here comes the bride!

i want to dedicate this post to my dear friend courtney, who got hitched without a hitch this past weekend in STL! it was a beautiful ceremony and i was so blessed to be a part of it! She made a stunning bride who was organized, levelheaded, and the most chill bride i've ever seen. i'm not surprised, because courtney has always been my most reasonable, put together, and no fuss friend. she's good at planning for rainy days and therefore isn't fazed when things crop up. she is encouraging, kind, loyal, and oh so deserving of a happily ever after [which began on the 17th!].

pre-wedding festivities:

wedding day!

the only redeeming part of having a 7:15am flight the day after the wedding:

all in all, the wedding weekend was a huge success, and i even got some studying done. courtney and dan, thanks for letting me be a part of your big day. i look forward to being your friend for forever! i can't wait for you to pop out some babies for me to spoil rotten!

xoxo,

kate and ellie

finally, new ben folds!

when will our consciences grow so tender

that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
-eleanor roosevelt  [the princess' namesake]

people made quite a large fuss about the execution of a possibly innocent man the other night [although sadly, according to facebook, people were more worked up about a barely noticeable facebook layout change]. it [the execution] was indeed an unfortunate miscarriage of justice. however, i wonder what would happen if instead of making a fuss about this one instance, we used our collective voices to protest the execution of anyone, anytime, anywhere? or to protest the fact that people die every day of preventable causes due to an inability to procure care? or that fetuses are aborted every day simply for being conceived to careless parents? or that cute kittens and doggies are euthanized because there isn't funding and foresight to spay and neuter? these are everyday tragedies that are largely ignored because facing the truth is too hard for the average american. so yes, i am sad for mr. davis. but i am equally sad for the millions of nameless lives lost who will never have celebrity sponsors or widespread public outcries.

and i don't apologize for sounding like such a bleeding heart.

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
where there is hatred, let me sow love.
where there is injury, pardon.
where there is doubt, faith.
where there is despair, hope.
where there is darkness, light.
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that i may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
for it is in giving that we receive.
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

birthday epiphany

at first i was sad and annoyed about turning twenty six but then i heard someone complain about how worried they are to turn 25, and that was just annoying. almost as annoying as how i just used numerical values and spelled numbers in the same sentence. i realized that complaining about age just makes a person sound silly and vapid. so i'm excited to be another year older because it is a blessing to be alive - and there is so much good to experience in this world. so yay, and thank you in advance for the wonderful birthday wishes. you should really be wishing my mom happy kate's birthday, because she's the one who had to be filleted open because my stupid placenta implanted over her cervix so i couldn't be delivered naturally. thanks mom! you are #1 and congrats on 26 years of being the best mother!

here

do you want to know something??

these are people that i love. and they love me back, to boot.

how does one girl get so lucky?

i'm missing everyone back home right now. thanks for the wonderful summer! above are photos from my mom's birthday party - it was  great way to wrap up my terrific vacation. [you'll notice the vegetarian corn dog - i was in heaven!]

in other news, we've survived a earthquake and a hurricane recently. neither proved to be a big deal for dc, but thanks for all the good thoughts and the prayers! i really really appreciate everyone's concern with calls and texts and emails.

i'm just trying to stay afloat in terms of school and all the miscellany that i need to attend to [it never seems to end, does it?] but i'm trying to stay positive because in the end, happiness comes from within [but it also doesn't hurt to have lil miss eleanor being cute all the time and some quality friends giving me time, smiles, and encouragement]. in the end, everything and everyone on the periphery will fade away and only love will remain. probably. 

xoxo,

kate and the princess