Holga lens

I've had my eye on a Holga camera lens for quite some time now. I just love the look of the pictures and after getting all my disposable camera pictures from my trip, I really wanted something that would give that same look. I finally gave in a few weeks ago and got one from amazon for $20! It's been so fun playing around with it. It's hard to get used to, but it's so cool and the pictures come out so nicely.

It's a Holga 60mm f/8 Manual Focus Lens for Nikon DSLR cameras, if you're interested!

Currently

Watching: So lately I've been watching pretty much every stand-up comedy special that Netflix has. I have a secret that's going to sound like a joke, but I'm 100% serious - ever since I was about 14 I wanted to be a comedian. I love making people laugh and I feel like I've just always had the makings to be a comedian. It actually really made me think because I had to do a presentation in Rome for my internship and one of my teachers pulled me aside afterward and told me I should do comedy shows. Another teacher told me she thought I had a theater background because of how fun I was infant of the group of people listening. Isn't that crazy? So these comedy specials are fun for me and really inspire me. Most recently, I watched Joe Mande's special and it was SO good. Recommend.

Reading: Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot. Ok, I know that sounds like a dieting book, but it's actually a murder mystery haha! It's a YA novel, so sometimes things are a little slow but I'm actually really intrigued. My friend raided her little sister's room and gave me about 4 books to read for the Summer and this was one of them. There's also a sequel that I plan on reading!

Listening: Let's see... this one is always super random. I've found a bunch of songs I've been loving this time around:

I Fall Apart by Post Malone

Barber Shop by Mar Haze

Jungle by Tash Sultana (the video that I linked is dope, watch it!)

Praying by Kesha

Taper Jean Girl by Kings of Leon (old, I know)

Ex Calling by 6LACK

Thinking about: So much. Am I in the right major? Where will I be this time next year since I'll be a college graduate? Should I continue with these friendships even thought it's usually me doing all the work to stay in contact? Should I try other online dating websites and apps? Should I continue going out on the weekends, drinking, and behaving like a fool? Or clean myself up a bit and stay in like I used to? Am I actually happy where I am in life right now or am I faking it most of the time? How am I supposed to handle that this is probably my last year in Boston ever?

Baking: Well I haven't had a lot of time to bake for fun lately, but if I do I'm usually either making this Triple Berry Cobbler Pie or this Strawberry Pretzel Salad. Just thought I'd share!

Loving: The Summer thunderstorms. As I'm typing this I hear thunder outside right now - yay! I love when it rains late at night because I want to listen to it, so rather than watching Netflix or listen to music, I'll usually put it all away and just read and listen to the rain. Love!

Thought I'd try out some new ones this time to switch it up a bit! As usual, I got this post idea from Danielle at Sometimes Sweet and the photo is from my Tumblr.

What are you currently up to?

Greece

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Athens in Film.

Taken by me, see more on my Flickr.

"Go to a coffee shop & sit by the window."

I found this post while I was scrolling through Tumblr, and Annika linked it to her Instagram. I thought I'd just post a screenshot of it because I thought it was so awesome. I'm not really sure what the whole "list of 5" thing is, but I'm all about it.

While I was reading this list I just felt something positive and free. You know? I challenge you all to do the things on this list.

Check out Annika's Tumblr and Instagram for more cool stuff.

Tweets

So I've been feeling a lot of things lately. I'm annoyed at myself because I hate when these thoughts take over so much of me. I know that sometimes I even miss out on things because I want time to myself to think things through a bit. For example, I used to watch shows with my dad at night and now I just work and then come home and want to watch my own shows and have time to myself. Anyway... I've found some tweets that sum up my thoughts at the moment. You'll se a pattern. I'm not trying to be obnoxious or anything, but I hope you also enjoy these!

Tips for weight loss?

This is so random, but it's been something on my mind lately! I kind of talked about it in a previous post, but I want to get more specific this time.

NOW, I'm all about that healthy life. Everyone's beautiful, strong not skinny, yadda yadda. I recently went to the doctor and she weighed me and I was just shocked at how much I've gained over just the past few years. This past semester I was surprised I didn't gain a lot, but I think it's because it was a good balance of a lot of gelato and a lot of walking. I try things all the time to be more healthy, but I never commit, or I commit for a short time and then go back to my regular habits. Which honestly isn't that bad. I just want something to get back to my idea of a healthy weight and feel better about myself.

I don't want anyone to be worried or anything, I promise I'm fine! I just want to feel better about myself when I look at myself in the mirror and see myself in photos. It's visibly obvious that I've gained weight since I started college and I don't like it.

Here's what I'm going to start this week:

Membership at Planet Fitness

Last Winter I did C25K (again) and I actually made it to week 5 day 2, which is actually running for 8 minutes, walking for 5 minutes, and running for another 8. Now, I know that doesn't sound so hard, but I really didn't think I could do it and I did! I want to get back on the treadmill and do it again. I love leaving and having sweat dripping off of me. I also just like the atmosphere in Planet Fitness.

From here.

MateFit Tea

So, I did this back during my freshman year of college and it was nice! I did notice I was less hungry throughout the day. I honestly can't say how well it actually worked, but I'm hoping to really commit to it this time and I have a good feeling about it. I do remember that the detox tea tasted SO bad, but I'm going to try to push through, haha!

(I was looking for a picture to use and found this one, so naturally I had to use it. Sue me. But in the meantime, go stalk more of his pictures... you'll thank me later.)

Lots of fruits and veggies

I really really want to stop eating 3 corndogs for dinner or having multiple desserts throughout the day. You know? I want to really watch what I eat and not cheat. I want to try this for at least a week and see how it goes. That's not so bad, right? I can do that... right?

From here.

Some things I should stop doing are going out on the weekends and drinking a lot, snacking late, and eating out with friends. These are things I won't stop, though. They're fun and I'm young, so I don't want to live the life of a 40 yr old mom, ya feel? I'll just watch it more and order healthier foods when I'm with friends or snack on blueberries instead of chips. I can do this! I'll report back and let you know how it's going in about a week. I'm working a lot this week, so I'm not sure how often I'll get to the gym.

Let's go, ladies! We got this!!
Any more suggestions are welcome!

Venezia

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Photos by me, taken with a disposable camera back in February. I love film so much...

Thoughts lately...

Here are some thoughts that have been swirling around in my head lately, as told by various talented photographers.

We shouldn't spend all our time cooped up inside. While I love cozy nights in (as you know, too), this year I realized how much time I was spending in bed at 9 pm with hot tea, Gilmore Girls, and a face mask. Don't get me wrong, that's GREAT. It's just not what we should be doing every night. "Nobody looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got plenty of sleep." Go out and have those crazy nights that you're not proud of, because when you have kids and a full time job, those are going to be the nights you remember and tell stories about.
Photo: Sam Brockway

Adventure is out there. This past semester, obviously, I learned that there's so much out there to see. I don't want to be trapped in PA forever. Forget forever - I don't want to be trapped here for more than a few months. I like change and adventure. And I don't want to be one of those people that says they want adventure, and then never goes after it. I want to move around, see the world, and not worry about how much it costs. I want to spend money on experiences rather than things and I'm willing to do it however I can.

Photo: Sebastien A.

Loneliness is a bitch. This is probably the number one thought on my mind lately. I won't bore you, but I've just not had good luck lately with anyone and all my friends are in relationships. To put it short, I feel like I'm everyone's number 2 person, like their backup person. It sucks and I'm not sure how to shake it some days. I just want to be someone's number one because I get tired of putting all the work into these friendships and relationships.

Photo: Patrick Ludolph

I need to take better care of my body. I know I said going out is fun and all, but every Saturday I've gone out to clubs and bars with friends and it's awesome, but I'm not taking care of myself at all. I at least need a healthy balance. Go to the gym everyday, party on Saturdays. You know? I currently am not eating healthy, don't go to a gym, and my routine isn't really existent. I do have me-nights with baths and face masks, but I need something that I can do daily that's good for me. I'm going to start soon, I just wish I started sooner.

Photo: Erica Yeater

What actually makes me happy? Why do I not feel complete happiness most days? Why am I not making the necessary changes to reach that happiness? What can I do?

Photo: Malachi Riddle

You?

Storms

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There are few things better than storm clouds rolling in, in my opinion.

I love this photo by Randy Droniuk!

Fall

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I've been resisting my urge to talk about my excitement for Fall... but here it is! I'M SO EXCITED. I love Fall so much. I recently started re-watching Gilmore Girls (for the 100th time) and that show just gives me the ultimate sense of coziness. I always love how they do the town up for Autumn and it just made me even more excited. I feel like I'm most myself in Fall. The warm blankets, apple cider, neutral colors, dying leaves, plaid scarves...

I really love these photos by Ines Perkovic. I found her because she's taken some amazing photos of Rome, but I think I'll wait to share them to give you all a little break ;) Also, she uses a Nikon D800 which is now my dream camera. It's about $2,100 but I'm going to own it one day!

Rome

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These pictures mean SO much more to me now. I've been scrolling through Rebecca's Flickr for a little while and it's making miss this beautiful city so, so much. She does such a phenomenal job of capturing all that is Rome!

Check out her Flickr and her website - she's so talented!

If you need me, I'll be looking at her pictures for the rest of the day. Oh, Italy.

Ps Happy July!