Monthly Archives: June 2015

30-day writing challenge: Day 5

06 Saturday Jun 2015

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Day 5: List five places you want to visit

As stated in a previous blog, I love to travel and the desire is never pacified. There are many places I would like to visit but seeing as I need to exercise self control and abide by the title of this day asking for five places, I’ve listed my top five places.

London
I’ve always wanted to visit London and I don’t know if I can pinpoint the origin of that desire. Most of the television shows I love are British, I obsess over the history of the United Kingdom because it’s fascinating and I love the architecture. London in particular has so much to offer for a tourist that I feel if I were to spend a week there I still wouldn’t see everything I wanted.

Paris
The draw here is mostly architecture and history. I spent two full years in high school and three semesters in college in a French language course and a huge part of it is learning about the culture and history. As with many old European cities, I think this is one of those places that would never have a dull moment and I could fill seven 32 GB memory cards within a week.

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The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland taken in July 2013 by my mother.

Ireland
Ireland is not only beautiful but also a huge part of my ancestry. My parents took a tour a couple of years ago and the pictures and stories they came back with made me want to get up and go so I could see and experience the Emerald Isle for myself. I even looked into studying abroad at Trinity College Dublin.

New England
I think the draw to New England stems from history, again, and how it seems like the ideal place to live in the United States. I love the look of many of the old New England homes and how green it is, especially seeing as it was part of the original 13 colonies yet it doesn’t have the feel of a place that has been populated since the dawn of the country.

Italy
No surprise this is based in architecture and history but also food. I love Italian food and I don’t just mean American Italian but actual old-country style Italian. Another big draw to Italy is the beautiful countryside and the beautiful language.

I know these seem stereotypical but when you’re a young college student who has already seen a good portion of the country she lives in you’d want to branch into the stereotypical tree for some fun and great experiences abroad.

30-day writing challenge: Day 4

05 Friday Jun 2015

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Day 4: Write about someone who inspires you

I don’t think there’s any one person that inspires me. I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by people that are creative, brave, model citizens, survivors and dreamers and I don’t think I could single out one person that inspires me to be who I am. Instead, we’re all going to have to deal with a list.

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Tim Burton via Google Images

Tim Burton
I’ve never met him but his quirky style and no apologies have always sunk deep into my psyche.

My parents
I think I am one of few who can say her parents were married less than a year after meeting and are still going strong, as of December of this year, 32 years later. My dad never refers to my mom as his “ball and chain” and my mom doesn’t try to control the things he does. I find it amazing the met and started with so little and now they have the house of their dreams and, in my completely bias opinion, two kids and a grandson that adores them.

My friend Liz
She was mentioned before on day two because she told me I do Goth beautifully. Liz is older than your average college student but it doesn’t stop her. I truly think she’s taken on more than the students 30 years her junior and done so with so much grace that I can only hope to handle the things that come my way the same. She has determination to get her degree after all these years and I have to admire her.

Lena Dunham
The creator of my favorite show, Girls, and I think all around coolest person with a spotlight. I follow her on Twitter and Instagram and find myself cheering when she steps up for women, girls and equality. There are many people that misuse or miss the opportunity to use the microphone they’ve been given and I’ve never seen her back down. In the first episode of Girls, her character says, “I think I could be the voice of this generation…or a voice of a generation.” Even though it’s her character that says it, Lena Dunham has become the voice of a generation of girls that don’t know where they belong or what’s wrong with who they want to be.

Summer coffee tricks

04 Thursday Jun 2015

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As a student taking a break for the summer I find myself consuming chilled caffeine concoctions at an alarming rate. A quick look at my Instagram reveals quite a few references to my wonderful sidekick, coffee, and all the nifty mugs I drink from. But, one thing many people tend to forget is coffee is like a potato; there are so many different things you can do with it.

  1. Iced Coffee
Iced Coffee

Iced Coffee

I’m not talking about running to your local coffee shop and getting a plastic cup filled with ice and having coffee poured over top. Stay at home! One of the bad things about ice coffee is it gets diluted as the ice melts and your rich dark roast has suddenly turned into the free coffee at school functions. A delicious trick to avoiding this is to mix your coffee however you like (for ice coffee I prefer flavored creamer or milk) and pour it into an ice try. Let it freeze for at least six hours (though overnight works best) and pop a few cubes into a glass. Pour your roast over the coffee cubes and you are left with a refreshing ice coffee that won’t taste like it came out of your faucet.

  1. Coffee Ice Pops

For a few years, I have noticed a growing trend of making ice pops at home instead of buying them in the frozen food section at the grocery store. You can buy an ice pop mold for anywhere between $8-$20 on Amazon.com. Brew your favorite roast and doctor it the way you please (I will say, if you’re like me and prefer black coffee, you need to put something into it because black coffee tastes terrible frozen) and pour into the ice pop molds. It’s works best if you leave roughly a quarter of an inch of space from the top. If you fill to the brim you run the risk of having the lids pop off as it freezes. Let them freeze over night or at least eight hours. Run over warm water and take lids off. The ice pops will come out smoothly and you’re left with a cool caffeine riddled treat.

  1. Coffee Float

I realize an essential part of having a traditional “float” is the deliciously carbonated root beer that foams around the ice cream but humor me for a second. If you scoop vanilla ice cream into a glass and pour warm coffee (not blazingly hot) you get the same effect. The ice cream melts a bit and you get the satisfaction of a cool coffee flavored ice cream drink.

  1. Coffee Shake

Similar to a coffee float but not. The good thing about a coffee shake is you don’t need to add milk. All you need is a blender, some chocolate or vanilla ice cream and coffee. Don’t use coffee flavored ice cream because it can be over powering and frankly it takes the fun out of everything. Add at least two scoops of your desired ice cream and two cups of (cooled) coffee (really, just add coffee to taste) and blend. If it’s too thick add more coffee, if it’s too watery then add more ice cream. Add a striped straw because it makes everything more festive.

Stay cool and caffeinate!