some Harry Potter love

A Harry Potter Challenge

I know it’s supposed to be done over a month and blah blah blah…

Day 1: Your fave book.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are tied for my very favorite. The Half-Blood Prince is so amazing, and I felt more emotionally connected to the characters than ever before. After Dumbledore died, my dad gave me the grief brochures that he got at the funeral home after his mother died. I was so upset. The Prisoner of Azkaban is just so beautifully written, and I love the suspense of the entire book. The moment Harry first experiences his patronus, Lupin's amazing ability to teach defense against the dark arts, and Harry discovering that Sirius Black is actually on his side. Oh gosh, I just love those books. All of them, really.

Day 2: Your fave movie.

My favorite movie was Prisoner of Azkaban. It was so, so true to the book, and the aesthetics were incredible.

Day 3: Is there any of the films adaptations that have made you angry because they’ve ignored important parts of the book.

I. HATED. OOTP. AND. HBP. Oh my gosh, those movies made me SO angry! I seriously had such hate toward them, and David Yates. I don't think David Yates really understood what an amazing project he was undertaking. I read in some magazine that he didn't read the book, or something along the lines of that. I was in London when I saw OOTP, and was so excited to see it! After seeing it, I got really mad. So much of the stuff was untrue to the book. HBP also made me really angry because they left out SO much, but then added in things that didn't even happen--such as the Burrow burning down. What the heck!

Day 4: Least fave female character and why.

The obvious one: Bellatrix. Or, Lavender Brown... Or, Pansy Parkinson. I hate Bellatrix for reasons that are mostly unnecessary to mention. However, I will say that I hated her the most when she killed Dobby and when she killed Sirius. I wanted to kill her. She's awful! I don't like Lavender Brown purely because she annoys me. And Pansy Parkinson is just a rude and foul girl.

Day 5: Fave male character and why.

I love Dumbledore. Always have, always will. His character is exceptional, and I became depressed when he died. He is so powerful and wise, and, as Kingsley Shacklebolt put it in OOTP, "You may not like him Minister, but you can't deny, Dumbledore's got style."

Day 6: What house would you want to be in.

I want to be in Gryffindor. I'm sort of like Neville--not very brave in the beginning, but I get done what needs to get done.

Day 7: Fave female character and why.

Hermione is perfect in nearly every way. She has a thirst for knowledge that is unmatched, and she grows into her own self at a great pace. I'm so glad that Rowling didn't have her and Ron really get together before the final book. Nothing would ruin Hermione like an unsteady relationship.

Day 8: What do you think would be your fave lesson.

I've always been fascinated by Potions. But Defense Against the Dark Arts would be incredible.

Day 9: Least fave male character.

Fenrir Greyback. HATE him.

Day 10: Horcruxes or Hallows.

Hallows for sure.

Day 11: What character would you say you are most like.

Ahhh, I'm most like Hermione. I don't want to get into trouble, and I'm always striving for the stars. I get a little obnoxious a lot of the time, but my intentions are good.

Day 12: Fave ship.

Lily and Snape, though that never really happened...

Day 13: Least fave movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Day 14: Team Voldermort or Team Harry.

Honestly?

Day 15: Who would be your best friends at hogwarts. (three only)

Luna, Hermione, and Harry. Ron is too moody.

Day 16: Fave professor

Lupin, fa shooooo. Or Snape. Both kept things interesting :)

Day 17: Are you excited about The Deathly Hallows movie or scared it won’t do the book justice.

I'm really excited! But feeling so, so somber. After seeing the first installment of the Deathy Hallows, I'm fairly certain that the second part will be spectacular.

Day 18: Least fave book.

I don't have a least favorite! Maybe the Deathly Hallows? There's never been one that is exactly "tough" to read.

Day 19: Do you prefer the books or films.

The books, because before I started watching the films, my imagination was allowed to run wild. I absolutely loved the books because they made my childhood imagination that much more interesting. The movies can't do that for me.

Day 20: If you had to meet one member of the cast, who would it be.

I'd like to meet Richard Harris (original Dumbledore) or Maggie Smith. Oh Oh! Or Hagrid :)

Day 21: Out of all the characters that died, if you could bring one back, who would it be.

Dumbledore. I just miss him a lot.

Day 22: Harry Potter or Twilight

Shut up. Harry Potter.

Day 23: Any part of the books/movies that makes you cry.

Dumbledore's death and Fred's death. The graveyard scene where Harry wishes to be in the ground with his parents. Snape's death. Dobby's death. Madeye's death, and when we see Snape say to Dumbledore "Always."

Day 24: Any particular scene you wished would have been put in the movie but it wasn’t.

The memories in the Half-Blood Prince. Dumbledore's funeral (SERIOUSLY). In Order of the Phoenix, when they're throwing out all of the family heirlooms in Grimmauld Place, because that is where you see many of the horcruxes!

Day 25: Nineteen years later. Are you happy how it turned out, or do you wish something was different, ie Neville married Luna.

Very happy.

Day 26: If you could be able to work one spell without a wand what would it be.

Protego, or Petrificus Totalus.

Day 27: Would you rather own The Invisibility Cloak, The Resurrection Stone or The Elder Wand.

The Invisibility Cloak, of course!

Day 28: Do you listen to Wizard Wrock, what do you think about it.

Nooooo.

Day 29: Did you enjoy A Very Potter Musical.

Have not seen.

Day 30: What affect has Harry Potter made on your life and how much does it mean to you

My mom read to me/I learned to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the first grade--yes, in 1999. I honestly don't think I'd be very interesting without Harry Potter. At 11, I was disappointed not to have received a Hogwarts letter in the mail. My entire family bonded over Harry Potter, and I love watching the ABC Family marathons. Never have I gone to a midnight release of anything besides Harry Potter. In my house, there are two book series that are signed by the author: Harry Potter, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. They are the ones that matter, but Harry Potter obviously matters more. I love you, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Hungry?

single-crust plum and apple pie

sweet potatoes with pecans and goat cheese

pizza with bacon, onions, and cream

strawberry summer cake

spring salad with new potatoes

Wow! Don't all of those dishes look amazing? I stumbled upon the blog "smitten kitchen" today and am astounded. My mom and I need to make them very very soon :) Find more recipes (and delicious pictures!) here.

Haverford College

Hi everyone! So, as promised, I am going to review a college. Today's post is centered on Haverford College, a liberal arts college in the lovely town of Haverford Pennsylvania.

Basics:

• Haverford, Pennsylvania
• Co-ed
• Accepts 26% of applicants
• Like Swarthmore & Bryn Mawr, founded by...Quakers.
• Total undergraduates usually hovers around 1200 students

Haverford (the town) is supremely cute. There are bakeries and little shops lining the streets. Houses throughout the area are surrounded by woods, but you're never too far from the highway if you want to get to Philadelphia.

So, as my mother and I tried to find the college, we missed the first few minutes of our tour. Luckily, we caught up with the group pretty quickly, right outside the library. I quickly noticed that Haverford, unlike many other colleges I'd visited, did not boast a beautiful campus. I looked beyond that because my tour guide pretty quickly convinced me what an amazing place Haverford is.

Haverford students commit themselves to an honor code. The honor code is atypical--students not only refuse to cheat, but also are enthusiastic about the prospect of being honorable in their studies.

Students declare a major at the end of their sophomore year. Majors range from Anthropology to Spanish, with Computer Science and Growth & Structure of Cities in between. Concentrations include African Studies and Pre-Med, but that's not all. There are 21 others. Double-majoring is discouraged because there is a thesis requirement.

Okay this will be continued... it is harder than I thought!

Favorite healthy foods

Hi again! I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite healthy snacks. I'm really bad at eating healthy but here goes!

1. Del Monte Fruit Naturals: Red Grapefruit

Since I'm still in high school and I bring a lunch, my food has to be very portable! I love grapefruit and grapefruit juice, so this is perfect for me.

2. Fage greek yogurt with honey

Oh my goodness. Fage yogurt is probably one of my favorite things to eat. I strictly requested the honey kind but recen

tly found out that basically each flavor the company sells is amazing! Still, honey flavor is the best :) Don't f

orget to stir the yogurt before putting in the honey!

3. Hummus

So I have forever found hummus disgusting. Seriously, I hated it! But my friend Annabelle got some great roasted red pepper hummus from Whole Foods and I loved it. Yesterday I was at my best friend Dani's house and she had carrots and Sabra pine nut hummus on the table. I started munching an

d couldn't stop! I guess my rule for hummus is eat it with veggies! The texture of chickpeas is already too dry for me, so pita chips + hummus = not too appetizing. Bell peppers and carrots balance the dryness with their crunchy-ness, smoothness, and sweetness.

Hi friends!!! Also known as (mainly) Rebecca and (sometimes) Sarah! Well I have big news. Big news that will make my senior year very busy! I ran uncontested for Student Body President (got it) and was selected to be Editor-in-Chief of my school's newspaper. Ah! I'm in a bit of a frenzy right now, just wrapping my brain around it but soon enough it will actually be senior year and I'll have to take my responsibilities by storm! So, before I get to the actual subject of this post, I want to share a cute video that I spotted on one of my favorite blogs, "tulips & flight suits."

Here it is:

I hope you can actually see the video without having to click on the link. That would be annoying!

Ah, well, here goes. I've decided to do some college blog posts! I've basically got my big list of colleges ready. I'm certainly prepared to start filling out applications. Still need to visit a few more though, so obviously I can't exactly review them.

I'll start in a few days with The College of William and Mary. Others that I'll review are Brown University, Princeton University, University of Virginia, Georgetown University, Davidson College, Columbia University, Harvard University, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, and Bryn Mawr College. Get excited!

Hello lovely bloggers! It's been quite a while since my last blog post. Yesterday I discovered "the neo-traditionalist" blog and I must say it is wonderful. Her post covering a 2005 spread of Gemma Ward in American Vogue has been really inspiring, especially considering that spring is in the air! Though fashion is not exactly the focus of my blog, I wanted to share with you the beautiful photos of my favorite model: Gemma Ward. Isn't she amazing?

Return of the self-image post!

Well, this will be more focused on appreciating one's self. If you watch this little girl here, you'll see that it's important to be excited about yourself! I (like everyone) spend at least some of my time moping around, wishing for my life to be better... But, come on, how much time do we spend actually appreciating everything? That is something that all should consider. At camp in the summer, my counselors asked our "living group" to write down all of the things we appreciate in our lives. If, perhaps, turned into a daily ritual, I know that I would be a lot more content with what I've got. So, watch this little girl in the video on youtube. Let her be an example to us all! For she knows she's got it going on and, as she says, her "whole house is great." And she likes her whole house, her aunt(s), her dad(s), her mom(s), her Allison(s), and even her imagination (you'll have to watch the deleted scenes for that one). Appreciate life!

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet."--Emily Dickinson