Harry Potter

One of our last days in London we went on the Harry Potter studio tour, pause for moment of jealousy...Okay, now I can say how absolutely incredible this experience was. Let me be start off by stating that I like Harry Potter, but I wouldn't consider myself a die hard fan. Honestly, I stopped reading the books about 4 books in, but I've seen/own all of the movies.

This experience was not only amazing because it was Harry Potter, but because I'm a huge movie buff and it was incredible seeing the entire film process. You got to see so many amazing sets, costumes, props, hair and make up, special effects...my list could go on. The time, the effort, the details, the hard work that goes into creating a film series over 10 years...it's just amazing.

I wish I could recount everything that our tour guide told us and all of the amazing facts written about each piece. Here are some notable highlights, however...

1. The Great Hall was created to stand the test of time. The floor was made from real stone so it could withstand the wear and tear of shooting for 10 years! Also, the ceiling full of candles? Not real. The ceiling consisted of metal pipes and film equipment. There was never a true ceiling the entire 10 years.

2. The door to the Chamber of Secrets (the door with all of the snakes) was thought to be created through CGI, but in reality it was created to actually work. It was made through mechanical parts that have the snakes move in their pattern to open the door.

3. The moving paintings were played by crew members and their families created through a green screen. Also, the paintings seen around the school were crew members as well. Some of them posed for these pictures, some were unaware!

4. The potion bottles in Snape's classroom, along with every wand in Ollivanders, was hand written and created by set designers.

5.  A miniaturized exact replica of Hogwarts was created for pan shots of the outside of the school. This model is amazing for its detail alone.

We spent a good few hours at the studio but even as I left I wish that I had stayed longer, read things in better detail, and took more pictures. Guess this means another trip to London is in order!

Too Creepy!

Butter Beer anyone?

This is from a different day, but I had to include it! Hogwarts, here I come!

Outfit:

Top: J.Crew (similar here)

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Boots: Steve Madden (similar here)

Jewelry: Tiffany bead earrings, Tiffany heart ring, Flower ring from Cuffs

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Glasses: Penguin

New glasses

These babies just came in the mail! I needed a new pair of everyday glasses since I'm super lazy and haven't gone to get my contact eye exam. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Outfit

Dress: Jcrew

Vest: Forever 21

Hair bow: Rob & Sioux

Jewelry: Target earrings, Evil eye necklace from Greece, gifted heart necklace

Glasses: Penguin The Gandorff Eyeglasses

Sculpture Garden

Yesterday we decided to take a family outing to the sculpture garden. Houston still amazes me with what it has to offer. In the museum district there's literally an area where there's a ton of sculptures and benches for people to come and walk around and enjoy the art. It made me want to go back with a picnic lunch and a good book and just take in the scenery.

The shoes I'm wearing were an amazing Christmas present from my parents. I had been looking at these for a while so I put them on my list and I figured fate would figure out the rest! I wanted to pair them with a more feminine outfit to add just the right amount of edge to it. I really like the end result, what do you think?

This is when they told me not to touch the art, oops!

Thank you to my amazing uncle for all the pictures!

Outfit

Top: Jcrew

Skirt: Juicy Couture

Jewelry: BCBG necklace, BCBG rings

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Purse: Cole Haan (old) 

Touring Houston

This was day one of my parents trip to Houston. We took a tour around the city and showed them all the city has to offer. Honestly this is my favorite thing to do when people come out to visit for the first time. My Uncle Matt knows so much about the city and has so many fun facts to share as we drive around. I get to hear something new with every tour we do!

Our first pit stop was a park that is dedicated to my uncles that is both able-bodied and disabled children accessable. It was really a fun park...as you can see I had a little bit of fun there too! We also drove through downtown and saw the theater discrict. Finally, we drove around River Oaks, my favorite neighborhood. I love to look at the different houses and all the architechture. River Oaks has some amazing homes!

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take photos of my outfit, but you can get the gist from the photos. Enjoy!

Beer can house aka house made entirely of beer cans!

Outfit

Top: Jcrew (similar here)

Jeans: 7 for all mankind

Shoes: Tory Burch (similar here)

Bracelets: Stella & Dot, Tiffany, purchased in Greece

Earrings: Tiffany (old)