A to Z's of Me!

What is that you say? You want to know the A to Z's of me? Well, sure I'll give you those! No problem! Oh, and that picture of me? It's from last night when I dressed as a Toddlers and Tiara's pageant girl. Be afraid.

A. Age: 18.5
B. Bed size: Twin XL (go college!)
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning a bathroom. Luckily I don't have to right now.
D. Dogs: Zoey. But she's home in California. :(
E. Essential start to your day: Lying there for a few minutes and checking twitter on my iPad.
F. Favorite color: light blues!
G. Gold or Silver: Gold most definitely.
H. Height: 5’4. Shorty over here!
I. Instruments you play: I can play the piano a wee bit.
J. Job title: Student! Though I wish I had some income right now.
K. Kids: Nope. That would be concerning. But I can't wait to have some someday!
L. Live: hot Arizona (when will it become fall!?)
M. Mother’s name: Denise
N. Nicknames: Allie (real names Allison)
O. Overnight hospital stays: When I was born.
P. Pet peeves: Slow walkers that take up the entire sidewalk. Yes, I am going to walk around you and I hope you notice. Thank you and have a nice day.
Q. Quote from a movie:
“I had to give them faith in their own voice. I had to let them know friends were listening.” It's my career motto. (Speech Therapist in training right hurr!)
R. Right or left handed: Righty.
S. Siblings: 2 younger sisters
U. Underwear: Definitely wear it.
V. Vegetable you hate: Asparagus. Yuck!
W. What makes you run late: On the computer for too long.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: My teeth and my knee.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Chocolate chip banana bread. Yum!
Z. Zoo animal: Penguins!


Be Still My Heart





Do you guys remember having charm bracelets as a child?
Well, I've decided I want one...again. These charms from
Anthropologie are just too good to be true. I got the
email from Anthro the other morning and knew they were
calling to me. They need to stop tempting me like this.
My bank account can't handle it.

This is when you realize how weird I am...


I got a cozy sweater yesterday. I made a video of me
loving my cozy sweater. And this is when you realize
I'm a complete goofball. oh, and that i also randomly
break out into British accents almost hourly.

and I'm ok with it. :)

On Taking a Stand

Baby elephant
yesterday i noticed something. after being on facebook, i felt a tad depressed. basically i was feeling bad for myself and realized that this facebook thing isn't helping my homesickness or anything that it should be doing. instead, it was either making it worse or just making me a jealous person. and i don't like being a jealous person.

so i'm taking a stand. for a week, i am going to be facebook-less. it's going to be hard... especially this weekend but i think overall it'll help me with my classes and with my morale. there's no need for something that'll pull me down instead of build me up. am i right?

but i'll still be on twitter and here of course. no worries there. :)

the baby elephant really has nothing to do with this besides the fact that he is SO adorable. i mean really?!

I have the best Best Friend

I was having a kind of ho-hum day (despite the perfect weather and the fact that I witnessed my first flash mob-nothing like the Modern Family one but hey, I don't live in a sitcom) but then I checked my mail and best friend, Katie, sent me a care package! Oh, happy day!
(also, we watched Pan's Labyrinth in English and holy bezeesus it's creepy!)
Look at all those goodies!
1. Sour Patch Kids-favorite candy
2. Fruit snacks- favorite indulgence (that I wasn't allowed to have as a kid so therefore I make people feel bad for me and give me their fruit snacks. Muah haha)
3. Kleenex-I've been sick
4. Bendy Buddy!-16th birthday party inside joke
5. a letter- I love letters!
6. a Princess Tiana Pez dispenser!- favorite princess
7. Nutella packets- where have you been all my life?
8. Fuzzy socks!- best things ever invented or sewn together.
But wait! There's more!
9. The newest People-I'm a major pop culture fanatic
10. A Keep Calm And... custom made Disney desk topper. (That's
what I'm calling it because I don't know what it's called. So creative!)

Basically, I have the greatest best friend and I want to give her a big hug,
but I can't because we are about 1000 + miles away. :( 22 days!

If you have a friend like Katie, you should give them a hug. Because
friends like these are one in a million. Am I right? :)

What I'm Watching

I am really picky about what I watch on TV. The way I see
it is that I am a busy college student and don't have a lot
of time to sit around and watching shows I don't love.
Lately, these are the shows that I will drop everything
for at the end of the day and relax and watch.

First up:
Modern Family.
It never ceases to crack me up and remind me of my
family at home. Because honestly, my mom is Claire. No joke.
(and I love her for it)

Second:
Pan Am.
I'm a sucker for anything that takes place during the 1940's
to the 1960's so this fits that perfectly. Everything down to the
clothes, the drama, and the little history lesson is wonderful.

Third:
The New Girl
Favorite new show this season. I have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel
ever since (500) Days of Summer and in this, she is unstoppable.
Click on the image below to see it better.
And lastly:
Once Upon a Time
This show just started on Sunday and I watched the pilot last night.
I'm also a sucker for anything fairytale-esque so this fits that slot.
The pilot left me intrigued and I can't wait to see what's going to happen
in following episodes and how the characters will develop. And by golly,
is Snow White/Mary Margaret and Prince Charming/John Doe ever
going to be together again?! Ah!


What are you watching?

A Music Kind of Day

record player
Photo: Here

It's as if itunes and all the artists who released
Christmas albums today knew we needed some good music
put out and gosh darnit, we need it released on a Monday.
Is there any better day lifter than some new Christmas music
by Michael Buble and She & Him? Or say some new Coldplay?

So if anyone asks, I'll be daydreaming today about colder weather, snow,
and listening to the heavenly sounds of Zooey Deschanel and Michael Buble.
Oh, and you should head on over to itunes or where ever you buy your music
and check out these albums. They're perfection.

I'm All Ears

This weekend my Grammie came to visit me and my cousin and
we went and visited some friends. (Does this not remind
you of Lion Kin 1.5?)
I also got to see what hearing is like for a bat. Preeeeeetty neat.
I've loved having my Grammie here, especially because I caught
my first cold of being in college. She brought me some cookies
and has given me many hugs. Just what the doctor ordered. :)

Hope your weekend has been wonderful!

Let's Hear Some Jazz

Last night I went to a jazz concert at my school and it was
delightful. Jazz is my kind of music. I like the big band, the way the
sounds wash over you and takes all your cares away, the
ideas of days gone by and if there is some vocals thrown
in, than I'm really in Heaven. The only thing I wish had been
different is if I got to wear a dress like any of the ones below
to such an event. Why don't we dress up fancy for these types
of events? It's a shame really....


I wish each of these were in my closet right now and I had
somewhere wonderful to wear them to. :)

What I'm Loving: Furniture

You may already know this, but I'm designing my room at home when
I go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. I am putting a lot of
thought into it and have been loving perusing sights such as
Anthropologie for inspiration. These are some pieces that I found
and love!

This chair. So unique!
I don't even know what to say. I just love this.
This is the dream bed from my childhood. Holy smokes.
Beautiful mustard rug. I want!
This chair looks comfy and it's gorgeous.

Oh, Anthropologie, you never cease to amaze me...
Sunrise From Florida's Front Porch
I hadn’t been paying much attention to things like the sunrise, but that old sun had been coming up anyway. It didn’t really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me.
- Jeannette Walls

The Change-Up!

I have been a blonde all my life. Came out of the womb as a blonde baby
and have stayed blonde ever since...ok, there was a short while where
I was a red head but we don't talk about those times.

But then I started getting these annoying roots...

and my whole family is brunette anyways sooooo...
guess who dyed her hair brunette?!? That's right, me.

It's going to take some serious getting used to but I like it. :)
What do you think?


Big Surprise Tomorrow...

i'm doing quite the change up tomorrow and i'm SO excited. like jumping up and down kind of excited. (ergo me jumping off a dock)

i'll share it with all of ya tomorrow but for now, you should listen to The Civil Wars because they are beautiful people and sing beautiful songs.

Here's the video to make it easier for ya:

New obsession: Turtles

this week has been complete mayhem. no time for rest, just absolute non stop studying. can you say fun week?

today after my first midterm of the day (1 of 2) i had some extra time before my second midterm. i had gone to the turtle pond on campus before, but not for a long period of time to just sit there and watch the adorable turtles swim around and let life pass around me.

so today i did just that. i sat on a nice shady bench and studied a bit more while listening to the rippling water and seeing little turtle heads come out of the water. afterwards i looked for some of the bigger turtles and was amazed by their beauty.

i may have a new obsession with turtles and i'm ok with it. plus, just sitting there in this little secret spot on campus was a definite highlight of my week. (is that sad?)

Borrowed Words

Picture: Here
"and you wake one morning to find you're a better person. filled with the love of an orchestra or the love of small, tangible, wriggly words--and those words open worlds and life thrums along. only different, better. and you live your life as though it is the last night on earth because you already lost everything once and you came back from it so fear doesn't have the same hold. and we're all living on some line, some edge, some axis anyway--might
as well enjoy our own precarious placement in the universe."

-These words were from Meg's blog post. I found them
way too beautiful not to be shared.

Disneyland Love


I know this has been moving around the blogosphere and other places
but I HAD to share. This just makes me even more excited for
Disneyland and to eventually have kids someday so they can share
in my excitement. Fingers crossed I have a little girl like this one.
Happy Monday! :)

the waiting game


i'm doing it again. the comparing. it's a slippery slope and i always turn back to it. it's intoxicating. and i always tell myself: STOP! yet, that only throws a sheer cover over the problem and once it rises again the cover is thrown off and i'm back in that abyss.

i know the man God intends for me is out there. i know because i have to tell myself this or else i'll go crazy. it seems like everyone is getting in a relationship left and right and i'm stuck in thick sand. i'm unable to move for myself but perfectly able to watch everyone around me pair up.

i know this is a waiting game but this waiting is getting long and my hope is being strained. perhaps i'm not ready. i need to make a conscious effort to trust in Him and know my path is set.

but my oh my, it is hard.

photo from tumblr.

A Quote a Day...

Found this picture and this quote off of Tumblr and decided i adore them. yes, very much. and i hope you do also. :)

Beauty

i'm really lucky. as much as i complain about living in the desert, lately it's like the desert has been showing off. today we have a cool and crisp high of 68 degrees and yesterday there was a high of 66. my roommate and i walked around the older part of campus (stunning architecture) and we saw this little tree grove and i was speechless.

a tree grove in the desert? what? they're orange trees! plus it's by the cutest dorm on campus and the inside looks like main street in disneyland. (yes, we crept in...)

i think finding beauty wherever i am is one of those lessons that has hit me the hardest while i've been here. kind of like the love actually quote at the beginning of the movie (but excuse my lack of a british accent and not sounding like hugh grant)

"if you look for it, *beauty's* actually all around."

amen.

*supposed to be "love"

Something Good

Picture found Here

lately i've been easily excitable. even more so than i normally am and that's saying a lot. it only takes something small to make me instantly happy and i've decided i like this about myself. yes, i'm pointing out something i like about myself. you heard that right.

so often i find we point out each and every flaw and instead of doing that, i'm going to point out something i enjoy about myself. and if you want to join along, PLEASE do! let's all praise one another instead of putting the other down. amen?

here are some things that make me excitable:

my friend making the whistle sound that you hear when you enter Disneyland. (makes me absolutely giddy)

this weather. yesterday i walked outside and almost cried the weather was so perfect.

thanksgiving coming up and the fact that i get to go home!

new friends and old friends that i can still talk to like a total goofball

and what about you?

What I'm Loving...

What I'm Loving Right Now:
These beauties. Too bad I am a broke
college student. haha

care packages sent from friends

cute little notes on my lemonade bottle

cloudy days that cool the weather down

my first day of having hot apple cider!!

my new favorite show. Seriously,
if you haven't watched it yet... go to your
DVR and schedule it to record tomorrow!

What are you loving?

all photos from Pinterest or from me.

Eye-Opening Experiences

Brick
Photo: Here
i have found that there are moments in life that make you feel small... in a good way. they put you in your place and remind you that the world is much bigger than you'd expect.

on saturday i went to Nogales, Mexico to feed breakfast to migrants. it was a beautiful and eye-opening experience. something i want to do again and again. these people have next to nothing and yet have smiles on their faces. i have everything and often times i'm not smiling as much as i should be.

my spanish is horrific. (No hablo espanol. Lo siento.) yet i smiled my way through and heard their stories because someone needs to. while i don't necessarily respect illegal immigrants jumping the border, i have to give them credit for never giving up hope. just before i was leaving, a young man (who had been caught numerous times before) was saying how he was going to begin the journey again.

it's these kinds of experiences that i want to have every day. helping people and going outside of my little world and myself.

what experiences like mine have you encountered?

Sunday morning

sunday morning:
i rolled myself out of bed. decided it was a crepe kind of day. also decided it was time i wore my saints jersey to help support Drew Brees and the boys. on the way home, i saw a rosy vespa. oh, and all of this plus i bought a cappuccino.

hello, sunday morning. you're looking beautiful today.
(and so are you)

the world is pink

last night i was a happy gal. i had a be-lazy-and-do-nothing-but-watch-love-actually type of night. and then, i put on pandora and put my mat kearney playlist on and everything's perfect. the only light in the room was my pink christmas lights and our firefly lights. i wish i could fall asleep to this playlist and it would turn off right when i drift into sleep land. work on that Apple.
oh yeah, and i did my hair. like my up-do?