thursday thrills

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What's better than a wedding?  Answer:  A French wedding.

Sometimes you should just be the silly goose you really are.

A few of my favorite things, printed on a t-shirt.

This makes me actually want to get up early enough to sit down and eat breakfast.

"Save the dates" are my weakness.  Love these crafty gems!


This weekend is going to be swell!  Happy days, my friends.  xoxo

my brain's contents

Harry Potter  I started rereading the series (crucial for this summer's extravaganza/cryfest) and feel like I am rereading my own life.  SO MANY EMOTIONS.

Glee  Can't.  Stop.  Watching.  Glee.  Today I somehow managed to watch season one AND two of sectionals (awesome coincidence, man).

Darren Criss  I am fangirling way too hard. Tumblr is the worst because everyone encourages this condition... Is it healthy?  ...I don't care.

Marie Antoinette  You guys, I wore my Marie Antoinette dress today (dressed down with a western-y belt and cardigan). I also used my macaron perfume, which I used to save for special occasions (I usually wear Coco Madameselle everyday and maybe I am trying to prolong running out because I told myself I would get more the next time I was in Paris).  But THE SMELL OF MACARONS IS THE MOST GLORIOUS THING.  So life is good.  Also, I am OBSESSED with this video.  Seriously.  Everything about it makes me so happy.



College  Don't even get me started.  My mind is EXPLODING from thinking about it so much. 

What are the contents of your brain currently?

i just had the weirdest realization

I was about to click on "New Post" when I looked at my blog and realized that in roughly five months I will be blogging from a glorified box (my dorm) in Portland. 

I wish I could have caught the look I made on film.  I sort of opened my mouth half way, my eyes got wide, and I thought, OMG I AM GOING TO COLLEGE. Funny that my blog did this, and not the emails from the last two schools I applied to (I already got accepted to ASU and PSU earlier this school year) that I received yesterday afternoon.

Well, the results are in.  I got into Lewis & Clark College and got wait-listed at Reed College.


Lewis & Clark is more secluded than I would like, but it is so gorgeous (It's rated #2 for Most Beautiful Campus) I think I could get used to it.  Its small size (under 2,000) is ideal and its study abroad opportunities are awesome (which could be expected for a school named after explorers).  Also, they offer a Communication major, which is the definitely the direction I am heading now.  The setback:  $$$$

I hear back about financial aid in about a week.  Send good thoughts.

Honestly, I am honored to even get wait-listed at Reed.  It is also a small liberal arts college (1400 students), but it is considerably more rigorous (It's rated #2 for Students Study the Most with MIT taking first) and more selective.  They offer a Creative Writing major, which is something I've always wanted to pursue, but they don't offer a Communication major, which is troublesome.  Also $$$$.  And even if I do get accepted, I will have missed out on most of the money reserved for non-wait-listed students.  I'll live (and not have to study as much).

So now, I need to make a decision.  PSU or Lewis & Clark?  I can find good reasons for both, but in the end I would rather end up at a smaller school.  However, PSU is downtown (awesomeeee) and I already have a scholarship there.  Also, one of the main reasons I am moving to a new city is for the experience and living downtown in the midst of everything would amplify that.  But L&C would be a unique opportunity and I REALLY want to study abroad.  Let me rephrase that--I AM GOING TO study abroad.

Decisions, decisions.  I have one month to decide.

thursday thrills

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It's Thursday again already?!  If you say so...


LOVE these pictures.  (Especially the first three!)

Nature is crazy.  Just sayin'.

Feeling blue?  The perfect combination of seafoam green and Tiffany blue is sure to do the trick.

Obsess over Recollection's line of vintage-inspired goodies!  Vintage patterns FTW.

Get inspired with quotes.


What a busy week it has been!  The yearbook is officially DONE and now I officially need something to do with myself.  And don't say study for AP tests...Because I am reserving that fun for April.  Happy weekend.  xoxo

i think you are adorable

So, I have been totally fangirling all over the place with Darren Criss. It is probably unhealthy, but even my nine year old sister can't resist his charm, so I think that makes it more acceptable.  Alrthough it is kind of troubling how much I relate to this tumblr post:

"Darren Everett Criss. Setting unattainably high standards for men since 1987."

Because yeah, Darren--SO NOT FAIR!  How am I possibly going to find another you?

My PERFECT man?  Well...

The short version:

• Darren Criss

The long version:

• Good sense of humor
• Intelligent
• Open-minded
• Compassionate
• Dog-lover (Actually, animal-lover in general.)
• Musically-inclined (Who doesn't love musicians? I mean--let's get serious.)
• Dark curly hair (My weakness)
• SCRUFF (My other weakness)
• Silly goose (I am pretty silly, you guys.)
• Fun to be with
• Photographer (A blogging side-kick, anyone?)
• Can cook me delicious meals
• Will watch my favorite TV shows with me (and only make fun of me a little)
• MUST LOVE HARRY POTTER (Or no. Just no.)

Now, is this really so much to ask?  Probably.  But I know someone pretty close to this description is out there making a list that looks a little like this:

• Short (Who needs tall girls anyway...)
• Creative
• Can sew (Who doesn't love sewers?  I mean--let's get serious.)
• Compassionate about all living things
• Owns 500324 dresses
• Blogs (I love reading blogs!)
• Dark, curly hair (My weakness)
• SMALL FEET (My other weakness)
• Silly goose
• Can bake me delicious treats
• MUST LOVE HARRY POTTER (Or no.  Just no.)

In the meantime, I am regretting not buying a "I ♥ DC" shirt while I was in DC like four years ago, because now I could say it stands for Darren Criss.  Ah, regrets.

happy spring!

thursday thrills

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I thought my birthday parties were pretty cool.  This one year old really showed me up bigtime.

Forgot to post this last Thursday:  An alternative way to celebrate Lent.

Get into the spirit of Spring.

Love, love, LOVE this.  (Also, can I please have that dress for my wedding? And every other Elie Saab dress for that matter?  Thanks.)

Smile at a colorful, happy 70's children's book.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

small feet awareness

My small feet...in Scotland

So, I have small feet.  When I meet someone new, unfailingly they remind me. "Geesh!  You have small feet."  "What size shoe do you wear?"  To my dismay, this is the ultimate ice-breaker.

More often than I would like to admit, I have had to tell someone under the age of ten years that I wear size 3 in children's shoes.  Even more embarressingly, they usually reply with something along the lines of, "I wear size 6!"  In fact, this happened just today.

You can see why what I am going to say now makes sense for someone who loves shoes.

I absolutely loath shopping for shoes. 

It is a degrading experience for me to wander into the children's department in Nordstrom or Target, but it is all I have.  It was one of my darkest hours when I went into Stride Rite while looking for comfortable shoes for my trip to Europe a couple of summers ago.  Stride Rite, you guys.  You can't come back from this stuff.

When I have my sister with me, I use her as a cover.  "Do you like these, Kendal?" I ask from across the shoe display.  I hold up the 3248039th bedazzled sneaker I have encountered in my quest of age-appropriate shoe options while I quickly scan the scarce selection of "classy" kids shoes.  When I am with friends, I usually just avoid shoes completely or talk loudly about trying to find my sister some shoes for her birthday.


Oh goodie, these come in my size!

 I am surprised I haven't chucked a pair of sparkly, glow-in-the dark, or heavily beaded shoes across a store yet, or better, through a glass window.  Maybe that would make me feel better.  I could even sing,

"I bust the windows out your store
and no, it didn't make my feet larger
I know I'll always have these tiny feet
but right now I just want to scream"

(Okay, I have been watching a lot of Glee.  Just watched this episode the other day.)

Because of this, it has always been a dream of mine to start a line of shoes for fabulous women with small feet.  "Equal opportunity for Cute Shoes" would be our motto.  Part of me wants to make the shoes specifcally for sizes 3-5 so that, you know, those normal-sized people can feel the disappointment in spotting wonderfully adorable, lovely shoes (see below) and realizing that they don't come in their size.  Whoops.  Sorry!

I'm so mean.  But it's something I feel passionately about for some silly reason.

if it wasn't official before, it is now.

Glee is my favorite show ever in the history of ever.  If you are a fellow Gleek and haven't watched the latest episode, first of all, SHAME ON YOU, and second of all, don't read anything else in this post or I will feel a great, great sadness for ruining this glorious episode for you.

REGIONALS WAS AWESOMEEEEEE.  I loved that New Directions did original songs because they totally rocked it!  IN YO' FACE, SUE!  Rachel's song was great and I am so proud of her for being the star she is meant to be despite all the torment she gets for being confident.  Quinn has been dressing really good lately, but that doesn't dismiss how incredibly RUDE she is to Rachel.  (Although I do praise her cute hat choice.)  Rachel FTW! 

I am now going to take this moment to point out that "THEY KISSED" is trending on Twitter.

...and "Trouty Mouth." (Heh.)

BUT YOU GUYZZZZ!!  THEY KISSED!!  You can not even understand the bliss I am in right now.  My love of Darren Criss has skyrocketed, my love of Klaine has gone off the charts, and my love of Glee has expanded its already very large portion in my heart.   

When the episode started off with a Warblers song, I knew it was going to be a good one.  And when I saw the look on Blaine's face during "Blackbird" I could tell he was falling in love in Kurt (and I may have flailed about with giddiness).  Then when they kissed... I STARTED FLIPPING OUT.  I was jumping up and down squealing and screaming and just generally gleeking out all over the place.  I grabbed Izzy who was sitting next to me and started jumping up and down with her too...to which she gave me the funniest look with her head tilted to the side, like, "What is this human insanity?"

Then Regionals.... THEIR DUET!  Cue more "SO ADORABLE!!! THEY ARE TOO CUTE!!!" Also, did the audience have fake candles and foam #1 fingers under their chairs?!  Hah.

And the end with Kurt and Blaine...  SO ADORABLE!!! THEY ARE TOO CUTE!!!

Okay.  I'm done.  

(At least for now.)

Okay, now I am.

P.S. My Lenten promise to not buy Glee songs on iTunes is hitting really hard right about now.

just because this makes me happy

(I added Kate Spade's motto in the always lovely Futura)

thursday thrills

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Never doubt the power of DIY.

Do something small to make a stranger smile.

Meet my future husband, Darren Criss, in prom attire.

Kate Spade redid their website! It is beautiful.

Behold the most legit Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding in the history of the world.


Happy Spring Break, loves!  xoxo

happy mardi gras + women's day



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So it's Mardi Gras. And  I have no idea what to give up for Lent.  I decided to construct a list of things I enjoy way too much to help me with my decision.

• My car. Haha, good one.  This one is ruled out by default.
• Glee. Seriously, this night's episode was SEXAAAY. No really, it was called "Sexy."  (And yes Blaine, in fact you do turn my knees to jelly.)  It was also very emotional!  I was so impressed by the writers of Glee for being so fearless and real.  I started to tear up a few times, but then Blaine would come on and I'd be like, EVERYTHING IS OKAY, FOLKS because he is such a sweetie (understatement of my life) and seeing him with one of my favorite characters (Kurt's dad) made me SO HAPPY.  Also, it was so great to hear Kurt's voice for the first time in decades!  Seriously!
• Darren Criss.  You guyzzzzz!  I haven't fangirled this hard since the 2010 outbreak of Stevens Fever.  I am losing my mind.  I listen to Not Alone on average of a 3242 times a day and Warblers songs are on constant repeat.  Can you blame me?  I have a weakness for intelligent and attractive musicians.  And Darren Criss is not only this; he is also a talented actor and writer.  And let's not forget he has PLAYED HARRY POTTER and is ON GLEE.  He is also so down-to-earth, sweet, and open-minded.  What more can you ask in a guy?  Answer:  Nothing.
• Yearbook.  NOT HAPPENING.  Yearbook is MY LIFE, my love, my joy, the love of my life, the joy of my being.  My one and only.
• Cuddling with my dog Izzy.  (See above)
• Gossip Girl. This would be cheating, because it isn't going to be on again until April 18th anyway.
• Tumblr, Blogs, Twitter, Facebook.  I gave up Facebook last year and it went alright...it just gave me more blog time. I honestly think that if I did this again I would end up just binge-tumbling and tweeting and blogging, which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
• Pushing the snooze button. The possibility of eight more minutes of sleep is oh-so-irresistible.  The possibility of 16...24...32... Well, I can't help myself.  It's so easy.
• Baking.  Let's level here; giving this up would be a lose/lose situation for everyone.

Oh my goodness!  This is going to be a tough one.  I think there is some room to compromise, though.

For Lent I try to choose things that will help me improve as a person and simplify my life.  I'm also always up for a challenge.  So this is my proposition:

1. Resist the urge of pushing the snooze button.  (The horror!)
2. Limit computer time to one hour a day.
3. Refrain from buying Glee songs on iTunes. (This will be slightly painful for me, but it will be worth it when I get to buy the Warblers CD coming out sometime in April!)

BTW, today is the 100th year anniversary of International Women's Day.  Woohoo!

eighteen

March 5th was my birthday.  I am now EIGHTEEN. 

Do I feel different?  Yes--MORE AWESOME.

Do I still get asked if I want a kids menu when I'm out with family?  Yes--BUT THAT IS OKAY.

Because you know what?  I AM STILL AWESOME.

This is how I spent my weekend, you know, being awesome:

Friday in yearbook, the always wonderful AJ made me the most attractive cake I've ever seen. (Note tiara on top of my hat.  Gotta love yearbook.)

Why was it so attractive, you ask?  Well, it had Darren Criss and the Hogwarts crest on it.  Also, it was pink with cream cheese frosting.  PERFECTION.

On Saturday, after a lovely breakfast of quiche, fruit, and expresso with the fam at home, Melanie, Erin, and I headed out to Tempe for macarons at Essence Bakery.  They were tres delicieux!

It was Melanie's first one, and Erin's first real one (she has tried mine).  I am so proud.

After shopping for beaucoup hours (I scored some beauties), we got sushi at Shimogamo.  Yum!

Next we went to see a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee that our friend Dahlya is in.  I laughed so hard (and even got to go up on stage to spell a word...wrong)!

Yodipity came last; there's nothing like coconut frozen yogurt with some friends!

Sunday was family time.  I chose Joe's Farm Grill to celebrate my birthday with my mom's side of the family. It was perfect weather for eating outside on the picnic tables.  Happiness! (That is the dress I got while out shopping...My new favorite for sure!)  For dinner, we went out with my other set of grandparents at Oregano's.  It was a tasty weekend to say the least.

I got some lovely and thougthful gifts from my besties (they make me laugh and cry and make ingenious Gossip Girl and Sufjan and Dobby references) and family (Glee season one and iPhone anyone?) and my parents (they treated me to my fabulous day out with friends) but one gift I am still in shock from that I received from my grandparents.  I am seriously giddy out of my mind. 

I GOT A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? I had never been so surprised in my life when I was opening the last of my grandparents' gifts.  I got my license last August and I haven't been able to take out either of my parents' giant boat-sized vehicles even once.  I didn't mind much at first, but the past few months especially I have gotten a bit frustrated, especially when I need to get to a babysitting gig or have to rely on friends for rides (although this has done worlds for my patience). 

But now... Now I have my own set of wheels since my grandma just got a new car.  I am beside myself with happiness.  I have offically decided to dub it the "Gleemobile."  Not only do I plan on listening to an unhealthy amount of Glee while I drive, but I also discovered last night while showing off my new wheels at Erin's (to her whole family, no less) that on the back right corner it says "GLE." 

Oh yes.  I am awesome. xoxo

(500) doodles of words

THIS IS MY 500th POST!

Much has changed since December of 2007 when I wrote my first blogpost, but it's funny to see how much hasn't.  Here's a look at a few posts from my first year in the blogosphere.

That December I discovered Etsy and revived my love of tea parties.

That March I made my first of many pies.

That May I realized how cool Zooey Deschanel was. (current obsession? Try life-long.)

That June I met the love of my life.

Some things never change...

My love of Gossip Girl

My Harry Potter obsession

My lust over Ban.do (now I finally own one!)

My favorite blogger (who ironically lives in Portland)

My hobby of antiquing & movie-going

My favorite magazine & illustrator

Really bizarre...Looking through these brings me back to when I first wrote them.  It seems like just yesterday!  It honestly does.  I can literally remember writing a lot of these.  I really haven't changed much since, interest-wise.  It's weird to see my 14/15 year old self discovering the things that are all very much a part of me now. 

Thanks for sticking around.  Here's to 500 more!  xoxo

thursday thrills

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A vintage superhero wedding?  Best.  Idea.  Ever.

BTW, I'm pretty positive this wedding is a look into my future.

Check out this adorable YouTube channel.

Admire beautiful clothes from fashion week.  Fabulous!
Fall in love with this quirky brand of cute shoes.

Watch this hilarious short film.


Have an awesome weekend! I know I will--my birthday is Saturday!
xoxo

good, better, best

Sometimes an outfit just works the first time you throw it together.  The other night was not one of those times.  Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of blogging outfits, or I wouldn't have caught my repeated follies in the screen of my camera.  Here are some of my rookie mistakes:

First attempt: I am rocking the stripe pattern--brown, red, brown, red, brown--bor-ing.  The only thing breaking up the monotony is my glasses (which I do admit I sometimes use to pull black into an outfit), gold necklace, and ivory and orange cameo.  Plus, the tights aren't even the right shade of red!  Eeek.

Second attempt:  To save myself from my discolored red tights catastrophe, I opt for my cream socks with gold and orange stripes.  Finally, the cameo has a friend, and the glitter gold stripes set off the whale necklace.  However, the outfit still seems off. I also slightly resemble a bee-keeper.

Thrid attempt:  I lose the hat, add a cream cardigan, move the cameo to the cardigan, and viola!  The outfit flows together and I don't look too crazy.  (Maybe a little.)  I think the secret to odd color combinations is to get a little matchy-matchy.  Otherwise, the silhouette or structure of the outfit is lost in the process.  Just be sneaky about it, like pairing oranges and golds together, as well as browns, tans, and creams together.  Once you trick your outfit into "matching," you can get away with odd pairings like a bright red blouse (with green polka dots and buttons--they're hard to see) and a plaid skirt.

The next day I received four very special complements; two referenced Gossip Girl and the other two compared me to Rachel Barry.  Definitely worth the trial and error, I'd say!

blouse-Buffalo Exchange
necklace-Etsy
cardigan-Ann Taylor
cameo-great-grandma's
skirt-Pie in the Sky
socks-Kate Spade
shoes-Target