Happy Halloweeny

Greetings, friends. It has been absolutely forever since I've posted anything. My apologies! I knew it would take me coming upon a subject that I'm really passionate about to prompt me to sit down and write something again. And last night...I did. HALLOWEEN. Well, not just Halloween in general but, more specifically, Halloween costumes.

The summer before our Junior year of college, eight of my very best friends, including myself, moved into two houses right next door to each other with four girls in each house. One of the houses was owned by our friend Mindy's parents, so naturally that was available for some of us to move in to. It was luck that brought us to the house next door. It just happened to go up for rent right when we needed to sign a lease.

Besides the living situation with the eight of us being one of the best things that ever happened to me (and all of us, I dare say), it also presented us with a new way to bond our group together: intensely well thought out Halloween costumes.

Our first Halloween living in the two houses, we decided on the fly that we should all dress up as a group. I believe it was Casey, our token brunette friend :), who came up with the idea of being Ballerinas. The week before Halloween we all spent countless hours hand sewing our own tutus. Although, if I recall correctly, I ended up creating my own and two or three others, because hand sewing just happens to be one of my strange talents haha. We lucked out with these costumes because I grew up dancing and my Mom is a ballet teacher, so all of the leotards, tights, and ballet shoes were provided by the Webb household.

The Ballerina costumes were a huge hit and, therefore, we were hooked. We set ourselves up to continually try to outdo ourselves each year.

I will say that I don't think my feet have ever hurt worse then when I spent this entire night walking around flat footed in pointe shoes.

That same Halloween, my sister and now brother-in-law dressed up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I wanted to give these costumes a shout out because it was absolutely hilarious. I particularly enjoy this picture because they both look so young, and it's funny to think about them now married.

The Ballerinas were great, no question, but we knew that we had to come up with something even better our Senior year. At first, we threw around the idea of being Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Obviously, the numbers worked in our favor, and Casey would have made a perfect Snow White. But, something about the idea didn't sit right with all of us.

Then, someone came up with our most brilliant costume idea to date...The Wizard of Oz. Immediately when this idea came out we all loved it and began claiming our character of choice. I chose the Cowardly Lion, naturally, because I basically already have a lion's mane on my head. We all made our costumes separately, and on the night of Halloween it all "magically" came together. Not only were the costumes amazing, but the picture below reigns as my all time favorite picture of the eight of us.

The next year, our Halloween group significantly dwindled because of graduation and other circumstances, so just a few of us got together and dressed alike. Don't ask me why, but Mindy was stuck on the fact that we were going to be...well...Gothic Fairies. Hahahaha. It sounded like just about the strangest idea I had ever heard, but it turned out to be really funny and original. Unfortunately, in the picture, you can't get a good look at our amazing Gothic Fairy wings, but believe me, they were large and intimidating. At least 15 people were unintentionally caught in my wings while we were out that night.

Last year, we had a huge Halloween party to attend, but, since most of us lived apart, we decided to do our own things. I was Miss Piggy and my boyfriend at the time was Kermit, which was really entertaining. But, I do not recommend those fake pig noses--they are incredibly uncomfortable. Laura was 80's Madonna and Kristen was Pebbles. Our friend Jayme was Cindy Lou Who and her boyfriend was a Penguin (very cute). Halie was Gwen Stefani and well, Mindy and Shannon were her Harajuku girls (notice the wigs). Their costumes were by far some of the most ridiculous I've ever seen and will, without a doubt, go down in history with our friends. Casey was also there but isn't pictured. She and her now fiance were the Governor and First Lady of Texas. She wore a blonde fro wig...enough said. :)

This year we have big plans. We're going to be attending Ghostland Observatory, so we know we have to go big or go home. I'm going to keep under wraps what we'll be dressing up as...but it's going to be cute and very sparkly. We'll just say that.

I hope everyone has as much fun dressing up and celebrating as we will!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Wormin' It Up For America (S.F.P.)

This past weekend was another one for the books. Much like Memorial Day weekend, it was spent livin' it up lake style in Oklahoma with a bunch of good people. I thought there was no way we could top our last holiday weekend excursion, but boy was I wrong.

The serious funny kicked in when we discovered our friend Mindy's karaoke machine. I believe she pumped out more than a few jams on that thing circa 8th Grade (or so). Most everyone took their turn on the mic, myself included ("Strawberry Wine...SEEEEVENTEEN..."). Then, our friend Travis decided he should try to do the Worm Dance, and I guess you could say he started a phenomenon. In case you're looking to follow in our footsteps, see this instructional video, "How To Do the Worm Dance."

Unfortunately for us, Travis didn't come across this video until AFTER we spent two nights taking turns attempting The Worm.

Now, on to the show...below you'll find a compilation video of several people's attempts on Sunday night (night two of "karaoke/worm madness"). I'll give you fair warning, I had tears of laughter running down my face the first time I watched it.

Thanks to Barrett V. for providing this little gem. You may notice that I don't make an appearance attempting The Worm, mostly because I knew it wouldn't go well. But, if you know me you may hear my words of encouragement (and discouragement, ha) in the background.

P.S. the beginning is a little taste of our late night game of Chubby Bunny, just to clarify.

Are you laughing as hard as I was??? I hope so. If not, I'll just say, "You had to be there." Thanks to everyone who made my Fourth of July weekend SO much fun :)

Now, go try The Worm. You know you want to.

Long Time, No Blog.

First of all, I apologize for not drafting any new posts lately. I wouldn't necessarily say I've been uninspired, but I've definitely been incredibly busy. My days have been booked to the brim the last couple of weeks--especially the weekends. I've been having a lot of fun with my cooler than cool friends (probably too much fun). I should be very thankful for this, I suppose. So, thanks to those of you who have been keeping me so occupied, haha.

Honestly, I haven't had anything worth blogging about in the last couple of weeks...until today.

I'm a provisional (or "pledge," basically) in the Jr League of Ft Worth. We're required to volunteer at the League's upscale resale shop called Double Exposure, or D.E. for short. The D.E. has a very large inventory of clothes, shoes and home goods--the majority of which have been donated by League members and provisionals. While volunteering, we spend most of our time sorting through new donations and straightening the things that are already out on the floor. It's a pretty cool gig. At our first provisional meeting, they told us that their best customers are the League members, but up until now, I hadn't really found anything there worth spending money on.

Today, I spent the first hour or so of my volunteer time sizing and reorganizing the women's suits and evening attire. That's where I came across my first two purchases...

The top pictured above is by far my favorite of the two. The picture doesn't really do it justice because you can't see how intricate the beading is all over it. I didn't even try it on before buying it (can you say impulse shopper???), but upon arriving home I found that it's the perfect length to wear with my black Joe's jeggings or even white jeans, perhaps. I honestly almost shed a tear because I love it so much. The scalloped edges might be my favorite feature.

The other top, which I don't have a picture of (sorry), is going to be saved for Fall/Winter. It's long sleeved with an all-over black and white sequin check print. I promise it isn't as Bozo the Clown-ish as it sounds, haha.

Needless to say, I scored both of them for under $17.00 (WHAT WHAT!). Partly because the D.E. is having a Fourth of July Sale and everything in the store is 25% off. It must be my lucky day!

I'll be heading back to Lake Eufaula for, what I will momentarily dub, "Holiday Weekend Debauchery Round 2: Party in the U.S.A." (just made that up, in case you couldn't tell). I'm ridiculously excited. I'm sure I'll come back with many hilarious stories and memories--most of which probably won't be appropriate for sharing, haha.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!! GO AMERICA!

Drake < Jimmy

So, for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, the new Drake album "Thank Me Later" was released a few days ago. Personally, I'm a fan of his music. I haven't bought the new album (yet), but I have liked all the songs he has released so far.

I believe it was around a year ago when I first heard his song "Best I Ever Had." I didn't really know who this Drake character was, but I jammed out to the song whenever I had the chance. Then...I saw him on T.V....and almost had a heart attack.

I'll explain myself...

One Summer, during our early college years, my sister and I discovered this Canadian teen soap opera called Degrassi: The Next Generation. It was incredibly cheesy, but for some reason we got sucked into it. This cable channel called The N would play episodes of it late at night, which is usually when she and I would be hanging around together (keep in mind, we were both still living at home during the summers at this point ha). For several years afterward, I would watch Degrassi randomly whenever I saw that it was on, and I basically watched all the teenage characters grow up.

The reason I was so shocked when I saw Drake on T.V. is because he played a character on Degrassi named "Jimmy." He was on the show for several seasons and even got shot in an episode, which led to him being in a wheelchair.

Forgive me if I'm telling you something you already know, but in case you are as shocked as I was to find out that this new phenomenon of a rapper (who supposedly dated Rhianna) was previously a cheesy soap opera actor, check out THIS CLIP.

I'll never get passed it. Every time I hear a song of his or see his face, I picture "Jimmy" being shot in the back. I may or may not have cried during that episode. Probably shouldn't share that with people.

Josh the Cat.

On Sunday, I returned from my previously mentioned Florida beach vacation. To say that Laura and I had fun would be an understatement. It was an incredibly relaxing time (we definitely napped every day), but we also did our fair share of going out on the town.

We stayed with Laura's Aunt Bill who I had only met once before, but she is quite the character. She's one of the smartest women ever, I'm convinced. She has a million degrees, she started some sort of lab to help heal babies born to drug addicts, and she has written several books. GENIUS. She has lived an incredibly interesting life.

Instead of having children, Aunt Bill has dedicated her nurturing side to multiple cats. She currently has four, which was entertaining to both Laura and I since we are VERY allergic, ha. There's Jake (the Baby), Sydney (the Nervous One), Toby (the Fattest Cat Alive, literally), and Josh. Our favorite, by far, was Josh. Josh the Cat. For some reason, we found it extremely comical that there is a cat named Josh...Joshua. I suppose that's because it seems like such a "human" name.

Below, you can find a picture of Josh hanging out in his favorite spot--on top of the DVR box. This was probably one of the only times during the entire trip that he wasn't staring at me. He officially hated me from our first encounter, probably because I shooed him away when he tried to cuddle. We also had a waiter named Josh on our last day in Florida. He judged me for ordering a cheeseburger...no big deal. We decided Joshes like to judge.

The only thing we didn't take full advantage of while in Florida was the sun, as odd as that sounds. We went STRAIGHT to the beach upon arrival and layed out for an hour or two. I was a little rosy afterwards, but poor Laura got the full wrath of Mr. Sun (hence her 3 a.m. Facebook status update saying, "I'm a Lobster"). We still went to the beach every day, regardless, but stayed under the umbrella the majority of the time.

Right by where the above picture was taken is a little boutique called Soho. They had a lot of cute stuff (I got a rockin' new cocktail ring there) including a large collection of monokinis, which are sort of a one piece swimsuit/bikini hybrid for those who aren't familiar with the term. I tried on this AMAZING black one, but for some reason talked myself out of buying it. I'm really kicking myself for it. I've been searching online for something similar, but, so far, nothing measures up. I'm actually considering calling Soho and seeing if they'll ship it to me...I'm a freak. I know. What can I say? I know what I want...sometimes :)

Let Summer roll.

By the way...

How cool is THIS???

Testing the Waters

I'll be heading out this evening for a 5 day vacation in Florida with one of my best friends, Laura, and her mom, Susan. We're staying at Laura's Aunt Bill's house, which is supposed to be amazing. She usually rents it out to vacationers, but is kindly letting us visit for free. We are literally going there with no plans except to lay on the beach, eat good food, and relax. Should be incredible.

I guess the last thing we should add to the list of plans is checking out the effects of the oil spill. It reached Florida about a week ago. I'm interested/nervous to get to witness some of it firsthand. I'll report back in a few days...

See you on the beach.