2015: YEAR IN REVIEW



2015 was absolutely bonkers. It also went by very, very quickly.

I began the year by making resolutions, some of which I actually followed! I am eating less meat and feeling great about it - not just ethically either, my body does not need as much protein as it did all of those years I was swimming competitively. I ran a 10K, stayed in a bit better shape, and read more over the summer. I did learn quite a few new woodworking skills over the past year which has been a lot of fun.



Then I moved to New York City for the spring semester of school. While the weather was freezing until late April, I still tried to get in a lot of the city. Eating (and drinking) quickly turned into one of the more exciting this to do, which led many excursions, one of which was Smorgusburg. Overall, my time in the city was a mix of complete exhaustion and infatuation. I loved living in Brooklyn and all of its bars and coffee shops, but it was extremely expensive and didn't allow for me to leave the island for any other adventures. I have trouble justifying spending $6 on a box of cereal but there is a literal price to pay by living there. Yet every time I go back, I fall in love all over again.
At some point during my time here I discovered and fell in love with podcasts, which are literally hours of informative entertainment.

I moved back home to Seattle for the summer, where I worked at a prefab modular home company; Method Homes. When I wasn't at work I was trying to find some of the quirks that this city has to offer; such as a Frank Lloyd Wright home and a giant pair of cowboy boots in a park. I refurbished a dresser for my sister, and also played around with power tools to make some rustic coasters and air plant holders.








July brought along another Blogger Family trip, this time to the ever eccentric Portland, OR. There was laughing, crying, eating, drinking, more eating, shopping, and general exploring. To this day, I cannot believe that the blogging has led me to meet so many amazing and unique individuals that I can call my friends. Thanks to anyone who still reads my hodgepodge of posts.





As August rolled to an end, I packed up my belongings and headed back to Troy, NY for my last year of Architecture school. I moved into (another) new apartment and had a lot of fun decorating it with my roommate. Some friends came up and visited me, and then I went and visited them which made for a really great couple of weekends in upstate new york. My 23rd birthday found me in Syracuse with great friends which made it absolutely amazing. At some point, I also made it up to Rhode Island for a quick, but nice trip and also hit up NYC one last time before I flew back west for the holidays.

So in 2015 I moved 4 times, learned what having a negative bank account feels like, ate less meat, more baked goods, and learned a lot about myself. I know 2016 is going to be a big year, so bring it on.

NYC in 35mm




A couple of weeks ago I spent a weekend in New York City with a good friend, who wanted to see all of the Christmas-type things that typically happen during this time of year. While we did witness SantaCon and go to the Union Square Holiday Market it was also an unseasonably warm 64° F during the day. My only demand was to go to the new Whitney Museum to see the Frank Stella retrospective that was being shown, and we ended up doing a handful of other things along the way. 

Instead of lugging around my dslr for the short period of time we were going to be there, I decided to bring one of those old-school disposable cameras; I found one that (technically expired in 2014) was gifted to me a while ago and documented the trip with that. It was actually really enjoyable picking up physical photographs, not knowing what they would look like! These are all completely unedited, and they just feel so raw and real... so much of our life is cropped and edited and deleted which made getting these a strangely authentic experience. 










LITTLE NOWHERE TOWNS


Sorry for the month long hiatus! During architecture finals, it's hard enough to find time to sleep, let alone find time for photography, exploring, and other blogging related things. Besides academic work, the only thing I've done is hosted a Friendsgiving for a combination of students that couldn't make it home for the holiday and a few blogger buddies who go to school in New York as well. Since the group was mainly vegetarian and vegan eaters we made a few alterations to the typical Thanksgiving meal and it turned out spectacular! 

I'm pretty excited about the next few months of my life, starting with the fact that I'll be in NYC this upcoming weekend, and then a few days after that I'll be back in Seattle! There's something about the west coast that I just can't get enough of - the way of life, the amazing food, or maybe because I grew up there and have emotional attachments to it. Regardless, plans have already been made to try new restaurants, and reservations have been made to tour the new Filson factory. After that, I come back to New York, and then in March I head to Texas for a week. Right now I'm figuring out the logistics of a summer trip to the U.K. and tickets will be purchased soon. 

Other than that, I had a great time taking photos with Asiah, a talented photographer at my school. There was a lot of frozen fingertips and scarf throwing, but she's got a great eye and can't wait to work with her again. 



WEARING: PENDLETON PLAID SHIRT   //LEVI 511 SLACKS // CLARKS DARGO RISE BOOTS // ZARA COLOR SCARF // UO AZTEC SCARF  // 

EAT, DRINK, AND BE SCARY



There was a point in my first year of college as an unsuspecting 18-year-old where I saw a 5th-year student and though to myself, "I'm going to be 23 when I graduate from this place!" At the time, it was a mortifying thought; 23 seemed to far away and so old. But last weekend, I did it, I turned 23 and it wasn't that scary. I was able to take off for a long weekend to visit some close friends who graduated a few years ago and now live and work in Syracuse, NY. They showed me around for a spectacular birthday/Halloween weekend.





The geography of New York State will always confuse me, but I do know that we drove to a couple of the Finger Lakes for a beautiful autumnal afternoon. We spent time in one of the more touristy towns, but then drove to a lake house and spent some time in the peace and quiet of the woods.

Afterwards, we grabbed a tasty bite to eat at Pastabilities for my Birthday dinner. Couldn't say no to their homemade pumpkin ravioli! We ate, drank, and then got a bit scary to celebrate Halloween. The bunch of us got different pumpkin costumes and went out on the town as a pumpkin patch! Syracuse has a lot of beautiful old buildings that had been brought back to life and plenty of great food to eat.

Thanks to everyone who made turning 23 much less daunting than I thought it would be 5 years ago. In the upcoming year, a lot of things will happen and I can't wait to share it will all of the amazing people in my life.



Providence, RI





While I can't know for sure that I won't ever live on the East Coast again, after this last year in college it isn't something that I'm planning on doing. This means that I need to try and experience as much of it as possible before I go! Providence, Rhode Island has been on my hypothetical bucket list (maybe I should make an actual list...) of cities to visit and last week I was able to spend a day there. I have a tendency to fall in love with cities that on the water and Providence was no difference. It was a cool, creative area that had a lot of restaurants and coffee shops -I had my first cortado at their Blue State Coffee- and venues for music and art. One of my good friends and college roommates now works and lives here which means I'll be back soon for a more thorough trip.


The original purpose for going to Providence was to see the above building located on the Brown University campus. For a course I'm taking, myself and a group are researching a nearby contemporary building and the Center for Creative arts designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro was a good choice. It was a beautiful, well-used building that uses a lot of new techniques in design and construction. With clear influences from the firms background in collaboration with theater design as well as their interests in making everyday life into a more performance, the sectional split of the building creates interior spaces that allow rooms to peer into each other. While I could go on about the design for much longer, I'll stop here.

I'm currently on a train headed up to Syracuse, NY where I will be spending Halloween and my Birthday, so I hope you enjoy the holiday weekend as much as I am planning to!
© An Integral Design. Design by Fearne.