Things that make me go "hmm."

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Megan on Pinterest

My favorite pin of the week!

This is not a statement about the ethical issue of cloning one way or the other, but this cloned baby goat is adorable! See more pictures here. 

This cute and clever video from the New York Times explores the question of what makes a native species. (Spoiler alert: We European humans aren’t exactly native, if you were wondering.)  

I’d say these students could use some “cultural sensitivity” training. 

Funny longread: What happens when a 35-year-old man retakes the SAT? 

The 20 coolest bookstores in the world. (Oh, and the best ones are on my Pinterest already.)  

Having a long day at work and just need to “get outside” for a little while? This awesome trail view website can help. 

A drunk klepto with a conscience. 

Score one for endangered turtle species!  

TIME magazine announces the 140 best Twitter feeds of 2012.  

Absolutely crazy: This guy’s Reddit comments led to a movie deal!

Did you know we have eight new U.S. Historic Landmarks? Because we do!

Friday's Fancies: Week 9

This week's Friday's Fancies is a little painful for me. It was a great idea, {av}, but it would be a lot more fun if my team were still in the tournament. *sigh* I even thought of skipping this week or doing a different theme because I was so heartbroken over Mizzou's first-round (and very unexpected) loss last Friday, but then I remembered this:

Even if the Big Dance didn't go quite as we had planned, I still love my Tigers, and I'm still proud to be a Mizzou student alum (I almost forgot)! (As evidenced by the fact that I wore my Mizzou headband on the slopes the day after our loss, despite seeing quite a few Jayhawk beanies.) As much as I wish I were getting ready to watch my boys play Marquette tonight instead of Florida, I will be a Tiger fan until the day I die! Plus, we're taking that Big 12 championship with us to the SEC ... and no one can ever take it back!

P.S. — I pinned quite a few Mizzou items on Polyvore when I was creating this outfit, so if you're a future/current/former Tiger — knock yourself out!

The Hunger Games vs. Uglies

Happy Hunger Games Week, everyone!

Photo via Pinterest

I'm participating in Sweet Green Tangerine's weekly book chat again. Today's prompt is: Share your favorite Dystopian novel. This is too perfect because I've been brainstorming this post idea since January and finally have an excuse to sit down and write it!

Spring has sprung!

It's time for my usual Wednesday link-ups:

First, I am loving one thing in particular this week: Yesterday, I got two pretty sweet online gift card deals: a $15 iTunes card from Best Buy for only $12, and a $10 Amazon card (for new Kindle books, of course) for only $5. That's $25 worth of merchandise for only $17, or 32 percent off!

#savvyshopper #moneyinthebank

In honor of the first day of spring yesterday, here are some spring-inspired pins to warm you up! (The first image is what I like to imagine I'll dress like as an LC next year. But let's be real ... I'm just not that fashionable.)

Source: theandrewsupdate.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Travel Tuesday: Week 4

Welcome to another edition of Travel Tuesday! This week's question(s): What destination is at the top of your travel bucket list? Why? What do you want to do there? Do you think it will ever happen, and if so, when/how? As usual, please link up with your travel-related posts below, even if they're a different topic than the prompt I provided.

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I am so incredibly blessed to have already visited my number-one must-see destination when I studied abroad last year: Rwanda. During that same trip, I also went on a safari in Kenya, but there is still one African destination I would give almost anything to visit ...

I'm a socially awkward penguin.

You've seen memes, right? Those funny images with block lettering that have gone viral in the past few months? Well, my favorite has to be the socially awkward penguin meme, if only because I can totally relate to 97 percent of them. In fact, I only got to page three of these memes before I had to stop because I had found too many that describe my life to a "T." Here are some socially-awkward-penguin behaviors I exhibit on a regular basis. Enjoy!

Things that make me go "hmm."

Source: hoosierhomemade.com via Marie on Pinterest

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Here are some interesting links I found this week:

If you learn one thing today, let it be this: It’s St. Paddy’s Day, not St. Patty’s Day!

Check out this magical combination of two of my favorite things: geography and college basketball. This game is addicting!

Types of books found in a bookstore. (If you like Letters or Note, you will love Lists of Note!)

In case you were wondering what the heck the Ides of March is and why we still recognize it. 

Have you always wondered what a hipster was? Now you know. (Essay from my favorite recent addition to my Google Reader: Thought Catalog.)

Chop Suey: Culinary history’s greatest prank?

These aren't photographs; they're paintings. Say what?!

Talk about a poor sport. What sort of example are we setting for our children? Sheesh.

What are you up to this weekend? Any fun plans for the holiday? I'm spending the weekend in Vail, Colorado, on a staff retreat. I can't wait to share my pictures with you when I get back! 

P.S. — In case you missed it yesterday, check out my outfit inspiration for St. Paddy's festivities.

Friday's Fancies: Week 8

Welcome to another edition of Friday's Fancies! I created an Ireland-themed outfit a few weeks ago for {av}'s "Let's Fly Away" link-up, for which I found these awesome green jeans. Of course I had to use them again for a St. Patrick's Day outfit! This time, I decided to do a one piece, two ways post (a la my Valentine's Day outfit), so here's two different ways to wear green jeans this weekend during your St. Paddy's Day partying:

For each outfit, I picked a fun spring purse/clutch because I was afraid the sweaters I chose made the outfits seem too autumn-y. I'm also a sucker for tacky holiday jewelry, hence the shamrock earrings on the left. I picked a gold Claddagh ring this week to match the earrings, and I chose some more costume-y pieces for the evening jewelry. Finally, I went with flats for the evening because—let's be real—you're going to want to be as close to the ground as possible.

See more details about each piece below:

If I could live in a book ...

It's Thursday, which means it's time for another book chat with Jessica at Sweet Green Tangerine. I also got my $25 Barnes & Noble gift card from her giveaway in the mail today, so the timing is quite appropriate. (Thanks, Jessica! I'll be sure to let you know what I get!) This week's question:

Initially, I was going to pick one of the Harry Potter books (duh), but the majority of link-ups on Jessica's post had already chosen the wonderful world of Hogwarts, and I wanted to provide something different. I also thought you might be sick of hearing me talk about why Harry Potter is my favorite series, my personal identification with Hermione Granger, my favorite quotes from the series, or my general obsession with the entire franchise that began in 1998. (And those aren't even all my Harry Potter posts; you can see all of them here.)

Zoos and cute animals and such.

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for two link-ups: The Vintage Apple's "Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!" and This Kind of Love's "What I'm Loving Wednesday."

First, a couple things I'm loving:

• My little brother is in town for his spring break! It's been fun having someone to come home to and checking out some new restaurants around town.
• After a few snowy days last week, it's warmed up considerably, so I can ride my bike to work again (following all these rules, of course)! It's also lovely to still have a couple hours of sun left when I got off work. (Thanks, Daylight Savings! I was mad at you on Sunday when you stole an hour of sleep, but now I like you a whole lot.)
• I'm going to Vail, Colorado, this weekend for a staff retreat! I just hope I don't make myself look like a fool next to all the experienced skiers I'll be going with.
• My $50 Visa gift card from winning Lovely Undergrad's internship attire contest came this week! (Thanks, Jessica!) See my winning entry here.

And now, on to the pins! Quick question: Am I the only person who feels bad about how much I love zoos? I mean, obviously I would prefer to see exotic animals in their natural habitats, but that is very time- and money-intensive. Instead, I get uber-giddy about visiting zoos, but then I always feel bad that the animals have been taken from their native lands. I try to console myself with the thought that endangered animals can breed in zoos and keep their species alive, but it doesn't help that much. The reason I've been pondering this is because my theme for this week is adorable animals! Enjoy.

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: nnm.ru via Megan on Pinterest

Source: zsazsabellagio.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: theberry.com via Megan on Pinterest

And finally, these puppies grew up together. Check out the photos taken five years apart. #adorbs

Source: cuteoverload.com via Abby on Pinterest

I actually did a similar post to this one way back in 2011, before I knew about Pinteresting Wednesdays, but I figure there's no such thing as too many cute animals, right? See my previous post (with more adorable photos!) here.