on this tuesday, i'm twenty in twenty-ten

photo via tumblr

Happy Birthday to me! I can't believe I'm 20 already. Over the bunny hill and a fifth of a century old. June 29 is a good day and to all who share the same birthday as me. Happy Birthday out there!

a room of my own

a sea of green

paper cranes, little flags, hearts and lots of notes

mini suitcase and postie, Matryoshka dolls and a vinyl Ed Banger

the world, inspiration, mountains, music and colourful pens

blanc sur blanc

photo via design shimmer

As much as I love colours, I really do love white on white.

oh! darling, all you need is love

I named my guitar, Ringo after Ringo Starr and mostly because the timbre of the acoustics really ring out loud. I love him so.

sugar rush

My own version of the Keep Calm series. The Sweet Tooth Fairy shop just moved closer to home and I've been attacked by a red velvet cupcake.

a day tripper with 35 mm film

Developed film from California {San Francisco + Santa Cruz} trip.

reliving childhood: Toy Story 3

I met with a childhood friend today, Toy Story 3. Growing up, I watched the Toy Story series, dozens and several of times. My brother and I even owned a few Buzz Lightyear figurines. I absolutely loved this heartfelt sequel. I loved Up a lot, but I love Toy Story 3 even more. I never cry in movies, but somehow I was really close to crying in this one, which says a lot. The storyline of Andy going away for college and deciding what to take with him reminds me of the prologue for The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis; you can't take everything with you on all your journeys. These past two days I've completely cleaned my room, trying to decide what to give away and keep from my childhood and I can relate to Andy. The persona of these toys got me thinking, what do my own toys think of me now that I've put a lot of them away? The new toys and characters of this story are very real to me, they are found in everyday people. The friendship between Andy's original set of toys are genuine and the most loyal of all. I couldn't stop laughing from all the jokes and comedy scenes. Toy Story 3 is a heartwarming, bubbly tale of growing up in life, sharing it with others and pure happiness for every kid in the soul. I love love love Toy Story 3 and of course, love Pixar.

between the lines

A picture can say more than a million words. Recently, it was Elliott Smith and this picture that inspired me to start writing lyrics and songs again. This black and white photo of Elliott at his desk says so much about his life, how he carried about from day to day. Looking at his desk reminds me of my own. I have a few guitar picks laying about, scattered paper and books. Seeing his notes sparked me to write my own lyrics and chords on obscure sheets of paper. Elliott Smith is a legend, his music and life has inspired me to keep playing and writing.

archiving

image via weheartit

Aside from blogging, I have written in journals almost since I learned how to write, well nine years to be exact. Within these years, there are spaces and gaps in time where I didn't catch up in writing and drastically fell behind. There's important people I wish I would have mentioned and many vacations I wish I would have wrote about. I am however, grateful that I never stopped writing and continue narrating my life.

These past two days, I've taken a turn down memory lane and went through previous journals. I've been laughing about how things have changed, yet how they've remained the same.

My handwriting has evolved in all sorts of directions. I miss the handwriting I had when I was seventeen, but I still love the handwriting I have now. I don't doubt that my handwriting will keep evolving.

I have written so many silly things that I don't remember. There were facts that shocked me. I wrote down twice that I wanted to be a scientist. Did I even know what a scientist was back then? I don't even recall writing that one down.

I've written down about dreams in my sleep. I've dreamt that I cried because I couldn't play the guitar. Strangely, I didn't write about any piano dreams since I started playing at three. I can laugh about this because I can now say that I do play the guitar.

I have even predicted my own future in my journal. I took this psychology class where I wrote down a timeline of things that I will do or will happen to me in the future. This was sometime in 2007. I still find this weird, but I predicted that in the summer of 2009, I will travel to Australia and New Zealand. I had no clue I was even going to these places until spring 2009. The only thing that didn't happen was going to Fiji and Antarctica.

I have liked the same person on various degrees since sixth grade. When I first met McDreamy/Jim Morrison, I said that I hope to never like him. It's been an odd six hundred days ever since I wrote that and I still sort of like him.

It's fun to go back and discover who you once were, who you are now and who you will be someday.

explore your own downtown

{All on Broadway}

I discovered this boutique store, $15 dresses that almost look like Anthropologie. I went to an antique store for the first time, looked at a local gallery and stopped by the Slowtrain record store.

On the drive everywhere, it was about Jimi Hendrix.

Shanghai World Expo

World Expo Overview

1. I've never seen more people in my life, altogether in a crowd. Seriously.

2. Learned about previous Expos in the world.

3. The Expo site in Shanghai is literally 10 Disneyland's put together. It's that big!

4. Loved the architecture of each pavilion.

5. Enjoyed my three story hike at (Green) Hong Kong, where I rested my feet, met a local and talked until the park was closed.

It's literally been a month since I was in China. Here are a few photos from the World Expo.

Shanghai's electro lights

India. I want a green roof like this.

S. Korea. I liked all the colourful tiles.

China (my favourite and the grandest of all)

a little rockstar in me

image via tumblr

I feel pretty rad when I listen to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. I had a life changing experience and now I'm obsessed with classic rock. One day, I'm going to play on an electric guitar. I've already wrote down the list of songs.

as of lately...

I listened to 'Ocean' on Ocean St, while driving to the beach in Santa Cruz. Also, visited Mystery Spot where I saw all kinds of crazy optical illusions.

Waited in line with my brother (who's a huge fan) for David Archuleta's book signing. He's the second Idol I've seen/met and he truly was sweet to all his fans, especially to this little lucky girl right here.