Good-bye 2013

2013 has been an interesting year for me. The majority of the year was a new beginning but part of it was a constant struggle. As much as I wanted the struggle to go away, I just knew that it wouldn't. Struggling is a part of life and although we don't necessarily want it to happen, it always will.

Luckily for me, the majority of my struggles lasted for the first part of 2013. Half way through the year I was filled with the joy that comes with a new beginning. For me the New Year came in August -- it was new, fresh, and full of opportunity and the potential for happiness. I took this head on and as a result I am the happiest I have been in a very long time. 

That is what a "New Year" is all about. It is about embracing the new and saying good-bye to the old. A New Year isn't just the beginning of another 365 days, it is the beginning of a 365 days of excitement, disappointment, elegance, and grace. It is a chance to start over, to really start over. And that is what I am looking forward to in 2014, continuing what I started in August. 

2014:

New year

New people

New things

New happiness

New disappointments

New chances

A Vicarious Princess

More than anything I wish I was a princess. Of course, not really, I am actually very satisfied with my life. But sometimes, somedays, I just fall back into fairytale land; the land where dreams come true, and everyone gets their happily ever after. It is my dreamland. In this dream land I am a princess and I have magnificent dresses and a massive closet and fabulous dancing skills (I have to with all of those balls I attend) and, of course, my prince charming. This is my fairytale, not reality.

The majority of the time I just enjoy living the life of a princess vicariously through the lives of other princesses, real or fiction. The main way I do that is through movies. Movies depict fairytales in such a beautiful, dramatic, romantic way and the life a princess is their absolute favorite and guess what! It's my favorite too! Now I love a good science fiction, superhero movie as much as the next geek but, when I am in the mood -- that special, royal mood -- there is only one genre for me, princess!

Today I spent the whole entire day wrapped up in a blanket in front of the TV watching movie after movie after movie after movie after movie after movie about princesses. I started with all 3 A Cinderella Story's and then watched Disney's Enchanted and then I made a round-trip to Rome and back with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in one of my favorites Roman Holiday. I was completely lost in my fantasy land filled with glitz and glamour, class and grace, and my handsome prince! 

Sometimes it is good to live in a fairytale world. We live in a world where the reality is so depressing. Take A Cinderella Story for example. Sam's reality was that she would never be good enough for Austin Ames and why should she be. She was poor, had no real family, and was "diner girl". But as soon as she took a step back from reality and realized what life could be, as soon as she entered "fairytale" world, she became good enough for Austin, in her eyes and his (even if he waited for the rain). Even at 17 I still dream that I am a princess and sleep with my princess Aurora doll; the fairytale world is a part of my and I hope it never leaves.

"At midnight I'll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper." Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday

Nontraditional New Years "Resolution"

Hello everyone! So I have been doing some thinking as 2014 approaches and 2013 rapidly disappears and I think it is time I come up with a list. This list is not going to be a grocery list or a to-do list, in the traditional sense. This will be a list of everything I want to accomplish in 2014 and all that I aspire to be. A nontraditional "New Years Resolution". 

I have always loved the idea of New Years resolutions; people creating goals for themselves: I am going to go to the gym for an hour 5 days a week, I am not going to eat chocolate, I am going to spend less time partying and more time studying. New Years resolutions are excellent thoughts, dreams and ambitions that people wish to achieve but usually fall out of within a few week or, if they are lucky, after a few months. They end up being peoples "If I could just not work as much then I could do _____" or "If I had more self-control then I could not eat _____". Instead of being goals that are achieved they become excuses for us to be less than we could be. 

This is why my "New Years Resolution" is going to be different. Instead of being a list of goals that I know I will never acomplish it is going to be a list of attributes that I want to achieve, pretty much a list of dreams and traits of everything I want to achieve. And whatever trait/dream I don't achieve will move over to my list for 2015. This is an ongoing list of everything that I wish to achieve and be! 

The list is in the works and will be up soon! I am so excited about this!

Holiday Shenanigans

Merry Christmas everybody! This is the day that I have been waiting for ALL season and it was perfect! 

I love Christmas because it is the only day to spend time with the whole family family, even the members we don't get to see that often (like my cousin who lives in California). We all get together and have a big Christmas dinner at the Bass family farm, open gifts and then take a big family picture before everyone relaxes or leaves.

This day is so wonderful and it is amazing to spend it with family!

Merry Christmas from my dysfunctional family, to yours!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I am overly excited about it being Christmas Eve (I couldn't sleep last night). I love the way my family spends the night before Christmas. It is so much fun and unique and so totally us!

Christmas Eve morn is spent helping Mom (or watching Mom) prepare the food for Christmas breakfast, dinner and Christmas Eve supper. Then we turn on the Christmas movies (ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas) and have them on all day! I personally spend the majority of the day singing because I have to really warm up m voice for the Christmas Eve service. Carey is wrapping presents, Mom is cooking, I am singing, and Dad is watching movies and napping.

When night falls Carey and I open one package from under the tree, the Christmas pajamas Cc bought/made for us! Brighton also gets to open his girt from Cc as well (he loves opening presents). Then we all either pile into the car or clean up the house for Christmas Eve supper. This year we are having supper at Kate's house.

After supper we all of us head over to the church for the 11:00 Candlelight service. And, of course, before we go to bed Carey and I lay out the milk and cookies in hopes that Santa comes!

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there," Clement Clarke Moore, Twas the Night Before Christmas

Gifts in a Hunch

Christmas is in 2 days and leave it to me, the master procrastinator, to start shopping for presents . . . today. I always have such a hard time figuring out what to get people for any holiday which is why it takes me so long to get out and shop. But today I braved the holiday traffic.

Here are a few of my top choices for gifts when you find yourself in a bind and running out of time.

1. Books are always a great gift if you are in a bind. A few of my favorites are Looking for Alaska by John Green, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
2. I love the Lilly Pulitzer Murfee Scarfs. My two favorites are Multi Lulu and Kissy Pink Tusk in Sun!
3. I am a sucker for bangles and earrings and the Kate Spade Finishing Touch Stripe French Wire Earrings and Finishing Touch Stripe Bangle are to die for!
4. Everyone deserves a little Gossip Girl in their life!
5. The J-Crew Camp Socks in pink are perfect for the winter and make an amazing gift!

These gifts are perfect for any girl that you need to get a gift for and are so easy to get a hold of!

Christmas in July?

It is December 22, 3 days till Christmas and it is 70 degrees outside. If it doesn't get cooler soon I will start to think that it's July. I love the hot weather but there is no place for it in December in Virginia.

Today would have been barable if it wasn't pouring down rain outside. So not only was it hot, it was muggy and gross outside. I was sitting in church today when it started raining and David pointed outside and I said, "Wow, can you imagine if that was snow?" It was raining so hard outside that if it had been colder, we would have had a blizzard on our hands. 

This hot weather is getting ridiculous. Yesterday it was nice because I was able to walk Brighton and spend some time outside. But, today was just gross and muggy and I was not in the mood for it to be hot outside. This is Virginia, not Florida. If it doesn't get cold and snow doesn't hit the ground soon I might have to call the Christmas police.

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Do you wanna build a snowman? This question was asked in one of my absolute favorite songs from Disney's Frozen by Princess Anna. At first it seems simple and stupid, but that is just on the surface. Underneath this question is a meaning far deeper than any 5 year old in the theater can comprehend. To Princess Anna, building a snowman means so much more than just building a snowman, it means having her sister back in her life.

"Do you wanna build a snowman? Come on let's go and play! I never see you anymore, come out the door, it's like you've gone away. We used to be best buddies, and now we're not. I wish you would tell me why. Do you wanna build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman . . . Okay bye." Princess Anna, Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Carey, Morgan, Meredith, Emma and I saw Frozen yesterday (it was my second time!) and I was talking to Carey about it last night. During our chat, we discussed this song. All week I have been playing the soundtrack and it has been background music to Carey's studying. She thought the song was stupid. While we talked she told me that while she had been listening to it throughout the week she thought, "What in the world is so special about a snowman," but now she understands. The snowman holds so much meaning for Anna, it is how she deals with her grief, her loneliness. It is now one of Carey's favorites too!

If you haven't heard it, please listen to it and then go see the film. There is so much meaning in the lyrics of this song and the rest of them in the movie.

So now let me ask you, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Let's Build a Gingerbread House

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is building a house made out of gingerbread. That's right, you heard me . . . I love building gingerbread houses. I just put on a Christmas movie or play some Michael Buble in the background and begin to get creative with icing, candy, and gingerbread! The smell of gingerbread and icing put together just makes my heart happy.

This year Morgan and her sister Meredith came over and we built these beautiful homes made of gingerbread! Carey and Meredith made their's first and it literally took them 30 minutes. Morgan and I were sitting on the couch in my living room watching The Sound of Music Live! and listening to Carey and Mere complain and fuss over their gingerbread house. 

They finally finished, defeated, and handed over the icing dispenser to Morgan and I. Within 10 minutes, Morgs and I had our house built and tastefully decorated (the secret to our success was that I knew how to use the icing dispenser while Carey didn't)! 

Carey and Mere's is left and Morgs and mine is right!

After the fun of building our houses was over, we all settled down to finish watching The Sound of Music Live! and just chat. I had such a wonderful day with these girls and I am so thankful to have them in my life!

Paperless Post

So this post in LONG overdue. On Tuesday Leigh hosted her "Cocktail-less Cocktail Party" and it was a blast. Everyone got dressed up in sparkles and heels and looked great!   

Leigh used Paperless Post to make her invitations for her party. Paperless Post is a great online tool to manage party invitations. It allows you to pick from about a dozen designers for your invitations (above is Kate Spade) and customize both the appearance and the message to fit your unique personality and party. It also allows for guests to RSVP right then and there.

Paperless Post makes it very easy for guests to find out all the information they need for your event all with one click! It is also very helpful to party planners with an easy to use Post Box dashboard the lets you see who has RSVP'd any questions your guest might have and allows you to make changes to your invitations! I have started using Paperless Post and it is the easiest online invitation service for both hostesses and guest to navigate!

What are you waiting for, plan a party and get the word out!

Spotaneous

I am very organized when it comes to my social calendar. I keep two calendars, my Lilly Pulitzer Day Planner and my iCloud calendar on my iPhone. In my Day Planner, I write out "to-do's" and plug in when I have social events both on the month calender and the daily calenders. For my iCloud calendar I have 6 different calendars made up of 6 different colors: pink is for Anything Goes, purple is for Current Edition, orange is for Bible Study, green is my "personal" calendar (pretty much anything that doesn't fall into the other categories), blue is for shows/rehearsals, and yellow is for any event related to CCC. I have it organized like this so when I look at my day outlook on my iPhone I can see the different meetings and rehearsal I have and what they are for. When it comes to the activities I do socially, I am not messing around and I want to make sure I don't schedule two things at once (has happened and let me tell you, not fun).

But sometimes, spur of the moment events just pop up and, as much as I love social calendar organization, I love these times! Tonight was one of them. At 9:14 my friend Jessie texted me asking if I wanted to see Catching Fire with her and a few other mutual friends at 9:55. Naturally, being the organized person that I am, I thought she was talking about 9:55 in the morning. I was wrong. She meant in 41 minutes. My first reaction was,"Okay, PANIC!" but then I realized that, I don't have school in the morning and, hey, it doesn't hurt to ask Mama and see if she will let me out of the house. So I regained my composure and went downstairs and asked Susie if I could go see the movie. To my surprise, she said yes! So I hurried upstairs and gathered my stuff together for the film!

I had such a great time during this spontaneous moment! I haven't see Jessie in a while since she has been away at school and I am stuck here . . . in Richmond . . . in high school. But I digress. I had so much fun being spontaneous tonight and I loved it!

Planning ahead is amazing but everyone needs a spontaneous moment thrown in every once in a while to spice things up a bit

The Rockettes

I have a dream of being a Rockette. It's a long shot dream (especially since I am 5.2) but it is a dream nevertheless and it means something to me. I just love how graceful and sharp they are with everyone of their moves. They are like a professional show choir and that fact alone just makes me so happy! And not only are the AMAZING dancers they are beautiful girls! They have a dancers body and a perfect smile and I mean, come on, what could be better!

My love for the Rockettes was reconfirmed today when my friend Ray brought the 2007 DVD of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. OH MY GOSH! It was amazing! I have never seen anything so perfect in my life.

I just love watching how in sync with each other they are. I aspire to be this in sync in my life, it is just that amazing! I love every minute of it! This is seriously another one of those beautiful, musical, magical moments!

Some girl want to be a Victoria's Secret model . . . I want to be a Rockette

Disney's Frozen

So today I was out with friends and we decided to go see Frozen. I was really excited to see it because I had heard so many great reviews on it and I wanted to see this Disney masterpiece for myself. And oh my gosh, was I in for a surprise! Don't worry, no spoilers here!

First thing, if you haven't seen Frozen yet, after reading this you need to get yourself to the theatre and see it, you are missing out if you don't! They animators of this movie did not miss a single detail (we got there about a minute before the movie started so we a seat close to the front) from the snowflakes to every freckle on Anna face, everything was unique and it's design. I was so close that I felt the magic of the animation even more than I would have from the back on the house! It was beautiful!

The cast was perfect to! Kristen Bell was Anna, Idina Menzel (the embodiment of perfection) was Elsa, Santino Fontana as Hans (fun fact: I saw him in Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella last February), Jonathan Gaff as Kristoff, and the ever-fabulous Josh Gad as Olaf. I mean, what could be a more perfect than a cast of Broadway perfection!

I could totally say more but I don't want to give too much away, so I guess you guys are just going to have to see it and tell me what you think!

Oh, and did I mention that Queen Elsa is right under Princess Aurora on my list of all time favorite Disney characters!

Road Trips

There is nothing I love more than a road trip! I mean packing up a weekend bag and driving a couple of hours to spend the weekend away from home, what could be better? Even if it is just an overnight trip, it doesn't matter I still love it!

This weekend I took an overnight trip to one of my favorite towns -- Edenton, NC. It is absolutely the most beautiful town I have ever been to; grand old houses worth millions all lined up on the Edenton Bay, what could be better! My father grew up right in the heart on this town and my mother grew up on a farm in the outskirts of town. I love the fact the my grandmother, CC, still lives there and we get to visit her and the beautiful town on a regular basis! Whenever we are there, Mike always tells stories about what it was like growing up there and Susie talks about all of the visits she made into town, including her annual trip to see the Christmas Parade (which was today, by the way!) -- it is really cool walking the streets my parents walked regularly when they were my age!

We were standing on the porch of the Barker house and Mike pointed at this and said, "Yeah girls, I raised a lot of hell on those streets as a kid!"

This weekend Edenton had their 32th annual Christmas Tour! This is such an amazing event that I started going to last year (so for me this was my 2nd annual Christmas Tour) and it is probably my favorite event of the Christmas Season. The residents of Edenton open up their homes to the public, all decorated for Christmas, and you get to walk through and speak to the family and marvel in the grandness of their homes. This year a few of the homes on West King St, Blount St, Mosley St, and Pembroke Circle where open for tour. We didn't visit all of them, only the ones we were interested in seeing, but I saw some of the most grand and beautiful homes I think I will ever see in my lifetime (I would have taken pictures, but my grandma turned my phone off on accident and then told me it died). 

Caroline and I before we left for tour!

Caroline, CC, and I before the tour!

After the tour we went back to CC's house and had a big family dinner. I met my cousins Allison (3) and Elizabeth (18 months) at dinner and they are by far the cutest, most beautiful little girls I have ever seen! After dinner everyone left and I went to bed. This morning we had a huge champagne brunch at CC's and the little ones were bursting with energy. So my cousin Carrie and her husband Charlie could relax, I helped entertain the girls and had so much fun bonding with my little cousins!

My cousin Carrie and her oldest, the beautiful Allison. She hadn't quite warmed up to Caroline and I yet when we took this picture this morning!

The camera like Elizabeth and Elizabeth likes the camera, she posed for a bunch of pictures for me!

Elizabeth and I were making faces at each other. Probably my favorite picture of the whole trip!

After we helped CC clean up brunch, and everyone else had left, we packed up the car and made our way back to Richmond, leaving the beautiful town of Edenton and all of it's glory behind us. I always hate leaving but the town of Edenton always leaves me wanting more! I absolutely love it there and can't wait for my next visit!

The Diary

Okay, so today something big happened, something huge! I mean my life will NEVER be the same! I got my first Moleskine notebook! Okay, so for most this isn't exactly a "life-changing" event but for a writer, this is huge. There is nothing like journaling in a Moleskine journal and I can't wait to start!

I got a smaller one that way, if and when inspiration strikes I will be ready to capture the moment. It is small and purple and can fit into my red coach bag (which is pretty tiny) and I am so excited!

Journaling will never be the same again!

Busy Nights

Tonight has been one of those nights that has just been busy. I had a chorus concert from 7:00 - 9:30 but, I didn't get out of the school till about 10:15. Then I had to come home and prepare for a Christmas Party Anything Goes is having tomorrow during class. Not only that, I am leaving to go to Edenton tomorrow, it's 11:40, and I have yet to pack. I am starting to feel overwhelmed by all I have yet to do and the fact that I will probably not get into bed until 12:30 tonight and I have to start another day at 5:50 in the morning. Nights like this one just overwhelm me.

On a more positive note, I have a really awesome project in the works with Morgan. Can't disclose anymore information right now but more details will be coming!

An Abundance of Books

Now that Christmas break is practically upon us, I have been hard at work planning and stocking my personal and virtual shelves with plenty of books to read over break. I am a big fan of all kinds of literature -- new and old -- and I love discovering new favorites and filling my bookshelves with them!

Probably one of my favorite places to learn about books, new and old, is Goodreads! This social site allows literature lovers to unite through their favorite thing, literature. I go to the pages I follow and just scroll through all of the books on their "Read" bookshelf just so I can see what kind of books my friends enjoy and then add them to my virtual shelves. I also love the fact that Goodreads has free ebooks, making reading really simple. I have the app and I just download plenty of books from Goodreads so that I can read them wherever, whenever (I am currently reading The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I am LOVING it!) and it is so convenient -- definitely a novelty for literature enthusiasts! I love going through and reading reviews written by ordinary people on books that I have heard about and interested in! Goodreads is such an amazing community and I am proud to say that I spend the majority of my free time there (feel free to follow or friend me on Goodreads)!

As much as I love books, buying books can get pretty expensive. My Barnes and Noble Membership card has cut down on the cost a bit, but I have started buying a lot of my books from Half. Half is connected to Ebay and is a place where people can sell books and textbooks, new and used, for cheap prices. I have bought many a book from this website that were $9.00 new at B&N for $3.50, used and new, on Half! I love Half because I can find almost any book I want on there. The only downside is the time spent waiting between clicking "order" and the book hitting your doorstep (I can't think of a more anticipating feeling) because, if you are anything like me, you are going to want to start your book the moment you purchase it. I also enjoy stopping by my local library on my way home from school (it's a bit out of the way but what do I care?) to check out the selections there and see if they have anything new! As much as I love the prices of Half and the wonder that is a library, I am still partial to the convenience and selection of my local B&N and BAM.

Books are wonderful things. I can not think of anything more relaxing than just sitting down with a good book, it is by far my favorite activity and one that I don't get to do enough. I can't wait to spend next week at my local B&N and BAM picking out the books to fill my shelves for the new year!

"There is no friend as loyal as a book" - Ernest Hemingway

Let it Snow

I know that I am out of school next week but, I can't help but pray for a snow day. I mean, I love school -- I really love school -- but this week I am just not feeling it. So far this week Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday have all been rainy days and I keep looking out the windows in my classes just hoping and praying that the rain will turn into those beautiful unique flakes of snow!

I hate the week before exams. Actually hate is an understatement, I legitimately loathe the week before exams; all the underclassman are freaking out because they feel like they are going to fail their midterms and all of the seniors have checked out (yes) and are attempting to finish all of their end of term assignments (only downfall to senior exemptions). The school is a frenzied mess and no one wants to be there.

The rain hasn't really done much to help us struggling high school students this week. On top of not wanting to be at school because it is the week before exams, we also don't want to be there because the dreary rainy weather outside -- rain NOT snow -- is not appealing to go out in and can't get us out of this dreaded week. This morning and yesterday morning, when my alarm went off at 5:50, I rolled over and checked my Twitter and Facebook feeds expectantly, looking for a delay, a cancellation . . . SOMETHING! But all I found was a lot of angry subtweets at the county.

Stressed out high school students are a very special breed of people and ones that I don't particularly like being around. I am doing my best to get through this week by reading and praying for snow. Who knows, tomorrow I may have a happy surprise from the county on my Twitter feed!

Here's to hoping!

Bookshelf: Death of a Salesman

This is one of my personal FAVORITES! Oh my gosh this play is so good, I have read it three times and will totally read it again!

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts & a Requiem is one of the most amazing play I have ever read. Arthur Miller studies so many different themes throughout the play but the main one is the falsehood of the American Dream and how it is built through capitalism. It is truly a beautifully written play with so many complex characters and motifs. 

The play follows aging traveling salesman Willy Loman and private thoughts and interactions with his sons, Biff and Harold "Happy", and wife, Linda, along with whoever else he comes into contact with. It is written in a stream of consciousness format so you really see the way that Willy thinks and what is going on in his mind. You don't have to be a traveling salesman to understand the themes of this play, hey you don't even have to be 60 (Willy's age). There is something in this book for everyone of all ages, I get something different out of it every time I read it!

Death of a Salesman will always be one of my favorites!

Daddy Daughter Day

So today was one of those rare days where I got to spend the whole day with my daddy. While Susie and Carey were hosting yet ANOTHER party, Dad and I had pretty much nothing to do. So instead of sitting in separate rooms, all alone, Mike and I decided to spend that time together. That decision was probably one of the best decisions I have made in a while

Dad and I hung out in the office and talked for a while. We talked about college (eeeeep!) and about my blog and how much I was enjoying running it! After a little while the office got boring so we went to the third floor (mainly so we would be out of the way) and Dad watched football while I worked on revising a term paper.

Soon I was showing Dad how to work his Google+ account and we were trying to figure out all the different ways we can use our Chromecast. Than we started watching the one and only Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm (strongly recommend, great show!).

Dad and I were able to spend some quality time together today that we wouldn't have had otherwise. I had so much fun laughing, and eating, and talking with my daddy and I am so glad I was able to spend this time with him today!

Meet Brighton!

So I've mentioned my puppy Brighton a few times, but I figured that it is about time that y'all met the little fella!

This is my little dude, Brighton! He is a West Highland White Terrier and is 3 years old! Oh my goodness I love him so much! I honestly don't know what my life would be like if I couldn't see his enchanting little face in the morning!

Brighton is the best because he totally senses when something is wrong. He can hear people having an argument and will immediately run in the room and bark at both people as if to tell them to shut-up and then will go to the person that seems the most upset an curl up on their lap to make them feel better.

He is seriously the sweetest dog I know and is my permanent cuddle buddy! 

Tis' the Season

So the first Christmas party of the Season was last night! I love the first Christmas party because that's when I know the Christmas season is really getting started!And this year I have a lot of Christmas parties to attend.

Each party has a different theme - cocktail, sparkles, tacky Christmas sweaters - and that is what makes them so very fun! It is always a blast trying to figure out what you are going to wear to each individual uniquely themed party.

The party my family hosted on Friday was tacky Christmas Sweater themed. It was a sit down dinner party with a gift exchange afterwards. We had fizzy drinks and a delicious spaghetti and chicken parm. dinner with blondies (my favorite) and made from scratch peanut butter brownies!

The house was all decorated and we even used our Christmas china!

Susie had the dinning room looking very classy!

Grape Sparkling Cider for the girls!

I was rocking Susie's Christmas sweater form the 80s

All of the lovely girls!

No better way to start the Christmas season than with a party!

My New Obsession

So now that Gossip Girl is officially off television, I've gotten into The Carrie Diaries. I mean, oh my gosh, it is so good! It is an amazing prequel and I love it!

One thing I like the most about the show the costumes. I know that the show is set in 1984 but I would totally wear some of the costumes that Carrie Bradshaw wears. I mean she always looks so perfect! The color schemes in this show are so bright and vibrant: beautiful hues of purple, pink, blue, and orange. Everything is so amazing and the costumes were put together so perfectly I can't even stand it!

This show is amazing, beautiful and perfect! I love it!

The Need For Tea

Some mornings I just have those days that are totally stressful and where nothing goes as planned. Today was one of those mornings. This morning I got a text from JoAnn asking me if I wanted Starbucks. Obviously, the answer was YES! So I went about my getting ready as usual, just anticipating tasting my Chia Tea Latte when I got to school! 

Well, everything was going as planned until I got downstairs to have breakfast and then heads were clashing. I just could not wait to get out and just drink my chai tea, I knew that was all I was going to need. Well I was right. As soon as I took that very first sip, all was right in the world, I was able to calm down and go about my business! 

Sometimes all you need is a good friend and some tea!

Christmas Medley

As I told y'all before, I am a huge fan of magical musical moments and yesterday on my way to school I found one and was just completely blown away, I mean completely!

I've had Il Volo's We Are Love CD in my car for two years now and I absolutely adore it! Unfortunately though, I can only get through one or two songs before Carey makes a fuss and forces me to put something else on (she doesn't like not understanding what the artists are saying . . . lame) so I have never gotten all the way through the CD. Well for the past couple of days Carey hasn't been complaining about it so I have been able to get farther into the CD! 

Well, today I found one of the most amazingly magical, musical moments I have ever found and experiences in my life! I found Il Volo's CHRISTMAS MEDLEY! Oh my goodness these talented boys melted my heart with their medley of these classic Christmas songs! There are so many beautiful things going on in this piece musically that the whole piece is perfect; from the arrangement to the vocals . . . perfect!

I thrive on moments when I find treasures like this one!

Baby It's Cold Outside

So the day after Thanksgiving I immediately turn on Christmas music (remember this post) and I love it so much! Christmas music is my absolute favorite kind of music and Christmas movies are my absolute favorite kinds of movies because I just love the Christmas message and the happiness that comes along with Christmas. Everything about the season is so joyful and wonderful and I just love it!

So my favorite Christmas song, by far, is Baby It's Cold Outside! It doesn't matter what version it is (I personally like Bob Hope and Doris Day the best) I will listen to any version all day everyday! I think this so is so romantic, quirky, flirty, and just overall adorable! There are also so many versions of it! Versions where there is a big dance break between the second and third verses and versions where they sing it the whole way through. My favorite is the latter but there is an amazing version done by Dean Martin and Martina McBride with an awesome dance number in the middle! I love it! 

Okay so one my dreams is to sing Baby It's Cold Outside! with Michael Buble. I am not 100% sure why it is one of my dreams but it is and I want it to happen so bad! I forget about it throughout the year but as soon as the turkey has been eaten on Thanksgiving day, the thought is back in my head! I just think it would be so amazing to do that!

Here is Bob Hope and Doris Day's version of Baby It's Cold Outside!

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I do!

So Little Time. . .

This week I have felt like I have so much to do and so little time to do it. It seems like a constant struggle of figuring out what to do when and making sure I am effectively budgeting my time. This can be really super hard sometimes.

I feel like I have to constantly remind myself that Christmas break is coming up and soon it will be over for three weeks (senior privileges!!) and I can just take a deep breath and relax. But in the midst of all the chaos that is high school it becomes easy to forget that. Every morning I wake up and drag myself out of bed and get ready for the day. Then I head off to school and I am at school from 7:00 to 2:00. Around 2:15 rehearsals start and most days of the week I don't get home until 6:00 (that's about 11 hours at school a day). Depending on the day, sometimes I don't even go home and I go straight to something else. Then when I finally do get home I have homework to prepare myself for the next day. Around 11:30 I get in bed for a short recharge and when the clock hits 5:50 the cycle starts all over again. With a schedule like that it is hard to remember what you are working for and easy to just fall into a "going through the motions" attitude, which is completely what I have right now.

Going through the motions can be tricky to get out but with a little bit of reminding of what you are doing all you are doing for, it suddenly becomes a bit simpler to break out of that habit.

Best of luck to all braving the end of the term! Remember what you are doing it for!

Masquerade!

The masquerade ball, my favorite type of party! The beauty of the masquerade ball is that everyone looks fabulous yet you have no clue who the people around you are because everyone there is wearing a mask. Everyone hides behind something uniquely beautiful yet the same and it's the one night where doing that is acceptable.

Masquerades are fun (a lot of fun!) but they don't stop when you leave the ballroom. The truth is that we live in a constant masquerade, everyone around us is in a mask. Almost everyone (me included) is really afraid to show their true colors. In a society that thrives on judgement it is really hard to be proud of who we are as individuals. We all live with our faces under different masks - like a masquerade. The only difference is these masks are more difficult to remove.

Depending on where we are in our life depends on what mask we get to "show-off". Almost everyone puts up a face - the happy face when you are really sad or the "I don't care" face when you really do care . . . a lot - and each of these faces is a mask. This is something that society has built into our human nature; whether we like it or not it is there and there to stay.

The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite musicals and my favorite song from it is titled "Masquerade"(coincidence, I think not!). This song takes place at a literal masquerade ball but, the lyrics of the chorus are applicable to everyday life.

"Masquerade! Paper faces on parade, masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you. Masquerade! Every face a different shade, masquerade! Look around there's another mask behind you"

I think my favorite line in this whole song is "Hide your face so the world will never find you," because it is so applicable to everyday life in the 21st century. Everyone, in some way, shape, form or fashion hides behind their masks so that the world won't find them, won't find out who they really are when their mask is off.  Why do we hide behind these masks? This is a question that I feel I will never know the answer to, but it is good to get it out there anyway.

Life is like a massive masquerade ball and, just like a masquerade ball, is fun! At a masquerade ball it is fun not knowing who everyone is and just dancing and eating and drinking with everyone because when everyone looks the same we are all equals. But soon this equality gets old and we leave the ball. In life though, we don't have an option to leave the ball, instead we opt to change our masks just so we can shake things up a bit, and we do until everyone begins to look the same again. We are stuck in a masquerade that never ends and the only way to end it is for someone to rip off their mask and show who they really are. It just takes one person and others will soon follow behind.

So here are the questions I am asking myself and (since I am sharing it now) you: if you has to rip off your mask, would you be ready to show your true colors? Are confident enough with who you truly are with NO masks to be able to show the world? 

I ask myself these questions everyday. I don't want to be just another "paper face" in a crowd. I want to be the person that sticks out from the rest for really being myself - no cover-ups, no masks. So everyday I challenge myself to remove my masks and be as authentic and genuine as I possibly can. It is hard but everyday I get better and better at it and, hopefully one day I won't even have to think about it and I will just naturally be my most genuine and authentic self. 

So here is my challenge for you: figure out what mask you are wearing during this specific season in your life then, once you have that figured out, every morning - at some point and time - ask yourself the questions above and try to be as honest and genuine in your answers (you are the only person that is going to hear the answers so why not be honest with yourself) and then, throughout the day make a conscious effort (based on the answers to those questions of course) to be the most genuine, authentic version of yourself that you can be. By doing this everyday you will start the process of slowing ripping off your masks, one-by-one. Becoming your most authentic self is NOT going to be an easy overnight change and will require a lot of effort. In society it is really hard to show your true colors and you will probably be ridiculed for it but, there is nothing more liberating than realizing that, even for an hour, you can be the truest version of yourself around others with no masks. Once you have felt the feeling of being genuine and authentic it won't matter what people say because you will do everything in your power to be that person all the time, to be YOU all the time.

Breaking free from the masquerade will be difficult, but it is a challenge I am willing conquer. 

I would much rather be extraordinary at a masquerade with no mask than ordinary with a mask on!

The Best Things Happen While You Dance

I am a very musical person. My life pretty much revolves around singing or dancing. Being a choir kid and a semi-dancer (I have never actually taken classes so I can't "technically" call myself a dancer) I live for anything musical or graceful and beautiful. These gracefully beautiful musical and movement moments have great potential to give me life and I search for them everywhere that I go. 

So today I found "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" clip from Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Now, I have never actually seen the movie but I absolutely adore this song so when I found this clip I was really super excited. 

The lyrics of this song are also so true. Like I said I am not a "dancer" in the technical, trained sense but, I do spend a lot of my time dancing and I absolutely love to do it! I would totally be a professional dancer if I could, just saying. What I love about the lyrics of this song is that they accurately portray what it feels like to dance, both by yourself and with a partner. There is no other feeling like dancing and I feel that is what makes it so completely unique! The best things truly happen while you dance.

While I was watching this clip I couldn't help but notice all of the magical musical and movement moments throughout this scene. Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen have such chemistry and there is so much fluidity to every single one of their movements, they honestly look as if they are moving as one. The two of them are in sync with each other throughout the whole piece and it is absolutely beautiful to watch. I was unable to take my eyes off of them throughout the duration of the piece and was emotional when it ended because I wanted it to continue forever and ever. 

As you can see, this whole entire piece is absolutely breathtaking! I am so in love with partner dances and the fluidity of this music and dance baffles me to no end. I really just want to get myself a partner and learn this whole number, exactly how they do it. But, if I do that it takes away the spectacular wonder and uniqueness of what Kaye and Ellen do!

Moments like this one never fail to make my heart happy!

Bookshelf: The Light in the Piazza

For the dreamer and romantic inside of everyone. Elizabeth Spencer tells the tragic tale of a girl, not quite like the others falling in love. What sets The Light in the Piazza apart from most romances is that it isn't told from the girl's point of view, but from her mother's. Throughout the novella you see just how painful it is for a mother to let go of her daughter.

I went into The Light in the Piazza with a very open heart. I had a good idea of the plot line before picking up the novella and was already in love with it! The book made me fall even more in love with the plot and with the characters. Each character is unique and has a story all of their own and Spencer makes that very clear throughout the novel.

This book is the perfect book for the hopeless romantic, the tough analyzer, the dreamer, every person who has ever traveled or wanted to travel to Italy (me!), and the literature enthusiast! The Light in the Piazza will make you laugh, cry, rejoice, and want to throw the book against the wall and is one of my personal favorites!

The Beauty of Sunday

I love Sunday! I know so many people that hate it because it is the last day of the weekend but not me! I love Sunday so much; everything about the day is beautiful.

Every Sunday starts off and ends the same (for me at least). I wake up and go to church! Church is where I worship God and dig further into his word and I absolutely love that! After the service I either go out and grab lunch with friends, like today, or I head home for a quiet lunch in. Whether it is grabbing lunch with friends after the service and chatting about the sermon and discussing life issues and plans or just eating a quiet lunch in my kitchen by myself I cherish that time! I am really able to build relationships during Sunday luncheons and that is time that I really value! Sunday afternoons are pretty chill for me. I am either catching up on all of the work I opted not to do on Saturday or I am bustling around the city of Richmond running last minute errands before Monday or I am reviewing over and over again what my plans are for that week. No matter what I am doing these Sunday afternoons are my absolute favorite because I am in control of how I spend them. If I want to take a nap, I take a nap and if I want to busy myself by doing unnecessary but very necessary work, then I will do that (I usually spend this time doing the latter). At 5:00 on the dot I am at choir practice at my church and by 6:30 I am enjoying a nice meal with my family. Things are pretty much low key after that until 8:00 when Once Upon A Time hits the screen! Man, nothing comes infront of my Once Upon A Time time. 

What is so beautiful about Sunday is it is a day completely controlled by me! Everything I do, I do because I want to, not because I have to or because I am obligated to be there (like high school). I plan out my Sundays as I go through them. If I feel like going out to lunch, I go out to lunch. If I feel like taking Brighton to the mall, I take him to the mall. I am in complete control of how I run my Sunday and I love that. It is the only day in the week where everything I do, I do because I really, truly desire to.

Tried and Failed

So, as you guys already know, starting and maintaining a blog is one of my dreams. I have always wanted to blog. I have had maybe a total of 5 Blogger blogs, 1 WordPress blog, and 2 Tumblr blogs, all which have failed (disclaimer: my blog Simply Southern Class has not failed and is not included in this count). These have all failed for many reasons, but the main one is discouragement. 

With each of these blogs I got discouraged because I felt like I should have 1,000 followers after the first post. When this didn't happen I had less and less motivation to post and soon my blogs just started sitting there, unattended and looked after. I left them to rot. 

Over the summer I started the blog The Virginian (has since been deleted) and I was determined to keep with it. The problem with The Virginian was my inability to develop content. I didn't know what I wanted to blog about, what my target audience was, and, honestly, what I was doing. I was a fish completely lost at sea and I was scarred and lack all motivation to continue. Well, needless to say The Virginian had maybe 3 or 4 posts on it before I completely abandoned it. The Virginian lasted a total of 4 days.

A few weeks ago I took my dog Brighton to Stony Point Fashion Park to meet with my friend Leigh, who was home from college for the weekend. We were chatting and she asked me how my bog was doing. I told her that The Virginian had kind of fallen apart. I told her that I really wanted The Virginian to succeed, but it was difficult and I just lost all motivation. Leigh looked me right in the eye and said, "Maybe you like the idea of blogging better than actually blogging." I thought about this for a few weeks because, up till then that had been true. I loved the idea of having a blog but I had no clue what I was doing and I was just unable to keep up with it. 

A week later The College Prepster posted Motivation Behind Blogging. This post could not have come at a better time because what Leigh had said to me at Stony Point the week before was still fresh on my mind. I read it with an open mind and it really inspired me, once again, to give blogging another shot! 

Well, all in God's timing, the that following Wednesday my youth pastor Jon talked about dreams. After that talk I really knew that I needed to do something. So I went home that night and started Catty Cornered Café!

I have tried to create successful blogs so many times (8 to be exact) and have failed. The reason these blogs failed was due to many things but I think, looking back on it, the main reason was because I was in the wrong mindset. Then I had NO clue what in the world I was blogging for or who I was blogging for. Now I know. I am blogging for myself, and to get my thoughts out of my head. To share my ideas with whoever is willing to listen. To write for the sake of writing. This is why I am determined not to let CCC fail, because I have a reason to blog; because it means something. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is no secret the the holiday season is my favorite season of the year! I just love EVERYTHING about this season! The smell of gingerbread, the snow on the ground, the smell of pine needles all over the house, holly all over the town, seeing the children anxiously waiting to sit on Santa's lap and tell him all they want for Christmas! Everything about this season is absolutely beautiful!

So this year Mike and Susie started decorating the house before Thanksgiving. This is something that Mom and Dad have never done before. Usually we just wait until Carey and I are out for break to decorate anything in the house but, this year they got a bit of a head start! This is great because in my house it has been Christmas for a week already (which is completely fine with me)!

Anyway, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this Christmas season! Today I broke out my Michael Bublé Holiday station. I honestly can't think of anyone I would rather bring in the holiday season with than Bublé and the original Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.)! I don't think I will ever turn off this station. Seriously, Christmas music is my absolute favorite, it is not going off.

This is seriously the most wonderful time of the year! Everyone just seems so much happier during the Christmas season and, despite the cold, everything is just warmer! I really LOVE Christmas!

A Few Finds

So Susie is letting me keep a few of my finds from the shopping extravaganza yesterday! I am so excited, I came into my room after lunch and saw these sitting on my bed!

Tommy Hilfiger earmuffs (similar)/JCrew Olive Pumps/Red Coach Crossbody Bag (similar)

Deals and Steals

So we did Black Friday differently this year. Usually my cousin and I go out at midnight and hit the Belk then we would come in and sleep until 5. At 5 we would get up and head down to the outlet mall to shop all of our favorite stores! 

This year my cousin wasn't here so Susie, Carey, and I slept-in and got to the outlets around 9:00. Oh my gosh! It was an amazing day! J-Crew was having a 50% off + and extra 10% sale! Tommy Hilfiger was 50% the whole store AND I got a pair of penny loafers and got $150 dollars off (can you say steal?!)! Unfortunately I won't see ANY of it again till Chirstmas because Susie is wrapping it all up and it's all going under the tree (sad face).

Such a great day with so many great deals and I can't think of any place better to spend it than my home away from home at Kill Devil Hills! 

Much to be Thankful For

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! We had so much fun at the farm with my mom's family! There is never a dull moment with Susie's family! The renovations to the house really opened up the house and it felt like we had much more room. We also had cable this year (which was a plus) and we were able to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade without the signal going out on us every two minutes!

Anyway, we had tons of fun! I helped Susie and Uncle Joe with breakfast and then got ready for the day with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background (did I mention we got a flat screen HD TV in the back bedroom too!). I watched some amazing performances as I got ready and now have a LIST of shows that I am just dying to see!

Around 10 the rest of the family started coming and the house became a bustle of excitement with everyone pitching in to help cook or sitting around getting out of the way! Lunch was served around 12:30 and we had the works! Potato Salad, Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole, Country Cured Ham, Turkey, my grandma's secret dressing recipie, Succotash, Snap Beans, Collard Greens, Ree Ree's Chicken pie! Sweet Potatoe Biscuits and Homestyle Biscuits, and Deviled Eggs! It was delicious! We also had my Uncle Joe's famous Sweet Tea! Dessert was made of Peacan Pie, Cheese Pie, and Chocolate Chess Cake!

After lunch my cousins and I went into the back bedroom to take our annual after Thanksgiving nap but failed because we had to keep our little cousins out of trouble. It was okay though because we got to spend more time together before each individual family had to leave! 

Afterwards my family headed to Kill Devil Hills to spend the rest of Thanksgiving weekend on the beach. Tonight was much more chill than this morning with Brunswick Stew and Corn Muffins for dinner and Pumpkin Pie (Classic) for dessert! We ate and then settled on the couch to finish watching the Dallas game! 

I am so thankful for my whole family and my family traditions! Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday and I have such fond memories of spending time with both of my families!

Last night I was going through the Bass family photo album and found some great family photos from Thanksgiving past! There were plenty more but I decided to just take the ones I was in! These are cousins only photos by the way.

I am the one in the pink dress! Thanksgiving 1997!

Red dress is me! Thanksgiving 1999!

Thanksgiving 2000! I am the one in the blue dress with the turtleneck underneath, stylin' right? By the way that wall isn't there anymore and neither is the room in the last picture, they were both removed during renovations of the farm house!

Thanksgiving 2001? Maybe 2002. I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm in the pink!

Thanksgiving 2008! A lot of cousin's additions since 2001! 

The foursome: Anna, Catherine (me), Carey, and Ryan! 

I am so thankful for my family and for another safe Thanksgiving!