Weekends are always the best part of the week. Here in Italy, though, we (the group of 8 other kids from my school) have been given three-day weekends and we're traveling for most of them! Alba is a pretty small town so there isn't much to do so we are excited to travel around Italy and Europe on the weekends. Also, on the weekends we aren't traveling, we will be able to relax and recharge and generally enjoy ourselves like weekends are supposed to allow. I love waking up and having nothing to do--being able to lay in bed for hours, watch a movie or snuggle. One of my favorite things.

The pasta in Italy is, as one would expect, phenomenal. It is the first thing I really noticed when I first had real Italian food IN ITALY. The pasta here is just so excellent and usually made by hand--it's definitely my favorite food here (not counting gelato!!!). Pasta is so comforting and the sauces so varied that I never tire of it! The only downside is that it is heavy in carbs and makes me feel guilty to eat so much of it. We eat it everyday at the Mensa (cafeteria where we eat lunch) and so I get quite a lot of pasta and it's making me feel so guilty!

I know, I know--most people hate airplane food. And, while it is never particularly good food, per se, it is always a fun experience. I love how compartmentalized it all is with the lids and the tiny portions and foil and small plastic silverware. It is an experiment in innovation and makes me think of Sweden and its quest to make things (mostly houses) smaller. Airplane food, for me, is a nice adventure and I always pay a lot of attention to what I get. I am usually pleased, even if I know the food is unmiraculous. Something about the adventure and the smallness of everything makes the food taste better and occasionally there is something that really tastes good! It might help that it's the only option for food on planes unless you bring some with you. AND, if you're flying internationally, it's usually FREE!

Who doesn't?! This year I turned 21 and since I'm leaving for Italy in two days, I haven't gotten to do much for my birthday but I have received presents from people. Most of it is money since they know I will need it when I'm in Europe buying everything I see but my favorite presents are ones that are wrapped. Even if I don't care for the present, I love the act of receiving the present and unwrapping it. There isn't much more I can say without wandering into selfish territory but I think most of us can agree that receiving presents is something they enjoy!

My mom makes the best meatloaf. Whenever I'm away from her and her cooking, it is the first thing I always miss. I'm going to Italy in 4 days for a whole semester and I know I will miss her meatloaf so much so that's why she made it for me tonight! It is savory and, with that ketchup on top, sweet at the same time and just has a certain taste that my tongue just drools for. Yum!

Yum! Yogurt is so good for you. It has all those bacteria in them that are good for your digestion and stomach and it also is just a healthy source of dairy and protein I think? I especially like it for lunches with berries and maybe a little granola. When I'm on my diet I eat a lot of plain yogurt with berries (sometimes a touch of honey) and use it in my smoothies. It is creamy, cool and a complete blank canvas for flavors. My mom likes to use it on pancakes and French toast as well but I have never tried it. Recently my dad has turned me on to Greek yogurt which is much thicker and creamier than regular yogurt but is also more expensive. It's delicious!

Sitting on piers is so relaxing. For me, though, it is usually charged with emotion. I live near the water and my community has a pier so when I was feeling blue or pensive I would walk my dog down there and sit on a bench at the end and think and sometimes even cry. I think at one point I even wrote a short story/poem or two about that bench and that pier.

Anyway, in general, sitting on piers make me feel very calm and reflective. I like the gentle breeze and the lapping of the water and being able to look out across the water. Also (and this will sound vain) I like to think that I look more beautiful as I sit pensively on the pier. But there's never anyone watching so I guess this doesn't really matter.

Oh my god who doesn't?! I have so many memories of Ikea as a kid and it also plays to my decorating fantasies (as also expressed here and here). I LOVE going and picking things out but usually, for my own sanity, I try to avoid doing this because it just hurts so much that I don't have my own place (or the money) to decorate!

I also absolutely adore Ikea's food. This is a strange thing to say but I really do. When I was little my mom would take us to Ikea a lot (or so it seems) and sometimes would take us there specifically for dinner. I love the Swedish meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce and lingonberry juice. They also make the best Maryland Crab Soup (if you go to on in Maryland--probably not a nation-wide or world-wide thing for them). Oh gosh now I want to go to Ikea.

I've told you before how I like to write in pencil but my favorite kind of pencil to write with is the mechanical type. I like the feel of them--smooth and firm where normal pencils sort of give underneath your fingers and leave that pencil-y smell on them. Also, they make my hands sweat (both gross and inexplicable). But mechanical pencils have that always sharp tip and a seemingly endless supply of lead that never needs to be sharpened as well as the perfect eraser! They just make note-taking so much more fun.

Peaches are another of my favorite fruits and probably, if you don't count berries as a fruit, are my favorite regular fruit. They are juicy and sweet but not overly sweet. And they taste delicious with cream or ice cream! They are terrific in cobbler and pies and I love, love, love them! I'm pretty picky about them and prefer them firmer than when they are actually ripe. Guess I'm just weird like that! You know who makes a mean peach cobbler, I'm sure? Paula Deen!

TeddyGrahams are delicious little cookie snacks from a box and they remind me of many things, one of which is school lunches. They are the perfect size for a snack cookie and have a fun shape. I remember all the kids biting off the heads and then making jokes. Sometimes we even put on little plays using the bears as characters. Chocolate TeddyGrahams are the best flavor (followed closely by Honey!) because the chocolate flavor is perfect--not too much and not too little. Yum TeddyGrahams!

Beaches during the winter become a whole different place. They are cold and abandoned--the complete opposite of their summery selves--but they still provide the same meditative relaxation that brings people in droves to their sands. I personally like the peace and even the briskness of beaches in the winter. The peace is loud in my brain, crashing right along with the waves, and the brisk salt air eats through my clothes, invigorating me with its chill. I guess that's kind of why people do the Polar Bear Plunge (though some do it to show they can)--it makes you feel so goddamn alive to be that cold. You realize completely just how warm your body is and strives to be and the brush with the threat of coldness is totally energizing and awakens you from your stupor. Or, at least that's how I imagine it feels--I've never done a Polar Bear Plunge.

This show is amazing. Made by MTV in the 90's as a spin-off of Beavis and Butthead, Daria is an amazing show about a high school girl who is pretty different from other high school girls. She is cynical, blunt, monotone and totally not fooled by society's ploys. I just love her dry humor, her cynicism (which vindicates my own) and general bitterness towards the modern world. I may seem quite perky in these writings but that's because I'm writing about things I genuinely cannot get enough of and which make me happy. In general, though, I find the reality of the modern world quite depressing and need these things that I like to make me happy--that's part of the point of this whole blog. I am making this list of things because there are times when I legitimately cannot think of things that I like and make me happy and that is very alarming. This is an ongoing exercise to stimulate my brain to search deeply for the things I care about and reveal them to myself. Anyway, Daria is a fantastic show and I thoroughly enjoy it.

Drool! Sushi is another one of my absolute favorite things. It incorporates so many amazing things like rice and shrimp and avacado and, occasionally, teriyaki sauce. Sushi is clean, simple and fresh while still providing a lot of good flavor and a fun experience! I prefer maki rolls to sashimi and other raw sushi. I like the concept of sushi and love the roll form but I have never been a big fan of the raw seafood/fish aspect of sushi so I stick to the cooked rolls like the shrimp tempura roll or rolls that have vegetables in them like the avocado roll.

My favorite sushi roll comes from a restaurant about 40 minutes from my house--the roll is called Chesapeake Roll #3 and it has tempura shrimp in it, avacado, cucumber and crab stick and is served hot and tempera battered with teriyaki sauce on top (my favorite part). Though the restaurant has changed names and management a couple of times, this roll has always stayed the same and I deeply appreciate it.

Trees are masterpieces of nature. Though they are everywhere, I still marvel at how intricate yet strong they are. They create these amazing shapes and designs with their branches, growing into figures that just seem so solid and strong. They are supportive and have a sort of majesty to them in the way they perpetually hold out their arms, reaching toward the sky or out toward other trees. This reminds me of the children's book The Giving Tree in which a tree cares for a boy that plays in his roots--tree just seem to care and be there to help. I know this is ridiculous but, for me, they are just such comforting things.

Ansel Adams is also great. I love the simplicity of black and white photography in general but Adams' photography is the pinnacle of the simplicity I enjoy--through its simplicity it is able to reveal the simple nature of nature. Trees, waterfalls and other natural objects are given a new dimension through Adams' lens and perspective and I just really enjoy his quiet appreciation of nature.