12.31.2009

happy new years eve!

what are you lovelies doing for new years eve?
richard and i are hanging out with my sister
and lots of people at our friends jaime & ben's house.
all i want is cupcakes and champagne!
so excited!

in the past decade, i celebrated three
big birthdays,
graduated from high school,
fell in & out of love,
started college at
missouri state university & university of arkansas,
moved from arkansas to texas to alabama to missouri and back to arkansas,
became an aunt (twice!),
met and became best friends with the funniest people in the world,
and experienced a million other beautiful things.
it was a decade of struggles, too,
and definite growth.
i'm so excited to see what 2010 and a new decade
have in store for me.

i hope you all have a lovely new years eve!
be safe! have fun! kiss somebody!

12.19.2009

count your blessings.

i've been in a funk. its just been one of those months
when everything seems to be going all wrong.

i didn't get the grades i wanted.
(it's odd that the classes i completely blew off,
i got a's in,
and the ones in which i worked my little tail off,
i got quite the opposite of an a)

i've been unbelievably busy.
i've not worn real clothes in weeks,
and i've never been one to go out in sweats.
i've lived in this apartment for over a month,
and it is still not completely unpacked nor clean.
i've parted ways with one person in particular.
someone who i swore would be in my life forever..
i've been grumpy. sad. worn out. stressed.
i could keep going, but i think you get the point.

i've been having a hard time, and it's been a constant struggle
to be aware of all the wonderful things present all around me.
i've been absurdly blessed, far beyond what i deserve.
and here are just a few things i'm so happy to have in my life:

my crazy, huge, lovely family, especially momma and those beautiful girls called my sisters. my hilarious, loud, supportive friends. this boy named richard; he is perfect. my health. my apartment. a closet full of clothes and shoes and purses. books and movies and records and iphone and ipod. faith. cupcakes! having a strong sense of what i want to do with my future. beautiful memories. forgiveness. nights that are spent with coffee, music, and collage making. trips to alabama to see spice. meaningful phone calls and cards and words. christmas. & really, just my life.


(pssst! i have a new hair color. it was supposed to turn out dark brown, but it is totally BLACK.)

i adore these beautiful little sisters. you can call them candlyfloss and babycakes.

cold/FUN day of riding roller coasters.

sisters at build-a-bear. we visit this place far too often.

11.30.2009

thanksgiving re-cap.



i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!
my break was full of beautiful family and friends,
great food, and lots of rest.

i went black friday shopping with richard and my cousin brianna.
it was stressful, painful,
and i wasn't a fan of the 3:30 am wake-up call.
people are RUDE on black friday!
i forgot how one silly day brings out such ugliness in people.

on a different note, there are only seven more days of school!
SEVEN. count 'em, people!
i could not be more excited,
but i've got four tests and three papers this week. boo.

how was your thanksgiving? are you having a nice monday?

p.s. the polas are sights from around town. love this time of year!

11.25.2009

happy thanksgiving!

i've been a very, very, VERY busy girl.
and as always, i have neglected this little thing.

i've been sick. moved into new apartment with sister (while sick. boo). end of semester=school is crazy. papers, papers, & more papers. unpacking, decorating, cleaning, cooking, etc.

but i'm leaving in just a few minutes to visit
my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great grandma, friends,
and my "favorite sister."

words cannot express how excited i am to see them,
and how much i need this break from school
and all the things that go along with my life here.

i truly hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving,
surrounded by the people you love the most.

11.16.2009

nawlins

hello, lovelies!
it has been a while.
school, road trips, and (most importantly) finding my new APARTMENT
have kept me an extremely busy girl.

last weekend i flew down to
new orleans/nawlins/nola/la nouvelle orleans
to hang out with richard.
umm, it has got to be the most diverse city in the country.
the french quarter is beautiful,
but it literally stinks. like really bad.

my weekend was full of cupcakes (!),
food that i did not like (oysters/mussels/clams, ew),
walking and driving those scary streets,
visiting historical buildings and cemeteries,
seeing the ninth ward (the area hit hardest by hurricane katrina),
speaking to real french people (!!! i was unbelievably excited),
and lots of fun!



photos: st. louis cathedral, st. louis cathedral, french quarter home, st. louis cemetery

11.02.2009

halloween.






halloween is probably my least favorite holiday,
but each year i try to make the best of it.
this was the first year in so long that i didn't go to a showing of
or go to a party with friends.

instead, i dressed up as dorothy from the wizard of oz
(complete with toto in a basket!)
and played with my little sisters and their friends!

it was so fun.
we went to a carnival at church and played games,
went trick-or-treating under a beautiful orange sunset
(seriously, it could not have been more halloween-ish),
and stuffed ourselves full of candy.

my sister maci was a birthday girl,
and hali was perry the platypus from one of her favorite cartoons.
they made their own little costumes!
i don't know how they came up with either of those ideas,
but are they not just adorable?!

i also had some spooky fun with my dad, rachel, and my dad's now wife becky.
ghost hunts scare me. i swore i'd never go on another,
and this time i really won't.

how was your halloween? what was your costume?
i heard about lots of lady gagas!
billy mays and bob ross were also pretty popular. hilarious!

10.28.2009

jenny lewis!

One of my favorite summer memories would have to be
finally seeing my absolute favorite artist,
Jenny Lewis,
with Richard and my friends Jaime and Ben.

I've been a little more than obsessed with this woman since I was 16,
and her show was honestly even better than I could have imagined.
I don't know how I made it all these years without seeing her live,
but this Jenny show definitely will not be my last.

Jenny's openers were Morgan Nagler from The Whispertown 2000
both of which I absolutely loved.


By the time we left, we were all pretty exhausted and sweaty,
so we went over to Common Grounds
for some late night iced coffee and Greek pizza.

10.21.2009

sunset point


I know I'm slacking on the summer posts,
but I promise they'll be up eventually.
This summer was too good not to share!
But first...

Yesterday Richard and I drove up to Mount Nebo,
and while the views from Sunset Point are always beautiful,
they are exceptionally breathtaking at this time of year.




P.S. I downloaded ShakeItPhoto for my iPhone not too long ago,
and if you have an iPhone, you must get it!

10.08.2009

a few of my favorite summer pictures!

good news!
i've decided to do a (very, very belated) several-post re-cap
of this wonderful summer.

my summer was full of concerts,
more road trips than i could count on both hands,
old friends,
cupcakes galore,
roller coasters,
jumping on hotel beds,
exploring new cities,
good food (for which i'm now paying the price),
absolutely nothing productive,
and many wonderful moments with wonderful people.

i could not have asked for a better summer.
the only not-so-good things i can remember are
a) a trip to the emergency room in may after a bout with my asthma/allergies
and b) a wisdom tooth infection which left me drugged up on vicodin for days.
i'm so thankful for the audrey hepburn calendar in my closet
on which i wrote each day's highlights.
i will forever look at that calendar and remember some of the best moments of my life.

here are five of my favorite summer pictures,
and believe me when i say that there are so many more waiting to be posted:





9.11.2009

I'm sick.

Burning-up-with-fever-excrutiating-sore-throat-stuffy-head-runny-nose-lay-in-bed-all-day sick. I've passed the last two days in bed and on the couch which has forced me to spend a great deal of time thinking about all the things I'd rather be doing:

1. Riding my new bike (it's similar to this one)
2. Eating a skinny chicken+rice+black bean+sauteed onion & pepper+salsa+chipotle sour cream burrito from Flying Burrito Co.
3. Shoe shopping for short booties and tall slouchy boots (since my old ones have practically deteriorated)
4. Baking cupcakes
5. Antique store/flea market shopping for furniture

Today I did four out of the five, and honestly I don't feel even the tiniest bit better.
But I did score some great slouchy boots, booties, and a dress. And last night I made some delicious French vanilla cupcakes. No one ate them, of course, because who wants to eat sick girl cupcakes?

But maybe that was my plan all along.

Excuse the poor icing job. They look really sad.

9.01.2009

i'd just like to say that...

i am thankful for my family. for supporting me in all of my last minute decisions. for giving me financial help when i need it (which is a lot, trust me). for putting up with my weirdness, mood swings, and last minute crazy ideas.

i am thankful for the university of arkansas. the fact that they accepted me and helped me work things out just days before classes started is unbelievable.

i am thankful for missouri state university for all the memories, fun, and my best friend ashley.

i am thankful for knowing exactly what i want to do with my life. it eliminates so much stress, and believe me, i do not need anymore of that.

i am thankful for the beautiful weather. fall's on its way, folks! it's been perfect for riding my new bike.

i am thankful for the interesting people i have met and have grown to love.

i am thankful for my new car. it has cruise control and a working heater, both of which my old car didn't have. hooray!

i am thankful for my hilarious, beautiful, smart, sassy friends. every single one of them. and the unforgettable memories of them that i hold so close to my heart.

i am thankful for the silly things. like sweet tea/hot tea/coffee, my iphone, crunchy peanut butter on honey wheat bagels, tea parties, front yard camping "trips." the list goes on.

i am thankful for the numerous amazing memories that this summer brought. stay tuned for many of them in picture form.

and, i am thankful for this blog. i know i neglect it too often, but i promise i'm working on that!

7.03.2009

happy 4th of july!

My favorite thing about Independence Day is that my family celebrates it literally for days. The weekend long celebration started last night and will continue going strong until Sunday.

I made yummy patriotic cupcakes for a picnic.

We bought a ridiculous amount of fireworks which I could not get to fit into one picture. I wish I would've taken one of all the debris from last night's 2,500 dollars' worth...

I hope you all have a happy and safe 4th! The rest of mine better include a hot dog, more fireworks, and a long afternoon at the pool.

6.24.2009

you are so sweet, dancing to that beat


Have you guys listened to Far, Regina Spektor's new album?
I already love it.
I can't say that I have a favorite song yet.
If you have heard it, what's your favorite?
Oh, Regina, how I have loved you since high school.
Thank you for giving me something new to listen to.

6.22.2009

11:11

Do you lovelies make wishes at 11:11?
I do every time I catch it,
But now that I've read its Wikipedia article,
I'm a bit creeped out.

{Photo via weheartit}

5.04.2009

?!


What is this? I was baffled when I saw this photo from Australia Fashion Week on Nylon.

4.03.2009

the bahamas

Just as I expected, my spring break getaway to the Bahamas with my best friend Adriene, her older sister Lauren, and their mother Lori was exactly what I needed to cure the month-long funk I was in.
The four of us had so much fun exploring the Atlantis Resort and the city of Nassau. The weather was far from beautiful most days, but the one or two days of sunshine we did have made it worthwhile.
I wish I could write out all the stories of the things Adriene and I did during our short stay in the Bahamas, but I don't think I could find the appropriate words to convey just how much fun we had.
This gorgeous bar off the casino became "our spot," and it's certainly where we spent the majority of our time, talking, laughing, and scheming.

After flying back to the States, I spent two blissful days in Alabama hanging out with Adriene and our other friends who I hadn't seen since last summer. It was so nice to catch up with them before heading back home for a few days to visit with family and friends. I returned with scalded, sunburnt skin, funny souvenirs, and a bad cold that I can't seem to shake (I blame it on the eight dirty airplanes I spent several hours in over one week).

3.12.2009

coco avant chanel

I've always had an unhealthy obsession with the life of Coco Chanel (I even named my hamster after her in high school), the French language, and fashion. Perhaps these reasons are why I'm beyond excited to see Coco avant Chanel, a Coco Chanel biopic which releases in France next month. Played by Audrey Tautou, Coco Chanel sports such Parisian classics as the timeless pencil skirt, classic pearls, the ever-popular striped shirt, and Chanel’s own creations, the tweed “Chanel suit” and the little black dress. And that is in the movie trailer alone!

The only downfall to Coco avant Chanel, which translates to Coco Before Chanel, is the movie's lack of subtitles. Even as a French minor, I can barely understand most of what's being said in the trailer.

[Photos via AlloCiné]