my cup runneth over

this week has been an amazing. 

i found myself stressing out in the beginning of the week, unsure of what this summer would bring but ultimately i realized that no matter what happens i can be comforted by the thought that God is in control. 

i'm truly living a blessed life as i graciously celebrated my 22nd birthday, with those who shed so much love on me, this past friday. jake and his roommates allowed me to decorate their place a little, adding a touch of femininity, before having people over to grill out and attempt to play games. {i also lit this awesome candle from bath and body works called blackberry grapefruit. it smells delicious.} we started about 5 games and didn't finish one ... there's a reason for the limit on the number of players. once you surpass 6-8 people, it's hard to concentrate. {especially when you (or i) have a short attention span as it is. whoops.} however, each game had it's great moments. like michael putting red lipstick on during quelf. pretty sure everyone pulled out their phones to take pictures. 

thank you to everyone who helped me ring in my 22nd year of life. i'm just thankful to have spent it in your company. :)

hannah

summer time and the livin' is easy.

the end of the school year was rough with the papers, my students' recitals, and my own senior recital. however, it all ended with a great night of baseball in kansas city with my parents and jake. (can i just say that derek jeter is amazing? i may be in love with him even if he is almost 40. sorry jake...) we had really great seats close to third base where there was a chance for foul balls to knock me out. seriously, i was actually concerned about this! i am a pretty accident prone person as it is, i don't need increased odds. this cute kid in front of us kept saying, "don't worry, i'll just catch it." every time i mentioned a ball hitting me in the head. it was adorable. he was even more comforting than my man was. maybe i can trade ... just kidding, that'd be a little creepy even though he probably is closer to my height than my tall-ish boyfriend. who looked like a giant next to me. just look at that last photo.
i hope you all are having a great start to your summer. :)

winding down

i can hardly believe school is almost over. i have at least 21 pages in papers to write for the last few days of school. that's always my cue to blog instead.

the past four years have been the best of my life, at least to date. i have become friends with some amazing people and have firmly established relationships with others. every one is planning on going their separate ways, which makes me a little teary-eyed. meredith is going to NEW YORK (all caps because who wouldn't want to go there? and for mannes). tim is going to ohio (CIM). janny is going to texas (rice). michael is going to washington (walla walla). becca is going to boston to be with her man. it's so crazy. crazy to think of where we all started and now where we're all going. from a small music college to big time universities and conservatories. it really does prove that it's not where you start but where you finish. i'm so proud of all of these great people and the accomplishments they have made over the past few years. they'll always hold a special place in my heart.

i'm especially going to miss my dearest friend. she's been around for 10 years and next year she's going to be gone. ok, not gone. but she won't be able to go on our little shopping trips or entertain my moments of craftiness. at least she's giving me a good reason to visit new york city. (june 24th, watch out big apple. me and my partner in crime are gonna take a big bite out of you.)

back to fiddling research papers, cultural anthropology, and analysis for performance. quite the mix.

on the shelf.

just a few things.

1. i've been lacking some serious motivation lately. mainly in school ... and practicing. which is awful. i think it's a mix between the absence of inspiration and losing sight of the finish line. i just want school to be DONE. i'm tired of the tests and the assignments. i'm ready for new things.
2. i've been buying a lot of things for my home ... that i don't have yet. is this a sign? like maybe it's time to move out of the parents house or something. but really... i bought some cute stuff. stuff i could not pass up. no matter how temporarily stinky it may be.
3. i love thrifting. now more than ever.
4. summer plans are coming up quickly! let's just skip spring break and get right to summer. so excited to be going to greenwood music camp in massachusetts to babysit some chiara bebes in exchange for some quality time with julie yoon. who is going to kick my butt in ways that it hasn't been kicked before. i need inspiration? there it is. 

here's the stinky couch that i could not live without.  

it's currently residing in jake's room.

a passing post

i have failed at keeping this blog up to date so this post is just one in passing, though there may be another one as i have so much time off! i hope you all have a great christmas and holiday season. this year has been an amazing one filled with blessings that are so undeserved. a job that i would hardly consider a job because i love it so much, though it is a lot of work. opportunities to play with a professional orchestra. celebration of a year with the man that i love, but for those who keep track (like myself) we're really pushing three years. visiting family members who i don't see enough of... and my terrible memory is failing to serve me of all the other great things that have happened. i couldn't be more thankful for all of my family and friends who have been through this year with me. during this season, it's hard not to be thankful.

the few pictures i've taken.

1.) in rocky mountain nat'l park with jake's family. 2.) holding cousin claire's baby girl

3.) encouraging letter from jake during a rough week. 4.) strong group of musicians who played a three performances of the Marriage of Figaro and then another performance for the Lincoln's Symphony.

5.) visiting the grandparents in Alabama for Thanksgiving. 6.) first snow.

7.) meredith and i after a coffee date. 8.) all the teachers from the studio after the winter recital.

9.) changed my hair this past week... embracing the ombre.

10.) my man.

enjoy the holidays!

roasted bell pepper toasts

i haven't posted in forever. i'm so terribly sorry. life gets hectic when you're a full-time student, you work part-time, and are preparing for auditions and lessons with other professors. however, last night jake and i made this delicious recipe and i just had to share it with you all!

how our batch turned out.

these are roasted bell pepper toasts and they are to die for. 

seriously, they're delicious.

we were looking for a bruschetta recipe but decided to go with this instead. 

good thing we did.

click that link, roast some peppers, and you won't regret it.

til next time...

the swing of the things

i have been gone from my blog for far too long! i think i have some pretty good excuses though.

excuse #1: school started

excuse #2: i'm teaching every night

excuse #3: house/dog sitting for some friends

excuse #4: nothing too interesting has been happening

they're good, right? maybe i'm not cut out for the whole blogging thing; i'm definitely not going to make it a full time job.

school started last week and though i'm only taking about 14 credits, it still feels like a lot. it helps that one of them is a graduate course and the other two big ones are gen eds that require way too much work. not only that but with the addition of a few more students to my personal little studio, i manage to keep busy during the day and at night. i have about 16 students now? something around that number. it's all fun though, except for the school part. 

i've been watching this handsome fella...

poor quality, i'm sorry.

for the past half week and it's been pretty delightful.

i can count on him to wake me up every morning from around 7:30 - 8. except i won this morning and woke up before him. i think he was kind of confused by it.

just gettin' back into the swing of things. here's to hoping it won't be too long before i post again.