Autumn in Illinois

Greetings everyone!  Fall is slowly (and at times quickly) transitioning into winter here in Illinois.  I am sad to see the warm temps go because that means I will need to retire my bike for the winter soon.  I am going to see if I can keep riding it for the remainder of November though since it is such a convenient and fun means of transportation.

My last post promised some beautiful Autumn pictures, and I shall not disappoint. 

Illini Union

Lovely street lamp at night

Main Quad

Rose on the Main Quad (in November!)

Rose on the Main Quad

I thoroughly enjoyed taking the above pictures and also adding special features to some, like the sepia coloring to the rose.

Also, did you all make a wish at 11:11 on 11/11/11?  I did :-).

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University of Illinois Snow Day

Snowpocalypse 2011 hit Illinois!  While Champaign-Urbana wasn't hit as hard as Chicago and other cities, the University of Illinois cancelled classes today.  Yep, we had a snow day - quite rare indeed!  I decided to brave the weather, take the bus to campus, and shoot some pics of the snow covered campus :-).  Enjoy!

Did any of you experience Snowpocalypse 2011 or bad winter weather of any sort over the past couple of days?

Also, if you're interested in a 4 minute introduction to the revolution in Egypt, I recommend this video.  It explains some of the history behind the current events in Egypt. 

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Yurbuds Review

It’s going to be a 3-day weekend!  Now I can finally get all caught up on my class work ;-).  And… hopefully get in some good posts and reviews.

I was recently sent a complimentary pair of yurbuds to review, and they were just what I needed for running with my iPod.  Here’s a pic of my pair: 



They’re blue :-).  I give them a 9.5 of 10.  They definitely help my iPod earphones stay in place when running!  They’re also very comfortable and light, which actually made me afraid they might fall out, but nope – they didn’t budge.  Now I just need some noise canceling earphones, but it’s probably safer if I can hear background noise even if it is annoying traffic sounds :-(.

Guess what else I have to share?!  I’m using Windows Live Writer.  I’ve had some issues uploading pictures to Blogger, so I wanted an alternative way to make my posts.  So far I really like it.  Does anyone else use this?  I know I’m a little slow in figuring out all the new technologies out there :-).

And now for some more Champaign-Urbana pictures since I’m obsessed with I enjoy photography.







Next up will be another cookbook review…
 
Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!  Any fun plans?  I’m hoping to get in my first run with my Vibrams :-).

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Pictures and Food as promised!

Why, hello everyone!  My first (extremely crazy and busy) week of classes is over :-).  Now for a recap:

At the farmers' market a couple weeks ago I bought a beautiful basil plant:

I am in love with it... but I fear it is dying (it no longer looks like it does above) in my tiny apartment with windows only facing one direction :-(.

I used some of my basil when making a bean soup in my mini crock pot.  It turned out all right, but I think it needed more flavor.  I followed a recipe, but my kitchen is still lacking in a number of spices (that I therefore excluded thinking it wouldn't matter too much).  Alas, I have more shopping to do...

Anyway, here is the soup:

I also bought a couple pluots from the grocery store a few days ago because they were on sale for $.99 per pound (should've gotten more!).  I LOVED them!  Here is one I had for breakfast with oatgurt and chia seeds:

Now for some Illinois scenery :-).

These are some pics from the UIUC campus - lots of people!

Some pics from Champaign neighborhoods I've wandered around on foot and bike:

I was astonished to see that people decorate their yards with lights - my fellow Iowans and I tend to use lights exclusively for Christmas.

I hope this post was worth the wait ;-).  I had fun taking the pictures... and I have more to show you at a later date...

Have a fabulous weekend!

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