you're still my same girl

tomorrow marks the first of the three weddings i have the privilege of being part of this summer.

wedded bliss celebration #1

brooke smith & derek hartman

the first time i saw brooke was when i was in the second grade and she was in the third. i was being moved over to the third grade class for reading and english because i was super smart and needed more of a challenge. (kidding. but seriously...) the first day i walked across the hall from mrs. bias's room to mrs. murdock's, i saw a girl in the front row with the blondest hair i'd ever seen. it was almost white. actualy, it really was white. so perfectly blonde and shiney it caught my eye right away. i had dark brown curly/frizzy hair and hers seemed other-worldly to me. she had on a white t-shirt of some kind and her angel-like hair was pulled up into a bun or something. she was so pretty and i was so glad to meet her and become friends with her. from that moment, we were friends.

we had sleepovers where i'm sure we probably called boys and did things that would mortify us today. if we were anywhere near jordan sharp's house, we were playing soapy trampoline and acting a fool. (btw, soapy trampoline is exactly what it sounds like and is more fun that you think.)

i don't exactly remember when brooke got her braces put on, but i know mine were put on in fifth grade, and soon enough we were both awkward 12 year olds with metal teeth getting ready to go to middle school aka hell. kissing boys with wires and rubber bands in our mouths seemed impossible. we tried nonetheless. we played softball together, and i use the word "played" lightly. we basically sat in the dugout and talked about boys and plucking our eyebrows. she told me jessica plucked hers for the first time ad she cried. we weren't much into sports, but we tried and had fun.

i think eighth grade was when she and i both had the same long-sleeved yellow tommy hilfiger shirt and we both wore it to my 13th birthday party at beech fork. we also wore dresses that were the same color to our junior homecoming.

eighth grade trip

no matter what level of closeness we've been at over the years, we've always sort of just understood each other. she's one of those people who is the same all the time. you could go a year without seeing her (which i hope to god never happens) and then run into her at the mall and it would be like you just saw her yesterday.

here's the thing about brooke -- she's a fun friend. but you can also trust her. which is exactly what a good girlfriend should be.

when she introduced me to derek, i immediatley loved him. he is one of those people who you talk to and think "don't i know you already?" he's so kind and easy to talk to, that i felt like i met him in mrs. murdock's third grade class, too, and i'm trying to remember what he brought to show and tell. i'm pretty sure he hugged me when we met. not a handshake, a hug. but i could have just made that up because he was so friendly. not just that, though, he loves brooke like no one else i've ever seen. you've read the hallmark cards that say "my eyes light up when you come into the room." well, that really happens to derek. you can see it all over him.

i'm just glad he sees in her what i've always seen in her since that day i saw her white hair -- she's beautiful inside and out. seriously.

i hope i don't cry tomorrow. i am bad to shed some tears at weddings, but especially with people i'm close with. and i'm close with these people. and they are so in love. and they want me to be there to share the moment they become husband and wife, the ultimate team. how could i not be emotional? not to mention she's going to be beautifullll.

it's going to be wonderful tomorrow. congratulations & best wishes, B&D. i hope you are both always happy.

love.
krq.

engagement photos by the jessica smith hutchinson.

stuff of the moment

i need to write more, but i don't have a specific topic in mind. so here is a list of things i am loving lately. enjoy.

- painting my nails. they are this crazy robot silver right now. last week they had newsprint on them.

- my new water bottle from starbucks. it's glass and hella cool.

- designing things. i have a secret/potential thing coming up with a few of my friends and i'm working on the logo. stay tuned!

- lady gaga. always have loved her, but her new cd is so great i can't stand it. i haven't ventured from her name on my ipod in dayssss. "you and i" is my favorite. give it a listen. it gets me every time.

- my friends. i have some really great ones. we've all got baggage and issues, but we still stick by each other somehow and really know how to have a good time.

- summer breezes and flowy skirts.

- anything neon.

- pinterest. get invited, because it's the coolest thing ever and will take up all your time. isn't that enough to get you to check it out?

- starbucks passion tea lemonade. i mean, come on. delish.

that's about it i guess. what are some things you love right now?

loveeeee.

krq.

oh happy day

kyle pointed me in the direction of this wonderful blog and it's incredible contest to win a trip for two to paris. omg. when i went to italy, all i could think about was how badly i wished kyle could be there with me, and now perhaps if we are lucky enough, we could experience another wonderful place together. here is a link to the post, which will enter me another time and give us another chance to win this crazy awesome trip.

oh happy day's crazy awesome contest

eek! #fingerscrossed. (yep, just hashtagged in a blog.)

love.

krq.

womanhood wonders

so when you're a woman, there are certain things you have to deal with that men might not care so much about. forgot to pack the right kind of underwear on a trip, run into your ex at the grocery store post-workout/tanning bed (aka you stink), didn't have time to shave your legs before a date, got your dress stuck in your underwear, etc. in my mind, men wouldn't normally think twice about such things, just like they wouldn't mind if they had skin peeling from their face after a sunburn...

(most) guys don't wear makeup, so they don't know about the weird reaction when you try to put foundation on your skin and it just peels more. like today. i tried my best to cover up my weird three-colored skin before work, then just gave up and decided not too many people see me at my job anway, so whatev. however, when i looked in my compact around noon to put on some lipstick, i quickly realized my forehead was not the issue. my skin was also peeling above my lip -- i had a skin-stache. how long has that been there? i peeled some skin away to see what would happen, but it just made it worse. i frantically dug through my oversized bag for some lotion -- nothing. but i did have some cuticle cream...

and that's how you improvise, ladies. i put cuticle cream on my face. and let me tell you, it did the job.

my whole point is that men would never a. care if they had a skin-stache because they already have a legit stache to begin with, or b. result to cuticle cream on their face because they don't have cuticle cream in the first place. there are some things that men just don't get. even kyle, who is as close to perfect as it's gonna get when it comes to a boyfriend, will never fully appreciate certain dynamics of the female world. and honestly, i can't say that i blame him. obviously, there's probably some manhood crap that i don't get, but i would venture to say no man has ever had to deal with this.

i'm sure i'm not the first (at least that's what i keep telling myself) to have a skin-stache or any number of weird things taht happen to a woman that can be embarassing/hilarious. right? please share. i'll be sure to have the cuticle cream handy just in case you need it.

love.
krq.

i'll be your shade tree

sunhat :)

for the past four days or so, my friends and i have done little more than bake ourselves in the sun by my pool. in between work and other actual responsibilities, different visitors come and go, and kristin usually makes us food and brings drinks, so it all works out. i also bought a lovely sun hat which instantly turns me into julia roberts in pretty woman. we've been eating a lot of watermelon and listening to a lot of random music. it's.been.awesome.

watermelon remains

until right now. this very moment. and this has happened.

ouchies :(

as my mamaw frankie might say, i'm burnt plum up. my fair-skinned boyfriend calls me a wimp because he has been dealing with burns all his life. yeah, well. some of my ancestors were cherokee indians so forgive me if i'm not so used to feeling the wrath of the sun. my skin can usually take a little more than this. but i guess four days without paying much attention to sunscreen and more to mimosas really did me in. so now i feel hot and cold at the same time, have a killer headache and god forbid i have an itch because scratching it out of the question.

anyway -- my advice to the rest of you is wear the freaking sunscreen and don't let your awesome poolside times get the best of you. the sun is still shining and as great as it feels, it's not playin' around.

love.

krq.