One of many.

As cliche as it may sound, the holidays are my favorite time of year. 

I love the chaos of a million family events, the smell of our Christmas tree, and the glow of the fireplace burning all day long. 

Sandwiched between the typical holiday parties and gatherings, my family holds a couple of traditions that mark some of my favorite days of the year. 

When I was little, my grandma would devote an entire Saturday to gingerbread houses--and not just any gingerbread houses. What began as your typical four-walled creations quickly escalated to castles and train stations and airports and mansions, with dozens of frosting colors and candy types to decorate with. The enormous creations we would make were extravagant and some would say over-the-top. But we loved those gingerbread houses. 

After my grandma passed away my junior year of high school, my mom wanted a way to carry on that tradition, but without the craziness and elaborate architecture. 

So....96 sugar cookies and six bags of royal icing later, you have our cousin Christmas cookie decorating party. 

By the end of the night, it's nearly impossible to tell what is a "decorated" cookie and what is merely a pile of icing that spilled from the frosting bag, but watching the little kids decorate their cookies and then show them off--before eating them of course--is always an adventure. 

[And by the looks of the cookies we had this year, these kiddos are getting pretty darn good at using those icing bags.]

December is one of my favorite months of the year, and the next couple of posts are going to show why that is exactly. From my lucky day, to Christmas Eve traditions and everywhere in between...here's to the happiest month of the year.

Falling to pieces.

Every semester, I try and take one class that is solely for enjoyment. 

It might have nothing to do with my major, might be a credit I don't necessarily need, or it might just be fun. 

This semester, I'm taking a class called Dress and Humanity--that's basically 50 minutes of discussion about fashion, style, and clothes. 

Probably the most interesting class I've ever taken. 

Our first project was to design an article of clothing for a "Recycle & Redesign" fashion show. 

So naturally, Hayley and I bought 3,500 puzzle pieces from the DI, a $6 dress, 100 hot glue sticks, and what seemed like a million feet of fishing line. 

We spent three days gluing puzzle pieces to said fishing line--while singing along to High School Musical--and decided we never want to see another puzzle piece as long as we live. 

But after winning BEST IN SHOW, we may rethink that. Out of 70 entries, ours got the top award. 

And here's us in the Statesman this morning. 

For a Plant Science major and an English Literature major, we felt pretty cool to win a fashion design show. 

But really, I'd be perfectly alright if I never saw a puzzle piece again. And my hands will thank me if I don't use a hot glue gun for a while. 

One more time.

So. Thanks to your wonderful support and voting skills, my friend made it to the fourth and final round of Blog Wars. 

Is it possible that you could summon all the love and support just one last time and vote again? 

It would be much appreciated.

http://just-between-friends.com/2013/06/fourth-final-blog-wars.html

^^^^^^^^

There's the link for you. 

And here's a hint: her craft is a perfect reflection of her fun personality. 

Voting is open until Sunday night at 10 pm, and you can vote on both your computer and your smartphone. 

Please and thank you, in advance. From both of us.

Six contentious women.

IT SNOWED. In OCTOBER. And I'm not okay with it. Because everything is cold. And wet. And not warm. Or dry. And my hair is frizzy. And layers of clothes make me feel claustrophobic....but really, I'm kind of okay with it. Because the mountains looks awesome. And this means lots of movies and hot chocolate, and blankets, and not leaving the house for extended periods of time, and soup, and okay. Maybe I'm a little okay with it. 

Last weekend was fall break--us Aggies got a a whole 24 extra hours of the weekend! My family and I went to Scheel's, a massive sporting goods store that they just built in Sandy. Inside? A full size ferris wheel. I had the twisted belief that I loved ferris wheels until I was stuck at the top with my little sister...hyperventilating. It was not okay. 

Before fall break though, our home teachers came over for the first time. Homemade chicken enchiladas and a spiritual message for our little 102 family? Perfect. We're lucky to live where we do, with the people we do. Because we're surrounded--and I mean completely--by excellent people. Life is good, folks. 

Saturday night, we had a heart-to-heart at our favorite park, and Emi declared her love for the stray cat that roams the cemetery. We named him George, and took a picture of the first time they met. She's destined to be a cat lady for life. [JUST KIDDING. She's getting married first. Or I'm out $50.]

Then last night, we scripted a music video, made crafts with our friend Teresa, and got a surprise visit from Kaylene. AND, we skyped my best friend Emily. She's going to BYU-Idon'tlikeithere, and I haven't seen her since August. It's a problem, but one we're trying to solve. 

After our adventures, we decided we needed to fight. Like, we sicced Kenz on Adrienne, and filmed it. If you're really interested in seeing it, check my Facebook page. Because it ends with Kenzie punching Adrienne in the face. And with that? We've had our first "fight." 

I'm officially going to keep my scholarship (Thank heavens for pass/fail when it comes to biology) and as of Wednesday, I'm officially an English Literature major. Logan is wonderful....and now it's time for dinner with Jon and Bronson and Jackson. Sweet pork and spaghetti squash. Yay for roommates who cook! 

Perfectly content and wildly restless.

Somedays, things just go splendidly. A fantastic new Institute class, a massive waterslide for FHE, and then our weekly cheering section at our favorite boys' soccer game. We finally followed through and made our glitter poster. We're basically the best friends ever. I guess they're alright too--sometimes Mitch brings us Jamba Juice when we all get stuck home doing homework. We'll keep them around I guess.

Emi and I may have used an excessive amount of glitter, so we had to go shake it off outside so Lauren wouldn't try to strangle us in our sleep. So we went outside....launched it....

And the wind promptly blew at least a half pound of glitter into Emi's face. She's still covered, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. 

And last but not least, Monday Night Lights rule my week. And I live in a pretty place. Even with all the nasty, grayish haze the sky is a pretty thing. And I'll just have to live with sitting on the sidelines of a soccer field until hockey season starts. :) 

In other groundbreaking news, Go Radio's new album Close the Distance came out tonight. Let's just say I cannot wait until the 25th. I'll probably just freak out as soon as Jason Lancaster gets on stage. 

If you have any desire in the world to listen to an incredible record, check it out on iTunes. Here's a link to preview it in the meantime. 

I can do it too.

This whole moving out thing has done wonders for my creativity. [Just kidding, it's really just motivated me to get a start on the projects on my "Someday When I'm Creative" board.] I have a rather large collection of earrings, and there was no way I was going to have room for a jewelry box in my dorm room. So using a post I found, (you can read it here) I made my own earring-display-holder-thing-a-ma-jig. It was super easy, and only cost me around $10--which could have been way less, I was just OCD about having colored wire, and that ended up being more expensive.

I bought a frame, mine's 9 by 13, and removed the glass, backing stuff, and everything that was around the wood. Then I took these little eye screws and spaced them down the sides of the frame. 

(The other tutorials had staples or nails, this is just what I had on hand.) 

Then came m multicolored wire. I cut a length of wire that was double the width of the frame, plus a little bit so that I could twist and knot the wire. I twisted the wire in between hooks to allow "slots" for the earring posts to go in, but you can always do a single wire and just hook them over it.

Finally, I just had to narrow down my collection to the "bare essentials" of my earrings. Ummm, yes, I may have a problem. It's alright. Really. Super easy to make, and it coordinates with my jewelry tree that will be holding my bracelets and necklaces. (No, that collection isn't any smaller. Yes, I'm aware it's a lot of stuff.) 

So basically, contrary to popular belief, I can be crafty! Also, the fact that I'm moving in a week is weirding me out. My "college corner" is rapidly growing, and the amount of stuff in my room is shrinking, drastically. I still have to write my essay for my intro class, and finding a job would be nice. Any suggestions for awesome places that are hiring, let me know. Because I need a job. 

My parents are leaving on Trek on Monday, along with Britt and Ry. Which leaves me home with the babies, and we've got adventures aplenty to go on. Stay tuned.