moments

joy(noun): the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good  or satisfying;keen pleasure; elation:

My heart is currently overflowing in joy, and the past week has been a precious collection of memorable moments that I am anxious to share with y'all. From puppies to pajamas, the holiday season has put me in a giddy mood. highlights of the week, let's begin. 

Finals week consists of a hectic schedule, but allows lots of "study" time to do anything BUT study . An initial smile-provoking moment spent this week was playing christmas music to kindergarden kids for our strings final (ya im a nerd, deal with it). We often forget the simplicity of being little, and the squirmy kiddos were completely satisfied to sing rudolph the red-nosed reindeer in their sweet, high pitched voices a solid 4 times. During one of the lunches in between tests, we went to my friend's house where I held her new puppy and if that doesn't make you happy, I have no idea what will. Golden doodle puppy in arms, studying for world history didn't seem so bad after all. Lemme tell ya, turning in my chemistry test (last final of the week) was LIBERATING and I'm very excited to not have to think about school for two weeks. That night, I was delighted to watch alex and sierra, cutest couple of the century, win X-Factor. They are extremely humble and supportive of each other and their voices are to die for. After finals, I took another very important test - my driver's test (what is parallel parking HAHA). I have anticipated driving for so long, and now that it is here it feels unreal. The adventurous feeling of finally being free engulfs me, and I can't wait to see what the the next few weeks bring. On a not-so-grown up note, that night I laughed until my stomach hurt while dancing around the kitchen wearing full length nightgowns with my friends. They were gifts and mine reads -- party animal with a silly picture of a beaver -- because obviously I am the partying type ;) Ultimately, I LOVED this week and I can only hope for more joyous moments in the future!

best wishes to all and happy holidays, 

- ellie

born & raised tour

asdfghjkl no words for john mayer and phillip phillips last night!!! they were both so fantastic and im about 785432785 times more obsessed with them now. so me n my friends bought tickets last minute and drove up to austin, aka best decision ever. getting there t'was an adventure considering outside was an ice cube but that's beside the point -- they are both so talented.

phillip phillips

john mayer

ok phillip phillips may or may not be the cutest person on earth . . . . is that possible? my heart literally MELTED when he sang gone, gone, gone & home (of course). pssst he is actually so good live since he was on american idol obvi

next up was john mayer and lemme just say WOW he rocks at guitar. i personally play music myself, and couldn't wrap my head around how fast his fingers were moving. the stage had backup singers, indie rugs and a guy playing a trumpet, which i thought was pretty dang cool. with striped shirt & monogrammed guitar strap, john mayer looked magical and was surprisingly funny. he talked about "grooving to your own tune" and "dealing with the haters", and even took a song request from the audience, who btw, were constantly belting out - WE LOVE YOU JOHN MAYER!!!

after sharing his cute lil love story about his first love who still had a "part of him" (awwwweeee), he sang some of my favs including dear marie, wildfire, half of my heart and gravity . another one of his songs, age of worry, was a song I had never heard before but personally connected with. it talks about conquering worry and stress, which basically consumes my life with finals coming up. so take some advice from john mayer and S M I L E in the age of worry.