"This, right here, is beautiful"

I finally saw it. The Spectacular Now. Where to begin? I really loved the movie, it was spectacular;)

I went in with pretty high expectations, I'm not going to lie. Overall though, I was pleased. Here's what I loved most about it... I could relate! Isn't that what always lures us in? When you see that you're not the only one in the world who is 17 and has never had an ex-boyfriend? When you see you're not the only one who can be extremely awkward? We find peace in know we are not alone. It gives us a piece of hope to hang on to.

I'm not saying I'm like Aimee Finecky, by all means. We have a very different home life, but socially, I see us as equals. I can not ever imagine falling for a boy like Sutter Keely, but love is love. And when a boy loves you like Sutter loves Aimee, it's easy not to fall in head over heels.

This movie, like the book, was pretty straightforward, with not a lot of plot twists. But, there is so much more to the movie than the surface level. Each character, and situation, comes with a much deeper meaning. The movie is what being a teenager is about, what high school is about.

What I know some people didn't like was the ending to this movie. It was different than the book, and I personally liked it more. But it's ambiguous. What I realize though, is the ending of the book/movie is not bad, it's just not how I wanted it to end. But isn't that the same with life? It's not always what we want, but sometimes what we get.

I loved the acting, Shailene Woodley is one of my favorites, ever since Secret Life. And Miles Teller is pretty irrestiable, he stole my heart in Footloose. I do wish that some details of the book would have been in the movies. There were some that really characterized Aimee and Sutter, and would have made the movie that much better.

I highly recommend seeing it. I just love coming of age stories. It reminded me to slow down, take it in, and cherish these moments. The best part of life is not in the past or future, but right now.

xo
Hannah

//book review here//

High Five for Friday!

Neglect (verb): to pay no attention or too little attention to; disregard or slight
      ...aka Hannah and her blog this week.  
Life happens, and when it comes down to free time, there's not much of it. But now it's Friday, it's raining, thunder is rolling, I've got my Quiet Spotify playlist playing, and a cup of hazelnut coffee by my side. I'm in my happy place. :) 

 1. Watching a classic when babysitting. I love that she has an early bedtime!

2. S/O to Amanda for dropping this off on a busy Monday! xo

3. IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!! You better bet Mack and I went and got them right after XC!

 4. First football game of the season. What a view! And we won!

 5. Ice ice baby. I just love us! H.A.M. foreva

And tonight guess what movie I am FINALLY going to see!!!!!! 

I AM SO EXCITED!

xo 

Hannah

let's be done now.

Today This weekend was one of those awful, overwhelming, homework filled weekends where you just want to give up and watch movies, but instead you work for hours all day.

I haven't had a lot of homework all school year, but this weekend it was the MOTHERLOAD. I'm finally done, but there's still things I could be doing that are just not due tomorrow. But it's 10:30, and I'm tired and I want to go to sleep before midnight and maybe catch up on what happened at the VMAs. Because I couldn't watch them because of homework.

It wasn't just my classes right now that overwhelmed me this weekend, but the big C word did too.

College. 

The word I hate most right now, because it's the word of a million questions.

"Where are you going?"

"What do you want to study?"

"When will you apply?"

How about everyone just takes a second to stop, and I'll let you know in a few months. I'll gladly tell you then!

I've got it narrowed down to less than ten schools now, but I just don't know. I feel like I will know soon though, like a sign is coming my way.


I found this on Pinterest tonight, and it is THE TRUTH!! Move mitochondria to freshman year, and chemistry to sophomore year, and it's me. So so so me.

via

As much as I love high school and all the wonder that comes with it...

I can't wait to be done.

xo
Hannah

SeXC Runners

Hello and happiest Saturday to all of you!

I feel like I talk a lot about cross country on the bloggity blog nowadays. But my life is basically school, cross country, and homework, and who really wants to hear about school and homework?

I love/hate cross country. I love/hate the challenge, I love/hate the pain. I know I love my friends, and I know hate the heat.

Running is simply the best. It's tough and I am NOT a natural born runner. I'm slow. I'm not very good. But heck, I'm getting myself into shape and as we always say when we're complaining and want to give up, we're lapping everyone on the couch.

Last week at lunch, Hannah, Kylee and I were talking about running and came up with what I think is a great analogy.

Running is like being pregnant. 

(Ok well none of us really know what being pregnant is like but stick with me here) 

At the beginning, you feel sick. You're tired. You're constantly hungry. You swell up. You're hot. It hurts. It seems to go on forever. The end can't come soon enough. During the race (aka labor), you never want to do it again. But then it's over. You're relieved. You have something to be so happy about. You feel sore, but accomplished. And you would do it all over again. 

That really sums it all up. I wake up in the middle of the night starving. I ice like it's my job, and drink water by the gallon. I get my sister to rub my legs super hard, and it hurts so good. I constantly want to get better.

ice ice baby

every. single. night.

Today was our first 'race'/scrimmage. The Grizzly 5000! I woke up so many times in the middle of the night, I kept thinking I overslept and my mom forgot and I missed the race! But then I woke up at 6:15 and was ready. I ate half of a peanut butter sandwich, a glass of milk, and drank a bottle of water. I was very anxious for it all the begin! When I got to the school, I met up with Mackenzie and we stretched, ate some 'sport' jelly beans, went to the bathroom twice, and tried to get in the right mental state. I wanted to start so badly and get it done with!!

At 9:10, we lined up, and Mack, Amanda, and I made our goals-
1. No walking
2. No talking
3. No stopping

During the week, I don't know the exact mileage we run, so I wasn't really sure how fast I could run 3.1 miles. My goal for the day was to finish by 36 minutes (remember, I'm SLOW). I beat my goal with a 32:30 (I think, I didn't stop my watch for a few seconds after I finished), and I am honestly pretty proud of that time! I'm a fairly new runner, and now I just want to get better!! Oh yeah, and I beat Riley's dad;)

h.a.m.

we <3 sierra the varsity queen!

beauty. don't you love my hair?

motha. i feel like a giant compared to her.

Afterwards, my body was just going. I had so much adrenaline! I wasn't actually very hungry, and I felt really good. I got new shoes on Thursday and good heavens, the difference is amazing! My shins and knees didn't hurt at all during the race! Up until about 3pm, my body didn't hurt at all!
     ...and then it started hurting all over, all at once. I popped some Aleve, and put in a movie for the little girl I was babysitting. I've had a ton of water and protein, and of course, am icing now.

Our next race is next Saturday and I am pumped! I'm sure I'll be anxious, but for now, I can't wait for the rush again:)

xo
Hannah

Throwback

I am a majorly sentimental person. Memories make up my world, and the past has helped to make me who I am today. As I walk through the halls these days, it's weird to be the oldest. At first, it was almost unsettling not having the 'seniors' there. You become so accustomed to having the class above you be the bigs, that when it's your turn to be the leaders, the oldest, the big people on campus, it's surreal. Memories of the past comes back in bits and pieces, and I love it when they do.

For me, I equate smells to certain eras of my life/memories. 
     Love Spell from VS... the last day of middle school
        Sheer Love from VS... the first day of high school
           Juniper Breeze from BBW... my grammy
              Enchanted Orchid from BBW... a trip to Virgina a few years back
                  Simply Breathtaking from VS... Europe 2013
Tonight after my shower, I was digging for a lotion in my overflowing basket of bath soaps, lotions, and body sprays and grabbed a bottle of Dark Kiss from Bath and Body Works.
      And the emotions came rolling.

Dark Kiss IS freshman year.

I remember the first time I smelled it. I was homecoming dress shopping with Kylee, Hannah, and Kianna. We stopped at BBW in the mall, and Dark Kiss was the new scent, and they were making a big old deal about it. I remember Hannah saying how she totally thought it was called Dark Kiss after all the vampire movies that were out. (she was probably right!) I thought the smell was overpowering at first, but slowly fell in love.

When I smell Dark Kiss, I see silly freshman us. Awkward, but blooming. Spamming each other's Facebook walls, listening to Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" album, obsessing over ridiculously priced Coach shoes, eating frosted animal cookies, making our way through the crowded halls and the maze of school. We had Spanish tutoring on Tuesday nights, lots of sleepovers in Hannah's basement, watched Grey's Anatomy like it was our job, edited the heck out of our pictures on Picnik, loved Jugassa (aka the hottest guy ever) and had no idea how much harder, but wonderful life would get.

we were obsessed.

crazies at jump street

like my edit?;)

the more edits the better

15th bday party

homecoming dress shopping for the first time... and now it's almost time for our last time to shop

BABIES

i can't tell you how many pictures i have like this from sleepovers

we were hawaiian punch for halloween, so cute

target+self timer=the best pictures you could ever get (ps ignore whatever im doing)

study breaks before our first finals

the spanish six

hmm, where do we like the shop?

makin' fortune cookies for miss riley's surprise party

s.u.r.p.r.i.s.e.! i just love this

The Locker <3

my first high school dissection... it fueled my fire

It's crazy how much we've grown and changed. Time is flying by too fast. If I only I could only hold on to it all forever.

xo
Hannah

Breath in, breath out

Everything happens for a reason...
     Whenever something doesn't quite pan out in life like we expect, those are usually the first words I think of (or someone else reminds me). Life is full of obstacles and some days trip you up more than others. Actions done, words spoken, mistakes made. We're human.

What makes a bad day 'bad' is different for everyone. Sometimes, a bad day is when your made fun of for a mistake. A simple human mistake. And people say degrading words about you, behind your back, but that you see the words anyway. The words that you would never expect someone who you care so much for to say about you. Talk about a low blow.

To me, those are some of the worst days. We hold each other to high standards, and when they're not met, we sometimes forget that we are all human. Why do we hold each other to a standard of perfection? Why not with grace? Why do people choose to be rude, and less tolerant? Why not accepting and patient?

I suppose life is all about the changes, and what you learn along the way.  So with the bumps, bruises, and breaks comes beautiful change, and the opportunity to embrace what is meant for us next.

via

xo
Hannah

I miss summer. a lot.

The first weekend back to school always reminds me why I love summer so much. I've spent a good chunk of this weekend enjoying, and also doing homework (blech blech blech)! But with Diana Krall and Steve Tyrell crooning the classics, sometimes you can escape calculus and economics of the environment. And reading about Britain colonizing early America is made 1600 times better when lying in a warm hammock, eating a grape popsicle. :)

Pictures from a practically perfect first back in school weekend...

a spectacular blind/first date (little baby hannah is growing up!)

pinterest//coffee//candle//christmas tree//love

xo
Hannah