And finally, here’s part two!

Bea Pru tagged me on the next set:

Let me follow the rules again. I’m not going to tag eleven more people because I’m pretty sure that I’m going to end up tagging the same people. But if you’re interested in answering my next set of eleven questions, go right ahead. 

Rule 1- Post the rules

Rule 2- Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their past and then make 11 new ones

Rule 3- Tag 11 people and link them to your post 

Rule 4 - Let them know you’ve tagged them

And the questions:

1. What are the traits of your ideal friend?

My ideal friend would be someone who understands me and not just in the typical “I know what you mean” kind of way, but in a way wherein they really get me (or at least make an effort to. I’d also probably have a lot in common with that person, though we shouldn’t have everything in common because that’ll just be weird and if I wanted a friend who’s just like me, I’d befriend myself. Variety is the spice of life, y’know? 

That being said, though we may have our differences, that person should accept me and I will accept them back and we’ll proceed to the part where we get all silly and do lots of random and fun things.  (: 

2. What were your imaginary friends like when you imagined them as a kid?

My imaginary friends were these pretty fairy people who I’d have imaginary tea with. I wasn’t a very imaginative child (all of that seems to be coming out only recently) and my imaginary friends didn’t have two heads or more than the recommended number of limbs…or tails. 

3. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, that you have not yet met before, who would they be?

Can I meet my future self? I mean, technically I’d be alive (at least I hope so) and I haven’t met her yet…exactly. Yeah, I’d like to meet my future self and see what she’s been up to in the future-verse. 

4. If you were given a chance to go to the Arctic Circle, would you take it? 

Bring on the snow! I’m a travel junkie, so I pretty much go anywhere and everywhere if I have the chance to. Besides, I haven’t seen snow yet since we go to snowy countries during the summer, so the chance to be able to go to a place that snows the whole year around would be perfect. 

5. If you could leave Earth and go live on another planet will all the proper amenities and necessities for you to live there, what planet would that be?

I’m going to go invent my own little, perfect pseudo-planet since as far as I know, no planet on our solar system exists to support life. So I’m going to go find this little, new home planet of mine and set-up base there. 

6. What is the song that best describes your life?

That’s hard…I have over 800 songs on my iTunes and I can pretty much relate to them one way or another (or maybe that’s too overkill…maybe I can relate to about 50% of them one way or another) but if I had to pick just one song that would be: 

Let the Rain by Sara Bareilles

On another note, Dani and I listen to songs that fit the soundtrack of people’s lives, so that just made this question a lot tougher to answer than normal. And also because I usually play inner background music whenever something’s happening to me, I think like a movie editing program, not a person. 

7. If you could design a shirt, what would it look like?

I want to design a shirt that makes you look like you’re layering when you’re really not. I’m the only person I know who wears 4+ layers of clothing when the temperature outside is 38 degrees (Celsius) 

8. Who is your role model?

My mom is my ultimate role model and I actually find it flattering how people say I’ve grown to be so much like her. She’s everything awesome in a person, she’s strong, smart, charming and so nice. Though sometimes we have our disagreements, it all just ends up as part of the growing process—learning from a role model, y’know? 

9. Who is the literary character that is closest to your personality?

I’ve never actually found a literary character with a personality close to mine but if you happen to find one who looks as harmless as kitten but is snarky as hell,  tell me. 

10. Do you prefer wearing shorts or pants?

Definitely pants. You can wear pants and roll it up when it gets too hot, but you can’t wear shorts and roll it down when it gets too cold.

11. What is the best thing that ever happened to you? 

I’d have to say that the best thing that has happened to me (so far) is meeting this amazing group of friends, the Faucets and the Plumbers. Finding friends like them is truly something amazing, unbelievable and life-changing. We didn’t meet or become friends because we had a lot in common, in fact, we’re all quite different. I suppose we all just became friends during a time when we needed it and found that certain kind of comfort and friendship in each other.

Even though I only met them in high school, they really have become a big part of who I am. Some people you meet just stick to you, I guess, and I hope it’ll stay that way even after our time in school.

And if you asked me back in grade school if I ever thought I’d be friends with people like them, I’d tell you to go wrap yourself up in a straight jacket and hop into a rubber room. I never even imagined it back then.

Life’s amazing. 

Here are my own 11 questions:

1. What do you think is the most peaceful and quiet time of the day, and why?

2. Do you like the rain?

3. What does your dream future look like?

4. What’s your vision of utopia?

5. Pick 3 points in your life and the music that best represents those times.

6. What’s the best way to start the day?

7. What is the one -thing- that you can’t live without?

8. Have you ever experienced a life-changing moment? What is it?

9. If you could go to one (existing) place in the world, where would that be, and why?

10. What is the most memorable (good or bad) thing that you’ve done during an emotional outburst?

11. Who is the person whom you trust the most? 

That’s a wrap! 

Photos from
Note to Self [Sarah Tolzmann] on Pinterest||  A Beautiful Mess || The Bloom Forum  on Pinterest || Paper Dahlia [Kerry Doyle] on Pinterest ||  Designlovefest [Bri Emery] on Pinterest || Leah Dent on Pinterest

Can I bend the rules a little? 

I received a tag message from Jena and Bea Pru about this 11-question Q&A and I thought it would be interesting to make an effort-filled blog post about the answers.

And because I got tagged by two people, I’ll be answer 2 different sets of questions, so technically, it’s not 11 questions but rather, 22, but then I’ll make a separate set of 11 questions for the next set of people. I thought about answering this now since I remember looking over Dani’s multiply with her and it was full of survey-worthy question ideas. I’ll post those after the second part.

This is the long-awaited first part since I just had to make a graphic for it, since I’ve been itching to make something.

Rule 1- Post the rules

Rule 2- Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their past and then make 11 new ones

Rule 3- Tag 11 people and link them to your post 

Rule 4 - Let them know you’ve tagged them

And the questions:

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

I’d probably be a little older than my current age (16) since people always say that I think like someone way older than myself. I don’t want to be some middle-aged person undergoing a midlife crisis, though, I’d rather be just a tad bit older with a bit more experience and stay like kid at heart forever.

2. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

I suppose taking pictures of anything and everything or just simply exploring would make me happy enough to be the richest person in the world. Call it shallow, but photography really is a sort of therapy for me. I turn to it regardless of my mood and even though I’m just starting, it’s really something that gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

3. If you could take a photograph of anything right now, what would it be?

It depends…if I could be anywhere I wanted to right now, I’d be with my friends, photographing all their antics and silliness. 

4. What is your happiest childhood memory?

Once again, my shallow side comes out. While most people have fond childhood memories of playing with their friends, going to those ‘sentimental’ places of their childhood, or celebrating those moments like the birth of a new sibling or a birthday party, my happiest childhood memory is shopping for school supplies with my mom.

It’s always been such an exciting thing for me, going into the bookstore, list in hand, and going through shelf after shelf of supplies. Up until now, I rarely go to the bookstore and leave empty-handed—even if I don’t have the initial intention to buy anything.

(but I’m not an impulsive buyer, or maybe I am when it comes to things in the bookstore)

5. Would you rather be bored for the rest of your life or work for the rest of your life?

Honestly, I’d rather work for the rest of my life. Life is short and if you really enjoy what you’re doing, then it’s not really called work, now, is it? Besides, I’d rather be doing something than sitting around bored.

6. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

My friends call me Lily and it really is a nickname that’s grown on me, so can I change it to that instead? Plus everyone keeps misspelling my actual first name, so maybe if I just change it to something that’s “say-as-you-spell”, they’ll get it right.

7. If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?

I’d like to know the answer to the question “What’s next for me?” 

8. Why do you think some books have blank pages at the very end?

(let me give a literal answer for this one, because I’m not really in the mood to come up with something ‘symbolic’)

A book is a large stack of paper bound together. Now, that paper isn’t ‘half-sized’ like the actual page is as you see it, it’s actually lots of big pieces of paper folded along the middle (for the spine) and you print a page on either side of both halves. So 1 piece = 4 pages. If a book doesn’t have enough pages to fit a multiple of four, then the rest of the pages on the back are left blank. 

9. What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

My favorite time of the day is at around 3-4PM, just before sunset, because the sun isn’t that high up in the sky and the light is angled just right onto the ground to make it perfect for taking pretty pictures.

10. If you were to cook for me, what would it be?

Well…I whip up a mean bowl of cereal. I’m kidding, I’d probably make you a dessert of some sort, whatever you want, or maybe if I’m feeling generous, I’ll make you an actual dish like a casserole or a pasta dish or basically anything that involves baking the food since I love baked food.

11. What was the wildest dare ever given to you?

I’ve never been given a wild dare or anything wilder than “I dare you to tell the truth” (which, in itself, is quite ineffective since I always tell the truth in that game, and I’m sorry if the truth is very unexciting—it reflects my life, unexciting).

I have, however, gotten the chance to witness a pretty wild dare, given to my dear friend, Belle, during Den’s 16th birthday. She had to run up to the next moving car, and chase after it, yelling like a woman scorned. It was epic.

I even got it on video.

And that wraps up part one! Okay, that was a pretty long post. 

Photos from
 What Katie Ate ||  A Beautiful Mess ||  Papersnitch ||  Oh, Hello Friend ||  Antonio Carusone (on millimetr)

-this is very relevant right now-

(Source: icanread)

The streets in Zhouzhuang are quite narrow with these little side streets and alcoves that lead into houses, some which lead to houses that lead to yet other houses. 

Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu province, China

And sometimes, when travelling, I just get amused by the most shallow things—like the cool leaves on this shop window that we paddled by. 

Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu province, China

Sharing the Google logo love again…

Today’s logo is in celebration of Robert Doisneau’s 100th birthday! 

^ he’s a French photographer who went around photographing Paris with his Leica and was also one of the pioneers of photojournalism (—> see, I can relate) 

I remember seeing his most iconic photo: Kiss by the Town Hall ( Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville) in the Paris photobook that Frances got for me as a present, ages ago :))