What I Love: 12/31/12

Wow. The last day of 2012. What do I love today? The amazing year I have had. I look back, and remember all the things I have done. I have changed, grown, matured in so many ways. And yet, I still have so far to go.

What I Love: 12/30/12

Babysitting. Kids are so fun.

What I Love: 12/29/12

Having a foot of snow outside! And it's still falling!

What I Love: 12/28/12

My sister's handmade ceramic bowls and things. She is really talented, and she just has an eye for elegant sculptures.

What I Love: 12/27/12

How refreshing, brisk, and beautiful Winter is!

What I Love: 12/26/12

These precious moments I get to spend with my family. We are all growing up, and it's not often anymore that all six of us are together. That is special.

What I Love: 12/25/12

CHRISTMAS. Every little thing about it. Family, Tradition, Food, Giving, Receiving.


being Together.

What I Love: 12/24/12

The anticipation Christmas Eve brings. I can't wait for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service, our family tradition of watching a Christmas movie after, and our other tradition of all sleeping under the Christmas tree!

What I Love: 12/23/12

My daddy's homemade chicken soup. It is always different, and always delicious. Combined with my Mama's fresh-baked bread, well, that's just a match made in heaven.

What I Love: 12/21/12

e6000 Glue. The stuff is pretty impressive. I used it to repair my TOMS, and it's supposed to dry flexible but waterproof and permanent.

What I Love: 12/20/12

Sitting on the couch surrounded by my siblings...being teased.

What I Love: 12/19/12

Grabbing coffee with my lovely friend Stephanie. I can't wait to hear what God has been doing in her life, and catch her up on what's been happening in mine!

What I Love: 12/18/12

The most delicious cake in the history of ever! My grandmother passed on this recipe for Chocolate Pistachio Pudding cake, and it is one of my favorites. The best part is, it could be adapted for any cake mix/pudding flavor combination. Think of the possibilities!

Chocolate Pistachio Pudding Cake
Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup cooking oil
1 cup club soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Frosting:
1 envelope Dream Whip
1 box instant pistachio pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cake ingredients in a large bowl, and blend for 2 min. Pour into a well-greased Bundt pan, and bake for 50 min. Let the cake cool and remove from pan. As it continues to  cool, mix frosting ingredients and beat until thick and frosty. Thickly frost the cake, and let it sit before serving. Enjoy!

What I Love: 12/17/12

The Open House! It's the party my family throws every year for my church, and it is always a blast! (and yes, my definition of "a blast" does include cooking for the whole month of december, sticking tea lights in paper bags, and having 60+ people tromp through our house).

What I Love: 12/16/12

Watching my sister play Just Dance 3. It's quite the entertaining experience.

What I Love: 12/15/12

That I have faith in a God who will make things right. My heart aches for the families of 20 children in Connecticut right now. That such pain, such devastation, such evil exists in the world is irrevocable proof for me that our world is a battleground, that we are standing in enemy territory, and Satan will stop at nothing. But I also know in my heart that he cannot win this battle. His fate, his loss has already been set. One day soon, God will return and VANQUISH him.

What I Love: 12/14/12

Christmas trees :)

What I Love: 12/13/12

Chilling on the couch with my sister, doing some online shopping. :)

What I Love: 12/12/12

That it is 12-12-12! That is the last time there will be a repeat date like that in my lifetime. The next will be 01-01-2101.

What I Love: 12/11/12

I LOVE the fact that I am headed for home and soon to be reunited with my family. I have to admit, though, it is tough saying goodbye to friends at AU. I know I'll see most of them in a month, but still, goodbyes suck. On the bright side, though, that is another thing I love...the wonderful friends I have at school.

What I Love: 12/10/12

Snow. In all it's freezing, fluffy, gorgeous glory.

What I Love: 12/9/12

Today, I really enjoyed AU's Festival of Lights. It's a Christmas Candlelight service put on by the music department each year, and it is absolutely beautiful.

What I Love: 12/8/12

This:

Christmas in Clayton 825!!

What I Love: 12/7/12

Being done with finals! At least mostly. I have one more test to go, and then I'm free!

What I Love: 12/5/12

I love the unexpected. Unexpected moments of joy, unexpected conversations, unexpected gifts. They are so special.

What I Love: 12/4/12

Compliments. Seriously, unexpected compliments just make my day like no other. Especially on days when I just want to curl up in sweatpants. :D

What I Love: 12/3/12

Getting pacakages from my Mama right before finals. Now I have lots of cookies and fruit to eat while studying. :)

What I Love: 12/2/12

The Christmas song "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day". Here's a video if you're unfamiliar with it:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this song during the Civil War when both his wife and son had died. The world seemed lie it was spiraling out of control, but the bells keep ringing "Peace on earth, goodwill to men".

What I Love: 12/1/12

Service. Today was Freebay, an event put on by 5stones and Park Street Brethren for the people to come get free stuff donated by the community for Christmas. I got to help serve by wrapping people's gifts. It was so moving to see their joy in being able to make Christmas special, especially if they didn't have much for Christmas gifts.

Also, I love my Mama! Today is her birthday. She is amazing. :)

What I Love: 11/30/12

Today is the last "What I'm Thankful For" post.

Today, I am thankful for music. It expresses what I feel when words can't.

What I Love: 11/29/12

Today I am thankful for deadline extensions. One of my papers got moved from Tuesday to Friday, so mow I can focus on the paper due Monday.

What I Love: 11/28/12

Today, I am thankful for ELI. This is the study group that prepares young people for Well leadership. Tonight, we talked about servant leadership, and being vulnerable with each other. This really hit me hard. My whole life, I've been the PK, the one who's supposed to have all the answers. But I don't. I screw up. And I have a really hard time telling people that. I have a tendency to only open up to certain people, and only on my terms. This is selfish. God gave me an incredible community, one that will understand, support and listen to me, no matter what my struggles are. I simply need to find the courage to let down my walls.

What I Love: 11/27/12

today, I am thankful for the Bible, God's Word. It constantly amazes me how He uses something written 2,000 years ago to tell me exactly what I need to hear.

What I Love: 11/26/12

Today, I am thankful for Cyber Monday deals! Haha

What I Love: 11/25/12

Today, I am thankful for snow!

What I Love: 11/24/12

Today, I am thankful for how creative my God is. I mean, if you'd never heard of it before, could you come up with a rainbow?

What I Love: 11/23/12

Today, I am thankful for how goofy my family is, as evidenced by a five-minute string of cow puns. I am thankful that we all have a good relationship, and are comfortable doing things like that.

What I Love: 11/22/12

Today, I'm thankful for the family surrounding me today. I'm sad that my sister Rachael has to work and can't be here, but she is with us in spirit and our thoughts are with her. Meanwhile, the entire family on my dad's side is together, and having a blast. :)

What I Love: 11/21/12

Today, I'm thankful that my family can gather together to celebrate the holidays.

What I Love: 11/20/12

Today, I'm thankful for a God who answers prayer. <3

What I Love: 11/19/12

Today, I am thankful that there is still chivalry left in the world. I am thankful for good guys who don't lead a girl astray.

What I Love:11/18/12

Today, I'm thankful for long lunches spent chatting with friends.

What I Love: 11/17/12

Today, I am thankful for sunshine. :)

What I Love: 11/16/12

Today I am thankful that the week is over. It is friday, and I not only survived the week, but I was prepared for all of my tests and assignments!

What I Love:11/15/12

Today I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had to travel. My trip to Zambia in 2010 was one of the most moving, difficult, beautiful things I have ever experienced. The things I saw, the people I met, the memories I made, they changed my life. My trip to Israel was also incredible. To walk where Jesus walked, touch things from His time, that was an amazing experience. I cannot wait to travel this summer. I am going to work with YWAM in the US Virgin Islands, at their St. Croix base. I know it will be incredible, touching, moving. I cannot wait to grow.

What I Love:11/14/12

Today I am thankful for the opportunity I have to donate blood. I donated for the first time today, and it feels great knowing that my being stuck with a needle means that someone else might get another chance a life.

What I Love: 11/13/12

Today, I am thankful for my community here at Ashland. They challenge me, support me, encourage me, and love on me.

What I Love: 11/12/12

Today, I am thankful for spontaneous moments of prayer. They focus me like nothing else. I stopped by the chapel to drop off some stuff today, but the secretary wasn't there. So I went up to the sanctuary to wait for a while, and had a fantastic 30 minutes of quiet prayer and worship.

What I Love: 11/11/12

My amazing roommate Annie! I know I've mentioned her before, but today's her birthday, and I've been reflecting on how awesome she is. I want to grow up to be just like her. :) Happy birthday, Annie!!

What I Love: 11/10/12

Today, I'm thankful for coffee. It's the little things.

What I Love: 11/9/12

Today, I'm thankful for motivation! It's always good when I actually get things done in a reasonable amount of time.

What I Love: 11/8/12

Today I am so thankful for my God who is in control. He gives me peace and passion.

What I Love: 11/7/12

When people play the guitar. :)

What I Love: 11/6/12

Today, I am thankful for the blessing of being able to choose who leads my country. I got to vote for the first time. Have you?

What I Love: 11/5/12

I am thankful for naps. :) They help me to feel rested, and sometimes they're just so nice!

What I Love: 11/4/12

Today, I'm thanking God for His Son, my Jesus. :)

What I Love: 11/3/12

I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to get a good education. A lot of people have invested in me, and I don't want to waste that gift.

What I Love: 11/2/12

I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity I had last night to witness two of my closest, dearest friends proclaim to the world that their lives are committed to Christ by getting baptized!!

What I Love: 11/1/12

For the month of November, the What I Love posts will be a little different than usual. Instead of what I love, I'm going to share what I'm thankful for.

Today, I'm thankful for my wonderful, encouraging family. They're the best!

What I Love: 10/31/12

Candy. Particularly Nerds, Take 5 bars, and Junior Mints.

What I Love:10/30/12

When God answers prayers. Yesterday I was feeling down, so I prayed about it, and today has been awesome! Despite Hurricane Sandy, despite having a ton of assignments to finish, it has been a great day! Thank you, God. :)

What I Love: 10/29/12

how caring some of my professors are. They always look out for me.

What I Love: 10/28/12

Quality time. It's my love language. Simply spending time with people makes me feel loved.

What I Love: 10/27/12

The white board on the back of our door. Currently, it says "Here's a cat...being eaten by a monster...on top of the world." Complete with pictures.

What I Love: 10/26/12

getting all my homework done so I have all evening to enjoy my friends. :)

What I Love: 10/25/12

Dressy Thursday. Annie and I like to wear dresses every thursday for The Well, and it's become a thing. 

What I Love: 10/23/12

The Daily Odd Complements tumblr. Example: "You're like a baby's first steps. Exciting, cute, and kind of awkward."

What I Love:10/21/12

going back through the memories of my Israel trip. My family is going to speak about it tonight, so we've been planning our presentation. It was so amazing! To give you an idea, here is a video one of the other volunteers took of us when she found out we were there for our vacation:

What I Love: 10/20/12

Being home with my family. <3

What I Love:10/19/12

The soreness I'm feeling which is the result of having walked like 3 miles yesterday while having good conversation with a good friend, and then playing thirty-person twister with other good friends.

What I Love: 10/18/12

the anticipation of going home!

What I Love: 10/17/12

Actually having a clean desk for once, haha.

What I Love: 10/16/12

Taking naps. :)

What I Love: 10/15/12

The reality TV show Face Off. It looks at special effects makeup by having the contestants design a look each week. Very cool, and the process fascinates me.

What I Love: 10/14/12

Being told that I would make a good mom. I take that as quite the compliment, since that is my goal in life.

What I Love: 10/12/12

Disney's Sleeping Beauty. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it as a kid. Some friends and I rewatched it last night. A few things we realized:
1. Briar Rose was homeschooled.
2. It would make an awesome musical.
3. Girls should obviously sing and dance in the woods more.

What I Love: 10/11/12

Dressy Thursdays. A chance to put on a dress and look cute during the week.

What I Love: 10/10/12

Calling my Dad to ask him a quick question, and having it turning into a 20-minute catch-up session. :)

What I Love: 10/8/12

Doing the dishes. I know that sounds like a really weird thing to love, but I do enjoy sticking my hands in the warm soapy water and making things all clean.

What I Love:10/7/12

Peter Pan. The 2003 version. I watched it last night with some friends. I'd forgotten how much I loved it! Well split my infinitives!

What I Love: 10/6/12

Cool, crisp fall weather. It's so refreshing and exciting.

What I Love: 10/5/12

Pinterest! I've had an account for probably six months or so, and I love it. It is so relaxing. It's also one of my biggest time-wasters. ;) If you want to follow me, my account is here.

What I Love: 10/4/12

Mermaids! I saw this awesome video over on Epbot, and it made me want to go learn how to be a professional diver. Or, at the very least, design the costumes for these ladies. :)

What I Love: 10/3/12

Explaining what I believe in a relaxed conversation with a friend who is an atheist. Very moving, and very good. Thank you God, for giving me the words to say!

What I Love: 10/2/12

"Treat" coffee. That's different than "survival" coffee, which is straight black and you drink it when you first wake up and need caffeine to pry your eyelids open. Treat coffee is the yummy stuff: lattes, ice coffee, or espressos. Yum!

What I Love: 10/1/12

My new Avengers tee! I found it in the boys section of Wally World for only $7. :D Love it!

What I Love: 9/29/12

Coffee dates with friends, where we get to talk about everything under the sun, and God in particular.

What I Love: 9/28/12

Sushi! The sushi they sell at the Eagle's Nest is actually pretty good. :)

What I Love: 9/27/12

Buckeye balls. My roommate Katie made a bunch, and they are sooooo good. I don't have her recipe, but if i get it I'll post it!

What I Love: 9/26/12

The TARDIS cake my Aunt made me for my birthday! SO AWESOME!!!

What I Love: 9/25/12

Birthday hugs. They're the best!

What I Love: 9/24/12

Mustaches! I saw a sign on campus the other day that said something like "please take a complimentary mustache." So I did.

What I Love: 9/23/12

Tech Week! It's the week before a show opens that is filled with dress rehearsals, memories, fun times, and craziness. AU's production of "Bus Stop" opens on Thursday. If you like, you can buy tickets here.

What I Love: 9/22/12

Having a lazy saturday, and sleeping in until noon.

What I Love: 9/21/12

Grilled Cheese Fridays!

What I Love: 9/20/12

Sunshine, and 60 degree weather. :)

What I Love: 9/19/12

Nutella. Nuff said.

What I Love: 9/18/12

My new boots! My grandma got them for me. Aren't they cute? I looooooove them. I wore them all day today, and they were super comfortable!You can buy them here.

What I Love: 9/17/12

The "Next" button on Google Reader. You add it to your bookmarks bar and it takes you through each blog you follow so you can actually go to the site and read the post. It makes commenting a lot easier, and it also gives the blogger credit for visiting their site. There are instructions for installing it here.

What I Love: 9/16/12

Hug Mugs! They're mugs without handles shaped in such a way that you can hug them with your hands while you drink.

What I Love: 9/15/12

Okay, okay, okay. I know its not the 15th yet. I'm posting now because I won't have computer access tomorrow. I am going on a retreat with the Ashland University Religious Life. We are going to have such a fun time! The will be worship, food, games, and fellowship. I'm excited just to think about it. It's what I'm loving today (and tomorrow!)

What I Love: 9/14/12

Surprise packages! I just recieved notice that I have a package to pick up. Wonder what is in it?

What I Love: 9/13/12

Caffeine. It keeps me awake until 3 am. to finish various papers that all seem to pile up at once, and it gives me the energy to battle with Microsoft Word to put pictures where I want them. Hooray for a sugar high!

What I Love: 9/12/12

Fifties and sixties dresses. I'm writing a report on the designer Balenciaga, and that was his heyday. For example, this dress was from his 1958 summer collection. Isn't it cool?

What I Love: 9/11/12

As I wrote that date, my mind flashed back over the last 11 years. As the twin towers were falling from the sky, my family was moving to a new state. That seems insignificant in comparison, but, looking back, it reminds me how much God has given me. My amazing friends in Ithaca, my church family there, all the blessings God has poured out on me. So what does 9/11 mean to me? It is a hard reminder to thank God for each and every day, and to not forget.

What do I love today? My God, my country, and my home.

What I Love: 9/10/12

Nerds candy, except for the fact that it makes me feel like a cannibal.

What I Love: 9/9/12

Nail painting parties. We're going to have one today, so Melisa can paint her nails for the first time in a while. She just quit her job at Wendy's, where she's not allowed to wear nail polish on her fingers.

What I Love: 9/8/12

The brilliant blue of the sky when it's like 60 degrees out. Such beautiful September weather!

What I Love: 9/7/12

This video. It's an elderly couple trying to figure out how their webcam works, inadvertently turning it on in the process.

What I Love: 9/6/12

Fall clothing. Scarves, sweaters, boots, layers, orange and red and plum...the weather needs to cool down!

What I Love: 9/5/12

Getting packages from my Mama! Especially when they have Nutella, swedish fish, and a 900-page Vogue in them.

What I Love: 9/4/12

The romper I got thrifting the other day. I actually was going to show you guys a picture, but as I was walking back to my dorm some car splashed me and soaked me. Needless to say, I had to change. Oh well! What's a little rain?

What I Love: 9/3/12

MudLOVE bands. I just got my first one. They're really cool, and help provide clean drinking water to families in Africa.

What I Love: 9/2/12

FABRIC!

What I Love: 9/1/12

Thrift shopping! I managed to find some really good bargains today: a grey romper for $1, and a colorful belt for $1 as well!

What I Love: 8/31/12

Three-day weekends. Hah.

What I Love: 8/30/12

Working in the costume shop! I know I've posted about it before (See pictures of Enchanted April here), but I just started for this semester. It's so good to be back!

What I Love: 8/29/12

The view from the eighth floor of Clayton Hall. With OH being so flat, you can see quite a ways!

What I Love: 8/28/12

Having a class cancelled on a beautiful day like today! Time to relax on the quad. :)

What I Love: 8/27/12

Walking barefoot in the rain.

What I Love:8/26/12

The song "How He Loves". We sang it in church today. Especially the line, "If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking". What wonderful imagery.

What I Love: 8/25/12

That feeling when you've just had a long day of hard work with amazing friends, and you are so exhausted but sooo happy.

What I Love: 8/24/12

The Well. It's the religious life service on campus. The first one was last night. It was so amazing to be back in that place, with those people, worshiping God and learning about Him. So good. :)

What I Love: 8/23/12

the song "Life's a Happy Song" from the new Muppets movie. It's so cute and happy and uplifting. It makes feel like my life is a musical, which is of course awesome. :D

What I Love: 8/22/12

My suitemate, Annie. She is super inspiring. She's a leader at The Well, and completely in love with God. Her relationship with her boyfriend is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen, it is so Christ focused. This is what she told me: "One time I asked [my boyfriend] what he would do if someone said they would kill me unless he denied his faith in Christ. His response? 'It's been nice knowing you!'"

What I Love: 8/21/12

My new dorm. It's nice and spacious, and now that we've finally got all the decorations up, it's really cute! Wall Pops are really easy to use, and they are adorable. :)

What I Love: 8/20/12

My textiles class. :D It's going to be really interesting. We'll be learning about all sorts of different fabrics, how they're made, and what they're good for.

What I love: 8/19/12

Harem Pants. They are the most comfortable things ever. they are loose through the hips and knees, then are gathered in above or at the ankle. They are usually made out of a pretty fashion fabric.

They're like sweatpants, but cute!

What I Love: 8/18/12

My new dorm! It is super cute, now that everything is unpacked. It's a suite style, so we have our bedroom, then a shared common room, then two other girls' bedroom. The common room isn't set up yet, but it will be soon.

purple!
pink!
green!

It's the little things.

Wow. I think I get the award for World's Worst Blogger. Except maybe for those teenage girls who start a blog cause it's cool, post twice, and forget all about it and are now just taking up domain names.

Um, that actually wasn't the point of this post. Moving on.

So we've established that I have terrible blogging habits. I'll promise myself I'll post something cool and interesting regularly, but...life gets in the way. I don't have a neat technique or a handy tutorial to post, so I don't. Or, whats worse, I do post about random boringness that nobody wants to read.

So, I've made a plan.

To force myself into a better habit (or force myself to realize I am not and never will be a blogger), I have set myself a challenge. It's going to be a year long series called "What I Love". I am going to post every day something I am loving at that particular moment. Don't expect long posts, or pictures, or junk, just something short that I've been thinking about and enjoying. I'll begin this series my first day back at school, August 18th.

See you then!

Prettiness

So I am deep in the throes of finals. Yay. What that means is I have not been up to anything remotely interesting the last couple days. So, instead of an outfit or something of the sort, I thought I'd show you guys some of the coolest pictures I've ever taken. This first few will be ones that have not been retouched, then I'll show you some of the ones that picnik and iPiccy have made beautiful.

The non-retouched pictures:

When I showed Melisa the last one, she asked if I had taken it in Zambia. Nope! It was shot through my dorm room window!

These are some of the photos that have been "picniked" (I was so sad when Picnik closed! :'( but iPiccy seems to be an ok substitute.)

As I told a friend one night, "I love creating beauty". :) So which one is your favorite?

All photos taken by me. Please don't steal them. ;)
The camera used was a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS.

Green Fashion Show 2012

Wednesday was the annual Ashland University Green Fashion Show. The idea is that all designs entered are made from recyclable materials. The show was great. I myself didn't enter, but some of my friends did, and there were a ton of gorgeous, wearable garments on display! (Click on the photos for a larger version)

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 The decorations on the front of this one are CDs. How cool is that?

Picture by me

Who would have thought bubble wrap could look this amazing?? I would totally wear this!

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 I'm not sure what this one is made of (paper bags, perhaps?) but it's really cool!

Picture by me

The skirt on this one is made of hand-glued coffee filters! It moved beautifully on the runway. (I apologize for the weird lighting. They had the lights really low in Redwood.)

Picture by me

This is another coffee filter dress. Isn't it amazing how it looks completely different than the other one? People are so creative. ;)

Picture by me

Again, I'm not sure what this is made of (my guess is tissue paper) but it's really fun.

Picture by me

This was the winning design in the Fashion Merchandising category. I thought it was cool, but it wasn't my favorite. I loved the model's hair, though.

Picture by me

This is one of my fellow Fashion Merchandising majors with his model. Cute skirt alert!

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

I think this one might have been made out of toilet paper. I found it absolutely stunning. And HOW did she make the bodice so neat and sturdy??

Picture by Meredith Liedtke

 This was my favorite outfit from the whole evening. She made that dress out of records! How cool is that!! And I don't know what the skirt is made of, but it matches perfectly. I LOVE the headpiece. I think it is basically a melted record. You can't see it in this picture, but she also had a train with sparkly CDs on them. Here's another picture so you can see it better:

Picture by me

How cute is that? (And how cute are my two friends in this picture?? ;D)

 And thank you to Meredith, whose pictures I have used.

New Favorite Store. Oh Dear...

Yesterday my family and I went out shopping, and I discovered a sweet store. If my style could be summed up and put into a boutique franchise, it would be Vanity. The have almost every facet of my fashion sense. From lace, to neons, to blazers, to fluffy chiffon. It was so hard to walk out without buying anything! Sadly, most items in the store were between $20-$40. A little expensive for me. :( I am experiencing a llittle bit of buyers remorse for not getting this skirt:

Lace Belted Maxi Skirt

The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's more of an off white color (at least it was in the store) and it's made of lace. It was ADORABLE. Sadly, it was also $30. So I left without it. Maybe sometime in the future I'll find it on a sale rack.

Mirror Mirror (2012)

This weekend, my sister, cousin, and I went to see Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, and Armie Hammer. It's a retelling of Snow White. I really enjoyed it; the plot was decent, the aerobatic sword fights were entertaining (watch out for those giant dwarves!), and there was a minimum of crudeness/vulgarity.

But the best part was the costumes. Hands down. Fabulous. Spectacular. Breathtaking.

The costume designer was Eiko Ishioka. Sadly, Mirror Mirror was her last film; she died of pancreatic cancer in January 2012. Her work on it was absolutely stunning, however; she knew how to combine and use bright colors, with a fantastic attention to detail.

From what I could gather, the costumes are vaguely based on an Elizabethan time period crossed with a french revolution/Marie Antoinette mash-up, i.e., corsets, panniers and extreme opulence.

See? (Click on the picture for a larger view)

Source

Just look at that skirt. Wow. Love! The way it poofs up around her hips means she probably is wearing panniers, which are hoop skirts that are more oval shaped, rather than circular, in order to emphasize the hips.

Source

This scene is during the Costume Ball (hence the bunny ears). The Evil Queen (Julia Roberts) is a peacock, but a stunning, satiny, red one.The embroidery on the front of that dress is beautifully intricate. I am impressed with the stand-up sleeves- I don't know what they are made of, but they match the dress perfectly.

Here's a peek at what's underneath (at least in the movie):

Source

This looks like a corset/hoop skirt made of oisers, or willow bark. In the movie, she is cinched down as far as she can possibly go, but I personally didn't think it was really that tight. It didn't seem to define her waist nearly as much as a real, properly cinched, corset would.

While they were not as elaborate as the Evil Queen's, Snow White also had some beautiful costumes.

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This is one of the more obviously Elizabethan dresses in the film. The flat bodice, lowish neckline, fabric folds at the waist, and full, hooped skirt all scream Elizabethan England.

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I LOVE this cape. The color, the fullness, the bows...it's so feminine! It's fascinating- Lily Collins' color season is most likely winter, and winters don't normally look good in bright, warm colors like this yellow. But  Eiko Ishioka found a shade that looks great on her.

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Snow White shows off her rebel side with this pirate-inspired look. This is such a difference from the style of the Queen, that it really shows Snow White's transformation from a small, cowed girl in the shadow of her stepmother to a confident, self-reliant woman who is the rightful Queen.

And that is what Mirror Mirror is all about.

I'll leave you with the most beautiful costume in the whole movie:

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Enchanted April

Several weeks ago, Ashland University put on the production Enchanted April. It is a very moving story about four women who take a trip to Italy, and there rediscover the meaning of love. I had the opportunity to make several of the costumes, as well as work backstage taking care of the wigs. The costumes for this show were absolutely beautiful, because the show is set in the 20's.

Some beauty shots:

It was a lot of fun to work on this show. I got to learn how to make a proper Edwardian corset (and now I want to make one for myself. Go figure.), and I did A LOT of Magic Hemming (magic hem is a type of hem for loose, flowy fabrics that makes them look nice and neat, but it takes a long time.)

Some of the wigs:

One more shot from the show:

Al'Italia!

The best beauty product ever

Is......

Vaseline! Or petroleum jelly. Whatever.

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Seriously though, I love Vaseline. It has so many uses, and a little goes a long way, so you get a huge bang for your buck. (major plus for a poor college student like me!) These are some of my favorite uses for it:

1. Lip balm. I use Vaseline as lip balm all the time. It gets rid of chapped lips super fast, and it's really shiny. (I only wish they had slightly more portable containers!)

2. Mascara. Ok, it's not really mascara, but I don't know what to call this one. I apply a little bit to my eyelashes and then comb them, and it makes them look really good. Very black and glossy. Another plus, you don't end up with gross, dry crumbly lashes.

3. Moisturizer. I put is on my hands and my nails to keep them looking good, and I also slather it on my feet at night and then put on socks and go to bed. I wake up with much softer heels!

4. Ring removal. My purity ring is on the tight side (which is good, because larger rings fall off easily), so sometimes I have difficulty getting it over my knuckle when I need to take a shower or something. Slather on a little Vaseline, and it slides right off!

5. Eyebrow gel. I have never used eyebrow gel, but when I have unruly hairs, a little Vaseline smooths them right out.

So what do you use Vaseline for? What's your I-can't-live-without-it beauty product? Let me know in the comments!

Water-marbled nails

Hey guys!

I recently figured out how to water-marble nails!! It's really pretty. See?

The technique is a little bit confusing, but it's like this. (sorry I don't have any pictures of the process.)

First you get a little cup (I used a medicine cup) and put some room-temperature water in it. Then you drip different colors of nail polish into it so you end up with a bulls-eye. Next you take a toothpick and gently drag it through the polish to swirl it into the design you want. Put Vaseline on your finger (except for the nail) to protect from the nail polish, and dunk your nail in. You have to kind of bend your finger so you go in flat. While your finger is still in the water, use the toothpick to "clean up" the extra polish, and then pull your finger out. One done, nine to go!

I realize that it is hard to understand of you can't see what is going on, so here is the video I used to teach myself:

She uses scotch tape instead of Vaseline, but the purpose is the same.

The colors I used were both Pure Ice. The white is Super Star and the sparkle is Oh Baby. I don't know if I'd really recommend them for water marbling; The white did ok, but the sparkle didn't want to drip at all.

It was fun though, and I've found it is very relaxing!

Sweater week results!

Sweater week is over! Melisa and I wore sweaters every day this week, and took pictures in our favorite spots. We both got most of our sweaters from Goodwill or Salvation Army. (We love thrifting!) Because of this, I won't be posting links to the stores online. We both highly recommend you stop by your local second hand shop, though!

Monday:

Melisa and I took this pic in our lobby. (The happy birthday on the wall is for our RA) We both went pretty simple for the first day, with just a plain black and white cardi for me and a neutral pullover for Mel.

Tuesday:

Tuesday was Oversized Sweater Day. We took these shots in the elevator. Living on the 6th floor means the elevator is your best friend! The lighting was very yellow though, and made my cozy pink sweater look like a weird shade of salmon. It set off Melisa's Fair Isle sweater great, though.

Wednesday:

Yes, the laundry room. A college student's best friend, or worst enemy. We found out after taking the picture that you really shouldn't sit on the dryers. Oops! It wasn't on purpose, but we both ended up wearing pastel sweaters on this day.

Thursday:

Ah, Fat Bar. That is what AU students call the dessert/ice cream/slushie bar. It is definitely one of our favorite spots on campus, and a perfect spot for pictures in our favorite pullovers!

Friday:

We were kind of lazy on this day, and just took pictures on our beds. They are some of our favorite spots on campus, though! (Please excuse my messy covers. No, seriously, stop looking.)

Saturday:

We took this picture at the most important place in a college student's life: Wal-Mart. The coffee aisle. Yeah baby.

Sunday:

We went a little dressier for Sunday, because we were going to church. Yes, a sweater dress still qualifies for Sweater Week. And yes, that is the kitchenette on our floor.

We had a blast figuring out different ways to wear sweaters this week. I thought about trying the backwards sweater trend, but I just wasn't brave enough. Maybe that will get it's own post soon. Have you been wearing sweaters this week? Do you have any other sweater-styling ideas? Let me know in the comments!