Christmas Pt. 3: Royal Amphibians

Sweater, Coat, Bag & Shoes- Vintage,

Dress- Target two or three years ago,

Fascinator- DIY

The night of November 29th my family and I got to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity that kicked off our Holiday season. For the first time ever the general public was invited onto the Disney Animation Studio for an advance screening of The Princess and the Frog.

The movie was wonderful! Even if you aren't an animated film kind of person, it is totally worth seeing. The story was charming and sweet and classically Disney. The characters were loveable and interesting. The music could have been better, but that is a personal beef. But the aniamation! Some of the scenes of New Orleans were breathtaking! Absolutly breathtaking! Bri and Chel have both been to New Orleans and they were super excited to see places they recognized. The colours of the movie were incredibly beautiful, very rich colours mixed with some softer shades. It really was just beautiful. Beyond that the story was really cute as well! It's set in the 1920's Jazz age, so there is some (not as much as I'd have liked to hear) Jazz music and lots of adorable flappers. Definatly try and see it! it really was incredibly wonderful!

After the movie there was a event held in Stage Three where you could go and meet Princess Tiana as well as all the other Princesses. Grace was so excited she just ran in circles (I'm not even joking. She was on little-girl-who-thinks-she's-a-princess crack). She got to meet and take pictures with ALL the Princess's including Ariel, who she is convinced is actually herself grown up. She's a "redhaired fishy-girl" so she and Ariel must be one right? (Grace learned how to swim before she could walk and swimming is her favourite activity. She is only four and does cannon balls in the deep end of our pool. The girl thinks she's actually a Mermaid.) Along with the meet-and-greet there was also interactive games for the kids like a Voodoo Darts game and some crazy bayou obstacle course/rope swing thing. They had an artist teaching how to draw some of the characters, and place to decorate your own Princess crown, various items from Disney live action films, and cupcakes. The cupcakes were all I really cared about, but I'll get to those later.

When we went to the little event thingy my mom discovered that they were giving short walking tours of the studio. My family are Disney freaks. Seriously. So they all jummped at the opportunity. Well the tour was actually incredible. We got to go through the animation building, the one where, oh a little film I like to call Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was drawn. They had stills and story boards and original drawings of many, if not most, Disney films hanging on the walls. We got to see the room where they hold the Disney Archives (Chelsea tried to break in, but our tour guide was less than happy that we were a little overly enthusiastic about the tour, and not her spiel. She kept making snide comments about how we brought up the rear and "insisted" on taking pictures.) as well as a collection of Disney hats (Mary Poppins!!), and the original multi-plane camera. The Court Yard of Legends was Spectacular! When you walk out of the Animation building you see these huge Dwarfs holding up the building. of course the arcitecture might have been my favourite aspect. I love Art Deco and there was pleanty of it around to make me a very happy girl. I've always loved looking at old pictures of the Disney studio in the 1920's because of the beautiful architecture (and the clothes of course) and it was very exciting to get to actually see the places first hand.

We went back to the event thing after the tour and feasted on cupcakes (omg. Cupcakes. Best. Things. Ever. if you can't tell I really love cupcakes.) and coffee, and took pictures with Princess Tiana. By that time it was time for us to leave. Then my dad stole a little plastic green frog footprint leading you to the event. (they were stuck on the ground and a sort of path indicator.) Overall it was an incredibly wonderful night and I highly reccomend seeing the movie!

My dad insisted on the photo on the left, and as for the right photo, my family is incapable of taking a picture where we're all actually looking at the camera or not looking like freaks. There are about seven of these, I ended up going with the one I look best in (hey this is my blog.).

I hope all of you have a very merry and safe New Year's Eve, a happy New Year! See you in 2010!

Year End

This is a very photo heavy post. Sorry!

Oops! I forgot to post yesterday! My excuse is actually very legitimate though. Dear Charissa needed a cheerup day and she's house sitting for some friends so Sarah, Bri and I headed over there armed with chick-flicks, junk food, and sundae makings. It was a glorious time of girl talk, eating, and crying at good movies (I'd never seen The Holiday before yesterday, can you believe that?)

I love these girls.

I'm still not done with my Christmas wrap up, but I'm going to take a break from that today to tell you about a really neat thing my friends and I are doing in lue of New Years Resolutions. We have each created an account with the Day Zero Project. The Day Zero Project is a thing where you come up with a list of 101 things you'd like to do in 1001 days. Bri, Charissa, Jessica, Sarah, and I are all doing this together. Coming up with our lists has been alot of fun. We each put up our own things and then check each other's lists for ideas to steal. This is mine. Some of them are incredibly dumb and cheesy, but what the hey. I still need to finish my list (I only have 75 things!), but I'm excited to get started on them. We all chose to start this on January 1st and are all very excited to start!

I was going to do a year wrap up and go month by month, but as I read through my archives something stood out to me. I really grew alot this year maturity wise. I've said over and over again just how good this year was, but it really struck me today (which was much needed considering that I wasn't in a very good mood this morning). I looked over past posts and could see myself grow and change, and mature, and I grew happier. I think I'm finally back to feeling like myself again.

When I was 17 I wanted nothing more than to go to Juilliard and be famous, and when that didn't happen and my plans fell through I was totally lost and I think I really lost alot of who I was. Maybe it wasn't evident to everyone else, but I knew I wasn't me, and I was so lost and confused. If I had to pin down the one event that finally woke me up I'd say it was my accident last September. It literally changed my life for the better. After that I slowly began to figure things out, came up with a new plan, started dressing waaaay better, and left behind the sad little girl I always saw myself as. I was back to being vivacious and happy, and happy-go-lucky and even was working my way back to being brave. The girl I was last December is not the girl I am now and I couldn't be happier about that. I look at pictures from the end of last year and beginning of this year and all I see is a little girl. Whereas now I look and pictures and think how much stronger and more confident I am. I like seeing that.

I don't mean to get all sappy and corny or emotional (thought I was so emotional this morning that I started bawling at a really poorly written country song (don't ask why I was listening to country music)), but the end of the year is a good time to reflect and I think I have alot to reflect on. I'm so happy to look back over the past year and smile. I'm proud of the changes I've made and the changes I'm making. I like who I've become and who I am becoming. This has been an incredible year for me and I can only took forward to the future. I'm excited to see what life throws my way and how those things change me. Overall I am just excited for life and all the new things it will bring. I sure hope 2010 is as good a year as 2009. I've got a sneaky feeling it will be!

I hope you all have a very wonderful (and safe) New Year's celebration! What are you most thankful for from this past year?

Christmas pt 2: The Par-tay

sorry for how late (and long) this is! I had a stupid petition to finish, and then the photos were being difficult, but I am still trying to keep up!

I had two Christmas parties to attend this year. The first one was my own. I invited a bunch of friends to come over and we made accessories for our hair and nibbled on way too many sweets. I only managed to take two pictures from before the party (and stupidly deleted them), so I have nothing to show you! I guess I was having too much fun to think about taking pictures! But it was so much fun!!

Bow- Lulu Letty, Earrings- Tower of London Jewel Shop,

Necklace- F21, Bag, Target, Tights- Hue,

Dress and Cami- H&M, Coat and shoes- Vintage

Party number two was alot of fun too! Every year my dear friends and I get together and exchange gifts right before Christmas. It doesn't always happen on the same day, or in the same way, but we always make it an event of sorts. So this year we all got dressed up and went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe (where we went to breakfast after Thanksgiving), then drove to my house for a gift exchange and to play some games.

Dinner was very yummy (Chicken Cordon Bleu!), and we talked loudly and laughed and told embarrassing stories and had a who-can-have-a-packet-of-sugar-stick-to-their-forehead-the-longest contest (it's me btw, though I think Charissa wants a re-match where my nose is not an advantage). It was a ton of fun! everyone was goofy and happy and it was just a plain old good time.
Then we went back to my house and exchanged gifts after which we played a riotous round of Apples to Apples and Taboo. Charissa beat me by one card on Apples to Apples. I see another re-match in our future.

And our gift exchange was so much fun! I got Charissa two musicals on vinyl, which she just recently decided to start collecting (as recently as last week too!), and I made her two headbands, a hair bow, and a flower clip. Jessica was fun to shop for and also so hard because I really just wanted to buy her a ton of ridiculous gifts. But I ended up getting her a day planner, a cookbook (she's been really into cooking), a little panda plush toy thing for her desk, animal print Origami paper, a package of Japanese peach gummy candies, and these cookies filled with chocolate with pandas playing various sports on them. For Sarah I found her a set of vintage paints and made her a earring and brooch set and a charm bracelet, ring, and necklace set. Plus my gifts looked really pretty! And I made out pretty well too!

Charissa got me this lovely vintage Coke tin sign (I love vintage Coke ads BTW. Once upon a time my whole room was decked out in vintage Coke paraphernalia), this adorable! mushroom baking pan, and the cutest record ever! I loved them all so very, very much!

And Jessica got me a gift card to H&M (she knows my weakness's far too well!) and this charming little "Saving up for some Shoes" bank! First off, I needed a bank like this, cuz I've got waaaaay too much change lying around my room, also um, hullo! It's shoes! Like I said, she knows my weakness's! I love, love, love them (and Jess too!)

(Charissa and Jess, I love you both so much! I thank God everyday that he has blessed me with your friendship! I honestly think I would not be the person I am today without all your love an support throughout the years! Thanks for being such wonderful friends/sisters/co-workers/and travel mates! I love you both so much!)

And then that darn lady I like to call my best friend went and made me this.

Wanna know what it is? Well first off, she painted the box. Yes she painted that wood grain. And then I opened the box and the tears started flowing. It's a box for my move. It's filled with the sweetest, most lovely things too! First off there is some tunes for the drive (my car is ancient and can only play tapes or the radio), and a hook up to play an iPod through the radio. And there is a drink cozy, because my car is ancient and has no cup holders. A wooden pencil to write home with. California themed air fresheners so I'll always have a little California with me. My new woodland friend (I really want to name him Steve or Sheldon. What do you guys think?), which will sit proudly on my dash as I drive up the coast, and then find a prominent home in my new home. Then there are some party poppers for when I finally arrive in my new place ready to start a new life. But you want to know the kicker? The real tear jerker? Sarah wrote me a letter for every hundred miles I go. Yep. There's also one for the state line, one for when I leave, and one for my arrival at my final destination. Because I am a curious little cuz I have felt all the envelopes (which I promise WILL remain sealed until their designated opening time), and many of them contain other things as well. I have no idea what, but I am so excited to find out. I can't even begin to express how touched I was by her gift (which the silly thing thought was lame!). I actually think I might have been speechless for a while (I know!). So Sarah, my dear best friend of nearly 18 years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't think you'll ever know how much this really means to me. I've never been given a more thoughtful or beautiful gift in my whole life. You are the best friend a girl could ever ask for. So thank you, thank you, thank you! Here's to another 18 years of insanity and wild adventures, because no matter how many thousands of miles come between us, you'll always be my best friend, you'll always be my sister from another mister, and I'll never tire of our crazy antics. I love you! You are truly a wonderful, beautiful, loving, and kind woman. I'm so glad you invited yourself over to my house when we were six.

I really hate to cry in front of others because I look like an idiot,and my nose turns very red and my eyes are even smaller than they usually are, but let me tell you, I just didn't care. Of course Charissa made sure to capture the moment on film, so you my dear readers get to enjoy my ridiculous cry face.

Christmas pt 1.

Alright guys, this has gotten out of hand! I litterally have about ten posts in the making to sum up my incredibly busy Christmas season (which is not over either!), so I have decided to do a series of posts coving the whole mess over the next week. I have some really, wonderful, awsome, funny, and exciting things to post about I hardly know where to start, so I'm just going to start at the beginning. So here is a funny little ditty and a cool crafty project to start us off!

My mess:

Gracie's mess:


Tuesday I made gift tags for all my gifts. I used my mom's Sizzix to cut the tags then drew the initial of the gift recipient, filled it with glue and covered it in glitter. They're very simple to make and alot of fun. What was more entertaining was what happened while I did this.

My mom and Chelsea went to go do last minute shopping leaving me with Grace. There is a rule in our house that when Grace is being particularly annoying (and believe you me, she can get very annoying especially when playing with glitter), we put on Twilight. She loves that movie with a deep and burning passion. What is most amusing is that she can (and I am not joking about this at all) quote the entire movie. She also discusses various aspects whilst watching. Observe:

Grace: I just really like Edward.
Ashley: uh-huh, that's nice Grace.
Grace: I mean he is alot like me.
Ashley: uh-huh, that's nice Grace.
Grace: Like he is moody and fair, and I am moody and fair.
Ashley: (with an eyebrow cocked)Really?
Grace: Yeah and he was mad at the boys who wanted to hurt Bella and I'm mad at the boys (our brothers)for hiding Twilight and not liking Edward. He's just so much like me. *Sigh*
Ashley: Grace watch the dang movie and be quiet.
Grace: Okay. Hey! We're making things glittery like Edward.
Ashley: yes we are.
Grace: oooo! Alice has cute shoes!

There was also a discussion as to why Edward and Emmett slammed into each other while playing baseball because that is not a nice thing to do to your brother, and why James is evil ("I just... I just don't know how he gotted that way. I mean for real, he is so mean."). And during this whole thing she made coffee, and drank a cup of coffee. She is four. She knows how to make coffee. She drinks a morning cup, an afternoon cup, and an evening cup now. She uses the kitchen stool to get her cup and then pour herself some. She does not need coffee. She'd already wired enough.

These are the gift tags we (I) made. They were really easy to do and ended up looking really pretty. After I made them of course I realized I could have just used glitter glue and called it a night, but what is the fun in that? The best part of these is that they'd be great for gifts in other seasons as well. The paper/glitter combination posibilities are endless! I got the idea from the December issue of Martha Stewart Living. The issue featured the initials placed on the actual wrapping paper as well, which would be really pretty too!

Here are a few of the tags in action. I really loved the way they came out. Definately doing this again!

I'll post more about the gifts I gave and recived tomorrow. This was a particularly wonderful gift year. If you ever doubt the impact a homemade gift can have, don't. Tomorrow is filled with a real tear jerker (well at least it made me bawl like a baby in front of my friends and family. Excpet pictures of my horrible "Cry Face" (a close relation of "Pose Face")).

I hope all of your Christmas's were wonderful and splendid!

The Big Squeeze

New song lyrics?: Candy Wrapper kisses

I'm trying to catch up with the goings on that have been, well, going on. This was supposed to be posted on Friday and for some reason wasn't. I hope everyone's Christmas and Holiday Preparations are going swimmingly! I have much to show you guys tomorrow, but for today I am off to Christmas Party #2 which will hopefully produce more photos than Christmas Party #1.

Thursday night I played at Open Mic Night. Remember Dreamboat Musician? Well he is now known as The Artist Formerly Known As Dreamboat Musician. We'll get there eventually. Anyways I played and it went really well actually! I mean as far as I can tell. I have this nasty habit of tending to zone out on stages. It can actually get really creepy to the point of I'll go do my thang get off stage and then ask people when I'm supposed to go on. I did this a few times at Voice Recitals in College. Creeped everyone out including me. But this time I got off the stage only half cognizant of what just happened and I felt good about it. Like proud and confident and happy with it. I know there were a few blips on the radar, but overall it was an A- performance. I'm okay with that for now. It was a good learning experience too. And I have figured out why I did so well and what I need to do before I perform from now on. The only reason I went was because Sarah forced me to. I wanted to go to bed but she said no go play it will be good, so I'm very glad she made me. But seeing as it is me, obviously something went horribly (and somewhat amusingly) wrong.

Sarah decided she wanted to stay at least until TAFKADM (see above) played (this was while he was still only known as DM). I'm pretty sure she just wanted an excuse to stare at him without seeming creepy. I mean the guy could pass for Adonis any day so it's no wonder he has this effect on people. Well in the mean time there is a young man who frequents the coffee shop who is retarded. I'm sure he is quite a lovely fellow and he does seem to be incredibly sweet, but unfortunately he developed a crush on me during the last three weeks. He kept coming up to me and being creepy and asking me really dumb questions about my music. Then he started asking about my personal life and all this nonsense and I complained to Sarah that it is always me that creepy seem to like, and he would just stand by my chair and look at me and then he asked if he could sit with us. Luckily Charissa and her boyfriend Ryan showed up and I told him they were staying with us, but then they decided not to stay and so he kept hanging around us like he was hoping for an invitation to sit. So he started to talk to me again about God knows what and I was trying to ignore him by talking with Sarah who is apparently incapable of having fake conversations and just got up and left because she didn't know what to do. Thanks friend for the abandonment (I'm kidding you know that.). It should be noted that I have absolutely nothing against mentally challenged people. Honestly I've known quite a few over the years, and I've always been kind and courteous and nice, and even did my best to treat them like normal people. it drives me nuts when people classify others because of a mental or physical limitation. People are people regardless of anything. They should be treated like people. I've always done my best to walk that talk. But this guy was just creepy. Like seriously uncomfortably creepy. I had to tell him some bull crap story about my boyfriend (which by the end of the night I think turned into a fiance) in order for him to leave me alone. It was so horrible. Though Sarah and I did agree that this is a step up. Even if I now attract retarded guys, I no longer attract gay guys so at least I'm getting people who are interested in my kind. It's a long story about the gay guys, but I've been in love with about four. It was a trying time in my life, and I still have horrible Gay-dar.

So then we're sitting there watching people sound like crap, and I look over at TAFKADM and there is some girl who I know for a fact is STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL! with her head on his shoulder. I sigh and shrug in defeat when he reaches his arm around her and goes for her boob. Then he went for a boob squeeze. Yep. In the middle of the room, with everyone around. I mean at least have the decency to take it to the bathroom guy. AND SHE'S FREAKING 17!!!! and a wannabe punk! Poor taste sir, poor taste. So I tell this to Sarah, she glares at him in disgust, but insists that we stay until he plays. So a half an hour before the thing is supposed to be over TAFKADM and Miss Jail Bait walk out of the building never to return. He didn't even sign up to play that night. So then Sarah was mad that we'd sat through Emotion Canvas (please click the link. Seriously your life will be changed) for him, so we left and went to Denny's on the way there Sarah called Charissa and Ryan and they met us there and we ended up staying to like one in the morning. I got home around 2:15 or 2:30 and finally got in bed at about 3:30. So all in all it was a really good night. RIP DM.

Emotion Canvas and their Christmas Sweaters. Yep.

The Tale of Ashley and The Shoes of Destiny

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ashley. She was a fun loving girl who liked to travel and to shop. Unfortunately doing one or the other of these usually led to her being unable to do the other. One July she saved money and went off with her dear friend Jess and dear sister Bri to San Francisco for five glorious days of fun. And fun they were. Unfortunately Ashley's bank account did not think this was fun and upon her arrival home she discovered that all her shopping funds had already been spent hunting San Franciscan Ghosts and eating Clam Chowder from a bread bowl. Ashley was saddened by this but prevailed. After all she is the heroine of our story and heroines usually prevail.



Well along came August a month most hot in Ashley's home of Southern California. Ashley did not do hot. She did not like hot, she did not tolerate hot. You should ask her about how frustrated she currently is with the fact that it is in the high 70's in the middle of December, but more on that later.





To combat the heat Ashley liked to wear sandals. She really enjoyed a good sandal. So one day while out window shopping she stumbled into an Urban Outfitters where a choir of angels began to sing and the heaven's parted shine their glorious light upon The Shoes. The Shoes were not fancy. There were not pretty either. They seemed rough in a way, yet still carried an air of daintiness. Thoughts of traipsing through Greece and Rome suddenly filled her minds eye. She could see herself wearing a flowey white dress and The Shoes as she wondered amid the ruins of Athens. She could see herself in the shoes and an Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday inspired skirt and shirt as she threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. They were the perfect shoe for travelling and they made her heart sing.

Ashley picked up the shoes knowing they would never fit her colossally big foot. But lo and behold they were her size. She tried them on. Oh how they fit! As if the gods had molded them for her foot alone. But Ashley knew she would never be able to afford them. She checked the price and gasped. The price tag showed a price of $150 (which she thought was a stupid and dumb price for such shoes even if they were perfect in every way). She sighed knowing it was not meant to be. Until she looked at the bottom of the tag. Oh Lo! What's this! They are on sale! FOR $20!!!! "Holy MoFo!" She exclaimed. and then she saw the last thing that sold her on these shoes. Down at the bottom of the tag was written "Last Pair in Store!" and Ashley skipped to the register. However once she was three people from the line she remembered that there was exactly $4.23 in her bank account. her heart sunk. She knew she couldn't make off with her beloved shoes. Despite all their gloriousness, she was still suffering financially from her travels. She was conflicted. Spend money she didn't have and become the owner of the perfect shoes, or be responsible because the likelihood of her actually getting to travel to Greece and Italy would be less likely if she did in fact buy The Shoes. With a heavy heart Ashley got out of line, put the shoes back and slowly walked out of the store. Her dreams were dashed.


December rolled around and for some annoying reason the weather was not co-operating. While other people had lovely thick blankets of snow about them, she was stuck with windy, dry, mid-70's. She was peeved. And when she was peeved Ashley let off steam by getting lost in an Thrift store for an hour or three (usually three). Her first stop was her favourite Thrift shop. It was run by old ladies who thought Ashley was charming and sweet. They found her old lady ways delightful. They began to save things they thought she might like for her. They included supplemental cookbooks to the cookbooks she collected, little 70's plaques that she couldn't get enough of, and vintage little girl's clothing. She was a very happy girl despite the heat.




Ashley left this thrift store and headed over towards Goodwill. It should be noted that she had become uncharacteristically responsible with money over the past months and now did not need to worry about spending $20 on something she really loved. This had been helped by the fact that she only shopped thrift stores now and stayed far, far away from Target. So on to Goodwill she went. she browsed the dresses, she browsed the bags, She browsed the figurines for anything freaky. She then began to browse the shoes. She looked and looked, and looked and then she stopped. A brown strap hung beneath a plastic hooker boot. The strap called to her. She moved the hooker boot and there they were. The Shoes. No! It couldn't be! Ashley picked them up. They were the very same shoes. Frantically she flipped them over. Stuck on the bottom was a sticker marked $150, on sale for $20, Last pair in the store, and a size gigantic. The very exact same shoes were now before her, in her hands once again. The price! She thought. She was sure that they had been marked up to some stupid price like $10 or something, but she didn't care they would be hers. And then she found the little green sticker. The price? $3.99. she looked again. They were still $3.99. And then she bought them with visions of Roman escapades, and Greek food running through her deliriously happy mind.




And that my friends is how Ashley found The Shoes of Destiny.

Has Destiny ever found you in a thrift store?