The Right To A Beautiful Life: Wednesday

Yesterday was my official last day of the semester, so I had to return my books back to the student store. Since my school is in such a quaint little town, I wanted to spend the day there and look at some stores, etc. My mom and I decided to get an earlier start, instead of my sleeping until noon, so we could get everything accomplished.

We got ready, then had to run a few errands in town before we left. While my mom was at the bank, I decided to take pictures...Because that's pretty much all I do in my spare time.

Eventually, we made our way out to Taft, listening to Celine Dion's Christmas album, which is magical if you've never listened to it. She has the voice of an angel and the songs are incredible, so it will make your Christmas that much more enjoyable.

Our first stop was the student store, which didn't take long at all. I think because everyone has such weird times for finals, it wasn't very busy, so I was able to get in and out. That was a load off of my mind, because it's one step closer to being done with school. After that, we decided to have lunch at this little diner that a couple of my friends and I would go to. I also realized that this was going to be my last trip to the town for a very long time, until graduation, which made me really sentimental. So, I tried to soak up as much of it as possible in all of its glory. Lunch was pretty tasty, but not quite as good as I remembered it being. Then again, I usually get the cheeseburger.

After lunch, we went exploring around town, which is basically a street of everything we wanted to see. It looks like just about every other small town out there, which my mom and I commented that Hollywood should totally use it to film stuff, because every shop on the block had just about closed down, making it all available. It's a charming place too, with a movie theater, several antique stores and a couple of restaurants. There was no one else around when we got out of there, which totally made me feel like I was on the backlot at WB Studios, and that felt awesome! I totally could've made my own mini movie in the center of town. Taft is also known for making a few movies in its time! There's one starring Robin Williams called "The Best Of Times" that was pretty big, I believe. Why didn't I think of making my own movies out there sooner? Oh well, maybe next time! There was such a nice chill in the air that for the first time in quite awhile it actually felt like winter. We went into an antique store, Old's Cool (Old school is how it sounds when you say it), because the last time we visited a few months ago, they said they were going to go all out for Christmas, and I definitely wanted to see that.
They weren't kidding when they said they'd decorate. It was complete with trees, lights hanging off objects, a small Christmas village, and several other Christmas items. Plus, all of their original antiques that had been there awhile. They have some really great stuff. Even though, I don't usually buy anything when I go in antique stores, I just love looking around and exploring...You can get a lot of great ideas to make things or even find things you remember having. There was even an adorable cat that followed us around for a bit and wanted to be our friend.

We walked down the street a little, and realized there was nothing else open, so we decided to go to Ben's Bookstore, which my mom used to go in all the time when she would wait for me during class. It's a cute little place filled with used books, sometimes autographed copies and a little sitting area with coffee and treats. Ben seemed really nice, wandering around to ask customers how they were and even offering us chocolates. They were tasty, by the way. I found several books, but seeing as most of the time lately I'll buy books and just not read them, I decided it would be best for me to not buy more. However, it reminded me of how much I want to open a little bookstore or something like that; somewhere that has regulars and is warm and inviting to strangers. I don't know, just something that sparked in my mind and heart while perusing.

We weren't really sure that there was anywhere else left to go, so we ended up at Albertson's picking up our Christmas roast. By that time, I was losing interest in anything, and was ready to head home. We listened to George Strait's Christmas album, and I admired the view. I was always able to take some really awesome pictures of the sky on the way home from class. Plus, I'd pass this sign that says "Mifflin" which naturally made me think of Dunder Mifflin and it would make me really excited every time. I know....

We got home, and decided to go to the store since it was in the middle of the week and it might not be as crowded to get some of our baking goods that we need to make Christmas treats. The store wasn't too bad and we ended up running into an old friend of my grandparents' that was nice to say hi to.

Ingredients for Faith Hill's Coca-Cola Cake.

The rest of the afternoon was spent inside, working on my critique and watching TV. My mom had even made Kimberly Schlapmann's (of Little Big Town) recipe for Limeade, which I had my doubts about, but was super tasty! Extremely sweet, but perfect for summer I'd say!
I watched a Christmas movie with my mom, had dinner, drank some hot cocoa, watched The X Factor, and looked up some outfit ideas from Bethany Joy Lenz and Demi Lovato; had my brain storming away for Vegas next month. It was a really relaxing night!

Here were a few throwback pictures:

Melora Hardin (Jan on The Office) at the Emmy's when we watched the red carpet in person! Also got REALLY close to Steve Carell, but only through a window where Ryan Seacrest was interviewing him and didn't have my camera :(