The Midnight Hour is Close At Hand

I've realized that this post may completely ruin my chances of ever having friends in the future. Because...it's incredibly weird. At least Nunsie will have the same problem. So we can live together in our weird solitary world. Or maybe we can start a cult with other weird people who have lost all their friends due to their obsession with floor-length velvet skirts and awkawrdly delicious food. That'd be exciting. We can all listen to Marina & the Diamonds while drinking Japanese soda together, and Nunsie will provide us with Rosemary cupcakes with goat cheese frosting. Yum.

I need to stop writing about this before I convince myself it's a good idea.

Because, in all seriousness, if I could live off of Nunsie's cupcakes and Peace Tea for the rest of my life...I'd be okay with that.

Enough of that. Here's some pictures. Enjoy. Or be freaked out. Preferably enjoy, but I won't blame you if you freak out. K, thanks.

It was dark. And Nunsie had brought over some animal antlers, an animal skull, and a candle. And a mango. Of course. So, yup, you guessed it. Photo shoot.

I have the bust of Shakespeare sitting on the piano in my house. So, we kinda had to take this shot. No judgements. And please pardon that awful glare.

Downton Abbey, anyone? I'm a bit in love with it, myself.

Sybil and Branson are cute. And don't even get me started on Mr. Bates and Anna.

Okay, I'm done. For now.

FIERCE AND LOVE,

Tyra.

Hahaha...totally joking.

Spring is Here in Shoes of Green

I'm sitting here in my sibling's 11th floor apartment looking over Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago. Yes, I'm back :) Told you I love coming here. My dad and I rode the train up here yesterday. Today, we spent the day with my brother's fiancee, Kezia. We went down to Navy Pier and walked around and took a ride on the ferris wheel. Which, if I'm being honest, was absolutely terrifying. I hate heights, haha.

Tonight, my dad and sister are taking my brother out for his 21st birthday while Kez and I go to the original Gino's for some Chicago-style pizza. Yum!

On Sunday night, my friend Jackie and I went on a hike in Castlewood State Park. She had a photography project to work on, and you know I love to take pictures there. Here were some of my shots.

I've always thought grafitti was kinda cool.

Have you had any Spring Break adventures?

If I Get Murdered in the City...

There's been many exciting things happening in my life as of late.

The first of them being this,

My new violin, Albert Johannes von Froenig. He has THE most beautiful sound, and I'm absolutely in love with him. My old violin, Wilhelm von Froenig is a little jealous...but hopefully he understands.

The second was my recent trip to Chicago to see my brother and sister. Let it be known, I WILL be living in this city one day soon. You can't stop me. It's one of my favorite places in the world.

This is the view from my sibling's apartment. *swoon* I'm so jealous.

It's even more incredible at night.

I'm seriously in love with this city. It's just a bit ridiculous. My dad and I are riding the train up on Wednesday for a little Spring Break trip. I'm counting down the minutes, people.  

The third, and perhaps most exciting thing of all is this,

My brother is getting married to this little cutie. Her name is Kezia, and I absolutely adore her. I told my brother that if he didn't marry her, I would. Because I just need her in my family. I'm glad it worked out this way, cause let's be honest...I really didn't want to marry her :P

I'm so happy for them both :)

Anything exciting happening in your life?

The title of this post is a line from The Avett Brothers' 'Murder in the City'

A Cure for Mondays...or Any Day, Really

In my opinion, Mondays are the worst day of the week. You'd think that after having two full days to "refresh" yourself, you wouldn't be tired. But Monday is the day that I'm at my worst. Tuesdays, oddly enough, are my best days. Anyhowzits. I've found the best way to get through any Monday...or any day, really, is chocolate. Here's my cure for Mondays.

The Mug Brownie.

Possibly the most delightful little 'pick-me-up' to be created. A few weeks ago, my dad brought me one of Betty Crocker's 'Warm Delights', and while I enjoyed it, I realized that it would be pretty easy to make myself. So after a few attempts, I had my own simple recipe for this instant brownie.

Ingredients

-2 and 1/2 tbsp of cocoa powder

-2 and 1/2 tbsp of flour

1/2 tbsp of baking powder

2 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp MELTED butter

1 tbsp milk

1 1/2 tbsp plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

dash of salt

Directions

-Mix all the ingredients together in a coffee mug until they look like a normal brownie batter, and then microwave for 1 minute and 10 secs (or until it looks like a brownie...)

Indulge!

Tips

-drizzle a little hot fudge or carmel on top

-I used cake flour a few times instead of regular flour and my brownie was particularly moist and delicious. However, be careful not to use too much...because I did once and my mug overflowed. It was quite a mess.

I hope this cures your Monday...or your chocolate craving :)

Yes...I realize I posted this on a Tuesday, but considering that yesterday was President's Day, and I was off school...today feels like a Monday.

Way Up There, You and I, You and I

Wednesday was my school's annual ski trip, and like last year, I didn't go. (If you didn't sign up for the trip, you were allowed to stay home from school.) Meaning, I got the day off to do whatever I pleased. So, I met Nunsie in a cute part of town for breakfast, then we went to Castlewood State Park to go on a hike and take some pictures. This park is absolutely amazing. My favorite trail goes way up high on a bluff overlooking the Meremac River and some train tracks.

And, if you know Nunsie and me, you know we couldn't pass up a photo shoot with this scenery.

We found this spray-painted on the wooden look-out and we couldn't resist. It was just a coincidence that my loyal pup, Lance, decided to walk in for a cameo in this shot.

These pictures turned out to be quite an ordeal, because as we were leaving the park, a police car started to follow us, after he pulled us over, he started interrogating us about skipping school/doing drugs/ etc. Of course we were so scared we were on the brink of tears. He was a pretty jerky cop. He started laughing at us and once he was convinced we were telling him the truth that we were just up there to take pictures and hike, he continued to talk to us just to freak us out more. Needless to say, it was not a great experience, and we were both shaking the whole way home.

We concluded that he picked us out because the fact that Nunsie was wearing leggings as pants was a crime against fashion.

But hey, we got some great pictures, right? It was a pretty great day, minus the unnecessary run-in with the police.

The title of this post comes from Ingrid Michaelson's 'You and I'.