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Add this to the list of things I hate. It's up there, among the men who think they aren't being creepy when creepily "complimenting" me and asking for my number.

So many exhibitions I want to see at the Kemper Museum, namely this one on World War I, and another on social justice work.

I want to make amazing things, just like Henrik Ellersgaard made Drone Sans.

See look, it's science. I promise I know what I'm doing when I stay up all night.

I love poking around Jesse Chamberlin's website portfolio. It's so bright and colorful!

I think I need this.

This TED Talk called 'Social Services Are Broken' was really interesting.

Found an amazing new-to-me artist (Emily Carroll) through Fran Meneses! Her style reminds me of the Ava's Demon web comic (that I haven't finished yet....) a little bit. Kind of.

Early Morning Sunrise


Let me start off by saying I have this thing that I call a 'homework sunrise'. These rare (hopefully) things can only be seen on all-nighters, when you work so much you don't go to bed until everyone else is about to wake up. Yeah, it's fun stuff.

Budapest for a Day


Yesterday, Lexi, Marion, and I woke up bright and early at 6 am to catch a train to Hungary. Only having gotten 3 hours of sleep because of a cold and cough, I thought I might end up miserable all day. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

Night Out at the Opera



Two Friday nights ago, I saw an opera for the first time in my life. Lexi, Toria, and I headed out to see Anna Bolena.

We dressed in our finest casual wear only to find others walking through the grand front doors of the Wien Staatsoper (the Vienna National Opera House) in tuxedos and sparkling ballgowns. That's when we decided that we had to find another entrance because this one certainly wasn't for use by us normal-folk.

After getting our 3 Euro tickets for a glamorous spot at the standing-room-only rails, we headed to the very top of the theater to find our spots at the next-to-the-top steps of the Gallery. We were living large.

Wanderung at Kahlenberg


About a month ago, I went on a little adventure into the Vienna forests with Marion and Lexi. We headed over to a beautiful hiking spot at Kahlenberg Mountain and took the trail all the way back down the mountain since we had taken a bus to the top. The views were phenomenal. I'm so happy I brought my camera, and remembered to take my allergy medicine the day before too. Both were a big help.

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This is a super old photo, and not even from Vienna. It's two paintings I saw when visiting an art gallery in Peoria, IL with my boyfriend and his family. I just really love how they were designed and painted!

I found this peek into Jamie Derringer's artwork really inspiring!

Wait, is it a refugee crisis or a migrant crisis? It's both, but they mean different things.

We found water on Mars! Well, evidence of it at least.

Wut? I want one!! Especially the one with all the windows and open space. Too bad they're only in northern California. :(

Ana Marta is someone I find really inspiring. Love watching her on Youtube too.

WHAT. That's so cheap!! I can't wait for Norwegian Air to start these cheap flights!

I need to step up my hand-lettering game. It's time to get creative.

Imagine describing everything like this. Everything you said would be endlessly confusing.

Minimal, botanical, lettering, from Corina Nika (my favorite designer) - what more could I ask for?

The Long Night of Museums


Last night was one of my favorite nights in Vienna so far. The Langenachte der Museen gave Lexi, Sylvia, and I a chance to go to four of Vienna's many art museums for only 11 Euro! The museums stayed open until 1 am, giving the huge crowd that was out and about last night plenty of time to see several different museums all across the city.

The Best Things I’ve Seen (So Far)



Bob’s Special Tours - How could this not make the list? When looking for cheaper alternatives to the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg for our trip (that we couldn’t go on), Lexi stumbled upon this little gem. From an actual, legitimate tour with a really creepy name to an awkward hangout with an actually, legitimately creepy man, we had no idea what it actually was.

Lesley the Pony Has an A+ Day - A happy fairytale cartoon short about a pretty pony. A wonderful end to our Film Appreciation class. On the second day. It was very unexpected, but we all love it now.

Acrobats and aerialists in the park - On our second day at the Donube River park, a group of acrobats, aerialists, and other performers showed up and decided to practice all around us. And they kept coming. We ended up having two people swinging things around, two pairs of aerialists spinning each other around, and eventually, someone setting up a tightrope through the whole middle of the park using trees.

I couldn’t leave out our honorable mention moments, such as:

Lexi getting her skirt caught in the escalator at the U-bahn station, with several people behind us.

The man clipping his toenails at the Danube River, because out in public is the perfect place for that.

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Holy crap, this is amazing news! The fact that this species is so human-like is really incredible. It's a missing link in our puzzle.

The coffee addiction is real. And so is the morning laziness. This should be a good solution to both.

Have you ever wondered why you should learn a second language?

I've found (just a few) good articles that talk about the refugees that are coming into Europe from Africa and the Middle East: from Serbia to Croatia, the situation as a whole, and Hungary's own issues with the massive influx of refugees.

If you don't know who Zipf is or what his mystery is about, watch this!

Getting informed on the future... I can dream, can't I? Having my own brand is my absolute #1 goal in life. That, and exploring new places.

A note to my creative side.

Wandering around Vienna



A few weeks ago, I decided I would go out and find a park. I wandered up the street and into Augarten park. It was absolutely beautiful and the entrance I found myself at seemed like it was tucked away behind apartment buildings and shops, just opposite of a busy intersection.

Weekend at Alte Donau


That weekend was probably the most relaxing time I’ve had so far. Actually, I don’t think I’ve felt that relaxed and calm and not stressed for a very long time. Sitting out in the park for 4 hours, two days in a row really does wonders.

We found a really nice (and free!) park on a stretch of the Alte Donau, where locals always go to cool off in the summer. The water is so cold, but exactly what you need when air-conditioned space is a rarity. I honestly felt really bad for not doing more relaxing and mini-vacation trips like this back home. I had all summer and I only went swimming once.

Schönbrunn Palace Gardens


I did not expect the first week to fly by. Adapting to a new country and trying to brokenly speak their language are huge tasks already, but when you pile on jetlag, classes, and levels of walking around that are pretty much unknown to you on a daily basis, plus that 6:00 am trip to another country for paperwork, it gets kind of hectic. I’m exhausted, but I couldn’t be happier.

On Wednesday of the first week of classes, instead of sleeping in, I got up early and took a mini morning excursion to the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens with Lexi. Boy, were they beautiful. And boy, was it hot.

European Countryside from the Rails


My trip to Milan back in earlier this month started off with a very long day.

Sylvia and I woke up at 4 am to catch a taxi to the airport for our supposed flight at 6:30 am that turned out to not actually be booked. Opodo.com, you suck. So we did what normal people do and sit in the McDonalds Cafe for an hour, then decide you want to take a train 10 minutes before it leaves the airport station. So of course, we bought our tickets online, ran to the kiosk to pick them up, waited behind people who were taking their time trying to figure out how to work the kiosk in general, ran even faster to find the train (this involved running in circles like lunatics and me spilling coffee EVERYWHERE), hopped on the train, out of breath, two minutes before it left, and had to walk all the way through first class, where people were dressed in business attire, while we panted our way down the aisle. At this point, it’s only 6:32 am.

A Day in Bratislava, Slovakia


On my first Monday in Vienna, I went with a group to get my official visa from the Austrian Consulate! It’s located in Bratislava, Slovakia. Who knows why it’s in another country?

We left the dorms at a whomping 6:00 am to take an hour train out to Bratislava. Eww. (For the time, not Bratislava.) I was so groggy I hardly remember the journey there and half the morning.

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Holy CRAP. I want all of these on my wall. I'm going to have to start thinking about decorating my apartment for the spring.

My new reading list goal is to read most of these, or books like them. After I finish my 30 unread books on my bookshelf now, of course. + a flow chart for all of your contemporary novel needs.

This online store has the most adorable hand-crafted products!

I love t-shirts like this one. Anything with lines is sure to intrigue me.

Maybe this will finally help my hair.

I'm actually considering buying a design textbook, but the library at the home campus has so many. And they're free.


I'm thinking of doing something like this to my apartment or home one day.

First Impressions of Vienna


Written on 8/22/2015 - my first week in Vienna


I am absolutely loving Vienna so far! I love walking everywhere (but not in new shoes) and having small, non-Walmart stores and coffee and pastries sold everywhere. The only thing I’m not thrilled about at all is the ants that the hostel guests from summer break graciously left us, along with dried soda in the bottom of my wastebasket. It’s not exactly my cup of tea to worry about if I have ants crawling on me whenever the wind blows across my foot.

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I've always wanted to get into podcasts. Maybe here (and the massive travel time I'm looking at) is a good place to start.

Hannah Montana talks about body dysmorphia and how it's a real thing that everyone has to deal with. I'm really proud of this girl and all she does for youth.

The blog of Amy V. Norris has been really intriguing me lately. I think it's the aesthetic and lifestyle she's got going. Plus, she gets me.

This should be a handy resource, considering all of the new (and old) habits I'm trying to start up again this semester.

I've really been thinking about eating healthier lately. My roommate is vegetarian, so it's easy for me to forget to buy/cook meat when we make bulk meals together, and vegan meals look really tasty. I probably won't become fully vegetarian/vegan, but I love the health benefits that come with eating that way a majority of the time.

For some reason, international, other-language-speaking Youtubers have been my favorite to watch. I can't understand what they say. At all. (Elodie and Astrid, most recently.)

New blogs I've been exploring recently: Bikinis & Passports, Blog Society, Jessie K. Farris, and Into Mind.

Explore



Do you remember a time when you felt so full of inspiration and passion that the ideas seemed to flow like a waterfall? When possibilities seemed endless and there weren't any rules - self-imposed or expected by others - for you to follow? When you did something because you loved it and because you wanted to create something for you?

I remember feeling like that before high school, before important classes, GPAs, and jobs. When all I really had to worry about was figuring how to stay up at night without my parents finding out so I could be my night-owl, creative self.

I don't feel like that anymore, and I want to. Desperately.

I know I need a break from all of these commitments to slow down and get inspired again. That's why I'm taking the Fall semester off (essentially, not actually) from demanding classes and jobs and normalcy. I'll be in Vienna, studying abroad for four glorious months.

This will be my time to explore:

to explore new places: the city, the country, and Europe both alone and with new and old friends.

to explore my passions: reading, writing, drawing, painting, expressing, and creating.

to explore myself: my values, my skills, to test myself in new situations.

to explore my mind: to learn more, develop more, get to know how I work and play best.

I'm so grateful that I've been able to take this time to explore the world and myself, to relax, learn new things, see new places, and meet new people. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to help shape my future to my dreams. There's a lot of slack that I need to pick up, and I'm determined to do it.

Arrival in Austria


After a very long flight, I finally arrived in the Vienna International Airport on Tuesday morning, found all of my luggage, and missed my group taxi to campus. We're off to a great start. It did get better though, a million times better.

Slowing Down



packing, sorting, cleaning, stressing, driving, walking, sleeping, drinking lots of coffee.
That about sums up my past two or three weeks.

In with the New


It's finally all coming together, what I want to do with my online space, that is. Rose & Bandit has been my dream for most of this year. Countless brainstorming and doodling episodes, inspirational ideas, and projects beginning to be fleshed out, and all of this happened during class. Well, mostly during class. What can I say? It's where I can let my mind wander without the pressure of creation!

It seems only fitting that in a new dorm room, in a new city in a new country on a new continent (it seems there's a pattern going) that I begin a new and improved blog. I have a more narrow vision that actually has a focus now. I have access to a beautiful and inspiring city and scenery. It's only my first day and I'm loving it here in Vienna.

I pledge to devote time this semester (actually, though) to writing, reading, designing, photographing, drawing - basically doing anything that inspires me. This semester is about me.