Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

Yesterday I got to thinking about how detached I feel from life in Hollister. It's weird to think that only 3 short years ago, I was in high school and felt like this town was mine. The restaurants, stores, and high school were all so familiar and it felt like I would never lose my connection to this feeling of comfort. And that was something for which I was really proud.

Now that I only spend a month here in winter and maybe six weeks every summer, I get this strange sense that I don't belong here anymore. My sisters have moved on and become so successful/amazing/wonderful without me here, my parents have endured in spite of everything, and even Hollister itself seems to have given me the brush-off. Don't get me wrong, though: I am so happy that my family has continued on without me,

and I'm even happy that Hollister has forgotten about me too. It's just weird, that's all. It's weird to come "home" to a town that isn't really my home anymore. This was far more whiny than I intended it to be, really.

on a walk with my dog, taken on Carpenter Drive in Hollister, CA (in December! Jealous of those blue skies?!)

There are still a lot of really wonderful things about this town--my family, my dog, gorgeous views, seeing the stars at night, my best friends, and being an hour away from the ocean, the snow, and the mountains. But I just can't shake the feeling that this isn't my place anymore.

If college has taught me anything, it's that home is family and that family is what really matters.

2011 say whaaaaaat?

I can't believe that in 4 days, 2010 will be but a memory and 2011 will be here. 2010 treated me quite well (nearly straight A's the whole year, an incredibly fulfilling/life-altering internship, becoming a mentor and loving it, etc. etc.) but I am honestly very happy to see it ending. A new year always means new possibilities--a clean slate upon which anything could happen.

I make resolutions every year but never stick to them - yeah, I'm that person (and so are you, probably, so stop judging). Here is my list for 2011, in hopes that having it in writing means I'll follow it (maybe...):

Start and keep a blog--The goal of this blog is to help me appreciate the little things and be more cognizant of what is going on in my life

Floss everyday. Seems simple but it's something I forget to consistently do.

Get in shape and truly make exercise a part of my life. I always feel better when I work out regularly--it clears my head, makes my clothes fit better, and motivates me to eat healthier.

Remind people how much I appreciate them. My best friend sends me cards/cute mail all the time for no special reason and I want to do the same. Knowing someone is thinking about me always makes my day, and maybe I can make someone else's.

Be the best leader I can be, but constantly be aware that my sorority is not real life

Deep condition twice a month. I'm really mean to my hair (blow drying, straightening, ponytails, etc. sorry locks!!) and it deserves some love every once in a while.

Take every opportunity to travel. I want to visit my good friend Diana in Nashville again, would lovelovelove to go back to New York, and am absolutely dying for this summer program in Paris. I'm also sure I'll visit my sister Kendall when she goes away somewhere to college, and I'll probably visit my best friend Morgan in LA. And I still have lots of touristy things in San Francisco that I wanna do!

Update my happy list more regularly. This blog is named for a Moleskin notebook I have, in which I have a year-old list of things that make me happy. I write when I'm happy and I also write when I'm sad (so that I focus on the positive) but sometimes I neglect my poor little notebook.

Remember my 21st birthday! I do not want to spend the whole day hungover, so I plan on taking it easy. But then I plan to rage hard in Vegas the weekend after ;)

Fall in love. That whole head over heels, can't live without you thing. But if that's too much to ask, I'd be fine with falling in like with someone special.

Document everything with pictures

Save money. Maybe I'll get a job. Maybe I won't. We'll see what the new year holds.

Read the newspaper while I drink my coffee every morning.

Keep meticulous to-do lists--and check everything off!

Find something beautiful/meaningful in every experience

...and there it is! I really hope that having this in writing will mean that I actually stick to these things.

What are your New Year's Resolutions? Is making them pointless? Or do you actually stick to them?

Christmas Wrap-Up

The Archer family Christmas this year was relaxed, chill, low-key, etc. and I could not be more thankful for that. My life in Berkeley is so crazy that it's nice to just hang out when I come home. Here is my Christmas in pictures:

On Christmas Eve Eve, I went on a baking tear and wound up baking about 12 dozen cookies. I baked from 11AM to 6PM straight without taking a break to sit down (and didn't even realize how badly my feet hurt!) Needless to say, I gave out a lot of cookies as gifts and my family will have cookies for weeks!

These were my favorite of all the cookies I made! I found a recipe on a blog (which is actually what really inspired me to write my own) and decided I needed to make them. They were a huge pain to make as they are incredibly labor-intensive (and I heard they kind of taste like play-doh, but I didn't actually try any) but they sure look cute!

My favorite part of any Christmas dinner is my mom's Mulligatawny soup. She's made it for years, and in the years since I stopped eating meat she always makes me my own chicken-free batch! And she uses vegetable broth for all of it. Lucky for me, my mom is infamous for making way too much food for every holiday meal, so she freezes the extra soup and we can eat it months later. My mom's recipe comes from a cookbook she got as a wedding present, but a comparable recipe can be found here.

After we all recovered from our food comas, we played a game of Apples to Apples (family tradition at any holiday celebration). If you have yet to play this game, get on it! It's so simple but so much fun. I mostly like it because I always win (I know how to cater to my audience!) The cards you have at the end are supposed to describe your personality, but I don't know how accurate mine were (I mean, c'mon, smelly?).

Dress: old, I think it's from Nordstrom; Scarf: Urban Outfitters; Belt: Forever 21

And to round out the Christmas pictures, here are my youngest sister Paige and I. She's only 16 but she's as tall as I am and is growing up to be one of the most gorgeous women I've ever known. She's also really funny. Our middle sister Kendall had to work on Christmas Eve. :(

Today I feel like I have a food hangover. But don't worry, I'm eating more. My mom's sister and her family are Jewish (but celebrate Christmas with us), so my aunt always makes potato pancakes when she's here. Delish.

Plans for the rest of the day: I have to answer some emails and finish up some sorority stuff, which I'm working on now. Kendall has to work again this afternoon, so Paige and I might drop her off and shop, then pick her up and we'll all have dinner. Because I clearly need to keep eating. Oh, life. I also have a bunch of arts&crafts projects I wanna try this break, so I might hit up Michael's for supplies.

Upcoming: pictures of my favorite presents! And the (potentially worthless) New Year's Resolutions post. Maybe if they're written down in the blogosphere I can actually stick to them! We'll see.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

About Me?

Hello blogosphere!

I started a blog once a long time ago, but since I've been bored at home on break I decided to give it another go. I can't promise anything exciting/can't even promise I'll keep up, but I start this blog with the intention of documenting my life.

Maybe it's a little weird that I'm starting this blog on Christmas Day, but when is anything in my life not weird? I am so thankful that my family is having a very low key holiday this year, which is allowing me to be on my computer right now. And it also means that the chef (my mother) was relatively stress-free, which is all good.

Perhaps I should have started with an "about me" post, but I just don't find myself interesting enough to compose an entire blog entry just devoted to talking about me. ......Wait, isn't that the whole purpose of having a blog--talking about yourself? Guess I've got some work to do.

Dessert time! Dying for my mom's trifle and my grandma's famous apple crisp.