Ann Arbor Homegrown Festival

     Tonight I went to the Homegrown Festival at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market with my roommates and some friends. There was a TON of food - Zingermans (featured on Oprah, for those of you not from Michigan), tamales, Slow's BBQ, organic pizza. I tried a lot of free samples (including pasta, jelly, honey, tomato and pesto bread), but the worst by far was acorn pancakes. Ugh, I'm sorry to the people who made them, but they were awful. I also got (and liked!) horchata, a Mexican rice drink; and a Zingerman's ice cream sandwich with vanilla gelato. Here's a few pictures from tonight...

So many people...

 Friends

Rosh Hashanah Dinner

{photos via Mr. Knoll!}

     Last night my roommate, Emily's, family brought us dinner for Rosh Hashanah. It was by far the best meal I've had in a long time. Brisket, salad, potatoes, challah bread, and rugelach. We all had food babies and spent the rest of the night dying, but it was sooo worth it. Thanks to Emily's wonderful family for everything!

Wishlist Wednesday #7

click for item details!

Happiness Project Update

     School started today! I can't really say that I was excited but I also only had one class, so I can't complain too much. A few weeks ago I posted about my happiness project (here and here), and so I'm just now finally posting a few of my goals for this month. And the theme for this month is...

September: Que será, será (Whatever will be, will be)

1. Let things go. Especially people who contribute nothing to my life and who only bring me down. Whatever happens is meant to happen - there are only so many things that I can control in life, so I might as well just get used to accepting it.
2. Make more effort (in comparison to last year) to see my friends and keep in contact with them because they have been nothing short of amazing to me when I needed them the most.
3. Try new things. I'm going to try sailing (!!! so excited!) and possibly run 5k for charity. I'm really hesitating on the 5k haha, but it would be so good for me to try something that puts me out of my comfort zone. 


     Right now I'm just going to focus on those goals - I have this huge fear of taking on too many things in addition to school and not being able to follow through on anything. On another note, I have met some of the most interesting and great people in the last week. One person in particular really put things into perspective for me and it really made me believe that everyone you come across is meant to be in your life for some reason or another. 


     Lastly, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has been reading tinsel* for the last few months and I'll just leave you with a few of my favorite photos lately:

{all images via tumblr!}

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

[image via David Lebovitz]

     FYI, I didn't make these myself, but my roommate, Emily, did this afternoon, and they are delicious! She added toasted walnuts to half of the batch (I'm not a fan of nuts, but apparently this makes them even better). They're not too salty, I would probably add a bit more if you like a lot of salt, and she cut back on the chocolate a little. But overall, this is a unique recipe for a classic baked good!

Click for recipe!

Welcome Week!

     I apologize for the serious lack of (quality) posts lately! Welcome week has been a great time so because of my laziness, I'm just going to post pictures of what I've been doing! I promise I'll be a better blogger starting tomorrow! :)

my roommates! 

Wishlist: Stella McCartney Jackets!

1. Jacket with frill peplum, $1380
2. Black lace jacket, $1535
3. Belted cape-style coat, $1195
4. Oversized-collar jacket, $1195

     Stella McCartney is a genius - all of these jackets are to die for. I love them all but my two favorites are numbers one and two! They are perfect - classic, girly, fitted in all the right places. Ah, just wonderful. Too bad I can't fathom paying $1500 for a jacket...a girl can dream, right?!

Happiness Project: Personal Commandments

     Happy Thursday! I'm all moved in at school, enjoying Ann Arbor, and still not looking forward to classes, hah. But I'm sure I'm not alone in that last one. I should be back to posting everyday now (!!!), so I'm just hoping that school doesn't interfere too much. Anyways, I've been thinking about The Happiness Project (as mentioned here) and I came up with ten things, or "commandments," that I feel are important to live by for my life:

1. Be Jill
2. Take it one day at a time - A lot of times I get really caught up in planning for the future and I end up forgetting to enjoy the present
3. Accept what I'm feeling - I recently took a yoga class, and the instructor made a comment about how it's easier to deal with problems in life if you feel your emotions while they're occurring, rather than trying to push them out of your mind or cling to them
4. Be independent - I used to have a problem with being alone, and sometimes I still feel weird just sitting by myself, hah, but I'm learning and I've come a long way
5. Keep an open heart - stay open-minded!
6. Cut myself some slack - I've been going through a HUGE transition period and I can't be perfect or hold it together all of the time
7. Do what I love
8. Remember that life is short - have some fun :)
9. Don't take things personally - chances are that people act the way they do because they are dealing with things in their own life, not because they want to take it out on you. Some people are just unhappy due to their own decisions...
10. Embrace change