Saturday, January 16, 2010

Blonde Vs. Brunette



When I'd have an identity crisis as a teenager I would drastically change my hair color. I guess I was trying to reinvent myself in a very over the top Madonna kind of way. I still wonder who I am. Am I blonde or brunette? Do blondes really have more fun? Are brunettes really smarter? Do I want to be a little more Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line or Legally Blonde? I mean honestly you would think at this point in my life I would have something as simple as hair color figured out...Or there is always the possibility it's not that I'm having an identity crisis...I'm just one of those silly girls who changes her hair color all the time based on whether my mood is more on the bubbly side or more on the mysterious side.

Aaron and I met when I was going through my "Gothic Chanel Chic" phase. Haha I guess that is one way of saying right before we met I dyed my hair really dark and cut blunt bangs based on a Chanel runway show a few seasons back where all the models had that same hair style and color. When Aaron and I were engaged I was a red head (strictly a transition stage ) for a week and by the time we were married I was a bouncing Malibu Barbie blonde. So Aaron basically dated a brunette, was engaged to a red head and married a blonde. We have versatility in our relationship.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

A List: Things I Love About Ballet


1. Performing...I can't even explain how incredible it is to perform in front of a packed audience. The energy is insane when you are on your game and the audience is cheering you on.
2. Tutus...My most fabulous tutu's were hand made by my mother. Gorgeous! I had a few from the Bolshoi Ballet (all the way from Russia) that were just beautiful as well!
3. Tiaras...You can't beat such a literal interpretation of being a princess then putting on a tiara and having a spotlight on you.
4. Swan Arms...Your arms get so buff when you are staring in a mirror trying to make your arms move like a swan for hours...I mean really? Swans don't even have arms to flap, they have wings! So this task of 'being the swan' is impossible, but it makes for a great time.
5. Balanchine...If you haven't seen a Balanchine ballet, you are missing out. Even if you hate ballet, you'll like this guys stuff. The first ballet I ever performed for Aaron was a Balanchine Ballet.
6. Getting Paid to Dance...When I got my first professional contract I was in shock that I was getting a weekly pay check to pirouette and grande jete all day. I felt like an NFL star who was getting paid to throw a ball around...minus the millions of dollars a year, but basically the same idea.
7. Teaching...There are very few things that are as fun to me than having a talented group of kids to teach.
8. The Orchestra...When I would perform with a full orchestra I would often get so lost in how beautiful the music was. Dancing to live music made me so aware of how multi layered classical music can be.
9. The Music Box Ballerina...so many girls have that famous jewelry box with the spinning ballerina inside, even though her position is technically incorrect, it's still adorable!
10. New York City...my favorite place I studied ballet growing up. It's really the dance mecca of the country. In one tiny island, there is so much love and appreciation for dance, it's really amazing!
11. Fake Eyelashes...Really? Oh yes! I don't feel comfortable wearing them in a normal social situation. However, when it's show time I find the biggest most curly eyelashes to glue on! I mean a girl can never have to big of eyes or to long of eyelashes.
12. I'm Always in need of a foot rub...And nobody in their right mind is going to deny a poor girl who has had her feet in pointe shoes for six hours a foot rub...no matter how rancid my feet may smell.


Me performing in " The Sleeping Beauty"...see it's so easy to be a princess in the ballet world


I'm on the far left...performing at the Cirque Du Soleil Mystere Theatre. One of my favorite shows ever!


My University of Utah Days

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Our First Christmas and New Year Together!!!





Just prior to Christmas, Aaron and I were both ridiculously busy. I was dancing myself to death and Aaron had just taken his boards exam and finished up the semester. We were both in desperate need of some rest, relaxation and Christmas! Actually, this was my first exciting Christmas in three years. The three previous years I was stuck in Las Vegas doing "Nutcracker" performances on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, so Christmas consisted of my room mate and I eating In N' Out Burger and watching Fa La Lifetime specials. To say the least I was looking forward to a fun filled Christmas with Aaron. One of my favorite Christmas vacation moments was when Aaron surprised me and took me to "A Christmas Carol" at the Orem Hale Theatre. Santa Clause spoiled us and of course we over indulged each other as well, oh well Christmas comes but once a year. An extra holiday bonus was my younger brother was able to call from his mission in Sweden. He sounds so grown up! Our New Years was extra special, Aaron had his first job interview with a practice in St. George (of he course did very well) and he received his boards exam scores in the mail and he passed. Hurray! I had no doubt he'd pass. Clearly he is one of the smartest boys ever, so this was no surprise to me, but Aaron was relieved. We actually feel asleep around 10:30 on New Years Eve, I guess I am turning into an old married maid a lot sooner than I thought I would. 2009 was the greatest year of my life, I'm so excited to see what 2010 brings!




I was so EXCITED for that vacuume...I'm soooo domesticated.

The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Tour






When Aaron and I got married I came to the conclusion that I had performed enough years as a professional ballet dancer and would focus my career more on the teaching aspect of ballet and less on the performing aspect. That plan was quickly derailed when a few days before we were married I was offered a contract to dance and tour with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. After lots of thoughtful consideration Aaron and I decided that it would be hard to be away from each other for the five weeks the tour lasted, but it was too amazing of an opportunity to pass up. I signed the contract and left for Aspen. The rehearsals were long and hard but completely rewarding. I missed my husband so much, but at least I got to wear tutus and tiaras while I missed him. Aaron and both of our families came up to one of my performances in Aspen. I remember having a particularly fantastic performance knowing Aaron and our families were in the audience. By the end of the tour I was so ready to turn in my smelly pointe shoes for cuddling with Aaron.







Blast from the past...my first tour when I was 19!

Aaron's 29th Birthday


Aaron's Birthday was a night of love for us. I wanted to take him to one of my all time favorite Cirque Du Soleil shows "LOVE". I thought he would enjoy an ADD extravaganza type of show and I was still on a mission to make him the most cultured dental student ever. Of course, a reward for him sitting through a ninety minute high class circus act was the usual xbox games (call of duty) and accessories that he oh so much loves.



The Honeymoon!







After all of the excitement of the wedding, Aaron and I were in much need of a little Caribbean get away. I think Aaron deserved this more than I did, he not only was a total trooper during all the wedding events, he had been such a hard worker in dental school. So a week long Carnival cruise of lots of fun, fabulous shows and of course unlimited food was just what the doctor ordered. We did lots of incredible activities such as cave tubing, swimming with dolphins and sting rays, snorkling and of course just being incredibly good looking beach bums.






Loving the Wedding Dress

Here is the dress!


But this was the dress before my mom got her amazing Martha Stewart hands on it...






I was in love with my dress almost as much as I was in love with Aaron. I think that is how a bride should feel about her dress. It was a spaghetti strap gown off the rack, but my mother is an amazing seamstress and we pieced together left over material (the dress was taken from a size 6 to a 0...so lots of extra material) to create the top of the dress. My Grandma and my mother both wore the pearl necklace and earrings I wore on their own wedding days and my parents added a beautiful peal bracelet to the collection. It was sort of like I was a fashionable family history model on my wedding day.




SO cute! Our first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Radmall...actually that was our first formal dance together ever!


Here are pictures of what the dress looks like with the train down versus the bussle up...both very pretty!



The Daddy Daughter Dance! My Dad was was such a trooper. My mom actually made us "rehearse" this.

The Wedding!







I really don't have much to say about the wedding day. It was completely perfect. It was amazing to have so much love and support from our family and friends.I loved being married in the Salt Lake City temple. I remember visiting the temple when I was a little girl and thinking it was a princess castle. When I started attending the University of Utah I'd go visit the temple and I still thought wow this is a princess castle. So once I found my perfect boy, perfect dress and the perfect place it equaled the perfect wedding.





I never wanted the wedding day to end. So I decided to make it last as long as I possibly could. We had a reception in Utah the day after the wedding for all of our Utah friends and family. It was so pretty and the weather was perfect! Then we had another reception in California a few days later. Yet another success. Great weather, great food and lots of support from loved ones. So after three days of wedding/wedding related events...I felt more than happily satisfied.














My mom and good family friend made this cake...Amazing Ladies!

Beautiful Wedding Pics













Bryant Livingston was our photographer... he did an amazing job capturing all of the beautiful moments!