thoughts on tuesday: recent goings-on

last week was busy busy busy, and there are some things i want to write pertaining to those great few days. but right now i just want to unload my brain a little bit :)

last night i went to a zumba class for the first time in a really long time. i've been meaning to go for literally months--i've been researching all these places and keeping tabs on schedules and trying to work up the nerve and the motivation to actually go. well, yesterday i did it (after i slept late on my birthday and missed my original first attempt). but the point is that i went, and it felt so great to go back. the music started and i was moving in those familiar latin rhythms and it was awesome.

several months ago, we heard about jolley's pharmacy in salt lake. while it is a functioning pharmacy that has been around for 60 years, it is also an adorable gift and floral shop. so, mom and i made a trip and found some really cute things. a couple weeks ago we went again and found more cute things. yesterday i went again, by myself, because there was one really cute thing that i just couldn't forget about. i limited myself to only getting that one thing (which was too expensive for its own good anyway), but there were other things that i would have gladly left with. oh, jolley's. you're a gem.

speaking of gems, on saturday i was driving home from work, and i took a different route due to my lunch choices, and i passed this cute store.

it didn't look quite like that when i passed--i would have pulled over right then to check out that rainbow cart thing--but still. super cute. so, naturally, i stopped after work yesterday just to see what could be seen. i ended up with a heart-shaped teacup and saucer, but, again, there were other things that i would have gladly left with. because emilie jayne is a consignment shop, the prices are really reasonable--there were some great furniture pieces in great condition that i was seriously debating. i'll probably need to make another trip sometime soon since my house has almost no furniture or decoration (outside of my room, of course).

the weather has been so lovely lately! i hate being stuck inside when it's so great outside. on sunday i took advantage of it and went on a walk in the neighborhood. i'm a fan of walks, and i saw a lot of cool stuff. one of the things i really love about this area is that the old houses have so much character; people really pay attention to the details.

 

 

i ended up walking for about an hour, which was actually kind of a long time, and i wore my saltwaters for the first time, which was probably kind of a bad idea. and i had to rush home to watch nancy and tonya, the awesome olympics documentary. i mean, figure skating was made for drama, am i right? but anyway, it was the first of many sugarhouse walks.

 

there has been a lot of reorganization in my house lately, which led to a lot of anxiety for me. i think it ended up that i am moving to the master bedroom this weekend; i'm still not sure how that happened, but i'm not going to complain. it does mean i'm going to have a whole new space to work with! 

stylewatch: kate spade

the title of this post is misleading, because i'm not really revealing a new trend in modern fashion or anything. everybody knows that kate spade is awesome. but over the past few months i've realized that her aesthetic is so close to mine it's ridiculous. basically i'm obsessed with kate spade.

she's all about bright colors and gold and polka dots and stripes and well-executed florals, and that's what i'm all about! if i could buy everything kate spade, i would. i went into a kate spade store last year, and it was physically painful knowing i couldn't buy any of the beautiful things in there. one day! for now, take a gander at a small sampling of the lovely things she makes.

this is kate spade. she's gorgeous! and classy! (via)

i mean...wedding shoes, anyone??

she makes these great book clutches...great gatsby, pride and prejudice, romeo and juliet, the catcher in the rye. (via)

 

pretty much my motto for life.

look at this--virtually all the dresses are amazing and adorable.

via

via

and how cute is this book? i will be buying this.

and just so you all know, my birthday is coming up and it would be just so great if i got a little kate spade surprise. anything will do! :)

without further ado, a tour of my room

i made this sweet flipagram!! i was going to go into a bunch of detail about all the things, but i don't know if i really want to anymore. i've had a lot of fun putting this room together, and i think it turned out pretty great. like i said the other day, i'm really happy with the mix of found and made and repurposed and purchased. i'm still missing a couple things, but overall i love it. here's to creating a space exactly how i wanted it!

my (dream) christmas list

i don't really expect to get any of these, at least not from someone else, but these are the things i've been drooling over.


amazing rainbow glitter kate spade watch: $225

 i haven't even worn a watch in years, but i would go back for this kate spade masterpiece. i almost started a kickstarter campaign a few weeks ago to see if i could get my friends and family to donate to the cause of me getting this watch that embodies every thing i love about life. that one little sentence up there--"this item is currently not available"--breaks my little glitter-loving heart. find me one of these sold-out beauties and you'll have it forever.

one direction "our moment" perfume

i became a directioner this year, somehow. it just came on all of a sudden. anyway, i smelled their new perfume at macy's a month or so ago, and i'm pretty much obsessed with it. it reminds me of some scent i wore in my youth. so yeah, i really want it. i'll probably end up buying it for myself at some point. plus, the topper is a crown so...yeah, i'll be getting it.

TIME magazine subscription

i've been meaning to subscribe to TIME for over a year now--it's 30 bucks for one issue every week!?!--and it just hasn't happened. every time i remember that i want to do it, i think, oh, i'll start it next month. or, oh, i'll start it at the new year. so i just haven't ever actually done it. it's one of those things where i'll keep a window open on the subscription page for a few weeks and then eventually come to the realization that i'm not going to do it anytime soon and just close out the window. if somebody else got me the subscription, i wouldn't have to put myself through that mental anguish anymore. do it for my mental anguish, people!

one of these from society6:

can you sense a theme in what i like here? sheesh.

and...that's all i can think of right now. thanks in advance for your thoughtful gifts!

thoughts on thursday

too many things swirling around in this brain of mine today to try to pare it down into one coherent post, so you get my disconnected thoughts today.

this week, i found the match to two different pairs of earrings. in both cases, i was overjoyed. there is almost nothing worse than losing just one earring--worse, even, than losing one sock--nobody cares, really, whether your socks match or not. and in some cases you can just buy another pair of the same socks and no one's the wiser. it's pretty weird, unless you're some alt-rebel-hipster type, to wear two different earrings. needless to say, i am glad my earrings are all back together.

driving in the snow=the worst. i'm glad i came out of the mess on tuesday with my body and my car in one piece. and my sanity, after it took me hours to get home.

i missed my post last night because i began the packing process, and because we made an exciting trip to hobby lobby to gather materials for my room. it's weird--for all of my college life i've had a lot of stuff to move around with me. tons of books, school notebooks that i save because i might need some random piece of paper or information again, that odd assortment of furniture that i collected as each new bedroom or apartment lacked some essential item of storage or decor. now, i'm obviously getting some different stuff, since this will be my own room and it doesn't come with any furniture, but i'm also trying to pare everything way, way down because 1) this is a time of reinvention, you know? and 2) i don't want to keep lugging it all around.

two movies i watch last night while packing and throwing junk away: monsters university and the way, way back. both were great. i've been waiting to see the way, way back for months and was never in the right place at the right time--it didn't disappoint, even though steve carell (spoiler alert) was kind of the villain. and you can never go wrong with pixar :)

i think i'm going to get this comforter set. i am insanely excited about it. things are happening!

tonight is my late night at work, so i'll probably get in another amazing, life-changing post today. in the meantime, more moving-day preparations!! (for some reason, i'm feeling an "insert-evil-laugh-here" kind of comment. insert as you wish.)

thankful {part four}: sunsets

if you've seen my instagram feed, you know i have kind of a thing for sunsets. i'll let you in on a secret: the sunset pics i post on IG are only a small portion of the sunset pics i actually take.

i just can't resist!

is there anything more beautiful than a sunset? is there anything more majestic than the sky? i submit that there is not!! the sky is constantly changing--what you see in one instant is completely different than what you might see in the next. it's awesome!

so, basically, i take a lot of pictures of sunsets/the sky in general. pretty much whenever i can, i take a picture of the sky. i'm outside and i'm like, it's so beautiful! i'm grateful for the beauty of the sky. it's so simple, but so grand at the same time.

the only thing about sunsets and the sky generally is that it's really hard to really capture their essence in a picture. but you know that doesn't stop me from trying anyway :)

 

the above picture through my rose-colored sunglasses

shop hop all your troubles away

every year, a group of quilt shops across the wasatch front hosts a "shop hop." thirteen shops
participate each year, decorating to fit a theme. last year, i somehow completely missed it and was really bummed. so this time, we were prepared.

mom, berg and i planned to hit up a few of the shops, this year coordinating around a game theme. berg and i drove home on thursday afternoon, and as we were getting in the car to head back down lehi way for the first shop, mom said, should we just try to go to all the shops? if you go to all 13, stamping your passport at each, you are entered to win some awesome prizes. since i don't technically know how to sew, i was hoping to win the grand prize, a sewing machine. because i know that if i had a sewing machine to call my own, i would actually learn to sew :)

so we embarked on a two day journey toward shop hop domination. even though i don't actually know how to quilt, i decided to buy fabric to make a quilt anyway.

you can't tell super well from the picture, but the color palette started as navy with some accents (orange, coral, green, teal). i noticed early on that i was picking up a lot of floral prints. story of my life! (one of my friends always points out when i am wearing something floral...which turned out to be almost every day. i'm wearing floral jeans as i type this. i just really like flowers, okay?!) anyway, i love all these fabrics, but there are some that i am obsessed with.

and there was one fat quarter that berg picked up early on that i was kicking myself for not getting. luckily, i found it at quilter's haven in bountiful, our last shop hop stop.

i can never resist a good rainbow.

the first day, we went to 10 quilt shops in about 6 hours. it was amazing. we drove from salt lake to lehi all the way down to springville and back again, stopping in orem, draper, midvale, cottonwood heights, sandy, and sugarhouse. favorite shops (meaning most dedicated to theme and/or best food): quilts, quilts, quilts (where's waldo), elaine's quilt block (ticket to ride), corn wagon quilts (monopoly), and pine needles (twister, but mostly just because i really like pine needles). 

the next morning, we met up with connie, dad's aunt, who is a major quilter, and headed up to brigham city. connie was talking to us about the day before, and when we said that we had been collecting fabrics for quilts we wanted to make, she asked how much we sewed. berg and i were both like, um, never now. but we are determined to learn. we played go fish in brigham, had fun at my girlfriend's quilt shoppe in logan, ate some lunch at the historic bluebird cafe, and then headed back down the mountain. after dropping connie off, we finished back home in bountiful. 

it was a very busy two days, but it was a ton of fun. we saw a million cute things that made me want to be the cute crafty homemaker that my mom is. 

and, best thing! i got a call last week saying i had won a prize. sadly, it wasn't the sewing machine. guess i'll have to shell out for that at some point, especially if i want this awesome quilt to get made.

my prize bag: a couple quilt books, some patterns, a bundle of fabric comprised mostly of doctor/nurse prints, some other squares that are kinda cute, and some kleenex. 

plus, the shop hop got me back into embroidery. 

that little flower one in the top right is my own design :) and please pardon the wrinkliness. now i just need to finish these babies with some fabric. anybody willing to teach me how to sew/buy me a sewing machine?

on creation

i found this on a newly discovered blog the other day:

We each have to say to ourselves, What will I create of my life? My time? My future?

First, go where the Spirit directs. Be still and listen. Your Heavenly Father will guide you as you draw near to Him. Immerse yourself in the holy word of the prophets, both ancient and modern, and the Spirit will speak to you. Be patient, ask in faith, and you will receive guidance in your creative efforts.

Second, don’t be paralyzed from fear of making mistakes. Thrust your hands into the clay of your lives and begin. I love how Rebekah of old responded to Abraham’s servant who came in search of a wife for Isaac. Her answer was simple and direct, “I will go,” 3 she said.

Rebekah could have refused. She could have told the servant to wait until she had the proper send-off, a new wardrobe, until she lost a few pounds, or until the weather was more promising. She could have said, “What’s wrong with Isaac that he can’t find a wife in all of Canaan?” But she didn’t. She acted, and so should we.

The time for procrastination is over. Begin! Don’t be afraid. Do the best you can. Of course you will make mistakes. Everyone does. Learn from them and move forward.

Third, support others along the way. Every person on this earth is unique. We all have varied interests, abilities, and skills. We are each at different levels physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Finally, rejoice. Creation isn’t drudgery. Creation flows from love. When we do what we love, we rejoice along the way.

If you are unhappy, if you are feeling weary, troubled, or disillusioned, may I ask you to try something? Instead of dwelling on your troubles, focus instead on creating something remarkable, something of eternal significance. Nurture a testimony, strengthen a relationship, write a family history, go to the temple, serve. 

Mary Ellen Smoot, "We Are Creators"

pretty great, right? create something remarkable today! 

thoughts on tuesday

i think the recurring theme around these "thoughts on..." posts is that they always come out of the days when i am conferencing and therefore sitting around the carrels all day with random snatches of time and no real room for productivity. so, here are my thoughts from the carrels today.

i am obsessed with polka dotted clothes. whenever i am online window shopping and i come across anything polka dot, i have a serious internal debate over whether i should add that thing to my shopping cart or not. a couple weeks ago i bought two things from oldnavy.com--a polka dot chambray shirt and polka dot jeans. and today, these are what i wanted/still kinda really want to get from gap:

this is polka dotted--trust me. you can't really tell here.

those pants are seriously awesome. and i already have polka dot jeans! but i want all of the polka dots!

i am so glad it snowed on friday because that meant that i completely bypassed having to walk on campus in the snow, which is one of the things i most dislike in this world. winter, for me, is characterized by a constant fear of slipping on ice and breaking a leg or a tailbone. though i did have some sketchy moments at the football game on saturday, where the bleachers were almost entirely covered in snow, by the time i really had to walk on campus all the scary ice was gone.

i seriously love zumba. i can't wait until january when i can go two days a week again. i've really missed zumba tone.

a cute outfit and hair go a long way toward making a girl feel good about herself. they aren't the most important things, but they count for something.

i have been listening to the carpenters christmas since halloween and it is so awesome, people. and who wants to pitch in to help me record a christmas album?

okay, that's all i got right now. stay tuned for some more thankfuls.

another thing i love

i've been meaning to post this here just because i love it so much.

a neat rainbow of glitter. it's ridiculous how happy this makes me. well, happy wednesday!

a magical night

i've known about book on tape worm for a few years now. back in my younger days, i became pretty good friends with a fun guy who had a brother in one provo-based band and a roommate in another. through andrew, i went to the sego festival in 2008 and saw neon trees in the middle of 100 north between velour and central bank. my memory from that night is of being crushed by people rocking out and of seeing people sitting on top of the central bank building. the next night, we went up to the castle to see scott shepard, who was playing in this little clearing of trees with all these electric lamps everywhere. we sat on the grass. my memory from that night is of feeling like i was in a magical fairyland. i still wonder how all those lamps were powered.

fast forward a few years. i guess i lost touch with the provo music scene or something. this summer, i finally started going to the rooftop concert series, and probably my favorite show was isaac russell with book on tape worm and john allred. the whole night was great, but i was captivated by book on tape worm. the lyrics--how could an english major not fall in love with songs about a wrinkle in time or death of a salesman, so full of figurative language that they make me want to shout for joy and point my students in their direction so they can understand what personification is? and scott's voice--i sing, and it's amazing to me how perfect his vocals always are. he truly has a gift. and the arrangements themselves--there were times that night when i just closed my eyes and let the music cover me like my most cozy blanket.

needless to say, i knew i needed to go the album release show on october 13.

oh my goodness, it was so great. from the gorgeous set with twinkle lights to the lovely opening acts to the glorious music played in four acts i was entranced. i think my mouth was open most of the night from being so awestruck by the beauty of it all. i was thinking the whole time, i'm so glad i was here. i was already thinking about how that night would affect me in days to come.

also, the album itself is soooooooo beautiful. i don't know what i was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this:

yes, you are seeing correctly--this is a pop up stage!!!!!! i gasped when i opened the album. so lovely.

also, lyrics booklet! i was pretty stoked about this, because the lyrics are so full of figures of speech that i knew i would want to study them a little bit more. so, thanks guys, for the lyrics booklet.

so, basically, it was a fantastic, spectacular, heartfelt, awesome, thoughtful, beautiful, magical show. and, again, i'm so glad i got to be a part of it. and i still kinda want scott shepard to date me, so there's that, i guess. now go out and buy this album.

sunday drive

yesterday, emily, tess, meredith and i decided to drive the alpine loop, since we hadn't really done it before and it seemed like the colors would be perfect. although the trip ended up being a little longer than we expected and we were all ready to get out of the car after about two and a half hours, the drive was beautiful, and i for one was still in awe by the end.

my camera isn't super high quality, which means my pictures aren't either, but here is some photographic evidence that we went on this lovely excursion.