last week my mom called me and told me i got a package from canada. she didn't spoil it by saying who it was from, but i quickly checked the blogs and guessed (and hoped) it was from amelia, aka polyester jones. she's so crafty and awesome that i knew i'd be super lucky if i were her secret santee. so i got home to my mom's house yesterday after an already great day (office party yankee swap and holiday bonus) and found the coolest package waiting for me. seriously, check this out.



roses drawn all over the package! i ripped through layers and layers of tape, man was it secure. :) finally i succeeded!



closeup of the super awesome card. not only did amelia draw all of that, she also SEWED the outlines and boarder with thread. i am seriously impressed.



everything was wrapped beautifully in kraft paper and pink roses with ribbon. this photo definitely doesn't do it justice.



and did i mention this adorable little guy?



after taking tons of photos i finally got to opening the presents. i've admired these pins for a while now and now i have one of my very own! so so cute. :D



this is going to come in handy as the only soap in the family shower at home is"dove men care." smelling like a man is something i generally try to avoid.



closeup of one of the presents so you can see how pretty they all were.



my mom makes popcorn all the time and i always mooch off of her, but no longer!



next i unwrapped a present with a note included, written in such precise handwriting! this is so cool, definitely the most unique ornament i have. and no, it's not too creepy. i am a dexter fan myself. :)



mmmmm bailey's chocolates.



hahhahaha, love it!



"girlfriend in a coma" by douglas coupland. this looks like it's going to be a great read! the back cover compares him to kurt vonnegut--awesome!



i opened the next gift and found this message inside. hehehe



and then flipped over to the front cover...hahahah! according to the description,"The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath."



lastly, there is great calendar of oregon. can't wait to move there!



all the flowers :)



tried on the pin today.



and put the ornament on the tree. my sister thinks it would be cool to do one with more body parts hanging. my mom hasn't noticed it yet.



everything all together



thank you so so so much, amelia! i can't believe how much time and thought you put into everything. i had so much fun opening it all and i'm excited to read the books. i think i'll name the cat harold after your favorite movie character. :)

I started a one week free trial so I could watch hulu shows on my tv thru roku, but I can't possibly see why it'd be worth paying for. There's such a small selection...I'd watch maybe 5 regular shows a week. Is there something I'm missing? Seems hulu in general went way down hill since I first discovered it.

drove in a snow storm for 2 hours yesterday and came home to see this.



over a foot of snow yesterday. :/

i'm arriving in london on may 23 and leaving for sweden on the 26th. after that, i will either go to copenhagen or straight to germany.

where else should i go? what should i do while there? want to hang out?


i've been to europe before so i'm looking forward to seeing new places i didn't get a chance to visit before. exciting!

for reference, this is where i have already been:


list of cities* i have been:
london
manchester
liverpool
edinburgh
stirling
dublin
amsterdam
prague
budapest
vienna
krakow
geneva
madrid
barcelona
paris
avignon
lyon
monaco
rome
florence
pisa
bologna
milan
sicily
malta
*some aren't actually cities

my hair is currently this straggly mess:



but, have no fear...i'm getting it cut friday. this is where you come in. how should i get it cut?

i'm thinking of this as a possibility:



yes? no? other suggestions?

------------------------------------------------------------------

i got it cut! i feel weird without side bangs.

is where i'm going for spring break. i just decided an hour ago and i leave tomorrow afternoon.



see ya in 10 days.

from my french book...the applications of this phrase are limitless.

i couldn't believe it when i heard ups ring my doorbell this morning. i wasn't expecting any packages...but it was from my secret santa! so early, so quick, so on top of things--it's not even thanksgiving yet!

after debating whether to open it now, or to wait, i consulted the all-knowing holly. the girl told me to open it "NOW"! when holly tells you to do something, you best listen, because she's smart.


the package!


the first peek inside...



"made with care" oohh, festive!


omg i can't believe this, it's so great...


drawings, just for me! how did he know i love that old spice commercial?


a song, just for me!


YESSS! so cute!


in disbelief at all the gifts.


look at all that!


whoa, my ears are going to be so happy.


HAHAHAHA, justin beibs stickers!


omg, an OWL! this is so sick.


i loooove mangoes. i'm so excited to try this.


hahahahah, what a hilarious tape/paper clip dispenser.


whutttt, so adorable! i like that the back has to note that it doesn't actually contain food.


i'm so tough.


nom nom nom. oh man, this is going to be so delicious.


i already had some of this, and it's so good. i love the harry and david drawing. :)


EVERYTHING! how did i get so lucky?

thank you so so so much, SUPERRYAN. everything was so amazing and i still can't believe how great it all is. i especially loved the original ryan drawings/story and the little post-its and notes along the way. :)


i approve.

it's shorter.