1 2 - 2 4 - 2 0 1 3

INTRODUCING BLUE HAIR.

I seriously have wanted to blue ombre my hair for years. Like, literally YEARS. I couldn't for the longest time, because my hair wasn't the right length (for the look I wanted), and then I probably could have last year, but I was all worried about the "honor code", so I didn't. 

This year I've seen tons of people with streaked hair, so I decided to just go for it. These photos were taken the night before my last final! I was so nervous they weren't going to let me take it because I had an "extreme hairstyle", but I just wore a hood and nobody even looked twice at me.

We'll have to see what happens when winter semester starts, because I might have to get rid of it if my professors have issues with it. Although, I highly doubt they will!

Then, the next day was my birthday! I was really bored, so I decided to add some more blue to it. I really like the green-blue, but I wanted to see what would happen if I added some more atomic turquoise. Here are the before pictures. I guess I finally get to hashtag #nomakeup or #leftovermascara? LOL.

also take special note of that amazing painting in the background! my sister got it for me for my birthday, thanks ash! it's by an artist named nicole morris. she got it at the craft lake city event, but you can view nicole's etsy store and get in contact with her here

And here's how it turned out after.

please excuse the weirdest shading on my lip. i promise i have a bottom lip and not just half of one!

This picture was snapped before Jake and I headed out to celebrate my birthday! The contrast is a little strong, but it's more blue than it was before. I am going to keep it this mix of green and blue until school starts. If no one says anything, then I am going to touch it up with some more electric blues and maybe some purples. We'll have to see. But, I'm loving this experimenting!

Also, that necklace is what Jake got me for my birthday! I've always wanted a pearl necklace and I've worn it every day since! He's the best at picking out gifts that I love. I'm so excited for tomorrow morning! We're going to use Christmas day to establish new traditions and spend quality time with each other :) I'm so excited! Holidays definitely get a little crazy with so much family living near, but I am so excited for all of our Christmas activities today! Let the feasting and games begin!

SPECIAL THANKS TO JESSICA DRAPER! She is the lovely human who did my hair! I'm glad I got to meet her and get to know her better, because it turns out we have lots in common and she's the nicest!

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Make it a memorable one and remember the true meaning of this holiday season!

XOXO
- - - - -
E

a happy list: 7

This photo is from a cute Christmas party we went to on Saturday!

- - - - -

free things

tickling babies

getting good grades

pizza hut's 10 dollar box

 all the facebook birthday posts

the egram cat card my grandma sent me

making cute improvements to the apartment

the beautiful necklace jake got me for my birthday

starbuck's peppermint hot chocolate with nonfat milk

the feeling you get when you finish school for the semester

- - - - -

if you make a happy list, drop your link and let me know!

XOXO

- - - - -

E

a birthday post!

Well, since today is my birthday I decided it would be fun to post my theme songs from past years, as long as embarrassing pictures from my teenage-hood!

So... for starters we have the theme song of Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard. Let's be real. Who didn't love this song in junior high?!?!
Also, does anyone remember when selective color was like the dopest shiz? Well, that's pretty much what I did during my 16th year of life. Like, literally the first camera I purchase, I purchased solely because it had selective color. 

This brings us to Seventeen Forever by Metro Station. I still really love this song. It just gets me, ya know? Lol. 

But OMG THE 17TH YEAR OF LIFE.

This was the year that I chopped allllll my hair off and got weirdly into outfit photos and circle cropping (literally all my photos are circle cropped!)

Oh, also I discovered Photoscape and The Public Diary during this year, and it literally changed my life! I was convinced that if I used her same editing program, I could get my photos to be as beautiful as hers. Well, that obviously didn't happen as you can tell by photo #2, but I did get really into photography because of it.

When I was 17 I also had the opportunity to teach these cute kids in India! (The nose ring is fake and was a gift from one of the teachers haha).

And I also hiked a mountain! Hardest thing I've ever done in my life so far! The foothills of the Himalayas baby!
On a more serious note, the experiences I had in India literally changed my life. Like, I'm in no way exaggerating. It was the most spiritual, enlightening experience and I am so thankful to all of the wonderful people I knew/know who donated to me to help me get there. I wouldn't be the same person I am today without that experience, and I'm so glad to know I have people who support me with all the extreme things I want to accomplish. Thanks for being amazing, friends and family! I love you all!

18!! Being 18 was the bombbbbbbb.  My theme song for this year was obviously Soco Amaretto Lime by Brand New! Days after my birthday, I finally pierced my nose (although I didn't keep it for very long at all because it was much bigger than I originally wanted).  I also scored an awesome vintage dress and went to a different school's prom at the capital with some very good friends!

I met some of my very favorite friends this year (Jayne and Hailey not pictured, but I still really love them) and had some of my very favorite memories with my already-friends.

Also, I finally let the public aware of my and Trixie's closeness as best friends. We adventured often. Some of our favorite places to go were Beans and Brews and the cement block by my house to watch the sun set.

 I also finally got a 35mm lens, and as a result some very, very strange photoshoots happened. My favorite of which was when I painted my and my brother's faces like skeletons. He would kill me if I posted the picture of him!

But, as awesome as 18 was, I lovedddddddd being 19! It's been my favorite year so far! My theme song was Nineteen by Tegan and Sara! My 19th year of life has been my favorite because I married JAKE. Although... (1.) We met at the Jenn Blosil concert and (2.) had our first picture taken together (on Halloween!) when I was 18, so many cool things happened when I was 19! 

3. We rung in the New Year together by building a blanket fort where I promptly fell asleep after 10 p.m. and Jake sent this hilarious photo to my mom and sister. It's our favorite photo to date.

4. I wore my Betsey Johnson (that my mom bought me for my school's senior prom, because I promised her I would go, but then decided I didn't want to after all haha) for a cute photoshoot we did for one of my friend's school projects!

5. We had an awesome city creek/temple square date, which was my favorite ever! LOVE WINTER.

6. Signed the wall at Muse Music with a bottle of fingernail polish I had in my purse. It's something every couple must do in order to be immortal. Didn't you know?

7. GOT ENGAGED.

8. Got the cutest engagement pictures taken by Alyssia B. Photography

9. Sealed the deal!

Then, a bunch of awesome things happened after we got married. 

Like when we went camping just the two of us and it was literally so fun.

Also we went to the drive-in with an air mattress and that was also really fun. 

Oh! And our super cute apartment! (Which has gotten cuter, I will have to post about it.)

Also, my mother-in-law brought me back macaroons from France which was the nicest thing in the world because I really, truly love macaroons very much and they were literally so delicious.

We explored the nature side of Cancun and it was so beautiful!! 

And we went to a plethora of weddings which were super cute and we were super cute in this picture which is the background on three things I own.

Farewell, 19! You were a very, very, very, very, very, good year. Perhaps the best yet!!!!!

Now, for year 20. I found this song (please, for the love, do not watch the video, just minimize the window), and have literally been listening to it non-stop. 

It took me a while to find a song that talked about being 20, but it's such a gem!!!!

I feel like now that I'm no longer a teenager, I somehow gain validation in the world. You know? Like, now when I say things people will nod their heads silently instead of staring at me blankly and discrediting everything I say in their heads because I am a teenager. VALIDATION TASTES GOOD, FOLKS.

Anyways, this post took me forever to make, so I hope it was fun. 

XOXO

- - - - -

E

1 2 - 1 8 - 2 0 1 3

On Sunday we celebrate my birthday and made gingerbread houses! I got a Holga camera from my mom and a cute skull painting from my sister. I'll have to post pictures of our little apartment coming along later! There are the gingerbread houses we made though. Jake went for a Colosseum look and ended up with a kick a house! Like look at that! I bet small people would want to live there.

On a side note, how do we even know that aliens are the same size as us? Like in the movies they are always pretty much the same size as us, but maybe they are like super miniature and can live in gingerbread houses, ya know?

Anyways, mine is pretty lame. I just wanted a rooftop terrace. Lol. That's Jake and I laying out being skeletons. Next year I want to make this one.

XOXO

- - - - -

E

The Choc'late Mousse

So, on Friday night we decided to try out the new cutest place on University! It's called the Choc'late Mousse, and it's a pie bar! You just choose which set up you want (I got the pie flight because I wanted to try them all!) and then you choose the fillings and the crust! It was really different, but really good. All of the pies were super rich, so you could pretty much just share the pie flight with like three people. 

But, it was the cutest ever! Literally, anywhere that has interior brick walls is the cutest in my book.

My favorite fillings were the red velvet with honey gram crust, and the chocolate filling with chocolate crust! They had lots of other fillings like white chocolate with peppermint, snicker doodle, snickers, pumpkin, and eggnog. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a new place to try! 

XOXO

- - - - -

E

1 2 - 1 4 - 2 0 1 3

morning sunlight & breakfast with the cutest husband

Am I the only one who has like, strangely vivid dreams?? On Thursday morning, I had a dream about Mona Lisa Smile, where I was trying to get all of these girls to rebel. 

It started out with me walking down this creepy hallway that was also a restaurant, and there was the guy from Pam's Labyrinth...

 ... except he was glow-in-the dark, and I wasn't scared of him. I just knew we all needed to get out of there, because they were going to kill all of us (sort like Nazi style, like get rid of all the women). (No offense to any males who may be reading this, I AM NOT RADICAL.)

So, I got away and escaped to a Korean convenience store (I blame Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 for that one). I only had one of those saws that are like, super flimsy for protection. All these guys came in. At first they didn't recognize me, but then they did. They grabbed this little kid, and were like, "He can die, or 7 women can die". So, I decided to just give myself up and try to rebel some other time.

They took us back to like, this boarding school type thing where we lived. 

This one girl had gotten married, and her husband came in looking for her. He couldn't find her though, so he made all of us line up and raise our hands so he could choose a new one to marry. I kept telling this blonde girl with a bob that they were going to come and kill all of us, but she wasn't listening to me. 

(This is the weird part.) Then, I went to get a horse to ride away from everyone and get a head start, but they were training some other animal to act like a horse. It wasn't an elephant, but I remember thinking, "It's going to be slow like an elephant". However, it could jump REALLY high. Like... really high. So, I was riding it and jumping over all of these high things, but I had to hold onto it's collar, because it didn't have any reigns. That was scary to me.

Then, I woke up.

Anyways. Does anyone else have a dream they think they've had before, but have no proof of? But, you just know? I have it all the time and it's so weird!!!

Also, momentary shout out to Polite Bacon (Jake's intramural flag football team) for winning!! They are the flag football champions!!
Sorry for the blinding sun... but also I am wearing my spirit hood because it's winter again, and that makes me really happy.

Anyways. I'm off to work a booth for All Things Lovely and then attend a friend's Christmas Party!
Happy Saturday!

XOXO
- - - - -
E

a happy list: 6

- - - - -

fresh snow

baking cute food

sleeping on the couch

strangers' polite smiles

being the first one awake

these diy terrarium mason jars
conspiracy theory documentaries

mid-air snow that glistens in morning sunlight

jake's face when he first comes in the door after work

when the shower is so hot it makes the rest of the bathroom really steamy

- - - - -

any great things on your happy list i should know of?
also, i saw the hobbit 2 at midnight last night, and it was a lot better than i was thinking it would be!
i'm definitely a fan.
maybe i'll have to finally watch all of the other lord of the rings movies!

XOXO

- - - - -

E

1 2 - 1 2 - 2 0 1 2

These were taken from the amazinggggg snowy day we had! It's been melting a little bit since, which is both bad and good. It's bad, because snow going away is always bad! But, I guess it's good because I can drive safely in the snow! I just realized I used exclamation points in the past three sentences. Yikes.

More good news, though! So, I have a final that is open Monday-Wednesday. Thursday is my birthday. Friday is my last final. 

I was super bummed, because I wanted to chillax on my birthday and do awesome things (mainly drink cocoa, go grocery shopping and pretend it's clothes shopping, and make stockings for me and Jake). But, I went and talked to my teacher today and she surprisingly said I could take it early, on Monday! So, I will be done with my finals a day early!! That means I can do everything on Wednesday and MEGA CHILL on my birthday! 

I'm so excited.

Bring on the finals!

XOXO

- - - - -

E

photo an hour: 1

Ok, so I think it's safe to say I'm obsessed with The Dainty Squid blog. I thought this photo an hour idea was really great. I'm trying to get back into photography, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to start being creative again! Unfortunately it's from a boring day I had at school last week!

8 a.m. - Walking to school bright and early! The snow was so beautiful! I love getting all bundled up and trekking out in fresh powder. Just, the sound of the world and the way the snow looks as it's falling down. I LOVE WINTER.

9 a.m. - My stats class got out early, so I headed upstairs to get some reading done for Judaism. Unfortunately, the only open spot I could find was right by a group of rowdy biology students! I ended up dropping my pen on the ground, like thirty minutes before my class started, and it landed right by some kid's butt! Haha! He literally didn't even notice, so there went my pen! Haha!!

10 a.m. - Ok, sorry to be "that person", but I really loved these paragraphs in my book! It's called Islam (I think) and it's by Colin Turner. It's a really interesting read. But, I liked what it said in the first one, about worshipping for the sake of worshipping, not for the reward or punishment. I also liked the second one and what it says about dying. I honestly don't know why everyone is so scared to die! Have we looked at the world lately? I mean, it's beautiful sometimes, but it's also really horrific. I embrace death with open arms. I always say that I want people to wear white to my funeral instead of black. Why mourn the loss of someone, when you know they are going to such a better place? 

Sorry to get religious, but it has to happen at least once, right? (This book is a great read, even if you aren't religious. The muslim religion is really interesting. And for all you LDS people, it is SO SO SO similar to ours. It's amazing how similar.)

11 a.m. - I had Writing Within Psychology, and I didn't feel like whipping my camera and snapping a photo of my feet :)

12 p.m. - Walking home from school. I love the view from the top of the south campus steps. It was looking extra pretty with all of the snow falling!

1 p.m. - Jake gets home from work! I told him to pose for the photo in a way that would "capture the essence of Jacob". This is what he did. Ha ha ha. I feel it's pretty accurate. If only there could somehow be a voiceover of him saying, "bebe". Then, it would be completely accurate!

2 p.m. - Driving Jake to school in the snow! It was really scary. I've successfully avoided driving in stormy weather since I was 16! I guess it's time to learn how to drive in the snow. Jake gave me lessons on the way to campus. 

3 p.m. - Admiring my nails! I am surprised at how long they last!

4 p.m. - Repainting my toenails! I wish my fingernail polish stayed as long as my toenail polish! I just found the most amazing top coat though. It's called Seche Vite and it's AMAZING. It dries soooo fast. I would recommend it if you're sick of your nail polish chipping all the time and having to wait so long for it to dry!

(I apparently totally missed 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. LOL. Gotta work on that time tracking!)

7 p.m. - Eating homemade apple-cranberry jam on toast. So delicious! Just cranberries, apple, and sugar in a blender. Whalah!

8 p.m. - The car got stuck in the snow! I was going to pick Jake up from school and then we were going to go grocery shopping, but... I ended up waiting in the car while he walked home. Good thing we are only 15 minutes from campus! 

9 p.m. - Jake and I went to Carl's Junior because we got a coupon in the mail for two famous star burgers for only $3! So, we obviously took advantage of that for dinner! I gave Jake my patty and he gave me his tomato. The olive theory! (For all you How I Met Your Mother Fans...). Anyways, it was supppppper delicious! I love their fry sauce! Plus, look how cute Jake's face is. Awe. Cutest husband award forever.

10 p.m. - Getting gas and heading home to hit up some X-files, which I definitely fell asleep during, so there is no 11 p.m. picture. There was still tons of snow! It seriously has snowed a foot the past however-many days! I loveeeeeee it. I also love how this picture turned out, with the bokeh.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my boring day to day life! It was quite fun thinking of what photo I would take for the hour and forcing myself to be creative, instead of zombie.

Let me know if you try it! I'd love to read the posts and get some inspiration!

XOXO

- - - - -

E

a happy list: 5

- - - - -

tribal patterns

the holiday season
warm morning hugs

re-watching the office

my nephew all the time

having a clean apartment
the size of jupiter in the sky

finally winning a giveaway!!
when the world evens things out

eating delicious breakfasts with jake

XOXO

- - - - -

E

soul flower

Hi! This is my newest item from Soul Flower.

I absolutely love it! I've been wearing allllllll the time. Just ask Jake!

I love it because it's eco friendly, has a Buddha stencil, is baggy, and says "kindness is my religion" all over it. I LOVE IT. 

It's a yoga top, so I needa get my yoga butt in gear! I find it hard to follow videos, because I feel like it almost ruins the ambiance. I have a yoga book that my mom gave me for Christmas some time ago. I really like it, except the figures are stick figures ha ha. so sometimes it's hard to tell what goes where. But, when I get cute clothes like this it doesn't matter! 

Namaste every day!

Also, I highly recommend the documentary Half the Sky. It's on Netflix and it's literally amazing.

Also, it's been snowing and it's been such a lovely experience.
I LOVE THE SNOW.
I am literally yelling that all the time.
Well, not really, but in my head.

Happy Wednesday!

XOXO

- - - - -

E

P.S. FOREVER THANKS TO BAYLI SHELTON PHOTOGRAPHY. I give her fullllll credit for my ability to take these photos.

1 2 - 0 1 - 2 0 1 3

Ok. So, I don't know if any of you read the blog The Dainty Squid, but you should. She does her nails every Sunday, and they are always so cute! Going along with my whole "positivity" thing, I've decided to follow along and do my nails every Sunday as well! She definitely does a way better job than me, but I do love doing my nails for whatever reason. I also love when they look perfect.

Without further ado.... week 1!

I actually took these last week while I was waiting for Jake to get off work.

Creepily enough, those white things in the third picture? Well. There are like four of them and no one knows what they are. I think they are either quarantining people who have been exposed to a rare and dangerous species of contagious mushroom, or unexplained objects that have fallen from an alien spacecraft. Either way, it's creepy.

Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a freaking HUGE star in the sky right now. Like, literally it is the biggest you will every see. You've probably mistaken it for an airplane. But, it's actually a star. Turns out it's actually Jupiter!! Space is so amazing!
Yay for aliens!

Anyways, I need to finish my nails and then go photograph my new yoga top!!
Happy Sunday! Let's all hope The Walking Dead progress somewhat tonight...

XOXO
- - - - -
E