Blog Award

I must thank the lovely DP (Dramatis Persona) for the Liebster Blog Award.  And now to commence following the instructions with this award...

1) Share 11 things about yourself.

All righty.

1. I am a Swiftie. (In case you're new around here.)

2. I'm a quasi-Directioner.  Meaning I like the boys and their music, but I cannot be a part of the fandom.  There are too many mean Directioners. (But there are some equally lovely ones!  If only there were more of you.)

3. I bit my nails for many years, and I'm just starting to break the habit.

4. I'm probably on the Internet way too much.

5. Being the crazy history geek I am, I want to take a history elective course over the summer.

6. For six years, I had only male cousins.

7. I tend to alienate any guy friends I make, unfortunately.  Don't know why.  I think it's usually we have a big disagreement over something. (So if you're a guy friend of mine, count your lucky stars that we still get along!)

8. My algebra teacher keeps telling me I need to take advanced math next year.  I think she's a bit crazy (but still awesome).

9. I love to randomly say "You guys should get married, have 10 kids, and teach them how to dream" to my friends.

10. I finished my NaNo novel on February 20, 2013 at 10:30 PM.

11. I am praying for my future husband. :)

2) Answer the 11 questions your tagger has given you.

1. If you could be teleported anywhere right now where would it be and why? To Taylor Swift's house so we could hang out and become besties.

2. Who is your style icon and why? Audrey Hepburn-she's a classic-and Taylor Swift.  I think you all know why. [Oh, good gravy, are all of my answers going to involve Taylor???]

3. If you could have any animal in your home what would it be and why? a horse. Because horses are awesome. (I never outgrew that horse-loving stage.)

4. What book do you think has inspired you and why? Heather Vogel Frederick's The Mother-Daughter Book Club series. Sometime after reading it, I wrote my first viable fanfiction that could actually be a real book. If it wasn't fanfic.

5. What was your most memorable meal so far? I have no clue.

6. What one thing (solid or abstract) would improve your life and why? Something I've just made up-an invention that would make sure what I'm thinking in my head properly comes out through my mouth.  Because often I'll think one thing, and when I speak, my words get flip-flopped around or garbled or something.

7. What personality trait do you most dislike in yourself? I have no patience.  Well, maybe some.  But very little.

8. What is your favourite song and why? At the moment, it's "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift.  Any Swiftie would understand why.  It's beautiful, and magical, and wonderful.  I've never felt what Taylor describes in the song, but when I listen to it, I feel like I have.

9. Can you cook? If so, what is the best meal you have cooked? Eh, a bit.  I usually bake.

10. What word or phrase do you most overuse? 'like' and 'that's nice.'

11. What has been your most memorable blogging moment so far? When Heather Vogel Frederick commented on my blog, of course!

3) Choose 11 fellow blogs to nominate.  Guess what?  You're all nominated!  So if you're reading this, go blog about this award. ;)

4) Think of 11 questions for those blogs to answer.

1. If you could only wear one pair of shoes for the rest of your life, what would they look like?

2. Do you consider yourself shy?

3. Favorite time of day?

4. Do you make 11:11 wishes?

5. If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?

6. You're stuck on a desert island.  What five items would you want to have with you? (A cell phone cannot be one of your options.)

7. You're still stuck on that desert island.  Which three people are you stuck on the island with?

8. What time period would you want to visit?

9. Finish this line... "We are never ever...."

10. You have the choice of traveling to Paris or Japan.  Which would you choose?

11. What's your favorite blog post of mine?

5) Thank the person who nominated you, and link back to their blog.

Done in the first sentence.  Thanks again, Dramatis Persona!

My "Audience"

As Blogger puts it, I can see my audience.  That is, the countries people are from or the countries they're accessing my blog in.

Since March is almost over, I thought I'd post the stats. :)

#1 is the United States (that's a given).
#2 is Russia.  I've noticed my blog is kinda popular in Russia.  In a sense.  This month, I've had 94 pageviews in Russia.
#3 is Germany.
#4 is France.  Y'all know how happy that makes me, haha.
#5 is Latvia.  That's another surprising one.  It has less than half the pageviews in France (37-Latvia; 72-France), but it's still cool and surprising.
#6 is India.
#7 is the U.K.
#8 is Canada.  This one really surprises me, at least in its placement on the list.  I figured Canada (and the U.K., for that matter) would be in the top 5.
#9 is China.
#10 is Poland.

So here's a shout-out to those 10 countries, and thank you to everyone who has visited my blog!

(This week, I've had pageviews in the U.S., Germany, Russia, the U.K., Canada, Poland, Mexico, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Bulgaria, in case y'all were wondering.  Probably not.  And if you were wondering about today, Russia is #1, U.S. is #2, U.K. is #3, Mexico is #4, and the Philippines are #5.)

The Life of a Swiftie

Ladies and gentlemen, the princess of Swiftopia.



Isn't she gorgeous?  And her skirt, oh my word, it has cats on it.

Yeah, I live in a kingdom called Swiftopia.  Taylor is princess and if all was right in the world, Taylor Lautner or perhaps Adam Young would be prince of a neighboring kingdom.  And Taylor and Taylor (or Adam) would marry, have ten kids, and teach them how to dream ("Starlight" reference).

Anywho.  Our national animal is Meredith.  Our motto is "Be fearless enough to speak now because love is red," and it's a land full of cupcakes, music, and vintage clothing.  Oh yes, and Ed Sheeran visits often.

I'm not really obsessed with Taylor.  I'm just a Swiftie.

A Bookworm's Predicament

I have a stack on my nightstand, five books high (counting the one on the e-book library app on my iPad).  Then I have a mental list of books that I need to read in my head, and it's about twelve books long.  That's a bookworm's predicament-there's always so many books to read and reread, and not enough time to read them all!  Unless I want no sleep.  And sleep is important when one is a growing high school student whose homework must unfortunately come first.  So what's a girl to do?  I suppose I'm going to cut some less important things from my schedule so I can make more time for reading.  I remember when I was younger.  I was almost always reading.  Oh, how things have changed.

In case you're curious, here are the books in the stack and on the list. :)

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
Wish You Were Eyre by Heather Vogel Frederick
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson
On the Runway six-book series by Melody Carlson
Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
King Lear, The Tempest, and Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Not to mention I have 1984 (George Orwell) on request at the library... I have to read it for a scholarship contest.

But yes.  So much time and so few books to read.  Wait.  Strike that.  Reverse it.

Happy. Free. Confused. Lonely. At the Same Time

I'm asking everyone to go watch Taylor's new video for her song, "22." :) Please?  It's fun, and it's back to the Taylor I adore.  Plus, she got to hang out with her RL friends to shoot the video.  How cool is that?  I love everything from the scenes in Taylor's actual kitchen to the beach to the cat stuff.

http://youtu.be/AgFeZr5ptV8

My Day In 5 Words

"Mary, the cows are eating Pa!" 

That was what happened in chapel (well, high school student body meeting), English class, lunch, and algebra class.

2013 Oscars Worst Dressed

There was a comment on the best dressed post, asking me to do worst dressed.  Let's get started, shall we?

Worst Dressed of the Night

Kristen Stewart in Naeem Khan.

My goodness, this is just a hot mess.  It's not even hot.  Her hair=ugh.  That dress=horrific.  And that same old frown.

Runner-up for Worst Dressed

Melissa McCarthy in David Meister

My main problem with this is that it does NOTHING for Melissa.  The dress is boxy and makes her look like a box.  It's not about her weight; there are dresses that she could look much better in.  And don't even get me started on her hair. (I think she and Kristen Stewart had the same stylist.)

Fan Bingbing in Marchesa

My eyes.  I like pink as much as the next girl, but that dress is just hideous.  This is not a 1980s prom, my dear.

Kelly Rowland in Donna Karan Atelier

Hot mess.  This time, Kelly looks pretty (her hair and make-up, and shoes, too), but that dress.  My goodness, I'm practically dying just looking at it.

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino

I'm sorry, but was bad hair a theme at the Oscars?  It's like the worst dressed actresses got together and said, "Let's go with lackluster locks to compliment our looks!"  And I can't say I like the dress, either.  It doesn't help that it clashes with the red carpet.

Kristen Chenoweth in Tony Ward

Baby, that's too much dress for someone so short.  Plus, baby, you need to lay off the self-tanner (or whatever you use).

Anne Hathaway in Prada

So Anne switched dresses to this mess?  I don't know what she was thinking. *sigh* At least she has an Oscar now; maybe she'll stop acting like she's a gift to humanity and the greatest actress ever just because she unnecessarily cut her hair and starved herself to play Fantine.

Kelly Osbourne in Tony Ward Couture

I'm so over her purple hair.  And there are way too many straps and sashes on that dress.

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior

Beautiful woman.  Ugly dress.  It's much too plain, and so blah.

Sandra Bullock in Elie Saab

I think Sandra was part of that boring hair get-together.  And what's sad is that Elie Saab is one of my favorite designers.  This looks like something to wear to a party with the Addams Family.

Halle Berry in Versace

Too metallic and robotic.  She looks like a game show girl from the future.

Aparna Danna in ???

I love a good sari, especially in purple and silver.  But one does not wear a sari - especially with a cut-out at the stomach - to the Oscars.  It just isn't done.

So there you have it: my worst dressed list from the 2013 Academy Awards.  Here's hoping that, next year, there are a lot more best dressed women!

(Oh, and Jeremy Renner was at the Oscars in a Givenchy tux.  HAWKEYE NEEDS TO WEAR A TUX IN THE AVENGERS 2, BY DIRECT ORDER OF EMMA.)

Fashion Spotlight

So today, I'm working on my world history project (fashion in the 1900s) and I'm Googling pictures of different styles.  I was at the point where I was searching for vintage cocktail dresses, and I find this dress:

Pretty, right?  But my guess is you're thinking, Where is Emma going with this?
Well, I see the dress and it automatically reminds me of one a friend wore to a party last fall.  I went on Facebook to check, and I was right!  Kate wore a dress very similar to the one above, and neither of us even realized she was emulating the style of a 1950s-1960s cocktail dress.

Here's Kate's dress, so you can compare:

Different sashes, and the skirts fall differently, but there's definitely a similarity in the halter neck style and the overall look is reminiscent of the vintage cocktail dress.

2013 Academy Awards Red Carpet

About twelve hours ago, the Oscars were running over as usual.  As I watched the ceremony, I was busy collecting pictures of the best dressed.  I've compiled a list of 12 stars with 13 different looks that I deem the best.  There were a lot of fails on the red carpet, but I'm still trying to burn the images of Kristen Stewart and Fan Bingbing from my mind, so we're going to ignore those.

Let's start, shall we?

Best-Dressed of the Night

Norah Jones in Tadeshi Shoji

Absolutely stunning.  She's a jazz singer who performed last night (great voice, too), and the Art Deco look of this dress is parfait for a jazz singer.

Runner-up for Best Dressed

Catherine Zeta-Jones in Zuhair Murad

I'll admit this may just be because I love gold and sparkly dresses (thanks, Taylor Swift) but Catherine truly looks stunning.

Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta

A ballgown must be two things: dramatic and awesome.  Amy's dress is both of those things.  This is a much better color for her than her Golden Globes dress, to boot.

Jessica Chastain in Armani Prive

Jessica said she was influenced by old Hollywood glamour, and did she ever bring it!  I love the intricate pattern on the dress, and it's a surprisingly good color for her.  Plus it's a good compliment to the red carpet.

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

I have practically no words to describe how beautiful she looks.  Except that she looks beautiful.

Jennifer Garner in Gucci

She and Taylor Swift should have a purple party because they both look fabulous in plum and eggplant.  I also like Jennifer's hair and jewelry.

Quvenzhane Wallis in Armani Junior

She's the youngest Best Actress nominee ever.  Crazy, huh?  She's adorable and dressed just like a 9-year-old at a big event should.  Beautiful dress and her signature doggy purse is dressed in a tutu and tiara.  Points for that.

Rashida Jones in Vivienne Westwood at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

It sparkles.  It has a draped neckline.  She looks awesome.  That is all.

Stacy Keibler in Naeem Khan

Ah, much better than that mess of a look at the Golden Globes.  Her whole look is practically making me drool.  I want that dress.  Except it would probably look terrible on me, haha.

Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta (again) at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Amy Adams in so awesome, she made it into this list twice.  This is a bad picture but one awesome dress.  It reminds me of the 1920s and '30s and a bit of the Delphos style dress that Mariano Fortuny created.

Jennifer Hudson in Roberto Cavalli

Ooh, yes, a beautiful dress.  Oh, great, I just rhymed.  Jennifer just needs different shoes.  Not loving the color of those.

Now these last two are a bit sub-par, but with a few changes, I think they would garner A+'s.

Zoe Saldana in Alexis Mabille

I love every bit of this dress except for that giant bow on her hip and that basically ruins the whole thing.  Oh, yeah, and she needs brighter lipstick.  Maybe a deep maroon or burgundy, or red.

Gloria Reuben in ???

She's officially invited to Jennifer Garner and Taylor Swift's pleasant purple party.  I'm just not sure how I feel about her hair, or the two different shades of purple.  Stick with the darker one, my dear.

And that's it!  Another Academy Awards has come and gone.  Do you agree with my top 13?  Did you have other favorites?  Who tops your best dressed list?  Sound off in the comments!

A Moment to Go Down in History

Let this date be forever remembered!  On February 20, 2013 at 10:30 PM (Central Standard Time), I officially finished the first draft of my NaNo book.  I'm really proud with how it's turned out so far, and the next step is editing.  Thankfully, I don't have to completely self-edit because I have a writer as one of my best friends, and I've asked her to help me out. She'll give me feedback on content and help me catch grammatical, spelling, and continuity errors.  I'm super excited about finishing it.  It's ended up at 50,186 words so far, and that's smack in the middle of the right length for a young adult novel (40,000-60,000 words).

If you pray, please keep the editing process in your prayers. :) I'd like it to go smoothly and quickly and to help my novel to become even better.  You can also start praying that I'll be able to find an agent soon-ish.

Now I'm off to start my English paper (finally decided on a topic) and to get some sleep.  I've got a busy day tomorrow. Bonne nuit! (Good night.)