a happy list: 27

Seeing Nathan Scott in the flesh at my place of employment (twice!) / Driving the Alpine Loop / finally seeing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (and absolutely loving it!) / Buffy the Vampire Slayer / getting tons and tons of editing done / discovering new blogs / finally going to Swig / discovering just how awesome Pinterest can be when it comes to DIY projects / relaxing and discovering life can be fun when it's not filled with school constantly / braids on braids

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Some funny things people have said...
(While telling me about her hike.)
My mother: "We need to explore the mountain. I am going to hike all over that mountain!!"

(While telling us about how he ordered an old fashioned donut and the girl asked him if he wanted it glazed.)
Jake: "What do you think I want?! Dough?!"

(While ordering drinks at McDonalds.)
Jake: "And a Diet Dr. Pepper, and can I get some root beer mixed in with that?"
Employee: "We do not mix drinks."
Us: "...."

Jake: "Didn't it used to be that "tbt" was what you did the last thursday?!"
Me: "Haha! No, never!"
Jake: "I don't know!!!!! I've never tbt'd before!"

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I also feel it's important to note that I went on a run with Jake Friday morning. I haven't ran since high school. In high school I only ran like... a total of ten times. I've never played sports or any of that, so it's safe to say I ran literally (like, literally) .2 of a mile before I needed to take a break, haha!! All in due time, I suppose. Plus when the zombies come, I need my cardio to be ready!

Also, sorry for the boringness of this happy list, as you can probably tell this week has been one full of relaxation and mental healing. I basically go to a point where I felt like all I did was school and work and it was the worst! So, this past week I have been focusing on mental health and making our little basement cute. Not to mention organizing all of the boxes when we moved... basically we just threw everything into random boxes, so it's been quite the task organizing everything. But, organizing is my favorite, so it's been sort of a win.

In other news, I just want Xander and Willow to kiss. Every time they like, get close to it I find myself yelling at the t.v. "Just make out already!!!!" multiple times. But then they don't. Sigh.

Hope everyone else had a lovely week!

P.S. Here are some internet things to make you happy... this couple's newborn photoshoot with their dog, this backyard wedding, these cute wedding photos (I love their style!! And her dress=swoon.), this cutest nursery-on-a-budget-post (all I want to do is spray paint things gold now haha it looks sooo amazing),

the alpine loop

Jake has never driven the Alpine Loop before! Thursday was overcast with a light drizzle, aka perfect for a nice canyon drive. When we started driving it was light outside, but then it got really dark and rainy... aka perfect as well. I was hoping to get some good photos, but ya know. I started filming instead because hello, raindrops on windshields are like, one of the best things, am I right?!

So, here's a little video and some pictures from our canyon adventure.

Cutest rainbow!! It was right when we were entering the canyon and soooo perfect.

The clouds at sunset were unreal! The no-editing-needed type, ya know?

I love the canyon. I love adventures. I love my bb. 

XOXO

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E

doin' the daily

For some reason I have been super into baking lately. It's probably all those "liked posts" on Bloglovin' that are haunting my dreams. I love that they're there, but at the same time it makes me feel disorganized having a whole ton of saved posts.

So, I've started trying out all the recipes and almost all of them have failed/not been as good as I was expecting. So, I decided to record making these pierogis from the blog Love, Taza. Needless to say, it was a crazy mess haha. I'm not sure if you can tell in this video, but A.) It took me sooo long to make these. B.) I dropped like three of the little babies on the floor when I was boiling them. D.) The sprayer on the sink jammed, so when I turned the sink on to rinse dishes, I got soaked. E.) My camera died twice, so all of the parts that would have been awesome to watch, aren't here.

Haha, but, that's just what happens sometimes I suppose! Do any of you have delicious recipes that you've tried and loved?! I'm tired of fail recipes haha.

XOXO
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E

things lately

Tried out this zucchini bread recipe.

A cute, blurry puppy patiently waiting for the go ahead to eat her steak. I hurried and switched it to auto focus, but she was long gone. Hahaha.

The moon always. Am I right?!

Snapback-ing it to get sodas. Ya know, just the daily.

It's been a while since one of these have happened. So, here you go.

The sunset and moon. Once again. Am I the only one who is obsessed with them?! 

Another sunset!!

We finally tried Smashburger. I've discovered I don't like blackbean burgers in any situation, but Jake said his burger was on the same level as JCW's... so a win. Their Smashfries had rosemary though, and were tres bueno.

Tried out this recipe for lemon blueberry scones. It tasted weird for some reason, like there was too much salt? But pear haps my taste buds are just not used to healthy foods. I might have to try these again with white flour!

Breakfast and Buffy... a routine lately. I've decided Buffy is like a mixture of The X-Files and Dawson's Creek. Which is awesome, in case you haven't watched either of those. I love so much that the three main characters are Sarah Michelle Geller, Nicolas Brendon (Side note: I just looked him up on IMDB so I could refer to him with his real name, instead of "The Wolf In The 10th Kingdom" and HE IS KEVIN FROM CRIMINAL MINDS WHICH I HAVE ALSO BEEN BINGE WATCHING.), and Alyson Hannigan. Ok, but I still can't get over Xander being Kevin. They look soooo different haha. The 90's did a lot of people in, I suppose. 

I finally tried galaxy nails! I think they turned out pretty nicely for my first time. I'm loving them so much.

Just a cute husb.

I tried this raspberry coconut pancake recipe, except subbed oat bran with old fashioned oats, left out the raspberries, and used a blueberry syrup instead. I was mainly the most excited about remembering we have skull pancake molds, and also about one of them working out. 

1.) Trixie turns into a Trixie Taco every time we bring her into our room to sleep. She refuses to get out of her bed, and just lays there when Jake picks it up. We set it down and she'll stay in the exact same position hahahahah.
2.) My sister-in-law's cute baby!
3.) Not a bad thing when your husband comes home looking like this. #scoutsforlife
4.) Taught Jake how to french braid and he does it better than me! I love it so much.

These past couple days have been awesome. Trying out recipes that have been saved on my Bloglovin' for so long, combining my old blogs into one and making it private, cleaning up this blog, actually getting ready in the morning, and watching shows! 

XOXO

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E

a happy list: 25

slurp upsizing my drink (again) / seeing an entire side of my family who i haven't seen for a while / finally eating at smashburger / crepes with chocolate, strawberries, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle. mmm / putting in my two weeks at work (haha) / reaping the rewards of my mom's trader joe's shopping spree / my sister-in-law's cute baby / the picture of a baby sloth a little kid had drawn at the art show we went to / finally making a decision about graduation and when to graduate / making a huge bed on the t.v. room floor with all of the pillows and removable cushions from the house

some funny things people have said:

(girl i just met through a friend like, ten minutes ago, while sitting and eating at guru's)
Girl: "I hope this doesn't come off as lesbian, but you have really big boobs for your small body frame."
(everyone bursts into laughter for minutes)

(while offering to pamper in various ways, playing with hair and back rubbing had already been turned down)
Me: "Oh oh! What about an arm tickle?"
Jake: "Well, the thing with me is it actually really does tickle."

ah. a good week indeed. lots of school, though. but what else is new, am i right?

XOXO
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E

p.s. is there anyone who has any interest in doing like a blogger tea party? here's the information. shoot me an email if you want to come and i'll get it all set up!

nvm i'll be here + pictures from cancun forever ago

DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE.

Basically here was the issue.

-My birthday is December 19.

-Graduation is December 19.

-I have 36 credits left.

-I am taking 18 credits in the fall. That leaves 18 credits left.

I was originally going to do a lot of school this summer and graduate on my birthday, but then I got a job and had zero time. I will have done 14 credits this summer though, so I'm counting that as a success in my book.

I have decided to graduate in April instead of December for multiple reasons.

#1.) It's only four more months of school.

#2.) I'm still graduating a year early.

#3.) I am getting super emotional and burned out, because of doing so much school.

#4.) I can still get a job and count that for 9 credits of internship, and then take 3 classes that are just fun. Like sculpting or ceramics. So, it really won't be that bad.

#5.) The thing I care about more than anything else is going to a good graduate program. Preferably Columbia or UW, and I need to make my applications for those really good. If I cram all this school, I won't have any time to make my applications good.

#6.) More than anything else, I really need to get good grades if I have any chance of getting in.

This has been a long, painful, emotional decision haha. Many a tear have been shed. Many a hairs have been brushed (because my husband is so awesome). Many a chocolates have been eaten. BUT. I really think this will be better in the long run, so I'm sticking with it.

So, never mind on the whole "hiatus" issue, because I'm back!! Like, in every way. I'm back to showering every day and being hygenic, I'm back to making cute things, I'm back to adventuring. Basically I'm just back to living a normal life that isn't filled with school in every possible minute.

I quit my job, and am just finishing up these two classes. Then we are going to go on a vacation where no school will be thought of and that will be the most lovely.

This probably means nothing to anyone else (but at least you got to see some uber-embarrassing pictures of me when I had no eyelashes last summer), but I have been struggling with this decision for almost a year (ha). So, it feels nice to finally have made a definite choice and to finally have a plan that won't cause me to cry daily because of stress (I didn't cry daily before, but did eat my feelings quite often).

So, yay for life right now! If you have any recommendations of things to do that bring happiness (ex: things to bake, places to go, shows/movies to watch, bands to listen to, things to make) I accept them wholeheartedly, because I now have time! And I'm sooooooo excited haha.

Three more tests and we're done until September 3rd! Wish me luck!

XOXO

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E

busy busy busy

So, life is busy as always. I'm finishing up two more classes and they are crazy. Sorry for being MIA but then not really sorry because ya know. Anyways, here are some bridals I took a while ago. If you're interested in viewing the gallery click here.

bike rides

One of the best things about this summer has been bike rides on an actual bike trail. My personal favorite is when we ride around sunset-time and it's like life is straight out of a romcom. Summer activities like riding bikes reminds me that summer can be enjoyable haha (only when it's not 100 degrees outside). 

XOXO

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E

a happy list: 24

discovering season 4 of the killing is on netflix / slurp giving me a large instead of small drink (also just slurp in general) / photographing the cutest wedding / root beer flavored italian ice / the rain lately / getting my car back from the mechanic / watching rise of the planet of the apes / ordering a bunch of dresses from modcloth (70% off so obviously a must) / the kids in my neighborhood performing the chinese yoyo (those things are crazy!) / an old man in my neighborhood performing baton twirling

some funny things people have said...

(referring to the old man twirling the baton)
jake: "he's so sprite!!!!"
me: "do you mean spry???"

(a stranger at the wedding i was photographing)
stranger: "you... look... like... target. this is a compliment."

(a woman in my ward)
woman: you know, you look like a china doll. with your skin and your lips and your tights!

(also i feel it's unfair if i don't mention that during a conversation with jake about a car that was $25,000 i said something along the lines of "what!! that's a quarter of a million dollars! sick!")

hahaha. so, all in all, a pretty good week. i got told i looked like a department store and a doll all within two days, so success. also, if you have yet to try the italian ice at mia's you must go. it is perhaps the most delicious in the world.