Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Have yourself a very Ugly Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! This week I have really been in the Christmas Spirit, Family time, Shopping, Movies, Food, Pictures, and most of all Ugly Sweaters. Our Second annual Ugly Sweater Party happened this past Sunday and it was a smashing success! We were sad not all of our original party guests from year one were able to attend, but we were excited for our new comers, and gladly welcomed them into our tradition! 
Here are select photos from the evening (most taken in front of our tacky photo backdrop!)
Enjoy the ugly- try not to throw up!

<3

 Kissing Kitten: Josh & Alyssa
 Glitter & Glitz: Audrey & Gabby
 The Christmas Lick: Justin & Kate
 Awkward Couples Pose: Danielle & Eric
 Reindeer Games: Brian & Danielle
 Snowball Fight: Kelley & Danielle
 The Ladies:
 The Men:
 The Family:

In case you are wondering who won the categories... here they are:
Ugly Sweater Champion: Alyssa Magee
Most Festive Sweater: Eric Glynn
Most Creative Sweater: Josh Lowery
Best head-to-toe outfit: Alyssa Magee

We had a fabulous evening full of food, fun, 
and rating videos of fireplaces on youtube for quality. 

Thanks all for reading, Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ugly Sweater Contest

Judgement Day is Here!

Now is the time for your feedback on Ugly Sweater week. I have 11 excited participants who wanted themselves entered into the ugliest sweater contest. Here is the format. Their name will be displayed above the picture, and a description will be below. Voting is at the bottom! Thanks to all the many individuals who participated in this week. Sorry if you had a sweater and you forgot to submit- but I couldn't wait any longer! 

Alex
Alex was proud to be rocking this sweater which he originally found in the ladies section at the good will! Not only was it popular for it's burnt orange and brown colors but the zip up made it both convenient and easy to take on and off as necessary (although who would ever want to take this beauty off?). Alex is sure that this picture will make his mom proud!
Arielle
 Arielle donned this sweater in hopes that she would brighten up people's days and get them into the holiday spirit. Instead, her sweater sent 4 people rushing to the bathroom to vomit from the ugliness. This sweater has no place around Christmas time because it will most likely frighten everyone away! 

Dr. Walters
 Dr. Walters joined in some ugly fun and dug this gem out of the back of his closet. He was caught saying "well it's not THAT ugly," although some of his theory students may have disagreed! One student said, "I couldn't focus on anything in theory all I kept doing was staring at his left shoulder asking myself... is that a pork-chop?"

Gabrielle
 Fearlessly participating from afar, here, Gabrielle sports a wonderful specimen of a sweater that was not purchased for this event, but to wear in everyday life. The sweater itself is a curiosity because of its summer-time rose theme, making it both splendidly hideous and deliciously ironic to wear in December. Pfft, ugly sweaters for the summer... if only!

Jessica
 Jessica is sporting a vintage red and black velvet v-neck sweater. You might notice that the sleeves don't quite reach her wrists. This is because this sweater originally belonged to her grandmother who was dedicated to the grandma look even when she was training to be the best arm wrestler in the world. Her theory? "If I can see my forearm during the match, i can figure out how much muscle to use." The crazy pattern didn't hurt when it was distracting her opponents. Her granddaughter can only hope one day to get as much glory out of this ugly sweater as she did. Don't be surprised when you see Jessica on a Wheaties box showing off her sweater accented guns.

Josh
 You might be surprised to learn that the picture above is not of a where's waldo scene... in fact it is a lovely sweater! Josh wore this sweater proudly displaying his love of golf and ugly things. Josh's favorite feature about this sweater is that no matter where he goes he always has people with him, which is quite suitable for his warm personality and friendly demeanor. 

Natalie
 Natalie opted for a classic pet portrait sweater to celebrate ugly sweater week. Throughout the day she was kicked out of multiple classes and other buildings because of the 'no dogs allowed policy.' Natalie was caught three times petting the dogs on her sweater, talking to them, and trying to get them to perform tricks. These life like dogs seemed to be confusing everyone! 
 
Nicole
 Nicole made a special trip to the thrift store and dug through mounds of ugliness to find 'the black swan sweater.' Not only was she confused with Natalie Portman 4 times that day, but she was also asked to perform in Swan Lake with her sweater. She truly knows how make ugly sweaters work!

Peter
 Peter displays above what I like to call 'the bloody zebra' sweater. The gray/white and black print of the sweater is splashed with a festive blood red shade. He sent students running from how ugly his sweater was when he unveiled it in soupy. However a few people were caught racing to get their photo with him because they had never seen an uglier sweater!

Sarah
 I know what you're thinking and you can stop right there, no, Sarah doesn't model ugly sweaters for a living.  Please take a moment to appreciate her decorated collar in all its splendor.  Also, come to appreciate the amazingly high 'Michael Jackson' style shoulders.  Then, look carefully at her right shoulder, you will come to notice a pointsettia plant perched there, then, as if that wasn't enough, there is a flower stem that traces down the front of the sweater.  Not pictured are the equally decorated cuffs of the sleeves.  Then, as if everything going on here wasn't enough, the fine makers of this sweater decided they would add a cable knit down the front of the sweater, because this sweater is all about subtlety.  

Sydney
 Sydney is rocking her finest sweater above. She thrives on the minimalist approach that the sweater makers took when creating this sweater. During the day multiple people had to take medicine to stop the blazing headaches that Sydney's sweater created. This sweater in conjunction with Sydney's winning cackle made it clear that she is on the right path to becoming a crazy old lady.


PLEASE ONLY VOTE ONCE!!!!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Ugly Sweater Contest Details

The moment you have all been waiting for is here!
Happy Ugly Sweater Week!!! 



To make this week worth your while I want to hold a contest for who has the ugliest sweater!! The top photos will be posted on my blog at the end of the week and anyone will be able to vote on who has the ugliest sweater!! The winner will not only receive the title of Ugly Sweater Champion- but also a small prize will come with the amazing title!



How Do I submit??
1. Take a photo of you in your ugliest sweater!
2. Upload that photo to your computer
3. Email me your photo with a short description with your full name!
( montgomerydl14@gmail.com )
4. I will post all photo submissions on my blog, and votes will pour in!!
5. Receive the prize for Ugliest Sweater!

Example:


(Email:)


Will Wheaton
He is sporting a Bo-Bo the clown sweater, 
which frightened 17 small children and 3 grown men.
 This sweater is the perfect mix of terrifying and disgusting, 
adding up to Hideous!



Hopefully this inspires you to go for the "gold," and pull out your ugliest sweaters! Good luck to everyone!

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Magic Flute- On and Off Stage

This year at school our Opera is The Magic Flute. I am playing the part of the First Lady, and really loving it! The show is this weekend Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2:30- and FREE!

I was really excited for dress rehearsals to start and couldn't wait to find out about hair and makeup for my part! Our director's instructions came out something like "Dark intense makeup, and really crazy hair- the bigger the better." These abstract directions were enough for me to figure something out, but the other girls playing the Ladies and Queen didn't really have an idea of how to execute it- so I decided to take charge of makeup and hair for those parts. Slowly throughout the week more and more people kept asking me about hair and makeup advice and voila- I am now acting as the hair and makeup designer for the show. It's pretty exciting and I really love it. Some of the cast was just fine figuring stuff out on their own and I just used some guided instructions for those without as clear of a vision. However, the Ladies and Queen makeup, along with some ideas for the spirits and Papagena have basically been my baby this past week. I have spent so much time looking for hair and makeup inspiration it has gotten a bit crazy! 
Either way- anytime I do anything I give it my absolute all- so I wanted to share with you all the hard work I am putting into this show's makeup/hair design! 

Here are my inspiration collages for the Queen and her Ladies-
Each board represents a different character- the hair styles, makeup, and colors act as inspiration for the design itself! 

The Queen:
Black and Silver eye makeup
Strong Dark Brows
Crazy "mohawk" of teased hair


First Lady:
Long teased out hair with tons of curls with some volume on top
Greens on the eyes to contrast a red dress

Second Lady:
Short dark teased out hair, bump in the center
Blue eye color  to contrast gold dress


Third Lady:
Enormous Beehive, but more teasing
Purple and Pink on the eyes for her blue dress 


This is only one aspect of the planning I have put into this, check out my Opera Inspiration Pinboard on Pinterest to see MANY inspiring photos for these parts and more!

After the show is over I will be posting the results of the designs- 
I would post some now but don't want to spoil it for those planning on attending!

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween Costumes

 Happy Halloween from the Scooby Doo Gang!
 We had so much fun making our costumes from thrift store finds,
and wore them proudly to class all day!
 Alex- Shaggy and Sydney- Scooby
 Me- Daphne
 Sarah- Velma
 Derek- Fred
 The gang "getting hollered at by a grumpy man"
 Daphne taking care of business
Oh No! Not again!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Musical Inspiration

So today in masterclass I heard Daniela sing a lovely rendition of "Mein herr marquis" from J. Strauss's Fledermaus and it made me wish I had a lighter more flexible soprano voice. I started complaining to Sarah how none of my music is light and playful like that, it's all so dramatic! And Sarah complained the opposite, that she never sang dramatic sounding things. Later today when I was practicing my music I realized again how lovely it is. Here are some inspirational videos for "bigger soprano voices" :) Je Dis, Morgen!, and several of the hermit songs will be on my senior recital, and "Songs My Mother Taught Me" is just a wonderful piece I stumbled on today while watching videos. The Ride of the Valkyries is a glorious scene by Wagner, with an amazing set and the epitome of celebrating big soprano voices. Happy viewing!

"Je Dis", Michela's Aria from Carmen- Bizet


"Morgen!"- Richard Strauss

 
Hermit Songs: "Sea Snatch, Promiscutiy, Monk and His Cat, Praises to God, and Desire for Hermitage"- Samuel Barber


"Ride of the Valkyries"- Wagner


(Stumbled across this tonight, absolutely stunning!)
"Songs my Mother Taught Me"-Dvořák

Thursday, October 20, 2011

announcing: Ugly Sweater Week

Dear Readers,

Remember how Floral week happened awhile ago? Well I have been pretty slack on doing any other type of theme week... So I am going to plan ahead this time. Based off of a very successful good will trip with my mom I would like to announce: Ugly Sweater week! This will take place Nov 27th until Dec 3 (The week after Thanksgiving). I would make it sooner but I want people to have the chance to collect sweaters and also I would like Christmas sweaters to be acceptable during that week. Now it's true that you will see me sporting a different ugly sweater everyday- however I don't want to find myself alone in this endeavor! So all of you at Mansfield- or readers everywhere bust out those festive sweaters! (hit the thrift shops or raid grandma's closet). Even if you don't have enough to celebrate all week join me in the fun any day you can!

Also plan on taking photos of your efforts that week and send them to me- they will definitely end up on my blog :) I would also like to have a prize for the photo submission that readers vote is the ugliest!

I am exploring the option of ending the week with an Ugly Sweater Party too!

Stay tuned for more info.. but in the mean time here is some inspiration :)











Happy Planning :)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Anything is possible

So the other day at lunch I enviously watched as a few people around me ate egg salad. I thought 'wow egg salad sounds so good!' But I know there are loads of mayo in it- which means it's a no-no for my diet. But if you think outside the box a little anything can be done! Voila! Mayo-free Egg Salad Recipe! I am so ready to try this recipe as soon as I have time :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Wanderlust

Wanderlust- is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. 

I certainly have wanderlust! Here are some pictures from some of my travels... I can't wait until I have more to add to this collection! 

















I have so many more but these are among my favorites. 
If you want to re-blog or share these please site me :)