Grad School and Poncho: The Sequel

My plans for starting graduate school in the fall are swimming right along. I spent part of my afternoon on campus gathering information and generally begging and pleading for scholarships/jobs/financial aid. I have to say that the campus has grown on me over the past few years. I used to think it was ugly, but now I recognize the specific charm of a north Texas public university.






I'm not sure if that last one is an actual college structure or a set piece from a Harry Potter movie. Perhaps one of the Batman movies circa 1995?


Ok, I admit...I actually bought two ponchos at Ahab Bowen. The second one is much more comfy, plus it is from the 70's, which is never a bad thing. I love the pattern knitted into this one, it makes me feel like someone's grandmother made it. In a good way.







Sorry about the cheesy posing. A model I am not. Obviously. B+ for today.

Panchos and Loving Gestures

Mr. Johnson surprised me with beautiful flowers on Monday after I took my GRE. Red roses because he loves me and a yellow daisy because they are my favorite. He is the best at making me smile. :)





As much as I have been enjoying the warm weather, I was excited that it was a bit chilly yesterday because I got to have an 80's moment with flared corduroys and a vintage poncho (impulsively purchased at Ahab Bowen in Uptown over the weekend.) Panchos and I have a love/hate relationship. On the one hand, wearing a pancho is almost like cheating because it's basically a blanket with a hole. On the other hand, they tend to twist, get sat on, and generally be uncomfortable. C'est la vie.






The headband is from Ruffles and Fringe. Buy vintage and handmade! Down with corporate chains! (says the girl wearing pants from the Gap) Outfit gets an A-.


Who else is excited for Rangers Opening Day? Maybe I'm imagining it, but it feels that Dallas is all a-tingle with anticipation. I know I am. :)

Standardized Tests and Florals

I've been keeping this a bit under wraps because I wanted to wait and see how everything works out before I go running my mouth, but I have to go ahead and announce that I took my GRE today and I DID OK! An amazing vote of confidence, yes, but I am just so excited that it is over and I'm pretty sure my scores are fine to get me into the UNT MA Linguistics program (this is assuming that I didn't totally bomb the essays, which scores I will get in about two weeks.) Whew! Now I can finally return all those study books to the library and go out for a celebratory drink. :)






This was my outfit on Saturday. Boring, yes, but laying on a blanket and taking photos at the park doesn't exactly require astounding feats of fashion acrobatics. Plus, I wore the spork which should get me at least a couple points for creativity. The tunic is new, from Frocks (duh, what do I own that isn't from Frocks?) I'll give this one an A for comfort and cuteness.


Note: I want to do something fun to my hair for the summer (color, not cut.) Thoughts?

Kenny's Radical Birthday Shindig!

Radical was the best adjective I could come up with. I'm not sure it does the trick.

So, my childhood friend Ken turned an abysmally old age this week (29) and I was thrilled and excited to be able to attend a birthday party at his house in good old Denison, TX. We hadn't seen each other for many moons, but we've been Facebook stalking each other, so it was the perfect time to become reacquainted. Plus, I got to meet his lovely wife Megan, who is a wonderful artist and soon to be my BFF. This party was the friggin' jam, you guys. It included:

-strangers
-tree lights
-spontaneous jam sessions including multiple ukuleles, a guitar, a violin, and a clarinet
-champaign
-box wine
-wrestling (no punching or groin kicks, however, butt tickling is perfectly legal)

Uh-mazing. I am green with envy of their house, too. I always forget how much I miss being in the county (being able to see the stars and walking around barefoot are two of my favorite things in the whole world.)







So, thank you, Ken (I know you'll be reading this ;) for inviting me to your birthday! I hope to be back very soon...get to work on that program of yours so you can hire me in a couple years!

A Triumph of the Human Voice

I was a big singer in high school. Not that I was big. But my singing was. I sang a lot. I did all the competitions, and I actually got pretty good at it. Then I graduated and didn't sing again (think The Little Mermaid here) until this year (when my proverbial seashell cracked...then I kissed the prince...but it was too late...le sigh.) Last night I sang publicly for the first time in seven years, and I have to say that it felt really good it was the most nerve-wracking experience of my entire life. I was going to take photos of what I wore, but I was too busy trying not to pee myself. It went well, though. I'm supposed to get a recording of the performance, so I may share if it's not totally horrible.

On a related note, a big shout out to my family and friends who came and sat through an hour and a half of novice singers screeching out Italian ballads. You are saints.

With that hellish experience behind me, I am looking forward to going to a birthday party tonight! Here's the outfit:

What do you think, backyard/bar birthday party appropriate? The gold necklace is a particular favorite of mine...I found it at Frocks, a local boutique. It's pretty unique, and I always get comments on it. I'd say this outfit gets a good, solid A-.

Skirts and Turquoise

I got crazy last night and wore a cute little skirt to choir practice. Not that wearing cute little skirts is crazy, just that I usually wear jeans. Because they are easy. With jeans you don't have to worry about leg hair or wind. Jeans are low maintenance.






That turquoise ring is one of my top five favorite pieces of jewelry. My dad found it metal detecting a number of years ago and gave it to me. He's found some really lovely things over the years. I kind of love that particular hobby.

While I like the femininity of the outfit, I'm trying to get away from such young looks. I still have tons of flimsy tank tops and skirts that I bought in my early 20's that I now feel make me look like a little girl...or maybe a mid-20's woman trying to look like a little girl. Anyway, this ensemble gets a B-.

On Mental Health

My mind is going in about a thousand different directions these days, but I've been really concentrating on focusing my mind to gradually improve my health in all aspects: mentally, physically, and spiritually.

I didn't really intend to do this at first. It just started out with me acknowledging and defining my issues with anxiety (mental) at the beginning of the year. I read this great interview on Yes and Yes with a woman dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks. While I do not suffer from panic attacks, I have come to realize the past few months that many of the issues that I struggle with emotionally (irrational fears, discomfort in social settings, inability to relate to people, etc) really all stem from chronic anxiety. I have been working consistently the past three months to recognize these issues and combat their negative influences on my life, and I can't believe the difference it has made. My concentrated effort to confront irrational fears especially has lifted such a great weight. Simple tasks like going to an exercise class alone or auditioning for a choir or asking for help at a grocery store are no longer insurmountable feats.

I had no idea how important mental heath is. I've just been running around thinking that all I need to do to be healthy is eat some broccoli and move around every now and then. WRONG. Being able to interact with your surroundings is so hugely important to a healthy lifestyle. I now know this. Yaaay, me!

I hope to never again let fear and anxiety keep me from achieving my goals or enjoying my life. I've just got to keep it up.

Outfit Posts...Will They Last?

Lately I've been kind of tired of my whole "look." Maybe it's because I started following fashion blogs (A Beautiful Mess and Adored Austin are two of my all-time favorites) and am constantly seeing the beautiful outfits that these women create. Whatever the reason, I haven't felt as pretty or comfortable in my clothes, so I think that it's time to re-vamp my wardrobe. I've been a little befuddled on how to do this until it hit me- I'll do my own outfit posts so that I can step back and objectively somewhat objectively critique why some things work and others don't. We'll see how it goes.

Yes, these were taken with Photobooth. Tripods and timers are way too complicated for me.

Yesterday's outfit is a prime example of what's been irking me. It was comfortable and not particularly unflattering, but it was 100% boring and left me feeling uninspired. I was pretty happy with my hair, though, and will probably style it like this much more often. Over all a C-. Better luck tomorrow, old girl.

A Very Lovely Life

It seems crazy that March is almost over already...there is so much that has been going on, not to mention so much coming up in the next few weeks! The first couple of months of the year were not great for me emotionally, but I feel that the clouds have finally parted and my life is full of sunshine. I really do have a very lovely life.

Perhaps this change of attitude is due to steps that I have been taking to like myself more. I have really stepped up my workout routine and started eating well, resulting in weight loss and better self-image. I've been getting more sleep, drinking less, and (the real kicker) quit smoking. Yes, dear readers, I feel that enough time has passed to inform you that it has been a full 22 days since my last cigarette! Feel free to throw me a parade. I was going to wait for the 3 week mark to say anything, but I've really been wanting to write about how much better I have been feeling. And, though I was never more than a social smoker, not smoking really does make me feel so much better.

So, all that just to say that things are looking up. I am making plans for the rest of this year and hope to have good news to share in the next few weeks (anticipation!)

For lack of a better segue, here are some pictures!

my first pool day of 2011 :)

St. Paddy's Day at BWW

new tattoo...for turning 25 and for loving my life (sorry, Mom and Dad!)

Deep breath...and now for the plunge. Have a great week, all.

Fun with the AE-1

Nice Texas weather = busting out the AE-1. My friends have been good sports letting me steal their souls with my vintage camera.

chillin at The Saucer

beers in the park

I'm still learning how to use this monster, but I'm getting better. I now know to pay more attention to the film speed because some really cool shots got ruined by being way washed out. :(

I can't wait to take the camera to the Rangers Opening Day. My soul collection's gonna be huge!

Tattoo Love

It's so nice to not be sick and not have to work for a couple days. I'm using my time to get back into my workout routine (spin class this morning...ROUGH!) and cook some tasty meals. Right now I'm taking a 30 minute break to watch TV and catch up on some internet. Once again I found a beautiful tattoo on Rock N Roll Bride that I am so jealous of, but would never have the cojones to get.

I have such a weakness for large, super-feminine upper-back tattoos. Maybe one day I'll have the guts to get one. :)

I Would Like To Take A Moment...

...to discuss how truly adorable my cats are.

They are best when they are sleeping. :)

I'm a total cat lady, btw. In case you couldn't tell. Crazy cat ladies represent!

On Illness

I have spent the past week languishing in the complete and utter misery that is strep throat. That is approximately 168 hours spent drifting in and out of consciousness while laying on the couch sipping fizzy water and watching The Real Housewives on Bravo. This is what it looked like:

Luckily, I got some crazy awesome antibiotics and am now looking more like this:

While I wasn't feeling 100%, this weekend Corban's company had a big to-do, and I was determined to attend, so I took a crap-ton of cold medicine (who needs weed when you can just get high on Tylenol AM?), washed my hair for the first time in 5 days, and shlepped my ass over to the Hilton where we all had a fabulous time dancing to top 40 hits and crashing a medieval-themed prom.

Seriously, we took their crowns.