Red cup.

I'm officially in the Christmas spirit, thanks to this little red cup and A Very She & Him Christmas. We've finally started our Christmas shopping, and I love bundling up, grabbing some coffee and heading out into the cold with my love to shop for our family and friends. It's such a happy time of year!

If you're wondering why I haven't been around lately, let me tell you. I had four tests and lots of homework. I have been working on three articles for the paper. My best friend came to visit for the weekend. We went to the opening of a world-class art museum, which opened in my town last weekend (more about that later); went to Eureka Springs; ate lots of good food and shopped for books; spent hours in my bed, talking and laughing about old times and reading David Sedaris stories to each other and drinking wine; and just had a really great time together. Basically, I've been super busy. It's that time of the semester when everything starts getting really stressful, and hard tests/projects/papers become a daily occurance. Sigh! Thankfully I will be done with this little thing called college in May.

How are you?

Summer via my iPhone.

Hydrangeas. Weddings. Coffee smoothies/iced coffee (I might have a coffee problem). Night swimming. Sweet tea in Mason jars. Lemon meringue pie. Flea markets. Road trip planning.

I'm enjoying this summer so much already! ♥♥♥

This week:

I rode roller coasters and waterslides with my love and some friends and got a major sunburn.
I had the privilege of attending a keynote address given by the Dalai Lama. It was amazing. More on that later.
I planted some things: basil, parsley, and pink zinnias, to be exact. Let's all cross our fingers and hope they grow (unlike those pretty gerber daisies I killed last year).
I had breakfast early in the morning with my Nanna. She made chocolate gravy and biscuits, and all felt well in this world.
I got to spend an entire day with my oldest sister. This rarely happens! It was so fun.
I realized that I need have to stop drinking so much caffeine. But that will have to wait until next week when Starbucks no longer has half price drinks. Eek!

*Photo of my little sister Hali on her 10th birthday last month. See, caffiene addictions run in our family!

red velvet

Today was gorgeous; it was such a relief after the rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes we've had this week. It was one of those days that I just want to waste in the park with a stack of magazines and some sunglasses. But instead, I went to Starbucks to "work on homework" (although all I packed was my laptop, ipod, magazines, and some chapstick). I really did have every intention of calling more people to interview for the magazine I work for, but the music inside was far too loud for that. They played French music, and I was so excited to recognize most of the songs! I love Edith Piaf and Joe Dassin's Les Champs-Elysées. So, I curled up in a big chair in the corner, drank a venti iced coffee, wrote a ton, and fell in love with red velvet cupcakes. I read that they're 300 calories a pop, but they're just so good.

[Photo: via Sweet Cakes]