#11

Hello all. I have definitely been lacking on the blogging front. Oops. But now I am here to tell you that hallelujah thank baby jesus I finally have my own apartment. I am no longer living in a drab dorm room. I have never been so happy in my life. My new apartment is right down the street from my school and therefore in the best location possible. I'm living with my friend Morgan and for those of you who know me know this is a BIG deal. Luckily, she is just like me and likes to have her own space. Girlfriend is not always up in my grill which I definitely appreciate. A first apartment is a somewhat weird feeling. I have to be responsible for bills, I have my own set of keys, and I don't have my mom cleaning everything up for me. With all the new responsibilities comes an overwhelming feeling of happiness and content. I know this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. Just as I'm moving into my new place I'm also turning 20. I'm no longer a teenager; I'm finally an adult with her own apartment. Growing up isn't always great, but right now it's absolutely fabulous. So here are some pictures of my humble abode...


This is the outside of my building.


This is my hallway.




Here is my living room.



And my kitchen.


My Bathroom.






And finally my bedroom.

I'll be sending out change of address cards soon so look out for those. Hope everyone is swell. Peace & Love.

More Done Than Over Baked Chicken

I am officially done with my 1st year at The Academy of Art University. Oh hell to the yes is all I can say. I have never felt so relieved in my life. This semester has been ridiculous, stressful and somehow fun all rolled up into one. I can say this semester has taught me more than I ever imagined possible.

I am now on an airplane on my way to this lovely place..


And then on to here..


I have never been more excited for a vacation in my entire life. The thought of visiting my 2 favorite cities in the U.S. just really tickles my fancy. This feels like the best reward after the most stressful 15 weeks of my life.

Finally, I can breathe.

I'm lucky I know...

...but I wanna go home.

All I Want.

I must apologize for my lack of blogging lately. My life has been crazy. School is so close to being over, so I'm in a finals and school events crunch. I have gone from spending my weekends lazily lying around and going to see movies to being inundated with so many responsibilities. While I miss those lazy weekends all of things I have gotten to partake in have been such great experiences and I appreciate being invited to every one.

Last weekend I went home for a short visit and went with my dear mother to see African Cats. I am so in love with animals so I found the movie both amazing and very depressing (I cried). I don't want to give away any spoilers in case anybody else goes and see the movie, but I will say it was great. My absolute favorite animal, not only in the movie, but just in life, is elephant, for those who didn't know. We also went to see Water for Elephant last weekend, which is an absolute must go see, so all that has been on my mind is elephants. I am rather obsessed. Seeing that my birthday is only 56 days I find it totally acceptable for me to start a birthday wish-list and currently on the top of my list is this baby...



Really, if anyone is interested in buying me a baby elephant it would be greatly appreciated. I would be eternally grateful to you. Oh please please please. All I want is a baby elephant. Hey, if Michael Jackson could have an elephant why not me?

Oh and p.s.



I have come to the conclusion that I really want to be a princess so I can wear custom made McQueen.

Hope everyone is doing well. Peace & Love.

Just Keep Swimming.

Midterms have once again come, yet sadly have not yet passed. My stress level is quadrupled this time each semester. The only thing that is getting me through is week is the fact that once it's over I get to go home for a little while, see my mom, drive my car, sleep for hours on end and most importantly not stress. I can't believe I am almost 3/4 of the way through my 1st year here at the Academy. Hopefully, only 2 more years to go.

So here are a few things currently making me happy...



The smell of lilacs. There is a house I walk by often that has a bunch of lilacs planted outside and the smell is so intoxicating. I love it.



The new Starbucks logo. I know it's weird but I think it is so much nicer and classier. Way to go Starbucks.



Gummy Bears are currently my candy of choice. I love anything gummy and fruity and these are currently tickling my fancy.



The iPad 2. This new beautiful piece of technology launched on Friday and I am OBSESSED! I know some people see the iPad as an unnecessary piece of technology, but I think they can be useful in so many ways. And to me they are a toy for grown ups and if someone thinks grown ups shouldn't have toys too then they are seriously disturbed.

I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend.
Peace & Love.

It's the Little Things.

In today's world I believe it's often the little things we so easily over look. I hate to admit that I am one of these people. So I've decided that I need to start looking at the little things in life that make our world a bit more special. And I've decided I'm going to share these things with all of you every week.

Now I'm a latte girl. On school days I don't get going till that caffeine is pumping through my veins. It's an embarrassing fact, but it's true. Now I've been a loyal Starbucks connoisseur for some time now, but all of that has changed after this week. And this is why.





How happy would that cup of coffee make you in the morning? I've fallen in love. My new coffee joint is called The Roastery and is right across the street from my school. At 8:00 in the morning on my way to class this is an extra little pick me up. All I get at Starbucks is a long line and a watered down latte, but now I get a pretty design and some extra strong latte, just like I like it. So this week my little thing is a simple, yet pretty design in my latte. Life can't get any better.

Peace & Love

Love Is In The Air

While I'm really not a fan of Valentine's Day and think we should tell those we care about we love them everyday I am also not one to turn down a gift. My valentine this year, like many years past, was my beautiful mother. While I expected a few boxes of my favorite candy or maybe a gift or two I was not expecting what I got.



I've said it before and I'll say it again; I truly have the best mom in the world. She always goes above and beyond. Getting a gift like this when I'm homesick and dying to see my family, can really lift my spirit and remind me that everything is gonna be alright. I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.

Peace & Love.

Sparkle and Shine

Anyone have an extra $3000 I can borrow? Or have? I would greatly appreciate it. These shoes are too beautiful not to be mine.

Peace & Love

Pretty In Pink

I have finally one-for-oned it. Meaning I finally own a pair of TOMS shoes. For those of you who don't know about TOMS they are a shoe company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes they sell. That's where the one-for-one part comes in. I've been wanting a pair of TOMS for quite sometime, but thought of them only as a fad. Also, I didn't want to be one of those people who jump on the latest trend bandwagon, that is why I never read Twilight. However, when I saw a girl walking around in sparkly pink TOMS I knew they needed to be mine. I mean pink and sparkly just screams AKAILA! Also, they are sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus which was just an added bonus.





Aren't these just so much fun? I absolutely love, love, love them. And they're super comfy. Possibly my new favorite flats.

Like I said last week I was pretty down and missing my mommy. One day I came home from Chipotle and found these waiting for me at my door.



I really do have the best mommy in the whole world. Flowers have a way of instantly lifting my spirits. Every time I look at them I cant help but smile. I am really am the luckiest girl in the world. And since I know you'll read this Ann thank you again. You are an amazing mommy. I love you.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Peace & Love.

Dorm Sweet Dorm

I am back in the big city. Well semi-big city. I am calling San Francisco my starting city and I am just taking a short trip here till I make it to my ultimate BIG city, which of course goes by the name of New York City. I must say being here is bittersweet. I love school and love being in a city, but this girl is really missing her mommy. A LOT! After spending the better time of 6 weeks attached to her hip I am having withdrawals. Also, looking at the small 4 walls of my dorm room is rather depressing. I miss living in a house and being able to walk from room to room for no other reason than I can. This one room is getting pretty old if I do say so myself.

I also was not keen on the fact that I had to unpack my entire room. If your reading this Aunt Glo just know organizing everything was not nearly as much fun without you. This is what Ann and I had to start with.



Out of control, right? Luckily I am an anal, organized person so I had a slight knowledge of where everything was and therefore, it only took a few hours for us to get everything back to its proper place.

Now that I am back in San Fran I plan on blogging a lot more. My classes seem as though they're going to be a lot more work this semester so we'll see how much extra time I have. I'm going to start managing my time better than normally. So wish me luck.

And to conclude. A picture of my guilty pleasure and obsession.



8 cases of Diet Coke. I love it. Peace & Love.