Au Revoir Junior Year!

Hello!

Thursday was my last class at Gonzaga University as a junior, and I love it! I only have three papers left, a presentation, and my internship portfolio. Anyways I took a lovely picture of a Spokane sunset, and my favorite headband (Seriously the pictures do not do it justice!)

D. Caruso Headbands

Have a fabulous weekend!

Love,

Tori Lynn

Are you Facebook obsessed?

Hello!
Two nights ago I went out on a whim and deleted my Facebook account. You might be asking, "Why would you do such a crazy thing?" or "Who cares?" Either way I would like to ask you: Are you Facebook obsessed? If you are do you care?
Since I have not been on Facebook for two days I have:
1. Gone to the website several times on impulse, and almost signed in( I caught myself though!)
2. Somehow I have felt more free and happier without the compulsive signing in and "creeping" on Facebook
Maybe I just had a rare case of Facebookitis where I signed in way too many times to avoid homework, or other boring tasks on my never ending to-do list. Whatever may be the case I am now stepping back, and realizing how much I depend upon technology for entertainment, happiness, guilty pleasure, etc.
What would it be like to completely go a whole day without using my iPhone or MacBook? Would it even be possible?
Anyways these are just rants, and thoughts I have been pondering the past two days. I would love to hear any thoughts! Hope you are enjoying nice weather wherever you may be.

Spokane is where my heart is!

(Sorry for the corny title, but it is true)
Anyways this weekend was amazing! Earth day and Easter all bundled up in one.
On Easter my parents, and I got up early for church. The service was amazing, and it was so nice to be with family. The weather was beautiful, and my mom really wanted to show me this wonderful bridge. I am so glad she did- it was beautiful. I truly believe the people in a city is what makes the city great or not, however Spokane's motto is Near Nature, Near Perfect -and I could not agree more. I will let the photo's do the talking.... 

I zoomed in, because my step dad pointed out this cave in the rocks! 

Long view of the bridge 

Adorable right? 

White water rafting anyone?

I just got the iPhone finally, so all of these pictures were snapped from there! I hope to have more photos in my future posts!

The Road to Buddhism?

Hello!

Well, honestly I am not sure if my present road will truly lead to Buddhism or not. However, I am taking a Buddhism class (Yes at a Jesuit university they offer this!). I love everything I have learned so far. I have been going to yoga more, and trying to meditate more.

I live such a crazy hectic life, and I tend to really look to the future or the past too often. Learning about Buddhism has changed my life, and perspective so much. Have you had an experience like this? It doesn't have to be in school, but I would love to hear about it!

Here are two amazing quotes I have read so far in class: 

“Hatred is never quelled by hatred in this world. It is quelled by love. This is an eternal truth.”

"We have to be peace before we can make peace."- Thich Nhat Hanh

My dream is to go to India one day! Hopefully this comes true.

Summertime in the 509

Hello!
My summer is about two weeks away- yay! While in my Buddhism class I decided to write a list of 11 things I want to do during Summer 2011.

2011 Summer Bucket List

1. Fly a Kite

  2. Paint a Picture

    3. Write a short story

         4. Learn to be better with names

               5. Make a book list and read them all (at least 3)

6. Make a cake from scratch

7. Plan a dinner party

8. Go camping

9. Go Fishing

10. Sew a piece of clothing with my Grandma

11. Hike Schweitzer mountain

Ah so fun! Can't wait!

Beautiful idea for my dinner party. I am obsessed with dinner place cards.

This cake looks delicious! Country Living always has the best recipes!

That's my list- I am so excited for summer, and freedom from school. I have decided not to take summer classes, because I want to have lots of time for my internship. My internship is with a wedding and event planner in Spokane. I am so excited to learn as much as possible. What are your plans for this summer?

Here Comes the Sun

Today was beautiful! I met my Momma for lunch, and it was such a sunny day out! On my way home I drove under sunny skies, windows rolled down, and listening to classic rock. This inspired me to stop, and snap some pictures. I know a lot of my posts have to do with how GORGEOUS the Inland Northwest is, but what can I say I love this place! :)

Pulled right over on the side of the road, and snapped this picture.

After I took the tree/river picture I decided to drive to Manito Park! It was a bit cloudy when I took this picture, but the clouds didn't last long.

Funny fact about this picture: That "duck" in the water is not a duck, it is a seagull. We actually have so many of them around Spokane. Pesky little guys!

After I walked around the park, I went to one of my favorite coffee shops, Rockwood Bakery, and people watched/did some homework.

Here was my little corner in Rockwood Bakery, right by the sunny window. I love the wall color, and paintings.

That pretty much summarizes my sunny day. I love spring and summer so much, and this day was just perfect! What do you look forward to during spring and summer? I can't wait for warmer weather to bust out my new summer gear :) I keep getting blog envious of those of you in warmer weather!

Sister Sister

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." (I love this quote! Hilarious, but I wouldn't want to get rid of my big sister!)


This past weekend I ventured to the West side of the state of Washington! My sister moved over to Edmonds, WA last July, and I try to visit her as much as I can. Also one of my best friends, Molly, moved back to Seattle, so when I go to the West side I get to see both of them. This weekend I had hopes of being a complete tourist, but due to navigation troubles and cold, rainy weather I only took three pictures this entire trip. Oh well, this weekend ended up being relaxing and full of plenty of laughter. 

We went to H&M downtown Seattle, and the line was RIDICULOUS! Not sure if it was worth it, because I only got three items.

We tried one of the new treats at Starbucks, Birthday Cake Pop. It was super sweet, but still delicious. (Going to Starbucks in Seattle is kinda touristy right? Since it originated there? :) )

Yum

My sister and Friend- Already miss them!

The Road to Bellingham: Part 3

Hello!
This is my last post about my wonderful road trip to Bellingham, WA! After spending the morning in Fairhaven, my friend Jasmine got off work and took us to the ocean. The sun came out, and the weather was wonderful. The ocean + tulips/cupcakes+ best friends= the perfect day- I seriously am still on a happy high from this trip.

The path to the ocean was SO muddy (ew) but worth it! Larabee State Park was heavenly.

 

I found lots of seashells on the beach! I am going to do something with them -maybe outline a picture frame?!

I was too scared to climb the rocks, so I just watched them and snapped pictures! I think they were searching for starfishes.

Apparently I wasn't too scared to whip out a scorpion on top of the rock!

We finished the day by eating at this burger restaurant called Boomers- yummy!

As you can see my outfit was not hiking or mud ready! Does anyone have any tips for chic hiking outfits? This summer I want to get into hiking, but wearing flats is definitely a no-no I have learned! :)

The Road to Bellingham: Part 2

As I mentioned in the previous post I am breaking my Bellingham road trip into parts! This part covers Fairhaven (the original Bellingham), farmers market, and a fun bead shop-it might be a bit lengthy!

We started our Saturday morning at the Bellingham Farmers Market-amazing food, flowers, and so much more!

Tulips are my favorite flower- and they had TONS of stands that had tulips! I was in tulip heaven! 

I loved this sign! I am all for real cupcakes! :)

After the Farmers Market we walked around Fairhaven-they had amazing shops and fun photo opportunities!

A cupcake shop! Yay! Any city that has a cupcake shop is OK in my book!

Aren't they cute? This shop had fun hats, so I had to snap a few pictures of them wearing them!

The next stop during our day was to the Bead Bazaar! So many beads it was overwhelming, but so much fun to create your own jewelry right in the store.

Danielle picking out her beads-such work!

Jen and Danielle made adorable bracelets, and Jasmine made these amazing earrings! I didn't get the chance to snap a picture, but I will have to ask her. They took work, but were adorable.

Jen's finished product-adorable right?

This concludes the second part to my trip! I took so many pictures, so I hope I was able to capture the highlights of this part of the trip. If you ever have the chance to spend a weekend in Bellingham you definitely should-such a wonderful city!

The Road to Bellingham: Part 1

Hello!

This past weekend was amazing! I took a road trip to Bellingham, WA to visit one of my friends Jasmine. I had a full car with two friends, and an adorable puppy that were along for the ride.
This blog post will be the first of several to document my road trip to Bellingham.

The wonderful co-pilots of the trip!

How any good road trip starts!

Champ! He was such a good puppy!

Confession Time:

Previously when I would go on a road trip I would just throw on a juicy track suit and call it good. I now try to combine comfort and fashion in my travel outfit (you never know who you might meet). I have compiled my perfect travel outfit:

Citizens of Humanity Jeans 

My citizens jeans are a must for any road trip. They are so comfy, yet I still feel put together. 

Cute Tee

I am obsessed with fun t-shirts! This one is not only fun/adorable, but has my favorite color- Red! 

Comfy Cardigan

Another obsession of mine is cardigans! I love neutral colors, so this on top of the tee and jeans would make me feel "put together", yet comfy!

Neutral Flats

I tend to always wear neutral shoes. These are adorable and would go great with the boyfriend jeans cuffed.

All of these together= one comfy road trip outfit! To top it off I would add a large hobo bag that can hold lots of snacks!

Stay tuned for the next part of my wonderful Bellingham trip!