Eighteen and Nineteen

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Some good things from recently, while I take a breather from finals and papers. Getting my dream summer job. Hearing from my close friends. Having help over for a few days. Rosewater body-wash. Crabtree & Evelyn rosewater hand lotion (on my "to-buy" or "to-gift" list.) Little hilarity. Retro-sounding music. The long walk I got to take last night. Planned early bedtimes. Lavender tea. Chocolate, and planned chocolate tahini spread. All of the tulips and other flowers finally popping up. Pink flowers sprinkled on the ground like confetti. Considering blue mascara. Coconut crackers from Korea that smell like summer. The closeness of summer, but also the rewards that await if I hold on for a few more days.  Little cute things, like Gudetama.

Sixteen and Seventeen

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Good things from the past two weeks: Getting the chance to submit a second first draft of my paper. Getting my care package, and finding so much joy in this cookbook. Baking my first challah in a while, but with a scallion pancake twist (courtesy of said cookbook). Jogging along the Esplanade. Seeing Judge Garland live. (He's funny!) Hearing the LA Phil and Leila Josefowicz play "Scheherazade" on the radio. Getting to drink fancy English tea with lavender. Listening to Side B. Drinking fresh mint tea. Getting to see my friends. Getting exciting about the classes I hope to take next semester. And finally, spring, springing! We don't have as much blooming as shown the above picture, but May will be beautiful! 

Fifteen

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Good things from this week: a four-day weekend at home. Getting to enjoy spring weather, finally. (That should be underlined!) Driving with the windows down and the wind in my hair. The first spring flowers. No socks, no jacket. An exam care package, featuring honey lavender tea, lime green headphones, and this bubbly cookbook, on its way. Fueling my paper with a strawberry and creme frappe. Making time for an old movie, and an evening off. Dark chocolate-eating and bookstore-browsing. Getting to extend my time at home. 

Fourteen

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Good things from an it's-finally-Friday week: peanut-butter chocolate squares. Getting excited about writing. Peace and quiet in the library. The "Stress Relief" playlist on Spotify (so good!). Talks on topics that I've been thinking about. Finally getting my car fixed. Friday pie. Taking care of a deadline early. Wondering what SCOTUS decisions will look like in the next few months. Excellent food and opportunities to chat with friends (especially needed today). The rabbits on campus. Two chances to go home coming up so soon. Getting more time to read. The way the city smells before and after rain.  

Thirteen

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As I watch the snow falling outside my window, taking a few minutes to reflect on the week before: Turkish-style breakfast over the weekend. Stocking up on ginger citrus tea. Talking about constitutional law. Dark-chocolate-dipped mango with crushed pistachios for snacks. Getting enough research points for a finals care package (now, what to put in it without breaking the research points bank?). Thinking of research ideas quickly, and sharing them. Crossing off a "to-do" from my list. Making it to the weekend. Plotting for some welcome days "off" in April.

Twelve

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Some good things from a long, exhausting week: Doing interesting research and questioning the assumptions that people often make. The gifts I hope to give myself with my research points, as the perfect exam care kit, as well as belated birthday gift. Everything roses (if only in my imagination). Soothing music. Spring cleaning. And spring itself. Getting "study-spiration" just when I need it. "Sleeping in" a bit. Ending the week with tea, chocolate and peanut butter pie, and some much-needed finally quiet "me" time. 

Ten and Eleven

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Some good things from the past two weeks: 

Spring Break, and two books finished (Being Mortal and Interpreter of Maladies). Baking a chocolate coffee cake. Playing in Harvard Square, even if I didn't go home with the book I wanted. Spending time at home with family.

A surprisingly useful presentation on publishing. A much-needed snow day. A new-found obsession with pink roses. Sleeping in. Scrambled egg on toast with spinach. Taking time to myself. Having a great hair day. A really great and productive meeting. Journaling. Grocery-list making, Iron Chef style. Research points and more books. Great weather, even if it has been on and off.