Where does the time go?

I've been super busy working on senior project lately, which leaves little time for me to fool around with silly blogs, but the other day, I was going through some pics for my graduation invitation and it hit me for the first time in a while how stinkin old I am now! I'm not a super melancholy or reminiscent person and I have not been able to find one negative about this whole graduation thing. But when I saw pictures of me starting my first day of school, or going to the zoo as a kid, or easter egg hunting, or just being plain ridiculous with Kaitlin, I began to get a little verklempt! Now, this is not to say that I suddenly want to forget about SCAD, stay at home and reminisce about the good ol days, but I think now, I am going to take this transition in my life a little more seriously and recognize the significance and affect it has on my life. With all that said, here are a cute pictures of some adorable kid I used to know. You might see a few familiar faces if you look hard enough.







Old photos are the best. I think I'm going to post them more often.

Kill me.

school. eat. sew. eat. sew. sleep. repeat.

Holy Frosting Shot, Batman!

So, it's been a while since my days at working Sprinkles. Part of me does not miss the hour long lines, demanding customers or the 87 lbs. I gained while working there, but every once and a while the only thing that can quench my hunger is a cupcake. And having that giant tray in the back of the shop full of cupcakes just waiting for me to devour on my break was a job benefit that, in my opinion, is much more appealing than free dental. Now, this may come as a shock to a lot of you, but I love food. I know, I know...."but, how do you stay so svelt?" you're wondering. Here's a secret: I don't. If giving in to my sweet tooth cravings are wrong, I don't want to be right. Lucky for me, the world is never short a good cupcake and my latest discovery is helping to make sure a disastrous and horrific day without cupcakes never comes. Ming Thompson, a Harvard grad student (a sister in the sweet tooth struggle), created this rad website with cupcake and cookie recipes. The recipes are all super creative, with ingredients like Guinness beer, figs, and lots of sour cream. Double thumbs up! I cannot wait to try all (and I mean ALL) of these out. I literally want everything on her website. Who's with me?

Torn Between Two Lovers

Now that I have two names I like, it makes for a hard decision. I don't know which to choose. I thought maybe putting fonts and colors to them would help, but now I like them both even more. Decisions suck.

My Grandma is a Genius.

I should have known that if I had just talked to the wise Marchetta Harrington Burlingham, all of my problems would have been solved. Duh.
Yesterday before watching my extremely talented cousin, Emilia, play the violin at the Segerstrom, the Keetsmeister was telling me how much she loved my name, Julia, and how I am related to the original Julia in our family (a story that I have heard a million times before, but with a key part left out). So, my great grandmother, Blanche, had a cousin who grew up in the early 1900s. Her name was Julia Furey. When my mom was pregnant with me, Blanche mentioned how much she always loved that name. Well, my parents liked it and here I am today. But the part I had never heard before was the middle name, Furey. For some reason when my grandma said that to me, something clicked. It sounds oddly feminine and unique, but at the same time feisty and strong. Do you see where I'm going with this? Julia Furey as the name of my company. Brilliant. O Keeta, you've done it again! I like the fact that it has my name in it, a little family history, and rolls of the tongue quite well. On top of the fact that there is the added bonus of Julia growing up in the time that my line was inspired by. And because you guys suck at participating and giving your opinion, for all I know you hate all of the other names. So there you go. Julia Furey. I like it. Do you? PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. I can take it.

On a completely unrelated note, one of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo, posted a story today about a man and woman from New York who eloped recently. Obviously, there is nothing to revolutionary about that, but I loved reading about how simple and intimate their special day was. Sometimes I think about how fun it would be just to hit up city hall and to elope and not tell anyone. But I know my mom would kill me for not letting her be there. I don't know...luckily that decision is far off into the future. I just thought I'd share their story with you.

Ok, so I need full reader participation on this one. The other day I was working on my senior project (obviously) and it dawned on me that I had yet to come up with a name for my soon to be thriving fashion company. When I was 10, I came up with "Pink Zipper Co." This company came with the ingenious idea to only put pink zippers in all of my clothing. Hello, trademark. Brilliant, right? Well, the older I got, the more I realized how ridiculous that idea was. And although the Pink Zipper Company will always have a place in my heart, I think it's time for me to come up with a more believable name. Ok, so this is where you come in. Yesterday I came up with "Jake and Agnes." Jake because that's my nickname and Agnes because she is a character in Meet Me in St. Louis. Catchy, right? I really like that, but I don't want to nail it down until I know for sure there is nothing better out there. Here are some other ideas:
Jake and Agnes
Jake and Aggie
Jake and Roo
Jake and Esther
Jake
and I was thinking about doing something with my grandmas' name....Bunny...Lois...Marchetta...Keets...I don't know. I had a lot more ideas until I lost the paper. Sad. If you have any ideas, please please please please give me your input or vote on which name you like the best.

Spring has Sprung...ish.

I think this is the first time ever that I've been excited for warmer weather to come. Although this has not been the harshest of winters, there is something in me that just wants to pull on a pair of shorts and lay in the sun for hours while eating summery food like tuna sandwiches or pineapple slices or sun chips. With the call of summer comes this incessant tickle every morning when I wake up and look out the window and see that the chill of winter has yet to ware off. It's as if someone is dangling bacon in front of me, but just out of my reach. And not being able to have the bacon is the worst feeling in the world. Come on. Who doesn't like bacon? Anyway, I guess this post is just to send a message to the weather gods (technically, that would just be God) to please send warm weather soon. Maybe I should CC this e-mail the groundhog day groundhog too.

Loose Ends

It seems that there are many things going on right now in my life that have gone un-posted on this masterfully orchestrated corner of the internet. Being the ridiculously good dramatic writer that I am, I've left many-a-cliff-hanger unanswered. Where I'm going to college, for example, or the status of my senior project, perhaps. These and others, I know, have probably kept you up late at night tossing and turning wondering "WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JULIA'S LIFE!?!" Well, friends, the wait is over. I am now going to answer all of your burning questions.

School: I have chosen to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design this fall! Like I've mentioned before, it was an extremely hard decision because both are such great schools in great locations offering great opportunities, but eventually, I settled on the fact that Parsons is just too much of a stretch financially and I don't think it'd be wise to spend the amazing gift of money for a college education my parents have given me in a way that might compromise my future financial situation. Needless to say, it did take a couple days to get used to the idea because I think I had gotten my heart so set on Parsons so suddenly, but the more I think about it, the more I realize what a great situation this really is turning out to be and I'm becoming more and more excited about the next four years. So basically: Yay! I'm going to SCAD! :)



Senior Project: My senior project could truly not be going any better. I really, for the first time, started to put my head down and do a lot of sewing this weekend and I was able to finish a couple of pieces which is encouraging. The best part is that besides the fact that I am getting things done and therefore am able to check them off my mental stress list, I am super super proud of the work that I am doing and the way the clothes are turning out. I've been trying to really make it a point to make these the best quality of clothes I've ever made and so far I feel like they are. If I continue on at the pace that I've been going, not only will I finish with plenty of time, but I may also (fingers crossed) have time to crank out a few more pieces that I've conjured up in my head while I've been sewing. Five looks is a lot, but I've got about a million and half more ideas that I would love to see come to life. I don't have any pictures to put up yet and I kind of want to keep them under wraps until they are all done and I can make the grand reveal, but I will put up a picture that has been a major part of the inspiration of the clothes. This is a still from Meet Me in St. Louis which is not only an amazing movie, but also has genius costuming. When I watched it for the 8,654th time this last fall, not only did it make me laugh, cry and think about my life like it always does, but it made me realize how many pieces of clothes I wanted to pull out of the TV and wear. A lot of the pieces in my collection have been inspired by clothes in the movie. Hopefully, you can let you imagination run wild and maybe when I do show the looks, you can relate them to this picture in some way.



Other unanswered questions about my life will now be answered below:
1. Yes, I do wake-up looking this naturally beautiful.
2. It is true, Chace Crawford did ask me out and I turned him down.
3. I made those brownies (see below) and they were quite disappointing, I must say. That picture makes them look absolutely amazing and once again, photography really dooped me.
4. I am so infinitely happy with my life that I can barely stand it sometimes.

Diet Shmiet

Mmm, I'd love a caramel sea salt brownie right about now. Sea salt makes every dessert mouthwateringly delicious, don't you agree? (This recipe looks great, too.)