Oscar Fashion 2011

Ahhh, the Oscars. One of my favorite fashion nights of the year. Let's talk red carpet. No. First, lets talk about what a disaster Anne Hathaway and James Franco were as hosts. I was so looking forward to seeing how they were planning on hosting the show due to the fact that they were so different from any other hosts from previous years. As a fan of them both, I was very much disappointed. Not only because Anne Hathaway was so over excited THE WHOLE TIME, but because James Franco's stoned demeanor made me wonder if he even wanted to be there. Lame. Anyway, back to the good stuff: pretty dresses.
I must say that I wasn't as thrilled with the Oscar fashion as much as I loved the Golden Globes, which is surprising coming hot off of fashion week where so many red carpet worthy gowns could have been chosen. Of course, there were lots of gorgeous dresses and no major misses to speak of, but there weren't as many home runs as I had hoped. So, to maintain the integrity of my in depth red carpet coverage, I'm only posting looks that I absolutely LOVED as apposed to a ton of things that were OK mixed in with the amazing stuff.

Let's start off with one of this year's co-hosts. Anne Hathaway had 8 wardrobe changes during the show, but my favorite had to be her first look on the red carpet wearing Valentino Couture. Red was a big trend this year, but I don't think it can be properly pulled off unless you are nominated or hosting. This gown is just so feminine and flattering on her.

Cate Blanchett's Givenchy Couture gown is getting some mixed reviews, but I, for one, absolutely loved it. The color, the structure, the silhouette, the beading-- everything is so original and fashion forward while still being wearable and visually appealing. Plus, in my opinion, Cate can do no wrong. I could sit and listen to her talk all day.

The second Mandy Moore hit the red carpet, I immediately recognized the beautiful Monique Lhullier gown. There were some mixed feelings with the crowd I was watching with, but I loved everything about this look. The dress is so glamorous and she carried out an old Hollywood elegance in the styling of everything including the hair and makeup.

I mean, I don't want to have to say I told you so, but.... I think I called this one like a month ago. Mila Kunis looks stunning in this violet (also a big trend) Elie Saab gown. Again, very original and fashion forward while still maintaining it's relatability. The color also happens to be amazing on her.

Reese Witherspoon seems to hit the nail on the head every time and this was no exception. It took me a second to decide whether or not I liked this, but ultimately I appreciate the clean, chic simplicity of the modern black and white Armani Prive gown. Maybe it's because she is almost the spitting image of the original Barbie.

Well, that's it for award season this year, folks. I'm so sad to see it go, but until next year: May your carpets be red and your wardrobes be malfunctionless.

Just a Little Iceland Goodness

God is so awesome.

Storm Watch 2011

So, the winds of change blew pretty hard this week. A storm ended up rolling in and when it was all said and done, I ended up with blonde hair again. I feel dumber already. Pictures later.

Cough, Sneeze, Home Sick.

While Spencer and Claire get over a bit of a cold towards the end of the quarter, I'm dealing with quite the gnarly bout of homesickness. No amount of Airborne or Emergen-C is going to fix this little disease. I don't know if its the fact that I'm not even halfway through this chunk of being away or that I've been feeling quite claustrophobic in my living situation, but I find myself missing people from home more than ever.
I think with some sleep and lots of water, I'll get rid of this bug, but until then, I stare at all the pictures on my wall wrapped up in a blanket with a box of empty kleenex.

The Winds of Change are Blowing

Happy happy

The last week or so of weather in Savannah has been absolutely divine. I'm talking going from low 40s to high 70s in a matter of days. We have been cooped up in our rooms for weeks since moving back after Christmas, so we're taking every opportunity to live it up in the sun. Today, I don't have class until 5, so it looks like I'll be spending another day at the park sketching and doing homework. I don't think I've ever been so excited for weather like this in my life.

A Semi Stressful Day Salvaged Only by Thin Mints and Sun Screen

Friday was registration and as freshman, our registration time is one of the last slots of them all. After thoroughly planning my schedule and two back up schedules nearly 3 weeks ago, I felt as though there was no more preparation to be done. I planned to take Art History II with a challenging, but not impossible teacher, Life Drawing with someone who grades on effort and not on talent and finally Fashion Tech with any teacher who still had a spot left.
It was a beautiful 78 degree day here in Savannah and we spent the whole day worshipping the sun and laying out at Forsyth Park waiting for my 4:30 registration time. A crisis we had averted earlier with the internet being down at the dorm had already been dealt with and I assumed I would be able to log on to the registration site, make a few clicks and be on my way. False.
At about 4:00, we left the park and walked over to the nearby Sentient Bean to use their internet and grab a delicious snack. After sitting down with my computer for no more than two minutes, I realized that MySCAD, the site for registration, was totally and completely swamped. And, I realized that all, yes, ALL of my classes (even the backups) were completely full and closed. So with about 5 minutes until registration, and scrambling with the world's slowest internet, I had to restructure my entire spring quarter. 4:30 came and went and the internet was still loading and I was still without most of my classes figured out. Finally after much, much frustration and every fiber in my being stopping myself from ripping my computer out of the wall and throwing it at the homeless man sitting next to me and asking a million non sensical questions, I got my classes. Art History II with Jane Rehl, a teacher who as Spencer describes her is "literally the devil. Seriously." Life Drawing with a teacher who may or may not be an American citizen with an impossibly thick accent and 3D design at 8 in the morning.
After intense complaining session for about 2 hours on Friday evening, I think I finally have settled with the fact that this is my schedule, like it or not and it will all be fine if I work hard. Plus, its only 10 weeks. I can do anything for 10 weeks. Ok. Not anything, but these classes I can definitely do for 10 weeks.

Two positives:
1. After applying and reapplying all day (and getting made fun of from my 'friends' for my extremely pale skin), my exuberant sun screen use saved me from any burn even after laying out for a whole day. For the record I prefer the term 'alabaster' over 'pale'.
2. Adorable black girl scouts were selling cookies at Kroger. Two boxes of thin mints. Please and thank you.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

If you've seen me at all in the past week, you've probably seen me surfing the web drooling over images of this weeks Fashion Week in New York displaying the collections of designer's and their definition of Fall 2011. I became slightly obsessed. I...am going against my better judgement and possibly taking some heat by telling you that I managed to watch the Vera Wang runway show streaming live while simultaneously taking notes in Art History. Extreme? No. Just right.

This video from the New York Times pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to a wrap up of trends and upcoming styles. I for one, couldn't be more thrilled with their ideas because it's all about coverage, coverage, coverage. I can work with this. I am the queen of mastering the grandma librarian look and the phrase, "Modest is Hottest" was pretty much my senior quote.

I Can't Tell

Frances, Spencer and I are debating whether or not this child is adorable or creepy. The facial expression and the outfit are temptingly cute, but she walks a dangerous line of being awfully close to, dare I say it....a child. actor. The worst kind of child. Or actor, for that matter.

Spencer adds that she's probably a baby genius. Simultaneously frightening and fascinating.

That's Cool...or Creepy.

The other day, my friend Wren, who is considering transferring from SCAD next year, was looking around on the interwebs for opinions on the difference between SCAD and schools like Parsons and Pratt. She googled something to the affect of SCAD vs. Parsons and looky look what popped up!

Yes. It is indeed a link to my ever panicked (and hungry) post last year aptly named "SCAD vs. Parsons: Let the War Begin." Looks like we know who won.

When she told me that she had inadvertently stumbled upon my blog, at first I didn't know if I should be embarrassed, flattered or weirded out. I remember this time last year when my college decision consumed my every thought every day for a solid 6 months (probably more, if I'm being honest). And I remember searching those same things over and over and over again looking for anyone to give me their honest and unbiased opinion on where in the world I should choose go to college. It makes me wonder how many people have searched that in the last year or so and found my post and read it.

That's the weird thing about this blog. Some of my friends and family are quite vocal about reading my blog everyday and I am so surprised and blessed every time someone tells me they like what I post, but then there are the people who I don't even know who read this silly thing and enjoy it. I don't think there are many, but it's weird to think about either way.

All this to say, I don't quite know how I feel about being able to be googled, but if I've made someones day a little brighter, I don't mind it.

If I had a kitchen...

It's here.

I did everything I could, but Valentines Day somehow managed to show up again this year. And although V Day is NO WHERE NEAR my top 5 list when it comes to holidays, I think all of this prep work might just have gotten me a bit more excited about Valentines day (and not just because I can finally wear my red heart dress that I've been saving for weeks). Who am I?

Anyway, after all of my award worthy valentines day coverage for the last few days, a couple days ago I thought to myself "What have you done? You've pulled out all the stops before the actual day. You have no more Valentines day themed images saved, no more topics to cover (being that food and crafts are really the only ones that matter) and you're gonna have nothing to do on the big day!" Essentially I'd inadvertently Lady Gaga'd myself. How do I top myself? You pull out the egg vessel. That's what you do.

So, I phoned a friend and went straight to the Love source-- the people who have shown me what it is to love and to be loved since I was born. My parents and my grandma Bunny. Nothing I write can beat their 26 and 50 year marriages respectively.

I e-mailed them asked them each 4 simple questions on love. I was so blessed by their responses. Whether they were funny or heartwarming, their answers made me realize how selfless love is.

The Questions were:

1. Define love.
2. How did you know you were in love?
3. Name some things you love.
4. What are things you love about your spouse?

Grandma Bunny had this to say:

1. Love is an affectionate, tender, passionate feeling for another person that you feel in your heart
2. There was never one single moment when I thought WOW! I'm in love. Loving your grandpa was an ever changing ,ongoing journey. Regarding love at first sight, there is such a thing. I experienced this phenomenom at the birth of Don, Doug, Sue, Tracy, Taryn, Kaitlin and you my dear Julia!
3. The life I am privileged to live, The sun, Books, My family, Julia's blog etc.etc.etc..................
4. He loved me! He was a softy (Don't tell anyone!) He was over the hill wild about his kids and grandkids

My mom said:

1. Chocolate is love -- it loves me, I love it back ... but that's not my final answer. Love is... hmmm... well, loving is selflessly, giving and serving another for their betterment, as Jesus gave Himself... love is fun, finding the other person interesting, adorable, respectable, admirable, and finding someone you trust enough that you're willing to humbly listen to how they think you need to change.
2. When I felt at total peace and confidence in my relationship with Don... that no matter what, he was the one I wanted to see across the table each day.
3. I love God's unconditional, unrelenting, vivacious pursuit of my heart to be turned toward Him; I love where God has brought the relationships in my family -- to health, to support, to fun, to independence, to appreciation for His great gifts.
4. His adorable smile and hot legs!

And finally, my Dad:

1. Committed loyalty
2. Sounds corny but I knew that the first or second time I met your mother, i wanted to marry her. Unlike Sleepless in Seattle, I don't necessarily believe that there is one and only one person out there for you. I do believe that God will put people in your lives that you will be attracted to , and through Him great gift of marriage, you will develop greater love and appreciation for that person.
3. I love my family; I love the way God has molded my character through the relationship that I have with Him, and, because I can't leave this one out... chili dogs.
4. Her enthusiasm for life.

Aren't those answers great!? Thanks for doing that, guys-- you're the best.

Now it's your turn to answer the questions that apply to you and comment below. I can't wait to hear your answers.

Happy Valentines Day!

Rick Rolled

At about 9:00 this morning, I woke up to something a bit unusual. I heard some type of music coming from the courtyard of Turner House and still half asleep, it took me a few minutes to recognize what song it was. Then it hit me. I know this song. You know the song. It's the sweet, sweet sounds of Rick Astley and his one-hit-wonder Never Gonna Give You Up.

Notorious for being one of the cheesiest, most repetitive and all around worst songs of all time, I was confused. I heard it play through our windows and creep through our walls 1 time, 2 times, 3 times...over and over and over without stopping. So curious as to what why in the world someone would be playing this song, I hopped out of bed, slipped on my sweatshirt, grabbed my Uggs and headed outside. In the courtyard were two girls-- neigh, activists, walking around greeting people to inform them that the music would not be turned off until they raised their very realistic goal of $300 for the local Rape Crisis Center. With friendly smiles and understanding attitudes, they came up to me and explained that they were sorry if they woke me up, but this was something they were passionate about. People were yelling at them and berating their cause, but I for one, think it's brilliant. Partly, because I like what their doing and somewhat due to the fact that I can't deal with this song playing for much longer, I gave them a few bucks. I also couldn't miss the opportunity to get some video of this before it went away. Ignore the video quality. It was early. And I was half asleep.

It's 11:54 and the music is still blasting. If you are reading this and are in Savannah, please just help make this stop and donate a dollar...save us before we get mercilessly Rick Rolled to death!

Update: It's 12:54 and the music has stopped. $300 in da bank. Nice.

Binge

When you're alone on Valentines day and there is really nothing for you to mark the holiday with, what does one turn to? Food. (Let's ignore the fact that over eating may in fact be the reason you are alone on such a day, but I digress) And what better way to take diminish the sting of the fact that you are all alone than a heart shaped red velvet cake? Two heart shaped red velvet cakes! Just kidding. That'd be ridiculously too much.

So, where will you find me on Monday? Probably, half naked in a bath tub covered in crumbs and cream cheese frosting with this song playing over and over and over again. But I'll for sure be wearing something red to keep up with the spirit!

Stop on by! It'll be a good time.

It's Cold.

And I want, no-- NEED to go here. Right now.

How...precious.

This made me smile. Not like a picture of an awkward family would of made me smile, but in a OK, fine. This is kind of cute, I guess kind of way.

(And for those of you keeping track at home, it is day 3 of my Valentines Day coverage and my organs are slowly starting to fail and i've begun to lose significant amounts of hair.)

kisses are a better fate than wisdom.

-- e.e. cummings

Valentines Day, Shmalentines Day

As much as I'm morally opposed to even acknowledge Valentines day as anything other than a regular droopy Monday, as a blogger, I am obligated to cater to all of my readers and their needs (I'm talking to you, Taryn Patton).

With that being said, I've found a couple things in the last couple days that are... I guess... like... cute or something and I'll be sharing them here to quench your romantical sap filled hearts.

Behold, the heart paper clip. When I first saw this, I thought to myself "Oh, how fun, but who wants to spend extra money like that on paper clips?" And then I looked closer and realized that they were simply made from good ol' regular paper clips. I don't know how in all my years of unwinding and winding paper clips, it never dawned on my to make it into a heart.

I feel like it would be very Elle Woods to start using these little hearts on all of my documents.

So, there you have it. I am acknowledging Valentines day for the next few days. Stay tuned as I slowly become more and more bitter as the day gets closer and watch as my body begins to physically shut down.

And Here's #387

Just found out that Anthropologie is coming out with a line of Wedding dresses and I am absolutely loving the sneak peek looks that I saw for the first time today! All the dresses are between $1,000 – $4,000. The label will be called BHLDN. Here are some of my favorites.

Cannot wait to see the whole collection next Monday-- yes, on Valentines day. That'll be the only good thing to come out of such a dreadful day.

Reason #386 Why I Love Bridal

Ugh... I could just stare at this all day.

This is Neat.

The more I learn about myself, the more I come to realize how much I crave organization. On my desk. In my room. In my life.

I would give anything to have the space for organization right now. Yes, I have my little bins and drawers conveniently spaced all over the room, but with three girls living in one room, things are unavoidably chaotic at times.

Next year. Next year, I will be living in a house. With a room. For me. With lots of drawers. And Shelves. And nooks. And crannies.

Next year.

Jacksonville Fun

Yesterday, Spencer, Frances, Claire, Wren and I took a little trip down to Jacksonville, FL to see the world's best hardcore band, Hundredth. Yes. This is Spencer's boyfriend, Andrew's band. The same one that we went to see in Columbia. The same night Spencer's car got towed.....awkward....Anyway, it was great. Obviously.

And here are some pictures to prove it.

This is America's Smallest Church. For real.

It was definitely smaller than my dorm room, which I didn't think was possible, but adorably quaint. Only in southern Georgia does a woman named Mrs. Agnes Harper build this church and then deed it to the big man himself, Jesus Christ.

Is this inappropriate? Maybe.

After some road trip fun (video later) we got to Jacksonville (which, if you're curious, is about 2 hours away).We had some time to kill before the show so we headed over to the beach.

La la la la Group picture Lala

Typical.

Jumping pictures never get old. That was a lie. They get old very easily. But this one is pretty cool.

Well, are these two just adorable or what?

So thrilled to be here. I can barely hold it in.

All that Zumba-ing is paying off. In case you are wondering, we are whipping our hair back and forth.

This would have been a cute group picture except for some creeper is lurking in the back.

After the beach, we headed back to the venue to wait for the show. We made sure to park in a designated area.

Here's the only picture from the show. I have no witty comment.

We made it back to Savannah in time to not watch the second half of the Super Bowl (not that I really care) and grabbed some grub from the trusty sub shop. Florida was lovely and although I was a little disappointed with the below average excitement level that Jacksonville had to offer, any trip that goes down with the car in our possession the whole time is a success.

Sunday well spent.

Mini Road-Trip

Off to Jacksonville. Hoping for no towed cars. Fingers crossed.

Heel Yes.

One of my recent goals is to be better at wearing heels. And by better, I mean being able to take more than 2 steps without looking like I am learning to walk for the first time.

The other day I snagged these little beauties for $30 dollars (I love you, TJ Maxx) and after walking around the dorm in them for a few days and gaining my sea legs, I thought I was ready to take them out into the great, big, real life world.

So I put together this adorable outfit and started small by wearing them out to the car. Made it. Only had to steady myself once. Then, I ran a few errands-- walked down all the halls of CVS and didn't fall once. Done. And when I walked out of the market, bags in hand, just starting to feel confident and carefree, a pesky gust of wind came up and startled me causing me to back step onto an uneven cobblestone. As my foot twisted in my shoe, I made a terrifyingly awkward face and yelped a kind of "gerrsheeaaAAaa!" sound as I threw my bags in the air and fell to the ground. Picture it. And then to diffuse the terribly awkward fact that about 8 construction men were across the street staring at me, I let out a rather loud and obnoxious cackle to let everyone know that "Hey- I may be sitting on the floor next to a box of tampons and 6 granola bars, but I'm fine! Look! I'm laughing! See!? Oh, and these heels that are ridiculously tall and outlandish? ...I wear them all the time! The fact that I fell is a total fluke."

After I got up and brushed myself off, I sheepishly made my way back to Spencer's car and changed into my back-up pair of flats that I'd shoved into my purse just in case. Good call.

Moral of the story: I am going to make it there. I'm going to get to that place where I can slip on a pair of heels and rock them better than Lady Gaga.

One day. I'll get there soon.

Oh, What a Difference a Week Makes.

(no, this is not my bike and no it is not technically snowing here, but it is still so so cold!)

Last week: basking in the sunlight as I rode my back through the cobblestone streets of Savannah.

This week: Hustling to get to a car before I get completely drenched in rain.

I know it is only the very beginning of February, but come on! I'm running out of cute ways to wear warm clothes. And I'm dying to wear my new cool sandals from Target that won't be making their appearance until we're in full fledged Spring mode. I've never been so antsy for the sun in. my. life.

Blerg.

Nothing is good in this world until my art history test is done. I want to transport myself to 2:00 right now.

The Major Major Decision

A few weeks ago, the emotional girl version of Julia took over and posted this huge long rant about how hard her life is and why being at such an amazing school with so many amazing opportunities is so difficult and terrible. And when that really boring and pathetic pity party was over I put my big girl panties back on and dealt with what was really going on. Which was fear.

Essentially, the only reason I was so hesitant about something that I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember is because things are actually becoming reality and that scares me. When I really took a step back, the only thing that I was afraid of was not being good enough for what possibilities may lay ahead. This, along with the realization that I feel the need to control just about everything in my life has made the last few weeks very interesting.

On top of this, I've been recently trying to be more self aware and really observe how my attitude and actions have affects on the people around me. This is turning out to be quite the eye opening experience and quite convicting on many levels. Self improvement is proving to be very difficult but, I can already tell, very worth it.

So this leads me to my decision about my major. It's a good thing I kept putting off writing this post because my decision has seemed to evolve just about every day since the last time I talked about this. Finally, last night I think I really settled on what I want to do (for now, at least). I'm going to be....drumroll, please....a fashion major! Wow. Doesn't it feel like I already made this decision? Let me say it again for emphasis. A fashion major. No minor. No glitz. No frills. Just fashion. Lets go through the thought process here. The cycle went from Fashion Major with a Writing minor (before the mental break down of 2 weeks ago) to Fibers Major to Fibers major with a Fashion minor to a Fashion major with a Fibers minor and then settling last night on just a good old solid Fashion major (still tracking?).

How, you may ask? Wellll, the other day I was at my desk with a black sharpie, two fat highlighters and huge calendar trying to figure out a way to squeeze all the required classes of a minor and a major into 4 ridiculously fast years. I realized that the only way to do this would be taking way over a full load for the next 3 years. At first, I didn't think this would be impossible. Yes, a challenge, but something I could handle. But over the weekend, after really thinking about it and talking to a couple girls who are doing this same thing this quarter, some concerns were raised. And last night, the real deal breaker came when I sat down to map out my spring quarter and thought to myself "Wow, Julia. You are hardly going to be able to next quarter's regular load-- let alone adding extra classes. Heaven's sake, you are making quite lofty goals for yourself!" And it hit me. Why do I feel the need to do everything? I do not yet know the answer to this question but I'm pretty sure that a solution to not having to find out the hard way is to not to try and do everything. And this isn't me doubting myself and my ability to juggle tons of balls (...a-hem...). But I can still take all the classes I really want to without having to kill myself with officially having a minor in anything! I can have my fashion cake, eat it too and probably end up throwing it up so I can be skinny just like the rest of the girls! Just kidding. Seriously. I'm kidding. Why in the world would I waste good cake like that?

After making this realization silently in my head, I felt the urge to scream it out loud like I'd figured out the earth isn't flat. So that's what I did. I turned to Claire and yelped "I don't have to minor in anything! And I can still, like, learn a lot and get a job and be happy!" and she looked at me and smiled "Yes! Yay!" And that was it.

Julia Patton: Fashion Major.

I feel great. I feel capable. I am so ready to be a fashion major and rock at it. And I'm so excited to take all of my electives and use them up in every way possible in the fibers building. Wow. So great.

Before I wrap this up, can I please just say that you guys are seriously the best ever. For days after I posted the big womp womp that shall not be named, I received so many supportive e-mails, calls and comments that not only were encouraging and made me feel loved, but also were very helpful in my thought process. I have been so so so blessed with everyones reassurance that it was going to be ok. I need that. I have a tendency to freak out and its so helpful to know that I'm being heard. And allowed to freak out. Because eventually, through God and the support of those around me, I stop freaking out long enough to realize that it's not up to me. I'm just along for the ever bumpy and unpredictably amazing ride.

Final Disclaimer: I am allowed to change my mind tomorrow. :)

(Also, for those of you wondering what ever happened to the poor old writing department, I think I'm going to keep all my musings on this here little website for now. Keep all the journalism to the democrats.)

One More

Just for laughs.

Mobile Uploads

Mobile Uploads are back! Here are a few pics snapped on my phone since this quarter started.

The other day I mentioned how we changed around our furniture this weekend. Well, if you've talked to me in the last few days, I've definitely mentioned it and exclaimed "It changed my life!" And I'm serious. Our lives here are already so routine and sometimes repetitive, the layout of the room was just another thing making us (mostly me) feel so mentally claustrophobic. A change was necessary. And while we were changing, a cleaning was necessary too. This is a picture of 1 of 4 swiffer pads (all equally this disgusting) from cleaning our floor. I promise you that our room is actually very clean-- all of this disgustingness came from the places behind furniture and under rugs that we haven't been able to get to.

If you remember that post a few days ago about my craving for In-n-Out 1) No, I still haven't gotten anything in the mail and 2) I don't think this picture being my desktop is really helping the situation.

Here, Tyler Morgan and I face the bone chilling cold to make our way to the safe haven of the sub shop. And as bundled as we may be, no women's parka or hand knit blanket can stop the chill from working its way into your bloodstream and taking you over like a hostage to its bandit.

Arnold Hall. The drawing building. A place my art will never be on the walls. So, like my father always taught, its up to me to be proactive about the situation and take matters into my own hands. Work harder in drawing and maybe one day you'll get there? No, silly! Make Xerox's of your face and put them up on the walls yourself! Fake it til you make it, baby!

Ok, this picture wasn't technically taken on my phone. But it needed to be shared. Recently pursuing her art, the dear Frances Russell took to a bottle of gel to help her walk the line of femininity and masculinity. Take that, a tube of red lipstick and an androgynous brow line later and you've got yourself a color theory masterpiece.

That is all for today. I am thrilled to be blogging from bed this morning as my color theory class was cancelled due to illness. Rejoice! I am also so glad to be finished with pesky January. That month didn't know when enough was enough and frankly, I for one am glad to see it go. On to bigger and better things!