"say cheese"

life as a ballerina, according to my phone:

{here are lots of pictures from the weekend of performances}

sorry for the lack of posts this weekend.

i've been a tad bit busy with performing, family in town and finals.

so for now, pictures will have to do. 

nutcracker has come and gone already. crazy.  

i hope you had a lovely weekend full of christmas parties and peppermint goodies. 

we {my family and us lovebirds} are headed to san francisco tomorrow.

crewser's first trip there. any suggestions out there? what to show him in one day...?

{happy holidays}

can you believe christmas is in one week from today?

i can't. however, i'm greatly anticipating being home for the holidays. 

watch this:

thought this was quite funny.

i also thought i would share a little clip of our company performing the nutcracker.

{click here}

the whole clip is magical. 

{but if you are my mother or my husband, start watching the clip at minute 1:35}

happy hump day to you all.

one more day of studying and one more final and then it's time to party!

good luck to all those out there finishing up the semester. 

xoxo

a few little things:

things from this week include:

1. wearing cozy sweaters to study for finals in.

why not be comfy when you are stressing out? 

2. mailing out our christmas cards.

yes, we did send one to the president of the united states.

why not? everyone can use some holiday cheer.

3. a day off {monday} included a lunch date to greens with lovebird.

greens: an organic market with delicious food and treats, of course.

4. flowers from my nutcracker performances.

my house smells delicious and they make me smile as i'm reminded of how much i love to dance.

those are just a few of my favorite things right now.

hope you are all having lovely weeks.

i'd love to hear your favorites from the week.

xoxo

it's show time!

nutcracker has begun. wahoo! 

nothing brings in the holidays like performing the nutcracker.

this past week was consumed by hours at the theater. 

other than my body feeling like it's been hit by a train, 

it feels so good to be done performing the first week of shows.

now... unto the next week!

{sometimes i can't believe we do it all over again. it's almost like hitting a repeat button.}

however, i'm excited to get the chance to perform again.

my lovely parents are coming into town this week. i can't wait to see them.

i am extremely nervous for whats ahead of me. 

but, anxious and happy to share it with those i love most.

this weekend was snow queen and next weekend is sugar plum.

hard, challenging, nerve-wracking yet exhilarating, fun and rewarding.  

another week of rehearsals, time with the parents, performing, and finals....

here i go! wish me luck. 

xoxo

a proud sister

yesterday was quite eventful.

it started bright and early with two performances of the nutcracker.

onto work, studying for finals and cooking dinner.

then we decided to be festive, and decorate our christmas tree. 

{despite how exhausted we both were.}

on a typical day of the lovebirds, decorating the christmas tree would normally seem 

like the grand event. the big bang. 

but yesterday, something super special and exiting happened.

my little brother

[aka: crewser, my best friend, c-cup and crewber]

received his mission call to.....

mexico city!

awesome, right?

{if you have no clue what i am talking about, click here.}

he is going foriegn, which he wanted desperately.

 he is also learning spanish. which, in my opinion, is such a useful language to learn.

lovebird and i being beyond excited for him quickly did some research to find out

where exactly our brother, who is growing up way too fast, 

would be spending the next two years of his life. 

he is going to an incredible place full of culture, history and people.

fun little fact: the population of just the metropolitan area is a little over 21 million people.

that is a ton of people. holy cow.

 anyway, we couldn't be happier for him.

i'm already trying to imagine life "without" him for two years. it's going to be ruff.

good thing for handwritten letters, and two phone calls home a year.

looks like i'll have another nickname to add to the list... elder carlson.

i promise to post some photos and a video of him opening his call very soon.

we are beyond elated for you, crew. 

xoxo

wrap me up in a scarf, please.

the other night while i was being productive,

lovebird was being a little rascal.

he's new to the whole instagram scene. 

{that being said, he probably will always be "new" to it.}

but, while frantically doing my homework and crafting,

i finally decided to call it a night and go to bed.

i walk into the bedroom and lovebird has a little smirk on his face.

i know he has done something.

he breaks into a little laughter as he says,

"have you checked instagram lately?"

 i instantly said, "oh no... what did you post?"

{thinking he posted a picture of our dirty laundry, or the dust on our shelf, or an awkward picture of me from 5th grade, or something that would completely embarrass me...}

already preparing for a huge pillow fight, i grab a pillow in one hand
and my phone in the other.

i check instagram to find a picture posted of .... my scarves.

instantly feeling relieved and just slightly embarrassed at the number of scarves i own.

i look at him and just shake my head as i release my tight grip on the pillow.

i guess the world knows my obsession to scarves now.

lovebird thinks i have far too many.

i don't think i have enough.

he thinks i have enough to have a boutique.

i think i may ask for another one for christmas.

is this obsession sickening? possibly.

do i fall into that category of "americans owning more than necessary"? yes, i do.

can you borrow a scarf? yes, come on over to my boutique. 

i'd love to share my obsession and collection with you.

happy tuesday friends.

life is better wrapped up in a scarf. 

fun fact: if your neck is warm, the overall temperature of your body is warmer. 

keep this in mind as the cold weather comes our way this winter! 

p.s. it's a good thing he only posted a picture of some of my scarves.

 you'd really be in shock if you saw them all.

tech week:

{tutu's and holy berries. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.}

well... it's begun.

theater week, that is. 

this week is also known as one of the

 busiest, most stressful, happiest, most fun, and craziest weeks of the year.

it's a joy to be in the theater all week.

the hours are hard and long.

being in a dressing room with your friends for hours on end is a blast.

the performances are nerve wracking but exciting.

nutcracker music 24-7 is overwhelming, yet makes it feel like christmas every day.

trying to be a wife, a student a 'personal shopper', and a piano teacher 

while spending 70 hours in the theater this week...
might be a little crazy to say the least. 

that being said... performing is one of the best parts about being a ballerina. 

the stage, the audience, the lights and the expectations are thrilling.

theater week is all worth it in the end.

oh but wait, then we turn around and do it all again next week.

the life of a ballerina is a busy one.

life is lovely right now.

how can it not be when visions of sugar plums dance in your head?