if it's possible..

if it is actually possible, i think that school may have actually helped to lower my IQ this semester. or maybe i've just learned to look like i'm paying attention very well while my brains slowly turns to a bowl of soupy oatmeal.

it is definitely the end of the semester, my friends. and this girl is burned out.

things to look forward to:

after December 13th, only one semester left of Spanish. hip hip hooray!

family comes in town on December 20th and i FINALLY get to meet my sweet little Tenley Austin.

CHRISTMAS is on the 25th! (that's in thirteen days, people)

apple pie. yummm!

i really need to study right now. i find that when i REALLY need to get things done, i can always find something else to hold my attention. such as blogging.

merry christmas, my loves!

it's the absolute most wonderful time of the year. and of the day. i'm going to sleep!

enjoy cupcake shop + a sweet giveaway...14 Jul 2010

I had first heard about Enjoy Cupcakes in Los Olivos from Bonnie and swooned over them from a far at Oh Joy Eats. They've recently opened a second location in Solvang, CA, and Amber from Enjoy was kind enough to share these gorgeous photos of their new shop with us. Inspired by their 1964 restored vintage Shasta airflyte trailer, they wanted their guests to feel as if they are stepping into the trailer (full of cupcakes!).

As a special sweet treat, Enjoy is offering a dozen cupcakes shipped to one lucky reader. Simply, visit their flavors page, and leave a comment with which flavor sounds the tastiest to you! One reader will be selected at random. Comments close on Friday morning at 9am PST. Sorry, open to US residents only.

[UPDATE: Congrats to Andrea B. from Hollywood, CA who was randomly selected as our winner! Andrea thought the Pineapple Chardonnay sounds right up her alley!]

{photos by Jose Villa}

posted by joy at 11:30 am | comments ( 514 ) | permalink | my house is my home , oh joy eats

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holidays (holidaze)

happy thanskgiving!

i ate way too much. and i enjoyed eating too much way too much. the one day out of the year that you can eat, barely let it digest, eat dessert, take a nap, and then wake up and eat some more. perfect.

black friday is officially over! praise the Lord above us that I made it through today. there are seriously some crazed people out there. i used to be one of them, and may or may not have been at old navy last night at midnight. but that was enough for me. i began to think about it as i was standing in line outside of old navy for 45 minutes in below zero weather (okay, not really but it was cold) and my allergies acting like a nutzo, there's really not actually anything worth getting up in the middle of the night to stand in the cold with a long line of pushy people. let's be honest, those thermal pants that you just bought for $5 may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but you probably only saved 2 or 3 dollars. BUT it is very fun to act like your life depends on getting that waffle griddle and to maybe elbow the lady next to you in the stomach. or to run like a lunatic just to beat the next people trying to get in line. OR my favorite part of all, going to Whataburger at 6AM and watching GG, my little GG, eat a whole whataburger, upsized fries, and large shake. i am never prouder than when she finishes off the meal proudly. every year. no shame.

i kind of missed going to all the stores this year. kind of alot.

BUT now we can officially say MERRY CHRISTMAS! i didn't even realize it until a customer at work was leaving and said it. i thought hm, is it too early? instantly realizing my mistake and wished her a merry christmas back! i ABSOLUTELY CAN'T WAIT! and then i walked outside and it smelt like christmas. oh, my senses are going crazy.

AND the best part is that the Greens are coming in on the 20th. I finally get to meet my sweet new baby cousin Tenley. i have honestly had at least 4 dreams about meeting the tiny baby! ohh i can't wait!

off to dreamworld i run.. back to work at 8AM! i will prevail!

.

oh, hey again blog.

i really can't write this paper. it's Thanksgiving break for Pete's sake! i should be out running rampant and doing hoodrat things with my friends!

here are some hair-cuts that i've been pondering. i am scared to make the dive in. it takes a long time to grow your hair out (one year, four months and fourteen days to be exact) to be long, and only two seconds to cut it all off. it's a big commitment. i wish that it could be like on (500) days of summer when she just sits in front of the mirror and cuts her hair off with no emotional attatchment. chop.

(alexa chung's hair is lovely. i don't know if i love her hair or her clothing more.)

(Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co., photos via Pacing the Panic Room)

AND this model from urban has the most delightful hair.

 

procrastination.

okay, so i haven't written my paper. are you surprised?

but, i have:

attended (physically, not mentally) a meteorology class

doodled on a sheet and a half of notebook paper

watched an episode of glee

eaten half a bag of tortilla chips

read too many blogs

discovered an inspiring new blog

played with a baby kitten (pronounced as kiddin')

and

made a to-do list (it's quite overwhelming)

productive, wouldn't you say?

classy men.

i am mildly obsessed with menswear these days. which i think is okay, since it happens to be trendy for women to wear blazers and trousers and button up-shirts and loafers these days. i wish in a daily basis that i could dress in all menswear. don't get me wrong, i love florals and ruffles-the whole 9 yards, but i admire a well-dressed man. AND, look at these men's clothing and menswear inspired clothing:

Stacey from Love and Photographs rocking out the look.

J Crew's FALL 2010 Collection is worthing swooning over.

(via A CUP OF JO)

and this engagement shoot from Ruffled's blog is simply filled with class. how much do you love their style? i know i do.

(i can't remember where i got this picture, but he's too cute to pass up)

i feel like urban and american apparel are both into these looks right now.

i can definitely appreciate that!

in other news, i thought that i was home-free for Thanksgiving break, but it turns out that i have a paper to write. whoopsie. off to paper land i journey. wish me luck...

today.

today, i bought some new, thicker yarn to work on finger knitting! YAY! this eassssy as pie tutorial from Design Sponge taught me how to do it. and i am very excited. i might even make this (the necklace)? the yarn is twisted around my fingers as i type, i couldn't even wait that long!

i got to eat lunch with Megs and Brit at Freebirds, and then my mom came to meet my sister and I for a little shopping at JoAnn's and Pinkberry.

my mom is the greatest. i know that everyone says that about their own mom, but really she is. as i've gotten older, our relationship has become a friendship and i just love her to pieces.  it is so refreshing to talk to her, tell her basically anything and she is not shocked. she tells me exactly what i need to hear, and what i don't always expect to hear. and that is exactly what i needed to day without even knowing it: a talk with mom and a cup of yogurt. and now i am ready for work. closing shift: take 2!

btw, if you were wondering, i'm still loving Anthropologie. though my feet and back ache, i leave smelling like vanilla and feeling inspired.

 

throwback friday.

here are a few (slightly embarrassing) pictures that I found yesterday while looking through some old albums. oy vey! i know i was young, but i just wonder what i was thinking sometimes. and then that makes me think, in 5 years from now will I think that I dressed like a total weirdy today? let's hope not...

8th grade.

My freshman year of high school with Nat and Brit.

Brit and I at Halloween, my sophomore year of high school.

weekly recap.

i'm late, but i wanted to recap the last week of life, since it was about a blast and a half.

last sunday was HALLOWEEN! i really enjoy Halloween. probably because i have the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone i know and  it gives me a whole day to eat as much candy as i want. maybe i ate a package of m&m's for breakfast that morning?

Megs and I went to Aledo to hag out with my family. We carved pumpkins, made caramel apples, and passed out candy to the little neighborhood kiddies. And my mom made us dinner! It was delightful. We did the same thing last year (plus Britty) and so we decided that it is now a full-fledged tradition. tally-ho!

here are some pictures:

 

thankful thursday.

hey everyone, it's that time again! iiiiitttt's THANKFUL THURSDAY!

today/this week i am thankful for or just excited about:

this little guy that I got to eat lunch with today.

this movie that comes out in only 8 DAYS!

this show, that i am COMPLETELY hooked on. (thanks Chase for corrupting my mind)

two weeks from today is THANKSGIVING! while I don't particularly care for Thanksgiving food, it is probably in my top 3 holidays. Black Friday anyone??

annnddd, we all know that once Thanksgiving hits, that means that we are into the full swing of holidays, aka the happiest time of the year. the feeling, the smells, the lights, the magic!

mister piano man.

there is a man that plays the piano at the mall. you might know him or someone like him. maybe you know Brad, the one Emily picked up for Thanksgiving from Nordstorm.
anyway, this guy is here from time to time and I look forward to going on my break to be able to sit and hear him. Or maybe watch him (is that creepy?).
he plays with such intensity and is fully entralled in his music, even if he does have a crowd of people around staring at him, or a motley crew of passerby's. he is passionate.
once, he played a song by Coldplay and it absolutely brightened my day.

so thank you mister piano man.

maybe he makes me want to play the piano again. maybe i will.

the leaves are changing.

today, as i was driving along the road, a road close to home that i used to drive on frequently, i realized that something looked different. i wasn't sure what it was at first, but then i realized that they had cut down all of the trees on the side of the road and behind the barbed-wire fence. "of course", i thought, "they're building something." it was kind of sad.

and that's when i decided that i hate change.

i spent the rest of the time in car thinking about change.

change happens in the fall. the leaves change colors.

change happens when you graduate high school. you move away, you talk to your old friends less.

change happens when you go to the hair salon. your hair gets shorter and might change colors.

change happens all the time.

i understand that it is a way of life. change brings progress, but initially i never enjoy it. i practically beg for it- when can i move somewhere new? when can i buy new clothes? when will i graduate college? but when it happens, i usually don't enjoy it. it makes me uncomfortable.

even on my birthday. it's really strange because i LOVE my birthday. i have birthday month. but, every year without missing a beat this funny little feeling pops up. and i always wonder where it comes from, but now i am kind of understanding. when i turn a year older, some might even say smarter, it's a whole year of my life past. i always think, i will never be (insert last age) again. and it leaves me feeling weird and nostalgic. maybe that's the word that i'm searching for. nostalgic. i look forward to another year, new opportunities, but i'm always kind of sad to leave behind another one.

when i was a kid, i had about 50 stuffed animals. no lie. and every night i would INSIST that they all sleep with me in my top bunk. i would lay them all over the place and fit them wherever i could. it didn't matter if i couldn't feel my legs, i just needed them to all be included. (you know, since they were all actually alive and had feelings). maybe a cheesy example, but that's kind of what it's like. i don't want a year to be forgotten, so i stuff my brain with as many memories of the past year as possible. i just don't want to forget. not only the good, but also the bad.

i'm not really sure where i'm going with this. i think that i just wanted to remind myself to enjoy change and to enjoy every tiny moment. i'm not always going to be (insert age here).

blogging.

can i just say that i ended up hating the '30 days of blogging' thing. it is too much pressure. i thought that i would have nothing to write about, which is sometimes true, BUT it takes the fun out of blogging. so i might quit.

please don't hate me?
and i still haven't made any pies.

Day Eight: A List of Your Goals This Month and Why

Day Seven: A Picture of Someone or Something That Has Impacted You The Most

(picture: part of my family this summer in Fredricksburg,VA on our family vacation)

My family by far is my biggest support system. I love that I only live 45 minutes away from my immediate family and most of my extended family. I see them at least once a week, and i wouldn't have it any other way. And of course Brit, my favorite sister, and I share a room at school so I see her everday. And I wouldn't have it any other way (most of the time). :)

When I was younger, every Tuesday night we would have "Tuesday Night Dinner" at my Poppie and Gg's house with my mom's side of the family-- that's my family of 6, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 4 cousins and 2 grandparents. Talk about craziness. But I seriously loved it. Poppie would cook us dinner- usually soup :), all the cousins would play with the bountiful bucket of toys, we would have card games, the fire alarm would usually always go off at least once, but it is a day to me that is full of memories and I hope to continue the tradition with my own family one day. Now that we're all older, a few in college, and one family in Virginia, it is more scarce that Tuesday Night Dinner happens, and I miss it so very much.

Oh, did I mention that Tuesdays were also my days for sewing and piano lessons? Yes, every Tuesday from age 5-14, I would have sewing lessons at Ms. Cox's house and then piano lessons with Gg. Fashion shows, recitals... the whole shebang. Then, I might have been embarrassed to  admit it, but today I love that I know how to read music and sew my own clothes. So, thank you Mom.

the hills are alive.

today, i would like nothing more than to watch The Sound of Music. i'm watching Oprah right now and the entire cast is on and interviewing for the first time since the movie was released. They are all completely charming.

(all images from Google images)

How To: Have A Perfectly Lovely Day

Yesterday, I had a perfectly lovely day. Although the night before wasn't as shiny bright (I tried to dye my hair and it looked like I colored it with a red washable marker), it didn't carry over into my Wednesday. I went to my Spanish class and Non-Verbal Class, as per usual, and afterwards, I decided to skip chapel and my other class. Usually, I would feel guilty about this. But really, you should've seen my hair. Chase and I went to the local donut shop and enjoyed a few delicious donuts. NOM NOM. (sidenote: yesterday, after perusing through the pictures on my phone I realized that I had quite a few pictures of donuts and frozen treats--ice cream and fro yo. OY! more veggies, less junk maybe?)

AND then, i skipped along to good ol' Aledo. Erin, who I haven't seen in centuries, fixed my hair! What a saint. It was so good to sit and catch up with her. I miss her alot! I went to Christopher Moore Salon, where I used to work and she now runs the show. It kind of made me miss washing hair. What a weird thing to say.

They moved to a new location just a few months ago, and it is probably one of the coolest places EVER. The inside is paneled with just natural ply wood (very urban) and the mirrors are framed with old railroad ties that have been stained. For a work station, he uses a toolbox, something like they'd have at an oil-changing place. Oh, those creative people.

I took a picture, but it's kind of blurry and not worth looking at.

THEN, i went home for a little while and got to hang out with my mom and little Branty. My mom fed me oreos and milk and Brant dressed up in his Halloween costume. And then we took pictures, of course.

he was a sniper.

he picked up this dandelion and said, "i'm going to wish that i have good pictures taken." what a QT.

i love this little boy more than i can even describe!

AND i got to hang out with my (not so little) Bella.

she was getting angry with me.

(for Megan)

I said my goodbyes and headed back to Dallas to go to Nathan's parents house to watch the Rangers play the Giants in the WORLD SERIES. His mom fixed us a lovely home-cooked meal, and though the Rangers lost (boo), it was a lovely day.

And I know that the Rangers will win tonight.

 

 

 

 

Day Six: Your Favorite Superhero and Why

maybe not a "real" superhero, per se, but you can't hate anything/one that will provide you with this. waffle fries, fresh lemonade. i am a happy girl.

fall has arrived.

fall has officially arrived, my darlings!

how do i know?

well, today i traveled to a pumpkin patch with my baby brother Brant on his field trip. and we had the most fall-filled pumpkin smashing time.

(asian Brant)

(my sweet dad and Branty with their prized pumpkins)

(Brant's class-- he's the hoodrat in the back)

(roasting SMARSHMALLOWS!)

(sticky smarshmallow fingers)

we love you fall and pumpkin patch!

Continued: BEST TRIP.

So, after spending a few days with the most lovely Green family, we boarded a train at Quantico train station in Virginia..

we thought that we were going to Hogwarts and spent some quality time with Harry.

 

BUT, we ended up in NYC!

And we ate pizza, of course.



went to the Hershey's store..

checked into our JANKY hotel. yes, we slept with all of our suitcases stacked up like that for a night. since that was going to stop whomever wanted to come in.

we lovingly named it 'brothel', for lack of better words,

our first night, we saw the Phantom of the Opera!

and let me be honest, i couldn't enjoy it the whole time because i was thinking about how we had to go back to the world's craziest hotel. we even stopped at a convenient store on the way back to buy blankets to sleep on and covered our pillows with t-shirts. what an experience it was! just to give you a bit more insight, on the :dresser: it had a sign that said if we wanted a smoke detector, that we would have to check one out at the front desk. such a comfort!

but, regardless! we carried on! ate more pizza..


and cupcakes..

rode the subway a trillion times. even once all the way to brooklyn at rush hour. OY!







AND we woke up one morning at the crack of dawn to go to the TODAY SHOW, and Jason Mraz was there that day, though we could not really see him.



they gave us free yellow hats and foam guitars. we were SO happy!



OH! and our very sweet parents booked us a new hotel room. they even had a Bible!

and then on our last night, we saw the show 9 to 5. and it was simply AMAZING! Allison Janney, music by Dolly Parton, and incredible visuals, what more could we ask for?!

and then we flew home..

we had the most amazing time together. our first grown-up trip ever, even though we had a bump along the way that our parents had to work out, we were all very happy to be so independent and running wild in NYC! i love these girls more than i can say. "Solidarity Sister!" "Yeah yeah!"