Hello, loves! 

How are you all doing? How were your Christmases? My Christmas was absolutely wonderful- full of family and way too much food and gift exchanges and fun. Christmas is my favorite day of the entire year, and I already miss it! It's been a really great few days, though. I love the days after Christmas. We've been chilling out at home, playing games, relaxing, drawing, and going over to my grandparent's house to stuff ourselves with leftovers. I also met up with a couple of friends, and it was super nice to have a chance to catch up with them. Christmas break is just the best, isn't it? 

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The fact that in a matter of hours it will be 2017 freaks me out to no end. I know that the Internet has kind of blown up lately with posts and tweets about how horrible 2016 was. 

But honestly?

2016 was a good year for me.

That's not to say that it was all sunshine and rainbows. It wasn't, not by far. Some really rough things happened. Circumstances weren't always fun, and I lost people, in several senses of the word. I know the world has been in a rough place as well. People have passed away, things have happened that we may not have wanted to happen. But I don't think that that means that this has been "the worst year of all time". It hasn't been. And frankly, considering the fact that there have been years where the entire world was at war, or we've faced things like 9/11, the fact that people are saying 2016 was the worst? It seems kind of silly. 

Sorry. Rant over.

Anyways, despite the rough moments, 2016 was filled with some really, really great moments. It was filled with new experiences, and deeper relationships, and laughter. I've been really, really happy. So I have to admit, I'm going to miss 2016, I really am. It's been a good one. ♥

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A Year In Review

• I got to see one of my favorite musicals, Newsies
• Going back to ballet, and finally doing pointe!
• Being in my first musical in a few years
• The Waffle vs. Pancake war took place, and it was the most amazing thing ever. I gained the most amazing group of blogger friends through that war, and I could not be more thankful for them and their amazing friendship. 
• Going to Disney
• Dance captaining my first show
• Celebrated two years of blogging
• Finally learning how to wing eyeliner
• Hamilton took over, and I could not be happier about it
• I completed NaNo, writing 51K in the month of November
• I turned SIXTEEN. I feel so old
• Anastasia finally became a musical
• Freckled Minds was formed, and I couldn't be more thankful to be involved
• I learned that I'm dance captaining the high school musical this year!
• I'm helping to assistant choreograph the middle school show and couldn't be more excited
• I redid my room, and I LOVE it
• Started writing snail mail to a few close blog friends- it's so fun!
• This blog hit 100 followers and I almost cried of joy
• Coffee became a part of my life and I am so thankful
• Became the student body VP?!?!? Still can't get over that
• Landed my first ever role in a musical
• Learned how to make the most amazing puffed French toast in the world
• Vaguely learned some coding for blog-related endeavors
• Redid my blog with the help of the lovely Vanessa Best!
• Somehow survived the PSAT and didn't utterly fail it

To be frank, 2017 somewhat scares me. Thinking about it is a bit overwhelming. My best friend is graduating this spring. I'm going to be seventeen this year, and starting my senior year. That honestly scares me to death. I'm not ready for that. 

I'm excited for 2017, though. I really hope that it's a good year. I want to do things this year. I'm going to finish my novel. I have some posts planned and drafted for this blog that are really important to me. There are performances this spring that I am really excited for, and prom is always amazing. I'm excited. I'm excited, because if I don't get excited, then I'll dwell on all of the things about 2017 that are overwhelming. So I'm choosing to be excited. We can't stop this year from coming, so let's embrace it.

We have a choice going into this year. We can let it be mundane. Or we can chase the things that we want. We can get swept up in the busyness and stress of life. Or we can embrace the time that we do have. That is my challenge to you all this year. Live life. Do things. Do the things that you've put off. Stop waiting, and do them. Because guys, we're only young once. To quote the oh so wise Lin Manuel Miranda, don't throw away your shot. 

Hello there, 2017. We're ready for you.

~Summer 2016~

late nights

lake days

milkshake runs

bagel dates

turning 16

painting rooms

Hamilton

Hallmark movies

Instagram chats

photographs
vlogs

attempted flatlays

poor poor succulents

long walks

Everybody Loves Raymond

fried eggs

doughnut adventures

photoshoots

messy buns

no makeup

summer ballet

Finding Dory

murder mysteries

free bagels

the dollar section at Target

fruit fruit fruit

honeydew

canteloupe
Paper Comets

watermelon

water water water

long phone calls

lettering

Unsteady

poetry
blogiversaries
sleeping in
taco nights
the Olympics
falling in love with beta reading
new blog designs
golden oreos
attempting to drive
jam sessions with my sister

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Summer 2016. It was pretty epic. I'll be honest- I didn't knock everything off of my summer bucket list. I never had that water balloon fight. It was far too hot to attempt any picnics. Swing dancing never seemed to work out, and I didn't make a single smoothie. But I spent lots of time with awesome people. I had my first campout. The amount of ice cream that I consumed was insane, lake days were plentiful, and I finally painted my room. It's impossible to do everything, but I did do a LOT of awesome things. I'm not ready to be back in the swing of life, not ready for fall weather, not ready in general- but I'm glad to be able to say that it was a full, wonderful summer. ♥

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How was your summer?

2016 Resolutions/Goals, Pancakes, and Life

Isn't it funny how January, the month typically used to get life back in order and become that person on your New Year's Resolution list, can be so insane? This past week has been absolute insanity for most people that I know, myself included. I don't know if it's just part of getting back into the swing of things or what, but gosh it's stressful. Between school, rehearsals, meetings, etc. it's been a wild week. There seems to be an unusual amount of drama going on with people that I know as well, which adds to the stress. WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST GET ALONG AND NOT CAUSE ISSUES?? *steps off of soapbox* Ahem. Anyways.

This morning was really nice, though- my mom tried out a recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes (not sure if this is the right recipe but they're all pretty similar), and they were delicious. Super messy and annoying to make, but they tasted great. I'm pretty sure that if I attempted to make them, though, the kitchen would be destroyed. I think I'll stick to muffin mixes.

So we spent the morning chilling out with our little bites of cinnamon and cream cheese heaven while watching reruns of Girl Meets World. (Yes, it's Disney, don't judge me.) It was super nice to have a break from all of the insanity.

I've spent the rest of the day trying desperately to catch up on schoolwork and to tame the mess in my room. I'm pretty sure that my teachers are trying to drown me in homework this week, even my classes that are typically on the lighter side have had pretty large workloads. Thank you, high school.

I still can't get used to writing 2016. It's really kind of frustrating. I even put wrote 2015 on a card by accident. In my Spanish class the other day, a bunch of us got super confused on the date and wrote 2015 instead. All of my papers look super messy lately thanks to this silly date change haha.

On a similar note- New Year's Resolutions. Gosh, they're daunting. And I'm posting these really late, too. I honestly meant to do it sooner, but I've been super OCD about making them perfect. To be completely honest I'm still not thrilled with the list (I'll probably add to it), but I figured that it's about time that I posted. I've seen a lot of people doing monthly goals instead of yearly resolutions this year, and I like that idea! I've been doing monthly goals here on the blog recently, and I'm planning to keep that up this year. But I still want to have yearly resolutions, too, because it just isn't New Year's without them. (Even though...again..really late...bad Grace Anne.) So, here are my resolutions/goals-

1. Blog at least 3 times a week (HA I'm doing *great* so far)
2. Get caught up on Once Upon A Time
3. Finish my novel (At least the first draft)
4. Read the whole Bible in a year
5. Complete the Summer Photo Challenge again
6. Keep track of every book that I read
7. Similarly, read over 60 books
8. Use my planner more often
9. Go back to ballet
10. Keep in touch better with friends who I don't see on a weekly basis
11. Not get stressed out quite so easily
12. Fully get my splits (Finallyyyyyyyyy. I have the left one, but the other two...yikes.)
13. Continue with my 5 Year Journal and 52 Lists Project / Journal more often
14. Play piano more often
15. Learn to not be quite as negative
16. Not be quite as scared of telling my friends about this blog
17. Manage my time more wisely
18. Finally get up the nerve to redo my room

Aaaaand, January resolutions!!

-Watch more Once Upon A Time

-FINALLY CLEAN MY ROOM/CLOSET

-Get 2-4 chapters of my novel finished

-Read at least one book that I've never read before
-Drink more water
-Plan how I want to decorate my walls

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Well, there you have it, my list of resolutions! I really wanted to post them here so at the end of 2016 I could look back and see exactly how I did. It should be fun!!

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How has your 2016 been so far?

Best Books That I Read in 2015!

I've been thinking back over 2015, and one thing that stood out to me was how many great books that I read this year! Despite all of the busyness, I really did do a lot of reading this past year, and I thought that I'd show you all some of my favorites!

(Note: These aren't in any particular order- I can't pick favorites!)

1. Harry Potter

I finished the Harry Potter series this year, and then I re-read a few books, just for good measure;) I can't say enough good things about these books. My favorite would probably have to be Prisoner of Azkaban, which my sister still needs to read but they're all just so great. J.K. Rowling seriously knows how to draw you into this world that she's created.

2. Every Soul A Star

I know that I've already raved about this book waaaaaaay too much, and I'm not going to bore you all to death again. But oh my word, it's such a good book. It's just so beautiful. Please, go read it.

3. Secret Letters

I actually already did a review of this book here, but I just have to bring up again how good of a book that it is. It's such a compelling mystery, and I'm absolutely dying for a sequel!

4. The Hunger Games

The entire Hunger Games series is so great. I wasn't as big of a fan of Mockingjay, but as a whole it's a really fascinating series. I've become *minorly* obsessed...

5. Graceful

Another Wendy Mass book, Graceful  is a great ending to the series. I've already reviewed it here, and there really isn't anything else that I can say besides that this is an amazing book and you should DEFINITELY read it.

6. Romeo Blue

Romeo Blue was such a sweet book, my goodness. I loved it. Phoebe Stone did such a great job writing a romance from World War II, and it absolutely ripped my heart out at certain points. It was fabulous.

7. The Outsiders

I actually had to read The Outsiders for school, and I fell in love with it. I'd heard that it was a good book, but I had no idea how much I would connect with it, and how great of a story that it was. Now I get why it's a classic.

8. Emma

This is another one that I had to read for school, and actually enjoyed. By the time I was finished I was a bit sick of it, just from working on it so much, but it was a good book.

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What did you read in 2015?

Fun Journaling Ideas for 2016!!

As y'all might know, I'm a huge fan of journaling. I absolutely love to write, and recording life is just such a special thing. There's nothing that I love more than looking back through old journals and remembering tons of fun times, inside jokes, remembering emotions and people and experiences. But I'm the first to admit that I'm terrible at actually keeping a journal. I love it, but gosh, I'm so bad at it! I always forget to write, or I procrastinate doing it, and then I'm so long winded that it takes forever. It's so frustrating! I really hate it because journaling is something that I really care about, but I just don't do it enough.

For Christmas this year, I got not one but TWO awesome journals. I was so excited to receive them, and I've been having a great time filling them in.

This is the Q&A a Day 5-Year Journal. Each day has a prompt, and four lines to write your answer. You continue the journal for five years, and you get to see how your answers evolve each year! I think that it's such a cool journal, and it literally takes five minutes of your day. I've had so much fun answering each day's question, and it's going to be so much fun to look back over it in a few years! It's such a great way to record life.

I absolutely love this journal! You only have to do it once a week, and the prompts are really great. Plus, they're LISTS!! I adore making lists. I'm kind of an OCD list maker, I make lists about everything. So a journal full of lists is absolutely perfect for me. Plus, can we just appreciate how adorable this book is? I love the cover, and each page has cute little sketches on it. Can't get enough of this book!

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These journals are both so much fun! I definitely recommend them to use this year. Do you have any fun journaling ideas? Leave them in the comments below!!

January, A Rant to Businesses, and More!

Happy January! Goodness, I haven't posted lately. I honestly meant to get this up on the first or the second, but I just haven't had the chance. Life has been crazy ever since Christmas, and I had to share the awesome interview that I did with Silver Mess with you all! As a result, everything else has kind of gotten pushed back. Not exactly the best way to start off the new year, but oh well. That's life I suppose. I'll work on getting content up more frequently this year!

I can't quite get my mind around the fact that it's 2016- so weird! My mind is still in 2015, honestly. In fact, I have some 2015-centric blog posts planned, haha. I'm such a nostalgic person, it's kind of bad....

I guess that I should be excited for 2016, though. It's a whole year ahead of us that's going to be filled with new experiences, new friendships, new books, new music, new EVERYTHING! So that's exciting, I suppose. I think that I want to keep a memory jar this year, of all the good things that happen throughout 2016. So far, 2016 has been pretty awesome! I've spent a lot of time with friends, and got to go to a show that I've been dying to see, so that was great. Definitely a good way to start 2016!

I'm not a huge fan of January, though. January and February are probably my two least-favorite months of the year. They're just kind of...blah, you know? I'm already getting stressed out about school again, and I've barely started yet. Question, why do teachers feel like they should assign a ton of homework right off the bat? Like, we just got back, do you have to give us panic attack within the first ten minutes?

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else get annoyed by the stores this time of year? It seems like as soon as January 1st hits, all they ever advertise are workout clothes, diet plans, organizational tools, and bathing suits. Maybe that's just me, but I get kind of fed up with all of that. Okay, yes, trying to get into shape and to organize your house are good things. They are! Be productive! BUT! Most people do those things for about three weeks, and then they go back to their regular lives. It's kind of pointless. So, please, don't shove a productive life in my face. I'm over here with my giant sweatshirt eating chocolate. xD

I suppose that I should take some of their advice, though. I do really want to clean my room out and get better organized. I'll probably lose all of this motivation in about a week, but as of right now I'd like to get things in order. Whenever my room is disorganized, I get stressed out a lot easier, and let's face it- I don't need any more stress in my life!

Speaking of getting things done, let's take a look at my December goals..

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• Get Christmas presents done at the BEGINNING of the month, instead of going crazy at the last minute. (This will probably be a fail)
• BLOG MORE OFTEN (This is a constant resolution)
• Drink more water
• Deep-clean my room
• Start watching Once Upon A Time
• Do some Christmas themed crafts
• Read two new books

Let's see. Christmas presents were a bit of a fail, although I wasn't freaking out on Christmas Eve like I usually do. So is that a success? I'm not sure.

I posted ten times in December, which was pretty good. Not as good as some months, but not bad, considering that it's the holidays!

I didn't drink more water...ugh.

Deep-clean my room...hahahahahahahaha

I didn't start watching Once Upon A Time in December, BUT, I watched it on January 1st!!! So I was only a day late! I went to a friend's house and she ended up showing me the first three episodes. I'm hooked.

I didn't really do Christmas themed crafts..that was disappointing..

I didn't get hardly any reading done. That was depressing. I hate being busy haha. Hopefully I'll get to read more this month!

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I'm also going to be going into turbo-mode with a show that I'm involved in this month. My younger sisters are in the production, and I'm the dance captain, along with doing crew and hair & makeup. It's super fun, but rehearsals are going to be crazy this month. I'm excited, but I admit I'm a little nervous- hopefully we can pull it off!

Another thing that I'm excited for this month is..blogging!! I have some fun posts coming up soon, and they've been a blast to put together. Hopefully y'all will enjoy them, I've been working hard on getting them ready! I'm also hoping to start having a bit of a more regular posting schedule, instead of the sporadic post-whenever-I-can thing that I have going on right now..

Hopefully January will be a great month!

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Are you excited for January and the new year???

Christmas, New Year's, 2015 Recap, and Happy New Year!

Wow, I haven't blogged in ages. Sorry about that. I'm not going to lie though, it's been kind of nice to "unplug". Having a chance to not worry about school, blogging, being constantly productive, or replying to every text message has been really nice. I honestly don't want to get back into the swing of things, because having this break has just been perfect. Things with school have been super stressful over the past month or so, and I really don't want to get back into that. *Sigh* I wish that time travel was a thing, because gosh, what I wouldn't give to be in elementary school again.

Christmas was absolutely wonderful. (Despite the fact that I've discovered I'm allergic to all of the dust that collects in Christmas trees...that's been fun.) We spent the morning opening presents at home, and then the rest of the day was spent at my grandparents' eating way too much food, opening more gifts, and having an epic Nerf battle with my cousins. (Which, my sisters and I totally won, despite what they may claim;) )

We went to see a big light display last night, which was fun. It's always super busy before Christmas, so we like to go after Christmas instead. Then tonight I'm going to go to a show with some friends, which I'm really excited for! Pretty great way to spend New Year's Eve, if I do say so myself.

2015

I can't wrap my head around the fact that it's almost 2016. It's so weird. 2015 has honestly been a really good year. It's had its ups and downs, but overall I have a lot of great memories of the year. Some of my favorites are-

• Competing in my first-ever musical theatre competition, and winning FIRST PLACE in the ensemble division with a bunch of my best friends!
• Seeing my favorite musical on the planet, Wicked, on tour!!
• Doing stage tech for my sister's musical, and having a fabulous (although stressful and exhausting) time. 
• Hosting my first murder mystery party.
• Going on a super-awesome beach trip!
• Sang a solo without passing out or something else drastic.
• I kept a journal for nine months
• Tons of crazy-hilarious text conversations.
• Obsessing over Dancing With The Stars
• Hitting 13,000 pageviews on this blog!!
• Speaking of blogging, the time when I freaked out a bunch of readers on April Fool's;)
• Reading both the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, and becoming 110% obsessed with them. 
• Also speaking of obsessing, getting hooked on Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World
• Going to the premier of a movie that I was an extra in (don't freak out, it was just a small local thing. Still, pretty cool!)
• Going to PROMMMM!!!
• Completing the Summer Photo Challenge
• Traveling to NEW YORK CITY for the first time! (Which I never actually blogged about...heh..probably should do that..)
• Seeing The Lion King and Aladdin on Broadway, and getting to meet the Aladdin cast!!
• Tons of different parties and sleepovers that were oh-so-crazy and oh-so-fun
• Finally learning to do eyeliner!
• Finding out that I'm going to get to be IN a musical this spring!!! (Oh my goodness, I'm excited. Working tech is SO much fun, but performing is my love.)
• Starting to work on my novel (Hopefully I'll finish the first draft this spring)

It really was a great year. I'm curious to see what 2016 has in store!!

I haven't made a list of New Year's resolutions yet- to be completely honest, I can't even remember if I made a list last year. I think that I did, but I don't know what happened to it. I definitely want to do a better job of chronicling everything that happens this year; I really didn't do too great of a job of that in 2015. I did keep a journal from March onward, but it wasn't a consistent every day type of thing. Still, I'm really glad that I did that much. I have a few fun ideas for keeping journals this year that I'll be sharing here on the blog soon!!

One thing I really hope for in 2016 is for things to be calmer. There are many words that I would use to describe 2015, but "calm" is not one of them!! Things seemed to be constantly hectic, and there was a lot more drama than I would have liked to experience. I'm hoping for a bit of a reprieve from all of that in 2016, but I'm not going to lie, I'm not too optimistic haha!

Overall, I'm just hoping that 2016 is a year full of friends, laughter, good health, and good memories:)

2016- Bring it on!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

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What's your favorite memory of 2015?