Royal Anticipation

I am spending tonight at a friend's house, watching late night royal wedding programs while not really studying for my spanish test in the morning. This may cause some aggro [trouble] in the morning but there will be other spanish tests! Currently we are watching William and Kate: A Fairytale Romance on BBC, it is ace [brilliant]! William was an adorable page boy in Princess Anne's wedding...

After just a nip [small amount of sleep] we will be up to celebrate! Coverage starts at 4 am, and we are going to make coffee cake, and cheer with orange juice as we watch the wedding of our lifetime on t.v. I have no doubt we will be knackered [worn-out] later on but I am not going to pass up the chance to see her dress when everyone else does!

P.S. Sorry it didn't work out  with Wills, sis... hope you stocked up on ice cream and tissues!

P.S.S. I think I will start a list of ideas for my wedding to Prince Harry. :)

How do you define Classy?

Classy :  
    a : elegant, stylish <a classy clientele>

b : having or reflecting high standards of personal behavior <a classy guy> <a classy gesture>c : admirably skillful and graceful <a classy outfielder>

I just got back from one of the best parts of the spring semester at my school. The athletics banquet is put on for all of the student athletes and coaches and is a nice way to wrap up the year and hear about what the other teams have done! I am part of the golf team, and our coach kept his speech nice and short. In esseencse he wanted two things from us as a team this year. 1. To be competitive. 2. To be classy. It has become a joke on the team because he talks almost as much about being classy as he does golf! Looking around the room, I could tell that there were somethings my coach, and any good southern lady, would find not classy.

1. Flip Flops do not count as dress shoes.

 Jack Rogers do!

2. Underwear is meant to go under your clothes. This includes bra-straps. Enough said!


3. I know its fun to dress up but keep in mind we go to an all girls school. The only boys there will be the coaches... and you are making them uncomfortable. Two other ways to double check your outfit choice? 1. Does it leave somethings to the imagination? 2. Would you wear it in front of your grandmother? If you did not answer yes to both of these, then hang it back up in your closet.

Perfectly Acceptable and Adorable

I am lucky to go to a school that has many classy girls, but we can never hear these things enough! And for one more thing I love about the south... you can actually go into stores and buy cute, appropriate, and  CLASSY clothes for any activity :). XX

Open Covers, Insert Head

Sometimes you just want to put the covers over your head and pretend the world doesn't exist! That is today for me. With finals coming up, as well as moving out, and the stress of summer plans everyone is on edge. Combine that with a terrible sunburn and pink eye and it just one of those days where I wish my mother was around to make me comfort food and call me in sick. So here is to imagining being here.....

Lilly Pulitzer Bedding

......and hoping tomorrow I will be more enthusiastic about facing the wonderful world! XX

Happy Easter

"The tomb is empty, but our hearts are full."

I passed this very nice quote today on the way back from some family friend's house who adopted me for the day. Southern Hospitality much? I spent a wonderful day with them, going to church, sitting on their front porch, and devouring a delicious home cooked meal. It was a much better Easter than last year, it is one of the few days that I get really homesick. I received a picture of my mother and sister dressed up in their pearls... but coats, while I got my first horrible sunburn of the year. Hope I can get those burn lines straightened out by saturday. :/.

But don't forget that even among the perfectly preppy easter dresses and sandals, the real reason we celebrate today is because "he has risen."

Why I love My Friends.

I have met so many incredible people since moving. The girls at my school have changed my life in more ways then they can even imagine. I recently was talking with my mother about the fact that my college friends are, on a whole, better friends then I have ever had. While I was musing about the reasons this could be, I realized that I had more of a southern up bringing than my western neighbors. This probably stems from the fact that my parents both had southern upbringings by their steel magnolia mothers!

Growing up in my house, please and thank-you's were required as well as the "no thank you bite." I was expected to call other people's parents Mr. and Mrs. (it really bothered my mother when my young friends referred to her by her first name). We went to church every sunday, and had to dress up and pay attention. We attended plays and symphony concerts and could never have sleepover's two nights in a row. Now, when I count my blessings, I count my family extra times. We have had the best of times and some pretty low moments too, but we have always been their for each other. Just because my parents were sticklers for manners in no way means that we were short on fun in my home, but I will save those stories for another day. So back to reason #1 why I love my southern friends....

1. Southern Hospitality: Being so far away from home, I thought that I would spend many weekends at school while everyone else traveled to their homes and families only a couple hours away. How wrong I was! I have been welcomed into so many homes (and families... I call my roommate's parents mom and dad!). I have spent long weekends in North Carolina where E's mother absolutely made me swear on my life I would bring my laundry to their house. She was horrified at the idea of me wasting money just to do it at school! I've spent a spring break at a friends house and the first time I met her parents was when I pulled up to their driveway. I stayed a summer with a family in Kentucky, and I am now their "rent-a-daughter." I even went with E to visit some old friends of hers and I was immediately part of the gang.



So here's to all my southern friends who have welcomed me not just into their homes, but also to the friends from all over who have welcomed me with classy hospitality into their lives. Hope that I can convince them all to venture out to the west so I can repay just a small portion of the generosity that I have encountered :). xx.

Go Green (and Pink)

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Back home the go green mantra was pushed by true hippies (identifiable by their dreadlocks, tie-dyed t-shirts, and slacklining on the weekend), we have open space and we appreciate it. I am an environmental studies major and love the earth, but I am not exactly that "earthy tree hugger" kind of person (although I did get to help install solar panels at my school yesterday, I geeked out a little bit). I find that we can make choices that our good for our planet, good for us, and good for our style. On another note, the message to go green is easier heard from your own kind of people and can help it seem less drastic. So lets all push for a little more green in our green and pink.

Things I've done recently (they are so easy, I forget that I've done them)

1. Switched Shampoo: I needed a new shampoo, so when I was in the nearby cvs wandering these caught my eye. The garnier fructis pure clean shampoo is at least 92% biodegradable, which means that the toxins are not going to linger around in the water and soil long after our hair has lost its freshly washed appearance. It also contains super fruit antioxidants, so you don't have to worry about your sacrificing your hair's health for the planets health. Its a win win! It contains no silicons, parabans, or dyes. My curls are practically jumping for joy at these lightweight products. And one last plug that packaging is 50% recycled and can be recycled again!


2. Kick the Habit... of plastic water bottles that is: Last December I made the decision to wean myself from soda for so many reasons. I learned to listen to my body and found that I was craving water all the time! This required me to have water on hand or buy a plastic bottle. These bottles are one of my pet peeves, they take oil to produce and ship, sit in landfills, and I am rather opposed to paying for something that I can get for free. This means that I need a collection of water bottles at the ready (especially since I have a bad habit of leaving them behind). I am partial to the camelbaks and my favorite was covered in horse stickers (if anyone sees it let me know!).




 But I'm glad to see that my good friend Lilly is pro-water bottle!





3. Write more: One of my fellow environmental studies majors found these papermate pens at an office store and lent me one. It is biodegradable and so nice to write with! I may be borrowing hers permenantly... whoops!

4. Wash it till its clean GREEN!: Laundry is a huge hassle in my life. And as a college student, I try to cut corners where I can for my bank account's sake and more often than not those take place when it comes to buying laundry detergent. However seventh generation has quality detergent with a responsible business ethic when it comes to the environment. And now this biodegradable detergent comes in a compostable bottle. :).  Now when your clothes smell clean... they will actually be clean, green clean.

So cheers to being preppy, and to being true fan of GREEN and pink.

Ps. I couldn't resist this holiday spirit! Be sure to check out how vineyard vines is supporting many important causes, including the Loggerhead Marine Life Center.

The British Do It Best.

What girl doesn’t dream about becoming a princess and being swept off to England to live in a castle among the history. Well since Prince William is pretty much taken (there is only a week left girls… lets prepare ourselves), we may start having to look elsewhere. I know I wouldn’t mind being a lady at this house….

Welcome to Badminton House, and this is where badminton was invented! Wow, okay well in my book, that is not its biggest claim to fame. Another fun fact about me, I am a life long eventer. While I may like the color pink and ruffles, if you are going to ride, you have to really ride! Eventing is the triathlon of the horse sports, and Badminton is home to the “most important horse event in Britain” and sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors. The horses and riders are as good as they get and the shopping isn’t too bad either. I was lucky enough to attend several years ago, and I pout every year that I am not back there.

As it is this weekend, I will be glued to my computer in the wee hours of the morning listening to Badminton Radio and refreshing Eventing Nation.  I suppose the rainy east coast weather will help me get into an appropriate British mood?

Looks like I will be spending my weekend wearing my dubarry’s! These are my favorite boots (plus my hunter’s are still currently caked in crawfish frat sludge… whoops!).  These boots are waterproof (yay gortex), hardy (they are made for the barn), and stylish…

          

      

Dubary of Ireland makes these boots, beautiful tweed skirts (next on my wish list) as well as a whole line of boat shoes!  Wishing you nothing but the British best.

3 Things

I feel like I have been giving an unfair impression of my home. It is truly a spectacular place that (most of the time) puts the postcards to shame.  So after spending almost 2 years "abroad," for lack of a better term, I want to share with you the three things I miss the most.

1. City Brew Coffee: I thought the idea of coffee, or anything coming out of a coffee shop, repulsive until high school. A good friend of mine got me hooked on caramel mocha frappuchinos. Once I got over the embarrassment of being one of those people whose drink orders took longer to say than to make, it became a habit. Now City Brew Coffee is a local coffee company with kiosks and cafes around the area. Their coffee is the best (okay... their frappuchinos are the best?) and my parents are now accustomed to scheduling extra time for city brew breaks when I am home because I cannot stand passing them by. In fact, after returning from my trips home I cannot bring myself to go to Starbucks or any other coffee place for weeks.

2. Chacos: In high school, these were one of the few things that I actually begged to have that were considered cool. These sandals are fun, comfortable, and make some foot tans that are brag-worthy. The first time I wore them down here, a good friend of mine asked what was up with the grandma sandals. Several months later though she was choking down on her words. I also initiated two conversations in the last week with strangers about the chacos they were wearing, and one was even a frat boy! She had started working in a shoe store and had tried them on only to fall in love. In fact she was lamenting the fact that she only owned one pair. Back home, an acceptable profile picture is of you and your best friends chacos. In fact, if you love your chacos all the way through the sole... you can get them resoled! Chacos have such a cult following that wearers are called chaconians.  I have yet to find a southern version of such comfy and tough sandals.

(this is not me... although I hope I could stand up against this competition after this summer!)

3. Skiing: While this is more of an activity, than a thing, I miss it dearly. While the people here rave about their nearby ski resorts, I just cannot get excited about gearing up in rental skis and swishing my way down fake snow covered mounds. Sorry, I'm a mountain snob.

 My Mountain! The end of a long day....

My beloved K2 Skis in the middle

So here's to the wonderful things I left behind, all in search of my inner-prep.

Language Barrier

They say that one of the first things travelers struggle with is learning the language, and the lingo on top of that. I know that I can attest for not always using english that is grammatically correct or that can be found in the dictionary. One of my funniest/fondest language barriers occurred here in the United States, but I was a traveler none-the-less. The night before we moved into our dorm-room, my randomly assigned roommate and I went out to dinner with our respective parents. She was from North Carolina, and had an accent and sense of fashion. I was intimidated. The next day were beginning to unpack our boxes of belongings after lugging (okay... I admit we didn't do much of the lugging, thanks dads!) them up to the third floor. While my roommate, who will be called E, unpacked her shoes she started a casual conversation by asking "Do you have a pair sperrys?" I looked down and pretended to be focused on my upacking while I racked my brain of what in the world "sperrys" meant. "What?" I asked her after my preoccupied silence began to run into awkward silence. "Sperrys!" she said like it was just an everyday word. "A spare of what?" I replied. She looked at me and laughed, then pulled out a leather boat shoes of the shoe container she had previously been filling, "these are sperry topsiders... do you really not know what they are?" I admired them, and while a little embarrassed, was glad that I had the well-we-don't-wear-boat-shoes-because-we-are-nowhere-near-the-ocean excuse ready.


Luckily for me, I was blessed with a knowledgeable (and patient) roommate, who took the time to help me adjust to the lingo. Now for the plug, I am a big sperry fan. They are my most worn shoes and seem to go with my outfit no matter the style. They are as comfortable as wearing tennis shoes (my previous favorite shoe) but look a little more respectable. I've even worn them with dresses! I know that I have saved three other people from this awkward lack of understanding, I'm proud to say now my mother and two sisters wear sperrys and father's day is almost visible on the calender... maybe I can find a special since these would look cute with my summer plans. :)

The Beginning

I was born in the true wild west. We took field trips to the oregon trail, owned realistic tipis, and rode our pony to preschool. Oceans were something that most of the kids my age had never seen, in fact many of them had never been outside of the state. We didn't have snow days because then half the school year would be canceled and in fact halloween costumes were planned to fit over snowsuits. We learned about wilderness survival and which wild animals we could outrun.
I am lucky enough to have family spread across the country and parents that love to travel, and from a young age I loved being with my grandmothers, both of whom came from the south. They had a relaxed drawls and loved magnolias. When I started to dress myself, I found I was most comfortable in khakis and sweater sets or 3/4 length tees... not the normal attire for girls my age. I tried to fit in, wearing colored cruel girl jeans and tie-dye t-shirts or plaid button downs. In high school, when wearing the right brand name clothes was a bigger deal than your homework assignment, I struggled with the "trendy teen style." Let's just say that Hollister was a big deal, since there wasn't an actual store in our state and it meant you either ordered online or left the state to shop.
For high school graduation my mom got my two sets of pearls, one a bag of fake pearls to glue to my graduation cap for the ceremony, and a set of real pearls to start my journey to find my inner pearl girl. 10 days after crossing the stage, I packed up the rest of my belongings and moved to the east coast. I spent my summer north of Baltimore before moving south to attend a small, yet prestigious school. I quickly fell in love with the culture, fashion, and attitude of the south. So here is my story, to finding my inner prep or die trying, to blending the west and east.