 1. Today is Brandi’s birthday. We have a full weekend of birthday activities planned that include a bacon SXSW event and maybe rock climbing! I’ve had some pretty amazing adventures with Miss Brandi (can’t beat skydiving) and have enjoyed living with her this year. Lots of roommate bonding that may or may not include lots of ice cream, episodes of Ally McBeal, extremely candid conversations, and beauty nights! Sadly, she’s moving to Dallas after our lease is up :( 2.Brandi’s a cake decorator. She’s made a couple of birthday cakes for me. Pictured below are my 24th birthday cake and my 26th birthday cake.   I was feeling the pressure when making her cake last night. I’m a complete novice. I had her help me shave the top of the cake off for me so it was even to ice. Then I experimented with my first piping experience. Brandi has all sorts of tips in her cupboard of baking supplies but intimidated, I thought I’d just cut a hole in a bag and use that. Ummm. It’s not as effortless as people (namely, Brandi) make it look! I just never got full command and control over how the icing would come out. The lettering looks as if I’m still learning how to write. Poor Brandi!  3.There’s a superstition on the University of Texas at Austin campus that if you see an albino squirrel, you’ll have success on your next test. I’ve never come across one as an actual college student but I had my second sighting since working on the campus this week. Both sightings were on 24th Street. The first time I scared it away with my camera. This time we practically had a photo shoot. Here are my two favorite pictures.   4. It’s also Thomas’s birthday this weekend. We’ve been friends going on 10 years now. Since graduating college, he’s lived in Taiwan, Dallas, and now Los Angeles. He hasn’t lived in Austin for about 5 years now and I’m so thankful that we still manage to remain great friends despite being miles apart. You might also notice, I use a lot of his photos on my blog. Happy early birthday to him too! 5.I was getting my afternoon coffee on campus when I saw this post-it on the wall.  I like the message and I think it’s true for everyone. There are people who would kill for your job. Your family. Your health. Your friends. The fact that you have a car. No matter who we are, we all have blessings worth treasuring. 6.As always I keep my reading plate full. Currently am reading One for the Money (This month’s book club selection), How to Save Your Own Life (because I really love Erica Jong), The Last Lecture (because it was 5 dollars at Half Priced Books), and still working through Stumbling on Happiness (because Nam recommended it ages ago). 7.On a whim, I signed up for my first food blogging workshop that is part of SXSW. I did this without looking at the roster of attendees and boy after studying the roster, I have to say I’m intimidated. I feel like the lowly water boy who dreams to be good enough just to warm the bench! That said, as nervous as I am and as much as I feel like I’m out of my league, I’m excited to soak in these big food bloggers energies. |