Two Posts in One!

School is starting to become a reality again. Yesterday, Tabitha and I drove out to school to pick up some books and get our lockers and practice room keys. The office where we normally check out our lockers was deserted, the other office wouldn't give out keys yet, and some of my books still aren't in. Besides the fact that we didn't accomplish all of our goals, we had the best time ever! We picked up lunch on the way in and then ate it in the middle of the music hall. We just sat and ate. Right in the middle. Not a soul was present. Such a contrast from what I know will be come Monday.

Later I heard piano music coming from a practice room. It was one of my classmates! I can't tell you how I excited I was to see her! She has a recital coming up next week, so Tabitha and I got a short preview. Oh, I'm so ready to get back to practicing, taking lessons, playing for my classmates, listening to others, etc.

After journeying back to a parking garage that was too far away (especially in this hot, humid weather at 1:00pm!), we drove to my hair salon - without AC most of the way! Trust me when I say it's not a short distance! Probably about a 50 minute drive, I'd guess. Eck! I always have such a way of arriving to the salon looking my absolute worst. Poor Kim. I really don't give her much to work with, but she's a master beautifier. I love my haircut!

It seemed Friday night was going to be a fairly uneventful evening, but it turned out to be quite the opposite! Mom, Dad, Tali, Julia, Carissa, and I all went to dinner together. It was so much fun! I love when I get to see my sister during the week; sunday just isn't enough. Afterward, Mom, Tali, and I went to purchase the most amazing jeans. I. Love. Gap. Jeans. The end. Not really. Short story...

I have this favorite pair of Gap jeans that I bought three years ago. Unfortunately, I only bought one pair (okay, they were expensive) and then they were discontinued. Remember this commercial from 2006? (Okay, maybe only I'm weird like that. And I don't even watch TV!) It's a clip from the movie Funny Face, and it advertised Gap's new line of skinny jeans. For the last three years, I've been regretting the fact that I didn't buy another pair. After all, they're my favorite pair. I've worn them nonstop for the last three years, and they're just now starting to wear. Okay, enough about those jeans. Last night, I purchased the same jeans! Yes, they've come around again, and I can't tell you how excited I am! I've always said I'd pay twice as much for another pair. Thankfully, I got them cheaper! Tali also found a perfect fit, so it was a very successful shopping trip!

This morning I cleaned my room and went through my clothes. I've set aside a good amount of things to give away. There's just no reason to keep what I don't wear. Three pairs of other jeans I purchased during Gap's interim period were the first things in the give-away pile. I've parted with a pair of shoes, a handful of shirts, a skirt, some pants/shorts, and even two dresses! Ah, it feels good to purge the closet and dresser. Since I was already in the mood, I couldn't stop at clothes! I went through some old school papers and cleaned out my file for this semester. I feel so much more prepared for Monday! As soon as I finish this post, I'm going to work on some school forms that I've been needing to finish since January. =/ Maybe after that I'll reward myself with a swim. That water is calling my name!

On to post number two! Sorry this is so long!

Thursday and Friday = Baking frenzy!

My friend Kate asked me to make some desserts for our friend Kelly's surprise birthday party. Of course I complied. Of course I went all out and made more work than was necessary. Of course it was tons of fun! :D

Haylee and I did a lot of the preliminary stuff Wednesday night. Here she is with the gummy worms... (Sorry, I don't know how to flip it.)

Here I am making a mess with the beaters. My poor mom. I always decide to start a project when she has something important coming up. There's a wedding shower at my house tonight, so Haylee and I had to be on our best behavior in the kitchen! I can't say we didn't make a mess, but we cleaned up after ourselves spectacularly!
Here you see the beginnings of a double-layer yellow cake with chocolate fudge buttercream filling.
The biggest issue was fitting this cake into the fridge. It's quite bit. But on top of that, I'd mixed up pudding and frosting. They needed to fit, as well!

Thursday I had to decorate and assemble everything. Tali and Josh helped me out. James helped, too, of course. Tori helped so much, as well! She painted the pots for our dirt pudding dessert. Thank you, Tori! They were beautiful!

How can this cute face do anything but aid in the creative process?

Mom loved being with James. She'd already spent time with Julia and the trips that day, but she definitely wasn't sick of babies.

Awww!
So here's the finished cake product. I must say that I was quite pleased. (What? A perfectionist pleased? Okay, so I didn't care for the butterfly trail too much or the fact that I neglected placing a comma in a direct address, but I let it go. ;) Hooray for 4-H cake decorating! :)
Look closely at the dirt pudding. Mmmm. Oreos and gummy worms. Underneath is the most heavenly pudding mixture! I definitely cheated and ate chocolate. I had to taste it, right?

And here is the finished product! So many people helped to get this together in time. 

Special thanks to:

Haylee for planning all this with me and keeping me energized!

The L girls for falling in love and having weddings. (Apparently those flowers are from your weddings. Ha ha. :)

Tori for being artistic and spontaneous - and fast!

My mom for letting me wreck her clean kitchen more than once.

Josh for his contribution: "You need to put some butterflies on the cake."

James for being cute.

Tali for helping with the frosting and holding everything in the car! Phew!

4-H for cake decorating projects

And...Kelly for having a birthday! Happy birthday to you!