His promises

Behold, I will create

new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I will create,

for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

and its people a joy.

I will rejoice over Jerusalem

and take delight in my people;

the sound of weeping and of crying

will be heard in it no more.

Never again will there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not live out his years;

he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth;

he who fails to reach a hundred

will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree,

so will be the days of my people;

my chosen ones will long enjoy

the works of their hands.

They will not toil in vain

or bear children doomed to misfortune;

for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,

they and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

but dust will be the serpent's food.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,"

says the LORD.

Isaiah 65:17-25

Honestly, I know I am such a nerd...

BUT the highlight of my week last week was downloading this and this and this onto my laptop.

No more long hours in a dimly lit, scary attic mac lab for me anymore.

Now I just need Katie to teach me how to use Illustrator, then I'll be set:)

My face probably looked rather similar to this...overcome with joy and excitement.  Nearly the excitement I had over the chocolate melting cake we ate every night on the cruise.

My people

So in the midst of trying not to drown in all my school work, I am so thankful I have all of these people keeping me sane and supporting me throughout this year back home.

These Houston peeps came to Birmingham this weekend:



Photo from when C and I visited Texas a couple weeks ago.

 And some of my other friends threw a "Fall Dinner Party." Doesn't that sound so grown up?  I find myself looking at these pictures at different points in my week to remind myself that I do, in fact, have a life outside of school and work right now.

Why can't we all still live in Birmingham?

Sweet Meg (on the right) has her own blog here.

One of my mottos in life

Photo from Miss Ingredient Cake Company

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

-Ernestine Ulmer

What white chicks cherish

from sodahead.com

Considering I am working towards a Master's degree in Public Relations and Advertising, I was still able to appreciate the raw candor of the topic of this blog post:

Careers in Public Relations

White Chicks Cherish Careers in Public Relations and only Pharmaceutical Sales rivals PR in its white-chick-work-force dominance. Public Relations is a grueling and restless occupation—appointed with the dutiful task of portraying a perfect, socially acceptable appearance for exacting clients. And who expertly knows more about putting a glorious shine on appearance than the only species of human being capable of making sweat pants look adorable?

PR requires meticulous attention to detail, the ability to be charming in all social settings and a natural inclination for constant communication. There are plenty of social functions to plan and attend, demanding a relentless work ethic, a photogenic sense of style and the inherent need for of an arsenal of cute outfits. White chicks in PR work hard and play hard; the lines between the two commonly blurred. A Career in Public Relations affords white chicks dependable income and the chance to be engaged in social media while having an engaging social life. And they basically get to spend 40-plus hours a week talking to other white chicks.

White chicks were born for PR.

--from What White Chicks Cherish

I will say the field of Public Relations involves a whole heck of a lot more than playing on social media and attending social events, all day, Sir.

Get me in the kitchen, please!

Chloe from Bippityboppityboo

So, every fall bloggers go crazy. I mean CRAZY with the arrival of this season.

I have been reading about pumpkins, leaves changing, football games, tailgating, chilli, scarves, boots, etc. for about a month now.

Don't get me wrong I love the beautiful weather this season brings and all the fabulous fall accessories that I get to break out of my wardrobe.

But all of these delectible-looking pumpkin recipes are killing me.  I have had zero time to test any of them out. That is coming to an end this weekend.

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread, here I come. (I know, I though it sounded strange when I first read the recipe, too. But bloggers have been raving about it.)

Hayden, I am going to try your recipe.  A saturday afternoon of baking, football, and studying awaits me tomorrow!

Study break

So this week I have felt sort of like this:

Photo from rockonmommies.com

So I decided that a good way to decompress before I started working on homework again would be....what else?

GLEE!

And better yet....Glee singing "Empire State of Mind."

Now, didn't that just put you in the best mood?

Communication theory test, here I come.

Holy Moly

Check out the email I woke up to this morning from the Crew:



Courtesey of J. Crew

Now I can shop outlet prices from my computer.

Oh, how I love thee, J. Crew.

Oh, how my bank account has differring sentiments over you, though.

Is everything really bigger in Texas?

So this weekend, after I turn in 3 separate school projects all due on the same day (hooray!), I am packin up and headin west.

To TEXAS that is.

To see meet this one:

And to visit these two. (The newly married couple.):

So if you know anything about Houston, please don’t be shy to holler at me. Because all I know is that I’m thinking my boots are going to be a necessity in my suitcase.

War Eagle, Hotty Toddy, RTR, Gator Chomp.....

Now, I love me some good SEC football, but I must admit that I am probably equally excited about the delectable tailgating cuisine options that accompany this time of the year.


Apparently, Southern Living and I are on the exact same page.


Check out some of my favorites that I have come across:

Texas Caviar

Photo from caviergalore.com and recipe found here.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew (for those chilly football tailgates in Alabama that don't happen until November):

Photo and recipe from Southernliving.com

7 Layer Mexican Dip (Oh yeah...it's a classic party pleaser):

Photo from recipe.com and recipe found here.

The brownie (Okay, you knew I had to fit a little chocolate into this mix):

Photo from whatscookingamerica.com and recipe from here.

Beer-Cheese Spread (Never tried it, but it peaked my interest...)

Photo and recipe found at SouthernLiving.com

P.S. To my family and C,

Get ready for some of these recipes to come to fruition this weekend because creating this post has put me in the cooking mood!

Who's ready?!!!

Photo courtesy of today's Who What Wear

The wait is almost over.  My tivo is already set.

I have a date with Serena and Blair on Monday night in Paris.

Ohhhh yeah.

Whoa, Nelly....

Soooo, a lot has happened since that Memorial Day post.  After my mono-induced hiatus from this world, I am determined to be back and be bigger than ever--well, we'll see if I can make that happen between my 20-hour work week and my 12 hours of Master's classes I'm juggling:)

Update
I moved from a city of one million to a booming metropolis of 93,000 inhabitants.....see below.

My new home

Have you figured it out?...Well, maybe this next clue will help you out.  I had to don a different kind of dress for the first game day of the season....I guess you could say my dress had a slight crimson hue...

Denny

That's right folks, this gal who has always felt drawn to the quaintest little college town on the plains has found herself smack dab in the middle of Crimson Tide country. Not only that, but I am now employed by the city of Tuscaloosa. Who would have thunk it?

Needless to say, I am trying to keep an open mind and learn as much as I can.  This school is rather large compared to my precious SU.

So, by the end of this year I will be a self-proclaimed PR nerd and hopefully that much closer to having a job where I can submerge myself in communications day-in and day-out....fingers crossed.

So, this is where I'll be posting from now on....just don't be expecting to hear any "Roll Tides" from this chick....after all, I'm a Samford bulldog at heart:)

Ohhhh yeah....super pumped about this one

Who wants to go with me to see this? Wish Ash bash was closer. I know I could totally count on her to eat this up alongside of me.

Happy late Memorial Day

What better way to spend it than at a Braves game with my best friend?

The Braves tore the Phillies up just in case you were wondering.

It's here!

So, I know I have been absolutely totally and completely neglectful of my little blog this past semester. But summer is finally here, so I am going to try to be better about it!

Most importantly, this momentous day absolutely deserved a post. Madewell, owned by my beloved J Crew Group, is now selling merchandise online!

And, as if I needed anything else to add to my excitement, I instantly spotted the dress pictured above appropriately dubbed "Pointillist Dress."

Only those of us fortunate enough to have taken an art history class or two back in our college years (ahem, like this was so long ago for me) can appreciate this name.*

*Pointillism: is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. 

Kentucky Derby hat-a-tude

So the Kentucky Derby is officially one month away. My sweet friend from Louisville has invited around 20 of us to make the trek up to the horse country for a Saturday afternoon spent sipping mint juleps, scanning for celebs (they spotted Kim Kardashian last year), drooling over Lily Pulitzer sundresses, watching "the most exciting two minutes in sports," and maybe placing a couple bets (well, at least that's what the Boy is wanting to do).

Herein lies my only dilemma with this brilliant weekend. I need a hat.  Where does one go to purchase a hat? Or should I attempt to make my own...but if I do that, will it scream "I'm homemade"? I just am not educated on this whole hat deal...

So, if anyone has any creative ideas or insider's knowledge on the mysterious world of hats, please allow me to become privy.

Otherwise, my research begins now...

For additional show-stopping hat apparel, check out this site.

Sand and the waves...and some style-decorating ideas

While I put this together back in February, the appearance of my 15 Beach-style decorating ideas on SL's site could not have been timed more perfectly. Having just come off my Spring Break-in-Mexico high and trying to acclimate to the forty-degree weather Birmingham boasted today, my heart was yearning for the coast.

What can I say? There's just something so appealing about returning to the beaches of Cozumel, a pina colada in hand with 20 of my best girl friends...beats writing a paper in Women and Evangelism any day.

          Mary Katherine, you're planning on returning that 'lil creature to the ocean right...?:)

I have found the dress for my last college formal (Oh, how I wish).

 Kate Bosworth in the most fabulous dress ever designed. Photo from InStyle.

Whilst flipping through InStyle, my guiding light in the fashion world, my heart skipped a beat gazing upon Kate Bosworth's Sonia Rykiel dress.

Personally, I gravitate towards three distinct elements when shopping for a formal affair and this dress easily met the criteria:

1) You've gotta love a good bow. This bow is a statement in itself. Sonia Rykiel must have some architectural skills because the structure of this dress created by the bow is stunning.


2) A little sparkle, a little glitz, a little glam. Hello sequins! These are screaming to be admired.


3) Killer shoes. Also by 79-year-old Rykiel, these works of art zip up in the back. The toughness of the heels balance out the old school glamour the dress radiates.

A lesson on sociology of the genders

                                          We know how to do a "girls night out."

Samford University's guy to girl ratio is something around 40:60. So for all of you fellow journalists who need me to further break that number down for you, that equates to three girls for every two guys. Not so stellar odds for all the single ladies out there.

As a second semester senior living amongst these odds for the past four years, my girlfriends and I have had ample (dateless) nights to concoct some theories on the repercussions of the deficient male population on our campus.

Here are a few of the theories we have come up with:

1. Because there are so many girls to choose from, the boy is allowed to "play the field." There is never the pressure or need to commit to one girl for fear of not finding anyone else. Because, "Why tie yourself down to one girl when you can casually date several at a time?"

2. Because of the unusually off-kilter gender ratio, dating is taken super seriously. And if by chance, a certain girl and guy are seen together on more than one occasion, everyone automatically assumes that there must be something going on between them.

3. With so few guys on campus, girls become extremely competitive for the few "available" boys and feel the need to initiate the process of "pursuing" into their own hands.

Well, girls, I have some good news. We are not alone. NYTimes just released an article confirming our theories and even building on some of them.

If you're looking to me for a solution to this perplexing situation, I am sorry to disappoint. But, please, take solace in the fact that we have fellow females around the country fighting the same battle.

My very own little byline

Did I mention that I became an expertise on laundry rooms over winter break?

"Whether your washer and dryer are tucked away in a tiny nook or are settled in a spacious basement, utilize every square inch of the area. With limited shelving, keep your workspace as simplistic as possible to avoid clutter."

Read/see the rest of my web gallery on organizing laundry rooms on Southern Living's website.