New Blogging Home

Hello there, everyone! It really has been a long time since I have posted here on Little Girl, and I completely forgot to tell you all why!

A few months ago, I launched my new blog, The Little Spider. While Little Girl was always intended to be more of a personal blog following my undergraduate journey, The Little Spider more of an attempt at the lifestyle and beauty blogging that I've really come to love over the past few years. I'm really excited about all of the new content possibilities that come with this change and though I haven't posted that much as of yet, I have a lot to talk about in the future!

That being said, this marks the end of this Little Girl blog. Of course, I won't be taking it down or anything like that, but if you are still interested to read my thoughts and opinions, head over to The Little Spider!

Thanks for being my dedicated few readers and making this blogging journey so much fun.

Not Drinking in College

This is a video that has been a really long time coming.  I know that this was something I was really nervous about when I was first heading off to college; if you've followed this blog from the beginning, then you know that it was a main topic in many of my early posts.  I am, however, very proud of the fact that I was able to stick to my guns and made it through college without drinking.

Basically, this video covers everything I wish someone had told me back when I was getting ready to go to college.  Hopefully some of you will find this helpful and if you have any other questions, please leave me a comment and I'll see about answering it!

One More Trip Over the Bridge

Yesterday started out like any other Saturday: slowly.  All I'd really accomplished was a run, some yoga, and a shower when around noon I received an invite to go stay with Justine over on Sausalito for the day.  Realizing this would most likely be my last trip over there, I threw some things in my trusty backpack and used my now fully-fledged public transportation skills to navigate my way across the bridge.

Justine's family just got two new King Charles puppies, and we spent the majority of the afternoon and evening cuddling, playing, and baby-talking with them.  For only being 12 weeks or so, they are very friendly and well-behaved little loves!

We did, of course, go out for dinner.  Another friend suggested checking out Sol Food, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Mill Valley.  I personally have never had Puerto Rican food before, but one look at the menu and I was sold.  I ended up getting a Cubano sandwich with fries and I can only describe it as spectacular.  It was juicy and flavorful, greasy enough to satisfy, but not unnecessarily so.  I would definitely go back any time I happen to be in Marin!

We ended the evening with some wine and Pellegrino and lime (I don't drink and just happen to have very thoughtful friends that know my alcohol-alternative drink of choice!) and chatted about life now, during school, and the upcoming year.  It's really hard to believe we've graduated and are all moving in different directions.  Justine is currently deciding between getting her Masters in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh and attending a ballet fellowship in Moscow.  Christine just signed a lease on her first solo apartment in the city and is currently working one of her dream jobs in a corporate hospitality office.  And in just three short weeks, I will be moving out of San Francisco for good, taking one last trip down to Southern California where I will begin law school in the middle of August.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that time moves incredibly quickly and that I encourage everyone to really make the most of what time you have.  Hang out with friends, explore the places around you, take pictures, laugh lots, and always eat what sounds good.  Because even though I know I will be back in the Bay Area for a visit before I know it, I still can't believe I'm leaving it and these lovely ladies behind.

And I'm really going to miss it.

Friday Feature: Simply Emily's Designs

Emily is a fellow YouTuber who I've been watching for almost two years now.  She recently decided to start a little Etsy shop full of adorable bookmarks, and I immediately knew I wanted to feature her video explaining her new business venture. They look like really great quality and like a fun, colorful way to keep track of your reading.

Check out Simply Emily's Designs here.

Visit her YouTube Channel here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A Week in Review: SF Adventures

College Confidence: Doing Things By Yourself

I am spending my first ever summer in San Francisco and while I am working, I also am lucky enough to have lots of downtime as well.  One reason I am so excited to be in the city is that the majority of my friends are also still around, working and living out leases and such.  However, we are all adults, which means our works schedules conflict and we have different family and relationship obligations.  Basically, this means that we don't get to do as many things together as we would like, and I end up doing more things on my own.

Now, at first this might sound a bit depressing.  Who wants to do things on their own, right?  Well, I actually really enjoy doing things on my own, and think it's an important skill to develop as you go through your college years.  Effectively, these are your last years of childhood and, in the ideal situation, you start taking more and more responsibility for your own life.  So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should start getting used to doing things on your own.

Nothing about high school prepares you for this.  It's quite the contrary: everything in high school seems to be measured by how many friends you have, how many Facebook photos you end up tagged in.  But the reality is that, unless your best friend happens to be going to the same university as you, you will have to start doing a whole lot by yourself, from walking into your classes on the first day to traveling back and forth on your academic breaks.

I know that this can be quite frightening for lots of people and even I have yet to become comfortable doing some things like eating at a restaurant by myself.  But I've actually come to really enjoy and value my time alone and now have lots of fun going shopping on my own, going to the cafe, or the bookshop, or for a walk in the park.  Remember that it's important to be able to enjoy spending time with yourself.

Hope you all had a lovely week.

Wontons, Your Consolation Prize

I was originally planning out a College Confidence post for today, but never actually got around to writing it.  The last few days have actually been fairly busy and as I am writing this I am sitting at San Francisco International Airport, waiting to catch my flight home for the weekend.  My little brother Trevor is graduating from high school, and I could not be more excited for him.  I'm sure there will be a post of pictures from this weekend coming soon!

Long story short, I didn't write the post I planned.  I did, however, take some pretty fun pictures of my grandmother making pork and shrimp wontons, and thought I'd share those instead.  Warning: they will make you hungry.

Walk the Hills

On Saturday, I was invited to Larkspur for a spur of the moment hike with a few friends.  One of my good friends had been staying in this super rustic and beautiful mountain-side house all week dog-sitting, and he'd discovered a few trails he wanted to take us on.  My friends brought food, water, sweatshirts and baseball caps.  I brought my camera.

It's absolutely beautiful up there.  I must admit that I'm not entirely sure where we were (I believe it was Mount Tamalpais?) but it was a different hike than I've ever experienced.  It was difficult, yet at the end I just felt so incredibly light and inspired that I wasn't entirely ready to leave when we decided it was time to turn back.  I'd really like to invest in some good hiking boots and go back some day.

Friday Feature: May Favorites

Blaze Pizza

After graduating, I went home to Southern California and spent about two weeks in what I've been referring to as "hibernation mode."  This basically means I did pretty much nothing except read, play with my puppies, and recuperate from what was possibly the most grueling semester of my life.  Oh, and I also did lots and lots of eating.

It was my dad's idea to go to dinner at Blaze Pizza, a newer restaurant that recently opened near his office.  I think I have been once before, but something this time was different.  Blaze is basically a "DIY pizza joint," where you can order either one of their pre-fixed pizzas or go down the line and build your own.  Think Subway, but with pizza.

Let me tell you, I will definitely be frequenting Blaze when I move back to Southern California and I knew I had to share this find with you guys.  The crust is thin yet chewy enough to satisfy a crust-lover like myself, and they have so many options for sauce, dough, toppings, you name it.

Just thinking about it is making me hungry!

Summer Plans

It seems like all I've been posting lately are either updates and promises to return to blogging or reflections looking back on things I probably should have just blogged about as they happened.  So this stops now!  Or, at least, after this final update-type post.

I can't believe it's already been almost three weeks since I graduated from college.  I know this is said a lot, but it really does seem like just yesterday that I moved into my first dorm room, nervous and but also excited to start my four years at college.  Let me tell you, those four years were over in a flash!  I learned a lot, grew a lot, and am pleased to say that I will be moving on to law school next year (because no, I'm not done learning yet!)

This, of course, begs the question: What will happen to Little Girl in a Big City?  Well, I originally intended this blog to be about my years as an undergrad in San Francisco and, after lots of thinking, I have decided to leave it at that.  I will be staying in the city for the majority of the summer, working and hanging out with friends, so I will keep updating this blog up through my final day in the city.  That, is (here comes that dangerous word) a promise.

However, I'm not quite ready to give up on blogging yet, so I plan on launching another blog once I've moved back to Southern California to attend law school.  I am very excited about this prospect, as it gives me a chance to reinvent my blogging-self and try something a little different.  Much of this blog has been about personal discovery and little adventures, and I've tried really hard to keep it at that.  But the blogs I enjoy reading the most are more lifestyle, beauty, and DIY related, and this new blog will allow me to explore those interests.  I'm not an expert in any of those fields (not even close), but I like the idea of being able to chronicle my trials and errors in those areas as I figure out how to be a "real" adult.

Phew, that was a long-winded update.  In sum, new lifestyle blog coming in August, but in the meantime, I plan on really giving Little Girl a good last run.  And of course you can always hop over to YouTube and any of my social media links if you'd like to follow me in other areas of my life.

Happy Sunday and happy planning, everyone!

Changes

The past few weeks have been an absolute blur.  First there was the flurry of final exams and papers, which mainly consisted of sleepless nights and quite a bit of last minute revisions.  I presented my senior thesis, took my last undergraduate final exam ever, and somehow managed to survive.

On top of this, it is also graduation season.  My family came into town this week, which provided its own series of challenges, namely attempting to cram far too many people into a house that has never seemed so small before.  My puppies are our constant travel companions, which also means lots of "Did they get to go outside?" and "Shh, why are you barking?"  At school, there were lots of final masses and ceremonies to attend, friends and professors to thank, and friends' parents to meet.  Overall, it's been quite the week.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was not at all prepared for the big event itself: graduation.  I was simply living moment to moment, trying to take it all in and survive the endless to-do list.  And now that the big day has come and gone, I'm feeling tired and thankful and overwhelmed and very confused as to what to do with all this time now have.

Thanks to everyone who's come along on this journey with me.  It's been better than I ever imagined.

Sketchbook Sunday [5]

Friday Feature: My Tumblr Pages

Finally, my promised introduction to Tumblr!  For those of you who don't know what Tumblr is, it's basically a simplified blogging website where people post text posts (much like here on Blogger), quotes, music, and most of all lots and lots of pictures.  There is a whole Tumblr culture, made up primarily of teenage girls who look and act a certain way in the hope of becoming "Tumblr girls."  There is also a lot of weird stuff on Tumblr.  I'm talking really, really WEIRD stuff, so if you've never used the site before, be warned.

As for me, I started using Tumblr sporadically this past fall and quickly fell into the trap of the never ending scroll bar.  Seriously, you can lose hours simply scrolling down your home feed because (this is an important tip!) there is no end of the page!  I use have been doing surprisingly well with my Lenten Tumblr limitations, and I think I'll definitely maintain them for productivity's sake even after the season is over.

I use my primary Tumblr, littlespider's web as a sort of never ending inspiration board.  I don't post that many original photos, but use it mainly for sharing quotes and reblogging beautiful pictures of clothes, nature, and of course, books!  Feel free to come follow me and leave a comment with your Tumblr as well!

If you like my Sketchbook Sunday posts and would like to see more art, you can check out my portfolio Tumblr here.  I'm still working on posting and curating my art work, but I like how it's coming along so far.

Sketchbook Sunday [4]

Spring Break in Instagrams

Well, it's back to the grind at school, and this really is quite the crazy semester.  In just two weeks, the first draft of my senior thesis is due!  So for now, let's just bask in the glow of memories from Spring Break.

My backyard at home is finally done, so I spent a lot of time outside, soaking up the SoCal sun while I did some reading.

I also ran around with our new puppy...

and even played a bit of Pokemon!

The highlight of my trip was probably getting my ears pierced.  After 22 years of being too afraid to stick tiny little pieces of metal in my ears, I have finally done it and am loving the extra little accessory so far.  I can't wait until I can change my earrings, because I saw some very cute little Batman studs...

Hope you enjoy(ed) your Spring Break!

Internet Addict

If you guys know anything about the Christian calendar, you'll know that we're currently in the season of Lent.  During this season we are meant to prepare for Easter by being mindful of our sins and actively working toward spiritual and personal betterment.  Most people give up something, like chocolate or swearing, and some take up a more positive activity instead, like smiling at everyone you see.

You're probably wondering what on earth this has to do with the Internet.  My answer for this is that for the past couple of years, I have given up the Internet for Lent.  I have noticed over the years that the time and energy I put into both my "Internet presence" and just browsing in general has kept increasing to the point that I can't imagine not having access to the Internet for a single day.  It doesn't interfere with my personal, "in real life" relationships or activities, but it is a major enough distraction that I will admit to being fairly addicted to the Internet.  And since the idea of Lent is to get rid of the distractions in our lives and simplify, it only makes sense that I give up some aspect of the Internet.

I think the reason I have actually managed to be successful with this over the past couple of years is that I haven't sworn off the Internet in general, opting instead to implement strict usage guidelines.  My guidelines for this year are:

1. I may only spend one hour a day on YouTube.  Yes, this does mean that I have been spending more than that watching videos recently.  This doesn't have to be one straight hour, but I need to keep track and if I go over, I must not go on YouTube at all for two days.
2. I may only use Tumblr for one hour a week.  I have recently started using Tumblr (and have a whole Friday Feature coming about it) and quickly came to understand why so many people find it addicting.  It's really easy to lose track of time as you continue down the never ending scroll.  If I go over this limit, I must not use Tumblr for two weeks.  Yes, that is very daunting and has been keeping me in check so far!

Seeing as these two sites are my biggest time sucks, they're the only ones I felt the need to restrict.  So far it's been going fairly well, which is especially surprising since I'm on spring break and would really love to spend the whole day on YouTube.

Happy Hump Day, everyone.  Are you a bit of an Internet addict?  Have you ever tried to "unplug" or restrict your usage time?

Back to Our Regular Programming

Hello everyone!  That is, assuming anyone has stuck with this wildly inconsistent blog this long.

I apologize for the sudden departure from posting, but I'm sure you all know what happened: life got in the way.  I just finished an intense two weeks of midterms, thesis outlines, and art projects like none I've ever done before.  Needless to say, I haven't had much time to write content that was actually worth reading.

Well, I guess the point of this is to say that I am done with the craziness for now and am officially on the last spring break of my undergraduate career (yes, that is a rather terrifying statement).  I plan to spend the week catching up on sleep, reading, writing blog posts and filming videos.  Basically, we'll be getting back to our regular programming.

Happy weekend, everyone.  Hope you all have some good plans!

Friday Feature: Spotify

Okay, so I definitely know that I am late to the party on this one.  As in, this became-a-thing-in-2011 late to the party.  But I'm going to feature it anyways because this is such a fantastic service for music lovers!

Basically, Spotify is both an online music player and an app in which you can listen to practically anything you could ever want.  You can create your own playlists and listen to online radio curated for your specific tastes. One of the reasons I didn't partake in this music platform for so long is that I didn't understand how this was anything other than a mashup of Pandora and 8tracks.  However, there are a couple of things that make Spotify unique:

1) Yes, you can follow friends to keep up with their listening habits, but you can also follow celebrities and Internet personalities as well.  You know, in case you want to add another dimension to your stalking habits.

2) You can listen to full albums!  Rather than forcing you to listen to bands similar to the one you actually want to listen to (like Pandora does), Spotify provides a discography section on each artists page, and you can listen to them like you would an album on your iPod/Phone.  As someone who likes to fully immerse myself in one band at a time, I really, really love this feature.

Needless to say, if you haven't already tried Spotify, I highly recommend that you do so.  Both the players for computer and mobile work well and are super easy to navigate, and you can sign up with your Facebook account.  Honestly, with this discover, I think my Pandora will become very, very neglected.

*I should mention that I am in no way being paid or sponsored by Spotify to promote their services.  I only ever share things I genuinely love and have discovered myself.

Sketchbook Sunday [3]

This one's a bit of a throwback to my 30 Day Drawing Challenge from 2012.  Looking back at the Challenge posts has reminded me how much fun it was.  Hm, maybe I'll do another one sometime this year...

Happy Sunday!