whirlwind

My life is a whirlwind these days, which explains why my poor little blog has been neglected the past couple of weeks. Between school, my clinical training, and all the time I spend on the road driving to clinical training, my days are a blur.

Last weekend, I slipped out of town to attend the Deeper Still conference in Orlando (and yes, I think I may have done rather poorly on an exam as a result...but it was worth it!). If you ever have a chance to attend Deeper Still, I highly encourage (no, I BEG) you to go. It was AMAZING. Two blissful days of Kay Aurthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore. I went with a group of 12 girlfriends and each one of us was so blessed by the experience. I am still cherishing those moments when I felt the true presence of God right there with us.

This week has been hectic but filled with some lovely things as well:

- I am realizing that I love audio books on my super long drives.

- I bought our tickets to see Wicked in February.

- I am now hopelessly addicted to True Blood.

- Started a new Bible study with the girls.

- Indulged in a relaxation massage at the spa yesterday, thanks to hubby.

- Lazily roamed the library and was excited to discover the large selection of cookbooks. This may be common knowledge to most of you, but I have been so used to strictly buying books for so many years that I had forgotten how many wonderful books are free to borrow at the library!

- Treated myself to some retail therapy after a long week. I just might have bought another fur. I reasoned with myself that I only have a year and a half left in balmy Florida but I would love this fur coat for many more years.

- And on the shopping note, can I just say how shocked I was to see so many cute things at Charlotte Russe yesterday? I haven't shopped at Charlotte Russe since undergrad because the stuff is so cheaply made, but yesterday I went in just on a whim. After a bit of digging, I found quite a few treasures, including gorgeous bib necklaces, pretty lace tops, sequined tissue tanks, ruffled halters that are screaming to be worn under blazers, and dainty little lace trimmed cardigans. When hunting for pieces in shops like Charlotte Russe or Forever 21, I always carefully examine the garment's construction. A cheaply made piece that will fall apart after one wearing is not a bargain. But finding a well made piece in one of these shops is so rewarding!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!
{And please forgive me for being so far behind on your blogs...hoping to catch up tomorrow!}

In need of sleep

{This is how I'm currently feeling}

I'm only one week into the fall semester and already I'm exhausted. This weekend I barely felt like doing anything. Aside from working on school assignments, my weekend was pretty low key. We watched the LSU game with friends, went to church, and pigged out on pizza. Last night I made lemon ricotta pancakes, which were ah-may-zing. If you've never tried making them, you should. We devoured them so fast there was no time for photographs. I highly recommend serving them with raspberries and whipped cream.

Today I finally tried the Loreal Elnet hairspray that has been eagerly waiting for me in my cabinet. I was very excited since this hairspray has been so hyped up and has only recently become available in the U.S.
I was thrilled with the results and hold. HOWEVER, the scent is dreadful (at least in my opinion). It smells like something I can imagine little old ladies in the 60's using to hold up a helmet of silver-blue hair. And the smell CLUNG to my hair all day, drowning out the Hermes perfume I doused myself in before leaving for school. Maybe sleep deprivation is making my olfactory senses extremely sensitive.

Wishing you all a very happy week!

That. Is. Bananas.

If you have ever watched the Rachel Zoe Project, then you MUST watch this!! The clip is an impression done by comedian Amy Phillips (SNL needs her). As a result of this precious 4 minute clip, I have been laughing all week. I hope it brings a little joy to your Friday as well!

on my way to becoming a zombie

Tomorrow officially begins year three of doctor school. Tomorrow will also mark my transition to becoming a zombie. My schedule has become even more brutal due to my 5 hour commute to my new training site. I will pretty much start sleep deprivation on Mondays and enter the zombie state until Thursday night, when I can finally collapse. So please forgive me if I'm not around much during the week. I will probably have to do most of my blogging and commenting on the weekends now. But with all of the fun holidays and events coming up I know I will still have lots to share with you!

I have really enjoyed my last few days of freedom.

• I went to the library on Friday to check out some audio books for my long twice weekly commute. I had forgotten how much I love the library. It's such a lovely peaceful place.

• I was able to squeeze in a little more sewing and I made a red taffeta skirt that I'm dying to wear with black tights and boots.

• Hubby and I were able to go on two dates! We went to our favorite sushi place on Friday night and then had a Saturday afternoon date at Mel's Hot Dogs, which I mentioned before here. We also watched lots and lots of college football (Geaux Tigers!).

• I made time for another one of my favorite activities: shopping. I think my favorite purchase was a new French press from Williams Sonoma. I'm still hoping someone eventually comes out with a coffee IV that I can just wear at all times.

• Today we went to a friend's birthday BBQ. Tomorrow I need to start eating healthy again.

Here's how I spent my last few blissful moments of my last Saturday without homework:

{French press and The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates}

Hope you all have a very happy week!

Gold Rush

I finished my gold dress on time and was able to wear it to church this morning! We were running late so I wasn't able to snap any pictures at the start of the day. By the time we got home, the Florida humidity and heat had wreaked havoc on my hair and make-up. So please excuse the fact that I look like a hot mess and just look at my new little dress =)

{Sorry for the pageant pose...old habits die hard.}

{Dress made by me; Bebe belt; Guess wedges}

Hope you are having a fabulous holiday weekend!

Cupcakes & Dresses

I am so blessed to have a few days off before starting the madness that is my 3rd year of doctor school. Next week will mean new classes and a new training site, where I will receive specialized training in neuropsychology. To say I'm nervous about learning psychotherapy with brain injured patients would be an understatement, so I'm trying to utilize these precious few days to unwind and de-stress. Tonight I have a girl's night with some of my lovely friends, so I decided to whip up some girly cupcakes.

{The cake is coconut flavored, with cream cheese frosting. I decided to give them a girly flair with purple sugar and candy pearls. I think they are precious!}

{Naturally, I had to taste one to make sure I wasn't giving my friends something inedible ;) Luckily, they taste delicious! }

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day working on a dress. I hope to finish it tonight or early tomorrow because I have several other projects I'm hoping to cram into the next few days. Plus I really want to wear it to church on Sunday!

{Dress, in progress}

Hope you are all having a very lovely Wednesday!!

Anyone up for a challenge?

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know how much I adore Beth Moore. I had the privilege of attending the annual Living Proof simulcast this weekend and what a blessing! The theme was Psalm 37: "The Desires of Your Heart". My spirit was definitely recharged! I recently discovered Beth's blog. It is so full of good stuff that I could spend hours there. Today I noticed that Beth issued a "challenge" for readers who wish to participate in memorizing scriptures. The challenge actually started in January, but I love the idea so much I am jumping on board for the rest of the year. You try to memorize 2 scriptures each month, one starting on the 1st and the other starting on the 15th. The goal is to have 24 scriptures memorized for 2009. Since I am starting so late in the year, I will only have memorized 8, but that's 8 more than I would have known! Do any of you work on memorizing scripture? I used to be so good at knowing all the books of the Bible and memorizing scriptures when I was a child, but it's not something I've worked on in many years. Luckily, Beth included a Scripture Memory Mini-Tutorial on her blog! I'm so excited about starting this and encourage any of you who are interested to check it out.