late night update

i'm currently up way too late and i don't know why. you know you should be in bed when you type apostrophes instead of actual letters and then your spanish (or spenich, which was what i typed first) keyboard makes the word "currentý". because that makes any type of sense.
but, anyway, i feel like i haven't been giving my blog the attention it deserves/that i think it deserves because i made it and it is my job to give it attention, so here i am at 3 am writing.
one of the hard things about blogging for me is that i tend to feel like i need to compose posts with some kind of point or purpose, like, oh, here's this album i've finally discovered that's kind of changing my life, or, hey, pretty things for you to look at. but the beauty about having my own space to write in is that it is actually my own so i can say whatever i want. and if sometimes i don't feel like writing something super eloquent or finding relevant visual or aural aids, i don't have to. this is exactly how i feel about presenting myself to the world, too. for the most part, i get full-on ready everyday. makeup, cute outfit, accessories, hair, etc. the whole shebang. so, because i make an effort most of the time, i feel i deserve a day every once in a while where i am not expected to look my cutest. so there you have it.
i don't know, i guess i've just been feeling the urge to write something about my life these days. i finished one art project and started another. i love it. i love feeling creative, because it's not something i feel often. i was sucked into planning my future wedding this week. it's pretty bad. but also awesome. i really miss the missionary. grey's anatomy has unexpectedly become a part of my life. i love my family a lot. i found out i get to teach in the summer, which is awesome but a little stressful. work...is something to do. the rain looks like it is stopping which means summer can finally begin.
aahh, i feel better now. i think i needed to purge my thoughts a little bit before i could finally go to bed tonight. sweet dreams :)

musical food for thought

stylewatch: nineteen-teen-age dream

  

there is a period of fashion that has been severely overlooked, at least by me.
i've been watching the british drama, downton abbey, which takes place in the 1910s. it starts at the time of the sinking of the titanic and the first series ends with the start of the first world war. first of all, it is full of delicious english drama and lovely accents. but, more importantly, the fashion is awesome. i've never even thought about the dresses from this period, but i've decided that i probably should have been born in this time so i could wear these amazing outfits and still have at least a little bit of feminine freedom, if you know what i mean.
the styling basically allows you to combine the pomp and circumstance of modern day britain (think intricate beading and royal wedding hats. images to follow.) with simple, sophisticated lines and fabrics.

let's look at the evidence, shall we?

these are the kinds of things my summer wardrobe should include. i'm going to get on that asap.

gorgeous--amazing braid detail, black and cream (which i obviously love), huge detailed hat, gloves.

if i had this dress i would wear it everyday. 

that choker is to die for. and that sentence is not uttered very often.

the appeal is multi-faceted. first, as i have indicated, i think the clothes are fabulous and beautiful. i usually can't get enough beads and sheer overlay. second, they look relatively easy to wear, i.e. you don't have to be bound in a corset or bogged down by masses of fabric. third, it just shows that modesty can be alluring and fashionable. most of today's fashions are either barely-there or overly-there, like, modest, but ugly and un-chic. but just because your shoulders are covered and your skirt touches the floor doesn't mean you can't still look great. (this is another lesson that the duchess of cambridge taught the world. hopefully it sticks.)

so, i'm drooling over the downton abbey costumes and wishing i had been a young lady coming of age in the nineteen-teens. and can we just talk for a minute about how awkward that construction is? nineteen-teens? i guess i could say nineteen-tens, but i think nineteen-teens also does the job. the whole decade is just kind of weird, and here we are right back in it. but, really, if anybody wants to buy/make me a dress modeled after this time period, feel free. memorial day, that classic gift-giving holiday, is coming up.

                                             

remembering the little awesome things

in the course of a salt lake shopping trip last month, i saw and thumbed through a copy of this book.

as "awesome" is one of my favorite words (i probably use it too much, in fact), i was immediately intrigued. the things i glimpsed in my brief perusal made me want to buy the book right then, but, alas, i was not willing to shell out the 20 or so bucks it cost at urban outfitters. so, as soon as i got home, i put it in my library queue.

okay, fast forward a little bit. i got it from the library, read it in a couple days, and it was, in a word, awesome. it's everything that i am about: finding joy in the little things, focusing on the seemingly insignificant things that happen everyday and make you inexplicably happy. a sampling of the topics covered in the book:

• the other side of the pillow (the cool side)
• hearing someone's smile over the phone
• finding money you forgot you had in a long-unworn article of clothing
• inventing new words or phrases with your friends so they only make sense to you
• getting things in the mail with actual writing on them (go here to see what i've already said about this)
• car dancing

many of the awesome things pasricha included in his book spoke to me, but the book also got me thinking about what he didn't include, what other things make me super happy, tiny little blips on the radar screen of life. like, drinking fountains. i love drinking fountains. they make me happy. or new pens. or writing pages and pages in my journal. or movie theater popcorn. or singing really loud in my room when no one's home and then dancing like crazy.

anyway, enough with the lists. i love this book. i want to purchase it for real and read the sequel, the book of even more awesome. i loved the 300 and some odd page reminder that, sometimes, the little things are what matter.

what makes your list of awesome?

an obsession

i have a thing for black and white stuff. i don't know what it is; i just like black and white patterns, i guess. apparently, it's what i pick out when i'm shopping for certain things. see exhibit A (this sounds like there will be further exhibits. not sure about that):

what do we have here? zebra snuggie (awesome. don't deny it.), black, white, and purple flowered comforter, toile duffel bag, geometric day planner, flowered umbrella, london print, geometric floral print spiral notebook. noticing a pattern? i think my future house is in trouble.

tulips are kind of my favorite

so every year around this time i freak out and insist on going to one of the places where i can see and then photograph beautiful tulips. i used to work on temple square, so i know how gorgeous the temple square tulips are the last couple weeks of april and the beginning of may. they are only out for so long because there is no way temple square is going to display wilting tulips. luckily i went this year before they were gone.

seriously, i love them so much. i made bergen go with me while i just walked around trying to be artsy and mooning over the flowers. i want to either get married or take all the associated pictures around this time of year so i can have tulips and daffodils in them.

without further ado, here are some of the pictures i took last saturday at temple square. it's one of the little things i love about life here in utah and one of the highlights of my year. nothing quite compares to the beauty of thousands and thousands of perfect tulips surrounding my favorite temple.

this new little band i happened to discover

that title is somewhat misleading. allow me to explain.

over the past week or so, i've just had this feeling: you need to have more fleetwood mac in your life. completely random, i know, but i think it emerged out of an afternoon i spent researching (read: googling) stevie nicks and kind of just being generally intrigued by her. so, naturally, i had a desire to get into the band that made her famous.

but, i didn't really do anything about it. i mean, it wasn't like i really wanted to buy their whole catalog or something. but then, tonight i watched last week's episode of glee, which was centered around fleetwood mac's landmark album, rumours, circa 1977. i was surprised at how many of the songs featured on glee i actually knew. i guess i have overlooked the mac in some ways because i do associate them so strongly with stevie nicks and her distinctive voice. but i have now learned the error of my ways; i will never forget about lindsay buckingham again.

so, after i watched that episode, which i took as an additional sign that i needed to listen to this classic band, i went straight to itunes and purchased rumours. i know, not as legit as going out and trying to find the vinyl somewhere, but i wanted immediacy. and, the album is awesome. there are a bunch of hits from this album, including "don't stop," "go your own way," and "dreams." i encourage all of you to listen to some fleetwood mac today. put on some platform boots, tease your hair, find a crazy feathered hat, and channel your inner stevie nicks. i know my life is better for having done it :)

insomnia

so apparently i wasn't supposed to get a whole lot of sleep last night.

maybe it was the handful of onion rings i ate at 10pm. maybe it was the fact that i 'm starting my job and am a little anxious. whatever the reason, it just wasn't in the cards for me to have a super restful night. my mind refused to shut off. here's a sampling of my thought process as i was lying in bed trying to go to sleep at 3:30.

my ear hurts a little. what's with that? and the little whistle in my nose is BUGGING ME! hey, i should email carolyn about that thing that happened today. i wish i were in london. oh, i also want to email that missionary boy, but i don't want to bombard his inbox with emails from me. i miss him. a lot. man, i love ikea. i love everything i just got there. maybe i should blog about that, how much i love ikea. yeah, what would it say? (then begin composing blog post). why do i have wicked stuck in my head all of a sudden? i love wicked. i love musicals. maybe i should blog about THAT. (commence composing blog post on musicals). i didn't talk to rebecca at all today. i wonder what she did. i'll text her tomorrow or something. i hope the ward is fun this summer. it should be. oh, i need to print out the lesson for gospel doctrine. zumba is so fun. instructor becky is the best. (try to remember zumba routines; go through them in my head). hey, i just had an idea for an awesome art project! what supplies would i need for said art project? when could i go retrieve said supplies? dang, my ear still hurts. quit it! maybe i should get up and take some advil. maybe i should get up and write a blog post about my insomnia. should i? no, that'll just wake me up more. what time should i go into work tomorrow? what am i going to wear? okay, i'm going to get some advil. WHY ARE NONE OF THESE SLEEP POSITIONS PUTTING ME TO SLEEP???

eventually, i did fall asleep, but it was not very pleasant to wake up. apparently, i do my best blogging when i am in bed. it's actually kind of annoying. but, look forward to those posts in the future. and i am really excited about this art project. maybe i can go get the supplies today...

give a little listen. please. for your own good.

severely underappreciated, people. just give them a chance.

the office: a belated ode

the office...i'm just not sure what to say about it, except that i love it. a lot. i own every season on dvd, i've watched every episode multiple times, i can tell you the name and season from which any scene occurs (for the most part--now somebody's going to want to test me and i'll get one wrong or something). over the past few years, the office has become a huge part of my life, pathetic and weird as that may sound.

seriously, though. if i meet someone who doesn't really like or know the office, i always feel like there is some thing that is holding us back from being really great friends. on the other hand, i feel a kinship toward people who do love and know the office--it becomes something we can bond over. things happen everyday that remind me of something from the office, and if i can't just lean over to the person i'm with and say, hey, haha, remember that thing on the office? this is just like that., i lose something. i sound like i'm being way too serious about it. but anyway.

this last thursday marked steve carell's last episode. while it wasn't as funny as i was expecting it to be, it was still moving and sad. i don't know how it will be without michael scott, but i do know i will keep watching as long as the office is still on the air. after all the years of laughter and tears, i feel i owe it that much.

so, i publish this at the risk of being mocked by those who don't have the same kinds of connections to tv shows or to the office. but i can't deny it. lobe yoy long time, the office.