polyvore

i would like to introduce you to my latest obsession: polyvore.com.
what is polyvore, you ask? well, it's a website where you can browse through literally every item for sale in the free world and create outfits. i'm talking shirts, pants, skirts, shoes, belts, accessories, sweaters, coats, EVERYTHING. i love it because i can be as creative as i would like, and create outfits i normally wouldn't be bold enough to wear.
i have a deep and meaningful infatuation with cardigans. if i see a printed cardigan, i have to own it. they aren't just for grandma- they look good on everyone and they can be paired with anything- a belt, brooch, fun shirt underneath, etc. you can dress them up or dress them down. what's not to love?! on polyvore i find myself browsing the cardigans and wishing i owned all of them.
unfortunatly i cannot afford the $950 oscar de la renta...and i probably never will be able to afford one being a future teacher. but i can dream.

anyways, i love winter. i love winter clothing. it's so very classy, yes? i'm super excited to wear a scarf everyday.

i'm aware this blog entry is extremely shallow and ridiculous. mom, if you're reading, i want the entire j.crew store for christmas. thanks!

slutloween

usually on halloween i can guarantee that any halloween party i go to there will be some girls there dressed in some sort of slutty cop/firefighter/maid costume.
i was pleasantly surprised this year when the majority of the costumes i saw were actually creative and non whore-ish.
i seriously hate the tradition of dressing like a skank on halloween. it's the one time you can have fun with what you're wearing and it gets ruined by some costume you bought for $50 that comes in a plastic bag. i think this hatred stems from my mother who never EVER allowed becca and i to wear store-bought costumes. we always had costumes that were home-made and awesome. i hated this when i was younger, but i am thankful now. i recall one year when my aunt ann made becca and i beautiful bride dresses and i was pissed because i wanted some lame costume from the halloween store. mom wouldn't have it and bride it was for me.

i was sarah palin this year and while this isn't original, i didn't see any other palins. and i bought my costume the day of halloween at a thrift store (except my shirt, shoes and tights) for about five dollars.

mom and i swallowed our pride and dignity and went to republican headquarters to get these buttons. i hated it, but they complete the costume.

kenzie and mat were al and that girl from tool time. love it!


me and some guy that dressed like a woman. he looks like stuart from madtv.




aaaaaand for grandma...anniversary pictures from st louis! (PS i don't know why some are cut off. just click on them.)


apple picking with my sweet cousins!

aunt ann and the fanny pack.

the view from the winery..it was my first time going since turning 21 and i forgot my ID. mom wine tasted alone.

missouri is so much better than oklahoma.

happy 50th anniversary to my grandparents!

oct 25th, 1958.

sweet madison.

i don't know what she's gonna DOOOO when she sees the BALLOOONSSSSS!!!!!

cousin kara. i'm finally old and cool enough to hang out with her. ;)


well...go vote tuesday.

cawfee

hello, fall break. you are a welcome addition to my life right now.

i've spent the break at the herbert house in dallas and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. danae is the type of friend that we both have a mutual understanding of things that annoy us, and we each have no problem voicing them. so that means we don't get sick of each other. nice.
the herbert family also has a way of welcoming me with their southern hospitality so that i feel "at home" when i am at their house.
yesterday, danae, will, and i went four-wheeling and then had a bonfire at her house in wills point (aka the small-town, country america.) what is more fun? nothing.

now we're back at the dallas house blasting some ABBA and having a dance party with some excellent blended coffee drink that i made myself. the ingredients are top secret.




coming soon (i promise) : pictures from the big anniversary for my grandparents. stay tuned!

i'm gonna sell it to charity

EDIT:
i'm just going to say that this video is the funniest thing ever. and brooklynn and i made a similar video over this past christmas with the same song. except we're not 11.




after a miserable attempt at making a decent grade on my math test at 9am this morning, i decided i would take the rest of the day off. i went home and did something more productive than going to class- i took a really great nap. then i looked around my room at my clothes completely covering every inch of carpeting (i had forgotten how messy i am when i live without a roomate). i thought i might as well clean up.
as i was hanging up/folding my clean clothes i realized i just don't have anymore room. my cloest is completely stuffed and my dresser drawers couldn't hold one more sock. i actually had so many clothes on my floor because that's the only room i had for some of them! i even have some things in my mom's closet.

it was time to give some of my crap away.

this is something always hard for me because i love to create new outfits with old clothes, but i decided to get rid of anything i haven't worn in a while, anything that was ugly, or anything out of style. the pile on my bed accumulated to a huge heap, and after about only 20 minutes of sorting, here is the result:



pictured above: 2 pairs of capris (WHY did i own capris?! ) 3 pairs of jeans, 1 jacket, 7 shirts, 7 tank tops, 4 dresses, and 3 sweaters. talk about EXCESS. and that isn't even counting the "throw in the garbage" pile.

that's completely ridiculous. but, in my defesnse, i AM an excellent bargain shopper and get most of my stuff on sale. and i have a small closet.

i don't know what she's gonna DOOO when she sees the BALLOONSSSS!!

my favorite thing right now :


kristin wiig is wonderful.
this video is fitting because it seems that all of my friends have had birthdays this week. but, no birthday compares to that of laura's 21st this wednesday in stillwater.


laura made her dress.



in other news, i got asked to write the "left" political opinion column each week for my school's newspaper (they have opinions on a specific topic each week from each side). i said no when i first got asked...i didn't want to make anyone mad... but the second time i decided to go for it. this week's issue is "seperation of church and state". should be a piece of cake...i don't even know what the argument would be for this one. ha.

thank you, at&t.

when i arrived in india it was a pleasant (and unpleasant) surprise that my phone got service while my team mates had none.
"When it comes to staying in touch, you can trust AT&T for fast, easy, and reliable connections worldwide."
^ it's the truth. and you can also trust that when you buy calling cards, that they AREN'T going to work, and you will come home with a $700 phone bill.
so i get on the phone with at&t, and i told the lady that i had bought calling cards and everything, and she puts me on hold. then she comes back and says "well, those charges are for roaming, so they are legitimate.and you still get charged for the minutes. but i can take off $26!"
well whoop de doo! thank you so much! now that you have taken off that $26, i can pay. psh. if i had to pay for roaming when using a calling card no matter what, then WHY would i pay for a calling card? wouldn't i just make a call? it makes no sense. so then my mom comes home and i beg her to call and be mean because i can't, and she makes me do it. but they still tell me they will only take off the $26. so i'm on the verge of tears and i just hand my mom the phone. of course, after about 5 minutes, mom got it "down" to $350. bleck.
ok, another batch of photos!

the cows and i just waiting in line for some ice cream

this is in khopoli:



the market!






this is prapaula, the head of the school in the slums.

some sort of joke.


auntie louisa john isaac! haha. she is so sweet!

we took a ferry ride to elephante islands. this is the gateway to india and the taj mahal hotel

saris! yeah they are pretty..but imagine wearing one in a crowded church for four hours with no air conditioning. i felt like a baby swaddled in a blanket.


here are pictures from the red light district i wrote about. the street going horizontal is where the centre is, and if you take a right by where the lady and the big trash heap are, that's one of the four "lanes" where the prostitutes are living..

you can see it better here..

the centre where the kids (and some of their moms) go during the day since they can't go to school.

these women are practicing and their children are at the centre.

the kids! they stay here all day and sometimes well into the night.

these girls got into a real school!

one night during our stay in mumbai, all of us in the house heard music coming from outside, and it continued to get louder and louder as if it were coming towards us. being in mumbai for a few weeks now at this time, we were used to loud commotion outside the windows, but nothing like this. it was well after 10 or 11pm, and we had kind of been scared into staying inside after dark. but of course, i was curious and i needed to see what was going on. allie was brave enough to come with me out onto the streets with what seemed to be a thousand other people as well. we saw a large circle with music playing and people crowding around everywhere. we were intrigued and wanted to discreetly slip into the circle and video this, because it was awesome. we should have known by now that white girls in india cannot discreetly do anything. as we were walking towards the circle we were practically bombarded by all these men/boys (not many women come out at night) wanting us to take their picture. it was madness. i was trying to be nice so i took a couple and then couldn't handle the large circle that began to crowd around US. so, allie and i ran back inside and decided to watch the indian wedding from the terrace... and here is the video we took:


now, i will continue to do post some heart- warming video of the sweet kids at the orphanage. get your tissues out.