Love...and other ramblings.

Well hello there, blog-o-sphere. Sorry I went on a three-year hiatus. I won't let it happen again.

So, where should I begin? Life has been throwing me all kinds of curveballs lately. Sometimes I find myself struggling to find the meaning of it all. Maybe I don't need to find the meaning, but I hope that someday these curveballs will make sense to me.

Oh, what are these "curveballs" you ask? Well, it's a little something called...love. It makes me a little nuts. A lot nuts, actually. I thought I was in love once. Yeah, well, knowing what I know now...that wasn't even close to being love. Infatuation? Perhaps. I was 18, and naive, and hopelessly chasing after a guy that I thought was just the best thing since sliced bread. Cue dramatic eye-roll. That was four years ago. And now here I am at the age of 22, still a little naive, and trying my darnedest (yes I said darnedest) to navigate the land mine that is love. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, and I want that "oooey-gooey, sappy, where have you been my entire life" kind of love. I want someone to look at me like Jack looks at Rose in the Titanic. Someone that is proud to have me on his arm. Someone that won't be afraid to scream from the rooftops that he loves me. You get the idea. I know that such a man exists...somewhere. Maybe we have already met, maybe we haven't. It may take years to find him, or I may have seen him last week. Who knows. So, until this dear fella decides to reveal himself, I'll be here waiting.

XOXO

Clarissa

A glimpse at the future...

I'm just going to be honest.....my last post makes me look like a hypocrite! Many things in my life have changed over the past several months. One of those changes is...*drum roll*...I'M GOING TO CULINARY SCHOOL! Woo hoo! After much reflection, I came to the conclusion that I do NOT want to be a food writer. I do enjoy writing, but I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. I would pull my hair out and be miserable. And we don't want that to happen! I want to be a chef. There is nothing in this world that I love more than cooking, and I want to turn that love into a career, a successful one at that. I was accepted to the Art Institute of Tennessee - Nashville about a month ago, and I'm starting next month in May! I will be majoring in Culinary Arts Management and should graduate in roughly three years. Words cannot express how excited I am. My lifelong dream is finally becoming a reality and I couldn't be any more stoked about it. After I graduate, I plan on getting some work experience and then venturing out on my own. I'm thinkin' I want to start out with a food truck, and if it is as successful as I hope it is, I'll open a store front as well! One thing I know for sure, is that my food truck will be purple. It's my favorite color, and I'm pretty sure it would catch people's eye. Haha. So, if you're in the Nashville area a few years from now and see a funky, purple food truck rollin' down the road, come say hey and grab a bite!

Back In Action!

So, if you haven't noticed, I dropped off the "blog-o-sphere" for a little while. But have no fear folks, I'm back! And I think I'm going to make a few changes to the blog... I'm a bit of a foodie, so, this has the potential to turn into a food-oriented blog of sorts. Bear with me on this. It will be rough in the beginning, I'll go ahead and admit that. As of late, say the past couple months during my hiatus, I've been thinking that I want to be a food writer. I have a huge passion for food and cooking. It's something I've grown up doing, and it runs in the family, so I guess it's in my blood. I picked up my first wisk at the tender age of three and haven't put it down since. Unlike the other kids when I was young, I didn't really watch cartoons or MTV. I watched the Food Network, and practically worshipped Rachael Ray. Oh, and Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, Emeril, Bobby Flay....just to name a few. And I still do! Now, I often find myself cracking open cookbook's and planning future meals or just reading for inspiration to create something of my own. For the longest time I had always thought that I would go to Culinary School and someday have my own restaurant. But, I've pretty much decided not to pursue that dream. I know for sure that I want food and cooking to be a part of what I ultimately end up doing, because I just love it so much. When I get the great pleasure to cook for people, it brings me so much joy and happiness. I don't know how to explain it. All I know is that I love it and that it is my passion in life. That's where the idea of being a food writer came to mind. I love writing, I love food. It just makes sense! I'm going to start my food writing adventures on this blog. When you ask? Well, I'm not sure. But I won't wait three or four months to post it :-) Expect to see my cooking adventures (complete with pictures; the good, the bad, and the ugly), recipes, and maybe even a review here and there of the places I go and let my palate run wild. I'm going to try my best and keep this updated from now on, I promise! So, until then... Have a lovely day, folks!

And the award goes to...

This year in school (my senior year), I decided to venture out and do an "Independent Study" in art. I love making and creating art. It's just a part of who I am. My main focus for the year was printmaking. At first, I didn't like it at all! But after I had a few projects under my belt, I loved it. During my second semester, I decided to come up with a coffeehouse concept. Once I got all the kinks worked out, I started making pieces that would correlate with my design and and the name. It was a TON of work, but it all paid off. This past weekend, all of my work for the year was on display at my school's Art Show and I entered my original coffee cup print into the show to be judged. And you know what? I got first place! I'm so proud of it, and I'm just elated. Here's a few pictures... The last one shown won first place!

All of my work on display in the Art Show!

Hand-carved print... Linoleum, mounted on wood block.

The award-winning, finished product!

Tomorrow at school I'm going to be recognized and given some type of award for winning the show. Can't wait to see what happens!

Well, until next time...

Monday Drag

It's a stormy day here in my neck of the woods today. Yuck! But, I find that rainy days are the most inspiring. Maybe it's because everything seems so calm and serene. Like everything is at peace. I could speculate about that all day long... I often go into my art studio and paint on days like this with a good cup of coffee in my hand, or create in the kitchen. It's the ultimate relaxation. Wait, I take that back... Getting a pedicure with Starbucks in hand, a good magazine, and your best friend on a rainy afternoon is more like it. Days like this are also great for sleeping in my opinion. There's just something about the sound of rain hitting my window that makes me so relaxed and comfortable. On the other hand, it seems to ALWAYS be harder to pry myself out of bed when it's raining out, though. Don't you just hate that? I know I do. Anyway... For now, I'm going to plan on making a pot of decaf and snuggling up with one of my most recent book purchases later. I can already feel all my stress melting away thinking about it. Well, I guess I'll wrap up for now with this quote by the one and only, Oprah Winfrey - "Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure."

And We're Off!

Hello, world!
After much thought and procrastination, I finally created a blog. I hope to share a bit about my day-to-day life, and hopefully, it won't totally bore you. Be prepared to laugh, maybe cry, learn something new, and just listen to me babble. Stay tuned!