Stop.

Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.

Wait. I literally can't breathe.
I know for a fact that none of you believe me when I say that, but I'm. Dead. Serious.
My chest hurts. It's tightening. My chest hurts and I can't breathe.
These pictures. I mean...
Look. Just look.
Look at the photographs for the new book, Dior Couture, by Patrick Demarchelier.
They are so beautiful.

Let it be known in all of the land that this is officially added to the Christmas Wishlist.

"Buuuuuy Meeeee," Dior Couture.  

Can you guess where I am?

Wish List

I was going to wait until December 1st to post this, but I just couldn't wait anymore. I am terrible with these because usually I think of something that I would love as a gift and then two minutes later, it has completely disappeared from my brain, but this year, my trusty iPhone 4 and I created a system of lists that has kept me from forgetting anything therefore allowing you guys to buy me more. Some are expensive and ridiculous and some are cheap and ridiculous. There's something for everyone! Isn't that nice of me?

This is my official Christmas wish list:

Pasta maker- there is nothing better than homemade pasta and it is so incredibly easy... as long as you have pasta maker. 


Light box- I will be needing a light box more and more in the next couple years of school and having one of my own would be ideal. I just told my parents about this the other day and my mom said that my dad made his own back when they were first married. What? Cool! Now I want a homemade light box. 


iPod- Remember how mine got stolen? :( I hate asking for this as a gift and I've always bought my own, but I figured I'd throw it in there.


iPad- I don't expect anyone to actually buy this for me. But I feel like as a gadget fan and human living in 2011, I'd be so lame not to ask for one. 


Records- I got my amazing record player for my birthday and have been slowly building my record catalogue ever since. Buying records is tricky ground because obviously I have to like the music, but if you are 100% confident that I will like a certain record, I probably will. I like people's music recommendations-- especially when having them on vinyl makes them automatically cool. 


Socks- I am easily the coldest person in the world. I am always cold. And, how convenient, my roommates are always hot. This typically results in a conversation quite similar to this: Us sitting on the couch and someone passively mentions "Did someone turn the heat on?" (and by someone they totally mean me). Then someone else chimes in with "Yeah-- it is so freaking hot in here. I can't breathe." This is always stated very sincerely as if they are literally going to suffocate and die. Then I, typically, in a defensive and irrational tone, say something to the affect of "How are you guys hot!? It's like negative 76 degrees in here!" Inevitably, 4 against 1 wins and the heat is turned off. And I freeze to death. So, I need socks. Warmer than the target ankle peds I wear now. But nothing with lots of pattern. Mostly neutral colors, if you please. 


Cool Coffee Table Books- Actually, just this book that Kaitlin showed me the other day called Charley Harper, An Illustrated Life. But if you happen to find any other interesting books that are also visually appealing, I'd love to display them in the competitive real estate that is the book shelf behind my bed. 


That lipstick at Mac that made me feel like a million bucks- I've always wanted a signature lipstick and there have been many that tried and failed, but I think I may finally be on to something. There was a key component that is vital to the success of a red lip-- something I only learned about post break down this weekend: Lip Liner. Apparently, if you're gonna be a Red Lipstick kind of gal (something I totally think I have the potential to be if given the chance), you need to go the extra mile and pull out the lip liner. The name of the lipstick was Russian Red and the lipliner was Kiss Me Quick.


Old Typewriter- I want a typewriter real bad. But I only want it if it's old and cool looking. This would be the gift that, if done correctly, would go down in the books as one of the all time greats. The look on my face when I unwrap the present and reveal the old, worn in keys might actually bring me to tears. I want to write. Lots and lots of writing. And I feel like the clunky and loud properties of an old typewriter would only enhance the words on the page. I mean, similar to the idea of "if these walls could talk," imagine the worlds and the possibilities of scenarios that have gone down on an old typewriter?

On Topic

For the record, let me just say that that whole entire post was initially intended to be an ode to Madewell. I even found this video to attach, but I guess I got a little sidetracked.

Readers Digest version: Madewell is great. Everyone looks good in their jeans. Everyone likes their jeans. Being at Madewell was the shopping highlight of my day.

Watch this video of the laughably fashionable and singularly named "Jac" (Madewell's head denim designer) discuss why she's "Owbsayssed" with her job.

Black Saturday

This Saturday started out innocently enough.

"Let's go get breakfast," my mom said. "Let's go shopping and spend the day together."

"Good enough for me," I thought as I sipped on the most perfect vanilla latte from Eat Chow. With Kaitlin across the table, I devoured half of the eggs benedict that I intended to split with my mom, but after taking a few bites of their Breakfast Carnitas Tacos Special, I made the yucky face and pressured my mom to gimme back my eggs benny! I hadn't gotten to go on my usual Black Friday excursion this year due to a lack of wingman (Rule #1: NEVER go to Black Friday without a wingman-- or too many wingmen, for that matter) so I was looking forward to the hustle and bustle of shopping between Thanksgiving and New Years. Rushed madness.

The goals were set out and easily achievable. Our shopping list included, but was not limited to:
1. Boots for Kaitlin
2. Formal Dresses for a ball (yes, a ball as in Cinderella) for Kaitlin and Mom. And sort of me too-- I already had a strong option, but hey- did looking ever hurt anyone?
3. Jeans for Kaitlin

My roles:
1. Style Compass
2. Moral Support (which I was running low on thanks to a sudden wave of nausea that hit me fast and hard-- I blame the Breakfast Carnitas Taco Special)
3. BUY NOTHING.

So when we drove to the mall (South Coast Plaza, to be exact) our positive spirits were immediately uplifted by the fact that we got the pole position and that the mall was virtually empty at 10:30. We walked around Loehman's searching for the perfect gowns (yes, gowns as in Cinderella), but didn't find much.
I found cool knit gloves and a sweater with a wolf on it. Sold.

Next we hit DSW for boots and Nordstrom Rack for gowns leaving with no luck for Kaitlin and Mom in regards to the list.
I found comfy pajamas. Sold.

By the way, let me just mention that at this point, the mall had filled up to it's normal yet completely overcrowded post Thanksgiving capacity and between the three of us, there had been close to 50 failed ball gowns. Emotions were already running high and blood sugar levels getting dangerously low.

We convinced mom to keep the faith and Kaitlin suggested that we try Macy's. From my perspective, this had "Bad Idea" written all over it. I knew Macy's was going to have amazing sales therefore bringing in large crowds. And for our group of 2/3 non shoppers and 1/3 grumpy nauseous Julia, I didn't think it would be such a good idea. But, we went anyway thanks to me wielding my main bargaining chip of knowing that Madewell was on the same side of the mall as Macy's. And I just really like Madewell.

This is really when we got to see the differences in Kaitlin and my shopping style. Kaitlin is of the school of "grab everything-- something is bound to work" (a strong and valid strategy) while, I prefer a more focused approach of "in order to maintain a healthy amount of morale and self confidence let's just choose things that we actually think have a fighting chance."

Kaitlin won. So we tried on about 20 more dresses. One of which turned out to be absolutely gorgeous on Kaitlin. Sold.

Still nothing for mom, though. And after sitting quietly in the corner as she tried on dress after dress after dress that I knew were not going to work even before they were off the hanger, I had to stand my ground on the red dress. The red dress was a monstrosity that Kaitlin felt strongly would look great on mom. I felt strongly that it would not. After trying to convince them that it wasn't even worth our time to even try it on, Linda pulled it on and zipped it up. This is when I start sounding crazy. The fatigue and hunger and nausea of the day culminated in that smelly dressing room with the sticky floors and I couldn't take it anymore. I burst into tears and laughter. Simultaneously. And then separately. And then in a weird sort of pulsing crying, laughing, crying, laughing pattern. Every fiber of my fashion major being wanted to scream and I had visions of every single professor in Eckburg screaming "YOU FAIL!" at me. Yes. The dress was that ugly. Mom and Kaitlin agreed, but looked at me like I was crazy as I just sat there underneath a mountain of dresses that I was supposed to be hanging back up and let my freak flag fly. No shame. Tears and laughter. Laughter and tears. So, while mom consoled me and tried to figure out what in the world was wrong, Kaitlin made one more sweep of the gowns that we had yet to try. She came back with one. Mom tried it on. Gold. Pure gold. Sold.
I found nothing at Macy's. Because I hate Macy's.

While Kaitlin checked out their boots, mom tried to console me and what can really only be described as a tantrum with makeup products. Trying to channel the J.Crew ads of late, I had impulse bought some orange lipstick earlier this week at CVS that I was pretty pumped about later discovering that I was the only one who thought it flattered my alabaster complexion. So she gently suggested that we try out some more colors. We went to Mac. We found the perfect red lipstick. With a brazen lip and my second wind, I put my now terrifying hair into a top knot and my mood was immediately changed.

The rest of the day kind of blends together in a storm of people and purchases. Somehow I ended up with a pair of booties from Aldo, a skirt and sweater on sale from J. Crew a dress (also on sale) from Madewell and two identical pairs of wide legged jeans also from Madewell (hey-- if you find jeans that work, work them hard).

As we left the mall, I looked at my phone and saw that it was literally 5:00.

5:00.

Wait.

5:00.

5:00.

5:00 PM.

5:00.

As in 7 hours after we got there.

And 7 hours since breakfast.

And 8 shopping bags later.

By the way, Kaitlin found boots and they are amazing. And also three pairs of jeans from Madewell that make her butt look like a million dollars.

As we drove home with the smell of Dorias pick-up infusing our car, I dramatically laid down in the back on the car and recounted the happenings of the day. As I did, I realized that we had in fact made all of the necessary purchases and then some. So was it worth it? Were the crowds and the mayhem and the mountains of failed clothes all worth the deals and the successes that we walked away with?

...Why?

Do you ever have those moments when you come across someone and think to yourself, "I will never be as cool as you"? (Spencer, I'm basically talking to you). Well, I have them ALL THE TIME. It's called art school, people.

Today, I had one of those moments.

One of my favorite stores, Zara, and the amazingly stylish online institution that is The Selby, teamed up to showcase some of Zara's new fall pieces while following around English artist, Lucy Chadwick as she discusses her life and her home(s) in New York.

To quote Frances Russell, this makes me homesick for my future. I mean, let me break it down for you:

Cool job.
Cool hair.
Cool glasses.
Cool house.
Cool other house.
Cool produce from cool open market from which she probably makes her cool but deliciously healthy cool meals.

My only small critique would have to be that I would just prefer my significant other to have less hair. But, hey, that's just me.




In other news, it has been a glorious week since coming home. So far, I have woken up smiling every morning (and afternoon-- post nap) thankful to be from such a beautiful place surrounded by such beautiful people. Speeeaking of thankfulness, let me tell ya-- get excited for a Patton Family Thanksgiving Day Video coming your way.

And boy do I mean get ready because it's going to blow your socks off.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I love Thanksgiving. It sort of forces me to put on my rose colored glasses of gratitude. The days leading up and especially the actual day has me in the mindset that makes me realize that I have nothing to complain about in my life. Nope. Nothing.

This morning, I woke up, fumbled around for those rosy glasses on my nightstand and after I slid them on... Oh, lookey there! My whole room looks different! I've only been awake for 14 minutes, but already there is so much I've seen.

I'm thankful for this bed. It's warm, and safe, and comfortable.
I'm thankful for these legs that allow me to get up every morning and greet my family in the living room.
I'm thankful for good plumbing. And working pipes. Good showers and working toilets are not something to be scoffed at.
I'm thankful for laughter. For example, I walked out the living room this morning and saw my dad wearing plaid shorts. And I laughed.
I'm thankful for technology that allows me to wish friends and family that are far away a happy Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for the music that is coming out of my computer. It just makes things brighter.
I am thankful for my mom's car that is going to take us out to the desert in a couple of hours to celebrate this holiday with family who I love.
I am thankful for stretchy pants.

I mean, gee whiz, guys. See what I mean? Those are only the things I've noticed since I woke up this morning! Can you imagine the thankfulness possibilities that could reveal themselves if I wore these glasses all the time?!

Anyway, I've got to go get ready for the big T-Day.

See you in a little bit, Grandma!

I mean, come on now.

I hardly ever talk about my love life on this blog because, let's be honest, nobody wants  to read about a single college gal's desperate search for love as she navigates the mysteries of life on her own in the big city. You don't want to read that and I really don't want to write about it either.

But I will say, since we're all friends here, that I would absolutely love to have a boyfriend one of these days.

Is that too much to ask?

It is?

Ok, ok-- then what about just like a crush? Or a semi-flirty texting relationship? No? Fine. What about just a dancing partner?! Heck, I'd even settle for a honk o' the horn as I walk across the street in a particularly flattering outfit.

But alas, it remains: Julia Patton. Table for One. Le sigh.

That's all I'll say on the matter.

*this post in no way is begging for pity. 

California, California, California!!!

Today is finally the dayyyy!!! I am flying home to good ol So Cal.

I can't wait to see Newport and everything/everyone that goes with it.

Lalalalaaa. I'm so excited. I'll see you all very soon!

Mobile Uploads: Finals Week Edition

Ok, I am about to pull of the fastest blog post ever. I am sitting on Frances Russell's comfy bed here in Dallas and my computer battery has 9 minutes left. But I really wanted to blog. And share with you some delightful pics from our last week of class, but I've got to work quick.

I am going to chronologically take you through the last week of classes according to the pictures on my phone. This will soon be followed by a Mobile Uploads: Road Trip Edition and then a Mobile Uploads: Dallas Edition. Ok, go.

Finals week is really all about the weekend before finals week. That is the time that usually sees the most work. You have all day to focus, all of the building are open and well equipped for lots of workers and you aren't totally drained of all energy and motivation to focus yet.

So, we hit Foxy Loxy. Focus focus focus. But not really. I just couldn't seem to get my jive on that day and ended up people watching, internet surfing and bugging everyone else with a random fountain of energy. But Claire and Frances were working hard.

By Sunday, all bets were already off. The evening was a total hyper fest in our house and none of us were accomplishing anything. I looked out my window in my door and saw Frances sitting patiently on the floor. Apparently, she had been waiting there for over 5 minutes waiting for me to notice, all for the laugh of it. 

Here Claire works hard on her repeat pattern project. 

 Monday night biscuit run. 100% necessary for morale.

 In the midst of working on my Fashion Tech Final.

Spencer had an awesome finals project that reacquired much effort. And by much effort, I mean, she did not leave the house for 3 days. Not an exaggeration. She did not leave the house. For three days. This was when she just could not handle life anymore. 

Finals are finally over and I rewarded myself with buying Al Green's Greatest Hits on vinyl ON SALE. Sold. Best purchase of the quarter. It's the best. 

After it was all said and done, we made a trip out to Tybee to help Spencer with her amazing mood boards for her application for a Free People Internship. Which she will get. The night was cold and sunny. And we took lots of pictures. It was lovely. 

When then came back and celebrated with a dance party.

Imma miss these ladies.

BOOM. I BEAT THE CLOCK. 

Look What I Can Do

I really hate putting my own work on Facebook or the blog or any of that sort of situation, but I feel that at the end of the quarter, when I am able to look back and really be proud of some of my work, it's worth sharing. 

Last year, I posted my crochet chandelier and this year, I will show you all my Fashion Tech projects. 

Fashion Tech is basically the very first sewing class and one of the major prerequisites for all of the fashion curriculum. 

First we made a skirt...

Then we made a shirt...

And this week, our final project of the blazer was due. 

I am excited that I feel good about my work in this class and all of the rest of them this quarter and I am so excited to take more classes in January. 

Until then, school is out, baby! Tomorrow, we all sadly go our separate ways for six weeks and Frances and I make our way to Tuscaloosa, AL. Then we're going to  spending the night there with one of Frances' good friends, Lauren and then on Saturday, the three of us will get to Dallas sometime in the afternoon. Then, on Monday, I fly back to Californiaaaa!!!! Could not be more excited. 

But, tonight is for celebrating! Finals are over!!!

Early Riser

I woke up this morning at 3:15 and haven't been able to go back to sleep. I blame the latte that I had at 5:00 last night. Caffeine and I don't get along so well. Especially if I don't allow at least 15 hours before I try sleeping again.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that the lights in the living room were still on. I heard some rustling around and I realized that Claire was still awake. Welcome to finals.

Claire is kind of famous for these painful all nighters that she so easily pulls. One or two of them a quarter and somehow she always seems to get everything done.

Once it became clear that I would not be going back to bed anytime soon, I tinkered around my room for a bit and contemplated whether or not to start packing, but decided it would be smarter to put it off a little longer. I wish I had one of those adorable routines for when I'm up in the middle of the night like you usually see in romantic comedies. You know what I'm talking about-- the part of the movie where our nerdy, but lovable leading man catches the petite and quirky heroine up at 4 in the morning aimlessly painting a giant canvas or cooking some sort of obscure specialty. Later in the movie, we discover that this behavior stems from a momentous time in her past like a bad break up or the death of a close family member.

Eventually, I ditched trying to come up with something cool and decided to catch up on some way past due Hulu quality time. A couple episodes of Modern Family later and I was still wide awake.

Then I remembered that I had rented a movie on iTunes a couple weeks ago called Bill Cunningham: New York-- a documentary on iconic New York Times street style photographer and his momentous career. It came out last spring, but Savannah is a little slow on the uptick when it comes to more independent movies and documentaries so I've had to wait all this time!

I watched it. I loved it. I am now recommending it.

It reminded me a lot of a video that I posted a year ago on the advanced style of a select group of seniors in NYC. Their flare for color and pattern and personal expression is something that Bill Cunningham is extremely drawn to and known for photographing. It convinces me even more to take chances with what I wear and how I choose to enjoy fashion. Besides the fashiony side of it, Bill is so endearing and it is just a really good documentary. (It's also currently available on instant watch on Netflix)



After I finished the movie, I peeked into the living room to see that Claire was still hard at work and coming down the home stretch just in time for her last class of the quarter at 8.

Now, as all of the ladies begin to greet the morning, I am feeling the fatigue of my missed night of sleep. Or maybe it's just the caffeine finally wearing off.

So, good morning, everyone.

Do you want to see Frances cry?

Frances Russell is many things. Some of who she is may be obvious to most who know her: a sister, a daughter, a friend, a runner, a Texan, and an artist. (I've even heard people refer to her as mysterious.)

But something that I only learned about Frances as I grew to know her more was her propensity to slightly... how should I put it? ...overreact? ...over dramatize?... No. Those sound too negative. How about this-- Frances has an amazing appreciation for the theatricality of life. Yes. 

A specific moment comes to mind from last year when we returned to Frances' dorm room after being in class and within seconds of walking in the door, her eyes fixated on the empty space on her desk and Frances, eyes wide, arms up, and legs frozen, began to yell,"MY COMPUTER HAS BEEN STOLEN! GUYS! IT'S GONE. IT'S BEEN STOLEN. IT'S NOT ANYWHERE. THEY TOOK IT. THEY TOOK MY COMPUTER." 

After about 15 seconds of scanning the room, I interrupted her and asked, "Hey, wait-- is that it by your foot?" 

Turns out, it was. 

Other notable examples are her expressions, hand motions and come on-- have you ever seen the girl dance? 

Well, this past Saturday morning, after patiently awaiting for weeks, Frances and I sat down on our computers to buy tickets to Frances' favorite band, Radiohead. She convinced me that going to one of their concerts would change my life for the better and there was absolutely no more of a constructive way to spend my money. Although I have yet to fully listen to one Radiohead song and I typically shy away from any sort of music that doesn't allow me to sing along to a bubblegummy chorus, I opted in. 

So there we sat. Waiting for 10:00 am to roll around, knowing that we had to work fast because this concert would definitely sell out.

2 minutes. 

1 minute. 

Go. 

And then this happened. 

If you want to watch Frances go from total elation to emotional low back to total elation, please watch the video below. 

If you want to watch me go from mostly ambivalence to least supportive friend ever back to mostly ambivalence, please watch the video below.

Seriously, I have probably watched this about 8 times now and it never stops being funny. And not just because I'm in it. 

Dreaming of Iceland.

Could this week be going any slower?

I've been killing major time with designing mock-ups of my new Alfred Lord Tennyson inspired T-shirt Designs (more on this later) and pretending I'm in Iceland.

What have you been doing this week? Please tell me.

Things I Like Today

1. My Uggs. 

Me in my Uggs doing a happy dance.

Uggs are widely regarded as some of fashion's biggest faux pas, but I just can't seem to kick the habit. Call me "uggsessed," if you will.  If you are picturing me as one of those terrible women who wears Uggs A) in the summer B) with skirts or C) with a skirt in the summer, how dare you? I am not that tragic. I do, however, love to pull mine (which, by the way, are actually the distant and cheaper cousin of Ugg, the Emu) on when I wake up in the early morning and can't yet mentally get to the place of considering tying shoe laces or (dare I even say it) zipping up my real boots. They're old. They're dirty. 40% of the fur is missing from the lining and I even had to sew a part of the edge after it tore one morning. But I just can't quit them. As I type this post, I glance down to my cozy feet and the Emu's that have warmed them since I got them as a birthday gift in 5th grade (don't judge-- my feet matured early, ok?) and I smile because I know that no matter how many more fashion classes I take or judgmental looks I get, these bad boys aren't going anywhere, baby. EMU'S 4 LYFE.

(But this video is pretty funny)



2. My Current Reads

Even after publicly outing myself in September about my reading habits (or lack thereof) not much has changed. I never finish books and that's just not a good look for me, so I am finally taking steps to change. Baby steps.

I just finished the hilarious Mindy Kaling's (of TV show, The Office) new book called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns). It was HILARIOUS and the perfect light read for the end of the quarter that I could pick up when I had an extra minute. I read an excerpt back in May and I had been anxiously awaiting it's release ever since. She is basically my twin. Reading her thoughts on friendships, dieting, dating and work was as if scanned my brain, typed it out and got it published. I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately (enter New Girl and Bossypants), but that got me thinking... I think there is this new great generation or movement or whatever of women being able to be smart, funny, career women and wives and moms all while admitting weird flaws and insecurities. I feel like, and I'm still working out the details of this theory as I type, so give me a chance to be wrong here, but perhaps the days of "one or the other" are finally going away? To me it seemed that in the past, you're either a mom who loves staying home with her kids and devoting your life to creating a beautiful healthy family and marriage or a working woman who is addicted to her job resulting in a strained relationship, not knowing her children's favorite colors and having to wear terrible taupe pant suits everyday! Maybe smart, fun, hard working, relatable women are still trying to do it all, but becoming more and more open about their shortcomings along the way. Ok, that's all for now on the subject. Can you help me get off of my soap box?

And I have accidentally completely gone off topic. Oops. Ok, just buy the book. Read it. And you will know me better.

Today, I just picked up another book called Wildwood written by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists with beautiful illustrations by his wife Carson Ellis. I read a good review of it this morning on a blog I read called Design Sponge and she sold me on it so well, that I made my way to Barnes and Noble an hour later to buy it. She even liked it so much that she's getting a new tattoo inspired by it! When I asked the guy at B&N to show me where it was, we started to walk right into the heart of the teen section. I was a bit confused for a minute and wondered if I should be stepping up my game and reading something a little more edgy, but then I saw that it was right on the shelf next to Twilight and The Hunger Games and I knew that I was in good company. I can't wait to start it as soon as finals are over.

So, see? I may not be the world's greatest reader yet, but I'm baby steppin'! I'm doing the work!

3. Marcel the Shell Sequel

I love Marcel the Shell. Last year when her first video was released on youtube, I must have watched it close to 50 times. If you're thinking, "Wow, how embarrassing-- she has way too much time on her hands," A) Yes, technically you are correct, I do have a lot of time to kill, but B) You've obviously never watched Marcel the Shell.

Today, I bring you good tidings of great joy and announce that, ladies and gentlemen, WE HAVE A SEQUEL. FINALLY. And it's amazing. I've already watched it 4 times and quoted it twice.

Here is the original (for those of you who live under a rock and never saw it)



...And here is the new one. Enjoy.



So, that's all. Sorry about the video overload, but I have been meaning to blog about each of these things individually for forever, and I figured why not jam it into one mega post.

Happy Tuesday!

Week 10.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? I blinked and Fall quarter 2011 is already over. How in the world did this happen? Yes, I am in the midst of finals and I still have this week of classes to attend, but we're here; We're at the part of the quarter when I stop going to the grocery store to finish all of the pre-existing food in my fridge, the part where I start to mull over each pair of shoes wondering if they deserve a coveted spot in my limited spaced suitcases and get to make the journey back to the west coast with me, the part where I have conflicted emotions about being excited to see my family and spend time with the people I miss, but also sad about leaving my Savannah family for a whopping 6 weeks.

Yep. This time next week, California will be getting me back whether they like it or not and it's going to take 6 weeks to get rid of me again. Tough.

So, as I sit in Shakespeare one last time wasting the 2 and a half hours of blah blah blah ahead of me, I give you...

THE TOP 6 MOMENTS OF THE FALL QUARTER!!!!
In chronological order... 


1. Moving into our beautiful home. I have been excited to live in my own place literally, since I can remember. It always symbolized being an adult and being able to take care of myself. I can't say that I totally feel like an adult or that I am 100% capable of taking care of myself, but living on my own has been the most amazing challenge resulting in priceless growth in just 10 short weeks. And yeah, I feel like I have done pretty darn well rising to the challenge, if I do say so myself.

2. My birthday! I turned 20. My roommates rocked. We at Sushi. I wore a red dress. One of the best birthdays ever. Nuf said. 

3. The week of October 3rd to October 9th. This week... I don't even know where to begin. So so much happened in just 6 days that, looking back already makes me laugh. It is so impossible to choose one of the events of this week as something that trumps another event because IT WAS ALL SO HORRIBLE! Let me refresh your memories: Exploding Toilets, Exploding Power box, Film Festival Fail, Lack of sleep, Brunch... I am going to stop myself now.  

4. Extreme Midget Wrestling. Although ultimately there were no midgets and no wrestling on this night, it remains as one of the most memorable and fun nights of the quarter. More laughing than any other night and a gelato run salvaged what could have turned into a giant bust. Charleston, we'll be back and we expect midgets this time. 

5. Charlotte. Going to Charlotte never fails to completely refresh me. Even with a disgusting stomach flu that threatened to put a damper on our perfect weekend, visiting the Barnhardts was a perfect post-finals pick-me-up. 

This was the only real group picture of the weekend. It still counts.  

6. Corn Maze. The corn maze was the perfect Autumn day that I have always wanted. This along with the great company of my roommates and our friends Jeff, Tyler and Sam made me so incredibly full of Fall joy. 

And there you have it. Another extremely successful, fun, challenging, growing, blessed quarter here in Savannah. 

I've just got to power through 3 more days of classes! Wish me luck!

Lumberjack Chic

Julia

OL: What are you most looking forward to in the near future?

JP: Eating Seafood. In Newport Beach. With my family.

OL: Finish this sentence. Nobody appreciates me, but someday, I’ll even the score by…

JP: Designing all of their wedding dresses.

OL: Name one piece of clothing you can’t live without?

JP: My lucky underwear.

OL: Oh. She went there.

OL: Which are you: Crazy, Sexy, Cool?

JP: Obviously Sexy.  

OL: What word always makes you laugh?

JP: Ceviche. Because when I hear it, I can hear my mom pronouncing it wrong. And then I can hear Kaitlin and I making fun of her for it.

OL: What is your favorite Pandora station?

JP: When I’m trying to be cool and impress people, it’s like usually something like The Decemberists or something like that, but when I’m by myself, it’s definitely Keith Urban.

OL: Who do you identify with most? Kate, Pippa or Camilla?

JP: I’m gonna go off book here and say Fergie.

OL: What is on the top of your Christmas wish list?

JP: Ummm… Justin Bieber. No. I want Justin Bieber wrapped in bacon.

CB: Ew. raw bacon?

JP: No, no, no. Justin Bieber, singing holiday songs to me as he cooks me bacon.

...And a light box.

10 things that make you terribly happy:

1. Crunchy Leaves
2. Being good at something
3. Reorganizing Furniture
4. The moment when you are walking people out of your house and closing the door and thinking, “That was really fun.”
5. Writing. And writing this blog. And this blog. (Separate but equal)
6. Good Design… like something that is so good, that it makes me mad. 
7. The 29^th day in February
8. Scones and Mighty Leaf Vanilla Tea
9. An unexpected voicemail. Or letter, or text, or e-mail. I just like when people want to talk to me.
10. Lake Almanor

Black Beauty

Spencer

JP: What are you most looking forward to in the near future?

SM: Justin Bieber Christmas CD.

JP: Finish this sentence. Nobody appreciates me, but someday, I’ll even the score by…

SM: Mooning them.

JP: Name one piece of clothing you can’t live without?

SM: My green parka. And my jewels.

JP: Which are you: Crazy, Sexy, Cool?

SM: Crazysexycool. All together. Mush em.

JP: What word always makes you laugh?

SM: Bro

JP: What is your favorite Pandora station?

SM: Norah Jones

JP: Who do you identify with most? Kate, Pippa or Camilla?

SM: I don’t even know who those people are. Who are those people?

JP: Didn’t you watch any royal family wedding coverage last year?

SM: Oh. I just like their horses.

JP: What is on the top of your Christmas wish list?

SM: I have two things. This vintage sapphire ring. And an Eno Hammock with a pod around it so no bugs will bite me when I’m sleeping outside.

10 things that make you terribly happy:

1. Stale Peeps
2. My turtle float in the creek
3. Laughing
4. 90’s music
5. A hammock on a nice day
6. A big fat rainy day and a big fat book… or a movie
7. Bonfires… s’mores
8. 4^th of july on the beach
9. Kayaking adventures and the water
10. And most importantly, a big thanks to the people who make my life as amazing, cool, funny, glamorous, fantastic, happy, joyful, super, magical and majestic as it is… (but seriously, I love you)

Knitten Kitten

Frances

JP: What are you most looking forward to in the near future?

FR: I am truly excited to scream and run through the corn maze this weekend. And I am very excited to go to Sitapas in Dallas.

JP: Finish this sentence. Nobody appreciates me, but someday, I’ll even the score by…

FR: Never cleaning the kitchen.

JP: Name one piece of clothing you can’t live without?

FR: It’s either my gray suede shoes or my new cool wedge ones that I just got.

OL: No, you have to pick one.

FR: Fine. Neither of them. My moccasins that have no soles.

JP: Which are you: Crazy, Sexy, Cool?

FR: That’s really hard. Sometimes I think I’m cool. But, I’m not cool as in some people’s kind of cool. I would say crazy. But I’m not really crazy either. This is confusing.

SM: So what are you?

FR: I would say I’m cool.

JP: What word always makes you laugh?

FR: Baby.

JP: What is your favorite Pandora station?

FR: That’s easy. Sufjan.

JP: Who do you identify with most? Kate, Pippa or Camilla?

FR: Middleton Sisters. Hmm. I don’t know anything about them. This is awkward. I can’t adequately answer that. 

JP: What is on the top of your Christmas wish list?

FR: I would like some yarn making supplies. I would like to have the Carters where you sort through the fine fibers and you can make the yarn from there and I would like a ball winder. Both of these things are quite expensive and I will not buy them myself. Please, Mom and Dad, I’m asking you for help.

10 things that make you terribly happy:

1. Sitting with my sisters planning my future coffee shop
2. Eating at Sitapas
3. Impromptu family dance parties 
4. Santa Fe Snow-ins
5. Card games and Radiohead (Both) (Better together)
6. Morning fog in Africa
7. My blanket’s (“Blank Blank”) frigid temperatures
8. Shutting myself in and having a creative day
9. White toast and cold cocoa for breakfast with my grandparents
10. Going on an adventure for the sake of pictures and conversation