A sun-soaked feel-good, smell-good reminder on my windowsill.

Leftovers which were just as yummy the second time around. Lonnie and I went to this tiny place called Bandidos and it was the best Latin American food I've ever had.

My little orange moose I bought at Ikea tucked in a happy corner. Both my favorite color and my favorite animal. 

Drinking coffee in between classes to get through the day. Whether it be a couple cups of dark roast I brew in the maker I have in my room, or an iced cup from Starbucks, this is an almost daily ritual.

Finding a little section in my planner where I can list goals for every month. Keeping resolutions up year-round sounds like a wonderful thing to me.

Eating too much dark chocolate and being reminded that it's alright.

Just a quick update to say I'm settling in. My classes are proving to be more work than I thought, but after surviving last year's crazy schedule, I know I can handle it. I love where I live on campus and with that said, the girls I share my suite with. Sophomore year is all about doing my own thing, and I'm finding comfort in that. I'm super excited to be diving into my major, which is New Media. I'm really starting to feel like I'm learning the ropes to becoming a real designer.

dorm sweet dorm.

This post is on the more personal side, but I wanted a chance to show my family and friends back home where I'm living right now. I moved into my single dorm room yesterday, and managed to get everything settled in fairly quickly. Things are far from perfect, but I'll be tweaking everything until it feels like home. I took these snapshots before decorating my bulletin board above my bed. I also have plans to turn the space above my bed into a gallery wall for photos and art. To say the space is small is an understatement, but it's all mine and it works for me.

sophomore year goals.

As the start of the new school year is swiftly approaching and the task of packing is becoming increasingly more daunting with every box filled, I am striving to keep calm and soak up the feeling of "home."

I took these few pictures before the chaos, and I'm glad I did. They represent a feeling of home which is peaceful, neat, and comforting, and I could use all of those kinds of feelings I can conjure up right now.

Along with the craziness of packing, I am also looking forward to a fresh start that comes along with a new year. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of gratitude I have to be doing this for the second go-round instead of the first time again. I already feel less intimidated and more confidently prepared for what's ahead. All that being said, I hope to do things better than I did last year in an attempt to constantly improve myself, so I'm making a list of goals for my second year of college:

• Continue to try to eat as cleanly as possible; real food. Stuff that goes bad. Stuff without labels.
• Not freak out so much. More importantly, not freak out and take it out on the people I'm surrounded by.
• Take advantage of free on-campus yoga by going regularly to reduce stress and gain back some flexibility.
• Make Mondays the best day of the week. I know this sounds crazy, but my class schedule on Mondays goes like this: Spanish from 1:45 to 2:35 pm. Annnnd....that's it. Therefore, I am dedicating Mondays to gym time, coffee time, planning time, goal-setting time, catching up time, yoga time. I like the sound of starting my week on that kind of note.
• Really step up my design game. I feel like I know who I am as an artist, but I'm not quite sure who I am as a designer. There is sooo much I want to learn this year obtaining to my major which is New Media, and I feel like I can't get my hands on all of it quick enough.
• Incorporate more art and creative living inspiration into this space. :)

blue ridge homesick.

I miss my mountain home.

I recently took a trip up to Asheville to see Andrew McMahon perform at the Orange Peel(more on that later), and the whole experience made me miss my second home so much. As my sophomore year draws closer, I am becoming more and more pumped about going back, settling into my new dorm room, and seeing my hallmates and friends again. I have never looked forward to a school year as much as I do this one. College is wonderful.

The photos featured are from our annual trip to Grandfather Mountain for my dad's birthday that I blogged about last year here.