christmas

nothing could have made this weekend better.

happy birthday pappa-roni

happy birthday

to the smartest man i know.

i love you.

day dreaming

i love a white christmas

more than anything.

but since that doesn't look promising

this year,

i wouldn't mind being back in hawaii...

wouldn't mind at all.

i should remember this

do you ever

think about things

too much?

to the point where

you're making things 

up in your mind

and you think

it's the biggest deal

ever?

then when you tell

someone about it

they laugh at you

and tell you it's ridiculous?

i do.

and then i laugh too -

because i know it's ridiculous.

christmas time!

i'm so happy

i get to spend

it with him.

i can't wait 

until he's done

with finals

so we can

finally

buy a tree.

latest obsession

chick fil a

peppermint shake.

it has chunks 

of peppermint and chocolate.

seriously, it is so good.

i'd be happy living off these,

diet coke,

and waffle fries 

for the next month.

change

lately

it seems like the only thing constant

is change.

some (really) good

some bad

and some just different.

i think it's the change 

that just changes things

(neither for good or bad)

that makes my head spin

the most.

i think i'm beginning to realize 

just how much control 

we have over our lives.

the decisions we make mean so much,

but at the same time

there's no way to predict

where life will take us.

like i said - 

head-spinning.

yogurtland

it's a long drive,

but worth it.

i love yougurtland.

i also love chloee and my husband.

we have some pretty good

fhe's.

it's here.

and it's beautiful.

wedding photos are now up and running.

wedding pics here

i love our photographer

lindsey stewart

(green apple photography)

and our florist
sarah winward
(honey of a thousand flowers).
they are both
so sweet
fun to work with
and so incredibly talented.
highly highly highly recommend.

if i could re-live

any day

it would be our wedding day.

don't have to ask me twice.

simplicity

so maybe

i still have not finished

writing thank-you cards,

found a rug for our kitchen,

or bought a bed-skirt

(despite 7323943 trips 

to home furnishing stores).

i have everything i need to be happy

(and by everything i mean everyone)

and that's all that counts.

marriage = no blogging for me

i'm married now.

i love it.

i love our apartment too,

minus the fact that

it has no internet

(which makes blogging difficult).

i think i've managed

to steal the wifi 

from the library 

across the street...

it's public property, right?

i've got the best friends

last weekend 

my friends took me to vegas

for my bachelorette party.

they're the best.

but really...

who else would enter 

a bull-riding contest at 

a las vegas pool

to win a $50 credit to the bar

to redeem for

12 icy cold diet cokes?

not a lot of people would do that.

i'm so lucky to have them.

so so so lucky
(they're just the best)

missing him.

he's been in colorado

for three weeks too long.

i'm just happy i'm marrying him.

a month ago

we wandered downtown slc

and came across

a tiny free concert

tucked behind some buildings...

great people watching.

that's where we took these pics

on his phone.

did you know,

salt lake city

has the largest bohemian population

in the country?

ranier cherries

the past couple of days

i've been really craving these.

unfortunately,

at $5.99/lb

my mom won't have it.

i just might 

buy them myself.

worth it.

when in rome

let me start off by saying

you know someone's your best friend

when you have 294 pictures

together on facebook.

and this best friend

received her mission call yesterday!

rome, italy. 

i am so happy for her!

she is the coolest girl i know.

seriously. so amazing.

she will be the greatest missionary!

book club!

b&b 

is the name of our book club.

do i always finish the books?

no.

do i always go to book club?

yes!

i love my friends.

i just might give it a go

i think i'll try to make these

tomorrow

for sunday breakfast.

they are darling!

home! home on the range!

last weekend

i went to jackson hole

with richie's family.

for the first time in my life

i saw buffalo.

i thought they'd be gentle giants

just like cows,

but no,

they will charge if you get too close.

i also ate the best dessert of my life.

it is giada's fav:

homemade brownie/klondike bars

dipped in hot caramel.

mmm mmm mmm.

i'd eat it daily if i could.

romney for president!

oh how i loved

going to vegas

to help with mitt romney's campaign.

free hotel suite,

best friends,

great road trip,

and the chance to help

my favorite presidential candidate?

yes please and thank you.

(oh, and just excuse the bottom picture.

keep in mind that it was 5 am.)

i'm going to miss you, U of U

i'm done!
it's weird & sad & exciting
all at the same time.
the best part
was sharing the event
with my brother & my best friend!
---
(and yes, my cap is falling off
in the picture. it did that all day.
i couldn't quite figure out how to
wear that thing. it's okay.)

last dg formal

i'm going to miss these things!

note to self:

no boots 

are worth wearing

(no matter how much you love them)

if it means getting your toenail

ripped off.

next time,

if they don't have your size

just forget it.
hasta la vista toenail,
see you in a year.

this month's beverage of choice

i've recently 

taken a liking

to gatorade.

the one critique

i have about it

is that it has calories

(diet coke has spoiled me).

well today i discovered

that none other than

the always wonderful Maverik

has a low-calorie Gatorade

in their fountain machine.

the best part?

it tastes like a squeeze-it.

Ai Weiwei

On May 12, 2008 an earthquake with the magnitude of eight on the Richter scale occurred in the Chinese province of Sichuan. Among the circa 80,000 victims were several thousand children, who were buried underneath the rubble of collapsed schools. Because the buildings around the schools remained conspicuously unharmed, accusations were made of botched building work; these, however, were rejected by the government. Together with a team of about 30 volunteers, Ai Weiwei researched the names of the victims – in opposition to the government, which did not officially provide information on the actual number of the dead, and which threatened parents with reprisals if they provided their dead children’s names. Nonetheless, Ai Weiwei was able to publish more than 4,000 names on his blog. 

"Remembering" is designed for the Haus der Kunst’s façade consisting of 9,000 backpacks made specifically for this purpose. With this installation Ai Weiwei recalls the earthquake in Sichuan since many backpacks of the buried children were found under the collapsed schools. The backpacks on the façade are in one of five colors and arranged to spell out the sentence "She lived happily for seven years in this world" in Chinese characters. These words stem from the mother of one of the earthquake victims commemorating her daughter. The pixel-like effect of the large image stretches across the entire façade. It is 100 meters long and ten meters high, and attached to the columns in front of the building with a steel structure. 

 

this is a longer post than normal,

but i just think this artist is awesome.

(source)

in the past week.

in the past week

i turned 22,

went on my last spring break ever,

picked up my cap&gown for graduation

(weird weird weird),

and realized there's only 

4 more months

until i get hitched.

life's changing
but i love it.

and ps...

today i decided it's okay 

to listen to bieber

with my windows down.

it's fine.

happy birthday ruth!

happy birthday

to my best friend chloee!

nothing's better than sharing

a birthday with you!

(not to mention, a b-day by the pool)

love you.
now let's drink some dc
with our straw glasses.

i'm feeling okay about being sunburned

will someone please 

tell me why

salt lake city

can't have 80 degree weather

year-round?

monster truck jam

so maybe a couple of weeks ago

we went to the kfc buffet

and the monster truck jam.

yes, that's right.

kfc buffet.

i was surprised too.

i'm not sure 

if i would call 

canned peaches, pickles, & fried chicken

a buffet,

but we had to go

considering it's at the first kfc ever,

and is called the harman cafe.

never say never

i was never the biggest bieber fan
until i saw his movie.
it was amazing.
some of the best 10 bones
i've ever spent.

just had to say it.

i'm going again.

and again

and again.

so inspiring.

he's a child prodigy 

and he's here to stay.

if you disagree

you can go see the movie,

then we'll talk.

i just thought this was funny

(source)

i love this fellow

happy valentine's day.

let's get our date on.

the universe smiled upon me today.

i had a wonderful afternoon.

it consisted of

lunch at jimmy's

with abby and chlo,

sifting through 70s dresses

at decade's,

a little treat from backer's bakery,

and stumbling across a cute

vintage shop

in attempts of finding a salle de bain.

---

as abby was dropping me off

at my car,

i realize my keys

are nowhere to be found.

after searching 

and having a small panic attack,

i find them in the door of my car.

yes. 

in the parking lot.

keys. in. the. door.

so thank you,

for the wonderful afternoon,

and for keeping my car safe

and un-stolen.

(here's where i found the picture)

patience.

i think

i just might be

the most

eager person 

this week

(but very excited).

i need to practice patience,

or as my grandpa 

calls it,

the big P word.

(picture)

dream job

it is strange,

i do admit,

but i get inexplicably excited

whenever this ad plays

at the movie theatre.

really, 

i can't wipe the smile off my face.

all things set aside,

my fantasy job

is to be a member of the national guard.

or the fbi.

but the fbi has yet to advertise

quite like this. 

wow. i love it.
(except someone in my family
always gets mad at me when i
entertain the idea of signing up.)

i really don't have time for this.

 

i am blogging because

i have a huge project

due on wednesday

and it's nowhere near complete
(i repeat, nowhere near complete).

yes, i only blog when i don't have time to.

prioritizing is not my strongest suit.

i don't know why,

but when i am all worked up about school,

the simple utterance

"lets go to maverik",

has a significant impact on my well-being.

a good diet coke 

has the power

to calm my nerves

and soothe my soul.

so thank you, maverik,

thank you, coca-cola,

and thank you, richie, for taking me there tonight.

the cold weather is good for one thing, and one thing only.

although the cold 

hurts my bones,

i must say,

it's nice to leave

my diet coke

in the car for hours

and return

to find it

cold & icy,

just the way i left it.