Atlanta Adventures

Taken as we arrived in Atlanta, GA

Last night my family and I got back from the Hollywood Vibe dance convention in Atlanta. Tessa did an absolutely fabulous job in her competition dance and I can't wait to be able to share the incredible photo that was taken of her. Sadly, I have to wait until after their last competition to post it anywhere, but definitely watch out for that, because it is a truly amazing picture.

Pre-awards glow stick party. 

I watched a lot of dances on Saturday evening and the scholarship auditions on Sunday afternoon. I was really happy with the kinds of dances that were brought to this competition, because the dances I saw at a different competition last year had a tendency to be pretty inappropriate. The dances here were clean and age-appropriate. My mom and I had a couple of favorites from studios other than our own, especially a duet to a song called "Sisters." We were excited to find out that the dancers are actually sisters.
When I wasn't watching dances or the awards, I was mostly crocheting. I actually started my Hufflepuff house scarf! I've been taking some pictures of my progress and I'm really excited about it. The last time I tried to crochet, the edges were uneven and I kept messing up the number of stitches. Somehow this scarf is going really well for me! I've had the right number of stitches the whole time (I count them almost every row...) and the edges are straight! I have no clue how it's going so much better this time, but I'm very happy that it is. I'm having so much fun with it that I might even make more for other Harry Potter enthusiasts I know.

"This is the most fun I've had all weekend!"
Mom put her feet in the hot tub on Sunday while Tessa was in classes.

Returning to my recap of Atlanta. After we got to the hotel on Friday, my mom and sister went to the Hard Rock Cafe that was a short walk from where we were staying with Tessa's friend and her mom. The last and only time I had been to a Hard Rock Cafe was in 7th grade in Washington, D.C. on a school trip. I absolutely hated it. I've had such a negative point of view on Hard Rock Cafes ever since then. Honestly, I think the only reason I didn't like it was because I was probably very stressed out and frustrated from being around so many people for so long.
This weekend I decided I would try it again, and I'm very glad that I did. My dad and I went for lunch on Saturday. Before we went I wondered what bands I would recognize other than The Beatles. My first thought was Imagine Dragons, but I tried to dismiss that because I realized they were probably too new to have any memorabilia in a Hard Rock Cafe. Although there weren't any guitars or jackets or autographs of theirs on the walls, I did find a T-Shirt in the gift shop...

It turns out that Imagine Dragons partnered up with Hard Rock Cafe and the Tyler Robinson Foundation to make this shirt and 15% of the sales go to TRF to help families "battle the unseen costs of childhood cancer." So obviously I had to get it. 

Other awesome things in Hard Rock:

Where they have live music.

Joe Perry's guitar used to record "Dude Looks Like a Lady." It also appears in the music video.

Steven Tyler's "Walk This Way" outfit. Not sure why I didn't realize there would be Aerosmith stuff there.

ADAM LEVINE'S GUITAR!! I gasped, took three pictures, and sent them to Katie. Used to play "She Will Be Loved."

Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitar.

"Fly on proud bird, you're free at last." Johnny Van Zandt's shirt which was worn during performances of "Freebird" in honor of his brother Ronnie.

Elvis Freaking Presley's motorcycle and jacket. This was super awesome.

I am glad to say that I no longer have any dislike for Hard Rock Cafes. 

On Sunday during the scholarship awards, I got tired of standing so I went and sat with my dad in the hallway and waited for it to end. I sat up on a really big ledge and took this picture of the view from that window:

Buildings are just cool to me. So that was the last picture I took in Atlanta before we got on the road to go back home. The ride home was pretty stressful, but we got home safe which is all that matters. Belle was VERY happy to see us. You know that sound dogs make if you step on their foot? That's basically the sound she was making for 10 minutes after we arrived. She was screaming at us and we were only gone for 3 days! 

I don't know all of the awards that our dance studio got, but here are the scores that I remember (not including solos):

3 dances won Platinum.

6 dances won High Gold.

1 dance won Gold.

Tessa's group won a High Gold and 1st place overall teen open production! I also remember that one of our dances won a "Best Concept" award. They all did a wonderful job. 

Their next competition is in South Carolina, but I won't be going to that one because I'm going to see my favorite comedian with Katie! I'm sure they'll do fabulously as usual and hopefully Tessa's group will get their Platinum!! 

Side note: I was going to write a blog post about the photoshoot with Kaylie for Lost Cause Revival, but she made one before I could so here's the link to her blog post!

Friday Update

Not many "blog-worthy" things have happened in the past week or so, so I figured I'd post a mini update.
I just finished my first week of my second semester of college. Despite the horrible drivers in the horrible parking lots caused by horrible, pointless construction, it's going nicely! My pre-calculus class is going well considering we're only graphing right now. My history class seems like it's going to be interesting and I'm not sure what to think of my English class, but I missed the first real classes of those subjects yesterday because of weather. The best part is that I'm already over 2 weeks ahead in my online astronomy class. I'm not particularly enjoying it, but I'm way ahead, so that feels good.
Since I didn't go to class yesterday, I pretty much knitted all day long. I actually made 3 things in one day out of two skeins of yarn. I finger knitted two headbands, one of which is going to be bought by one of my friends, and I arm knitted another scarf. I'm starting to enjoy finger knitting a little bit more than arm knitting, but it kind of makes my fingers hurt so I'm not going to try to finger knit a scarf or anything, that would just be ridiculous.
This weekend I'll be doing some modeling for my favorite entrepreneur, Kaylie, so she can list some more jewelry on her Etsy shop this month. Keep an eye on Lost Cause Revival for those!
Next weekend I'll be going to Atlanta for my sister's dance competition. I really like dance competitions and I can't wait to see what Tessa's group earns at awards. I'm not allowed to talk about the dance online because there are dance thefts out there, but I'll let you guys know how the competition goes awards-wise.

Some projects I'm hoping to start soon:
-Crochet a Hufflepuff house scarf
-Paint a few canvases for the kitchen
-More arm knitting!

There's my little update, I hope to post more as more share-worthy things happen around here, but with classes starting back, I'll probably just be posting mini updates for the most part just to keep this blog active. Thanks for keeping up with my ramblings!

Arm-Knitted Blanket

It was a grueling process, but I arm knitted a blanket! The tutorial I watched said it should take about 45 minutes to an hour. However, I was able to watch three movies while making this thing. It took me a whole lot longer than an hour and my arms were pretty tired by the end of it. Anyway, here are the pictures I took along the way.

I used three huge (hacky sack for comparison) skeins of soft blanket yarn. In the video I watched, the girl had regular sized skeins, so I'm not sure how she was able to finish her blanket since I didn't have much of these left when I binded off, especially since I casted on less than she did.

The pattern called for 32 stitches. This is what 20 looked like on my very long arms. I honestly have no idea how the small girl in the video was able to get 32 stitches on her arms. I managed to get to 30 but decided that two more would be pushing it, so I started knitting with 30 stitches.

There are some progress pictures. I had to put it on a wrapping paper roll to go to dinner. When it was on the wrapping paper roll, I was at 10 rows out of the 23 that the pattern called for. It already looked pretty long. After dinner I kept going until I was finished and it started to get even longer and more difficult to take pictures of from where I was.

At least it was keeping me warm! I was very happy when I finished it and could not believe how big it was! I expected it to be more of a throw to put on my lap or around my shoulders, but the final dimensions were roughly 45 inches wide and 63 inches long. 

Beagle for reference.

So that was my experience arm knitting a blanket! I will probably never do it again, but at least I can say I've done it. I'm just going to stick to scarves and headbands and maybe a shawl. 

I Can Arm Knit!

Hello again lovely readers! I just made a page on this blog called "My Creations" where I'll be putting all of my crafty, artsy, DIY posts so they can be easily accessed. It's getting super cold here in Alabama, but luckily for me, I've gotten into arm knitting!
When I was first introduced to Pinterest, I learned that arm knitting was a thing, but I never tried it because it seemed confusing and like it would take up a lot of time. And how would I possibly put it down to use the restroom or eat or do anything if I'm in the middle of an arm knitting project? Well, recently I saw another arm knitting tutorial on Pinterest, and this time I thought "Hey, I could do that!" So I found some yarn and tried it out. After a few first-attempts that didn't feel quite right, I made my first arm-knit scarf!

I believe I finished that one in one day. They're advertised as "30-minute Arm Knit scarves," and they really can only take 30 minutes if you do nothing but arm knit for those 30 minutes. I get easily distracted and have to take a break every few rows to respond to texts or play another episode on Netflix. But 30 minutes is a pretty accurate estimation. 

I didn't really like my first scarf all that much because it was WAY too bulky for me. When I did my second scarf, I didn't cast on as many as the video said to. I probably only did 9 or 10 when the lady in the video was doing 12. This was my second arm-knit scarf:

I believe I casted on 10 for this one and the yarn was a bit thinner, so it's not nearly as bulky as scarf number 1. I like this one a lot because it's my school colors and it matches a blue sweater that I have.

On Thanksgiving, I taught Tessa how to arm knit. We both used the same yarn for our scarves and I don't have a picture of mine, but here's hers:

Teal and black are Tessa's dance company's colors, so we'll be warm and supportive at her competitions with these scarves. 

You might have noticed that all of these scarves are some shade of blue. I noticed that too, so when I went yarn shopping the other day I picked up a couple skeins of this really pretty red wine colored yarn. Not only did I make a scarf out of it, but I had quite enough yarn left to finger knit a headband/ear warmer.

I'm so in love with this color and the buttons that I found for the headband. My new Burt's Bees plum lip shimmer looks really great with the dark red yarn. Today I put it all on:

Finger knitting feels really weird the whole time you're doing it, but it looks pretty cool! I'm not sure if there are finger knitting tutorials out there, but there probably are if you dig around enough. 

If you're interested in being handcuffed by yarn for half an hour and making beautiful, warm scarves with nothing but a couple skeins of yarn and your arms, this tutorial is awesome. If she doesn't do it for you, there are tons of other people that have made tutorials as well (which is partially why I'm not making a tutorial for it). You do have to learn to be slightly ambidextrous in order to arm knit, but don't let that scare you away. 

If you're like me and are worried about having to get up and do something important in the middle of knitting, my mom and I discovered that those little cardboard toilet paper rolls come in handy. Save one of those the next time you run out of toilet paper to transfer your yarn onto it when you need to get up. It should just slide from your arm to the roll, but you have to be careful that it doesn't slide off the roll. Don't forget which arm it was on last!

I hope I've inspired some of you to try this because it really is fun and makes such pretty scarves. For my next arm knitting project I'll be attempting a blanket! I'll try to take some pictures of my progress along the way and I'll definitely make a post about it. Stay warm!

Tea With Thee

My mom, aunt, and I just went to lunch at this lovely little tea place called Tea With Thee. It was so elegant and fancy and I could hardly believe I was still in Alabama. I felt like I was about to meet the Queen in England or something.

We had two tea pots, one with Jasmine tea for my aunt and another with Cherry Rose tea for my mom and I. I got a Mandarin Spinach salad with bacon and feta and ranch dressing. It was the perfect salad for me. After we had our lunch, we looked around at their displays and things for sale. 

The three of us took turns sitting in these chairs for pictures. 

I loved this china cabinet with the pink parasol on top. 

We had a great lunch and we even bought some cherry rose tea and caramel apple tea to make at home. I can't wait to bring Michaela here the next time she comes home because I know she'll love it too. This is officially my favorite place here because it's so pretty and the service was very nice and the food and tea were delicious. 

Happy New Year 2015! (November-December Update)

I have come to the sad realization that I am absolutely horrible at keeping up with this blog. But don't worry! I've come up with a solution to this annoying problem. Whenever something blog-worthy happens, I'll blog about it. Makes sense, doesn't it? I don't know why I haven't been doing that.
Anyway, since I haven't updated this blog since November, I'll go through a quick recap of everything note-worthy that's happened since then (according to Instagram).

1.

Okay we're starting off with something really exciting. I had to write a Rhetorical Analysis for my English class this semester, and our teacher kept saying that it was "probably the hardest paper you'll ever have to write." Through the whole peer-editing process, she kept sending people who weren't understanding it to look at mine. I was really worried about what my final grade would be since my teacher was so unpredictable, but when I got the paper back with the above writing on the front page, I hugged her. Then I went into the hallway to call my mom. Then I posted it on Instagram for my "100 Happy Days" post of the day because I was just that excited about it.

2. 

I went to my first Mini Convention! It was just a one-day thing in a small part of the civic center instead of the usual 3-day event hosted in one of the big event rooms. I dressed as "Hipster Belle," which is Belle from Beauty and the Beast altered to look like a hipster. Do you know how extremely difficult it is to find a yellow dress?? My friend Katie helped me alter it, which involved her making a whole new underskirt for it and me safety-pinning it to the waistline of the dress. I found some 3D glasses, made my rose flower crown, drew my "Tale as Old as Time" tattoo on my arm, and kept myself warm in my mom's rose-printed shawl (which is probably one of my new favorite things), black tights, and black high heel boots. I didn't stay for the whole day, but while I was there I bought a present for Michaela, my favorite Japanese candies, and some awesome earrings. The Ariel in the middle picture kept saying "You're so tall! I love it!"

3. 

I learned how to arm knit! This was my first attempt and not my favorite because of the chunkiness, but it is VERY warm and cozy and will be perfect for when it gets really cold. I learned from a video I found on pinterest and I've made 3 whole scarves since then. I started another yesterday with a beautiful wine-colored yarn I got recently and I can't wait to finish it. On Thanksgiving I even taught my sister how to do it, and my friend Katie has gotten into it as well. It's really easy once you figure out how to be somewhat ambidextrous.

4.

Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful, relaxing day. I taught Tessa how to arm-knit, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, and Tessa and I did a little photo shoot in our yard. Then of course we had a fantastic dinner.

5. 

First of all, Kaylie is adorable. I modeled some of her jewelry and a scarf for her Etsy shop! It was cold and windy, but also fun and productive and I'm glad I got to see her. She paid me in fudge. Story behind this picture: She kept putting the rings on my fingers for me to model them and we kept saying that we were officially engaged 7 times over.

Here's the link to her shop, Lost Cause Revival!

6. 

I got my first Christmas present 25 days early. My dad and I went to the Guitar Center to look for a guitar and came out not even 10 minutes later with this in our hands. It came with a fancy tuner, a case, a couple picks, and a few other things for guitar beginners. I've been teaching myself with YouTube and iPhone apps!

7. 

My math teacher's "favorite email of the semester" is my favorite email of my entire life. Remember when I wrote a few months ago about how well math class was going for me? Well it continued to go very well, and I studied my butt off for the last test and earned a flipping 94.5, bumping my total grade of 89.5 to a 90.5, which meant that I was exempt from the comprehensive math final! This was HUGE for me. After struggling with math for years, getting only an 18 and 19 on the math portion of my ACTs, I passed my first college math class with an A. I'm hardly nervous for Pre-Calculus with this awesome teacher next semester.

The semester went extremely well. I ended with four A's and a B in History (which was taught backwards...).

8. 

We went to see the Rockettes in Nashville! The mall, hotel, and Opry house were all so beautiful. The show was interesting and I was in love with a lot of the technical aspects of it. I would love to work tech for a Rockette show some day. I also have to mention that there were real sheep, donkeys, and camels on stage. So that was cool. 

9. 

Honestly this whole event needs its own post. But Michaela was able to fly home from California for Christmas! We greeted her at the airport and then she and Katie slept over at my house. We surprised her mom the next day on Christmas Eve. It was great to hug my best friend again after 3 months.

10.

Christmas! Belle kept playing with her stocking hoping that more treats would fall out of it. I got a lot of little things, including 6 books and some really nice mascara. Most of the day was spent playing games and building Tessa's roller coaster. 

11. 

Since Michaela was home, we couldn't pass up a photo shoot. The three of us adventured out into Rainbow Mountain and had a fun time climbing up a river and taking pictures. Michaela took some wonderful pictures of Katie and I (My new sidebar picture is one of my favorites). I definitely want to go back to this area when it gets warmer so I can enjoy the scenery without a cold nose. Also, climbing rocks is pretty good exercise!

12. 

New Years Eve! Yes that is sparkling white grape juice! I rang in the New Year by playing board games with some awesome people. Isn't my new scarf pretty?

Some of my 2015 goals/resolutions are:

-Drink more tea and less soda.

-Get a scholarship.

-Get a job.

-Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

-Read every day (I'm loving Harry Potter! Progress: 4/7)

-Update your blog whenever something blog-worthy occurs!

So that's my update on November and December of 2014. Also a bit of a taste of the kind of things I find blog-worthy. I'll also be sharing my thoughts on books I read throughout the year, because I plan on this being the year that I make myself become a total book worm. I have a list of books I want to read after I finish the Harry Potter series. 

Sorry for the super-long post, but thank you very much for reading it!