some new things

For Leigh's birthday I made her this journal so she can write about and keep pictures from her upcoming trip. I got the idea in my art class this past semester. I have to say, this is my favorite mini book to make. I am currently working on my 3rd!!! :)



While in NC with Jess I worked on this polaroid mini book for our craft nights. I had so much fun doing it and I was glad to finally put a check mark next to this project. Although there are still a few additions I have to make to it. But only a few polaroids still need to be added. The pictures didnt come out all that well, but hopefully enough for yall to see them.

happy monday! <3

So I have decided that since Mondays are usually bleh days, I should try to make mine happier. So I am starting a happy monday post....every monday (or so I hope) I am going to make a list of 5 things that make me happy or that I am grateful for.

I could use a little optimism.

I'm thankful for:

1. A cold office!! (The AC is still out at our place). Poor Leigh has had to suffer the brunt of it. But hopefully all will be fixed tomorrow!!!

2. Speaking of...

Leigh!!!

Yesterday was her birthday and we got to celebrate almost all weekend! I love her soooo much. She's one of the best friends I have ever had!

3. cookie cake!!!

we had this for both Leighs birthday and Dans (I made Dan's though!) Still- so much yummy cake made a great weekend.

4. Having this guy as a friend.

Jeff is such a great friend! He has helped me sooo much since I have known him. He is always there when you need him and as if he couldn't be any sweeter for mine and Leigh's birthdays he bought us tickets to see Rob Bell. So come October the 3 Musketeers will be heading to Tampa!!! :)

5. Having Jess as a friend.

and all the lovely photoshoots we've been able to have! She is such a great friend and person. If only we lived closer.....

Happy Monday all! Hope it's a great one!

tornado warning

So yesterday I get into my car from leaving work and I wasn't even out of the parking garage before I hear on the radio that there is a tornado warning for Jacksonville. I thought nothing of it since we seem to get those a lot this time of year and nothing comes from it. But then, I'm crossing the I-95 bridge and all these cars are pulled over. I look to see what's going on, and all these people have pulled over (on the interstate) and are taking pictures of something...that something being a tornado, headed right for us. I freaked out and called my mom (who was still at work) and told her to look out the window at it. I was honestly in a panic though, granted at this point it was a water spout and seemed to be getting smaller, but I have never been that close to a tornado before (at least that I was aware of at the time....long story).
I freaked out and circled back around to go back to work for shelter. Then, as I finally get around all the crazy people taking pictures, the stupid thing is gone. So in thinking "crap Dan's birthday dinner is starting soon..." I circle again and head home to change and grab the cakes I baked for his party. Of course, as I'm on my way, calling my mom to explain what I'm doing and that I am ok, it starts pouring so much that I can't even see where I am going....smart move right? Then I get a text from my friend Ben telling me about the tornado that was seriously a block from my house.
Luckily, I made it home safely (and as it turns out they were closing bridges from downtown, so had I not left when I did I would have been trapped). Ekkk!

The rest of my weekend has so far gone smoother....
Dan's birthday was last night. I made him (with the help of Leigh and her mom) a cookie cake and a better than sex cake (real cake name). They actually turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. (No pictures though....didn't have enough time).

And tonight we celebrated my bestie's birthday with yummie pizza and cookie cake (see a theme, haha!) (Pictures soon to come)!!!

In other news, our ac is out. Has been since Wednesday and can't be fixed until at least Tuesday. Now I may love living in Florida, but when it is over 90 degrees outside, the last thing anyone would EVER want is for the AC to blow. It's been hell. Luckily with work and so many birthdays I've been able to escape it a lot. Here's to hoping it's fixed ASAP!!!

Hope everyone is having a very pleasant weekend!
And so sorry for just a rambling post. I will try not to be so boring for the next, :)

so in love...

I absolutely LOVE Urban Outfitters. If I could I would buy one (or two) of everything there....
They are currently having a sale and Ash and I took a little detour after dinner to window shop, which led to me buying too much stuff for myself. But in my defense, the stuff (most of it) was on sale!!!!
Anyway, here are some items I found while checking out their website.
So dreamy and wonderful.
Enjoy!!!

much needed vacation

This past weekend was sooo much fun. I can't even find the words to explain it....
I finally got to catch up with one of the most amazing people in this world, Jess!
We went on photoshoots, watched a lot of Gilmore Girls (I so love that show), crafted, scrapbooked, lots of starbuck (ahem, Kbucks), ate and ate (soo much good food- i even like beets, go figure), some scenic traveling, and catching up.
I am so blessed to know her and to have had this past weekend. It was a much needed vacation. Especially after so much stress and bad news (in regards to a final grade and our AC).

Here are some pics and highlights. Enjoy! :)



Jess' living room. Love the quilt!


Jessica making us dinner. Not only was it healthy, it was so delish!



Our crafting mess. Ok-- my scrapbooking mess. Wow- how she didn't kick me out for making this disaster is beyond me.



The perfect dinner. Complete with a rasberry lemonade with blueberries drink. And amazing sweet potatos!





Hers and mine. :)





Gotta love the Hello Kitty towel. And I got to claim it this weekend! Woo.



Crafts + home baked cookies = YUM!!!!








A true Gilmore night. Complete with chinese food, hot dogs, Starbucks, marshmellows, and of course some seasons of Gilmore Girls!!!!

tangled up in blue

After a 7 hour driving trip alone, you do some thinking.....

Yesterday was Father's Day (duh, right?) And while I hate writing emotional/sad blog posts, there is something that I have been thinking about so much lately (ok dwelling on...).
It's been 7 years since my dad died. I would have thought I'd be past being sad and feeling heartbroken on certain days (i.e. Father's Day, hie birthday, etc.) but I'm totally not. Last year I tried to go Father's Day card shopping for my Step-dad, only every time I walked into the card section to pick something out I would somehow be reminded of my dad and I left each time trying not begin hysterically crying in the store. Suffice to say I had to make my Step-dad a card....

This year though was different. I got to go to North Carolina to be with my really good friend Jess. We had an amazing time together and she even helped me get my mind off of what yesterday was. But then last night and all today in the car ride I began to think of my dad again. And I got angry.

Yesterday Jess decided to help me "celebrate" the day by doing something in honor of my dad. So for lunch we got Subway (which my dad and I did every Sunday (which was my day of the week with him)). It was a nice memory and soooo incredibly sweet of Jess to do for me. But then I started to think about the fact that NO one called me yesterday. No texts, no anything to check on me. At first I was really hurt and then I got really mad. How could no one care? How could I go so unnoticed on this day. But then I realized that it is all my fault. I put up a wall when it comes to that subject. I don't have really anyone to talk to about him because they either get too upset by it or they don't know what to say and make me feel uncomfortable for even bringing up the subject. So I closed that part of my mind and my heart up. But this past weekend I've realized how much it has been hurting me. Not talking about my dad has become more heartbreaking than talking about him ever could be. Instead of recalling good times or reliving events, I've been forced (on fault alone) to push him aside. Now his memory in my mind is fading. I don't remember what his voice sounds like. I can't recall what his real smile looked like (not the cheesy ones from photos), and I don't even remember what a hug from him felt like. All of these memories of my dad, one of the best people I've ever known, is slipping. I am losing him and that scares me so much.

So I decided to change a few things to make sure I don't forget him completely. I am taking Jess' advice to do something to remind myself.
For starters, I am going to use my blog to talk about him. So those of you that don't want to hear it have the fabulous option to not read it if you don't want to. (A heck of a lot easier than having to tune me out....lol) And if you do read and wish you had something to say, but just don't know what to say, my advice is to say anything. Say what is on your mind. Anything is better than silence and I have had 7 years of silence, so please, comment (only if you would like to of course).
The other thing I have decided to do is to make a mini-book. I want to create a sort of journal, recalling memories, listing down factoids about him that I remember still, including pictures, and even writing letters to him. Another plus of this is that I get to be creative!

I honestly wish I felt free to talk to people in my life about this. About how much I miss him. About what I am feeling on days like today. I wish that I didn't fear their responses so I felt free to talk, but I don't. Maybe one day I will let down that guard, but for now I think I can only allow myself to share with my blog (and its very few readers, lol).
Thank you if you've actually read all this. I honestly could use any support you can give....

~<3~


ps photos and more to come on my NC trip. SO much fun. But not enough time there! :(

greetings from NC!!!

oh what a day is today

My day thus far has included:

-a photoshoot with Dan (for a school project...talk about procrastination).
- my battery dying
- a nice random women helping us jump my car
- dan and i driving to pep boys (which my amazing mom suggested) to get a new battery


my car awaiting its new battery. it looks so sad and lonely....



me a little sad at having to spend so much time in the 90+ degree weather. (but hopefully i got some sun!!!) :)



dan. as we waited. and waited. and waited. (at pep boys).
the guy that helped us was soooooo nice.
im sooo glad that it was open today (since it is sunday)






and some random photos of us as we waited.
sometimes its nice to slow down for a minute and be reminded of all the great things there are in life.
like random acts of kindness from strangers.
and moms that are doting and would go to the end of the earth to help their kids (like my mom).
and friends that would go out of their way to help, no questions asked (leigh-leigh).
and pep boys being open on sundays!
and a great boyfriend who is willing to go a million places with me (like photoshoot places and car places) so that I wouldn't have to do it alone. and then buys me coffee to cheer me up.
and God who watches over me and protects me even though I am totally undeserving.

annoyance

I am somewhat annoyed with today.

Today I had my science methods class again (7 hours of hell). I walked into class, turn in my assignment, grab the assignment I had to revise and turn in Monday only to see that I had gotten an "F". Yup, an F, with a :) next to it. Who does that??? And I don't get "F"s. I just don't, but as my classmates and I discussed on our lunch break (as we sat around drinking $2 beer) our teacher is ridiculously hard in grading. I thought college was suppose to be more about learning. After all, college graduates always seem to say "Go to school to learn, don't worry about the grades. Then, in the end you will have learned something which will be how you get your passing grade." To those people I would like to say, "Please first meet my science teacher." I do not learn in her class. I worry about being late (one minute late and you have 5 points deducted from your entire grade), about how I will be graded on assignments, and about how she will view my presentations. This coming week with luckily be my last week. However for this class (and mind you I am taking more summer classes than just this one) I have 3 papers due, a lesson plan to write, and a presentation to give.

And now I am suffering from a horrible headache that even alieve, caffeine, and peppermint lotion on my temples can't cure.


Ok but good things........
- I get to see this amazing person soon!!! Only 1 week left.
- I have this week off from work to get work done.
- I have to make a photoshoot date this weekend (for my art class, but I am hoping to add in some fun photos as well).
-It's the weekend, which means late nights and sleeping in!
- I have a new feather mattress thing that has made my bed a million times softer and more comfy. Of course this makes it somewhat harder to get out of it in the morning, but TOTALLY worth it.
-My mom got a facebook. haha. Totally the last thing I ever thought would happen, but she did and I am proud of her trying to learn it.
-I have some amazing friends that put up with my crap and who I can confide in. They even watch silly chick flicks with me. What could be better????


Oh yes, and Leigh, Dan and I went to Jacksonville's 48 hour film project downtown Wednesday. Our friend Billy made a movie for the event and Dan (along with our friend Jeff) were in it!! Sadly Leigh and I had to get our picture taken by the Florida Times Union lady. You can see it here.
And to see Billy, Jeff, and Dan's movie, click here. Very funny.

:) so much love,
kel

shopping weakness

(all pictures from rue21)

-- My bestie and I went shopping this past weekend at rue 21. Of course the only one I know of is about 40 minutes from us, but I had seen some great items there before and wanted to stop dreaming about them and actually get them! Sadly, most were gone or not in my size. A lot of the items I wanted I couldn't even find online, like the sweet pair of bright pink flats I saw. :(
But these items above were really cute!!!


In other updates, I FINALLY finished reading Catch-22. Now I'm on to reading "Searching For God Knows What" by Donald Miller.
(google image)
I haven't gotten very far, but so far I'm loving it (as I have his other books). A couple of my friends and I are trying to read this one together (sort of a book club). I can't wait!

Happy Tuesday all!