phantogram. yi!

*I reverted this to a draft cause it was getting spam comments, but fixed the spam and am publishing it again, so hopefully this doesn't show up anywhere! Sorry if it does! It's an old post!*

Currently taking a break from Psychological Testing. Sometimes it's just too much, ya know? I did pretty good on my test yesterday, so I'm feelin' good. But, at the same time if I would have bombed it I would have had wayyyyy more motivation to study today than I actually do. Ha! Anyways, it turns out I have more time to study than I accounted for in my Finals Week Plans, so I thought I'd post some pictures from our outings lately!

This first picture is accidentally the only picture I took at Les Miserables! But, it was an awesome performance. Jean Valjean and Javert were seriously so good! Plus Jake had to wear his glasses so it was a cute plus to the night ;)

So, I'm forever complaining about the zoom length of my 35mm, because I can't flip it around and take pictures. However, while cleaning out my desk, I found my old fisheye attachment! It is less fisheye than most, so it works pretty well for taking pictures of ourselves without having to ask someone else to!

On our way to the Phantogram concert!!

Are we the only ones who get $1 McDonald's drinks way too often? So good. So good.

And finally the concert! These pictures are courtesy of my friend, Alena. My small arms couldn't get any good shots. We were in the third row, but people started going crazy 4 or 5 songs in, and I'm pretty small so I was getting thrown all over the place haha. So, we escaped to the back and stood on a cement block and watched the rest. It was sooo good. I'm literally so happy I saw them at Kilby Court (a garage made into a venue) all those years ago. I remember standing like two feet away from Josh and watching them play an amazing show! Here they are, all these years later (ok, like five) and they are doing sold out shows and touring everywhere. I feel like a proud mom, haha.

It was a great night! More bands need to come to Utah! Agreed? My favorite is when they come to 21+ venues... not. Haha. Literally, that's the only reason I'm excited to turn 21. No concerts will be off limits to me anymore!

XOXO
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E

guest post: jessi

School is almost out! Like, I can't remember what it's like to have free time. By this time next week I will be at a wedding enjoying delicious foods, knowing that I am done with school and moving. Probably there will be tons of unpacking to do, BUT THE GLASS IS HALF FULL. I will be able to get back to normal every day stuff like teen soaps, breakfast, and taking pictures of nothing. Ya know.

Anyways, today's guest post is by Jessi! I love her blog, because her style is ah-mazing. Like, for real. She's the closest to my style as far as bloggers go, so I love getting ideas from her. Plus, can we just verbally agree that her hair is beautiful?! I'm so jealous!! Anyways, without further ado...

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Hey friends! I'm filling in for Emily today.

Glad she asked, she's one of the coolest people I know. We've actually only met in real life a couple times but reading her blog makes me feel like I know her.... you know how that works! Anywho, I blog over at Haircut & General Attitude about my daily style and little bits of life. I'm also a bank teller during the day (so exciting I know) and this is what I wore to work the other day. Pretty simple look, but this skirt is so awesome it doesn't need much dressing up. I'm a sucker for anything floral, including floral crowns and fresh bouquets. I'm also a sucker for these "rock" necklaces - or whatever they're called. I think I'm starting a collection. I might just wear them all at once sometime. When I like something I tend to get carried away, haha. In kind of the same sense I tend to throw too many standout pieces together sometimes so I've been trying to kind of simplify my style lately. A knotted white t-shirt and some neutral heels finished this look off nicely. (and my favorite frames since my eyes are boycotting my contacts lately)

Outfit Details:

Skirt - H&M

Tee - Downeast

Necklaces - Craft fair // c/o Olive Deer

Heels - c/o Missguided

Bag - Target

Frames - Firmoo
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Do you see what I mean?! Ah-mazing. Anyways, thanks Jessi for posting! Good luck to all of you who are battling final exams and projects. The end is near!

XOXO
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E

life lately

I ordered some really fine tips and bottles, so now I can do awesome henna! I need some more ideas of things to do. I think once it gets warmed and swimming-weather I am going to do a cool one on my thigh, I just don't know what to do!

Trixie was so cute. She was sleeping inbetween the couch and the footstool. Like, it's cute, but it's also a pretty good example of how lazy she is. I'm not sure if she was sleeping there because she thought it was comfortable, or if it was because she was too lazy to get up and move somewhere that wasn't eating her alive. Haha.

Drank some delicious italian sodas with the fam! Working at all of these coffee shops has surely paid off in my ability to make delicious homemade drinks.

Henna by Jake! Also, randomly ran into a booth at school that was giving out cotton candy, popcorn, and root beer for free. I was on my way to buy candy, so it was basically a miracle.

Cute things on the way to school! I really hope to live in a colored house someday. They are so cute.

Midweek break with a Jazz game! I've never been super into sports, but I do like basketball because it's so fast paced. None of that waiting around shiz, ya know.

It also doesn't help that this old man buys us ice cream every time we go. Literally the cutest thing.

Went to Idaho for the weekend to see my lovely sister-in-law graduate! It was awesome, because her department was the college of fine arts, so it was basically like going to a talent show. Definitely not a boring night.

Playing around with low lighting! My camera is so old it can't handle ISO bigger than 800 without doing this... so horrible! I need to borrow my sister's and see if it does any better. I am probably just going to have to invest in a flash. I hear some of the really nice cameras can do like 10,000 ISO no prob! That's craziness. I would probably die of happiness to own one of those. 

And as for the rest of our week... we will be taking finals and moving! Our finals end the 23rd at 10:00 p.m. (well, that's the last opportunity to take them anyways) and then we have to be moved out of our apartment the next day by noon! Eek! We haven't even started because the end of the semester and finals have been so crazy. You can bet we will be pulling and all-nighter! Music recommendations, anyone? It's times like these that I wish I liked energy drinks. Bleck. Candy and diet coke will do!

XOXO

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E

guest post: beverly

I'm so excited about this guest post, because Beverly was my very first blogging friend! Plus, she's the only blogging friend I've met in real life (who I didn't know before). She's basically awesome and an awesome photographer and also a fellow vegetarian. Yay for fellow vegetarians. Anyways, she's really cool and I'm so happy she agreed to post! School is forever crazy. Without further ado... here's Beverly!

Hello readers of Some Girl! I'm Beverly and I blog over at What a Day. I've seen these lists popping up around the blogosphere and I am not the type of person to wait around to be "tagged" in order to post my own. I'm such a rebel.

10 things you should know if we're going to be BFFs:

1. I still watch cartoons and I will always watch cartoons. My favorites right now are Regular Show, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe (basically Cartoon Network knows what's up), Bob's Burgers, Frozen, and Bee and Puppycat. Also I really like anime.... 
2. I love cartoons because I laugh at everything. I will probably make you feel like a comedian. 
3. I am a night owl. I'm like a little kid that never wants to go to bed on time. 
4. I cannot listen to country music. It's just not my taste. Unless it's Taylor Swift or Johnny Cash. 
5. I'll want to introduce you to new music and I'll expect you to do the same for me. Also, I would love to be the DJ if we ever go on road trips. 
6. I love musicals and I love to sing along. Please don't be too annoyed if we're watching one and I sing every word. This happens especially when watching The Nightmare Before Christmas or Across the Universe.
7. If we ever exercise together, don't judge me too harshly on my lack of athleticism.  
8. My house is messy. If you come over unexpectedly, prepare yourself. 
9. I like to read, but I'm not a bookworm. (I wish I were.) Please refer me to your favorite books! This is the only way I will actually read. 
10. I'm having a baby in September. We can still be friends, right? 

Other rando facts about me: I love hugs! But I'll respect your space if you don't. I'm a photographer, so let me practice on you. I'm married. We're moving to Arizona in June. I have the biggest sweet tooth with the cavities to prove it. (I guess I'm not too proud about that.)

I want to tag everyone to answer these questions, too. Go for it! And maybe make a link to your posts here in the comment section so I can come back and look through them.

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I'm definitely making a list! Thanks Beverly!
Be sure to check her out!

XOXO
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E

weekend: corner bakery

So I ordered these bottles with attachable tips on Amazon, and they do the most beautiful henna! You know usually the stream is really thick? Well, that's always bothered me, because I've only ever wanted a pine tree and it's been pretty much impossible. I did this in the car while waiting for Jake, and I love the way it turned out! I'm obsessed now and just want to henna every part of my body!

Afterwards, we went to Corner Bakery to celebrate Jake killin' it. He got an internship, and a 98% on his finance test in one day! Killin' it. It was super good! I've never been there before, and I was obsessing with their baby bundt cakes. Like, anything smaller than the normal size is already incredibly cute, ya know? But like, inserting "baby" in the title kills me. I die.

After dinner we went to The Wall to see one of my friend's bands play! It was really fun. I love watching like, beginning bands. They have such a cute air about them. You know they are just like, dying with happiness to be playing for a crowd at last, ya know? 

Here goes the start of another week of school! Ah!

XOXO
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E

P.S. Trying to earn money for packets so I can graduate in December! So, mini shoots for $50! 50 edited images on a disc:) email me if you're interested! Click the "photography" tab to see my email address and past shoots!

life lately

Studying at all times. Although, this semester is almost over, so that's very good news. We have like 8 days left of actual class, and then finals! I'm excited! I am doing spring and summer, but I'm taking really fun classes that I'm excited for! Plus we can park in graduate school parking, which cuts the walk to class in half pretty much! 

I taught Jake how to fishtail! The one on the left is his first, and the one on the right is after a couple tries. I hate braiding my own hair because it's so long the angle is like, super weird and it hurts my arms because I'm a baby. Haha. He braids so well though! I hope we have little girls :)

Fancier fishtails! And some street art we ran into on our way home from school on Tuesday. I love it! There used to be a piece at the bottom of the stairs on campus that said "you've changed." I like to think that someone is doing these with the hope that their lover will see them. It's so cute! I can't wait until we go to a city and I can just wander the streets looking for street art!

We stopped by Sammy's Cafe on date night and found the message we wrote in fingernail polish when had just first started hanging out! It's under the counter, so hopefully they never get new ones! 

We didn't go to the color festival this year, because we'd rather be lazy on lounge around on our days off ;) but I did get to help clean it all up! It was AMAZING seeing the aftermath! Some 60,000 people went this year! It wasn't too bad with trash and stuff, but I loved seeing all the colors everywhere!

Spring in Utah is so dumb! Monday I wore a long sleeve button up and was absolutely sweating by the time I got to class. Then, on Wednesday it snowed and was freezing enough to have to whip out my winter coat... for only the morning. >:(. So then I looked like an idiot walking around campus all day, because when I started walking it was freezing, but then by 1 or 2 it was just normal. Someone needs to invent like a super compact coat that you can put in your pocket haha.

We tried Supreme Burger! It's been on our list for forever and we decided to treat ourselves after all this school! I was laughing so hard, because we went right after we got home from our mythology class, and after we got done ordering I turned around to see none other than our mythology professor!! He is the funniest guy! This place was pretty much like JCW' (aka amazing). I could eat their fries all day!

We're pretty much out of all food, but I absolutely HATE going grocery shopping! So, I've decided to see how long we can go just eating the food at our apartment! It's actually kind of fun. But, to get my sugar fix I've just been eating chocolate chips haha. Am I the only one who does this? CHOCOLATE OBSESSED. Also, I decided our wedding pictures needed to stop being in every room in the apartment, so I combined them all into this piece that is on our bedroom wall. Don't let it fool you... it took me a good while to get each side of the heart even and to make it symmetrical while simultaneously using all of the pictures with none left over! I'm happy with the end result though. :).

I've started an online class (cause you know, 15 credits isn't enough right now) and it's awesome because I love online classes, but not so awesome because now I don't want to go to school anymore! Haha especially the longggggg days, Tuesday and Thursday! I actually didn't go for like two weeks, and then I went on Tuesday, and now it's Thursday and I'm not going again. Well, maybe I'll go later. But, I don't know. It's like, sometimes class (for me, at least) seems like it's not that important. I mean, I used to skip class all the time, and sometimes that would lead to a bad grade, but when they don't grade your attendance, and when you can read the text book and still get a good grade on the test, I think it's fine :). My mom hates it! She's always telling me to go to school, since I'm paying so much for it, but I don't know. I can stay home today and get half of my online class done, ya know? Haha.

We've got a fun weekend planned with a Salt Lake adventure, concert at The Wall, sleepover at my mom's house, and then conference with the fam! I'm ready for it to be here!

XOXO

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E

P.S. New design! It took me foreverrrrrrr to get it done. Like, I bought a template, but then realized so many things weren't the way I wanted them to be, so I did all of it myself! I have MUCH RESPECT for those of you who can just whip up templates. You're crazy! I'm still having difficulties with old posts being formatted weird, as well as mobile view, but whatever!

guest post: rachel sullivan

I'm super excited for this, because I love Rachel's artwork! I actually already have this print hanging up in my kitchen, and I'd love to get a custom pet portrait of Trixie! They are seriously so cute. Thanks Rachel for sharing your process! Without further ado...

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Hello everyone! I'm super excited to be doing a post on Emily's blog. 

Over at my site I post a lot of illustration in addition to lifestyle and fashion things, and today I'm going to show you all a step-by-step process of how I work! I usually do funky fashiony art, but I decided to get back to my roots and do a bit of naturey storybook art for this post. The illustration I'm creating here is intended as a mock book cover for "The Secret Garden."

1. First I do a sketch. This is often in my sketchbook, but sometimes on a sheet of printer paper like I did here. In the top right you can see my thumbnail where I solidified the composition.

2. I then take a crappy cell phone picture of my sketch and bring it into photoshop, where I resize it to whatever size I want for the final. It doesn't matter if this looks blurry, and I don't really even care what paper it's on (hence the purple), because I'm going to trace the sketch to get nice clean lines.

3. I use a makeshift light table consisting of a tall lamp with no shade and a piece of plexiglass to trace my lines onto some watercolor paper. I use the professional grade Strathmore that you can find at craft stores because it's affordable and produces nice results. If I had my way, though, it'd be all Arches all the time! I do these lines with a pencil.

4. Now's when I start painting! I start with the skin (entirely out of habit), and lay in the basic background colors if there are any. The paints I use are a mixture of Van Gogh and Winsor Newton watercolors, and Winsor Newton gouaches. I also use this awesome opaque ink that I dilute.

5. I lay in more colors.

6. You can see things starting to come together at this point!

7. And here's the final painting.

8. I then scan it in using my home scanner. This is what an unedited scan looks like right after it's been imported!

9. And finally, here's the finished product! I adjust the levels, saturation, and contrast to make it look as true to life as possible, then I resize it for the internet and slap my watermark on it. This particular one will have text added to it digitally later, but that's pretty unusual for my work.

I hope you guys enjoyed this peek into my process! If you want to see more of my work, I update my tumblr frequently, and sell prints and custom portraits in my shop.