'm sooooo close! We binged on James Bond and saw Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace so all I have left to watch is Skyfall. This may not seem like a big deal but there are 23 Bond movies starting in the 1960s and ending in the present. Some of the older ones were a little rough, I doubt I could re-watch them, but we got through them and now we're able to enjoy and appreciate the newer ones. 

#77:  Participate in a school play/musical Carrie the Musical March 2015 (I was part of the tech crew)

The craziest part of this was that I joined tech crew about two weeks before the show meaning that I had to learn how to work everything in addition to learning what needed to happen when during the show in those two weeks. It was a success and after a lot of stress (and more Chipotle meals than I'd like to admit), the show was a smashing success and I cannot wait to participate in two mroe shows next year. 

                

Completed: 46 (only 55 things left to do!)

Time left: 379 days (1 year and 14 days)

Do any of you participate in 101 in 1001? If not, do you track long term goals?

xoxo

Hannah

Calling all Food-Lovers

Perhaps it's my teenage nature, perhaps it's simply the fact that food is amazing, perhaps it's the fact that I'm super hungry at the moment, but I'm swooning a little over all the adorable food-themed attire available right now.
 

Junk: Bobby Pins / Hot Sauce Pin / Fries Pin / Pizza Tank / Fri-Days Tee
Sweets: Ice Cream Shorts / Donut Clutch / Ice Cream Pin / Donut Sweater
Breakfast:  Egg Sweatshirt / Egg Pins 
Fruits: Baby doll dress / Pineapple Pin / Banana Pin / Peach Patch

Pins, dresses, tees, you name it, it probably comes in a food print. To be completely honest, fried eggs and pineapples and donuts and fries make super graphic and relatively colorful prints that also say something about your personality. Much like wearing a tee shirt to support your favorite band, wearing your favorite food shows that you have good taste.
(this is where you laugh at my horrendous pun)
How do you feel about food prints? (If you haven't guessed already, I'm dying to buy all of this. If you have any suggestions, let me know!)
xoxo
Hannah

"Creative"

Our school doesn't have air conditioning and it was, like, 90 degrees today. 

But on the bright side, one of my teachers enjoyed my buttons-on-the-waistband and artsy socks...she called it creative.

Blouse: Old Navy, Skirt: Francesca's, Socks: Forever 21, Sneakers: Converse, Necklace&Buttons: DIY'd or Vintage

Gosh I can't stop wearing buttons for the life of me...

All of my friends will tell you that almost every outfit I compose these days features at least one button (vintage or otherwise). In our air conditioning-less school, it's imperative to dress for the weather or face heatstroke. On a particularly hot day like today I opted for a camisole which proved to be not robust enough for the weight of buttons. I figured that putting them on my waist would work, and I think it turned out pretty decent!
How do you feel about non-conventional accessorizing?
xoxo
Hannah

Buttons, Pins, Whatever you wanna call 'em

I'm not really sure what spurred this, but I've developed a bit of a button addiction.

And as awesome as my dad's vintage band buttons are, I was inspired by someone at school to make some designs that were more my style. 

A few trips to Michael's later...

• Wooden Disc ( mine are 1.5" in diameter)
• Circular image (I'll show you how to acquire this)
• Paint/Paintbrush
• Pin Back
• Hot Glue Gun
• Mod Podge

STEP 1:

Hit up the interwebs for some sick pics that you could easily crop and make into circles. 

Here are a few of my faves: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Step 2:

Crop the photo you want into a circle and resize it so that the length and width are both 1.5". I formatted on PowerPoint because I don't have Photoshop, but if you'd rather use Photoshop, go for it. After you're done formatting, print and cut it out.

STEP 3:

Paint the entire wooden circle. One side can be lightly painted or only painted around the edges as the picture will go on top. 

STEP 4:

Drop some Mod Podge onto the side where you plan to place the photo and spread it around (I used my finger, you could probably use a paintbrush or something). Place the picture on top.

STEP 5:

This is a weird one and I somehow neglected to photograph it, but you're going to put a drop of Mod Podge on top of the image and put a sort of coating. You only want about a drop so the image's ink doesn't start to blur. You'll also want to target the edges so they fold over the sides nicely if you made it a teensy bit big. Obviously, let it dry before proceeding.

STEP 6:

Hot glue the pointy part on and you're done!! Mix and match colors and even glue on letter beads to make a cool 3D word feature.

For those of you not so much into the crafty scene, here are some super adorable options that I'm dying to scoop up myself:

Pineapple / Ban.do Flair / Life Lessons / Custom Buttons (the big pile of them you see there) / The Smiths/ Cats / Eight Cat Badges / Cactus pin / Cubes / Banana / Fingers Crossed / Geometric Deer

Check out these awesome button shops: buried diamonds, butt 'n booty (lol it's not what it sounds like...), best player ever, sketch inc, asilda store, I like cats, Georgia Perry

Happy Crafting!

xoxo

Hananh

In the Spotlight: Sylvia Plath

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Besides books, I enjoy the occasional poem. Poetry is so unique in that an author has the ability to write whatever they please. There are no rules, there are no boundaries. That amount of freedom lets poets experiment with structure, explore a variety of subjects, and write about any topic. And now we both shall learn about the poet Sylvia Plath who explored themes about love, death, uncertainty, and the self.

Background

   Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 8, her father passed away and her grief fueled many of her poems for the rest of her life. In 1950, Plath attended Smith College in Massachusetts on a scholarship and had thoroughly proven herself as a talented young writer. After struggling with depression, Plath went to Cambridge University and married Ted Hughes, another poet, in 1956. After some time in Massachusetts, Plath returned to England in 1959, published The Colossus in 1960, and had her first child, Freida. Two years later, after having a second child, Nicholas, her marriage ended. Falling into depression, Plath wrote The Bell Jar which was based on her life and her struggles again mental breakdowns. On February 11, 1963, Sylvia Plath committed suicide and die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Years after her death, her legacy as a brilliant writer lives on. Plath became the first person to win a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1982.

Works

The Colossus- 1960 (Collection of poems)

The Bell Jar- 1963
Ariel- 1965 (Collection of poems)
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath- 1950-1962 (published 2002) 

Quotes 

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"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am."



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"Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences" 
(I used this as my leader quote because I loved it so much!)


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"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out by fear for the future or regret for the past."

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"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again"

Learn More

I used these sources to make this post so if you're interested check them out.
1//2//3//4

Also
 This is a fascinating article about the science behind creativity and explores the neuroscience and hereditary factors of "the tortured artist."

Happy Reading!
xoxo
Anastasia