New Favorite Thing...

I have a new favorite item in my life.

I haven't bought myself a new perfume in years. The last one I had, MAC's MV2 (it was a lovely and soft play on vanilla... divine!) was given to me for my 21st birthday, and I finally used it all up last year. Since then, I haven't really had the desire to purchase a new one, but I guess I hadn't really thought of the type of perfume I'd like to have in the first place. I really enjoyed my MAC one, but I wasn't about to spend a ton of moola on a small bottle of perfume.

Finally, a few weeks ago I was introduced to Victoria's Secret's cutie little gem, "Love Me," thanks to my homegirl, Alyssa. Not only is the bottle completely adorable, but the perfume itself is just wonderfully smelling. According to the description on the VS website, it is "a smitten mix of bright florals and luscious fruits," with "Wile berries, Madagascar orchid, and musk," and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. I was with a man-friend when I made this (amazing) purchase, and this was his favorite scent out of the other 3 I sampled... he loves it! ;) Also, when I bought it, I got $10 off, so it made it even more rewarding for me!

Here is a photo of the bottle with its box so that you may know what to look for if you so wish to add this to your Eau de Parfum collection. :)

I'm completely over winter. I found these photos on my computer and they reminded me of warmer weather, so here's to hoping that posting these will speed up the process of Spring finally arriving!

  

Woops...

Soooo... It's been awhile, huh? My bad. I don't like making excuses (yeah, right...), but I pretty much had the busiest couple of months ever. Between the last weekend of September through the first weekend of November, I was out of town every weekend but one, and I put close to 3,000 miles on Consuela, my Camry. She's a good girl. :) I had the best weekends ever, with two of my closest friends being the most beautiful brides, taking a work/play trip to Florida, doing some other wedding things, seeing friends whom I missed so dearly, and getting to spend time with my lovely family. Although I was outrageously busy, I would not have traded any of what I did with anything else; it truly was an amazing fall season for me. Oh, also, I turned 24, which I didn't freak out about; actually, I don't really think I had time to freak out about it, and I got an awesome watch from my awesome s-mom. Thanks, A!

I've also expanded on my photographic repertoire and have added some portraits to my mostly-nature/landscape portfolio. My brother (finally) proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Sarah, in August or September (I honestly can't remember, but I think it was September haha), so I decided to try my hand at some portraits and did an engagement shoot with the two of them.  For my first go at portraits, I think I did a pretty decent job; they at least loved them, so that's all that matters! There is a slideshow at the end of this post with a few of my more favorite shots of the two of them, so feel free to take a look! ;)

My great friend, Alyssa, recruited me to take some pics of her ADORABLE niece, so I was also able to experiment with my first baby photo shoot! It was so much fun, and I am seriously obsessed with this little nugget, Emma. She has the biggest and most beautiful blue eyes, two cutesy little bottom teeth, and the roundest cheeks! Emma was a breeze to shoot, and was so cooperative for a 7 1/2 month old. I guarantee that your heart will melt when you look at some of her photos (down at the bottom, too).

And now it's 2011... I can't even believe it. I got to ring in the new year with one of my best girls, Vaness, and the awesome DJ-ing twins, DJ Milk N Cookies. It was one of the most fun new year celebrations I've had to date, and I'm so excited for what this year will bring me and my closest loved ones: a new life of togetherness (shoutout to the bro and almost sis!); love for some (aka, me?); happiness; success; contentment; etc. I'm hoping that I'll get back to the Chicago area so that I can be with my closest friends and stop missing everybody so much.

I don't want to bore you with much more of my life's minute details, so enjoy some of the photos in the slideshows below so that you can get caught up on my life's happenings. I'll be back soon with some actual substance. ;)

Autumn 2010


KC and Sarah


Baby Emma




Here's my photo of the day:

So, as you may or may not know, I am obsessed with my dog, Preston. OBsessed. He is the coolest pet I've ever had (minus my childhood dog, Allie [RIP]), and this photo is from the summer. I've forgotten about it until today when I (accidentally) printed out an 8x10 of him at work. Now he's taped to the wall behind my desk so he stares at me all day. I just love him. :)

SYTYCD...

I never understood why exactly the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance" is called "America's Favorite Dancer."  Shouldn't it be "America's Best Dancer" or is that just a silly question?  People audition and make it to "Vegas Week" and sometimes into the Top 20 because of their skills and technique and ability to dance, not because they're well-liked as a person.  I feel like the whole aim of the show is sometimes off, and this season makes me question it even more.  Sometimes I think the show is rigged to give those contestants who have struggled in their lives the chance to "make it" or "be somebody" or something.  That's fine, and reputable, but I've really only seen 2 winners (Sabra from Season 3 and Jeanine from Season 4) who encompass everything; they have "the whole package," if you will.  We'll talk about Season 6, for example.  Jakob Karr.  Need I say more?  Maybe to those of you who don't watch the show (and shame on you for that; the world of dance is under-appreciated, but this show brings to light how important and incredible an art form it truly is... I'm off my soapbox now... kinda), but the winner of Season 6 should not have been between Jakob Karr and Russell Ferguson.  And Russell Ferguson should not have been the winner.  I mean, I'm sure he's a great guy and all of that, but Jakob clearly should have won.  His technique, his humbleness, the way he's always there for his partners, his technique... I could go on for days about him.  Well, maybe not days, but longer than I just did.  Anyway, the winner should have come down to Jakob and either Kathryn or Ellenore.  And I would have been completely satisfied with either of those 3 winning (Ellenore was actually my favorite all season, but that's neither here nor there).

This season, the 7th season, has blown me away.  I questioned the decision to only do a top 10 of contestants and include contestants from past seasons (rightfully dubbed the "All-Stars"), and, not wanting to disappoint, the producers decided upon a top 11 to include Billy Bell (who is just too good).  I feel like they should have also included Ryan Ramirez to make a Top 12, and keep the number of girls and boys equal, but whatever.  I think that the people who vote are blind.  Aside from all the injuries that have happened (which has been ridiculous), I don't understand how some of the contestants made it as far as they did (i.e. Jose and Adechike).  My favorites from the beginning, Lauren and Kent, are still on the show, obviously, and it's going to come down to either of them.  Quote me.

Lauren's solo from the Top 6 Performance show this past Wednesday (the 28th) is posted below for you to see.  I literally yelled in my kitchen while I was watching this.  She is so amazing and if she isn't Top 2, I will be dumbfounded.  I also am going to post her audition solo and her Vegas Week solo.  And I'm going to post the video of a piece she danced with Kent because my heart melted and it was just so perfect.

Top 6 Solo

lauren solo 62 @ Yahoo! Video

Initial Audition


Vegas Week Solo


Contemporary Piece with Kent (Choreographed by the AMAZING Travis Wall)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2yaqxcVzM
(The embedding for this dance has been disabled by request, which is irritating, so I apologize)

SO YEAH.

I went to DC for the first time EVER 2 weeks ago.  It ruled.  There is a slideshow of some of my favorite photos below (I recently got the Nikon D5000 DSLR camera, and I may or may not have ended up taking 500 pictures in a 4-day time span... I don't hate it!), so feel free to peruse through them. =)

Thanks for reading! =)

Jar of Hearts...

Sounds kind of morbid, no? Well, maybe it is, but I've recently become an avid listener of the song "Jar of Hearts," by Christina Perri, and by "avid listener," I mean that I play it on repeat... a lot.  The sad news about Christina Perri is that her album is yet to be completed, but the good news about her is that she is making one and I just know that it's going to be fabulous.  She has a really dynamic voice, and if you're ever on youtube look her up; she has some self-uploaded vids of her strumming on her guitar and singing songs that she's written in the past, and they shouldn't be ignored. =)

I first heard portions of this song on an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" (sytycd, for short) 2 weeks ago, and instantly had to look her up. "Jar of Hearts" is her only song on iTunes at the moment, so it's all that's holding me over right now! Here is the video of the piece, choreographed by one of my favorites, Stacey Tookey, and it is beautifully danced by Billy Bell (season 7 contestant) and Kathryn McCormick (season 6 contestant; season 7 all-star):

And here is the whole song:



I feel like I can connect with this song. I've had my heart broken, quite recently in fact, and the culprit played around with that for a little while; I feel empowered after listening to this song, and it helps me not to dwell on my bitter feelings and those of sadness as well. My favorite part of the song is this:

"And it took so long just to feel alright

Remember how to put back the light in my eyes

I wish I would have missed the first time that we kissed

'Cause now you broke all your promises

And now you're back

You don't get to get me back

And who do you think you are

Running around leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

Don't come back for me

Don't come back at all..."

It's kind of like a big "FUCK YOU," but I dig it. It makes sense to me. It helps to keep me together. I really am thankful for the world of dance; many of the artists I've been exposed to in the past couple of years have a lot to do with SYTYCD. Choreographers bring to light pressing issues or stories that portray real emotions that allow the audience to connect with it on a deeper level. Artists and creators of all kinds support each other, and I really admire that.

Pic of the Day:

From Casperson Beach in Venice, Florida. June 2010.

Doesn't Matter What Comes Crashing Down...

...I'm still gonna stand my solid ground. - lyrics taken from Mat Kearney's "Won't Back Down"

Lately I've been making really great playlists. Here is one I made when I was in Florida last week (it doesn't have a title... there could easily be one based on my song choices, though, I'm sure):

.Carry Me Through - Dave Barnes
.Almost Honest - Josh Kelley
.Wheel - John Mayer
.The High Road - Broken Bells
.Let It Be - The Beatles
.Won't Back Down - Mat Kearney
.The Promise - Tracy Chapman
.Cello Song - Nick Drake
.Skinny Love - Bon Iver
.Elizabeth - RuRu
.I'd Rather Be With You - Joshua Radin
.Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson
.Bloodline - Matt Morris
.Dancing Shoes - Gavin DeGraw
.The Thief & The Heartbreaker - Alberta Cross
.The Story - Brandi Carlile

When I'm feeling blue, or tired, or chill I really enjoy listening to this playlist. I happen to be listening to it as I write, and that's because I'm all three of the moods I previously mentioned.  When I'm sad, it doesn't necessarily make me feel any better; I can just kind of get lost in these tracks and not think about anything. The sadness usually seems to come back though. Oh well.

Today I saw "Toy Story 3" with my dear friend, Vanessa, and it was really wonderful. I mean, all Pixar movies hold quite the reputation, and this one definitely did not disappoint.  There was humor, action, and adventure, in addition to some really endearing moments (which may or may not have made me cry), and, as always, morals that hold true from childhood through adulthood.  If you haven't seen it, you really should, just like you should see Toy Story 1&2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Wall-E, UP, etc.  Bring tissues to have on hand for some, though, especially if you happen to be more of an emotional person, as several of these tend to tug a little bit on your heart strings.

So there were some CRAZY storms in Chicago on Wednesday the 23rd.  Here is a video of one of the most amazing natural wonders that I've ever seen:

Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.


It's pretty incredible if you ask me. Especially how he (Craig Shimala) took the time to show us several slowed-down versions to see how it all plays out.  I love it so much... nature is so cool!

So I went to Florida, as I mentioned earlier. It was a really great trip. I won't bore you with details, but I'm including a couple photos that I took in a little slideshow below for your viewing pleasure. Because of the slideshow, which you can enjoy at your leisure by clicking the arrows on the right or left of the photo, I'm foregoing a Pic of the Day portion of this entry because I can't just choose 1-3 to include here.  In my posts to come, I'll definitely add some just by themselves so that you can see them better. If you have questions about any of them, feel free to ask in the comments below. Or feel free to leave comments if you have cool things to say about them. Because that would rule! And, I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about the majority of my photos from this trip. =)

Florida 2010

Sorry I was so absent from posting... =(

...Annnnnd okay, I lied. Here's one photo I really really reallyyyy had to share:

This was taken at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida. I can't believe I spotted this little guy as I was just walking down the trail. Amazing! Lovely! Beautiful! Caterpillars RULE! =)

The Best Things In Life...

...are free? Or do you go with the saying that ends with "aren't things" because I'm really not too sure about either.  I'll give you my 2 cents about each, so bear with me here.

"The best things in life are free," is a saying that has been around for ages.  I'm not taking it from the song "Money (That's What I Want), as I only picture the Tiny Toons characters singing this song in cartoon form.  Regardless of where the saying actually came from, I disagree with this statement completely.  Not only can you use money to purchase your most favorite things (for me it might be shoes, or a camera, or some other material item... does that make me a horrible person?), but there is also the fact that every action taken or every thing in general has some sort of cost to it.

For example:
-Say you are sick one day and can't possibly make it to work or school or whatever other obligation you may have.  Sure, you're helping to not spread your illness around to everyone else, but you could miss a deadline, or an exam, or a dance recital or some other really important sporting event.  Face it: you're screwed at work because you can't make up your deadline or your test at school and there was only one show for your dance recital or it was the championship game and the team really needed you.  Sucks, right?  The best thing for some people is to work, or to go to school, or to dance, or to play football/basketball/volleyball/etc. and not only did you miss out on something that could have been really memorable and great for you, but now you're stuck with the constant reminder that you couldn't be there because of something that was basically out of your control.
-Or maybe you, for some reason, are one of those people who lives your life thinking that one of the best things in life is love.  I mean, that's fine, but are you stupid?  You have to be!  Sure, love can be a great thing, I know that, I've been there when it's been really wonderful.  But you really have to be completely naive to think that love in whatever form is free.  I know you might be thinking "wow look at you, ya huge cynic," or "okay, so since it's not free, what's the cost?"  This is the cost of love: everything.  You give yourself fully to someone (or something, if it's like a dog or a pet or whatever) not really weighing the possible outcomes until you've put it all out there.  Then suddenly, it's like BOOM!  Here's the other party ripping out so much of your soul, the soul you've worked so hard to protect for your whole life because your soul is what makes you you.  Even if it's not someone breaking up with you or cheating on you, you probably love your pet and then it inevitably dies because that's life.  You aren't expecting to feel the way you end up feeling and it's really just a huge load of bullshit.  If we as humans are supposed to love others the way that we do, why are we cursed with knowing what the opposite feels like?  Is there really always a need for balance in all areas of life?  Am I completely in the wrong and/or insane for feeling or thinking this?

Now, some people may go the other way and say this: "The best things in life aren't things," and fine if you think so, but I'm not so sure about this one either.  Everything is a "thing."  Feelings and emotions are things.  Nature is made up of things (like flowers, trees, the sky, the dirt, etc.).  I mean, maybe I'm just not completely understanding the magnitude of this quote, or maybe I'm too literal, or something, but I feel like this saying was also said and believed by someone completely naive or ignorant to his surroundings.

I'm just now realizing how much of a downer I was in this post, but I had a long day.  People, well, one person in particular actually, really got under my skin today, I had my first day at my new job, I'm sore from working out yesterday, and my dog farted something fierce in my face while I was watching TV earlier.  I'm sorry if I brought you down; it's obviously not my intention to change the mood of my readers for the worse.  I just needed to vent, and it was too late to go running, and I'm better with my words than anything else.

PoD:

 

Story:  Taken in Australia, these three photos were among my favorites from the two-week trip I was fortunate enough to go on (thanks, Mom!).  The first picture is of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which I was obsessed with by the way, and I love it so much because of how I can still see part of it inside of the lamp, even though it's warped.  I think that's what makes it so great!  The second one is of the cutest little seal I've ever seen in my life.  My mom and I took a two-day tour of this island (Kangaroo Island - cliche kind of) and I saw this little girl when we were at Seal Bay.  Tourists from all over come to Seal Bay, and the amazing part about this little park is that you aren't allowed to touch the seals or feed them or anything, and you have to stay on the boardwalks at all time.  You can go down onto the beach, but usually the seals stay away from people because they are scared.  This little girl was modeling for me and I got this amazing shot.  And then the third photo is one of my all-time favorites.  This little kangaroo is just so adorable.  Still on our tour of Kangaroo Island, the tour group stopped at a honey farm (we tried honey ice cream - omg amazeballs!) and this little guy had kind of domesticated himself and became a part of the family of one of the honey farmers.  He was hopping around outside the gift shop and he wanted me to pet him and when I stopped, he gave me this face.  Perfect photo.  So incredibly charming and lovable... but my mom wouldn't let me bring him home with me.  Talk about a Debbie Downer (wah wahhhhhhh)...

It's not "Goodbye..."

It literally has been 2 months and 5 days since my last post.  I suck!  But I haven't been inspired to write much of anything anyway, so I guess it's not so terrible.  I promised myself that when I re-vamped my whole blog awhile back, I'd only write when I felt compelled to or if something really moved me and pushed me to write about it, which is why I've been lacking on the posts.  If you're an avid reader of my blog, I apologize for not providing you with anything new to read, but I'd rather read something that's important and personal over something that's just written to take up space.  But that's just me.  =)

So I'm moving.  To Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It's really not all that exciting, except for the part where I have 2 big closets in my room (!!!!!!) and that I have a job!  Hooray me!  It's been a year since I graduated college, and I'm finally doing something with my life.  I didn't think it would take this long, but when one doesn't really apply herself, it should probably have taken longer.  Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.

People keep asking me if I'm sad about leaving.  And some people are much more self-centered than I had remembered, too.  About leaving, I'm not completely torn up about it.  There are people that I wish I could take with me because I love them so ("I could eat you up, I love you so," --Where the Wild Things Are), and these are the people I will miss every day (I won't name names, but these people know who they are) and these are the people about whom I'm sad to leave.  But then part of me is excited.  And then I realize that I'm also nervous, scared, anxious (in both a bad and a good way), and sometimes I just want to lay in my bed and cry.  I never thought that I could feel so many feelings all at the same time.  When it came time for me to leave for college, I wasn't sad one bit.  Maybe that's because I knew I would come back.  This time, I still know I'll come back, but it won't be the same.  I've changed my address, moved all of my clothes, hung pictures and other things on the walls, opened up new bank accounts, I'm in the process of transferring my medical records to new doctors, and I'm about to get an Indiana driver's license.  My mom is happy for me, but it's getting harder for her to cover up her sadness over me leaving; her random hugs keep becoming longer and more secure.  This hurts my soul.  I mean, it makes me feel kind of good because I know that she loves me, but it's making it more difficult each day before I leave to actually make that leap.  But I'll get through it.

Several of the people I told about me moving gave me this response: "You're moving?! NOOOO how could you do this to me?!"  I thought it was a joke.  I thought it would be followed with something similar to: "Haha, just kidding! I'm so happy for you, congratulations! That's so great!" but no.  No congratulatory hug or anything.  I mean, sure, it's okay to be sad that a friend is leaving.  But obviously I have to think of myself here.  Am I right?  Or is that too selfish to want to start my career and begin making money and working to become independent?  Help me out here if I'm completely in the wrong...  (Sorry for the rant.  I was just really taken aback when those actions played out.)

I'm not sure if there is anything else I could write about me leaving.  I'm still really confused in my head and my heart, and I still feel like crying a lot.  I feel like this happens to a lot of people.  Obviously it wasn't an easy decision to make, but it's not like I'm trying to hurt anybody by leaving either.  And it's not like I'm moving to someplace really far away, like California or Florida or something.  I'm about 3 1/2 hours away via car, and pretty much anyone has an open invitation to come visit me.  =)


As promised, here's a pic of the day (actually, here are several):

  

Story: I love tulips.  They are my favorite flower, well, one of them, and I can't ever get enough of these beauties.  Not only are they so perfectly simple and amazingly pretty and have a vast array of petal colors, but they are really the first flowers to bloom in the spring, which makes me so happy.  The first two I posted really show my favorite part of the flower, which is the inside.  It has such a cool design with the black against the pretty pink and/or orange or whatever color the tulip may be.  The last photo, the one of the bud just about to open, is probably my new favorite photo I've ever taken.  If you can't understand why, then shame on you.

(...it's "I'll see you later.")