i dream of dresses.

Above is the greatest graduation present ever.

{Well, besides my car of course. Who, as you all have suggested, I have christened Luna. :) }

I pretty much freaked out when I ripped off the paper from the unassumingly rectangular present my aunt and uncle gave me and THIS WAS INSIDE.

It was like Christmas when I was eight years old.

Almost as good as the time my brother and I got Lego Hogwarts.

Almost.

Nerd for life.

Thanks, nerdy family. I love you guys.

xoxo Julia

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I ran my first 5K.

Crazy, right?

I finished in 34 minutes and 13 seconds, and placed fourth in my age group.

{Though I have a feeling there were only four people in my age group.}

Nevertheless...

I've made it a goal to start running more this summer, and to actually get good at it. Hopefully I'll be running more 5K's in the future and shaving a couple minutes off my time.

xoxo Julia

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This is my baby. My first car! 

I was under the well-enforced impression that, once the need arose, my mother would buy herself a new car and I would inherit her old one. Which isn't that old and I actually am quite fond of. It was supposedly at the dealership for "detailing" and we would go pick it up after I graduated.

Imagine my surprise when I was handed a key and told that this baby was mine.

ALL MINE.

There were more tears. Even the salesman got weepy.

I can't thank my wonderful parents enough.

Unfortunately, he (she? I'm still not sure) is still in need of a name. Everything I've tried hasn't quite fit. I would love to christen it after one of the heroes from the wonderful world of Harry Potter, but I can't decide. Who could ever decide such a thing?!

But I've narrowed it down:

{{Luna

Seamus}}

{{Lily

Albus}}

Two boy names, two girl names. 

Help?

xoxo Julia

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It's official.

As of May 29, 2012 I, Julia Larsen, am a high school graduate.

Quite frankly, I don't feel much different. Unless you count the fact that I'm exhausted from crying approximately fifteen separate times yesterday.

But it's done. It's over.

I returned to my school this morning as a graduate, not a student. I walked out of the band room for the last time in a long time, said goodbye to my favorite teacher, and bade a fond farewell to the halls I've grown to love over the past three years.

This is it.

Now, where do I go from here?

xoxo Julia

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Today was my last real day of high school.

It's so weird to think that my school won't be my school anymore in just a few short days. I've spent so much time there over the past three years and I must admit that parting with it will be pretty darn hard.

I wore the same outfit today that I wore on the first day of my senior year. (Minus the belt.) Call me sentimental. Or call me too lazy to come up with new outfits these days.

First Day:

Last Day:

I don't think my hair looks so much like Farrah Fawcett's anymore. Which is a good thing?

xoxo Julia

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Tonight I played my last ever high school band concert.

There were some mixed feelings. Sadness that it's over, happiness that I got to play with my best friends one last time. But mostly this huge pain in my leg from when I fell off a music stand. (They may look fun to sit on. They are not. Don't try it.)

My director recognized all of us seniors and gave awards to some of the best. I was lucky enough to receive the John Philip Sousa award, along with my best friend Rachel! What an honor! I was complaining a couple weeks ago about how band kids never get trophies, and now I finally have one. AND it has a man with a mustache on it. Does it get better than that? I don't think so.

xoxo Julia

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i have a thing for coats. red ones, fur ones, ruffled ones. this winter proved too short for much coat-wearing, especially in the snow. {which is my favorite. red coat + white snow = perfection.} it feels like spring outside, but i feel cheated out of coat-wearing weather! so here are a few pretty coats i rounded up to pine over. enjoy. 

{images from: pinterest, ruche, burberry, ruche, net-a-porter, modcloth.}

xoxo julia

{ps: did any of you see that fabulous raspberry taffeta confection of a coat that austin scarlett made on project runway: all stars?? it made my cry of joy a little bit.}

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snapshots from a weekend spent shopping, babyistting, and reading:

yummy caprese salad, my dream dress, bright lemons, a discovery from meandering thought tai pan, and a doodle of poppet + widget from the night circus.

all in all, a good weekend.


xoxo julia

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i started browsing online for prom dresses {it's that time of year again! feeling a bit giddy.} and unfortunately am not finding much that strikes my fancy...except for vintage 50's frocks. these babies make me want to squeal with glee.

{all images from etsy.com}

do any of you utah locals know of a vintage boutique//thrift store//place of awesomeness where i could possibly find a gem like these? 

xoxo julia

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one of the many colorful stickers on the door of the red iguana. aka the best mexican restaurant outside of actual mexico. they have the best salsa in the world and about a billion different kinds of molé. it's a very happy place to be.


xoxo julia

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after i woke her up, the puppy grudgingly relented to posing for a few pictures. she eventually gave up and curled back into a teeny weeny ball. and thus, this picture was born.

doesn't that face just say "love me?"

good thing we do. she's a bedhog. but a cute one.


xoxo julia

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tonks and lupin exchanging a smile and a glance before the last battle.


tear. :'(


maybe i should learn how to color one of these days.


xoxo julia

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what normal people do on their day off:

what i do on my day off:

xoxo julia

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the beginning of a chick flick romance: boy meets girl on a park bench in the city where dreams are made of. he reads the times, she reads poetry. they exchange a glance. he notices her hazel eyes. she notices him noticing her and asks if he's ever read e.e. cummings. she smiles. her eyes seem to promise him a world beyond black and white, the joy found by reading between the lines. he smiles.


xoxo julia

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i recently discovered the joy that is cake mix cookies. not only are they super delicious and super fast, they are super easy. which is perfect for a less than mediocre baker like me.

easy peasy recipe:

1 box of cake mix of your choice. i've used red velvet and funfetti, but any flavor will do.
1/3 cup of vegetable oil.
2 eggs.

mix it all together. duh.
bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

voila!

i like to turn mine into whoopie pies. these ones are with rainbow chip frosting. from a can. can't be beat.

yum-o!

recipe courtesy of kenzie. :)

xoxo julia

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harry + ginny = <3.

here's my take on harry and ginny. i'm pretty sure harry has a different face every time i draw him. :P so does ginny. so does everyone! except maybe lucius malfoy. he seems to remain uniformly haughty and handsome disdainful.


xoxo julia

{ps, do any of you artists have tips for transferring drawings to the computer? i'm not sure if my method of taking photographs of everything is the best way to go about it.

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there are few words more promising and beautiful than "once upon a time..."


xoxo julia

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{everything's from forever21. surprised?}

the...uh...bottom half of my valentine's day outfit. for me, valentine's is basically an excuse to wear an excessive amount of pink. well, a more excessive amount that normal.

xoxo julia

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valentine's day dinner = heart-shaped pancakes. {oh-so romantic.} i then spent the evening with my darling friend rachel. we went to see richard III at our school and reveled in the beauty that is shakespeare and drama boys. it was delicious.

xoxo julia

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