I promise, the actual cookies will look much better!
Living in Texas, I guess we're all kind of used to the crazy weather that likes to parade around for short and volatile visits. Yesterday was a very pleasant day, kind of cooling down by the evening, and today it's just been considerably cold and cloudy, and neverendingly drizzly. Cold weather always makes hot cocoa or fancy hot coffee and baked goods extra-appetizing.
Anyway, what do I mean by Cookie Chain? I was reading some of the blogs on my reading list, and I came across Ms. Hannah J. Holmes' latest post about these cookies she made recently. What's curious is that she got the recipe from another site, and seeing warm cookie pictures make me want to bake them too! :)
So, I'll probably be making these chocolate chip cookies this weekend, and I'll be sure to let y'all know how they turn out! I know at least my little cousins will appreciate these cookies, and these baked goods should make the cold weather a little less harsh and a little more comfortable.
If y'all wanna continue this Cookie Chain, the recipe can be found right....HERE. Enjoy!
Upon returning home from my trip to New York, I decided it was time to turn things around, you know, get back on the fast track of career advancement. I also decided it was time to do things that make me happy. One thing that I cannot resist (and would love love LOVE to have a neverending supply of) is a nice skirt. I like all skirts, but I definitely prefer the classic, professional pencil skirt, which, if combined correctly with the rest of the clothing ensemble, works versatilely in both the workplace and the "fun-"place.
Anyway, the plan is, since now I have the time and desire to do so, to buy one (and only one, for budgeting purposes) skirt (or on occasion, a nice pair of dress/work pants) per paycheck. It is definitely doable, and I need to not only feel like an accomplished and worthy young professional, but look like it too!
Anthropologie Scalloped Pencil Skirt
This beautiful and whimsical Anthropologie pencil skirt is first on my list. I mean, look at the effortlessly beautiful layers! So gentle and delicate, yet elegant and classic. Add a nice pair of heels, a pearl necklace, and a nice blouse, and people will start thinking I'm an experienced and confident young professional. Of course, with the purchase of this skirt (and those to come) I will need to add a few more pairs of shoes and blouses...but those will be part of another plan.
A Disclaimer on Budget: Since I'm still setting some disposable income aside for my "rainy day" fund, I must abide by the "one skirt at a time" rule, in which I may not buy more than one skirt per pay period. I'm hoping my friends and family can assist me by enforcing this rule hahaha (I do tend to get carried away at times...)
Another Disclaimer: now, don't think I'm just doing this for appearance purposes. If you take the time to analyze the clothing items you purchase, and the ones you currently have in your wardrobe, you'll notice the different materials, stitching, and care that goes into all of your clothes. It's humbling and amazing, to know that someone can make these clothes (regardless if it's machine- or handmade or not). In my journey through this Fancy Skirt Plan, I hope to become more knowledgeable in my own sense of fashion and share what I know with the rest of the world.
I always say this, but it has been a while since my last post. I should've already written about several Favorite Things, but I seriously did some crazy things that stopped me from completing my duty as a writer. Perhaps y'all remember how I would go on and on about going to New York, blah blah blah---well, I finally did it! :)
As my vacation approached in the beginning of October, I said to myself, "Euni, you really should just do it. Go to New York. Enjoy it!" So I proceeded and managed to get my younger sister (whom we'll call Nani) to agree to join me. My mother however, with her good intentions, didn't want me to go. For many reasons:
~~Wait till next year, you'll have more money saved up by then
~~It's a big city ~~It's a dangerous city! ~~What's so cool about New York anyway? ~~Just stay here.
She almost had me convinced not to go, but when I really thought about it, I decided to go anyway. This was my chance to do something on my own, on a whim, just because, to fulfill some deep-rooted desire to explore, and so on. In other words, I couldn't be a "wussy baby" for my entire life---how would I learn what life was about without taking risks?
So I went, and I promise I'll write more about the trip---ok, no, I don't promise, because this trip ended up being a real catalyst in my life, and the smaller details don't quite compare in importance to the BIG PICTURE. (Ok, so I don't promise, but if I get around to it, I will talk about the fun Tidbits Adventures that took place too, at a later time.) I know it sounds corny and dumb, but it is 100% true. Here's how:
Before the trip began, I was terrified. Super terrified, as in I couldn't sleep at night because I kept thinking about being in a strange and unknown place and not knowing what to do if I got lost. Or thinking about not liking my destination. Or getting lost. Or raped. Or murdered. Or being the murderer (by accident of course). Even more terrifying was the thought that I would love it so much that returning home would break my heart. You know, like in the movie Inception, when the wife becomes "disillusioned" and depressed, and ends up killing herself? Yeeeeeahhhhhhh, lots of thoughts kept dizzying around my poor mind.
Then, the trip came around, and I was on a plane to New York. I won't bore you with the details at this moment, but basically, I was the map/GPS-thingy for my sister. She, by the way, didn't really bother to plan too much about how to get to places and stuff---it felt like I was supposed to have the answers for how to get to different places, how to get back, and I, of course, had no idea what I was doing. Anyway, long story short, between Wednesday evening (when we got to New York) to Friday evening (when we met with the then-love-of-my-life) I had managed to get us (Nani and myself) to the hotel, the subway, Times Square, Grand Central Station, certain parts of 5th Ave., the Met, and Broadway...oh yes, and I also managed to get us lost in Queens at midnight, AND it started raining down on us. I had had to do on-the-spot problem solving---there were moments when I was in survival mode, and I swear, if a rapist had decided to attack us, man, I would've felt sorry for him, since he would've rued the day he crossed paths with us!
I digress, what am I getting at, you say? All this thinking, all this independence and freedom gave me a sense of accomplishment. I, Euni, am not a failure. I am capable of many many things. I do not sink. I swim. There is no time for flight, just fight. The twinkle in my eye had been extinguished, trampled away by the drudgery of my then-thought-of-as-boring work-study-work-sleep cycle, but in realizing that I knew how to survive and actually live, I gave my life a boost of rebirth and renewal. And I guess it's funny, you know, that upon discovering this powerful Euni, I met with my then-love-of-my-life.
(You know that the "then-" is a sort of foreshadowing, but then again, all of my writing that deals with him ends in this way, so it really is just a redundancy of sorts.)
So there I was, with my sister, and with him. In my mind I had thought about this moment: I tried to play it cool, like it's no big deal if I see him or not, this is a big city and he wasn't the main reason for my visit. Since I'm playing it cool, I should give him a hug, because we're friends, and friends don't feel awkward when they hug.
By now you should know that's not how I am. It was raining lightly. He was outside, holding an umbrella. I waved at him. No hug, I mean, come on, I'm an awkward hugger. It all seemed surreal to me. Here I had been, getting lost, aimlessly wandering through the city, and now here he was, trying to guide us somewhere unknown. I kind of felt like the then-love-of-my-life underestimated me; he didn't know the details of our adventures from before. He hadn't seen me take control of the situations that arose.
We were in an amazing city, and suddenly, he didn't seem so amazing to me, after all I had been through, you know.
It would have been great if I could have spoken up here too. But I couldn't apply all of that "fight or flight" and courage talk to my situation with him. I was too scared the entire time, thinking, he doesn't even love me, history has shown that I always end up hurt anyway, so I'll save us both the trouble and just keep quiet. Besides, if he wants me to say something, he should say something first. And another besides to that first besides, my sister was there, so awkwardness abounded. He was kind, courteous, and charming, and I was polite but curt. It was a short meeting, and I had the opportunity to at least hug him goodbye, but again, I didn't. We just parted ways.
When I got back to my room, I felt kind of detached from the entire experience of the trip so far: I had discovered this awesome version of Euni and I had seen so much of an unknown city on my own (through trial and error); in living these things, my meeting with the then-love-of-my-life didn't quite compare with the newness and excitement of my exploration. Don't think I didn't love him anymore, I still did, (and do, but I'm trying to move away from that state actually), but I loved that new sense of self-worth, that I was (and am) capable of anything. (That's the corny part.)
I returned home on Sunday, and the love-of-my-life became the then-love-of-my-life. Apparently, very shortly after my return, he found his own love. I guess sometimes it happens that way, you know, if I had actually said something, or if I hadn't gotten lost earlier, things would've been different...or they would've been the same regardless. This is the part where I think of us being on different circles, and we just met at a tangent, for a brief moment, and that was it. Even now, I have decided not to do anything about him: could it be that our meeting had the same effect on him? We broke our own illusions of one another perhaps? I just won't think about it anymore, hopefully he's content with his new love. And I have recharged motivation to move on up in my career and education because I know I can do anything I want.
