hello. :)

YOU
ARE
SO
MUCH
SUNSHINE
TO
THE
SQUARE
INCH!
-walt whitman

Sorry for my unexplained blogging hiatus. I just haven't really felt like writing lately. I'll come back eventually, though. I always do! And, as always, thank you for reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you a thousand times. xoxoxoxo, R.

life update.

Hello, friends, loved ones, and people I don't know.

How are you? I've been gone for awhile, huh?

That's because I'm thinking about revamping this here blog a little bit. I sometimes get bored easily. Right now I'm just letting my wheels spin. I'll be back soon, though.

In the mean time, I hope you're enjoying the fall weather (it's still pretty warm where I am) and drinking lots of hot beverages.

Enjoy your Monday. Life is so beyond, isn't it?

hi!

Sometimes I say I'm going to do things on this blog and then I don't.

Which is totally fine, since it's my blog and all.

But I've been thinking about making some big changes around here. We'll see.

Don't get your hopes up.

(But you can if you want to.)

Love you.

R.

P.S. My camera broke, so sorry about the lack of pictures.

why i'm not allowed to watch scary movies.

I can't watch scary movies.

I'm going to let you in on an embarrassing secret: The first Harry Potter movie scared (and still scares) me. Because Voldermort was totally coming to get me in the middle of the night after I saw that movie. And Harry wasn't going to be there to save me.

After seeing the Sixth Sense I could not walk to my room alone.

After seeing Psycho, I couldn't take a shower for weeks. Sometimes I still have to take baths.

In order to watch scary movies, I have to psyche myself out. For instance, after watching Harry Potter, I had to remind myself (multiple times) that people don't live on the back of other peoples' heads. On top of that, they do not conceal those people with turbans.

So when Gaslight came in the mail this week, I wanted to watch it, but I knew it was going to be rough. I'm not joking, people. I get seriously freaked out.

And here's the good news: The movie was really great (and it was also scary/creepy).

Here's the bad news: I had a dream that I could see dead people after watching it.

(Gaslight really doesn't have much to do with dead people, just so you know.)

I think I probably fulfilled my scary movie quota for the year, but I really think you should watch Gaslight. Ingrid Bergman is a true gem!


Have a great weekend! xo, R.

hi, i have a blog.

I've been in a blogging rut, so to speak.

What's a blogging rut? Glad you asked, I'll tell you. A blogging rut is when my brain is tapped and I feel as though I have nothing to write about. My life lately has been a whole lot of going through the motions, which doesn't make for interesting blogging material.

Saying that I've been going through the motions sort of makes me cringe. And it's not as if I live my life only to blog about it, but it's funny because I feel like there's some sort of correspondence. I, myself, have been in a bit of a rut lately.

It reminds me that I need to live each day on purpose and with purpose. Doesn't mean I'll necessarily blog about it all, but I promise that I'm about to bring color back into the cheeks of my life. And, hey, if the mood strikes, maybe I'll write about it.

Enjoy your week. xo, R.

on being sentimental.

I'm a really sentimental person. Standing in my (nearly) empty room today (in my apartment) honestly made me want to cry. I had a really, really good school year and I'm genuinely sad to see it end. I can't believe my time in this apartment is already over. It literally feels like just weeks ago that I moved in.

I was packing up all my clothes and thinking about all the times I wore them this year (I wasn't kidding about being sentimental), and it almost scared me that time can move so quickly. I feel like this year went by in the blink of an eye -- even more so than previous years. I kept saying to myself, "This is the last time I will ___________ in this apartment" about EVERYTHING. I kid you not, I even thought to myself, "This is the last time I will turn this hall light off." College is such a weird time because I'm rarely stationary. Just as soon as I was really loving all the quirks of this apartment, it's time to leave it. I don't know, I guess most people probably feel like this when something special comes to a close. I will never live in this apartment with my three girlfriends again, and it just made me feel really sad. Of course I'm excited about all the things coming my way in the near future, but sometimes it feels really good just to savor all the last bits of something. Even though it makes me feel really sad, and I'm tempted to distract myself with things like going to get frozen yogurt or watching a movie, I think it's really important to let all these emotions sink in. It makes me feel so connected and human. Have a great night. xo, R.

*image found here, via here.

have a great weekend.

{The ceiling in my house. Just kidding, that's the Tampa Theatre's ceiling and it's beautiful.}

Oh, good. The weekend's here.

This weekend I need to get a lot of school work done. Finals are rapidly approaching (Yikes!), and I have a lot left to do before then. My parents are coming up this weekend to grab a load of my stuff to take home with them. Also, I have 18 zits on my face. How does one go from perfectly clear skin to 18 pimples? Just wondering. Bye!

xo, R.

dreaming of summer.

{Dreaming of the weekend + more days like this one.}

Guys. Today hasn't been the best. I don't feel like doing much of anything right now. I couldn't register for a class I wanted to take, I somehow managed to jam my fingernail into my doorknob and it's still throbbing, and I haven't seen Jeffrey since Monday. I'm just full of complaints.

I need to find some motivation. If I get my work done tonight, I'm going to treat myself by watching Matilda. Big plans, guys. Big plans. I just want summer to be here.

Hope you're Wednesday is bright! xo, R.

P.S. Who loves this blog? I do.

helloooo.

Hi, I hope you all had the chance to go see Sarah's blog and do something special for Maddie (even a thought for her family is special)!

I promised to post something special soon and I will. Right now school is a little crazy and I think it's best that my blog take a back seat. I never want to post anything that I don't think is worth reading and right now I feel like that's what I'd be putting out there.

I truly hope you are all doing well. I'm still following along on your blogs and I'll be back when there's a little lull!

xo, R.

(the lack of) pictures.

Once upon a time I promised to take more pictures. And then didn't. I will update this blog when I take more pictures (and I pretty much promise I will this weekend). xo, R.

blah, blah, blah.

I don't really have anything to write about today other than school is scary, sometimes. It was the second day of classes, and I contemplated crying 5 or 6 times. Don't worry, though. I'm a natural crier, so it was no big. Taking it one day at a time and remembering that college is just one part of my life. Even if I'm not 100% perfect in my academic studies, all that really matters is that I try hard. Right? Right. Enjoy your day. :)

dear everyone,

I have a question for you. I haven't been following any blogs for a long time because I don't like when it shows a huge list of the blogs I'm following on the profile page. (Does anyone know what I'm talking about?)

So, my question to you is this: How do you like to follow blogs?






So much to do, so this will be my post for the day. Guess you'll have to wait for more Wisconsin until next week. See you then! xo, R.

stuff on wednesday.

{Here's a random & unrelated picture! We were on that crazy rock formation on the right hand side of this picture. Also, that little person walking toward the rock (in the gray t-shirt) is Jeffrey! It was so beautiful there. A place called Devil's Lake where we went during our summer trip to Wisconsin. Wish I were there right now, but it'd be much colder!}

Well, it's officially cold and I'm happy. Still bothers me when I see people wearing sandals, but hey. It's their feet that are cold and not mine, right? Anyway.

1. Today I made the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. I remember the first time I made one all on my own. I was babysitting and the mom asked me if I knew how to make a grilled cheese. Of course I do! I didn't. I had no idea. Thank goodness it's not that hard to figure out, right?

2. My cheeks keep getting freakishly red for no reason. Like right now, for instance. It's not like my apartment is cold or hot or anything. It just keeps happening. I'll go with it for now.

3. Jeffrey and I are going out for a pizza party on Friday night to the best pizza place in our college town. And it's not just the two of us! My best friend and her boyfriend are coming, too! Yay! From now on I'll just call them S+K. I want to respect their privacy, but it's much easier to type S+K than "my best friend and her boyfriend" every time.

4. And, finally, it's December! Can you believe it? I can't! It seems like time is really flying by these days. I have about one million school related things to do right about now, so maybe if time could slow down long enough for me to complete them (but still go fast enough so that I'm not agonizing over how it's taking for winter break to be here) that would be so greatly appreciated.

5. You're all awesome.

What's going on in your Wednesday? XO, R.

links + stuff.

I'm home for the weekend and I couldn't be happier. On my drive home yesterday I thought about 1 million different things, which I guess is a good thing since I had 2.5 hours to kill. Suddenly, I felt better about a lot of things. I've been freaking out about grad. school lately, and I think the car ride helped. I thought about a few other things, too, but grad. school is the only one I feel like sharing. I guess sitting down in a car with no one else forced me to look some of my fears in the eye and tell them to leave me alone! I also got a Coke, which was awesome.

Because I don't really have anything to talk about, check these:

1. Elsie just opened her store, and the photos are amazing. I'm sure you've probably already taken a peek at these, but if you haven't, go. right. now. And if you have, look again!

2. Bridget photographs cute kids.

3. Anthropologie's dresses right now. (And I need these tights.)

4. Have you ever read my sister's engagement story? Her ring belonged to my Grammy!


Also, it's cold. And I didn't pack clothes for cold weather because the forecast predicted straight 70s all weekend. Thanks, weather forecast. xo, R.

i love my sister.

{Peanut Butter Crispy bars that my sister and I made this summer. Never actually made it to our baking blog. Sad & pathetic. Here's the recipe if you want to make these. I suggest you do. But don't think too much about the ingredients. Clearly these bars are the opposite of good for you.}

Happy Friday! I hope you're enjoying yours. I just made homemade salsa (I guess it's more like pico de gallo, actually.) and it is the bomb. All you need to do is cut up a tomato, cut up some onion, drain canned corn, chop up 3 leaves of basil, put it all in a tupperware, scoop it onto a chip (I like the Tostitos Multigrain, personally) and enjoy. You're welcome.

My sister just emailed me a document titled "Oh Baking, I love you." That is precisely why I love her, among other reasons, of course. After every recipe, the type of recipe is written in all caps with an exclamation mark. Example: "DESSERT!" "DINNER!" "SAVORY!" I just had to smile about that. We both love to bake (not very well evidenced by our baking blog, which I'm pretty sure has not been updated since August), but she is much better at actually baking. I just dream about it all. I think every time I talk to her on the phone she's baked something new. And we talk on the phone sometimes bi-weekly, people. That means she is baking a lot, and I'm not reaping the benefits. Oh well, someday we'll live in the same state again. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later.

I know I've said this twice now, but Jeffrey and I are going camping this weekend! And, we had a little cold front come through last night so the temperature is sitting at a lovely 76-ish degrees. Hello, Perfect Camping Weather! Have a really awesome weekend. Do something fun for Halloween! I'm hoping to make Caramel Apples one of these days, but who knows, maybe I'll just dream about it (while my sister actually does it...) xo, R.

list ten: because i know you wanted to know what i was thinking about on this monday.

{Is it weird that my photos almost never have anything to do with what I'm posting? I'll fix that in the near future. Also, these chips and salsa were probably the best I've ever had and I ate them on my 21st birthday. Still haven't posted about that, but I will sometime. Possibly.}

1. I think it might be kind of miserable to be a bus driver. Every single time someone requests a stop this voice comes on and says: "Stop requested. For your own safety when crossing the street please pass behind the bus." Yeah, I memorized it. Stops get requested a lot. And can you imagine being a driver? You would hear that a lot, a lot. Plus, I think it would just be boring. The most exciting part, in my opinion, is when two buses pass and the drivers wave at one another. Kind of like at summer camp when your line of campers passes another line of campers and you look at the other leader with a face that reads exhaustion and the feeling is totally mutual, but at least someone understands. That's what happens when bus drivers wave at each other, at least that's my evaluation of the whole thing.


2. Weekends should be longer than two days. Groundbreaking thought, huh? But seriously. Who decided that two days was adequate weekend time? Because I seriously have a bone to pick with him/her. (It was probably a guy, though. Girls just don't make mistakes like that.)


3. I tried to style my hair according to Sydney's tutorial, but still can't do it. I am not kidding. I have absolutely no skill when it comes to styling my own hair. I will, however, continue to try. One day I will master hair styling 101. Hopefully.


4. Norman Rockwell is really cool. Don't ya think?


5. My sister and her fiance (still weird to type that) made a sheet fort this weekend. Want to know what Jeffrey and I did? Watched HGTV and ate Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. Mind you, we only spent a few short hours together, but still, that's what we did with our time. (To clarify, I think watching HGTV and eating Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is an exceptionally great thing to do on a Saturday night, but making a sheet fort is obviously far superior. I don't know what we were thinking.)


6. Who wants to give me $3,000 dollars to expand my wardrobe? You'll thank me when I'm famous someday and you can say, "Oh, I once gave Roxanne $3,000 to expand her wardrobe." People probably won't believe you, but you and I will know it's true. And I'll mention it in one of my many interviews with Elle. Deal?


What are you thinking about? Seriously. I want to know. xo, R.

*PS. Sorry the text is one million different sizes. It happens, you know?

the sick day.

{Should I get my bangs back? I don't know, still deciding. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. And I promise Andy loves me. He was just being the Diva that he is. Oh, and I'm still pretending to grow my hair out, but I have to ask: Is it still pretending if I think I'm actually doing it? I have had only 3-4 urges to cut it all off, but I have yet to do so. My friends, I think I'm growing up & growing it out.}

{Will you please look at my dog in the bottom left corner? You're in love, right? So am I.}

Well, there seems to be some kind of bug going around campus, and I got hit with it. Have no fear, though. I stocked up on Emergen-C, (My secret cure. Get the orange kind.) and some NyQuil, and I think I missed the worst of it. However, I did sit in my cozy chair all day and watch chick flicks, which helped immensely, naturally.

I also pretended to be sophisticated and flirted with the idea of drinking my green tea without sugar, but that seemed silly.

Dear sugar, I promise to never turn my back on you. People pretend to like things without you, but I think they're lying. You don't have to worry about me, though. I am loyal to a fault, especially to you.

And I saw Jeffrey for more than 10 minutes, so I'm feeling pretty great right now. Except for the stuffy nose, the clogged up ears, and the overall feeling of bleh-ness. But hey, who's complaining, right? Not me. xo, R.

the part where i remember to breathe.

Oh hi, stress acne, so great to see you again. Not.

After my twenty minute freak out on Saturday, I resolved to calm down and screw my head on a little tighter. Not always easy, but always worth it. Things have been looking up since then. Not really because anything changed but because I changed. I started living with the idea that things will just be pretty crazy for awhile, and I can totally rock that.

The stress acne, however, I do not feel like rockin'. Hopefully it will soon get the message that things are looking a-okay on the home front, and it can go back to wherever it came from as long as it doesn't bother anyone else on the way home.

Tomorrow, if I have the time or energy (I do have a 7:25 class in the morning. Please help me.) I'll write up a little post on the lovely day Jeffrey and I spent in St. Augustine. Until then, I hope you have a fabulous week!

XO,
R.

the life i'm living (aka unnecessary freaking out).

Thanks for all your love on my last post. You really are the best readers ever, and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Today I'm stuck in my house (my house is really an apartment that I always call a house) with work up to my ears. I got really freaked out yesterday when I discovered that the rest of my college career will probably be mostly work and not a lot of play. I guess the result is pretty worth it, but in the midst of it all it gets a little stressful.

I'm trying to be optimistic about it all. And by optimistic I mean not breaking down in tears every time I think about the next 2.5 years that will be my life. I know I'm completely capable of everything that's ahead of me, but in the moment things just feel impossible. I'm sure we've all had moments like that — everything seems like it's cycloning around my head and there is nothing for me to do but sit here and watch the show. People always tell you that college will be the time of your life, but I guess they leave out the part about working your butt off and feeling like nothing is ever truly accomplished.

I know that things will start to work themselves out, and soon enough I'll see that everything is fine, and that I can totally do this, but right now I think I just need .5 seconds to panic, freak out, exclaim that I can't do this anymore, and make absurd threats about dropping out.

And once I'm done with all that, I'll let you know how I'm doing.

(What do you do to relieve stress? Really. I need tips asap.)

Oh, and to be clear: I still am totally in love with my major and everything it represents, but everyone's entitled to a breakdown now and then, right?

Have a wonderful Sunday!
xo, R.

P.S. My sister's blog is no longer private, which means you should totally check it out. But be forewarned, you will fall in love with her life.

question for you.

Hello, all! I hope you're having a lovely Wednesday! I have a favor to ask all of you: how do you increase readership on your blog? This is something I've wanted to ask everyone for quite some time now, but I wasn't exactly sure how to approach it. I write my blog because I like to, and I want that to be known far and wide. However, I would enjoy having a few more readers (not that I don't value that ones who have been here since the beginning. I love you all, even if the majority of you are family). When I first started blogging, it was an outlet for me. I love to write (always have) and it was just kind of natural for me to end up here. After I started reading more blogs, I discovered the wonderful friendships that could come from them. Suddenly, I wanted to be a part of that. It reminded me of pen pals, but in a 21st-Century-kind-of-way. Well, here I am months later with not much readership to show for (once again, cannot express just how grateful I am for the ones that have come and stayed).

When I got my first random commenter, I was thrilled. When I got my second, I was thrilled again. I started commenting on their posts and they would comment on mine — it was awesome! Somewhere down the road, however, I noticed that they were only commenting on my blog if I was commenting on theirs. That's fine if some people work that way, I don't. I only comment on blog posts when they resonate with me; when I relate to them, find them breathtakingly beautiful, or they make me smile. I will not comment on your blog post for the sake of getting a comment on mine. That's not what this is about to me. It hurt my feelings when people would leave comments like "So cute!" because I knew they hadn't read a single word I'd written.

So, now I comment on a splattering of blogs that I think are worth commenting on. Maybe some people think the only approach to gaining readership is to mindlessly comment on a slew of blogs, but I refuse to believe that's so. I guess what this whole, long spiel is about is this: how did you gain your readership? Did you do anything specific? This is so hard for me because I fear that when I post this into cyberspace it's going to seem like all I care about is a ginormous readership, but that's not true. I just want to know: is anyone out there?

XO,
R.