Texas Hill Country.

I have grown a large liking for my drives 

back and forth between Austin and Houston.

Especially in the past couple of weeks,

with the leaves on the trees framing the roads in orange and red.

Here are some photos from my most recent drive back to Houston for the holidays.

pretty, no?

The day was eerily gloomy and cloudy, with a slight drizzle.

But for some reason, the color of the sky worked perfectly with the autumnal leaves.

Jewelry.

Im pretty sure Jeanine Payer made this

necklace just for me.

It says "Dance when you're broken open...Dance when you're perfectly free."

the other side says "Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding."

Beautiful.

Brian Andreas.

Here are some of my favorite quotes and pictures

by Brian Andreas. 

He's a genius writer of books with witty quotes and adorable pictures. 

"I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand & the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep & there are no words for that."
— Brian Andreas (Story People)

If you think these are as wonderful as I do,

 you should check out the books!

To do so, go here, or here.

I highly recommend it.

I could spend hours just reading through them.

Christmas Movies.

This is what I like: Holiday movies. 

Some of my favorites are as follows...

Eloise at Christmas Time.

She is just the sweetest thing. 

The Holiday.

I could probably watch this movie once a week

and be very happy indeed. 

White Christmas.

Its jolly

and grand.

I also love all of the others that make my heart smile. 

They make me feel better in the dreariest of days. 

So thank you, Eloise, for putting a smile on my sniffling face. 

Christmas list.

I am a strong believer that Christmas

is for gathering with family 

and enjoying time together. 

Because of this, I don't really feel that presents are that necessary.

I am so blessed in my life already.

But...

If we're going to give out presents at Christmas,

we should at least get things that we want

or need.

So, to make this possible, I thought I'd make a little list

of all the things i've had my eye on this year. 

- My books for the winter semester.

(School is so expensive!)

These cute little booties from the Gap.

{So that I can stop stealing my sister's warm booties. }

These pretty fleece gloves.

{Also from the Gap.}

My fingers get sooo cold when I walk to and from class.

This lotion from Bath and Body Works.

{It smells really good.}

I also really love cute little somethings from Anthropologie,

Pretty items of clothing from J Crew,

and, especially, handmade goodies that come from the heart. 

Finals.

The reason I haven't been updating as much as I'd like to

is that finals are this week, 

and I'm completely Swamped.

{with a capital S}

Wish me luck!

This is about how much I want to be doing

school work right now.

I would much rather be snuggling up

with my sweetie watching The Holiday.

{Even though I've watched it twice in the past week. It's so good!}

Apologies.

Sorry guys,

I'm a bad blog host.

But I promise I'll update you on my life at a later date.

For now, here's a pretty picture. 

{My roommates and I during the snow last year.}

Giving Thanks.

First of all, 

I am sorry I've been such a lame blog updater.

But never you fear, I am here now,

With some photos from thanksgiving break with my fam bam.

Check out how pretty my sister is. 

The symphony on Post Oak from our room in the Hilton.

"Cupcakes make you happy."

Thanks cupcake truck. 

I visited my pretty girls at their nutcracker vignette in Kemah. 

And then, My sister and I found these crazy christmas decorations and decided that they would make nice hats. 

And I think that they do. 

I also:

- Had a second (and slightly cozier) Thanksgiving at my house on friday.

- Took a class from Luis, and have decided that his classes are fabulous workouts.

- Hung out with my family while doing absolutely nothing.

- Welcomed my dad home on friday after his 2000 mile long excursion to bring home a van for my sister.

- and I did no school work. None. At all.

Over all, I would say that it was a successful break. 

I am now ready for the next one. 

More Pride.

Another friend I am extremely proud of is Caitlin Cannon.

She is a beautiful dancer, and choreographer/director extraordinaire.

And also happens to be an amazing photographer.

Why is she so talented?

Here are some photos from the photo shoot we had this morning 

with my king, Aaron Wiggins. 

Aren't they pretty?

I just Love her.
Check out her photographer website, here.

Proud.

I am extremely proud of every one of my friends,

they are all amazing.

But for the past month, I have been particularly proud of a few of them. 

In particular, miss Cara Shanks.

She choreographed a beautiful dance

that spoke to my (as well as many other people's) emotions

regarding the loss of a dear friend.

Thank you Cara, for helping us grieve. 
You are a genius choreographer. 

{Photo by miss Caitlin Cannon}

Pride and Prejudice.

The past couple of weeks

 my life has been completely consumed by Pride and Prejudice. 

But although its very tiring, its a beautiful show.

Here are some photos from last week. 

These are the little treats we got on opening night for being on the wardrobe crew. 
Thanks Allison!

Our very own Mr. Darcy. 
In his top hat and jacket no less. 

All black: required. 

Nostalgia.

During this time of year, I always find myself

desperately missing being a part of the Nutcracker.

Even though the rehearsals seem to never end, 

your feet become piles of mush,

and you always seem to be getting yelled at for something,

i miss it so badly!

The good times and delirious spouts of  laughter make it one of my favorite things. 

Here are some photos from my last year performing with BAHBT's Nutcracker. 

{All costumes beautifully made by the amazing Mrs. Cannon and Auntie Cheryl}

However, I will still be going to see the Nutcracker, 

since my best friend and sweet little sister are still in it.

You should too!

Click here for information about getting tickets.

Everyone involved in this process works extremely hard, and its just a wonderful show to watch. 

See you there!

The holidays are here!

You know the holidays have finally arrived...

When Starbucks brings out their cheery holiday cups. 

Thanks Starbucks, for making my days merry and bright. 

My life on the wardrobe crew.

For the next three weeks,

 I will be emerged in Pride and Prejudice. 

On tuesday, I learned how to sew,

and how to sew on buttons.

Pretty good, no?

Last night I learned about:

1. Early 18th century clothing.

2. How to put all of this clothing on. 

3. How to properly conduct a quick change.

4. How to lace a corset. 

5. Cravats. 

6. Laundry. 

7. Ironing.

8. Steaming.

9. and how not to set off the alarm on the building 

when I leave in the wee hours of the morning.

I am always so amazed at the quality of our Theatre department here at UT. 

I'll sneak some pictures of the set and costumes to show you. 

I also think these are so cute. 

However, the ones in our costume shop are far cuter.

I'll have pictures of those for you next time. 

This is halloween.

So this year for Halloween I was...

Dorothy!

{And Allison was Glinda, the good witch.}

And these are my ruby red slippers. 

I made them myself and am their proud mommy. 

And we also made allison's crown out of lace. 

I know, we're very crafty.

And then, we ate pumpkin cheesecake. 

And a good time was had by all.