An ode to chocolate and life

Hello dears,

Sorry I've been away for so long.  I've been insanely busy trying to get projects and papers done and looking for a new place to live...whaaaat?  yes, this weekend I signed the lease on an adorable little apartment in Auburn, AL with my boyfriend!  It's so perfect for us: cute little kitchen, located downtown, within walking distance to everything, and best of all- it's got a spiral staircase leading up to a loft bedroom.  I'm so in love with the place.  I can't wait to move in and take pictures to show y'all.  (Not until Aug. 12 though...BLAST!)

A couple weeks ago I took a little road trip to Asheville with my lovely friend Penelope.  I've been wanting to do a post about a place we found called the French Broad Chocolate Lounge ever since we got back...and finally...here it is.

This place was so completely perfect.  We went around ten at night and there was live music (accordion and violin....awesome), and great atmosphere, low lighting, mixed tables and chairs...and the smell when you walk in was just delicious.  They have an awesome menu item called the liquid truffle (we tried the lavender and honey one)--IT WAS AMAZING.  Seriously, it's basically just the thickest, most decadent hot chocolate you will ever taste.  I love, love, love it.

           

We also tried the chocolate, peanut butter mousse, also delicious.  I would absolutley recommend checking this place out if you're ever in Asheville.  They also have chocolates available online here.

The truffles look so yummmy!  They're a little pricey, but so worth it.

                     

Anyway, I'm hoping to be back a lot more with posts.  I'm also looking for a job, so I'll keep y'all updated (probably only if it's something cool though). haha.  I'd love to work at EarthFare for the summer and have time to write.  Ahhhh, writing.  

Have a yummy night!

Chelsea

Alice in Wonderland

Well the moment we have all been waiting for has come and gone.  After seeing the preview and drooling over the possibilities months ago I finally saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland this weekend.  I was underwhelmed.  Tim Burton can't really be Time Burton when he's in the employ of Disney I think.  It was a pretty watered down maybe even uninspired version of Lewis Carrol's original masterpiece.  That being said, I loved Johnny Depp as ever.  He's amazing in everything he does.  I was also really taken with Matt Lucas as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.  Loved it.  There was a lot to like in the movie, so I would definitely still recommend seeing it, but Coraline, the Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd are still my top favs for Tim Burton.

and here are some more from the past Tweedles from the past just for fun 

: )

they're cute.

Ciao,

Chelsea

childhood in a nutshell

this website is hilarious 

ENJOY!  happy wednesday.  it's so close to spring break i can taste it.

Chelsea

awesome.

I did this so much growing up.  and magazines.  I always used to smell the new National Geographic when it came in.  I liked new book smell better than library book smell.  My dad worked at a printing press though which might be why I like the smell so much.  When I smelled paper and ink, it usually meant Dad was home : )  YAY!!

Have a good night!  Think of something nostalgic from your childhood.  It's fun.

Chelsea

First Draft of a poem for Washington

Washington

Tonight the weight of the memories is too much to bear.
The things around me make me sick to my stomach: I hate
them with a vehemence I can't explain.  Even the pictures
make me feel queasy and inadequate.
Who was I then?  Who am I now?
I'm certain then was better.
I'm certain I was better then.
Weak, exhausted by the potency of the remembrances-
I can do nothing but let the tears leak from my eyes.
A weak cry.  I do not sob.
The beauty, the vastness, the majesty of a world
so alien, yet so familiar- a place I'd never seen
that I could immediately call home.
Reaching out to it now I find only solitude
and intangible wisps of color, textures, and smells,
nearly forgotten, on the fringe of a reality that is senseless.
Wilderness whispers to me across the miles.
I do not answer.

Well, that's where I ended up tonight.  Weird night in general.  My poetry professor is really pushing me and this is a messy first draft, but I'm avoiding working on a different poem about something I want to think about even less, so there you have it.  I have a love/hate relationship with poetry.  Anyway, this is just a first draft and I miss Washington.

Sweet dreams all!

Chelsea

Cary Brothers Saves the Day

Cary Brothers is one of the few musicians that has spanned many years of my life.  And still today when I listened to songs like "Ride" and "If You Were Here" I got goosebumps.  This man has an amazing voice and great lyrics and is just all-around inspiring to me.  He makes me feel like the world is mine for the taking while also reminding me of every tiny human emotion that trips us up along the way.  "Ride" was on the soundtrack to the movie The Last Kiss, which I liked a lot, but the song is an enduring favorite for me beyond the confines of the movie.  It's a song that always makes me stop what I'm doing and give it my full attention.  Here's the music video (mixed with scenes from the movie and his own stuff) but really, you should just close your eyes and listen....make your own pictures.  I assure you, they'll be beautiful.

In other news, I found another picture (this one from treehousestories.tumblr) that just makes me want to leave Charleston forever.  Look at this place...

mmmmmmmm.

And last but not least I'm reading Ulysses...and loving it.  What?  No you didn't read wrong.  Joyce is a genius.  (Although reading it with a group was admittedly, the only way I would ever be getting through it...so thanks Joe Kelley for setting this up).

Good night!

Chelsea

I'd give anything

to be right here.

It's been a drab hangover, argumentative, and long day.  But here is a nugget of beauty...the same sort of beauty that is everywhere if I'm looking.  Today I didn't look and I wish I had, but tomorrow is a new day.  Tomorrow I will trust myself enough to look.

Good night,

Chelsea

(photo credit through papertissue.tumblr)