Because Everyone Needs One

I like collecting things. Particularly hedgehog-related things. Because, why not? Also, they're adorable.

I'm up to nine. My life is so exciting.

(This is what I spend my money on. Don't judge me.)

If you don't currently collect anything, you should. But you can't go looking for the thing you collect...you have to happen upon it. Why? Because that's half the fun and also because you can never find anything when you're actually looking for it. OH HOW CONVENIENT THE WORLD IS. But, it's a terribly exciting thing, and y'all should try it. The end.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

I love loved ones. 

I went to Chicago. Again. 

I spent most of the day with my big sisther, Bekah.

I have a really great sister. Like, really. You don't even understand how great she is.

(If you're wondering which one is my sister...she's the pretty one.)

(Are these not the greatest glasses you've ever seen?)

We tried on funny things. And ate greasy food. And did many other silly things.

(Some may consider this excessive, but I just really really love earrings.)

Like this. 

Then we made Kezia stop doing responsible things like getting ready for school and cleaning her apartment so she could come hang out with us. 

Because we needed cupcakes, and everyone knows you can't get cupcakes without a third sister.

Did you know there's a cupcake ATM in Chicago? Cause there is. And it's SO COOL.

(Oh, Kezi, you're so cute. Stop that.)

We spent $16.00 on cupcakes. Nbd.

(Strawberry. Yorm)

Then Kez and I picked her husband up from work. (That's my brother...in case you forgot.)

And we went back to their apartment for the most lovely home-cooked meal, courtesy of Kezia.

(They wondered why I was walking so slow.. *hehe*)

Well, then, of course, school had to come and ruin all the fun like it always does, and it was time for me to return home the next day.

(These are the awesome new kicks that Bekah convinced me to get.)

But I had the entire seat to myself on the train...so, I guess it was okay. 

After what seemed like an extra long week of school, the long weekend finally came. So, naturally, Nunsie came over.

And we ate these Oreos that I can't even describe the level of goodness...

Neopolitan. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Then we went to a thrift store. Of course. 

And Nunsie walked out with this kickin' dress.

(It was red material with blue sequins, covered in black netting. Hipster, I know.)

And since I can never actually find clothes at thrift stores for myself, I walked out with this mug.

(I'm sorta addicted to mugs. But it annoys my parents that I keep bringing them home...)

Then we did Henna. Because, let's face it-it's the coolest thing ever.

It took me like three hours to do that...but it was totally worth it. It was way more than I intended to put on, but I was having so much fun and just got a little carried away. 

So, basically, life's pretty great right now. 

Disclaimer: I don't hate school. In fact, I love school. It just stresses me out sometimes...a lot. I get overwhelmed and look forward to the little breaks. But I love it. Learning is awesome. You should do it. Kthxbye.

Let's Just Take a Minute...

Right now, I need you all to imagine if The Jonas Brothers and opera had a baby. 

Imagining it? It's like a fairy tale, right? Something way too good to be true. 

I'm about to blow your mind here. 

You ready?

That baby exists.

And that baby's name is Il Volo. 
Just take a look.

(I wish I had taken this photo but alas...it's from the internet.)

I KNOW, RIGHT?!

My mum and I went on a little date tonight to see these charming fellows.
Best. Night. Of. My Life.

Not only were they the coolest people I've ever seen, but it was at the gorgeous Peabody Opera House.

And we had freaking awesome seats.

(Don't let this photo deceive you. We were actually really close. My phone just takes awful photos and refuses to zoom. It's like a rearview mirror- "objects in this picture are closer than they appear.")

THEY WERE SO CUTE.
Okay, sorry.  I just had to be a teenage girl for a moment. But I'm over it now.


So, in case you're terribly confused right now, Il Volo is this singing trio of teenagers from Italy. They dress like the Jonas Brothers. No joke, they wore skinny jeans and vests and everything. And they sing like Andrea Bocelli. Except better. AND THEY'RE LIKE SIXTEEN.
Their names are Piero, Gianluca, and Ignazio.
Are those not the best names ever?

My mom and I were kind of freaking out.

I'm going to Italy over Spring Break this year with my school. You can bet that I will be finding their addresses so that I can go propose.

Is it weird if a groom sings at his own wedding? 

Because I'm marrying them. But they'll have to sing during the ceremony, too. 

So, hey, Il Volo, if you ever need some fresh and spunky American soprano to tour with you- hit me up.

K, bye.

Gooooing to the Chapel...

As of last Friday, my brother has been married for two weeks.

I KNOW...Crazy. 

(The Bridal Party: Kristin, Kimmy, Bekah, KEZIA, AARON, Sammy, Me, Rachel

Seth, Gabe, Nate, Eli, John)

Anyways, it was absolutely the most wonderful wedding I've ever been to. 

I haven't been to many weddings. But I know this one was one of the best ever.

(The Bridal side of the Bridal Party- Kimmy, Rachel, Sammy, KEZIA, Bekah, Me, Kristin)

We ladies had a ball getting ready together beforehand.

(Kez. SO PRETTY.)

(The Groom side of the Bridal Party- Eli, Seth, John, Nate, Gabe, AARON)

The Groomsmen all had matching socks and bowties. And Aaron gave them all corn-cob pipes as a gift, so they really wanted to take this picture. Goofballs.

I'm pretty sure Kezia only agreed to marry Aaron so that she could have a super awesome Danish surname. Cause, it's not like he has any other redeeming qualities that a girl would wish for in a guy...like the fact that he 100% adores her, is as chivalrous as chivalrous can be, and has a pretty nice smile ;)

First there was a cake and punch reception at the church.

(Rachel, who was also a bridesmaid, made this cake. Including the silhouettes on top! Not only was it gorgeous, but it was absolutely delicious too. When my brother was little he always had a pink birthday cake because strawberry cake was his favorite and it only came in pink. He was always made fun of for it by his friends. So, naturally, his wedding cake had strawberry cream inside!)

 Aaron was getting annoyed by all the people clinking their glasses. 

"I'll kiss her on my own time, thanks!" 

Silly boy.

The actual reception was back on Kezia's family's farm. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a lot of singing  and dancing and laughter, and love. 

(As much of a fuss that he put up about the whole "clinking glass kiss" thing...I'm pretty sure he didn't mind kissing her.)

My dad made the first toast, welcoming Kez into the family and making it public that he hoped they would provide him with many Danish grandchildren soon.

We're a Danish family. In case you didn't pick that up.

Then there was a toast from Kez's dad, the best man, the maid of honor, and my brother's godfather. 

By the last one we had run out of champagne in our glasses...but we went through the motions anyhow.

Aaron always feels awkward when he's the center of attention. As displayed by his facial expression in this picture. How cute.

All around it was just an absolutely splendid day. One that I will file away in my memories under 'Wonderful of Wonderfuls'. 

I got this pretty spectacular sister out of it.

To add to the pretty spectacular one that I already had.

We love our brother. And we're glad he found another  person to love him, too :)

So, welcome to our crazy family, Kez. We're glad to have you.

The Most Delicious Thing to Grace Your Tastebuds

So, I was just perusing the internet the other day and found the most wonderful thing ever.

The MUG Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe. 

I know. 

I freaked out too. 

The website has 80 gajillion other mug recipes.

Including Mac 'n' Cheese...IN A MUG. 

Anyway, I made the sticky toffee pudding, and it's heavenly. 

Unfortunately, it looks disgusting.

So, I will not post a picture. 

Here's the recipe:

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

two tablespoons milk (or coffee)

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Melt the butter in your mug, then add all the other ingredients and mix them up until it looks like batter.

Microwave for 1 minute.

Enjoy.

You're welcome. 

Congratulations! It's a boy!

I'd like to introduce you all to my new little bundle of joy!

His name is Gustav.

Nunsie and I adopted him last night at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

We've planned a joint custody agreement. 

I get him this week, and then she gets him next week, starting on Monday.

We're thrilled to be able to share his beauty with the world. 

Welcome to the world,

Little Gus!

Happy Birthday, America!

Friend: Are you free tomorrow?
You: Of course I'm free! This is Amurrrika!


The Fourth of July is great. 

So is America. 

Yup.

And this kid.

She's my favorite.

And her brothers are pretty cool too.

Except this one kept squirting me with his water gun.

But he's my second favorite.

So it's okay.

I got him back.

BLKSADJASD. 

Kids. 

Are so cute.

There was waaayyy too much cute in my backyard tonight.

For Them, We Tell the Story...

You know when you first start thinking about your future and all the wonderful things you might be able to do when you're an adult? As soon as that happens you start coming up with all these ideas. Often times, it's depressing, because you realize you have so much time to wait until that can really happen. Because you're just a kid, and nothing cool happens until you're all grown up. 

I don't like waiting. 

At all.

My "adult" dreams are of founding and running my own theater company. Cause how awesome would that be? But I didn't want to wait.

So, I didn't.

Last August, I was in the car on some long road- trip with my family when I started thinking...why should I have to wait for my dreams to come true? Why can't I just go out and grab them? I called my friend, Jacqueline, asking if she was interested in pursuing them with me. She was. 

Thus, Broken Limbs Student Theater was born.

And, it's pretty cool. 

Jack Attack is kind of a big deal when it comes to the technical side of theater, so, naturally, she was perfect for the job. We pulled our talents together and were actually able to produce something to be proud of. We worked on it for a year. We auditioned a cast, bought the scripts, paid the royalties, booked a venue, put together some costumes, rented lights, built a set, etc. etc. And it turned out pretty darn awesome. 

We just had our first production, Celeste Raspanti's I Never Saw Another Butterfly, this past weekend. The cast was incredible. They all took their roles so seriously. 

The story was about a Jewish family and group of children living during the Holocaust in the Czech Republic. So, it was a pretty heavy story. The play told the story of Raja, a twelve year old girl who kept hope for the future even as all of her friends and family were being taken away from her. Every once in a while, it would hit us that this actually happened to thousands of children back then, and then we knew why we were doing it. We had to tell this story, for all those who didn't get the chance because their lives were stolen. It kind of put everything into perspective and made us realize how lucky we are to have the lives we have. 

Through many tears, hard work, and dedication, we were able to pull off a production to be proud of, and raise quite a bit of money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say through all of this is- Stop sitting around waiting for your dreams to happen. Make them happen. Now.

Summer Lovin'

St. Louis is the best city during the summer. Oh, you think your city's better? Ha, nope. You're wrong. St. Louis wins. Hands down.

There's the Shakespeare Festival (This year was Othello) totally free and outside in the beautiful Forest Park on Art Hill, there's countless outdoor concerts year round, the zoo, the Muny, and thousands of other events that make you a better person if you go to them. Culture, people. It's a great thing. 

Kezia was in town for a few days, so we went to the zoo and swimming and to the Chinese Lantern festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. (Ha, told you St. Louis wins). It was absolutely incredible. Seriously, guys, go see this stuff. It's SO COOL.

Check it out.

Unfortunately, I only had my phone with me to take pictures, so excuse the crappy quality.

This dragon is made entirely out of porcelain dishes, how awesome is that?

Yup, told you St. Louis is great. I'm not biased or anything, though... ;)