Finally have a sister

Matt said, "Lindsey, let's reenact the proposal." So she put out her hand. Matt goes, "No," and sticks out his pinky finger. That Matt, he's a jokester.

Me with some of my cousins on Easter

Me & Lindsey!

The newly engaged

Flowers from Kelly

My brother Matthew got engaged last Saturday to his girlfriend Lindsey! So thrilled to finally have someone to go shopping with and basically do all the things that make my brothers answer, "Ehhh, I'd rather not."

Welcome to the family, Lindsey! Can't wait to be part of the wedding shenanigans in these upcoming months!

When I told my friend Anne about the engagement, her response was, "Ohhhh how exciting. And that Matt. How perfect for him to propose between Good Friday and Easter. How holy of him!"

Anne, I don't think that's what he was aiming for.

I was never one for bowling...

{Bowling + disco + patriotic flag... well ain't that Amurica?}

{If I could be confident that there wasn't some mold or something growing in bowling shoes, I'd totally consider swiping these. Well, actually not really. I wouldn't steal. But I'd be up for bargaining}

{There's that smile!}

... Bowling usually was an activity I would have to do for a friend's birthday or to receive some type of badge for Brownies (the amateur version of Girl Scouts). I was never good at bowling. I'm still actually really bad. But then I bowled with James and had so much fun. Seeing James smile and fist pump after he got two strikes in a row was awesome (for a lack of better words). Plus, we had the whole alley to ourselves, so every time I guttered the ball I just did a little loser victory dance.

In completely unrelated news. Well, not even news. Just unrelated. I always liked the song "You're still the one" by Shania Twain, but this morning I heard my roommate playing this version in her bedroom and now I'm hooked. Hearing a guy sing this song is just a whole new level of greatness. Oh Lee, you seriously shouldn't have. You got yourself a new fan.

*This version of "Falling Slowly" is pretty tremendous as well. Not as good as the original. But still enjoyable.

Funky

My kind of people.

An open window kind of weekend

Yesterday, I cheesily said to my roommate Mallory, "I wish I could bottle this morning." Instead of making fun of me for going all Hallmark on her, she responded, "Me too." It was honestly the most relaxing and laugh-filled weekend I've had in awhile. From playing flip cup and dancing to Backstreet Boys on our porch to going out for breakfast on Sunday morning, everything just felt right. Man oh man, I'm going to miss college.

Hey future life as a teacher, please be nice to me. And be gentle.

1) Ann catching some breeze on a lazy Sunday morning.

2) Making good use of our porch. Spring is in the air and it feels so so so fine.

3) Roomie schoomy - Me, Lauren, Ann, Shauna, Mallory in front of our poster that says France. And not a single one of us can speak French. But I'm down with baguettes.

4) When in doubt, ice cream.

5) Me, Mallory, and Ann before heading out for a night that had so much karaoke potential.

6) Shauna likes to wear cowboy hats. She is looking for a man that likes to wear them too. I for one do not think that's too much to ask for. Form a line, gentlemen!

Awwww shucks

This kid is such a charmer, and his smile is contagious! That is one lucky little lady.

When he says, "Huh?" I nearly peed my pants.

And his jaw literally dropping is some pretty raw human emotion.

Ingrid Bergman

Must be tough being that beautiful.

I really wish I was watching Casablanca with my dad right now rather than reading for school.

And I'm sure he'd prefer to be watching Casablanca with me rather than working.

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As of Late

Lately...

1) I've been taking down about three of these guys a day. Oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies compliments of my roommate Mallory. Thanks for nothing, Mal. You know I have no self-control.

2) I've been hearing "Aw who sent you flowers?" from each of my roommates and each and every time I answer with, "I bought them for myself." How sad. Can't a girl by some flowers to spruce up her room? Okay, I guess buying myself red roses is a bit odd, but my choices were slim. At this particular grocery store all they had were roses or lime, orange and purple dyed daises. Super ugo. Daisies are my favorite flowers, but these shades looked straight out of a coloring book gone wrong.

3) I've been sending postcards to people I love. Norman Rockwell is the best. Well, after Van Gogh. I wonder how many people read postcards along the way. I know mailmen must have to sign some sort of privacy contract, but I feel like if I were a mailman I'd take a peek and read all the dirt/mushy mush people are sending to one another. Don't judge. You probably would too!

4). I've been compiling old clothes to donate. Did you hear that, dad? I'm getting rid of stuff. Yipeeee! Not gonna lie, it was difficult to get rid of my favorite brown corduroy pants from my junior year of high school. But, I just had to come to terms with the fact that they probably won't ever fit again.

Let me see you one, two step

Yes, I did just reference Ciara. Anywayyyyy, if you happen to be in Massachusetts or attend Harvard, go see one of my numero uno amigos Moira and her Irish Dance Team perform on April 2nd at 8 pm at Lowell Lecture Hall. I'm assuming that's on Harvard's campus... but then again, what do I know? I'm sure a quick Google search could help you out.

{She's the one with her hair down standing directly to the left of the guy in the center}

Moira and I use to take Irish Dance together. She stuck with it and I quit to move onto jazz. Which was short lived. Then I moved onto tap dancing. That was short lived too. Then I moved onto not dancing. And that's where I've been for about the past nine years. Except when Backstreet Boys or N'sync comes on. Sometimes I just can't help myself.

{Moira, Anne, me at senior year homecoming. Hey Anne, did you ever take Irish Dance? Didn't think so. Move it!}

Eyes and Ears part 3

Listening to this young gentleman from Wisconsin (!) But even though I love Wisconsin and Wisconsinites (ie in this case, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon), right now I really don't want to be here. I'd rather be in Ireland. My homeland. Not really. But, my ancestor's homeland.

Cork, someday we'll meet. Until then, stay beautiful.

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Duuuuuude, I need sleep

I've been feeling overwhelmed ever since I woke up today at 6:05 a.m. One thing after another just makes me want to have an outrageous fit like this. I also feel like I have that chronic tired look. I always mean to buy cucumbers to try that getting rid of circles under the eyes trick, but I always get too busy contemplating what kind of ice cream to get and I end up forgetting the damn cucumbers.

Anyway, this Daria quote is resonating quite well with me right now.

{Image via a website I'm pretty sure is dedicated to glorifying pizza}

I won't be a total debbie downer. There are some pluses of this day. And they are:

+ I showered and so that means I smell nice

+ I ate a sausage egg and cheese biscuit from McDonald's today before my final exam to get my teaching license

+ I stumbled upon this picture of Daria

Rain Rain, You Can Stay

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Yesterday it started raining AFTER I arrived at class. No umbrella + no hood = mascara under eyes and looking like a weirdo. I guess that's what I get for attempting to not look like total woof. Also, I wore my darn Converses. I've been wearing my rain boots a lot lately. Like almost too much. And then, the one day I don't wear them, BOOM, God says, "ha ha, you're stupid."

Whatever. I'm okay with this. I love rain. Reminds me that reading and eating BBQ Honey chips in bed is a good thing. Actually, it doesn't remind me of that at all. But, that's what my day looked like.

Bang Bang Boogie

Between the dance moves and the clothing, I am speechless. This is all I can manage to say:

1) The guy wearing the orange and white jumpsuit that makes him look like he could be a male cheerleader for the University of Texas, is blowing my mind.

2)Between 1:15-1:25, pay special attention to Kip from Napoleon Dynamite breaking it down.

3) I love how the two guys are rocking sweaters and turtlenecks and the other guy looks straight out of Gilligan's Island. That is, if Gilligan's Island had a main character that was black.

The New Year

I'm excited to see this at the Madison Film Festival. I'm also hesitant to say that I'm excited because the last time I said that about a film at the festival I was hugely disappointed. I paid $9.00 just to basically watch people stare at each other. I hope that isn't the case with this movie. The song in the trailer is called "Christmas Light" by Keegan DeWitt and the Sparrows.

Also, is it just me or does the main girl freakishly sound like the mom from Modern Family?

St. Patty's Day

1) Apparently the leprechaun now brings me books and tulips for St. Patrick's Day. I'm definitely not complaining. Started reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein, and I already have a feeling I'm going to be crying big time by the end of this book.

2) Me with Lindsey and Matt showcasing our Green River.

3) Close up of that sucker.

4) Me and Lenny. An unexpected paw is always reason to smile. I think he thought he'd be getting a treat. He didn't. Lenny, I might be a pushover, but I had just given you two treats less than a half hour before. There needs to be limits!

Free People

Free People really needs to do me a solid and either A) Stop making clothes or B) Make their clothes in my price range.

Because this whole "look but don't touch" relationship that we've had going for the past few years is really not working for me anymore. You can only tease me with hopes of being able to dress like Jenny from Forrest Gump or Penny from Almost Famous for so long before I put my foot down. It has to stop.

But, if $ were no issue, it would be nice to have these in my closet...

{All Free People}

PS Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!