Ok, so here are the 15 articles of clothing that I picked out for the 15 for 15 Remix over at Bramblewood Fashion Blog... :)

I must say, it was VERY hard paring my options down to 15... I didn't realize just how many clothes I have... :) 

Another thing I didn't realize is that my color preference leans very strongly towards navy and red... Almost everything I wear has some kind of nautical look or a "splash of red" look... I tried to limit my nautical and add in more colors for this challenge... :)

Ok, here we go...

Two skirts, one pair of jeans, and one pair of shorts...

Four tanks and camisoles ... Here I am kinda bending the rules a bit... I am counting all my white undershirts as one since they all are used for the same purpose... :)

Two shirts, one button up, and one cardigan...

And three pairs of shoes... Sperrys, flip flops, and my new Chacos... :)

If you want to join in too, just pop on over to Ashley's blog and RSVP in the comments of her 15 for 15 post... :)

I have always wanted to do one of those fashion blog events where you pick out a certain number of clothes and only wear outfits made from those pieces for a certain number of days... They usually go on for a month, but the blog that is sponsoring it is only going for 15... Which makes it easier, yet harder... Easier in that I don't have to make 30 different outfits... Harder in that I can only work with 15 pieces of clothes... 

I will post a picture of the items I (finally) decided on tomorrow... 

Ok, a couple of other things about my day...

I got Chacos!!!!!! My feet have been hurting me at work lately and so I got these sandals from REI... You can adjust the straps to fit your foot exactly and they are known for their amazing arch support... It has been kinda weird getting used to the ugly shape they are, but I am sure after a few days it will be fine... 

Another thing...

The Les Miserables Trailer!!!!!!

It is EPIC!!!!!

I was never a huge fan of the musical (don't get me wrong, I do like it... I just don't swoon over it) because I never cared for the whole singing, but not acting thing... But this... You can see so much emotion even in the trailer... I will probably cry... :)


Oh, and BTW... This is my 50th post... That's kinda exciting... :)

The 2012 Preakness Stakes

Horse Racing... The Sport of Kings... The thrill of the track... The beauty of the animals... The sun on the white rail... The call of vendors selling, well, alcohol to, well, drunk people... 


So it isn't the perfect experience... But definitely very memorable... :)


The best part for me was seeing all the people. The diversity of people and the enormous amount of stereotypes represented was astounding. There were rich people dressed rich, rich people dressed down, poor people dressed up, tacky people dressed up, preppy guys, hoochy girls, gamblers, partiers, and trackies... There was sooooo much food for the imagination there... 


I tried to get pictures of all my favorite people... And by favorite I mean most interesting looking... :)


Oh, hey, look at those really interesting people!!! :) I was the only one that wore a hat... Meaning I was the only one who didn't get a horrible sunburn on my face and neck!!!! Though, my leg didn't escape... I have a very weird looking burn on the half of my leg that was facing the sun... :)

Dad... I LOVED his outfit... He had on dark jeans, a button up with rolled sleeves and a baseball cap... All of us agreed that he just needed an important looking lanyard and he would have looked like an owner... Or at the very least a trainer... ;)

So this isn't the best picture of my outfit, but I was very pleased with how my make-up came out... ;)

Now... This guy... Was a character...  His name is Ben... And he is the best Black Eyed Susan vendor in the entire world!!!!!! He cycled through the grandstand selling the signature Pimlico drink... I don't consider selling drinks to drunk people a very high calling... But hey, you gotta have fun with what you do... And he was... :)

Ok, these were my favorite guys for the whole day... Believe it or not, I don't think they were gay... The pink shorts, the sports jacket, the nerd glasses, the bow tie... Me and my sisters were drooling... And yes, I stalked them with my zoom lens... ;)

I would say frat boys living off of daddy warbucks... :)

This was the couple sitting behind us... They were actually a nice, non-drunk couple... I loved the guy's outfit... Wrinkly plaid button up with an equally wrinkly sports jacket, linen looking khaki pants, a straw fedora, and mirror aviators... He just needed a British or Australian accent... :) His wife (the middle lady) a straw cloche hat with a halter maxi dress...  To me, they looked like casual money... :)

A cool hat...

Oh, look, some more cool people... Judging by their outfits, I would say they are poor acting rich... Probably on the conservative side, and probably all sisters... :)

Another cool hat... :)

Ok, now this couple was weird... The guy was receding gray hair with wrinkles and the girl was, well, young and sexy... To me, it looked totally like an old guy and his trophy wife... Just like you see on tv... I do so love stereotyping people... :)

And now for the horse side of things... 


This is one of my sisters favorite jockeys... Sheldon Russell...  They like him because he is cute (they may be horse girls, but they are still girls)... And so, to their absolute and utter thrill and excitement, when he was going past them, he looked at them!!!! As in, how a guy looks at a pretty girl... They were absolutely thrilled... ;)

This is Mike Smith... Jockey Hall of Fame-r... This picture completely made my sisters entire day... Even more so than having Sheldon Russell check them out... And that is sayin' a lot... :)

This would be the horses charging down the final stretch of the Preakness... Bodemeister is on the far right... I'll Have Another is... Somewhere on the left... Bodemeister held the front for almost the entire race... Until I'll Have Another overtook him in the last little bit of the race... Exactly like he did in the Derby...


Unfortunately for fans, Bodemeister won't be going to the Belmont... So there won't be a big showdown type of race... But it will still be exciting... :)

A few other neat things that happened... Parachuters... :)

This was actually really neat... A B4 flew over the track... It is some kind of really cool super secret squirell military plane... My dad was totally geeking out... ;)

It looks like a UFO... lol ;)

In conclusion... I think that anyone who aspires to any kind of study of human nature should go to a racetrack... There are so many people there... And you can just sit and watch... :)

Hey, ya'll, I just want to put in a quick plug for my best friend's band blog!!!! She finally has a new post up!!!! In true "Kristian" style, she tells every single funny detail of their first experiences in the recording room... Enjoy!!!!! 


*edit* Oh, btw, I am planning a Preakness post... As soon as I get the pictures onto my laptop... 


And a few more things were crossed off my 2012 to-do!!!! :)

I like nautical references... And this one is appropriate to the month I have had... I have been so busy this month... I almost went crazy... Ask my friends... I have either totally ignored them or done nothing but complain to them... 


In one phrase, let me tell you what I did this month... Here goes... Work, Bible study, Avengers premiere, community garage sale, garagesaleing, church, work, Awana, work, Avengers, Awana sleepover planning, Bible study meeting, work, church, work, field day planning, work, grandparent's arrival, work, Bible study meeting, work, Awana sleepover, work, sister's graduation, Avengers, church, grandparent's departure, Bible study meeting, work, Awana, field day, The Preakness in Baltimore, The Inner Harbor in Baltimore, work, last day of school planning, huge costco trip to get all the soda for the church picnic season, last day of school, work, work, work...


I am sure I missed something...

Nevertheless, things are finally starting to wind down... School ended, and Awana ends next week... And then I am home free... Summer is a blank slate that I have to set new plans on... :)


One thing I do already have planned is ballroom dancing lessons... I have been in contact with this dance studio since the beginning of the year, but was never able to go through with lessons because they are so expensive... But I decided to use the last paychecks from the school to buy the first level of lessons... My first lesson is tomorrow... Wish me luck... ;)


Another thing I want to do this summer is go to the beach... Really really really bad... I don't know how it is going to happen, but I will get there if I have to hitchhike... 


Is anyone else excited about all the movies that are coming out this summer???  It started with The Hunger Games (which I saw 3 times) and then The Avengers (which I have also seen three times... so far ;))... And coming soon we have Men in Black 3, Prometheus, Brave, The Amazing Spiderman, The Dark Knight Rises, and the Bourne Legacy... To name a few!!!!! I haven't seen a line up like this in years!!!! It's gonna be big... ;)


And to tie it all together... Are you the type that is always waiting to enjoy life at some future, less busy time??? Do you ever think "Oh, I just need to get past this one event and then I will be able to relax"??? 


What I want to know is is that the question we should be asking ourselves... Should we be bracing ourselves against life's winds or loosing our sails to catch the wind??? Should we be putting off enjoying life until we "have time"??? I think that it is in these super insanely busy times that we need to thrive... Because the truth is, is there will always be another thing that comes up... There will never be a time when we aren't busy... So learn to enjoy it!!!


*disclaimer* I don't pretend to be a good writer and it's late so don't judge... ;)

The Avengers

I don't consider myself a very passionate person... But I can get excited about things... Very excited... So excited that I embarrass my sisters and my friends with my ravings. But sometimes, things are just so awesome that they need to be raved about!!!!! For a week!!!! Nonstop!!!!! 

This is me this week about The Avengers. I love it more than I have ever loved any other movie. It is the epitome of awesomness. I cheer and squeal every time I go see it (which has been twice so far, and I am hoping to make it a third time very soon). 

How can one not like it is what I want to know... A bunch of guys saving the world who all happen to be amazingly buff and good looking??? Win!!!

Don't get me wrong, I like it for more than just swoon-ability of the guys (yes, I so just made that word)... Captain America and Thor are still the moral, lovely characters they were in their title movies. Iron Man is refreshingly devoted to Pepper and therefore lacks the playboy scenes. The entire movie is so completely clean... It just adds to it's awesomness... :)

We saw it on opening night in a packed theater. It was the first time I have had to sit by myself... But it was good, I think, because I didn't have any distractions... I could focus completely and wholly on the movie. And I was COMPLETELY enthralled from start to finish... :)

If you haven't seen the previous 5 super hero movies, you don't, in my *ahem* not so humble opinion, have any business watching The Avengers. It is the epic culmination of years of build up. You just can't experience the full majesty of such a group unless you fully understand each of their back stories. 


My favorite character is by far Captain America. Completely unshakable, indefatigably good, a true leader, and totally hot in red, white, and blue... ;)... Oh, and one more thing... "There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't dress like that."... Go Cap... ;)

Second favorite character (though the one I have been obsessing over more) is Hawkeye... Played by Jeremy Renner... How could one not go for the archer??? :)

I have loved him ever since his appearance in Thor... And I didn't even know who he was!!! It was purely instinctive... ;)

His character's chemistry with Scarlett Johansson's was adorable. Nothing inappropriate or overtly flirtatious... Just a warm friendship... That I hope gets developed into a romantic relationship in the next film... ;)

In the months leading up to it's release, it was a concern that it would feel too rushed and that the individual characters wouldn't get enough screen time to themselves... Let me tell you, it wasn't like that... Everyone got their perfect amount of story and their perfect amount of action... And then it all comes to a perfect head and they form the perfect team... It is just perfect... :)

And funny too!!! Which is perhaps the most surprising thing about the movie... It is stinkin' hilarious. 
Thor (talking about Loki)- "He is my brother"
Black Widow- "He killed 80 people in three days"
Thor- "He was adopted"
It is truly a feat to pack so many good lines into an action movie and have it still be an action movie... :)

Do I really need a concluding statement??? Probably not, but I am going to give you one anyway... Anybody been watching the box office the past few weeks??? If you have, you will know that The Avengers has topped it... Three weeks in a row... Beating several large movies on their premiere weekends... A movie with no sex, little language, and little gore... You would think that Hollywood would get the picture... :)

I have been very remiss in blogging here recently, but then, I have been very busy so I consider myself justified... ;)

The year has gone by so quickly... It seems like I should still be anticipating The Hunger Games and The Avengers premiere, visiting the Ferrars, and the end of the school year... Well, ok, so school hasn't ended yet, but we only have, like, two and a half weeks left... To say it has snuck up on me would be an understatement... 

At the beginning of April me and one of my sisters went to visit the Ferrar family up in Ohio (in case you don't know, Anna and Michaela's blogs are Like Pearls Slipping Off a String and The Secret Life of Daydreams)... We had a super amazing fun time!!!!!!

The square in their town is amazingly picturesque... It has everything a little town needs from a used bookstore, coffee shop, hot dog dinner, cupcake shop, frozen yogurt shop, vintage barbershop, and a cute little gazebo in the middle... It is the perfect town... :)

 This is Michaela's boyfriend... ;)

Root beer out of a frozen mug??? Win... ;)

This is my favorite picture from the whole week... Anna's boots and my trenchcoat make it, I think... ;)

Some other escapades include going to Clevland to their creepy vintage clothing store (where I found a mint condition RED 50s cupcake dress ;D), a trip to Amish Country on Good Friday... Which happens to be a very big holiday for them so hardly any Amish were out and almost no stores were open... Oh, and a very exciting exploration of some abandoned buildings behind their house... Old bridges and creepy lofts make for very exciting photo shoots... ;) 

Michaela actually did a more in depth post about our visit on her blog if you want to check it out... She is a much more eloquent writer than I am so you definitely should... ;)

Hopefully I will make the time sometime this week for a Hunger Games and Avengers post... Just as a quick preview on the content of my post, I completely and utterly loved them both (seen The Hunger Games three times so far and I am going to see The Avengers for a second time tonight)... So haters beware... ;)