Sherlock

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth."

-Sherlock Holmes

Sorry Mr. Downey Jr. You just don't cut it for me. 

There is a more refined Sherlock in my life. 

He goes by the name of Benedict Cumberbatch. 

The best Sherlock I've seen. EVER. 

Not only does Mr. Cumberbatch make a much more superior Sherlock, but that Martin Freeman sure is a keeper. Sorry, Mr. Law but it looks like you just can't hold your own. 

Martin Freeman. I'd like to meet this man. He seems like he'd be a nice one. :) He's also THE Hobbit in the Prequel to the LOTR series, "The Hobbit"!!!! 

Sherlock. Everyone needs to watch this show!

I just watched the last episode of season 2. Holy GOODNESS! It was splendid. I cried like a little baby! Steven Moffat (also wrote Doctor Who) is simply a genius. GENIUS I SAY! 

Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch and Mr. David  Tennant. Sherlock,  meet Dr. Who. 

Go. Watch. Love. 

Pistachio Poultry on Pretty Purple Plates

Why, yes, I did just use a rather awesome alliteration to define the "Winter Semester 2012 Kick-Off" Dinner date that I had with Neil. Anyway...

So this year for Christmas I was given a set of dishes. 2 purple, square plates, 2 sets of silverware, 2 wine glasses and 2 glass bowls. I. Am. In. LOVE! 

(Thank you Kristen and Lauri!!)

Because of this, I decided that I should put them to good use. And, let's be honest here, the only good use for just a beautiful set of dishes is an equally beautiful dinner! YAY FOOD! All of last semester I was itching to try this Pistachio Chicken recipe that I found while Pinterest-ing. I absolutely LOVE pistachios but they are just so darn expensive that I knew I had to wait for the perfect opportunity to make the chicken. With the new dishes and the new recipe and a new semester I decided the time was just right.

This was our dinner on Tuesday night:

Look! That's my wreath!!

It was soooo yummy!

So we had asparagus, pistachio chicken, clementines, salad and a Pear Sparkling Juice thing. YUM!

Aren't those dishes just lovely? I LOVE THEM!!! 

Me and Neil :)

Then for dessert, Neil made PASSION FRUIT MOUSSE!!! It was SOOO good. 

In fact, there is still some in my fridge...hmm...

It tasted sooo much like passion fruit. Every time I took a bite I thought of Portugal. 

YUMMO!

After dinner we decided to watch a movie and chillax before the new semester. We were going to watch The Slipper and the Rose but when we popped it in the DVD player we discovered that it is a Non-USA format DVD. It's actually an Australia Region DVD. It was a sad realization but not too sad. I can watch it on my computer and other things...Anyway, we decided that we would watch Tangled! I love Tangled. It's simply adorable! 

So yeah, that was our spectacular date on Tuesday night. To tell you the truth though, any date with Neil is spectacular. Just sayin'.

DIY Yarn Wreath

I made my first ever yarn wreath and I LOVE it!! 

I'm obsessed with making them!

It was quite the ordeal but I made it in just a couple of hours (with some help) and it was really fun. My kind of  craft. I still haven't put it up in my apartment yet. I'm not sure where to put it but I did name it! Or rather, Neil, knowing my obsession for naming all thing inanimate, picked a name that I just LOVE.

*I made flowers out of felt. I had 3 different colors of purple and then I made a couple of little white flowers. In all honesty I didn't know how to do any of this so I just found blogs with felt flower tutorials and then played around with what I found. They aren't perfect but I love them. LOVE them!

Then I wrapped the foam wreath with the purple yarn. (Clearly it was purple but I love purple so much that I have to say it just in case, at any moment, you might forget!)

After I wrapped the yarn and hot glued it down, I played around with the placement of the flowers. I also added some flowers for some elegance. 

TADA!!!

 Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Sophie. My yarn wreath. 

Someone Asked...

This was an impromptu interview carried out by a friend while we were waiting for a class. 

Q: Why do you like singing?

A: I guess I've tried a lot of different things in my life. Sports, art, languages and stuff like that and though I'm okay at those things I really feel like the only thing I've ever been remotely good at. I have sisters and they all have things that they are just plain amazing at and I envy them. Music, singing specifically, has been the only thing I feel like I've been blessed with to make me stand out. 

Q: Who is your hero?

A: Well, that depends. When I was little I didn't think anyone could be more awesome than Julie Andrews. I love her voice! But as I got older I came to realize that very few people in my life are worthy of the "hero" status. First, I'd have to say my parents. They are both tied for first place. If you were to look up the word "patient" in the dictionary you'd see a picture of my Dad. It would be the same if you were to look up "selfless", "hard-working" and, my personal favorite, "bald". My Mom would be pictured next to "talented", "caring" and "dedicated". They are constantly trying to make sure that all of her daughters, all six of us, are happy. We're all so different! We all dabble in everything and have our own personal strengths and weaknesses and my parents have been able to keep my family functional. 

Q: Do you have a favorite sister?

A: What? No! I think I get along with each sister a little bit differently but that's because we each have such...different personalities. I think I get along best with Lauren but I think that could be said about her by any one of us. She's just a little more versatile when it comes to adapting to personalities. 

Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A: Easy! Ireland. Preferably Galway, Ireland. I don't know if my sisters feel the same connection to our Irish heritage like I do but there has always been a... biological call, if you will, for me to that place. I think my parents think I'm a little nuts because I feel like that but I can't help it. The music, the cliffs, the simplistic beauty of the country-side and the richness of the culture are enough for me to want to visit for an extended period of time and then again and again. Sadly, I haven't made it there yet. I plan to go someday. 

Q: So you have some Irish heritage, does that mean you're a real redhead?

A: I'm a real redhead at heart!!! That's all that matters! In all honesty, I am naturally a strawberry dark-blondish color. So physically, no but my spirit is as feisty and redheaded as can be! :)

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Purple.

Q: What is your favorite feature about yourself?

A: Um, I think I'd have to say my smile. I've always felt, and maybe I'm wrong, that it's my most genuine  feature. I like smiling too. I like it when I can't help but smile. 

Q:What do you want to do want to do with a Bachelor's Degree in Theater Education?

A: Is this a trick question? Um, I'd like to teach. High School. I love children and I think that they are extremely intelligent and can learn and understand so much more than we give them credit for. However, I know what theater did for me as an outlet when I was in high school. I'm grateful for the chances that I had to put on a character who was nothing like me because it taught me a lot about myself. There really isn't anyway to explain it, one has to experience it to really understand what it feels like. 

Q: If there is one thing from your past that you could undo what would it be?

A: I've been asked this before and I honestly don't think I did anything that I would take back. I would rather go back and do things that I didn't. Like, take more time to work on music theory and take voice lessons from someone who wouldn't compare me to other "fantastic vocalists". I would go back in time and appreciate more the beauty of all the different places that I lived. 

Q: Last one: What is your biggest fear?

A: That I will go through life unloved. That I won't find someone who loves me as much as I love them. Also, I fear that my family will somehow disown me and that nothing I do will be acceptable to them. Maybe it's an irrational fear but it's real. The other fear I have is of the dark. That's a long and funny story that I can tell you another time. 

So, there you go. Some really random facts about me. It was a fun little interview. It made me feel like I was a celebrity or something.

The Little Tree

Once Upon A Time...

There was a little tree. 

It was a little tree with lacy boughs 

that were filled with grace and beauty. 

However, little tree was surrounded by big fluffy full grown Pines.
This little tree had dreams of becoming a big tree that would someday 

reside in someone's home as their Christmas tree.
All the other trees laughed and laughed at him.
There was no way a little tree like him could ever grow up
 to be a beautiful Christmas tree.
But the little tree was not discouraged.
Every time a family would pass him in the woods
he would stretch as tall as he could
and reach out as far as his boughs could go.
But no one ever picked him.
With every passing person, little tree would stretch and reach,
stretch again and reach again.
Sometimes he would even sway in the wind to show everyone that he could dance, just like the big Pines.
But sadly, little tree was left alone.
He watched as one by one, year after year
the Pines would be chosen and carried away to be decorated,
sung around, gazed at, and praised.
He so wished he could be big
because if he was big, he would be loved too!
One night, little tree looked up at the stars in the sky.
He found the brightest one he would see and wished.
"I wish for a family to find me and take me home! And, brightest star,
if you would, could they give me a name too? I would so very much love a name."
Then, closing his eyes he fell asleep.
The next day, little tree was woken up by the sound of sniffing.
A young puppy had found him and close behind were the pup's family.
He closed his eyes really tight and with as much hope as he could muster
asked for this family to take him home.
He opened his eyes.
There she was.
A redheaded girl was playing with the puppy
and little tree knew she would be the one to take him home.
So he stretched and reached and swayed
seeing that she was close by.
If only she would look up she would see him.
And then she did.
She praised his beautiful lacy boughs and stayed close by him until
the others came by.
He was so hopeful!
But the redheaded girl smiled and they all kept on walking.
Devastated, little tree, drooped his boughs and began to cry.
He looked up to the sky where the star had been the night before,
"Why? Why little star could I not just go with her?"
But then, much to little tree's astonishment
the redheaded girl came back!
Her smile was wide and she turned to the blond boy with her and said,
"This one. This one is my Christmas tree!"
Little tree could not believe it!
He was chopped down by the boy and then the redheaded girl picked him up.
"He is perfect, " she said with a smile. "Simply perfect."
That was the year that little tree was decorated,
sung around, gazed at and praised.
He was now a Christmas tree and his name was Phineus.

*This is my tree Phineus, he is simply perfect!*

Phineus, my Christmas Tree

Yes. He is wearing a bow tie. Why? Because bow ties are cool!

Giving Thanks

*Names have been removed to protect the identities of the innocent. So, instead I have pictures!*

Meg

This Thanksgiving Break was the most amazing break I've had in long time. Don't get me wrong, I've loved the hospitality and love that has been shared with me by friends and family in the last couple years and I am grateful for people who have taken me in. However, this year I was blessed to spend Thanksgiving Break with The Olsen Family. My "boy's" family. Yes, I have a "boy". He will be discussed at length on a different day.  Wednesday night Boy and I drove from Provo to Manti. There was this overwhelming sense of freedom as we left the city and headed into the darkness of the country. I didn't feel trapped anymore by street lights, crazy drivers who think every street is the NASCAR track, lights, and an overwhelming amount of people. The stars were more visible and that alone made me heart sigh with relief. We drove for about an hour and a half and the view of the temple, as we drove into the town was enough to stop my heart. It was absolutely stunning. Once we got inside we dropped our bags and I met Boy's family. His immediate family, that is. He has two younger brothers, Twins, and they are hilarious. His Mom is one of the most amazing ladies I have ever met. She was baking pies for Thanksgiving when we got there and she was so kind and hospitable, she's just simply a wonderful woman. His Dad is soft spoken and also kind. He, too, is quite an amazing man. I have to admit something though, I think the cutest member of his family (aside from Boy) is his dog, Meg. She is the most adorable boarder collie puppy I have ever met. She kissed me and curled up in my lap and played with me. She seemed so proud to show off her "mad" raccoon hunting skills. She simply melted my heart. Anyway, it was nice to sit and chat for awhile and let's just say that I had no idea of what was in store for me in the days to come.

This is me and Boy. 

Thursday-Thanksgiving Day
The Olsen's have a tradition in their family. Pie for Breakfast. It is probably the most ingenious idea I have heard in a long time. They have pie for breakfast with the whole family because, as everyone knows, after dinner you're too stuffed to eat anything especially pie. This way you don't feel like you're a balloon about ready to pop! It's magnificent. What's more is that I believe all of the pies were homemade. It's a beautiful thing. Anyway, I met a whole lot of cousins and Aunts and Uncles and it was overwhelming but so much fun. They truly are an amazing family. All of them. After breakfast, and after family members began to trickle out, the rest of us gathered in the living room to watch the last bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day
 Parade. I've never really watched all of it because I really don't have the patience for it but it was cute. It helped that I was playing with Legos with Boy and his younger twin brothers.  It was quite amusing and after awhile I realize that my creative skills tend to fall around the 0% mark when it comes to Legos. So I sat back for awhile and watched for a bit. I noticed a couple things:

1. They all sit the same way. It's quite darling actually.

Sitting on one leg with the other leg bent.

2. Boy is an excellent "booby trap" engineer. 

Booby Trap

 Anyway, it was quite an eventful afternoon and we hadn't even eaten dinner yet! We went over to his Aunt and Uncle's house and it was simply a lot of fun. Fun+Good food=One Happy Caitlin. This was the "Kids" table.

Thanksgiving Dinner Table

Tied to my glass I found a beautiful little ornament that his aunt had made. It was a gift for me!

This currently resides on my Christmas tree

After dinner we sat around and chatted about everything. Music, movies, school, where I'm from, what I'm doing at school etc. We even talked about iPhones and I decided that talking to a phone who is intelligent enough to talk back is not my cup of tea. In fact, I feel like the new iPhone 4 S is somehow plotting the world's demise...but that's a topic for another time. After we were done chatting, we helped clean up and then we sat around and sang songs. The Olsen Family is quite the talented bunch. 

Musical kiddos. It was a fun evening. 

Later we watched Miracle on 34th Street. A movie I have never seen, or remember seeing that it. I thought it was a very cute movie. Finally, after a long day of food and fun we went back to Boy's family's house and headed to bed. It was such a good day and I had had a good hair day...see?

 

Now, on Friday we had quite the little adventure. When we woke up we got ready to go up into the mountains to go Christmas Tree "hunting". Now, I've never done this before but it was a lot of fun.  It was cold but so much fun! We climbed around the mountain searching for a good tree and found one that in my mind is quite perfect. (Of course, this is not my tree but I still loved it.) On the way back down the mountain, Boy's Mom saw a little lacy Cedar that I fell in love with. So, Boy cut it down for me and now I am the proud owner of the cutest Cedar Christmas tree that you have ever seen! It makes me so very happy.

This is Boy fixing the air in his Dad's truck tires. 

When we got back, Boy began to practice his song for that evening's Christmas Program for his grandparents. I helped the twins memorize "Twas The Night Before Christmas" and then I practiced my song, O Holy Night. 

That's Boy. He plays the piano EXTREMELY WELL.

This little artistic festival was followed by some extremely fun shooting... of shotguns that is. Then we did the most amazing thing and rode the horses. Sadly, I do not have visual documentation of either one of these events because, quite frankly, having my iPhone out at every second, taking pictures was obnoxious and rather boring. I was enjoying myself too much. Anyway, before I got on my horse, Boy and his Dad took the horses around the pasture and something happened that stopped my heart and yet taught me a lesson all at the same time. So you know that saying "Get back on the horse"? Yes, well, I know it well and if he didn't before (which is doubtful) Boy definitely learned that it is the best thing to do. Boy was bucked off the horse he was riding. Not that his horse was a bad horse, he just got a little rile d up but, man oh man was that the slowest five seconds of my life. Watching Boy fly off the horse like that was scary but then something super awesome happened. He popped up off the ground and got back on his horse. So, a simply thing, right? Um, not to me. That lesson of getting back on the horse was taught to me, quite literally, by Boy and he didn't even know he was doing it. (Aside from "life lessons" Boy is actually a very good teacher.)

After riding the horses around the pasture a few times, we decided to go in and thaw before dinner. Even though I had been looking forward to riding horses and shooting guns from the moment I found out they were part of the plans, I have to say that Friday night was my favorite night of the whole entire break. 

It's tradition in Boy's family to have a Christmas Program and Prime Rib Dinner the day after Thanksgiving. They come together to kick off the Christmas season and it was the most touching, spiritual, simple gifts that anyone could have given me, to let me stay and experience that with them. 

For this Christmas Program, Boy played the song The Holy City, his grandpa's favorite song. The the twins recited "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Then I had the privilege of taking part in this program by singing O Holy Night. It is one of my favorite Christmas songs and as I sang I prayed. I prayed that I would be allowed to take with me the spirit of Christmas that everyone else had brought to the program and I thanked the Lord for allowing me to share my talent with a family who had shared so much with me and hoped that it was enough. 

After the program, we ate dinner (and more pie!) And as another part of their tradition, we watched last year's Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. Last year they featured David Archuleta and Michael York. As we listened to the songs and the stories, I couldn't help but feel the everlasting peace that comes from knowing that Jesus Christ came into the world "not to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."-John 3:17 Christ came unto this world, not with the loud trumpeting of heavenly hosts or with fanfare and parades. He came, born of the Virgin Mary, humbly; born in a lowly manger stall surrounded  oxen and lambs. He who would suffer for me in Gethsemane, He who would be hung on a cross on Calvary, He who would rise again overcoming death; His life began humbly, quietly, peacefully in a manger. My heart filled with the overwhelming knowledge that Christ lives and loves me and that even for just a weekend, I was blessed to be able to spend a time of Thanksgiving with a wonderful family who shared their home, their talents and their love with me, a stranger. 

Christ lives and He loves you and me. That is what I am most grateful for.                                                 

My New Phone

There is a story attached to this which I will be blogging about soon but for now, say hello to my new phone, Atticus. He is an iPhone 4. 

I'm in love. :)