"It's margaritas when the eggnog's gone..."

Tonight is the much anticipated, annual 'Fayetteville Tacky Sweater Party" and I couldn't be more excited! This tradition started our freshman year of college as a way to get everyone we graduated High School with back together over the Christmas break. It has now grown into quite the social gathering with 150+ people in attendance. It usually gets pretty sloppy so I'll be sure to take some humorous pictures to share with you all! Have a cheerful and SAFE weekend!!

Birthday Re-Cap!

Yesterday morning, Mommy met me at Bliss, the new cupcake baker on the Fayetteville Square! I love Fayetteville and I love cupcakes so this was the perfect combination to start my birthday off right!

...nothing beats a 'very vanilla' for me!..

Yesterday afternoon I met up with friends Kenlie, and Hannah at Cheap Thrills to shop for some great 80's finds! We also ventured up to the NWA mall where we hit the mother load at Forever 21!

Kenlie then treated me to dinner at Panera-- our favorite!

Ken and I got decked out and headed up to Fast Lanes o Rogers to meet up with other friends to celebrate the big 23!

Kenlie and I in our 80's outfits! Yes, Kenlie is wearing a leotard.

Cheese!

My Mommy was very embarrassed...

Anna, me, Samantha, Kenlie, and Lindley about to ride the go-Karts!

Emily, Katelyn, and Rachel showed up just in time (but not in the 80's spirit :( ) to ride to go karts!

Hannah Jones made an appearance when she got off of work! Yess!!

check it out!... If i had the guts this would be my facebook profile picture!

Bride to be Lindley, and Newlywed Samantha!!

Anna, Lindsey, Hannah, me, kenlie, Lindley, and Samantha!

Wanted to thank all these girls for making my birthday so special! You rock! Loves!!

It's my Birfday!

Tomorrow (december 16th) i turn 23! I will be spending the day eating cupcakes, drinking cokes from sonic, a little laser tag and bowling, and of course lots of laughs with friends!

Surprise Package from Across the Pond!

Today I received a surprise package from my Granddad who lives in England. It was so touching and thoughtful and honestly brought tears to my eyes. I don't see this man nearly as much as I'd like!

My parents are both British. My dad grew up in Lowestof England, an eastern fishing town, and my mommy grew up in Hastings England, a southern seafront town where on clear day to can see France across the channel! My parents moved to the states a few weeks after they got married and have lived here ever since. We all try to go over every summer to visit all of our family but sometimes all of our schedules conflict and it becomes harder than we originally thought.

Some of my fondest memories from when I was younger are memories of sitting in my Granddad's living room (my grandmother dies of cancer when I was 18 mos old) during the evenings when we would go visit. I have ALWAYS had this obsession with the second world war perhaps because my family all have first hand experiences and thrilling stories to tell. My Granddad was only in his teens during the war but still has hundreds of stories of air raids, blackouts, and bombings. One of my favorite stories he's told me is when he was 15 or so and heard a German air craft come flying in over the sea. He was down at the garage (gas station) in the Old Town and didn't want his mother to be home alone during the raid. (this was earlier on during the war) As he was running as fast as he could home he looked over his left shoulder and made eye contact with the German pilot (apparently they flew VERY low to the ground) who turned a blind eye and flew past him. He has always said he's never felt his heart sink as much as that moment.

(Granddad, Me, and Joy at their wedding two summers ago)

If you've been over to my house you'll know I have three 'Keep Calm and Carry On' original posters framed on my living room wall. I ordered these originals from Barter Books in London. It's one of the three posters produced by the British Government's Ministry of Information on the eve of the odd World War in 1939. The other two were 'Freedom is in Peril' and 'Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory."

Today my Granddad sent me a little gift... this little book. It's a modest attempt at inspiration for hard times. I sat and read every quote inside. I love it!...
Although, the best part of the package was a letter my Granddad had written to me about a part of the war he didn't know much about but had memories of and wanted to share them with me. He had written out two pages of his experience, and thoughts of his evacuation during the war. Here's a few parts...

"I was 9 years old when I was evacuated away from Hastings, it was in 1940 and I went with my mother, my granddad ad Grandmother. My Father had to stay home and work. I cannot remember anything about the journey but we arrived at Wells in Somerset and we were billeted in a school ever night. I cannot remember much about that time except that I had palled up with another boy who came from New Romney in Kent and we found a sweet shop where we bought some chocolate covered coconut cars, the taste of which stays with me today."

"On the first night we were there we had heard a lot of planes flying aound and the noise of distant bombing which apparently was a Bristol a busy port and city not that far away from us! In the early morning we heard the noise of a low flying aircraft and as we were on the side of a hill we were able to look down on a German bomber! The plane was either in difficulties or was flying low to avoid attention, we never found out which"

"How long we stayed away I cannot remember but eventually we returned to Hastings, the war was still on and as we approached Lewes in Sussex the train was halted in a tunnel because there was an air raid on the town, we were in the tunnel until the all clear was sounded.

What a wonderful evening tonight was!

Weekend Update: My Best Friend is Engaged!

Friday night Luke and I met up to grab some sushi at Shogun after a long week. As we were sitting at the light on Joyce and College one of my best friends, Lindley Summers, called. I hesitated as Luke was listening to the game on the radio and I didn't want to drown it out. Luckily I answered.....

"heeyyy girl!'

"Hey, guess what"

...pause... i knew it...

"I'm engaged!"

...pause.... "Lindley Summers, if you are lying to me I'm going to..."

SIDE NOTE: around this time last year Miss Lindley pulled a prank on me and led me to believe that Brett (her now fiance) had taken her to the casino and proposed to her when they won $1000 dollas. She had a fake ring on and everything and I totally fell for it. For about 20 min. Sooo.... you can understand why I pulled out the pauses! ::resume::

"Kirsten Blowers I am NOT kidding you!"

"OH MY GOSH!!! When? How?"

I'd fill you in on the story BUT I thought I'd leave that up to Lindley herself! Click HERE to read her blog-- she hasn't posted about the engagement yet, but I'm SURE she will soon!

After Luke and grabbed dinner at Shogun (we had a great time by the way and I laughed till I cried-- great dinner with a great boy) we headed over to Brett's apartment to congratulate the happy couple and give Lindley a huuugee hug!

A little about us--

Lindley and I met in 10th grade yet we knew of each other before then. We were close friends all through High School running in the same group of friends but became Best Friends when we both enrolled in the Interior Design program at the U of A where we were roommates sophomore year! We've spent countless hours together and every hour I'm with her I love her more. Lindley is one of the most caring people I have ever met. She has a huge heart and is very compassionate with everyone. I can count on Lindley at any hour of any day for advice, a laugh, a heart to heart, or a gripe out session. She truly is one of my best friends and I can't picture my life without her!

Here's some picture from this weekend... and a trip down memory lane!

Here's the beautiful ring!...

HIllary, Samantha (my friend who got married last month, click HERE), Lindley, and Kirsten!

Interior Design Girls...

Me and Lin...

Hillary capturing a Kodak moment...

We all made Lindley frolic in the rose petals for the perfect engagement night pictures! ha! They actually turned out okay!

Tonight when I met up with Lindley she presented me with this... It's a martini glass with diamonds all around it and a sweet note that says... "From tears to cheers, throughout the years, you've been by my side, now I am going to be a bride! Will you be a bridesmaid?" of course I said YES! When I read this my eyes flooded up with tears! I usually don't get emotional with these things but I thought back on everything we've been through and I just couldn't handle it! Love this girl!

Here's the engaged couple! Lindley and Brett!

Can't wait!!

Now for a little, fun trip down memory lane.... (just a few random pictures from HUNDREDS we have together-- these just happened to be on my computer-- no particular order)

Lin and I at Sam's wedding last month...

Freshman year of College in my dorm room...

OH MAN! Senior Trip 2005 to Mexico! A.) don't know why I'm posing like that and B.) I burned those glasses the minute I touched down in the states....

Homecoming 2004 at Ellas before the dance...

Senior Prom 2005.... My favorite High School Memory! I remember it like it was yesterday!

Lindley and I just before her 'black and white' themed birthday party or Sophmore year in our apartment...

This is us at our finest :) Rolled out of bed and on ANOTHER flipping Interior Design field trip! This one took us to a dam... yes, interior design and a dam...

Sophmore year in Dallas at some Sky Bar! We had a GREAT time this night!

At Strut for a Mutt two years ago...

U of A graduates!!!!

Keep posted for wedding updates on this girl!