Uptown Girls

 On Tuesday, my roommate and I pondered what to do with a day free from classes, when she remembered about her hair cut appointment.  I decided I would join her and possibly get a trim of my own.  We strolled along Beaver and approached Lipstick Hair Salon.  The sign out front is bright and pink, as are the walls inside.  Mostly any decoration inside is pink or zebra patterned and even the columns are beautified with broken pieces of mirror.  The couches are extremely comfortable and the overall atmosphere is quite welcoming.  I took a seat next to the nicely displayed set of magazines and remained there talking with my roommate as her hair got cut.  She had mentioned donating her hair, but I was not sure how serious she was about it.  She made a last minute decision that she would and braced herself.  I watched as the hairdresser pulled her hair into a ponytail and chopped the whole thing off.  When it was over with, my roommate looked nervous, and even a little shocked I bet, that she went through with it.  The hairdresser charged her $25 (with a coupon still!) and that was that.  After seeing her horrified expression, I opted out of my trim and decided to wait until I was home again.


 We walked out and she posed a gloomy look on her face.  I tried by best to avoid talking about the haircut so we went to Kiwi for some frozen yogurt.  Kiwi sports an awfully girly decorum as well, with bright green and pink walls.  The varieties of flavor seemed endless, and the toppings were even more so.  I got strawberry flavored frozen yogurt topped with strawberries, granola, and chocolate chips.  My roommate got a twist of peanut butter and chocolate topped with Reeses and mangos.  Needless to say, the haircut was quickly forgotten (at least for the time being) and we enjoyed our frozen yogurt treats as we walked back to campus.  While I highly recommend Kiwi as an exceptionally good frozen yogurt, it is best to do some research before getting your hair cut in unfamiliar places.

Not Too Far From the Tree

What another glorious Thursday! The sun was shining and I had the whole day ahead of me.  I began my day again with Psychology class and moved on from there to a glorious cup of coffee at Saints with my roommate.  She didn't have class for a few more hours, so we strolled along the streets of town and just explored. We went to a few stores, Barefoot and People’s Nation to name a few, until we came across Apple Tree.

There have been a few times when I had sworn that I would go in there just in passing, but alas we finally did it. And I found that with this store, along with several others, I couldn’t quite understand as to why I hadn’t gone in there until now. Apple Tree provides quite a nice variety of things such as funky sunglasses and unique tapestries and posters. But out of everything in that store, one thing specifically stood out to me. What was that one thing you ask? Why it was none other than my lovely new baja hoodie. I love it. It’s comfy and pink, which is all I really care about at this point, and I may just never take it off. Gross you say? Well I say nay. But I digress; the point is this store is actually worth checking out. Well it’s worth checking out if you have a taste for unique jewelry, tie-dyed tapestries, and Jim Morrison posters. Another great thing about Apple Tree was that the people who worked there were really nice and laid back; one may describe them as being laissez faire. You don’t want to spend time in a store when people are practically up your ass because they think that you can’t fend for yourself or that you’re going to steal something. Apple Tree had a nice, relaxing environment, which is something that I really enjoy while blowing my money. Well, that was Apple Tree. If anyone wants to check it out, which I highly recommend, it is on East College Avenue, near the Allen Street Grill. 

Fiddlehead

What a glorious day! The weather was fantastic and I only had one class today (which is the reason as to why Tuesdays and Thursdays are my favorite days of the week) so I was in a pretty great mood when I woke up and went to class this morning. All was looking up until I remembered at 12:30 that I still hadn’t done anything for my blog this week. At first I was a little bummed out because I had planned to go on a little nature walk after class since the weather was so nice, but I thought that it was still a pretty good day to go on a walk around town. I strolled around West College Ave. for a bit and came across a lovely little gem called Fiddlehead.

I poked around for a bit and checked out the menu, which proved to look pretty tasty. Fiddlehead’s menu primarily consists of soup and salad. I didn’t pay attention to what was on the soup menu, but I’d say that they serve about five or six different types of salad; all of which looked great. I ordered the Backyard Barbeque—I’m pretty sure that was it’s name—which I highly recommend. Something that I especially liked about the restaurant was that a great amount of their fruits and vegetables are locally grown. I think that really put the cherry on top.  Over all, it was a pretty great experience. My salad was great, the service was quick, and it was a beautiful day. What more could I ask for? If you’re interested in checking it out, I highly recommend it. Fiddlehead is located on West College near Herwig’s Austrian Bistro. Happy trails!!

Tattoo Mark's

This week’s trip was actually pretty exciting. My roommate and I have been itching to get piercings for quite some time now, and we actually made it happen. I had been wanting to get my rook pierced and my roommate finally decided to get her tongue done. I did a little research and asked a few of my friends for tips on places to check out and decided on giving Tattoo Mark’s a whirl.

 Filled with energy, excitement, and a little anxiety, we made our little trip. The atmosphere had an old-timey tattoo parlor feel, which added to our fun. They also played great music, which is always a plus. When we got to the shop, there were about five people in front of us waiting for their turn. We went to the front desk and the man there said something along the lines of “oh, there are five people in front of you, so it’ll be about fifteen or twenty minutes.” While we were waiting, I saw my friend, let’s call her Josephine, outside smoking a cigarette so I decided to join her. I thought that surely they would be ready for me when I was finished so it seemed like perfect timing. As we were smoking, Josephine mentioned that she was there to get a tattoo of a feather behind her ear (which turned out to be great by the way). Fifteen minutes went by and there were about two people finished. Looks like it’s going to be a bit more than fifteen minutes. Forty-five minutes passed and they were ready for me. My patience paid off. I sat down on the seat with my excitement out-weighing my anxiety and patiently waited as he sterilized my ear. He counted to three and it was done, well sort of. Getting the needle in was the easy part, but putting in the ring itself is what took a while. After he was finished with me, moved on to my roommate and pierced her tongue with utmost ease. We left that night feeling like total badasses.

Other than what seemed to be an endless wait, the night turned out to be a success. I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants to check it out. If you’re interested, Tattoo Mark’s is located on Beaver Avenue, a few doors down from Sydney Mac.

You Make Me Feel So Young

Now it can be stuck in your head too. Enjoy.

Getting My Shopping Fix

This week’s escapade was a little more to my liking. My roommate and I went home for the weekend, so by the time Monday came, we needed some much needed roomie time. So what did we do? First we went shopping, and then we shopped again, and then we shopped a little more. My bank account is definitely a little depleted now, but I guess that’s how it goes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not, because in doing so, we came across this fantastic boutique called Sydney Mac.  

Sydney Mac Boutique provides unique clothing and accessories that I have not seen thus far in State College. Their prices are quite reasonable, which is just another added bonus. One thing that did bother my roommate and I was the fact that this woman that worked there kept following us around the store as if we were going to steal something. Now, it’s nice when they’re genuinely trying to help you, but when you’re shopping in a little store like Sydney Mac, it gets a little awkward when someone keeps following you around. That’s a little pet peeve of mine: not getting enough breathing room when you’re trying to shop. But other than that little tidbit, everything was great. If anyone wants to check it out, and I highly recommend that you do so, Sydney Mac is located on East Beaver Avenue. Happy Shopping!

Enjoy

Go Big Bowl

Despite the disappointments of last week’s adventure, I’m glad to say that we finally visited Big Bowl Noodle House, and it was a success. We got around the cash only obstacle this time and finally ordered dinner. Oh, what a night. We each ordered beef and broccoli with wanton soup; it was fantastic. The service was okay, but my roommate pointed out that the man who took our order was a bit harsh to the little Asian boy who was behind the counter. Now, that was just a little annoyance, that little boy didn’t need to be treated that way, but I digress. The point is: Big Bowl is awesome. If you can make the trip, I definitely recommend it; great food and reasonable prices. Oh and one more thing, I don’t know if I was just missing it; I wanted hot tea, but I couldn’t see it on the menu. I hope I was just missing it; does anyone know if they have it?

Well anyway, I don’t know where this week will go, but I’ll find a new place to go to this week. Have a great week! Go Big Bowl.

Fail

Here we are again; it’s week two, which means that I have a new story to tell. This week’s destination of my latest adventure: Pita Cabana Grill.  Well it all started when my roommate and I were talking about where we wanted to go for dinner last night. We went through a list of all the restaurants that we hadn’t been to in a while, when I realized that I still needed something to blog about. I pondered for a bit, and remembered a noodle house –I’m not sure of the name- that was by McLanahan’s. We decided to go there for dinner, and after the arduous one mile walk, we saw something terrible: “Cash Only.” Well we both only had our credit cards so that ruled out the noodle house, but then we saw Pita Cabana Grill.

We were both feeling hungry and a bit adventurous, so we decided to spring for the “Lebanese Fusion Food” that they had to offer. Normally, I wouldn’t judge a restaurant by it’s appearance, well sometimes, but I had a funny feeling about this place the second that I walked in. First of all, nobody was there; that should have been my first inclination that this may not be the best place to have dinner, but I ignored it and went on my merry way. We ordered our dinner, which took about five minutes to microwave, and sat in the awkward silence that surrounded the room. After we ate our pita sandwiches, which were nothing to brag about, we saw two girls walk in, look around, and walk right back out. Oh, and another thing worth mentioning  is that my roommate felt sick about twenty minutes after eating. True story.

While my experience at Pita Cabana Grill was not as much of a success as Saints, I don’t regret going there. Sure the cleanliness was a bit questionable and the food wasn’t the best, but I know that I probably would have ended up eating there eventually. Hopefully my trip to the noodle house will bring about a better outcome. Until next time! 

It's Only the Beginning

Last semester, my roommate and I were wondering around town one day, and we came across a coffee shop called Saints. We had already gotten coffee at Starbucks so we didn’t go in, but we swore that one day we would. That day was last Sunday.

It was a homework day, so we ventured out early on our quest for caffeine. I was a little apprehensive about going to a new place for coffee at first (I am VERY picky about my coffee), but that all changed once we arrived. I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the sweet aroma of coffee and pastries that filled Saints. The atmosphere was nice, the service was excellent, and the coffee was fantastic! I ordered the café mocha, which I highly recommend, because they didn’t overload it with chocolate syrup as most coffee shops do. Unfortunately, the seating is limited, so I wasn’t able to do my homework there, but still my overall experience at Saints was quite swell. Another great thing about Saints is that it is locally owned; I really like to support small businesses so that was a great plus.

Well that was my first escapade and I have to say that it was a success. If anyone would like to give Saints a try, I would highly recommend it. You can find it on West Beaver Avenue, a few doors down from Panera Bread. Until next time!

Adventure Time!

Trying to find something that I’m passionate about has been a harder task than I expected. I enjoy doing plenty of things such as singing, reading, or playing Mario Kart with my friends, but am I passionate about those things enough to dedicate a blog to them? I don’t think so. However, something that I do enjoy enough to dedicate a blog to would include visiting new places. Now, I don’t mean new places such as the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall of China, those will come in time; what I’m talking about visiting are places around State College.  

Okay, I know what you may be thinking. State College? Really? What does State College, Pennsylvania have to offer that I haven’t seen already? Well, you would be surprised. There have been numerous times when my roommate and I would be walking around town and would see several different clothing stores or coffee shops that we had not yet been to. Since this has been a recurring experience for us both, I thought hey, why don’t we actually venture out and go to those places instead of just talking about it all the time! Sounds exciting right? Every week I will go to a place that I had never been to before and give you, the reader, the inside scoop.

Well there it is. I’m quite excited to go on a new adventure every week, and I hope that I inspire you to do the same. No matter where you are, there’s bound to be a new and exciting place just waiting for you to discover it. Adventure time!