Point is, I just get more and more excited for autumn...

Especially now that it is Fall Break (a four-day weekend!!).  The fact that it is after a crazy midterm week makes it even more appealing.  Tonight I was reminded of how busy I was over Fall Break last year, and I am grateful I am simply resting right now.  So what have I done so far?  Basically, food.

For some reason I feel my camera doesn't focus well a lot of the times anymore, so the pictures are not that great, sorry.

One reason that food can take up so much of my time and thoughts is because I bike (or walk or bus) to do my grocery shopping.  In case you didn't know, that is the hip way to do it.  What could be cooler than tying a cauliflower to the back of your seat and zipping through the neighborhood?

Autumn is for spicy cooking!!  Actually, I like spices and herbs all year round, and now I am especially addicted to buying them in bulk (bulk sections are the joy of my life).  Note the Curry, Garam Masala, and Edelsüsspaprika from Naschmarkt.  Also shown are some sage and ginger root powder.  You need to smell this picture!  The smell of ginger is especially strong.  Love it.

Pile the vegetable high. (Notice that the cauliflower is no longer attached to the bike seat).

I cooked the cauliflower and potatoes for a bit too long... so it doesn't look very pretty.  But I think my favorite type of dish is just a bowl of grain and vegetables all mixed together.  I like my meal in one big bowl.

I couldn't resist lighting this candle.  Lemongrass.  My sister placed the candle there when she helped me move in in August, but it has never been lit until now.  Unfortunately I am getting a stuffy nose... also appropriate for the season?

I visited the new building on campus – brand new for the semester.  You can still smell the fresh wood (why do I keep talking about smell when I obviously can't smell with my stuffy nose?).  Of course I do not have a class there.  (I am a humanities major and always have classes in the oldest buildings on campus!)  When you climb to the third floor, the view to the east is terrific, as you can see Mt. Rainier on a clear day.  Not today though.

Looking to the north.

Sometimes braiding my hair is as crafty as I can get in a day.  I really love the autumn-colored scarf though.

I love fall

Preserving autumn – leaves in brown bag!
Ja, die sind meine Schwester und ich, in Manhattan, Kansas, 1994.

This post has almost nothing to do with fall.  I simply remembered that there was one more photo I wanted to post.
My "jewelry box" for this semester is a cup I painted at a pottery when Kourtni visited a few years ago.  The cup got a small crack and since then I have refrained from using it for hot tea.  Here's my new idea.

Two things I am looking forward to in this season: spiced apple cider and delicious soups, stews, chowders and borschts using autumn vegetables such as winter squash soup.
These are also my two favorite and very inspiring blogs!

Minimalist

I cannot generate too many things because I move so much and often have to store a few boxes during those gap times when I am away or when the location of my new home is not yet known.  Like this semester – I am finishing school in Tacoma, I may stay here for another few months, I may move to some other cities in the area (Seattle, for example), or I may just go to somewhere far away.  There will also be a few weeks when I simply have to leave my things in boxes when I go spend Christmas in Taiwan.  But I still want to be a bit creative when decorating my room, so here's what I have done.

Here's the door to my room.  Big Dipper Ice Cream Truck from the endearing Missoula,  Montana.  A scrap of lace that I found when going through my boxes... I didn't know what to do with it yet so it then ended up on my door.  I hung some earrings on it.  A vintage chest from Dublin, Ireland, and a fall leaf.  Oh, and my class schedule... 

I wish I have a curtain, but I don't.  I just have an abundance of scarves and this table cloth.

By the way, it was cool and a bit rainy today.  Das gefällt mir... I just want to say, I would be delighted to give up summer weather for beautiful fall days!

Back in Tacoma, August 2011

I made Russian Cabbage Borscht at the lovely kitchen at my summer sublet. 

I don't have a picture of the final product but the result was delicious!

Just an ordinary view of Karlen Quad and the Music Building.  I was rather excited to have a campus again!

I went to Seattle when my sister was here in August.