The Olympics, y'all

It's here, it's here! Four long years are up, and the Olympics are back - this time British style. I personally am a huge fan of the Olympics. One of my favorite Olympic memories is the 96 Olympics. I remember watching Kerri Strug vault on a sprained ankle to secure the gold medal for Team USA. As soon as she landed that vault, my sister, my parents and I all jumped up and cheered! That's what the Olympics is to me - celebrating great moments together.


I was super excited to see what the Brits had come up for the Opening Ceremonies. I thought the opening ceremonies were fabulous! I loved how it was comprised of different segments that together showed the essence of Great Britain.  Of course, there are many who were disappointed and felt that it was all over the place. I thought it was genius, especially the segment highlighting Britain's literary greats (English nerd alert). 


Some of my favorite moments were:
Mary Poppins defeating Lord Voldemort
The ENTIRE technology segment (how cute was that!)
The music
The Queen along with James Bond skydiving into the arena (Was that really her?!?)
J.K. Rowling reading that beautiful passage about Neverland
And of course, the Parade of Nations


Two things I thought were missing:
Harry Potter - I mean really, how can you have Voldemort and not Harry?
The Spice Girls!!!!! I just knew they would at least play one of their songs


Another thing I was disappointed in was Team USA's outfits. I mean really who styled them? I didn't understand the berets at all. We are NOT France. And the women's skirts were a terrible length. I honestly thought the whole look was dated.

Sorry Ralph Lauren, but this is not one of your better looks, and they were made in China.

Here are some of the outfits I did like:

Brazil

The length of the women's skirts were much better than the U.S. and I love how they incorporated their country colors. Also, they just looked like they were having a blast.

Italy

Of course Team Italy looked classic yet stylish as always.

Mexico

So tacky they are awesome! But seriously, they stayed true to their style, which I think is great.

Russia

Loved the hats! Much better than our terrible berets.

Great Britain

 I loved the host team's subtle nod to the gold medals in which they all hope to win!

Overall, I thought it was a very successful opening ceremony. I can't wait to see what the rest of the games hold!

Inspired by Starry Night

I have a confession. I have a slight obsession with Vincent Van Gogh. Yes, I know his life was uber tragic, but his work has always inspired me. My visit to Europe two summers ago to spend time with Margaret ending up feeling a lot more like a Van Gogh pilgrimage. While in Amsterdam, we visited the Van Gogh museum. Then when I was in Paris, I drug my sweet friend E'Lane to the Musee d'Orsay to see even more of Van Gogh's works at the Impressionist Exhibit. Ironically, I've seen almost all of his works, except my favorite: Starry Night.

Luckily I did manage to snag some sweet coasters with Van Gogh prints on them. While surfing the web procrastinating at work today, I stumbled across some other Van Gogh inspired items. Talk about functional art! I guess these will have to do until I can finally see the real thing.

Stay artsy and dry at the same time

How awesome is this cake!

Starry Night inspired Toms... too cool

Trinket box... perfect for keeping jewelry safe and doubles as eye candy for your dresser.

Art is meant to be experienced, and I love the idea that you can experience your favorite art with you on a daily basis (with the exception of the cake of course!). Just another way to make everyday life a little more special.

What a week!

Wow, I'm not even sure where to begin! Last week was full of family, friends, and even a few surprises. Because the 4th of July was on a Wednesday, we took the whole week off at our office to celebrate. Of course, this meant we had to put together two of our weekly newspapers in one week, which equaled a lot of stress and craziness at our office. After lots of long nights and to-go lunches eaten at our desks mixed in with a few tears and even some delirious fits of laughter, we did it! So after finishing up, I headed home to Grenada to spend some quality time with the family. I spent lots of time reading, catching up with my family, and hanging out at the pool.

Friday, I packed up my stuff and headed to Oxford for Lelia Burkhalter and Hunter Ferguson's wedding weekend. It was perfect, and I got to see all my friends who I miss terribly.

Frannie, Julie, me and Lauran waiting to walk down the aisle

Me with the beautiful bride

Lelia's wedding was beautiful! Everything from the flowers to the food at the reception was so well thought out. This was my sixth wedding to be in, and I can say from experience it's the little details that make weddings so special. I loved how Lelia had her mother and Hunter's mother both wear blue to be part of her "something blue." Such a cute idea!

I have more pictures from the wedding, but sadly they are on Jacqueline's camera on a cruise with her and her husband Jim. Hopefully she'll send me them when she returns and I can post them.


Other things I loved from the wedding:
The all white flower arrangements
Hunter's grooms cake, which was a replica of Vaught Hemingway Stadium (Hotty Toddy!)
The way Hunter couldn't stop smiling when Lelia walked down the aisle
All the gorgeous candles on the alter
The way the light bounced beautifully from the stained glass windows of Paris Yates Chapel
Getting my make-up done at Amy Head with Lauran and Frannie (Thanks Sara!!)
Playing paparazzi with Jac's camera :)


Sunday morning I had another surprise. Frannie called me at 9:15 (can you believe I was awake?) to tell me Michael had popped the question! We all headed over to her parents' condo for a celebratory brunch. The ring is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm so happy Michael proposed while we were all in town so we could celebrate together. Congrats to the happy couple, and I can't wait for June 22, 2013! Let the planning begin!

 Celebrating at brunch!

 Me and Fran!

 Bling, bling

Each time one of our friends gets engaged, Frannie's mom, Mrs. Jane, gives them a white bag with their new initials monogrammed on it. It's such a great tradition, and Frannie finally got her's. Mrs. Jane even filled it with bridal magazines!


After the crazy week, I headed back to the flatlands of Cleveland to try to return to normalcy. I had a great time, but I was glad to get back into my routine. And seeing the Delta sunset, falling behind a field of corn was the perfect way to welcome me home.