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?

I feel bad for people who don't like football.

There is nothing like college football (and more specifically, SEC football). Nothing compares to cheering on your favorite team alongside 72,000 fans, calling the Hogs and participating in all the other fun, silly traditions that countless University of Arkansas students and Razorback fans have been participating in for so many years. I'm so proud of where I go to school, our football team and the many traditions that are so important to our student body!

I went to the Razorback game with my mama on Saturday. We played South Carolina, and we killed 'em, 44-28! Although we were ranked 7 in the nation last week and beat a Top 10 team, our ranking is now 8. I don't understand that reasoning at all,
but I guess we'll take it. It was sooo cold, and we didn't have very good seats, but it was still so, so, so much fun!

So, the point is, if you don't like football, I feel bad for you. You really don't know what you're missing out on. Just saying. ;)

*I haven't charged my camera in over a month, so I apologize for all the poor quality iPhone pictures you've been seeing over here lately!

Guess who's going to graduate in May!

{The trees on campus are so pretty right now! I'm going to miss this place a tiny bit.}

Tonight I applied for graduation! I can't believe I'm finally going to get out of here! (I kind of didn't really think it was ever going to happen.) It's such an exciting, scary, unsure and overwhelming feeling. It's terrifying to think about moving on and leaving behind the routine that's become my life. It's even more terrifying to think that I probably won't be in this town a year from now; who knows where I'll be? But I know good things are going to happen.

It amazes me how quickly my college years have passed by. Four years ago, I was a freshman at Missouri State University in Springfield. It was a campus where I knew no one, a town that I knew very little about, and it was 12 hours from my home in Auburn, Alabama. The two years I spent in Springfield were incredibly full of ups and downs. It was thrilling! It changed me so, so much. It's where I fell in love for the first time, got my heart broken for the first time, lived away from my parents for the first time, made friends with people I'll never forget and experienced my first taste of true freedom.

By the end of my sophomore year, I knew I didn't belong in Springfield anymore, so I transferred to the University of Arkansas, which was only 30 minutes away from my family's new home. I love it here - it's where my family is and where I met the love of my life, after all - but I've never felt like I belong here. It's been a great place to study journalism and spend my early 20's, and I'm thankful for the time I've had here. But I'm ready to move on to the next stage of my life, with this wonderful man by my side.

So yeah, I applied for graduation tonight. I guess it hasn't really hit me yet that I'll be out of here in May. The next few months are going to be a wild ride, but I'm so ready!

(Also, look at my pretty new blog design! Camilla over at Champagne Bubbles made it for me, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. She was such a joy to work with! I'd recommend her to anyone who wants a pretty blog makeover. :)

Journaling.

I'm terrible at keeping a journal. And believe me, with all the opportunities, excitement, drama, and craziness that's come along during my 21 years of life, I should have been keeping one. I tried buying pretty, fancy journals, but I'd only write in them once or twice and then retire them forever. I tried keeping a personal blog, but that didn't work either. I tried writing little snippets of what I did each day on my calendar, but somehow, that even seemed to take too much time.

I'm a writer. I plan to spend my life writing for a living. I love to write. So it doesn't make any sense that I haven't been keeping a journal all these years. And I really, really wish I would have.

Right now is the start of a really big year for me. I'll be 22 this Saturday (eek!). I'm starting my final year of my undergraduate degree. I'm working as an assistant editor for a newspaper. I'm only a few months from entering the real world, getting a real job, buying a house, doing grown-up things. Things are about to change a lot.

On that note, I'm going to attempt to blog regularly, at least 3 or 4 times a week, even if it's just a picture or a quote or a few words detailing what happened that day.

But not this week! I'm leaving town tomorrow to celebrate my birthday all week... Look for me next week! ;)

Friday.

Yes, I did wake up at 4 a.m. to watch William and Kate tie the knot. And it was so worth it; the wedding was gorgeous, classy, splendid, and regal. Why can't I be Kate Middleton? (By the way, Kate requesting to go from "Kate" to "Catherine" overnight aggravates me to no end. Plus she got that fancy new Duchess title... she is still Kate Middleton to me!)


This week was so crazy. I had a presentation, a paper, events to attend, an article to write, tons of reading to finish, desserts to make for a friend, six loads of laundry to wash and put away, a messy home to clean, kids to babysit, phone calls to make. Ugh. I'm so happy it's Friday, and school gets out next week!


Tonight is date night with my love. And I'm really excited. That is all.

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!