Five Things Friday

I can't believe it's already almost July! Summer will be in full swing pretty soon. Here are some blanks to start off your Friday:

1. Some scents I like are citrus and coconut and my favorite perfume is right now I am liking "Ribbon" by Mariah Carey and "Curious" by Britney.

2. Some smells that remind me of summer are elephant ears (from summer festivals/fairs), bbq smoke, and chlorine from swimming pools.

3. A smell that other people seem to like that I don't is new car smell! It makes me feel a little carsick after a while!

4. If someone was super smelly would you tell them? Not unless they were a close friend!

5. I would totally buy an air freshener that smelled like Jo-Ann stores. I love the craft store smell lol!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this cool illustration. I never knew how to do any cool shadow puppets and in addition to that being a neat poster, it would be cool to try these!

Have a splendid weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

For the first week of June, we finally got some full-on summer weather that actually seems like it's lasting. Tell us about some things you like about summer in this week's blanks!

1. A great way to relax on a hot day is reading a book outside or cooling down in a pool/river!

2. My favorite foods for summer include anything BBQ'd, cold desserts, and watermelon!

3. Summer is the best season to surf, go floating, have picnics, and go to various festivals.

4. Sunny, warm days mean outfits that consist of fun shorts and cute comfy dresses!

5. This summer I plan on just doing all of the above...nothing too special or out of the ordinary planned this summer for me!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is how fun would it be to have a hanging bed for the summertime?!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

During our Florida trip, we played "Would You Rather" quite a lot, since we had to entertain ourselves somehow with all that plane riding! Here are some Would You Rather questions from the web for this week:

1. Would you rather live in Harry Potter's world, or live a life of fame and wealth? I would rather live in a Harry Potter world! What is fame and wealth compared to a little magic?!

2. Would you rather be fluent in all languages, or a master of every musical instrument? Hmm, that's kind of tough - I've always wanted to learn both more languages and instruments! I guess I would rather be able to play the instruments. I feel like that would provide a wider range of entertainment.

3. Would you rather have no one show up to your wedding, or your funeral? My funeral, I guess? I wouldn't even know, if I was dead! Or I would have outlived everyone I knew, maybe!

4. Would you rather be stuck for 5 hours in a broken elevator, or on a ski lift? A ski lift I suppose, since I would get very claustrophobic and bored in the elevator, but at least on the ski lift I'd have a view to look at...

5. Would you rather only be able to talk in a whisper, or only be able to shout? Whisper I guess, since always shouting would be really annoying.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is: Cakes that can talk!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

Last week was a very exciting one, because us girls went on a short trip to Florida together! We visited Universal Studios (with Harry Potter World in mind especially - pictured below!) and Seaworld for our two days in Orlando. It was a wonderful time, and I can't wait for another chance to go on a trip together again!

This week's theme is vacations!

1. My favorite thing about vacations is besides for NOT working - seeing and experiencing new places and new things. This trip my friends made me go on roller coasters for the first time (which I have always been terrified of doing), and after some deliberation I decided I think I like them!

2. I like to get souvenirs that are clothes, since it's often hard to find other things that are actually useful. And it's not like I'd say no to some new clothes!

3. They should make a theme park with a  Lord of the Rings  theme next. They haven't made one already yet, have they? Everyone knows how much I love hobbits!

4. The best thing about being home again after a trip is taking a big long nap, and having a home-cooked meal!

5. Someplace I'd like to visit in the future is the Moab desert for a Syncro Solstice, where all the boxy-type VW vans get together (even if like ours, they aren't exactly Synrco 4x4s). It would be so cool to be amidst a herd of other VW vans and their doting owners!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is sort of along the travel theme here, this map shower curtain and this map duvet cover.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

Last week I was at the annual Drosophila Conference in Washington DC. Those few days went at quite a different pace from being in the lab, but it was an interesting and good experience, and it was cool to visit a city with so much history. This week's FTF has somewhat related blanks:

1. I somewhat dislike (like/dislike) traveling, and I'd rather go by car (car/plane/other). I am admittedly a little provincial in that I don't like straying very far from Oregon, and the only sort of traveling I really do like is going on road trips. I hate planes, and every time I'm at the airport about to go on a flight, I always have these fleeting, irrational thoughts about just bailing and not going wherever I'm supposed to go!

2. My work usually doesn't (does/doesn't) require traveling. My boss goes to a few conferences in different cities/countries every year, but this year is the first time I went to one with her. It's expensive and we usually don't have funding for it!

4. Something I always forget to bring when traveling is floss, for some reason! Although this time I actually remembered it, but then I ran out!

3. Something historic/famous about the place I live in is I guess the big deal people make about Corvallis is the fact that Linus Pauling once went to OSU. Also, I heard somewhere that salsa dancing is big here, or maybe a particular salsa dancing group is famous in Corvallis?

5. A tourist hotspot of my town is besides for the university, people often visit one of the local pizza places, American Dream Pizza, especially since apparently Obama ate there when he visited Corvallis once.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this colorful spaghetti! I kind of want to make some now haha!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

My friend recently gifted me a game for my iphone called "10000000", it has a funny name an even more bland looking icon but I gotta say that the game is awesome and highly addictive!! I can't stop playing it!! Every free moment I have I find myself wanting to play the game.  It has fun music while you are playing that just motivates you to keep going.  Anyway if you guys haven't heard of it you should check it out!!  So today's FTF is all about games, here goes:

That's the 10000000 icon up there!

1.  My favorite computer game as a kid was Treasure Mountain.  AND IT WAS AWESOME!  I think that's where my love of math came from, you would have to do different math problems in order to get the treasures and climb up the moutain, it was great.  I also really liked the game caves! ha!  Old school games on those big old disk, those were the days!

2.  My first video game ever was super mario bros for the original nintendo, I remember when my parents gave us that gift for Christmas we were all so ecstatic about it!

3.  I am just plain old okay bad/okay/awesome at playing video games.  I get too anxious, I think my lack of coordination really comes out during video games haha!

4.  My favorite game currently is 10000000, of course!! I totally gave that away at the beginning :)

5.  Let's step away from technology for a bit...My favorite board game is Life.  I think it's so fun at the end of the game when you get to flip over all your little tiles and find out what you accomplished in your life!

** My favorite thing from around the web this week is this DIY Zen board, who knew all you needed was magic calligraphy paper!

 

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Five Things Friday

Since this Sunday is Easter, this week's blanks are likewise about Easter!

1. I usually celebrate Easter by making a ham for dinner, and sometimes dyeing eggs.

2. This year for Easter I am dyeing eggs!

3. Chocolate eggs or marshmallow bunnies? The cadbury eggs are my favorite Easter candy! Although I am also very fond of those chocolate-covered marshmallow bunnies!

4. My favorite way to cook eggs is scrambled! I also love tea eggs (the Asian snack - in Taiwan they sell them instead of hot dogs at 7-Eleven)!

5. The last time I saw a bunny was in the park near my house! There always seems to be bunnies around there.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this amazing project called "52 Forms of Fungi." Such cool knitting!!

Have a great weekend and Happy Easter!

Five Things Friday

This morning I was looking at this month's issue of Glamour, and saw that it's supposed to be sort of an "accessory" issue or something. So, this week's FTF is about accessories!

1, An accessory I'm wanting now is hats! I am totally into spring hats right now. 

2. I'm kind of over any winter accessory! I don't even want to buy them even if they're on clearance now - I'm so ready for winter to be over!

3. On a typical day I usually wear earrings, and sometimes if I feel like it I'll throw on a necklace or a bracelet. 

4. Nail polish I'm wearing/going to wear next: a light spring-y green (for St. Patrick's Day)! 

5. If I had to choose one accessory to be stuck on an island with, I'd choose some nice stud earrings probably, since I can't live without earrings and they'd be least likely to get out of the way for trying to survive on an island, I suppose.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is: this robin's egg bird nest ring from Etsy!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

I am beyond ready for it to be spring.  That is literally all I dream about, I can't stop looking at swimsuits, shorts, sandals and all the other fun attire that you can wear when the sun is out.  I'm so over wearing coats and heavy shoes, so today's FTF is all about Spring, here goes!

1.  For spring break I am going to Orlando with my friends!! It's going to be a blast and I can't wait for May to come along!

2.  I keep wanting to buy swimsuits for spring!  Is it just me or are this years swimsuits way cuter than last years, I keep seeing them everywhere in all sorts of fun patterns like chevron stripes, ombre, polka dots and tribal prints!  I want them all!!

3.  My favorite thing to do in the spring is go running outdoors or go on a bike ride.  The weather here in the PNW has been semi mild this year and it's so wonderful to run or bike outdoors when the air is still crisp and cool.

4.  My favorite thing to eat in the spring is salads and salmon!  I just get in salad mode and want to eat them all the time and usually because of lent I eat more fish during spring time. 

5.  I can tell spring is coming when all the ducks come back!! They come in masses, they are everywhere, at first I think they are pleasant but then they become a total nuisance especially when they leave gifts on my car....

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is these sugar cookies with butter cream frosting, I totally want to make some next week!  Also check this article out, a waitress asks a patron for their ID and gets handed her stolen license, crazy story but totally true!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Five Things Friday

Today I was admiring my new favorite cup, which I thrifted a couple weeks ago. It has an adorable farm scene on one side, and on the other side there are two duckies strolling and carrying flowers. I love it for drinking tea! Anyway, it made me decide to do some questions about tea this week:

1. My favorite tea is green tea or peppermint green tea. I also like seasonal teas during the appropriate season (such as pumpkin spice for fall), and sometimes even just the packaging sells it for me lol!

2. I usually add nothing (milk/sugar/nothing). I like it plain!

3. Tea is best served in the afternoon and evening (morning/afternoon/evening/anytime). In the morning I always have coffee as a habit, but during the rest of the day I usually have some tea around,

4. A tea I don't care much for is earl grey...I really tried to like it before, so I could be like Captain Picard from Star Trek, but I just don't for some reason!

5. A good snack to have with tea is something crunchy and/or sweet, like a granola bar or some cookies.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is how this physicist proposed to his girlfriend (also a physicist) in paper format. So cute and totally awesome!

Have a super weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and some of you might not be into it, but then again some might be! When I was in school I always seemed to have big evening exams that fell on Valentine's Day, if it was a weekday. Maybe those professors were among those who did not like it haha! Anyway, however you feel about it, here are some Valentine's Day related questions for you:

1. My idea of a fun date would be to spend some time outside with my boyfriend, or stay in and make a nice dinner. At least that's what it would be right now! Or if we were talking about the first stages of dating, we would have to be doing some sort of activity on the date - I find just going out to dinner on actual "dates" and trying to make small talk really awkward haha!

2. I wear pink (red/pink) more often. I love both colors! I think I usually wear pink more often, but lately I've kind of been in the mood for red.

3. Favorite romantic/romantic comedy movie? Hmm...I haven't watched a lot of them recently, but I really liked Crazy, Stupid, Love! And shirtless Ryan Gosling is always a plus, right?

4. An awkward dating moment I had was when once I went on a lunch date with someone I had met online who turned out to be nearly 2 feet taller than me. Not that that necessarily means it would never work, but...the guy was nice and we parted on friendly terms, although there was an unspoken mutual agreement that we would never see each other again! 

5. For Valentine's day I prefer to do something relaxing and low-key. It seems like Brian and I have a tradition of exchanging cards and small gifts, he makes this certain shrimp dish for dinner that I really like, and I like to make a heart-shaped cake.

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is: What a great way to decorate with a ladder!

Have a great weekend!

I hope you find time to celebrate something you love in your life!

Five Things Friday

Here in Corvallis this year, a plastic bag ban passed, so at larger stores we have to bring our own reusable bags or pay 5 cents for paper bags. Of course, it is also a good excuse to start hoarding a fun variety of reusable grocery bags. This made me think about bags and purses too, so that's what this week's blanks are about!

1. The bag I'm using right now is a sort of hippie slouch bag with flowers on it - this one in fact. I needed one with a long strap so it wouldn't fall down when wearing all these winter coats! 

2. I prefer (small/medium/big) bags. It depends on my mood, but I usually need medium ones to carry everything I need. I always having to dig around so much to find anything is in really bags too haha!

3. Something I keep in my bag no matter what is chapstick, and spare tampons, lol!

4. What's in my bag: Aside from the items mentioned above: my snake-print wallet, a pouch containing various stores' club/rewards cards, my cellphone charger, a pair of gloves, an umbrella, a pen, and a napkin from Quiznos.

5. A bag on my wishlist is this one I just saw on Pinterest! I'm not sure where it's from, but the lace, the key, the chain...everything about it is so perfect!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is: this amazing snake painting video my dad emailed me lol!

Happy February everyone!

Five Things Friday

This weekend is a 3-day weekend at work for us, for MLK Jr. Day on Monday. There has been stuff all over campus about things to celebrate MLK Jr. Day and other cultural celebration activities. So today's FTF is inspired by cultures - your culture, that is!

1. I (or my parents/ancestors) are from China, although my parents lived most of their lives in Taiwan after leaving China as kids shortly after WWII.

2. Do you speak the language(s) of the above country/countries? I can understand some Mandarin, speak it very poorly, and read/write a little bit.

3. Sometimes people say that I look Japanese or Korean...for some reason people I always think I am Japanese haha!

4. Do you celebrate any holidays from your/your family's country/countries of origin? We don't really celebrate any in a strict sense, although when we were kids my parents used to cook noodles and give us red envelopes on Chinese New Year. We also sometimes eat zhongzi's (sticky rice things wrapped in bamboo leaves) around this one Chinese holiday where everyone eat those things, and moon cakes around the Mid-Autumn Festival time.

5. My favorite foods that come from these place(s) are any sort of dim sum, Beijing roast duck, and weird Chinese dishes that you would not find in most restaurants here but are common in Taiwan and China, such as fish heads, pigs' feet and chicken feet! They are delicious, I swear! OK,..maybe not if you aren't used to them, haha!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this DIY embellished military jacket idea - I like the mixed jewels and how it doesn't look overly bling-y!

Five Things Friday

I don't know about you, but I LOVE PIZZA!!  I can have pizza any day, any time, I don't think I could ever get sick of it!  Today's FTF is all about my beloved pizza, here goes:

1.  My favorite pizza place is the downtown American Dream Pizza in Corvallis, Oregon.  It is literally the best pizza ever!  Their crust is crisped just the right amount and they have quality toppings that make the pizza taste that much more delicious. 

2.  My favorite pizza topping(s) is/are ham and pineapple!! I am a sucker for Hawaiian pizza, it's so hard to resist it!

3.  My least favorite topping on pizza is ONION!  If there is onion on my pizza I will not eat it, I won't even pick it out, it just destroys the whole pizza experience for me!

4.  I like to eat my pizza by/with lots of parmesan cheese!! I actually just like to eat parmesan cheese by itself, I'm weird like that but pizza gives me an excuse to pile it on my plate and dip my crust in it,weird right?

5.  My second favorite pizza is either a homemade one made by me or the Papa Murphy's thin crust pizza, it's so thin and light it makes me feel not guilty eating it. 

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this tutorial on how to make heart shaped cupcakes!  I think I'm going to make some this weekend :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

I hope everyone has had a great New Year! Cold winter weather makes me just want to sit under a blanket and watch a movie. So here are some blanks for you about movies! 

1. The last movie I watched at home was National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation last night. I'm really  not entirely over Christmas yet, to be honest haha! 

2. The last movie I watched in a theater was Les Miserables. It was really good, although the seats were so uncomfortable we didn't even cry during the sad parts! 

3. My favorite thing to eat during a movie is I actually usually don't really like eating during movies - it distracts me and I'm good at multitasking haha! But I like sipping tea or hot chocolate while watching.

4. The genres I like best are chick flicks, funny ones, and fantasy/sci-fi  and like least are horror...I am terrified of any movies that are scary!

5. If I were in a movie, I would probably play someone in a "good" role probably - I don't think I have the personality to play someone "bad" or evil haha!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is I love this retro-looking dress!

Have a great weekend!

Five Things Friday

I can't believe the new year will be here in just a few short days.  As I get older each year seems to go by more quickly, today's FTF is all about new years, here goes:

1.  The best thing about 2012 was...this may sound lame but my job!  This was the first year where I actually felt productive and capable of being an actual engineer! haha

2.  Next year I am looking forward to getting married with my best friend!  After being engaged for a little over a year I'm excited to finally tie the knot!

3.   A resolution I have for next year is to be on a super tight shopping budget until my b-day.  I do this New Year's challenge every year and I find it to be super beneficial, I actually might extend it a bit more further out than my b-day this upcoming year.   This year I might give myself $50 to spend on clothes/shoes/accessories every month for 3-4 months and see how I handle it!

4.  I celebrate New Years by I usually have an end of the year dinner then just watch the NYC ball drop on TV, but sometimes I get super sleepy and just fall asleep before midnight.   I never do anything special for New Years.

5.  This year I will be celebrating the New Year by........I still don't know what I'm doing but like I said in #4 I never do anything special >.<!!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this DIY vase, I kinda want to make it for my room.

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy New Year!

Five Things Friday

Christmas is just around the corner - I feel like it was only just Thanksgiving! I'm definitely excited to celebrate the holidays...what about you?

1. This year for the holidays I am going to visit my parents on Christmas. On Sunday I am also going to exchange presents with Diana and watch Christmas movies!

2. A holiday tradition I have is buying an advent calendar from Trader Joe's - they are so fun and the chocolates are so delicious, and can't be beat at $1! Although this year I heard they are sold out at the Trader Joe's in town :(

3. My favorite holiday song is: "All I Want for Christmas!"

4. My favorite holiday movie is: so many to choose from! Every year I usually watch at least a couple of the following: Elf, Love Actually, The Nightmare Before Christmas (although usually more around Halloween time), and The Polar Express.

5. All I want for Christmas (or another holiday) is to spend time relaxing! I'm lucky not to have a job requiring me to work on Christmas day. Oh, and a little snow would be nice (for decorative purposes only)!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is these wintery snowflake nails!

Happy holidays everyone and safe travels!

Five Things Friday

Seeing as I'm heading up north today, I decided to make today's blanks all about this chilly weather we are having here in Oregon.  So here goes and don't forget to play along:

1.  During the winter the best way to relax is by having some hot chocolate, snuggle under a blanket read a book or watch TV, preferrably anything Christmas themed! I'm a sucker for Christmas movies!

2.  When it's cold all I want to wear is a vest of any kind, a hat, wool socks and a scarf, and yes I wear these things even when I'm at home!  My house is so cold!

3.  Something weird I do that keeps me warm is when I wear dresses or skirts in the winter I double up on tights! It makes a HUGE difference and it not only keeps you warm and cozy but it also makes black tights appear super dark.

4.  Something weird I crave during the winter is ice cream.  I know that sounds weird, and you must be thinking why would she crave ice cream during cold winter months, but seriously ice cream sometimes is that perfect balance even if it's cold outside ice cream just tastes so good and it reminds me of summer.

5.  What I love the most about the cold weather is all the accessories, sweaters and coats one gets to wear.  During the end of the summer I long to wear my coats, hats and scarves and towards the end of the winter I am totally fed up with all the clothes!  Right now I'm in my loving winter stage :)


**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this DIY Mountain pillow, how cute would that look on your bed or sofa?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

Hi guys! How was your week? There were all sorts of random things I had to do all grouped together this week. One of those things was going to the dentist, so this post is all about teeth!

1. I don't mind (like/hate/don't mind) going to the dentist. It's not something I enjoy terribly, but it's nice getting your teeth cleaned! Unless it's time to get x-rays...those things they use are so huge, sometimes it makes me gag.

2. Something unusual about my teeth is that my mouth was too small to fit all the adult teeth, so they had to pull out like 4 of them to make room, and remove another one surgically that would have come in sideways!

3. I have (have/haven't) had to wear braces. For 4 years! And for a number of months I also had to wear a Herbst appliance at the same time, which is supposed to fix your bite, but it only ruined mine since nothing was wrong with it in the first place. Ugh!

4. My worst dental experience was when a dentist was trying to yank out one of my teeth with a pliers or something, but she was not strong enough to get it out quickly, and didn't give me enough numbing stuff so it was quite unpleasant. The tooth eventually broke when she kept grabbing on it with the pliers so much! Plus my mom was standing there watching the whole time and looking really horrified, which I at the time thought was also very embarrassing!

5. My favorite thing about visiting the dentist is other than clean teeth, I liked it when I was a kid and they had that foamy fluoride thing you bite on for a minute or two, and then you go rinse your mouth. I always got bubble gum flavor and thought it was fun haha!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is: these pincushions!!! I love them all so much, I can't even decide which one I like best! They are all so extraordinary...someday when I feel like splurging I will have to pick one!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Five Things Friday

I went to a work seminar/meeting this week and they talked a whole lot about social media, so it got me thinking a little bit about my social media habits.  So today's Five Things Friday is all about social media:

1. My first experience with social media was Facebook, I've had an account since 2004, way back when Facebook was only for people in college.  I opened an account summer of freshman year when my High School friend told me it was a must have and so I was sucked in. But now Facebook has become a place where I mostly keep in touch with family.

2. I prefer Twitter (Twitter/Facebook) because I love how concise twitter is, it is much more short and to the point and I love all the witty things people say on there!

3.  My favorite social media avenue is/are blogs! I love love love love LOVE to read blogs, especially style and craft blogs!

4.  My favorite thing about social media is how you can keep in touch with people or find someone you lost touch with.  My family lives all over the place and I don't have time to call them or text them regularly so it's nice to see what they are up.  Oh, I also love how you can reach out to your favorite brands, celebrities, bloggers, authors, etc. 

5.  My least favorite thing about social media is people get TOO opinionated.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's great people have their opinions and are not afraid to convey them and I actually don't mind reading them but I hate being bombarded continuously with them or when people's comments become too disrespectful for general audiences, some level of respect is needed.  My advice is: don't overkill the subject and respect others!!

**My favorite thing from around the web this week is this DIY dream catcher from P.S. I Made This.  I totally want to make one, I use to make these in elementary school and I remember always having one above my bed when I was younger.  I think it's definitely time to re-live that by making one for myself soon!

This weekend I plan on relaxing and celebrating my 1 year engagement anniversary with my fiance, it will be the only time we get to celebrate it, since once we get married we'll be celebrating our wedding anniversary instead ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

~DD