Smores!

Ever since my trip to Nepal, I've been craving random baked goods (thanks to my friend Kevin whom every day pretty much would come up with a new dessert he "needed" once he returned home - fruit pies, lemon bars, brownies - you name it, he craved it). Well my one contribution was wanting Smores - maybe because we were building a fire pit as part of our project? Regardless, the thought of Smores transported me back to childhood - not that I was a big camper, but I do remember making them during my brief stint in Brownies (and apparently the Girl Scouts actually invented Smores - common knowledge? I didn't know that...)

Anyways, we finally made some last week down at my brother's - kind of the lazy way as we didn't even start a fire in the backyard fire pit but instead used the stove top. I was thinking my craving was sated, until I ran across this recipe for "Grown-up" Smores. Both cracker and marshmallow home-made? Yes please. Guess I'll have to try these out too. :-)

Yum!

Both images from Fresh New England

Site Searching

Yesterday my brother Eric and his girlfriend guided me down the San Diego coast looking for potential thesis sites. We started in Encinitas, and headed south through Del Mar, Torrey Pines and La Jolla. We stopped at some of the big surf areas, and I was able to convince them we should stop at the Salk Institute (neither had ever been). We had lunch in La Jolla, Eric pointed out where our parents lived in college (both went to UCSD), and he took me by my grandparents' old house - which to our surprise is still boarded up and deserted. It was a beautiful day in San Diego, and I have to admit, it just didn't feel like that much "work" to scout the coast for a site.

I ♥ Finnish Design

I think it is safe to say that everyone who spent last summer in Finland in our program is nostalgic about it this summer - all of us keep posting about memories or reunion ideas, places we want to go back to - and now I'm realizing there is so much more to see. I discovered the firm of Lassila Hirvilammi this morning, and after my obsession with the churches we saw while abroad, I'm definitely wanting to return to Jyväskylä to see this one:

Kuokkala Church, completed 2010

I just think no one quite does it for me like the Finns...

Home + Architecture

After spending an amazing few weeks in Nepal, I returned to the hot/humid weather that defines summer in DC and thought to myself, "you're crazy, go home!" - which is exactly what I decided to do for the month of July. A last minute flight and a few days later, I'm settling in to the California lifestyle, which so far has consisted of moving in with my brother in Encinitas, reading a book for pleasure (crazy I know!), going to the beach, and a daily run or bike ride. Not too rough...

I am also really glad I took a definitive break from school, because now that I'm back in California and feeling refreshed, thesis is actually starting to become something I'm excited about. I haven't officially begun looking for a site yet, but over the weekend I walked along the coast for a while, and the ideas definitely started forming.

In addition to the bumming around SoCal for the month, I'm also excited to find out there are some cool exhibits, etc. happening this summer while I'm home. Somehow I usually miss things I'm interested in being on the wrong coast at the time (like Dwell on Design that was the weekend before I decided to come home). However, just got an email from LA Forum, and I'm really looking forward to the

Lewis.Tsuramaki.Lewis exhibit at the end of the month - 4 Projects: 4 Scales. The firm is out of New York, and our CBDS undergrad group permanently carried around their book last semester which I came to know and love. Excited to see some of their work first-hand.

A Handcrafted Wedding

As I'm getting to "that age" and it seems like everyone around me is getting married, I can't help but think about what I envision for myself. Robin will attest to my desire for this whole DIY forest idea I have, which is pretty comical considering I am not exactly camping in my free time... Anyways, I ran across this wedding at Style Me Pretty, and absolutely adored all of the decorations (and handmade bouquets and details). I'm sure it adds a layer of stress to planning, but I love the layering of such personal touches (and the bright happy colors).

The bride's a fashion designer and blogger too, at A Beautiful Mess, and I couldn't resist the video Goodwin Films made for her special day as well:

Elsie & Jeremy | May 15th 2011 from Goodwin Films on Vimeo.

For my Dad

Found this cartoon and couldn't resist...

Image via Core77

Homecoming

So I disappeared for a while. Not surprising as the end of the semester kicked my butt just a little bit, but my extended absence was also due to my being in Nepal for the last few weeks. I am slowly getting acclimated back in DC - although probably just for long enough to plan my summer in California. I may need to rethink my blog's title at some point...

Anyways, I am not going into the details of Nepal today. I am awaiting picking up my film this afternoon - almost 20 rolls shot on my Hasselblad - which I am so excited to pick up. Hopefully I was able to capture some of the extraordinary experience I had there. Very early on (when my roommate Carrie and I found out we had to share basically a twin bed for a week), we joked Nepal was going to be a "character-building" experience. Little did I know how that joke would translate into the summary of my trip. A small glimpse into a world so different than my own, shared with such generous people who lived so simply and yet so happily. It definitely left me reflecting on the way I live and what's important in my own life.

For now, here's a few images of the trip - Kathmandu, Namje-Thumki, and the site...