Time to evaluate (and create)

We are currently experiencing a white-day-after-christmas, and therefore I find my mind wandering while I am trapped inside. Some things have been happening in my life that I feel I should document. I also want to share some pictures of my recent work.

First, some introspective rambling.

I recently finished a very difficult semester at school. It was probably my toughest yet. The amount of work was somewhat overwhelming, and I did not accomplish as much as I should have. It seems history repeats itself: a tough semester and a class to repeat. I have realized that I have some serious limitations to work past, mainly my technical sewing skills and ability to process 2D to 3D transitions. I am in the process of evaluating myself, my abilities, and my future plans. I know that I am a good designer; my creativity is something that keeps me going. I did fantastically in my fashion design and fashion illustration classes; it was draping that got me. I had just barely passed flat pattern over the summer, and draping was even harder. I am tired of struggling through something I should be able to do, something I need to be able to do in order to continue in my major. Despite this, I am willing to continue to work as hard as I can in order to achieve my goal. I will be a fashion designer, and this setback will not stop me.

In other, amazing news, I was officially accepted into the study abroad program. I will be attending school at AIU London this spring! I am so excited. It is really something that I need. The perspective, inspiration, experience, everything. It will set me back a bit, but I know it will be worth it. I am currently getting everything in order, including obtaining a visa and searching for an apartment. It still really hasn't hit me completely that I am going. I do have a good portion of time before I leave. I am going to work extra hard, make money, and try to work on some personal projects. I am also going to try to be social. We'll see how that goes. I am working through some strong feelings and questions about my friendships, but I will not go on and on about it here.

And now for something completely different. It is the holiday season! I am not a festive person by any means, but I have been keeping myself busy. I made a few batches of vegan cookies: spicy pumpkin bites, chocolate strawberry-lingonberry jam cookies, maple-oatmeal-banana cookies, Banana-date-brandy cookies, and my favorite: chocolate lime oatmeal cookies. I brought some to Mary's cookie swap, and fed the rest to friends at other times.
I really do love cooking, and vegan baking is addicting. I have been cooking up a storm whenevever I get the chance. I made a vegetarian Indian feast for Thanksgiving, which included: saag paneer, chickpea chana masala, cauliflower and peas, tamarind and mint chutney, and iced chai. I let my parents make their meat dish, lamb rogan josh. I spent the whole day cooking, but it was wonderful and the food came out great! Keeping in the spirit, I also cooked a huge feast for Christmas yesterday. It was a Moroccan feast, though not served in courses like a traditional meal. I made a carrot puree with dukkah, muhammra, a sweet potato bisteeya, orange and romaine salad, minted couscous, and a spicy fava bean salad. Once again my parents made a lamb dish and my dad baked some delicious bread. All the food was amazing! I am really impressed with myself and everyone enjoyed the meal. I have always been a a bit of a foodie, but my interest in cooking and exploring has seriously grown, especially since I became a vegetarian.
Cristmas day was pretty low key. My family exchanged presents, and I received a digital camera, a set of 120 prismacolor pencils, and a Blur documentary. I am ready to do some illustrations in the coming weeks with all those pencils! Is it sad that I am so excited about this?

I want to do more than just ramble and post outfits on this blog. Expect some inspiration collages, samples of my work, and posts about things I'm excited about in the near future. Until then, I am going to indulge in my current obsession: Twin Peaks. Happy holidays!