Just a quick update & a peek into the National Geographic's Archives

All is not lost! I am back in America after having an absolutely wonderful time in England, and I am currently gearing up for the upcoming school year!
In other developments: I've been working on progressing the new, fancy, cool blog that I mentioned before, trying to finish an online biology course before it finishes me, and have taken up (and sticking to!) yoga (Holla, summer bucket list! I haven't forgotten you!).
I'd really really like to save my fancy London pictures and show them off on the new blog when it goes up, so for now, here's this little gem:

What is that? No, it is not an outtake from The Amanda Show (untimely?). Why, that is a picture that is a part of the National Geographic's archives that they recently released via tumblr. Some of the shots are truly *interesting, others are kind of weird. Here's a few more great ones (after the jump!):

Hello from London!

Quick update from London:
We are having a lot of fun seeing the city. So far gone to see Stonehenge and Bath, and toured a lot of beautiful and interesting places in London. Favorite things is that I'm getting tons of opportunities to feed my inner Anne Boleyn Fan Girl (it's a real thing), and I really can't get over the fact that royalty is a real thing in this country. I know that sounds dumb, but you hear about real queens and junk and think "yeah, okay. I like that. Good for them, I'm sure." Then you see it all, like the palaces and ceremonies, and it is the real deal! A lot of times these tours of castles almost seem like a serious theme park or something.
 I'll post other (and better) updates when I have to ability to upload pictures along with it. Until then, I can say that the time change is so weird. I am going to bed when it's the middle of the afternoon in Texas. One day we had to wake up really early, and people from home were still out on the town from the previous night. I am real life living in the future.
PROOF: these pictures were taken around 9:30 AM- it was 3:30 AM back in Texas. WHAT?! Blows my mind.

That's all for now as my computer is about to die and my brother has stolen my charger. Family vacations, am I right?

Going Across the Pond Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, I'll be on a plane on my way to London. I can't help right now but to hope that everyone is  more like Julie Andrews and less like the characters on Skins. Also, I am really hoping to not get haunted by anything. I hear that's common in England. I am also hoping I understand everything that people say to me. (No really. It's going to be confusing.)

I am also hoping this doesn't happen to me:

Photo via The Chalk White Arrow's blog in her recent trip to England.

I would be less like ^^that^^ and more like this:

So keep your fingers crossed for me. Hope for crumpets, corgis, and nannies that burst into songs; no people-loving-birds, ghosts, and weird English slang (or not a lot of it.)

I'm going to try to blog across the pond, but in case the internet is broken in the UK I'll be sure to share a lot when I'm back. Until then, be sure to follow me on Instagram for updates!

PS original Julie Andrews picture via here. Graphics by me.

Learning how to speak English in England (Things British People Say)

Only a few more days till I am London bound! Today is mostly dedicated to getting together a few last minute things before I depart. PS, if anyone can answer this question for me, I'll be extremely grateful: To pack rain boots or not to pack rain boots? I know it's a lot rainier than Texas, but are they worth packing?

In my preparation, I've been researching how to better communicate with the Brits. I'm getting a little worried. Did you know "pants" is short for "underpants"!? If that's the case, then what else do I not know! Here are some of the phrases I've learned to say (and not to say) after the jump!

Help Me Pick My Glasses!

I've said for years that I don't have depth perception. Recently, it's been scientifically proven. I went to the eye doctor, and they tested out the old lookin' balls. My vision is still 20/20, but my right eye is slow on perceiving depth. End of the story- I'm testing out some glasses to see if it helps me out. I picked out 5 frames, and ordered the Home Try On Kit from Warby Parker.

More after the jump!

New Changes for the Blog in the Works

Lot's of good news on the blogging frontier. Here are some new changes to the blog you can look forward to:

New (or more like revised) Name 

A location under our own domain name

New Weekly Series

New Logo

As all these changes come underway, I thought I'd share the process of how I'm making all these new things here with you guys. I'd appreciate any input! First thing I put together was a mood board for the new blog logo/general feel of the blog. This will serve as a "home base" as I make and design the blog. This is sort of a first draft as I'm not completely sold on how this feels (more after the jump!)

99 Problems JayZ does have

My brother just showed me this tumblr: http://probs99.tumblr.com/
It is some quality interneting. Great little illustrations of JayZ and his likely 99 problems.
Here are some of my favorites:

More after the jump!

July Playlist

Spotify link after the jump!

AMERICA'S GOTTEN TO CRAZY SO I'M GOING TO LONDON!!!!

Guys.
I've had it.
Texas and America have gotten to be too much. It has gotten excessively embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch the news, so I am going to pack it up and move in with the corgis and Kate.

^^Don't worry. Wearing a strapless romper. But just in case, don't show this picture to the Texas Legislature as they might throw me out of the state as a result of not covering my woman shoulders. Also I apologize for all the overwhelming, bad photoshop. Had to go somewhere.^^

How to Talk to Little Girls

I thought this would be a nice segway from all my SB5 related posts into some of my more usual subjects; not that I'll be completely stopping the updates!

This is a lovely article from Lisa Bloom that discusses how people typically approach little girls and young women. Bloom remarks that more often than not, when we meet a new young girl we will ordinarily "ooo" and "aaah" over their appearance as an ice-breaker. After I read this article, I have to admit, I totally do that!

Still Standing with Texas Women

Latest update- the hearings last night were arbitrarily closed at midnight and then a vote was forced. The hearings closed despite the thousands of people waiting to testify. At this point, I can give you this link via Planned Parenthood that allows you to get in contact with your legislators and let them know where you stand.

https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=16723&s_src=TXHearings_0713_c3_e1&autologin=true

SB 5 Update #3: Hearings to Happen Tomorrow

 "The bigger issue at stake is that a primarily wealthy male legislature is determining what SHOULD be a decision between a doctor, a woman, and whatever deity in which a woman believes (if any). They are not in there discussing the man’s obligation and role in a woman’s pregnancy in the first place, men’s rights to Viagra, standards for safe surgical procedures for vasectomies or prostate cancer, rape prevention measures, or appropriate and realistic sex education to prevent pregnancy in the first place. It is just one more example of a tiresome sexist view that a woman is not only responsible for her behavior and choices, but also a man’s."

If you would like to argue against me about SB5, I am going to refer you to this quote from this very helpful article that essentially sums up my views. If you would still like to argue, however, I've never been one to turn that down. But I will probably also ask you to play this song and replace "gotten over it" with "gone over it"- as that is shorter and easier for me.

I really did not think I would be blogging about SB5 this much. However, I am extremely passionate about this subject, and I really do believe that this is an effective platform for me to reach a lot of people that would like to stay up to date. Whether that be so that they, too, can get involved or just see what I'm doing. Also, this blog is a helpful device for me to remember my own experiences and catalogue this piece of history for myself. That being said- I will try to post things that I find helpful or interesting, or resources that I believe help better educate us on our stance with Texas women. However, I will not be dedicating this blog to the subject; nor can I promise that I will update readily enough for you to rely on this blog as your sole source of information on the bill.
I will be returning to some of my more regular-ish posts soon (including a new series!), but I feel that this certainly takes priority over things like that now.

UNTIL THEN. HERE'S MORE INFORMATION FOR TOMORROW:
Official Notice of the Public Hearing
Facebook Event for the Hearing
Essentially, we're doing it over again. Please come to share a short testimony, or just for your support.
Also here's a video of Natalie Manes singing "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice" from the rally today that also pretty well sums up everyone's views.

Updates on SB5 and Rally Today at High Noon

If you've yet to hear, and are interested, Rick Perry called another special session regarding the issues in SB5. 

There is to be a rally at the Capital at noon. Unfortunately  I cannot be there because, coincidentally, I will giving a presentation over SB5 and Wendy Davis to my class this afternoon. I'm going to head over afterward if it's still going on, however, if you are even somewhat interested in going- I really encourage you to put on your orange and do so! 

Here are a few resource I can give you to keep following the progress & see how you can get involved:

Stand With Texas Women Twitter Account

The Facebook Event for the Rally with a lot of helpful information

A Blog Post with an FAQ about the rally today

Please let me know anything else you might hear or if you go! Again, I really encourage you to go if you can!

At the Texas Capital Fighting Against SB 5

Sorry I've been a bit MIA this past week- however, I cannot think of a better way to break my silence then to post about what I experienced last night. Last night, I was made all the more proud of Texas and being a Texas woman. Our legislature was attempting to pass a bill that was a basic attempt to nationalize women's bodies. It would essentially prohibit safe and legal abortions in Texas. Wendy Davis, a senator in the Texas Legislature, filibustered from 10 am until she was shut down around 11:30pm (for reasons that are a little too knit-picky to really be justified). Many of my friends were inside the Senate chamber, and I got to the capital around 9pm to do what I could. Inside the capital, the rotundas were filled. I was meeting one of my friends there, and we waited in line in the bottom rotunda. However, each of the three levels above us were visibly filled to the brim with people wearing orange and waiting to get in. (We wore orange to symbolize our stance against the bill- so they could know who we were!) We waited in line for about 30 minutes, and then the rush began. It was nothing violent, everything just became much more urgent. We could tell something was about to happen. A woman ran by us shouting "get to the second floor!" Looking for where to go, we found ourselves in the middle of the bottom level, inches away from Cecile Richards- daughter of Ann Richards and President of Planned Parenthood. Cecile acted as our ring leader and signaled to us to all start making as much noise as we could. Now I know that it was because Wendy Davis's filibuster was shut down. We cheered and chanted her name. We were signaled to stop our noise and then told that they were going to be clearing out the gallery. In a very protestor like fashion, we reacted by sitting down. We were very uninformed- relying on text updates, tweets, and the signals from our officials there with us to tell us what to do next. People began bringing in food and water that was donated simply by people tweeting out the need. The power of social media! Not too soon after, a woman came out of the chamber and warned us that they were locking the capital.

We were waiting quietly- I now know it was because Kurt Watson was trying to stall the voting... as long as we got to midnight without a vote we would have succeeded in stopping the bill. It was important that we didn't disrupt him, as this was largely helpful in our fight. Around 11:40 he, too, was shut down. This is where we sprung into action. There were masses of us in orange there at the capital and it was our time to be heard, literally. Simply put, if they could not hear each other inside the chamber, they could not vote. So, we all stood together began yelling and chanting and stomping and screaming and doing everything in our power to be heard. People from the second level of the rotunda would go press their ears up against the chamber doors and would then communicate down to Cecile what we needed to do. They were clearly signaling to keep up the noise and be LOUD. It was louder than any concert or football game I had ever been in. People who were watching from the live stream were texting me and tweeting me saying that the people inside the chamber were shocked and scared. They were at a stand still because of the ruckus we caused and literally could not take any action because of all the noise. We kept at it- yelling and yelling and yelling. The "signalers" on the second level ran back and forth from the doors of the chamber to us, holding out fingers of the moments left until midnight. The noise did not waiver for a moment, and at midnight we burst into a chorus of "The Eyes of Texas". Yet even still, we were confused as to what our effect had been. There was some word that the bill had passed- but others deemed that the vote hadn't been taken in time. Members of the Texas House were coming out and speaking, and a few chants would pick up in between speakers, but everyone was very confused. It was after midnight, but were we not successful? We now know that there was an attempt to aleter the time stamp on the vote to pass the bill- which quite simply is embarrassing and ridiculous- and it came out that the vote was not taken in time, and it died.

I am so proud that I was able to be there last night, standing and screaming with my fellow Texans. It was such a moving night, and I now have this sore throat to remember it by. I am in absolute awe of Wendy Davis. The stamina and courage she presented is something that is to be truly admired in Texas history. Although I could go on longer, I'll let the pictures do the talking. Here are a few videos and pictures I took last night:

^^Really. The capital was filled to the brim.^^

^^Wendy Davis maintained the filibuster for a majority of time by relaying touching stories from those who would have been or will be effected by the bill, and she needed the stories to keep on coming in!^^

^^Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, in action.^^

^^Cecile Richards welcoming representatives.^^

^^Video taken in the heart of the yelling. This does not do the sound justice at all.^^

I'll try to update this post with any more updates as they come along. I'm sure this fight is not yet through. 

UPDATE: If you've been following along, you know that Rick Perry has called a second special session to re-address the issues in SB 5. To show where you stand, you can start by adding your name here: https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/stand-up-for-women-2013?source=em13_20130718_ofa_auto&utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_campaign=em13_20130718_ofa_auto

I'll post again if any more info comes along!

June Playlist

Click "read more" to see the goods.

14. Go bike riding.

Disclaimer: I am awful at riding a bike. I am getting much, much better (like now I can go farther than 5 feet without screaming the whole time), but I am still no pro by any means. I've had many dear friends who have tried patiently to teach me to ride a bike with little success. However, since I've lived in Austin, and seen how cute you can look on a bike (that's what it takes to win me over), and hearing my boyfriend yack about how much fun it is, I bit the bullet. Click "read more" to see more.

The time I saw She & Him

Last night Colin and I went to go see Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward in concert with their band She & Him. Yes, I made sure my bangs looked really good for this one! To see more concert pictures and a video, click "read more!"

3. Bake an Apple Pie

Earlier this month, I started a Summer Bucket List filled with activities that I've either always wanted to try or just seem like the perfect way to spend a summer's day. This past week, I took a crack at it and made an apple pie. Click "read more" to see how it turned out.

Girls, Season 38

I might be a little late on this, but if you're a fan of Girls, be sure and check out the new trailer for season 38. THAT'S RIGHT, SEASON 38. (click "read more" to watch!)

Cronuts

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ALERT, ALERT. Everyone. There is a new development in America that everyone needs to be aware of. It's called the cronut.

Wonderful T Swift in Wonderland Magazine

Here's one thing I'm just about sure of: if Taylor Swift and I met in real life, we'd probably be best friends. It all adds up. We both jumped on the blonde-with-bangs bandwagon. We both like to sing about how awful people are sometimes (one of us a little more publicly, though). We both enjoy some red lipstick. She likes to pretend she's from the south; I am actually am from the south. I don't see one reason why it wouldn't work out.

Here's another thing that I'm positive about: T Swift is looking foine in the newest issue of Wonderland Magazine where she's the cover girl. Seriously, look at these great pictures:

Summer Bucket List

Summertime means a lot of sunshine, shorts, relaxing, (and too bad for me, some summer school.) It can also mean a lot of free time. Not too sound like too much fun, but sometimes too much free time can make me antsy. I get used so to being a busy bee that when I'm not I feel like I am falling behind or missing out. In order to prevent me from turning into an antsy pants and to make the most out of the summer, I decided to make a list of summertimey activities that I can turn to when a case of the free-times gets to me. So here it is, my Summer Bucket List!

Pick a little animal and put it in your pocket...

I am currently in a war with my sinuses. They are winning. 

In other news, I'm working on developing some new blog series for the summertime. I'm excited about what's in the works. In the mean time, I just had to post about these little cuties. I MEAN, JUST LOOK.

 LITTLE POCKET TOTUMS! I never knew there was such a thing. These guys are made by Handy Maiden visit her shop on Etsy. Browse the whole collection there.

Vuka Art Show

I had heard about Vuka, which is a multi-purpose space that offers the perfect environment for events, classes, or just about anything else, but I had never had an excuse to stop by to take a look. A few weeks ago, I was lucky to get my timing right and happen upon their monthly Art Party. The space is beautiful. It is a perfect combination of rustic and contemporary elements.

At the art party, Vuka displayed the works of several local artists in space. My favorite part, however, was the giant wooden fish that the guests could decorate and demonstrate their own artistic skills on throughout the night.

Here are some pictures from the event:

The fish and the fish decorating supplies!

How cool are their lights?!

Vuka has weekly yoga classes along with several other events each month. Be sure and check out their next Art Party in June if you're in Austin!

5 GOLDEN RINGS!

"IF YOU LIKE IT, PUT A RING ON IT" is what my finger has been saying to my brain lately. I have never truly been a ring-wearer. For one, I am a victim of what scientists call "tiny fingers", and nice size 5 fashion rings aren't just falling from the sky. Also, I've always found that if you start wearing rings your fingers feel extra naked when they're not wearing them. And that could turn into an expensive habit, my friends!

However, as of lately, I feel especially inclined to hunt down the perfect everyday ring. I think they add such personality, style, and a little twinkle to your digits. Plus, it occurred to me I spend so much time making sure my face looks good in the morning, and I can't even see that! I see my hands all the time. Time to make you guys pretty. Sorry I'm just not getting to it.

Here are my favorite ring finds so far. Tell me what you think or if you have any suggestions (if something rings a bell...haha).

1.

My faaaavorite so far.

2.

Nice and Earthy.

3.

Every ring from Odette is beautiful. 

4.

Love the shape.

5.

It's a fox!

Backyard Summer Parties

Guys, I have got the itch. The party itch. Maybe it's the great wedding I just went to, maybe it's the beautiful weather, or maybe it's my innate party animal that just can't be tamed, but I am feeling the urge to throw a backyard shindig.

Although this is really just a pipe dream (I mean, apartment complexes don't exactly have backyards...), I was hugely inspired by the work of Yeah! Rentals. They specialize in a unique, Mid-Century kind of chic that is perfect for a backyard summer bash. 

Yeah! Rentals outfitted several parties that are great eye candy for those who are looking to plan an event, or for those that just want to live vicariously through pretty pictures. My favorite events I saw were the always beautiful DesignLoveFest's Mixology Event and a "Send-Off to Parenthood Party" (to awesome to just be called a baby shower) for a Texan and Australian native who were expecting. I am honestly green with envy over both of these events. They are almost too pretty to be real! Check out my favorite images from those events and some other great Yeah! Rental set-ups below. 

See the Mid-Century Texan Outback Baby Shower here.

See DesignLoveFest's Mixology event here.

And, of course, the amazing Yeah! Rentals here. 

All the other event images can be found on Yeah! Rental's blog.

The Weekend

You guys! What a weekend! First off, Friday I found out that I was one of sixteen accepted into the Texas Creative Sequence in the advertising program. I honestly lept for joy when I found out. It's a program that grooms advertising students to become art directors or copywriters. It's among the best, most competitive programs of its kind in the country. I cannot wait to begin!!

As soon as I found out that piece of wonderful news, I was off to a wonderful rehearsal dinner. This was the start of a whole weekend full of wedding festivities in honor of our friends Maggie and Travis. Both the wedding and the rehearsal dinner were too much fun and absolutely beautiful. They had tacos, mini pies, a photo booth, and nonstop dancing. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

For even more pictures- follow me on instagram!