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seriously, some campaigns can bring me to tears, make me laugh, leave me dumbstruck or just completely disgust me.

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recently i saw the miracle whip ad on TV: a forced attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. i didn’t know miracle whip had a problem getting 20-somethings to buy their product. it’s just so mm mm tasty.

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however, when i saw this, it was a pretty surreal experience. definitely left me puzzled.

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without missing a beat, stephen colbert’s show writers came up with a brilliant reply. it’s so great that i really don’t have much to add.

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however, the miracle whip company did have some fun of their own by continuing the battle with a witty press release, which you can read here.

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also on the list of baffling advertisements this week (most of which have been brought to my attention by the lovely best week ever blog) is this Jeep ad.

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seriously, everyone in my creative poetry writing class could write something better than this. it would not take long. and it doesn’t make any sense!!

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well, on another note, i would also like to bring attention to verizon’s new ad campaign which is just downright AMAZING. though, they are getting into some mudslinging territory as well.

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watch the “there’s a map for that” ad here.

seriously, “there’s a map for that”?? so clever.

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and their other “rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” knockoff is so well-done. and just in time for Christmas season :)

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p.s. if you’d like to see one ad that made me get a little teary eyed, click here. in my defense, it probably affected me more after seeing some behind-the-scenes about how the campaign was created at the ad agency Integer in Des Moines.

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p.p.s. i would’ve liked to embed at least one of these videos in to my blog, but i’m having trouble for some reason. help me, nat!!

we wrote petty notes about our crushes, gossip, classwork, friendship, etc.

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oh, 7th grade. i do not miss you at all.

photo via red lips & ice cream

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i like to think i’ve matured a lot since then. after all, i can look back and say “wow, i was dumb.”

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what will i look back and wince at ten years from now?

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but, at the same time, i still enjoy many childish things. today i was asked to make a mix CD for a 1st grader… because i have most of the music she would enjoy already in my itunes :) i’m not particularly ashamed of this, but it is kinda funny.

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and as i was writing “childish things,” 1 corinthians 13:11 immediately sprung to mind. guess now that i’m about to graduate, it’s time to mature a bit…

fall playlist

electric feel – mgmt
leaves in the river – sea wolf
the general specific – band of horses
3 – britney spears
naive – the kooks
the wrong girl – missy higgins
hello seattle – owl city
mushaboom – feist
fashion – lady gaga
the shining – badly drawn boy
rock & roll – eric hutchinson
unstoppable – kat de luna
pagan angel and a borrowed car  – iron & wine
love song for no one – john mayer
pursuit of happiness – kid cudi
free of me – joshua radin
enough for now – the fray
set free – katie gray
i was once a loyal lover – death cab for cutie
face drop – sean kingston
please, please, please, let me get what i want – the smiths
brand new day – joshua radin
bulletproof – la roux
body language – jesse mccartney

photo via cat klein

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last year we had an amazing ensemble of wizard of oz characters, complete with a tiger, bear and “oh my!” (to accompany the lion, of course).

photo via natalie askren.

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as justin said, it was our “finest hour” :)

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as for this year, we’re attempting to go as disney characters.

which, of course, i love.

via princess blog

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just… not much progress has been made.

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i recently transitioned from jasmine – a difficult/flashy/potentially expensive costume to create to wendy from peter pan.

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now i just have the decision of whether to wear a dress, paired with white tights and black flats, or go with more of a night gown look.

via blog and forever 21

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better get to work…. :)

via princess blog

and i haven’t written in a while.

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this isn’t how the blog was supposed to be!!!

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it was intended to be frequent updates with lots of pics, music, insight and fun :)

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time to go win in volleyball… rainy day playlist and weekend updates to come.

photo via natalie askren

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this past weekend i had the opportunity to hear two Godly men speak – both of whom are immensely talented. the first was Ed Noble at the Salt retreat – he talked about living dangerously in the face of God. definitely convicting. he spoke about listening to God through prayer, which was a great reminder of how we should be expecting Him everywhere. at one point, he mentioned imago dei (image of God) and how “everything people touch has the fingerprints of God.”

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one of the funniest moments of the weekend had to be when Mark Arant interrupted Glee’s version of “don’t stop believing,” claiming that he hated doing it, and that it was “such a call to worship.”

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THEN there was Donald Miller. as if God didn’t bless us enough this weekend. without running away with my feelings, i must say that with his writing and his speech, he usually hits me right where i am. plus, he just happened to be hilarious. despite a few jabs at the industry of advertising (ha), i agreed with almost everything he said.

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at one point, he referenced james 2:26 in a roundabout way by saying, “what we think and feel don’t matter unless they manifest themselves in action” [emphasis added]. on tour, promoting his new book (a million miles in a thousand years), but also encouraging us to be the protagonists of our own lives.

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that’s all i’ve got for now. great, great weekend and a reminder of God’s faithfulness. the barn dance was a ball, too, of course, but my lungs still hurt every time i think about that dust-filled place.

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photo via extra medium..

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i remember my first barn dance – sophomore year. korp and i were dancing up a storm, but couldn’t join in the soulja boy dance because the moves were too complicated to learn in 3.5 minutes. so of course we taught ourselves the minute we got home. please learn it now.
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also: donald’s blog.

photo via darynbarry

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it is 1 am on a monday morning and i will need to be up bright and early to fulfill a Salty duty (-ahem- one i might have been slacking on a bit this semester).

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but i absolutely hate going to bed earlier than midnight.

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could this spell some sort of sleep disorder/mental condition?

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right now i’m putting off bedtime by listening to “free of me” by joshua radin on repeat.

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just cannot get enough of his music – i got to see him perform live in des moines last year with some of my friends and even met him afterwards.

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you could probably go download some of his music…  right now.

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alright, officially time for me to nod off… until next time.