Archive for April 2012

So, this lady.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 § 0

I've been really stressed out with finals lately and extra assignments, but then today I had to write an essay about someone I loved. 

My mind immediately went to family members- I've got some pretty incredible genes, y'all- and I decided to write about my mom.  

She's pretty incredible.  She's gone through life with hearing loss and made sure that people don't see her as someone who's deaf, but as someone who is determined and smart and brave.  She got a degree in Phlebotomy even though she had professors who repeatedly pulled her aside after class and told her to quit, the job would be too hard for her.  

But she didn't.  She graduated, and got a job, and was one of the best damn phlebotomists they had (seriously, her customer service ratings were incredible).  

She's an incredible person, and I might cry when I read this speech about her tomorrow.....

Happy early mother's day, I guess!  
Madi

FRIDAY FRIDAY

Friday, April 20, 2012 § 0

Do people still sing that on Fridays?  No? Okay, then. 

Well, my Friday is turning out to be very enjoyable indeed so far.  I am about to head over to Spoons with my roomie (apparently, it's amazing, and I've never been there before soooo...yeah).  Also, I was freaking out about registering for classes today, but I got EVERY CLASS I WANTED the minute I put their codes in.  At the times I wanted, too.  Insane.  This never happens.  


So now I'm sitting here in the LSC trying to be casual and also take a picture of myself because I feel pretty today.  That's the reason for my weird, stoic face...there's someone sitting right next to me and I don't want them to know I'm taking a picture.  Don't normal people stare at their computer screen while also smiling when they're on Facebook?  I know I do ;)

So, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to head home to the apartment and see the mamas and the papas.  We have a quickie showing of the gorgeous house my dad put an offer on...if all goes well, we want to be able to see the house we'll be living in for the next while!!!

I hope you have a lovely, well-deserved weekend, followers!
Madi


Hair.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 § 0

So I saw this today whilst online shopping on Forever21.com:
I know they expect me to look at the dress (which is adorable, but far too short- I am NOT summer ready, body-wise) but I was looking straight at that hairstyle.  
So cute, right?  It's basically maiden braids (which you all know is my favorite hairstyle), just messy and with wavy/curly hair.  

Well, today I don't have wavy/curly hair, but trust me- I can do messy.  Plus, I already tried a weird braid crown this morning so my hair is crimped-ish already.  So I tried it, and here's the final product: 


I love it!  It's probably more for short-term wear if you don't do it right, though (like me) because when I went to dinner, it sort of looked like a pile of spaghetti.  Oh, well. 

Love it!

Major...major-ly stressed....major-ly excited....major-ly crazy.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 § 1

As you probably already can tell, this post is about my major and how I used to hate it.  I switched from Journalism and Technical Communication to Communication Studies.

I majored in Journalism because I honestly thought that, naturally, that's what my next step was.  After all, I was editor of the yearbook...what was I supposed to study, agriculture? (I actually considered that and I am not ashamed).  I picked journalism because I thought that was where I was supposed to be, not because it was where I wanted to be.  So, second semester, there was this one class that really cleared things up for me- newswriting!!  I hate newswriting with a burning, fiery passion (sorry to all you newswriters out there, it honestly is very honorable and you have to be smart and clever as hell to do it).  I spent one class period in that newswriting lab and told myself, "What the hell are you doing?  You don't want to do journalism!  You just want to write!"

So I dropped that sucker and enrolled in a Public Speaking course.

Not that I love public speaking or anything, but it's a required course and I enjoy it far more than I think I would have enjoyed NW.

BUT ANYHOO, I was still not too enthusiastic about Comm Studies.  Honestly, I started believing the stereotype- that it was a common major for people that wanted to do smooth sailing in college- basically, the best way for slackers to graduate.  And that upset me A LOT.

But, I've been sticking with it, because stereotypes are usually fake (ESPECIALLY this one), and I finally had a meeting with my advisor to talk about new classes.

This is the part of the story where I fall in love with my major.  I had a new advisor because of the major change, and she is the sweetest thing on Earth.  The first thing she asked me when I sat down was if I was interested in film.  I was like

"But CSU doesn't have a film school!" Cried little old me.  But lo and behold, within the Comm major, we have, like, 8 film courses.  OH HELL YEAH was what was going through my mind. 

And then I was told by my lovely advisor that I have a semester of AP credits that exempt me from classes, so I can either graduate early, double major in Communications and English, or take a bunch of stupid elective credits.  

I think I'm double majoring.  YEEEAAAH SON

The End.  You can go back to enjoying your lives now.  So long!

Fort Collins Music Experience

Saturday, April 14, 2012 § 0

The Fort Collins Music Experience is a beautiful thing. 

I almost wasn't going to go.  My roommate invited me along and I wasn't really sure because the tickets were $20, and also I'd had a stressful week and vegging out in my dorm seemed like a really excellent alternative.  

And then I realized that I ALWAYS veg out in my dorm and that I needed to get out and do something with my life.  

So I went!











You, Me, and Apollo- such a great band!




The Heyday!

PURE SEX


And You, Me, and Apollo again.  Such a great time. 


 Basically what happens is that Old Town Fort Collins becomes this music hub for two days, and 300+ bands come and play at different venues all over the city.  Me, the roomie, and some of her friends basically just hopped from place to place and caught about 4 or 5 bands last night.  It was so great.

Stay tuned- the festival continues for today and we're going to see what kind of bands we can discover tonight. 

Have a lovely evening, 
Madi

Apartment Crazy 2.0

Monday, April 9, 2012 § 0

Hey y'all.

So if you haven't seen my recent vlog post (click on My Vlog in the upper right hand corner of this page!) or read my blog in the past week, you should know that I am getting a studio apartment and I plan to decorate it as if I live inside Emily Henderson's brain.

She's the host of Secrets of a Stylist on HGTV, which is, honestly, the best show on that channel (and that's saying something.  I'm a House Hunters International FREAK). 

Anyways, to give you an idea of how she styles things, take a look at my fave rooms below: 





So, basically, she's a genius.  

I'm going to definitely implement some of the things she does when I get my apartment and start to decorate.  I'm going so out of my mind with planning the theme and what's going to go where that I've hardly decided what I need.  However, I think I've finally got a pretty good idea. 

Art

Art is pretty important to me when it comes to an apartment.  As you can see in the picture of one of my dorm walls below, I combined my own paintings with a clock, a coffee and soy-sauce treated Sylvia Plath poem, a map of Fort Collins cut into two hearts, vintage Barbie stationary, a painted cardboard M from Hobby Lobby, art from Etsy, and a photo of my sister's lips. 
I love, love, LOVE it and it adds so much brightness and warmth to the room. 

Draperies

Do I need them? No.  Do I want them? Yes. 

Urban Outfitters Solid Drape Shade in yellow. 

Table Setting

Yeah, this sounds silly and unnecessary but listen: I'm getting a shitty metal/plastic table with two rickety chairs for free from the apartment complex, so I need to dress that mofo up with a nice tablecloth and some centerpieces.  

Such a cute, vintage homage to my homeland.  Texas Tablecloth Map by Dyenah on Etsy.com. 

Or how about this much simpler striped tablecloth from Anthro?  After all it's only 88 bucks (sarcasm).  

Imagine these on top of both linens: 
Yellow on red?  Delightful!

Well, it is nearly midnight and I have yet to start studying for one of my tests.  WORST COLLEGE KID EVER.  It's okay, it's open note.  Don't worry about it.  

Au revoir!
Madi






It's that kind of day.

§ 0

I finally get to take my polka dot swing skirt out of hiding. 

Which means t's a lovely day. 

Happy Monday, 
Madi

Prom 3.0

Monday, April 2, 2012 § 0

Let me just get this out in the open: I don't harp on life in high school.  I don't miss the crowded halls, the classes, the cafeteria, the TAKS test, or the assemblies.   However, now that prom season is coming up for the wee juniors and seniors, I think back to when I was going to prom.


Sometimes I regret that yellow dress, even though now that I look back on it, it is pretty damn classy.  The only thing I wish I had done is this: worn a different sash, and put my hair in a low bun.  

As for the blue dress, that was my favorite dress in the whole world.  However, it wasn't perfect: the people that were supposed to alter it for me did it wrong and therefore, it almost didn't fit me at all.  My dad fixed it with a ribbon in the back, but the dress still pinched and prodded and HURT.  Also, I had strep that night, which sucked.  Otherwise, that dress was perfect.  

I was thinking about it, and going through one of my fave vintage dress websites, and I was wondering how much my style has changed within the year.  I was wondering, to get to my point, what I would wear if I could do prom again, this year.  Here's what I've come up with!

Emma Domb Baby Pink Prom Dress (Unique-vintage.com)

It's pink.  It's lace.  It's vintage-inspired.  In other words, it's absolutely gorgeous.  Can you just imagine this thing floating across the dance floor to something slow, while a preppie in a varsity jacket holds you tight in his arms? Because I can.  I LAHV IT. 


Dress Gallery Jade Long Dress (Asos.com)
Ohmygodthisdress.  It's magnificent.  First of all, those flutter sleeves: the perfect addition to this form-fitting beaut.  And then there's the enormous cutout in the back (sorry, don't have a picture of that) that keeps the dress from being too conservative.  And to top it all off, it's velvet.  Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady..I know most of you guys wouldn't touch velvet with a 39 and a half foot pole, but I don't see anything wrong with it.  It's elegant. It's comfortable.  AND THIS DRESS IS DAMN BEAUTIFUL. 

Faviana Embellished One-shoulder Gown (Nordstrom.com)
I love this dress because it reminds me of Drew Barrymore's golden globes gown from way back when.  I LOVE beige for gowns because it always looks so classic and fresh at the same time.  I also adore the way this model is styled: bright pink lips, low, messy chignon, and no jewelery.  You don't need it with a dress like this, honestly.  

Badgley Mischka Platinum Label (Bluefly.com)


This is one of those dresses that just catches your eye immediately.  As you probably can already see, I love ruffles (see blue prom dress above) and this dress is so fun and fresh and yet elegant at the same time.  I see a braided updo with this baby.  

And if the world were a just and kind place, and money rained from the heavens and into my wallet, then I would wear Valentino to the prom. 


Oh, goodness, what a dream. 

I don't regret the dresses I wore, since I had so much fun in them.  Sometimes, though, I just wish I could do prom all over again since I feel like my style has changed so much. 

Good luck to all the prom-goers this year and have a blast with your friends- that's honestly all that matters!

Arrivederci, 
Madi