When we have theatre parties

Loud talking, hot dogs, strange t-shirts (a surprise every year!), and a chilly nip to the air.

Those things are what I associate with the annual Opening Social for the Theatre/Media Arts college.

And I must say, I liked this year's social better than last year's. Perhaps it was the sunflower centerpieces. Perhaps it was because I knew so many people and was sitting with the noisiest, loudest, craziest group of thespians, all of whom I have worked closely with on theatre productions since March of this year. Perhaps it was the Swedish Fish that someone brought to the party (gotta love red dye #40).

Not pictured: Lindsay.

Because she was busy taking the photo.

I'm a theatre geek. And proud of it.
Oh, how I love these people.

Props to dear Douglas for coming with me and sitting in the midst of a group of people he barely even knows. I'm sure we all seem pretty crazy to him. It's a good thing he did some theatre in high school and has been exposed to my world. Of course, I'm sure he didn't bargain on a wife who goes around singing all of Neil Patrick Harris's past 3 Tony Awards opening numbers for hours on end. Because that's what I was doing yesterday. And I made him watch all the videos with me on Youtube.

And I've been singing Seussical songs for ages. Before that it was Hello, Dolly. And my next broadway soundtrack obsession will probably be Jekyll and Hyde, followed by Little Women. Yes, I plan these things out.

Anyways...

I was cold by the end of the night. Sweater weather!!!!! Come to me!
And I want pumpkin cookies.
Thank goodness for Friday and weekends and the Holy War Rivalry Football Game this weekend. And then there's EviDance, which I have to go see on Saturday night at the same time as the football game. I'm sure the concert will be worth it, but all the exciting stuff in the game better happen during the second half when I'm back from the concert and can watch.

On that note, I'll say good night.

Sometimes you've got to "girl" things up

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we did not have any performances for the play I'm working on. Two whole nights!!!! I was almost at loss for what to do with myself... but Tuesday evening turned into a girls night of sorts. Pardon my lack of pool pictures, I preferred to swim and chat rather than bother with my camera. You can't blame me, right? I did snap one shot, but I'm not in it... I don't think you guys would want to see my super white legs anyways.

And no GNO is complete without dinner and a movie! We stopped by The Awful Waffle for some savory crepes, fries, Italian-style pizza, and dessert waffles. For those of you living in Provo who have never been there... go. Now.

The lighting was horrible for smartphone pictures, but I took some anyways. Look! The tables are made of this black material that you can write on with chalk! And the waffles are to die for. Really truly.

Horrible lighting, am I right? But those waffles taste good, let me tell ya! And then it was back to an apartment to watch... wait for iiiiiiiit... Star Wars. Yes, you heard me. Return of the Jedi. Who said GNO movies had to be chick flicks? For the record, I had Sense and Sensibility in my bag just in case.

Please tell me I'm not alone in my Star Wars fanaticism...
#ItsATrap

Because giraffes are cute

Le former roommate had her baby shower this weekend. Chocolate fondue, giraffe decorations, cute little baby girl clothing, and all. Her baby is going to be so stinkin' cute.

Aren't these the most adorable little shoes? Donnie's mother made them herself! She's considering opening an Etsy shop to sell them, if any of you mamas are interested...

Isn't this the cutest idea? Take baby clothes, stuff them with rolled-up diapers, and put it in a baby bath covered with a fuzzy blanket. I need to remember this idea because it's so stinkin' cute.

This picture is wonderful because of the giraffe balloon sticking up behind Donnie's head.

This one is even better. 'Cuz of the balloon, of course.

Donnie, I miss your face.

Especially because of this picture. You know it's golden.

Also, baby showers make me want to go out and buy every single cute baby outfit in the world. Just a side note.

The food, the weddings, the dancing... and stuff

Wonderful weather
Picnics with perfect-looking "traditional" sandwiches
Birthday crepe dates with my favorite blonde roommate
Weddings for another roommate and a Theatre buddy of mine
Finding out my winter semester grades (10 A's and 1 A minus. Take that, 11 classes!!!!)
Starting a new term
18 hours of dance per week (and that's not counting practicing outside of class)
Daily 3-hour Seussical rehearsals
5 hour Wrinkle In Time rehearsals every other day
Stocking up on Nutella
Eating WAY too much ice cream
My brother coming to stay with us for a night
(And then getting his mission call... West Virginia, baby!)
My father-in-law coming to visit
And treating us to a Japanese Grill and Tucanos
And taking us to see Jurassic Park in 3D (which was awesome)

Between all of those things (and more)
It's been a crazy few weeks.
No wonder I have not been giving my blog any attention.

Not to mention I watched the first 2 seasons of Downton Abbey during my less-than-one-week break between winter semester and spring term, and I'm very annoyed with Amazon for buying the rights to the show so I can't watch season 3 on Netflix or Hulu Plus. (I may or may not have stayed up until 2 in the morning watching episodes back-to-back. No, I do not have a problem.)

It's been a good couple weeks, though, even though they've been crazy busy.

BBQ Chicken and French Kiss Gourmet Crepes 

Right in my backyard.

Sunday naps? Wonderful.

Outdoor Sunday naps right after a picnic? Even better.

The thing about weddings is... I only take a couple pictures. And then I come home wishing I had taken more. Doesn't Emilee look gorgeous? Her whole reception was just so... Emilee. Wonderful.

And I didn't get one picture of Beth's dress on my camera (or any pictures with her, frankly... but the photographers got plenty, so I'm satisfied.) Gah, I can't wait for their pictures to be put up on FB so I can "borrow" one and show you guys. I wanted to steal that dress right off her body, it was so cute!

Oh... and my body may or may not be very angry with me after this week. 18 hours of dance? After going for a couple weeks with no dancing or stretching whatsoever? Yeah. My muscles don't like me. But dancing is just so awesome!

Not to mention I took half of my toenail off on my left big toe. But that's another story.

Alright. Ashley out.

Impromptu Singing

Once upon a time (last school year), I was really involved with acappella singing.

I went to rehearsal for the BYU Acappella Club Choir every single week.

I was a co-founder for a new acappella group called Asymmetric,

which has now grown into a thriving, successful group

and I wish I still had the time to be a part of it.

I have an obsession with acappella music.

Especially when it's done right.

Tonight was the BYU Acappella Jam.

The Club Choir - Audacity - was in need of more female voices.

I just happened to be there

(the Hubs is in an acappella group as well, so I was supporting him)

And so I volunteered to sing with them.

Very last minute.

And I loved doing it.

It has definitely been far too long.

I really miss singing in something other than church choir.

The night ended perfectly with waffles smothered in Nutella and ice cream.

Plus an episode of Doctor Who.

Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd.

Get over it!

OH... and this girl had a bridal shower last weekend.

Did I not mention that?

Oops.

In less that a month, she'll be a Mrs.

Weird...

Yet so awesome! I love it when people get married!

Love ya, Emilee!

GNO: Cupcake Dates

School started again today. Recently, I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with school, but I do believe that this semester will be much more enjoyable than the past semester (even though it will be more busy).

But for the moment, I don't want to talk about school.

Over the weekend, I went on a little GNO with this cute (former) roommate of mine. We went to The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe... because who doesn't like gourmet cupcakes and Mexican Hot Chocolate when it's 10 degrees F outside?

She's cute, just precious, even though every dang picture I took of her turned out pixel-y-ish. Yes, that's a word..........

This was supposed to be a (very) belated birthday outing, but she got engaged recently, so it was more of a "happy engagement!" celebration. Most of our time at the Cafe was filled with engagement stories, wedding talk, and commenting on how the lights in the building made our rings super sparkly.

Behold, the Phat Monkey cupcake. I bought it for two reasons: 1) It tastes amazing, and 2) it's called Phat Monkey. The name alone makes it worthy of consumption.

I spent another couple hours back at her apartment talking with her and my other cute (former) roommate whom I took on a very similar cupcake date back on her birthday.
And we ate homemade cheese dip and pretzel bites right out of the oven.
Because a big, fat cupcake and yummy hot chocolate wasn't enough for one night.

Lesson to be learned? Marriage is amazing and I loooooove spending time with Doug... but sometimes, a little bit of girl time is wonderful! (Doug... don't let me forget that, okay? Because I can be a little reclusive. Okay. Thanks.)

A Tale of Two Twins

Instead of boring you all with my chatter today, I'm gonna hand the reins over to my lovely friend Kelli!

You'll love her, she's so stinkin' cute!

Take it away Kelli!

Hey! My name is Kelli and I blog over at Tales of the Younger Twin. I'm so excited to be Ashley's first guest post! Ashley and I know each other from church and being former neighbors at BYU (before she went and got married! Sorry Doug.) and she is the greatest. She has such a fun blog and I ask her for advice all the time. 

Today, I thought I would tell you about life as a twin. People always ask my sister and I, "What's it like to be a twin?" and I always want to reply with, "What's it like to be a single?" 

But today, I will fill you in on a little secret. It's awesome to be a twin! My sister Kaitlin and I were born three minutes apart. (Obviously, I was second. Just saving the best for last.)

Being a twin means having twice the Halloween candy.

Being a twin means always having a best friend.

Being a twin means always having a person to play dress-up with. 

Being twin means having an insta-walking partner for graduation.

Being a twin means having someone to talk you into donating blood... every eight weeks. 

Being a twin means never having your own birthday...

and not caring. 

Being a twin means you always have someone to work for you if you get sick. 

Being a twin means having someone who looks just as dumb as you do.

Being a twin can be a lot of work. 

A perfect sister I am not, but grateful for the one I've got! 

Thanks Ashley for letting me guest post on your blog today. Come over and visit, I LOVE meeting new people and making new friends! 

Kelli @ Tales of the Younger Twin

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