Last Days in CO!

It has been another great couple of days in Colorado! It really is perpetually sunny here- which is good, because I don't think I could deal with the cold weather otherwise! We've had a bunch of beautiful days lately- clear and crisp! We drove up to Boulder one day. While there, we looked around the shops at Pearl Street- and more importantly, I had one of the most amazing lunches of my life at The Kitchen. It was braised chicken over Israeli cous cous with chorizo, kale, and carrots. I'm really disappointed that it didn't occur to me that I should take a picture of the dish until after I had completely devoured it. But it really was the most flawless autumn dish and definitely made the list of the top 5 lunches of my life. (This list doesn't actually exist... but now I'm thinking it should).

We went to two DU hockey games. They were really fun to watch! I'm a little envious that Emily gets to go to hockey games for her school. I think I can count on one hand how many SCAD athletic events I experienced. Artists and athletics don't really have much overlap! But maybe I can find some hockey games in or around New York to go to.

Yesterday, I went to Winter Park with my family to go snowmobiling. It was a ton of fun! I had never been around so much snow before. The drive was really beautiful. Snow was hanging on the branches of the evergreen trees and the snow had started to crystalize on the ground and was super shimmery! The snowmobiles were just like fourwheelers and really easy to drive. The trail that we rode on was awesome! We got a lot of great pictures of the scenery!

Tomorrow we leave for Vegas. I'm really excited to see the city for the first time. I also convinced my family to take a trip to the Hoover Dam- which I'm really looking forward to! I'll have some pictures posted of that in the next few days! Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is about to come to a close- but before I crawled in bed to sleep off my food coma I thought I would make a little blog post in the spirit of Thanksgiving! Today, I am thankful for many, many things:

- I am thankful for my family of course and all of the love and support that they have given me! I'm really thankful that they encourage me to be who I am and to follow my dreams.

- I am thankful for all of my friends: the ones who I have grown up with and the ones who came into my life in Savannah.  I'm thankful for the laughs, the company, and all of the memories.

- I am thankful for my education, my soon-to-arrive diploma, and the opportunity to find a career doing what I love. Actually loving your studies and your job, I realize is a rarity. I feel really privileged to be able pursue something that I am so passionate about.

- I am thankful for my boyfriend Ross, who has been my best friend for over two years now=] 

- I am thankful for the past 3 1/2 years in Savannah- a beautiful town that I will miss tremendously.

-I am thankful for this new chapter of my life and the possibilities that it holds.

-AND OBVIOUSLY, like the crazy cat lady that I am- I am thankful for my cats, Simba and Mango. If you have had the pleasure of knowing them, I'm sure you are thankful too=] Haha! 

(Ross, if you read this, please don't judge me... AND notice that I put you above the cats)

My first week as a SCAD Grad!

 My first week since the end of the quarter has been quite eventful. I spent Friday packing up my apartment, lunching with my friend Allie, and (like every other girl between 15 & 35) seeing the new Twilight movie. We had puppy playtime at lunch- it was a great way to get over the stress of finals and packing. And the Twilight movie was (as usual) awful and wonderful at the same time. I left Savannah early Saturday morning. It was a little sad to see my gutted closet. Its been a great apartment- and I'll definitely miss it when I leave. I took a little homage picture of my apartment when I left so that I can wistfully look back when I'm in a teensy NY apartment.

When I arrived back in Tallahassee, my family took me out to Kool Beanz, my favorite restaurant! The next two days I hunted down cold weather clothes, got to catch up with my grandparents, and worked on unpacking from Savannah and repacking for Colorado. Yesterday we arrived in Colorado to spend Thanksgiving in Denver with my sister. I'm definitely more of a warm weather person, but it has been nice to get some use out of my scarves, gloves, and boots! My parents had surprised us with tickets to see the Lion King broadway musical, so we went to that last night. It was SO good. It is hard not to get a little sniffly actually knowing the wonder that is East Africa. Watching Lion King makes me wish I was back in Tanzania so badly.

This morning we drove to Estes Park. The drive was really lovely. I love day trip adventures and the quick transition from plains to mountains here. It makes for really interesting scenic drives! Our drive today led us to lots of snow and hundreds of Elk! The snow covered mountains were very beautiful (though it was nice knowing that I could turn around and go back to Denver and not worry with the snow there). The elk were incredible! There were so many of them and they were really rather unphased by the tons of people following them around to watch and take pictures. I got some good ones on my phone and on my Nikon. But the Nikon photos will have to wait- as I forgot my card reader. So here are some iphone snapshots of my day!

Finally the Finale

Today is officially my last day as an undergrad at SCAD! I woke up this morning and met my class down on River Street to get beignets for breakfast. My teacher even got me a little graduation gift. Its a toy cat that she sewed a tiara on (turns out everyone knows that I have love for cats and jewels). And now if I can't take my real kitties with me to New York, I have a miniature bejeweled cat who can travel with me instead- haha! I thought it was super sweet of her.

I was a little sad to leave SCAD at a time where everyone is so busy with their work and getting ready to leave for the holidays. My boyfriend, Ross, and friend, Tim, aren't even in town today to celebrate (as they are on their way to Atlanta for a class presentation). So, I felt a little bit like I might just complete my classes and slip out of Savannah unnoticed. I guess I wanted to feel like today was a monumental day marking the end of a chapter- but was afraid it would be just another Thursday. But I was really happily surprised with the way my day turned out.

Along with the gift from my professor, my friend Kelsey also got me a departing gift of Cap'n Crunch (my beloved cereal that I spoke of in studio all too frequently and passionately). After class, I was able to go out to dinner with some of my metals and jewelry family. It is a little sad to part with the people who I have studied along side of for the past few years. We all learned how to do the basics together: sawing and soldering metal. And now I feel like we have each developed such a unique aesthetic and skill set. I've been so lucky to be surrounded by such diverse and talented people. I'm sad that I won't be able to keep up with how their work evolves and where it takes them in person as I've been able to up until now. After dinner and departing with them, I headed back to my apartment to meet the boys: Colin, Jackson, and Jonathan. They surprised me with a really, really thoughtful card and a bouquet of flowers. It was exactly what I needed and made me realize that my departure wasn't going to go unnoticed. It really meant a lot to me. (I tried not to cry too much since my gift givers were all boys).

So thank you to all of my friends! Thanks for making my last day as monumental as I had hoped and for making me feel loved. My time with all of you in Savannah has meant so much to me and I shall miss you all! But I can't wait to see where life will take us and hopefully many of our paths will cross again! Love you guys!!!

Last week at SCAD

Well, it is a little surreal- but my last week at SCAD has finally arrived. It seems odd that nearly four years have already passed... but I'm also excited to finally be a part of the so-called "real world". I've had so many great times in Savannah and have learned so much- both about Metals & Jewelry and about myself. It feels so strange to realize that after 7:30 on Thursday, I will be a college graduate. Its even stranger to think about moving away from Savannah- the place I have called home for the past number of years. It has its quirks- but it really is charming and beautiful. I feel like I took my surroundings for granted quite a bit while here. It is a stunning and unique town, and I'm actually really glad that I wrapped up my degree this quarter with a class on the architectural history of Savannah. I've lived here for years, but this class really made me see Savannah in a way that I had not looked at it before. I'm definitely going to miss this city- and all of its beauty and peculiarities.

That being said though, I feel that my life is heading in an exciting new direction and will be taking me to new thrilling places. A change of scenery and a little adventure is always nice. All my life, I've heard, "you can be anything you want to be". That's what they teach in school. You just need to "set your mind to it" and "get a college education". I'm realizing that now, I have completed both of the requirements- and it is finally time to be what I want to be.

I really feel like Friday is the first day of the rest of my life. I guess every tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives... but this one is different. Its not just another day of school, another day of meeting deadlines, another day closer to my degree- it is the first day in the next chapter of my life. It is time to begin my hugest journey yet: Life After College. I've been making jewelry since I was 12. All I want to do is be a jewelry designer. I want to see my creations in stores or being worn walking down the sidewalk in New York or LA. I'm so excited that now is the time that I get to make my dreams become reality. I am thrilled to move to New York in January. I can't wait to study jewelry design at the Gemological Institute of America, hunt the dream job, and network with other young designers. I want to make the most of living in one of the fashion capitals of the world. Not to mention, I can't wait to experience the glamour and romanticized hype that is New York: Empire State of Mind, Sinatra's New York, New York, When Harry Met Sally, Sex and the City. I can't wait! I'm sure my life there won't be nearly so glamourous. And my living space will probably be a fraction of the size of Carrie's closet. And it may be overcrowded and overrated and smelly and frustrating... but I also think it will be kind of magical.

So, though I am sad to leave the friends and city that I have loved for so long, I am really excited to begin my new adventure. I rushed out of high school on a mission to grow up and do art. And now I've rushed out of college on a mission to grow up and be a designer. So on Friday, I declare myself a (mostly) grown-up! Maybe if I do it right and become the best designer I can be...I can have a Carrie sized closet someday! A girl has to have a dream!

I thought that my new life chapter deserved a new blog! My blog will now be separate from my professional website. So this is where you can find  me, my stories, and a report on my ongoing quest to become (as my friend MC would say) a "jewelry designer extraordinaire"!