Back in the Saddle again!

Hello all!
So I know my posts have been exceedingly sporadic, my template is still a mess, and I'm not even sure if I have time to do this properly, but lately I find myself craving an outlet.  Someone to hear my thoughts on everything from how frustrated I am with various foreign policy decisions to the fact I just found the best nail polish ever.  I originally called this blog Everything Gold because my interests are so varied that I just knew I wouldn't be able to hold myself to one topic.  That probably means I'll never be a very successful blogger, but at least I'll have a corner of the internet that I'll call my own.  Who knows, maybe someone will read my blog and be encouraged by the fact there are intelligent women out there with deep thoughts....who happen to also love reading Twilight (I know!  Don't judge!). 

I'll start by saying how I am so excited for my friend's birthday this weekend!  When I moved back to Minnesota from Ohio, I didn't have many (read: one) friends here in the city.  Everyone that I knew from high school had moved away and where I work there isn't really anyone my own age.  Caroline was one of those first individuals who befriended me and helped bring my social life towards where it needs to be.  She is just a bundle of love and joy and to be near her is to be filled with her infectious love and happiness.  Let's see if I can capture some of that day. 

Also, my dear sweet boyfriend brought these for me to work.  How awesome is he?!

I hope your life is filled with rainbows and sparkles and love and I'll see you soon!

Order like a Barista

As a Starbucks barista, I encounter all types of customers.  There are those that come in every day
and know how many ounces each size contains, and those that come in and when I ask if they want "drip coffee" they say, "No, just normal black coffee" (my boyfriend belongs to the latter camp).  As someone who thought of themselves as a Starbucks aficionado before I got a job there, I now realize how much I did not know!  Here are the absolute basics to help you sound more knowledgeable at any Starbucks.

Size
Size is the first thing that you should say when you begin your order.  After all, nothing can happen with your drink until we know how much you want of it!  Hot and cold drinks have different sizes.  Here's a helpful guide:

Hot                                     Cold
Short - 8 oz                        Tall - 12 oz
Tall - 12 oz                         Grande - 16 oz
Grande - 16 oz                   Venti - 26 oz
Venti - 20 oz                       Trenta - 30 oz  (only Iced Teas, Refreshers, and Ice coffee can be this size)

Drink
Now that you know the size you want, you've got to say what you want!  There is a large temptation to now say all of the special things that you want, but do not get ahead of yourself.

Modifiers
Now is the time you can get all fancy if you want to!  Some common modifiers are :

• Milk - The default is 2%
• Syrup - Do you want to add another flavor?  More or less of what already comes in it (default for a grande is 4 pumps)?  Here's the place!
• Temperature - Do you like it extra hot (170%)?  Kids temp (135%)? 
• Ice - Light ice will allow more of what you want in your cup!  Downside is it won't be as cold for as long as it could be.  Depends on which you want more.

Now here are some random tips you should know:

• Iced coffee and iced tea always come sweetened.  You can either nix the sweetener, or substitute another sweeter (not a sauce, though, like mocha or white mocha). 
• A venti hot drink comes with two shots of espresso, but a venti cold comes with three (hence the price difference).
• Even when you get a mocha/white mocha iced, the default is to come with whipped cream.  Some like it, some do not, just up to you!

Now you're all done!  Enjoy your drink and bask in the knowledge that your barista now loves you.

I'm back!

Hello all!  Yes, I have been gone, and yes, the entire 100 views of this blog probably felt a gaping void in their lives, but never fear.  I have returned!  There have been many reasons for my absences, chiefly:

• I have graduated college!  I now have three degrees:  International Diplomacy, East Asian Studies, and Chinese.  Hard work = paid off!
• I moved back from Ohio to Minnesota.  Not hatin' on Ohio, but Minneapolis is much more my speed.  As in it's actually speedy and, well, large.
• I have two (for awhile it was three) jobs, one big kid and one part time.  I have a part time job at Starbucks and a full time job as the International Student Program Coordinator at a private high school.  Basically it means I am creating an International Department while I am operating it.  Super fun but super stressful!

I also feel it is time to return to blogging because:

• Blogging makes me try new things!  I have been cooped up for so long (and by cooped up, I mean working 12+ hours a day) that I feel I have no life.  Feeling obligated to actually do something will make me actually do it.
• I need a creative outlet.  While my big kid job certainly fulfills the logical side of my brain (fulfills... makes explode, eh, same thing), I need some beauty and fun in my life!  
• My goal for this blog is to help me meet more people and perhaps get involved in actual things and meet more people.  That might mean you!

I look forward to actually having this in my life again (and actually finishing the layout...)!  I already have some great ideas and I'll definitely  be seeing you all soon!

Advice Peeta

This weekend has been so wonderful and fun, and then so completely not.  I was able to go to a coffee event at the North Market and make a Pinterest recipe (posts to come!), but I have also been working on my senior thesis.  If anyone wants to know about U.S.-China relations under the Obama administration and how the recent re-election of Ma Yingjiu as president of Taiwan has influenced their relationship, I'm your girl!

I am still working on it until tomorrow, but I just could not wait to make this short post!  In order to keep myself sane I take breaks (maybe they are too frequent...) which have recently been to look at my new favorite meme: Advice Peeta.  If you have not read the Hunger Games they will not be funny to you at all (and you shouldn't be looking at this post anyway, you should be off reading the books!  They are quite good, but don't make the mistake that I did and read them during a busy time in your life.  They are quick but all-consuming reads).  I love me some Peeta and last night at about 3am I started spamming my Pinterest with these memes and I thought I would share my favorites with you. (Visit my Pinterest to find the original links to these images and even more Hunger Games memes).

 

I hope that you all enjoyed my post and once I am certain that my thesis is finally complete I will update you on my previous weekend!

Spring Breezes

The weather this spring has been unseasonably warm so I have been able to wear my dresses, which I love!  Pants are so overrated.

Dress: Rosebud from Francesca's

Woven belt: Charolette Russe

Shoes: Shi

It was suuuuper windy!

On a side note I am still working on the layout (as you can tell from the crazy colors and lots of links that do nothing).  My HTML knowledge is from about age 15 so bear with me!  My senior thesis is also due next week (aaah) so it might take a minute.  Thanks for being patient, everyone!

Simple Changes

I am forever looking for jewelry display pieces since I am definitely an "out of sight, out of mind" person when it comes to basically anything.  Whenever I move from place to place I always stumble in to something that makes me think "Oh yeah, I forgot about wearing you!"  However, cute jewelry displays are either expensive and cute or cheap and ugly.  Luckily I go to the Urban Outfitter sales section basically once every two weeks and I found this little guy on sale (it's cheaper in stores than it is online)!

Turned Wood Jewelry Stand from UO (I forgot to take a before picture so this is from their website)

Unfortunately I generally do not like the color yellow, but especially this color.  It just seems so...blasé and looks like macaroni & cheese (delicious to eat, not so much to look at).  So, I decided to paint it! 

Initially I painted it just one aqua blue color, but for me it was way too blue.  I felt like it was screaming at me "LOOK, I'M BLUE!"

Sorry for the terrible picture, I figured out later flash is not a great idea

So then I painted it a lighter blue, but it was much, much too light.  Almost like it was whispering "I think I'm blue."
 

This was also before I discovered the close-up setting...

So then my mix-ologist came out and I combined my two colors...

And put a clear coat of gloss so it would not chip and voilà! 

 Here's a picture of the stand in action

I love the way it works in my room.  The color is poppy but not too intense and the gloss looks great.  The simple change of painting the stand made me absolutely love it!

I'm just getting into this whole crafting/thrifting thing so I figured I would not get in too over my head and instead start something I knew I could finish in one day (which I finished while watching My Fair Wedding with David Tuterra, love that show!).  My next project will be slightly more authentic to the true crafting spirit, never fear!

First Post

Hello all!  I am very excited for my first blog post even though I do not have any real content yet.  I want this to be a blog about what is in my life, what I am making, eating, loving, hating, what is making me who I am.  That is where the title of this blog comes in, Everything Gold.  It is based off of my favorite poem by Robert Frost entitled "Nothing Gold Can Stay."

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

This describes me quite well, as I move through life I pick up new interests and hobbies.  I make new friends and live in new places.  And that is all O.K., because everything new is gold (and I try new things a lot).  This means my blog won't specifically be about thrifting, baking, crafting, coffee, traveling, struggles, or anything.  It is what is gold in my life, what is new.

That being said what I do want to do is review products/tips/crafts/etc. that are on other people's blogs!  I have seen so many ideas on Pinterest and different recipes to make the same thing and I always wish there was someone like me who could comment on what worked and what didn't.  I would say I possess normal skill level at cooking/baking and crafting, which I feel is often what the average blog-reader has.  This way I can help those who are interested in crafting/making things know exactly what they are getting into before it happens.  I hope that you all enjoy this blog, I am excited to start trying new things already!