Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father.

Ahoy, blog. Sorry we haven't spoken in a while. School's got me down, yo. But anywho.

Let's see. I decided a bit last minute to go home for Thanksgiving. I would have been here by myself, and that's just depressing. So I bought my plane ticket, sold my Auburn ticket to Kevin, and went home. It was wonderful. I was home almost a full week, and I REALLY needed it. I got a lot done, too. I spent a lot of time sewing, and hanging out with my family. I'm excited to be home for a month over Christmas. I have to line my sleeves, finish my hem, and add my snaps and buttons to my coat, then it will be done. Oy. Then I have to cut out and construct my skirt. Heaven help me. I also have two exams. Econ shouldn't be too bad, but you never know. History of Costume will try to kill me, though.

I've spent every free moment the past few weeks sewing. I haven't gotten home before 2 in the morning for the past three nights. Which, of course, led to me being sick. I sounded very mannish for my CBH presentation today. But it went well. Everyone LOVED my jacket. Even boys. Straight boys. hahahaha. Also, I just realized the brand is called New Directions. Glee, why are you invading my life? Anyway, this is the jacket, from Belk (yes, I know you already know my love for them):

In real life, it's a much more vibrant red, and not going to lie, looks better on me. hehe. Anyway. After my presentation, I hung out on the quad with Clay for a while. I needed fresh air badly. It got so stuffy in the office. After that I worked until 5. Then Amber and Erin came over. I love them so much. They came and helped me clean/rearrange/decorate my apartment. :) My Christmas tree looks SO good, and I have pretty lights outside. I love you guys!!! I'll post pictures once I have better quality than my cell phone.

Tomorrow I'll spend all day sewing, then celebrate Clay's bday, then study. Huzzah. The rest of the weekend and week are dedicated to studying like a mad woman. I hate you, dead week and finals week.

Sometimes, stereotypes are extremely accurate.

Let's put this out there right now: I am completely for abolishing the Student Organization Seating at the University of Alabama. It provides privileged seating to an undeserving group of people who feel entitled and who do not respect the privilege they are receiving. I understand that there are some groups and some people who sit there that do not fall into this category, but it is such a widespread problem that getting rid of the distinction between SOS and regular student seating is necessary.

Because today's game was not really a huge deal, and we knew it wouldn't be completely full, Annie and I decided to sit in the Honors College Assembly's section in the Student Organization Seating. I had heard mixed reviews of sitting there, but we figured we had not tried it yet, so why not? When we arrived, the student section was sad and empty. The frat sections were full of shakers presumably set there to save seats for the guys and gals who will show up 15 minutes before the game starts. We sat in the last row of the HCA section (this was a terrible decision. I repeat: TERRIBLE. DECISION.) and all the sections started filling up. At about 10 minutes before the game started, the row behind us was still empty. After 5 minutes into the game, some loud, very intoxicated boys showed up. Soon after, their loud, very, very intoxicated female counterparts decided to join them.

Now, I understand that there are a large number of students who like to enjoy the games while heavily intoxicated. Maybe it makes things more fun? I don't know. But that's fine. Just don't get messy drunk. And these boys and girls were VERY messy. And STILL drinking. At one point, the messy queen reached into her sports bra and pulled out a mini bottle of whiskey. CLASS-Y. After this, she decided to stand up on the seat next to Annie, shove her elbow into Annie's side, and yell something about her drink being empty. At about the same time, the boy and girl behind me decided the game was the perfect time for a heavy make out session.

Oh wait, let me back up here. During the National Anthem, I was amazed at how many people talked through it. It's extremely disrespectful, and you're just not supposed to do it.

But anyway.

At this point, Annie and I were pretty disgusted. Between the party going on between the seats, the knocking into our backs, and the slurred yelling, I had really had enough. But apparently, the lovely boys and girls (I will NOT call them men and women) behind us were not done with us. After the first quarter, at lease half of the Student Organization Seating cleared out. This included a portion of the HCA section. Please realize I'm not all DOWN WITH THE GREEKS in this. I recognize that some of the people in our section were not great either. But they weren't being sloppy, disrespectful drunks. About halfway through the second quarter, the boys behind us decided to light up some cigarettes. Annie is allergic to smoke, and I find it absolutely disgusting, AND you know, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SMOKE IN THE STADIUM. After a minute or two, I turned around and politely said, "Could y'all please put that out or move somewhere else?" And I got a dead look and a "I'm about to." And by "I'm about to" he really meant "I'm about to finish smoking this then throw the bit of butt left on the ground." Which is what happened. Next, he decided it would be an excellent idea to spill his drinks all over the ground. I guess HE didn't decide that...his messy drunk girlfriend decided to kick it over. My purse thanks you for that. The smell of whiskey is quite intoxicating. Haha punny.

Now, I have had drinks spilled on me at games. Several times, actually. Sloppy drunks exist everywhere in the stadium. The problem in the SOS, though, is that these kids feel entitled. After asking the guys to put out the cigarette, I got a lovely "F**king bitch" and they proceeded to state they were going to file a complaint against the honors college. Real nice. Towards the end of the second quarter, the guys thought they would get revenge for our wanting to enjoy the game by hitting us in the head with their shakers. Annie had had about enough, so she turned around and told them to stop. The guy responded by yelling in her face, "IT'S A CRIMSON TIDE GAME, BABY!" I'm still not really sure how that was a response.

At halftime, the student section CLEARED OUT. Literally. After watching the bands play, we didn't even have to stand back up. There was NO ONE in front of us. About halfway through the third quarter, we decided it was too cold, so we went for some dinner. Yes, I know. You can call us fairweather fans. But really. That was some COLD weather when you're wearing a dress.

So anyway. Back to the point. Why SOS seating should be abolished. In dealing with sloppy drunks in the regular student section, I got genuine apologies for their acts of stupidity. They really were sorry, and that makes a difference. In dealing with the frat boys behind me (yes, I will call them frat boys. yes, I will feed in to the stereotype.) I realized they were not the least bit sorry. They were appalled that we had infiltrated their Greek Section (because yes, that's still largely what it is.) and they were not the least bit sorry that they were affecting our experience at the game. They were more concerned with getting more drunk and making out than with watching the game. Which really begs the question, WHY do you come? I know Georgia State isn't exactly a threat, and yes, the game was pretty one sided, but you could easily get drunk, make out, and do whatever you want in the privacy of your own frat castle.

So there you go, friends. An entirely too long winded explanation of why I will never sit in the Student Organization Seating again. It was a terrible experience, and really reinforced the reason I don't associate myself with most of the people who sit there.

My new life goal is to be a car booter

Life's been throwing some punches lately. I've had a lot to do, and a lot of people needing a lot from me. This week has been terrible, and it's only Wednesday. Up until 5 o clock today, I had not been home for more than 20 minutes in over 3 days. Literally. The past two nights I didn't even sleep here. I had my history of costume exam today, which was fine, and I got my muslin done for my coat, which is exciting. But I've been getting pulled in a lot of different directions and I need some time to breathe.

In other life news, I slept 3 hours on Abigail's couch last night after studying all night, took Erin to the doctor at 8 am, took my test, made my muslin, worked, and then finally made it home. I planned to come home today and just sleep. Instead, Matthew came over and we cooked dinner, then Kevin came over, then I picked Dan Gerber up from the airport. We stopped for some food on the way back and nearly died at a gas station. Great times. Then, I was home about 5 minutes when I get a call from Annie that her car got booted and she needs cash to pay the guys to remove it. Oh boy. So I drive up there, get some money from the ATM, and we get her car unbooted, which took all of 15 seconds.

Okay, seriously. Being a car booter/unbooter is the sweetest gig. You drive around town throwing giant paperweights on the tires of cars who have been parked too long, then get $50 CASH MONEY to unclip it. And you get to boot like 50 cars at once. Hellooooo easy money. The guys weren't very friendly though.

Aaaaaaaaaanywho. Now I might finally get some sleep. But I still don't have gas, because they just finally fixed the leak, and Alagasco can't come this week. EXCELLENT.

Good grief I'm exhausted.

LET'S PLAY RANDOM PICTURES FROM THERESA'S COMPUTER TIME!!!!

The lovely Passaic train station.

Yaaay cousins and sister!

I learned to both love and hate NJTransit.

Awwww Freshman year!

I was so cool. I made this. Yaaaay.

I looked SO weird without glasses. Or bangs.

Apparently, jumping off these cliffs is frowned upon. Who knew? It was SO fun, though.

The origins of bear face.

BOB.

Awww I miss you Meagan!!

hahaahahah Freshman year!

Creativity makes such a difference

How much fun is this ad campaign? I LOVE it!

Check out Patrizia Pepe . It is fabulous!!

Why you no longer need to drive to Birmingham for a decent outfit

Everyone here knows I have a special place in my heart for Macy's. It's where I've interned, it's where I'm going to intern this summer, and where I really hope to get a job when I graduate. I've long been a huge cheerleader of the store itself, mostly because of it's impressive plus size selection. Macy's has always sold better quality and more youthful looking plus size options than any of its competitors.

That is, if you go to the right Macy's.

And friends, the Birmingham Macy's is no longer the right Macy's.

If you are a straight sized gal (sorry guys..I don't know how their husky man selection is. But PLEASE do shop there. I'd love to see you all in Calvin, Polo, and Alfani. Specifically, Alfani Red. Mm.) you can shop pretty much anywhere, and find your clothing at whatever price point you can afford. That's because of the HUGE amount of competition in the apparel industry when it comes to straight sized clothing. It's a whole lot easier to make a top look good on a size 0 than a size 20. Let me rephrase that; it takes a lot less effort. You don't have to worry about curves, bumps, lumps, and whatever else a larger woman's body entails. But when it comes to plus size clothing, you have to really think. You have to make clothing that is going to look good on the vast majority of plus size women, and that is a tough thing to do. The problem, though, is that there really isn't much of an excuse anymore as to why we can't make fabulous clothes for fabulous, full-figured women.

Anyway. Let me get off my plus size soap box. I plan to revolutionize the plus size apparel industry in a few years, so we'll handle that then. ;)

So now you might ask, why isn't the Birmingham Macy's right anymore? Well, in the past few months, they have apparently remodeled, or rearranged their floor, and cut out over two-thirds of the plus size collections. Baby Phat (which I'm not honestly a huge fan of, but was pretty popular) is gone, most of the Alfani collection is gone, and the entire junior plus selection has been wiped out. What's left are Alfred Dunner, some Charter Club, and a few stragglers on the clearance rack from past seasons.

What's wrong with this picture? Why has the plus size woman been cut out of the Macy's market in Birmingham? (Sorry, for those of you who don't know, this particular Macy's is the one in the Galleria, technically in Hoover I guess.) In speaking with the saleswomen on previous shopping trips, I found that the plus size section was fairing very well. Granted, it wasn't as impressive as other Macy's stores I've been to (ex: Herald Square) but it had what I needed for interviews, presentations, and when I just needed a new outfit. My parents knew I frequented Macy's, and would often send me gift cards for there for birthdays and other holidays.

My go to stores tend to be Macy's, Ross, Old Navy, and when I'm absolutely desperate, Lane Bryant. (We will have to discuss my utter loathing towards Lane Bryant at another time.) Unfortunately, only Old Navy is actually in Tuscaloosa, and I tend to mostly buy sweaters and shirts from there. So usually, I ended up trekking up to Birmingham, only to come home extremely frustrated. After some time at Macy's, I would leave empty handed, and end up at Ross. Yes, you can find some nice designer stuff at Ross, but most of the time it's crappy knock offs that are done after a few washes. I've been looking for substantial clothing; pieces I can actually build a wardrobe around.

Well, friends, let me tell you that Belk can now be put at the top of the list for where to get high quality plus size clothing at a reasonable price.

The Tuscaloosa Belk has been completely remodeled, and today was my first time in there since then. I walked in through the jewelry department, noticing that they now carried a lot of Fossil, and as I made my way through the handbags, I noticed a beautiful shiny new Coach shop. Huzzah! They've really classed up the joint. As I made my way to the plus size section, I realized it wasn't just a section anymore; it was actually a DEPARTMENT. Called "Today's Woman" (which I will let slide, even though it's just a silly name), it includes a lot of the brands Macy's used to carry, including Rafaella and Ralph Lauren. I had four full floor sections of plus size clothing to choose from, including a junior plus section, which has largely been erased by most department stores. I thought I was in heaven.

I was in Belk desperately looking for a suit to wear to the Golden Key Induction this evening. I was frustrated, having been to several other stores, only to find awful options (I'm looking at you, $90 Lane Bryant awful man suit jacket.). After trying on probably 10 different suit options (and not finding a single one I absolutely hated) I came away with a full outfit, including a jacket, skirt, and top. I was then whisked away to an open cash register, and received an apology for my wait, which was literally less than 2 minutes. The girl was friends, sociable, and genuinely interested in my horror story of shopping for suits, and losing my one suit option. She signed me up for a Belk credit card, so I could get 15% off, put my things in a garment bag, and sent me on my way.

As I left, I was actually smiling. I have not left a store smiling in a while. I usually leave frustrated, then cry to my mom a bit before getting angry at myself, as well as my limited options. Just because I am plus sized, does not mean I don't deserve fabulous clothing at a fair price. No, Lane Bryant, I will not pay $90 for an ill-fitting suit jacket just because you are the only plus size store in town. (Yes, CJ Banks, I know you're there too, but I can't even count you because, well...you're just sad.)

So you see, my plus sized, fabulous fashionistas, you no longer need to drive to Birmingham, only to be disappointed by our once beloved Macy's. You can now go to our sad excuse for a mall, University Mall, and get what you need, what you want, and some things you don't need or what, but really must have.

How is your shredded cheese made?

It's been a pretty rough week.

I had my econ test Tuesday. I got a 96.8, which is AWESOME, and I should be super excited, but...I got a 110 on the last one, so I'm kind of like well dang, I could have done better. Which is DUMB and I need to stop that.

Also on Tuesday, it was POURING. I took my ipod out of my bag and left it on my desk in Mrs. Batson's office to dry out. Wednesday I came back in, and it was gone. UGH. So I spent this whole week looking for it, and no luck. So Friday I filed a police report. I have NO idea what happened to it. The cop who came to file the report was super nice, so that helped. As he was leaving, Dr. Sharpe walked into the office and his eyes got HUGE. He was like what is going on?!!? I was like oh dear, nothing!!! and I explained about my ipod. Crisis averted. haha.

Last night, Heather came over and we watched Supernatural and Harper's Island. It was a lot of fun. Today, Gerb, Dan, Jess, and Erin came over to watch the game. It sucked. haha we had a good time, but the game sucked. Afterwards, Erin and I went to see Due Date. It was meh. Now, Autumn and I are trying to figure out life things. Yaaay life things. ha.

An Apple A Day...

We left the cabin around 11 Sunday. I had looked up orchards on our route home and found the Fruit and Berry Patch . It was only a few minutes out of the way, so we decided to go for it. We didn't get any apples at the Apple Barn, so we needed some good local apples. Garmin successfully got us to the farm, and it was adorable. As we pulled up, a cute little old man pulled up on a golf cart. He told us about the apples, then left us to pick whatever we wanted. We ended up getting an entire bushel. haha. The guy was SO nice. We told him we were just visiting, and he had assumed we were locals. Yessss. So we chatted a while, then he insisted on giving us a free pie, a taste of his homemade bbq sauce, and some caramel apple blossoms. He was adorable. We bought a ton of stuff from him, then headed out on our way back to Tuscaloosa. We stopped in Birmingham for a little shopping, then came back to my apartment to clean and study. Woo. It was so nice to have my mom there. =]

This morning I took her back to the airport at 7:30. Too earlyyyy. Dropped her off, grabbed breakfast, stopped by the office, then class.

Good news: I'm almost done with my pattern for my coat for flat pattern! I'm so excited. Tomorrow I need to get muslin and my fabric before the sale ends.

Other good news: I've decided on my theme for Tee Time. Huzzah!

Also, the 448 test got moved to Friday. Huzzah x2!

Now, to study for the econ test tomorrow. Blargh.

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

ZIPLINE ZIPLINE ZIPLINE I LOVE THE ZIPLINE!

This morning I got up at 8, made waffles for everyone, and then we went on our way. We got to Wahoo a little early, filled out our forms, and then got all suited up. Our guides were Alejandro and Greg, aka the NICEST zipline guides in the history of forever. We got our gear on, hopped in a bus, and we were off.

They drove us up to the first one. Ohhh boy my hands were shaking. Actually, my everything was shaking. But I was SO excited. We went with two other families, so there were 11 of us. A few people went ahead of me, then I decided, IT WAS TIME. So I jumped up, Alejandro said, "You ready?" and I said ".....Sure." He laughed at me, then shoved me off the platform. Hahahaha. It was AMAZING!! I was completely terrified, and I couldn't brake myself worth a darn, but I loved every second of it. I hit the landing, kicked the stool, Greg grabbed me and got me down. Hahaha. Marika and my mom actually did it too!!!! I was so impressed. After that, we moved on to the next one. They kept letting us do different things, like letting go of the ropes, going upside down, going tandem, and racing. I've been making lots of progress in my daredevil abilities, but I wasn't quite at that. The most I mustered was a lean back and grabbing at the line. But! I did it! And it was amazing! There were 6 lines, and the last one, I actually ran and jumped off. Yeaah!!! Next time, I'll totally try letting go of the line. =P

After the zip line, I bought a t-shirt (I HAD to!) and then we went to lunch at Happy Jack's BBQ. It was yummy, cheap, and a really cute local place. From there, we went to the Apple Barn, which was commercially, touristy, and not really my cup of tea. Then we grabbed some groceries, and headed back to the cabin.

I spent two or so hours doing homework (how exciting), uploaded all of the Wahoo pictures, and now we're baking mini apple pies/making dinner!

Tomorrow we leave. =[ I'm so sad. I wish we could stay longer. But I will DEFINITELY be bringing friends back here, and we will DEFINITELY be ziplining. It is SO AWESOME.

PICTURES, OF COURSE! (There are 117 on facebook, if you want to see every picture we took there, including the 36 professional shots we bought from them. hahahaha)

The Postal Service and You: A story of love, loss, and the thought of arson.

Oh, life. You are always testing me, aren't you?

Wednesday night I eventually got to sleep around 2. Thursday, I got up at 7, packed my car, and was almost late to class. Oy. My whole visual merchandising group showed up, thank goodness, but half the class wasn't there. Not good. Went to work, then CBH, where Annie did a fabulous job on her presentation, then to Econ where I wanted to run awaaaay. After that class, I FINALLY got a hold of the half off depot people, who said my tickets were out for delivery. Even though they were supposed to arrive Wednesday. Ugh. Annie and I went to the farmer's market, I spent WAY too much money (Please check out Homegrown Alabama and Druid City Garden Project) on zucchini, sweet potatoes, hot sauce, honey, and creamed honey (which I had never heard of, but was delicious!), and we talked to the egg lady about getting some eggs next week. She is adorable.

After that, Annie took me to my car, and I ran home to see if the tickets were there. They were not. But I had a LOVELY notice that they had tried to get them to me, but they required a signature. Oh. no. I was MAD. I told the lady to waive the signature requirement, AND they were supposed to be delivered Wednesday! So I took my notice to the Post Office, and when it was finally my turn, the lady said that driver wasn't back, and there was no guarantee I could get it today. No no no, that is unacceptable. I explained to her that I needed it that day, and she would not help me out. She wouldn't call the driver, she just took down my name and said good luck. Ugh. So I told her well, I'm going to wait for the driver. In my car. In the parking lot. This was at 4 pm. They close at 5. At 4:45 I went back in to check if the driver was back. No dice. So I told her look, I need these tonight, I need to be able to get them after you close. So she gave my number to the lady who stays late to sort packages, who said she would call me once it arrived.

So I went back to my car. And I waited.

Of course, I was not pleased. I think those of you who know me know what I mean when I say I'm not pleased. I mean I was calling my mom and Annie yelling about how incompetent these people were, and threatening arson on the building. Obviously, I wasn't serious. But in that moment, ooooooh boy, I wanted to be.

So I continued to wait. And wait. And wait. Around 6 pm (after 2 hours of waiting in the parking lot) I got fed up and drove into the loading dock. I'm not really sure I was allowed to, but I didn't really care. I talked to two of the drivers, who told me to talk to the supervisor, who told me my package was there (!!!!!!) and that she would get it for me. THANK YOU FOR NOT CALLING ME, CRANKY WOMAN IN YOUR ILLFITTING SWEATER. Thank goodness I'm so dang persistent. They brought it out, I signed for it, and I was on my way. Not before they told me the Half Off Depot lady had not actually brought it to a post office, so rather than being next day express, it ended up being two day express, which is NOT what I paid $20 for. Thank you for not doing your job correctly.

I started on my way to Louisville, KY. I'm really sad that it wasn't light out, because it was a really pretty drive. I got really excited going through downtown Nashville, and about jumped out of my chair when I hit Louisville. It's REALLY pretty. Or at least, the area my mom was staying. Of course, it was 2 am when I arrived, and I hadn't stood up in 4 hours, so when I got out I about fell down. Oy. The hotel was SUPER nice. Around 9:30 this morning, housekeeping started banging on my door. I was like WHAT IS THAT?! and I walked towards the door and she knocked lightly and said "Housekeeping." I was like, oh I'm onto your games, housekeeper.. I told her to come back later. I meant to get up at 10:30, but I didn't hear my alarm, so around 11:30 here comes crazy housekeeper again with her banging, so I poked my head out and said "Come back later please!" which seemed to make her calm down. I packed up, checked out, and went to explore Louisville. I didn't make it very far, before I found the sweet mall I saw the night before. I went to Macy's, which was faaabulous because they actually had their higher end brands in it. Let me tell you, Louisville has some money. I bought two sweaters at Old Navy, then met my mom.

The drive to Sevierville was about 3 1/2 hours, which wasn't too bad. The cabin is BEAUTIFUL. I spent an hour in the hot tub, and tomorrow we are going zip lining and apple picking. SO EXCITING.

So there you have it.

To sum it all up:

Half Off Depot is not the most reliable company in the world. (Which, I mean, really, who expects it to be with that kind of name?)

The Postal Service is a terrible awful place full of terrible awful people.

When Theresa gets REALLY upset, arson begins to cross her mind.

Theresa loves driving.

Apparently Theresa likes to speak in third person when summing everything up.

Louisville is pretty.

Sevierville is pretty.

Theresa is going on a zip line and apple picking tomorrow!!!! (Not at the same time.)

"Y'all, we are so blessed."

I woke up today feeling like a mix between having run a marathon (yeah, like I know what that feels like. HUSH.) and having fallen off a horse (yes, I do know what that feels like!). I managed to drag my happy butt out of bed around 10. Thank goodness history of costume got cancelled. I dragged in to work around 11:30, stayed for an hour, then went to flat pattern. I finally started working on the pattern for my coat! I'm so excited. I spent WAY too long there, but I got so much done. After that, I got back home, got my laundry together, and went over to Annie's. I lugged everything upstairs, and we decided to weight it all, for funsies. HA. 75 pounds of laundry (IKIDYOUNOT) and 40 pounds of books/laptop/homework/etc in my backpack. I was carrying 115 pounds. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. Up the stairs. I was carrying an average sized teenage girl.

Anyway.

I started laudry/studying, then at 7 went to the HCA pumpkin carving EXTRAVAGANZA! Despite the weather, we had an amazing turnout. I was really pleased. So we carved our pumpkins, which was a ton of fun, then they gave out prizes for really random things. Haha whatever. After that, I went back to laundry/studying. Oh, what a glamorous life I lead.

Tomorrow, I leave for Louisville, then Friday I'm off to Sevierville, then Saturday I am going ziplining and apple picking, and I CAN'T WAIT!

Hey, here are some pictures from pumpkin carving!

PICTURES AS PROMISED!!

Runway, consider yourself rocked.

What an amazing night.

Alright. So, yesterday I had class and dress rehearsal and yada yada. It was busy. Then there was a ton of drama with some Rock the Runway stuff, but whatever. My mom flew in on her way to Louisville, so we hung out and she helped me pick pictures for the RTR boards. Went to sleep at like 2.

Today, I woke up at 6:45 to register for classes. Ended up with World Lit II instead of MKT300 because it said I didn't have the right prereqs (which isn't true) but I didn't have time to deal with it. Went to class, mom and I had lunch, she left for the airport, then I went to econ. Then began PURE MADNESS. Annie picked me up from class, we went to her place to get the steamer, got our brows done, then went to my place to get my car and my dresses and everything else I needed. Then we hauled it all over to Bryant Conference Center. Got set up in the dressing room, started steaming. Thank goodness we had Annie's because mine did NOT work. Oy. My models got there (who, for the record, are THE most amazing models in the history of forever) and Hannah came and did hair and makeup. Thank you! We were almost done steaming, when the tornado siren went off. We were scrambling for time, so after about 2 minutes of staying on the bottom floor, I ran back upstairs and got all my dresses. hahaha I did NOT have time for a tornado!!! We got them all in, and we were good to go. But wait, it can't be that easy..(I'm making it sound easier than it was. It was NOT easy. Hair and makeup took forever, and thank the LORD for Annie, because she spent over an hour steaming all of my dresses. I love her very much) So anyway. We are putting Erin's dress on, which happens to be the last one, when SNAP! thread goes iugengnsjvas and part of the dress falls. I FREAK OUT. They all calm me down, and we fix it. Oy. Somehow, by the grace of God, we got everything done, and it looked AWESOME. I was so proud. Did I mention how much I love my models? They knew I was freaking out, so they sat me down and did my hair and makeup. I love them. Also, Annie, my lifesaver, ran back to my house at 6:45 (the show started at 7:30) because I forgot something. My hero.

So after all of that, I was put in charge of lining all of the designers up, which was good, because it required me to yell, and I needed to yell. Haha. So I ran around the second floor yelling at designers to line up down the stairs. Somehow, we got it done. Once it was my turn, it was go time. The music was perfect, my models were perfect, and it went down perfectly. Once they all walked, I had to walk with them. Luckily, I had planned ahead of time to walk WITH Erin, rather than behind everyone. Thank goodness I did. My legs were shaking SO badly, I almost fell down. Hahaha oh boy. But seriously, I am SO proud, and so pleased, and I loved my stuff.

After we walked, we went to the seats to watch the rest of the show. After it finished, we ran upstairs to get all of our stuff. Once I got back downstairs, it was mayhem. But it was amazing. SO many people came up to me to tell me how much they loved my collection. It was so flattering. I got hugs and pats on the shoulder, and so many random, "I LOVED IT!"'s. It felt amazing.

After the show, Annie took me to Mugshots. I love her. She kept me sane this entire night. Once we finished, I just came straight home and I am ready to pass out.

So, good night, world. THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support me. I love you all very dearly. You keep me sane, and you keep my life full.

OH! PICTURES! You can find more on my facebook, and I will be adding more as time allows. I love you all!!!!

Just kidding, Blogger hates me. PICTURES TOMORROW! I PROMISE!!!

Thread, friends, henna, lovely night

No one really tells you just how expensive being a fashion design major is. I mean, even if you want to do the bare minimum, it's still a good bit. But if you want to actually make something of yourself, holy moly look out. You need those prismacolor markers and colored pencils, the sewing machine, the sketch pads, the trash paper, the fabric, some more fabric, some more fabric, some trim, more trim, lots of thread, needles, thimble, bobbins, and the list goes on and on. Each time you have an assigment, you can't just go print it at the library. You need to buy the fabric and all of the notions, then spend the time actually making it. It has to be good, it has to be creative, and it has to be unique.

I've been working on Rock the Runway for a while now, and it's amazing the amount of money I've put into it. There was the initial huge purchase of all of the fabric, then we moved on to trims, and lots of them. Once you have all of that, you're done, right? Nope. Then you need accessories. Or in my case, $50 worth of henna ink. Yep. Those unforeseen crazy purchases.

How do you justify spending so much? You have to think of it as an investment. You are investing in your future. I know I didn't have to spend $50 on henna ink, and the line would look just fine without it, but I'm investing in something to make it stand apart, and to show people how creative I can be. It's that something extra that gets you the jobs, and gets you the attention.

Once you realize you are investing in your future (I know how cliche that sounds, but it really is true.) you want to make that investment matter. Then you start the huge investment of your time. You give up Saturday nights to stay in and sew, you give up sleep to get the rest of your school work done. Because oh yeah, did I mention you're still a full time student?

I'm trying to get Rock the Runway done, work on my CBH research, and still stay afloat in the rest of my classes. Don't think I'm complaining; I thrive when I'm busy. I just need people to understand that fashion design is a legitimate program, and it keeps us insanely busy. No, I don't have traditional term papers, I have to draft a pattern for a coat, then make it.

Regardless, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, this post is all over the place. It's 1:20 am, what do you want from me?!

Amaaaaazing

Viktor & Rolf Spring 2010