It's Magic, Darling!

Furious cleaning & popsicle rewards.

Getting good grades on things that I worked really, really hard on.

Chocolate-strawberry milkshakes for breakfast.

Having a clean, organized room that makes sense & feels more open. Rearranging furniture is something I need to do every once in awhile.

Reading diary entries from middle school. "I don't want to go ice-skating with boys. I never will."

GIRLS. I'm kind of in love with that show. I want to be Jessa because she is fabulous & fierce & fantastic.

Being friends with my coworkers. I'm lucky to work with such awesome & funny & caring people.

Warm days in the middle of winter.

Listening to Best Coast in the middle of winter when it really feels like winter, & dreaming of the perfect summer.

Feminist pop psychology books. I've decided that they are the perfect things to read after a break-up, because you go "YES! I AM A POWERFUL WOMAN! I WAS SMOTHERED IN THE CONFINES OF MY RELATIONSHIP! I HAVE NOW AWAKENED!"

The fact that school starts in three days! The excitement stems from seeing people, not waking up at an ungodly hour or having papers to write.

1. One continuous, 24-hour hug.

2. Summertime.

The fact that the previous owner of my poetry textbook kept a bookmark to save the spot of "Coming Through the Rye".

Getting an immediate response for my Nordstrom internship application.

Having friends who are guaranteed to make you laugh no matter how sad you are.

Bangs. Instant radness.

Seeing Taylor's gorgeous pictures of Greece pop up on my Instagram feed.

Wearing scandalous lingerie underneath a reasonably normal outfit.

Singing along to old Fall Out Boy songs while I get ready in the mornings.

Lusting over shoes that look as if they were hand-crafted by the devil himself.

People who still post beautiful pictures on Tumblr. Thank God not everyone gives in to the tackiness of gifs & memes!

...because let's face it - I am so much happier when I take a minute every week to think about what I'm thankful for.

Going to see Gaslight Anthem!!! It was kind of amazing & I loved every minute of it - even though I practically drowned in the sweat of angrily thrashing men.

Betsey Johnson is back in business. What would I do without a designer who has enough humor to create sunglasses-&-top-hat-wearing skull earrings? She's just rad.

Planning on dusting off the ol' sewing machine & breaking out my 50s dress pattern books. I like the idea of making my own clothes exactly the way I want them to be instead of digging around the mall & not finding anything to my satisfaction. I'm currently dreaming of A-line skirts & studded epaulets in extremely girly prints.

When people mispronounce "scène" so it sounds like "sein". I always get a good laugh out of that.

Silver pedicures. For some reason it makes me think of Cinderella. It makes pulling off several layers of tights & socks all the more enjoyable when there's something sparkly on your toes.

Christmas-themed coffee with Nicolette. I vaguely remember a time when Nicolette didn't drink coffee, but it feels so long ago now! Skinny peppermint mochas were our drink of choice on Tuesday.

Celebrating other people's birthdays. I don't know why I take so much pleasure in it - maybe more so than the actual Birthday Person does! This week was Marcin's birthday & we celebrated with Chinese food & Flying Dog & Civilization 5 with Kushal.

Speaking of Civilization 5....I kind of love it. It's a good thing I don't have constant access to it, otherwise I would become a zombie. Circuses to everyone, I say!

Being in just the right place in a line to receive the last unicorn. I love it when the timing is just right & you end up lucky.

Going to see Breaking Dawn: Part II with Nicolette this weekend. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard! I think Twilight-haters would enjoy this even more that Vampires Suck.

A motel called the "Kumm On Inn". Can't get much better than that.

Waking up super early & ordering fancy lingerie online. I think I let myself go a little bit - remember the time of garter belts & thigh-high stockings?! Well, I'm bringing that time back.

Alice in Wonderland-themed candles. I think that when you're stuck at home in the freezing cold months, the best thing to do is surround yourself with books & deliciously-scented candles & enormous blankets & cups of hot tea. I got the Poison & Hookah scented ones, & I think they're wonderful.

In that vein of thought, I'm also making a huge list of books I've been craving to read that I want to get through by February. It's a little daunting, but I always miss reading for pleasure after a long semester of rather tedious texts  (& having to point out silly things like alliteration, such as 'tedious texts').

Going back to French Studies as (half of) my major. Lets face it - I love French. What's the point of evading something you love when it's right there for the taking?

Dr. Kohut

THIS is what I learn in college. See also:

RuPaul's Drag Race. I could be in the absolute pits of despair, & within ten minutes of watching an episode, I'll be laughing hysterically & getting my sassy diva on. This is what I call quality television.

Speaking of sassy, quotes from the presidential debates! I have the hardest time believing they're real - both the quotes & the candidates.

Everything is Halloweenie. I think my love of the holiday is partially due to the fact that I wasn't allowed to celebrate it properly as a child - my parents thought it was about worshipping the devil, not candy & dress up & extravagant eyelashes & macabre as glamour.

Hearing crazy stories about my friends & fondly thinking "Of course this is about So-&-So. Who else would be so insane?"

Painting my nails instead of studying for my French exams. At this point, I've accepted the fact that I will never be more than a French enthusiast, so why kill myself trying to be perfect? In less than two months, I'll never again be graded on my foreign language proficiency.

Getting 100% on my English exam! Whoo, I can answer questions about literature in English!

Spending hours decorating cookies with melted chocolate & tombstone/pumpkin/autumnal leaves/glitter sprinkles.

Letting my fingernails grow out. Yeah, nearly two weeks of no biting!

Having five entire days to relax, catch up on reading (& Mad Men), & mend some hole-y tights without worrying about doing homework or waking up early the next day.

1. Slept past noon.

2. Watched endless episodes of Mad Men.

3. Painted my nails red.

4. Baked some truly gorgeous Halloween cookies.

Eating mini-donuts in a parking lot with Marcin. Best way to start the day.

Halloween Shopping at Target:

Holding Marcin's hand when we're driving at night in the rain (or anytime, in any weather condition, really).

Learning to do the Gangam Style dance, & doing it everywhere.

Burning candles & incense while writing papers on chilly days.

Wearing an enormously over-sized leopard-print coat over my pajamas instead of a typical house robe.

The fact that my boots stopped making my feet hurt!

Having a closet entirely dedicated to woolly scarves, furry caps, & chunky sweaters.

Singing Ramones' lyrics in an overly-dramatized version of their absurd accent.

Saying things in class that sound vaguely intelligent & having them be well-received by the prof.

Walking around Target in a giant banana suit. I totally would have bought it (& worn it everywhere) if it hadn't been a whopping $30.

Dancing to the end-credits of Frankenweenie.

Second pumpkin muffin of the day. It was made by Mike, so of course it was the best.

Told a funny story in French (for French) & everyone laughed.

Got to hang out with Marcin for FIVE WHOLE HOURS.

Split a delicious cheese steak & fries while watching Chuck.

Ran across two lanes of traffic...twice.

Sang obnoxiously to Against Me! & the Ramones.