places you need to go ASAP: 3 cups

This is not a joke. You must go to 3 Cups immediately! I have the longest break in between my classes on Wednesdays, so I've started going to all the places on my "Utah" page in my travel journal. So far 3 Cups has been my favorite! Here's why:

#1: It's adorable. Like, let's just focus on that sign for a second ok? IT'S AMAZING. Also the inside is super cool. You can kind of see, but like each table has really high walls behind it, so you have a super ton of privacy, so no one can judge you for reading blogs instead of doing homework ;)

#2: Their hot chocolate is the cutest of any coffee shop I've been to. Like, that to-stay mug? Adorable. There's a tiny spoon you can't see. And I'm pretty sure that cookie just tops of the look.

#3: They have the most delicious avocado toast with homemade pickles on the side! Also, they have lots of cool little foods like this. It's not just a bunch of pastries, they have gelato and acai bowls! So, it's a nice little switch up from coffee cake and croissants.

Yes. I did drink an entire 16 oz hot chocolate in probably, five minutes. It was just so good and the perfect gulping temperature! 

Anyways, you should definitely go here if you like cute coffee shops and delicious food. I'm excited to pit stop here on the way home from our camping trips this summer!

XOXO

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readathon!

Do you guys remember readathons in like, elementary school? They were pretty much my very favorite thing in the world at that point in my life. Jake and I both made resolutions to read more, so we did a little readathon night. Mila lent me Mindy Khaling's book and I'm obsessed with it. My favorite parts so far have been her Voldemort and Nagini comparison to her and her friend, and her statment that she was drawn to Dartmouth because of her love for white people and North Face parkas (she's kidding, obviously). Seriously lol-ing has been happening. 

I can't have a post without a picture of Trixie, apparently. So, here you go.

A very real pro of living in your mother's basement is being able to take all of the available pillows and cushions in house and pile them into a giant bed, covered with layers and layers of blankets. We call it a "bed fort" and it is amazing, also so so so comfortable. 

It's so comfortable that Jake fell asleep on my back during our readathon hahahahaha.

All in all, a p good night. I made this queso recipe and it was DELICIOUS. We left out the chili and it was seriously just as good, but you could definitely add it if you're not vegetarian. 

XOXO

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a happy list: 47 + gopro pictures

I totally forgot I had these pictures on my gopro! Ha!

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Waking up in the middle of the night and seeing such a neat pattern on my pillow from the full moon combined with my paper chain hanging in the window / The "-BAE" signature Jake put on his email to me / Daniela Andrade covers (She's also on Spotify) / Jake's "kiss fireworks" (basically a kiss that turns into a firework) / When I was the first one to walk into my American Heritage class and my teacher told me it was a different class… only to realize that he was wrong and he did, in fact, have to teach American Heritage in less than 10 minutes HAHA! / Finally trying Pizza Studio and loving it so much / Winning a free appetizer from Olive Garden because Jake rocks at Laffy Taffy jokes / Dub date nights with my bb / Finishing Bossypants and starting Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? / My new Mac lipstick

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Funny things people have said…

Jake: "Bae…droom." (Like bedroom… get it?)

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Here's some internet things to make you happy!

Crazy In Love cover by Daniela (and all other covers), I'm so obsessed with her right now. / This awareness test. Such a goodie. / The study that found an effect with telling teachers random kids are more promising than others, and how it shows how important it is to lift others up instead of tearing them down. Self-fulfilling prophecies are so so real, and telling people they are going to achieve and do good things may be an actual reason for why they end up achieving and doing good things. So interesting! / This Etsy shop that helped me with the new design for my photography blog. If you need a new design I would HIGHLY recommend this shop, the owner was amazing and logged into my account on blogger and fixed everything that wasn't working the way I wanted it to. 100% best service ever. / These dogs in a photo booth /

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Also I did a guest post for cute Kendel on her blog with my favorite photos from 2014!

XOXO

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project 365 / 4-10

Day 4 / Cozy socks and catching up on our Modern Family.

Day 5 / I caught a very sly kitty (very late at night) sleeping in the bed she pretends she is too good for. 

Day 6 / Morning chai rooibos with my new favorite mug and my bff Mr. Tea. The joy I got from stuffing those tiny pants with tea leaves is indescribable. 

Day 7 / There a small part of me that is very upset no one told me about Biscoff spread earlier. I have been OBSESSED with dipping apples in it and eating that as a snack every day. It's already half gone!

Day 8 / Got myself some new lipstick with a gift card I won during Christmas Festivities! Quite excited, quite excited.

Day 9 / I put Rick outside to condition Skully to not be afraid of humans. Is it working? Definitely not. Also Trixie is the best study buddy a girl could ask for.

Day 10 / Morning cocoa in our new favorite mugs. 

XOXO

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glasses ftw 100% always

I love glasses you guys. Like, seriously so much. My very first black pair broke, so on to the next! I was obsessing with these new glasses though. They came with a case that had a map on it. I'm like, "Ok Firmoo, how do you exactly know my person?" Also, when I first ordered glasses I stupidly thought it was a "one size fits all" sort of deal. So, needless to say having these glasses that actually fit is like a small heaven. 

Firmoo is amazing because they give you your first pair free, which is definitely an added bonus in my book. So, if you're itchin' to shake things up in the glasses department, Firmoo is like, the nicest choice. 

XOXO
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P.S. If there are any great poems or 4-6 line quotes out there, please let me know. I have to record myself reciting both for my public speaking class, and my first choice of poem would obviously be a type of slam poetry, probably by Alysia Harris or Miles Hodges. But, then I remember an middle aged, male, BYU professor will be watching the video and I immediately changed my mind. So, you know, like very appropriate poems talking about the sun or dirt or something would be much appreciated.

quinoa wrap

Here's my current favorite recipe using quinoa for those who were asking. So far out of the four people I know who have tried this, they have all loved it! It's seriously sooo good and so good for you (I think)! Here's the recipe I got the idea from, and then I tweaked it a little bit (carrot hater over here) to make it taste better and also easier to roll up. 

XOXO
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a happy list: 46

When Trixie is standing in the doorway, and I go to leave the room, and she backs up instead of turning around hahaha / Sitting in the bathroom during Jake's showers when it's all steamy / Grape-apple Martinelli's / Marshmallow Santas / Baking + cooking night with Mila (Can that be a weekly thing please?) / Getting back into photography (if you know of any super good models in the Utah County area, let me know) / Painting my nails with new colors / Finally sewing clothes that have been in my "fix" pile for yearssss / QUINOA. Enough said. / Celebrating another New Year's Eve with my bb

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Funny things people have said…

(Mila was cradling a swaddled Trixie and rocking her in the rocking chair. We were sitting in silence.) *Looks up from staring at Trixie Baby* "I feel like I'm going to be a good mom."

The general conversation that revolved around my mother's disapproval of me giving Skully catnip, seeing as "it makes cats be crazy!"

My grandma (via text): "Very cute picture of the cat!! Are you sure they weren't talking about Tricia?"

Mila (via text after leaving my house): "Omg I just realized that Skully is probably in like her teen rebllion stage and she doesn't know what's best for her you know?"

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Here's some internet things to make you happy! If you didn't already love Taylor Swift, watch this video and you will. / The fact that solo weddings exist in Japan. / Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's New Year's Eve song. They are like, the most perfect indie duo haha. / 100% of all the photography on this website. 

project 365 / 1-3

I saw this idea on Kaylah's blog and thought it would be fun this year, since I'm pretty much done with school and can dedicate more time to photography. 

Day 1: I finally got to meet and shoot with my hair role model. The sunset when we were leaving was so so so pretty. I have probably taken way too many sunset photos, but I just can't help myself! 

Day 2 / I did a small shoot for a deal Dana Leigh Apparel ran on Saturday. Needless to say I have been wearing this shirt non-stop ever since. Judge me. 

Day 3 / I finally made heart waffles with my heart waffle maker! I threw some Abbie and Ellie Kneader's syrup on there and it was basically a small heaven. Also, the waffle maker has a little beep that goes off when the waffle is done. BURNED WAFFLES NO MORE!!! I care so much about it. Sooo much. 

Funny story: Someone left a typed note in our mailbox about Skully. Here are some very real excerpts from it.   "Please accept my observation in the spirit in which is it intended: not to be critical but to encourage you to provide proper protection for your pet by establishing regularly a warm environment in the winter and a cool one during the hot summer months." "Thank you so much."

There was a little more to it than that, but I will spare you. They signed it with their first initial and last name, but we still have no idea who it is. So, I'm posting this in hopes that whoever wrote the letter will  see it and know the truth! She has been hanging around the neighborhood for quite a while as neighbors have informed us, so she handles winter somehow (although it's freezing and I have no idea how). Also, if the Note Writer only knew how many hours I have sat out there with her trying to get her to eat from my hand haha. When I first started taming her she wouldn't come out if she could see us. When we pulled up in the driveway she would hide and wouldn't come out. Now she will come out and eat in front of us, but still won't let us pet her. She will come inside if I put her food dish inside, but that's about it.

Anyways, so I bought her a little bed and some cat nip (which led to the funniest conversation with my mom) in hopes that the Note Writer would be able to see that we are not choosing for her to stay outside, rather she is crazy wild and will not come inside the house.

So, that was that. Good intentions I think, but they obviously don't know how obsessed I am with cute animals haha, because if Skully was a friend I would be allllll over that ish. So, if you know who wrote it, let them know I am working on it and hopefully she will be domesticated soon…ish. :)

XOXO

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celebrations

I don't know about everyone else, but I for one am so sick of seeing "year in review" posts haha. So, I'll spare you and share photos from our New Year's Eve instead. If you really want to read about my year, the archive link is on the sidebar ;)

Anyways, whoever invented the idea of giving gift cards to college students is a GENUIS! We went to Chili's and enjoyed a very tasty meal complete with The Molten, which is in my opinion the best dessert of all the desserts at all the restaurants. (Except maybe the chocolate pudding at Cafe Trio. I still dream about that stuff.)

We stopped by Jake's friend's party for a little while, and then headed home to get our teen adventure on by watching Moral Instruments. Can we talk about Lily Collin's eyebrows for a second? Sometimes they are so perfect I cry, but then sometimes they are like, 100% too big. So, that's weird to me. 

Also, if you have not yet tried the Apple-Grape Martinelli's then you are seriously missing out some very real happiness.

And lastly, what movie night would be complete without the cutest small angel of the world? (Not the phone, Trixie. Hahahah.)

I've never really been a "resolutions!!!!" person, because I find that if I just tell myself I am going to play the piano more as opposed to "play the piano every day!" then I usually end up doing better at the goal haha. So, I'm thinking I might make very vague goals this year, and see where that gets me. Pretty much the only goal I reached from last year was to get above a 3.0 every semester, so yay for that! Jake on the other hand is just like, "Hmmm, I haven't run a lot before, but this year I am going to run a half marathon." Then he like, gets out of bed the next day and runs 6 miles. Men, am I right? Like, can you share some of that manly strength and endurance with my baby body please? 

Anyways, 2014 was good! Not for any specific reason, but just because it was another wonderful year I got to spend with my lovely, lovely bb. Also, we went to New York and my dreams of living there were VERY solidified haha. So, hopefully 2015 will bring some equally awesome things!

XOX0

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from the iPhone

I don't know why, but if there are ever more than like, 100 pictures on my iPhone I feel so disorganized until I transfer them all to my computer and put them in their respective folders.

I love putting my fisheye lens up to my iPhone. 

Study breaks with Trixie.

I made a study spot on the floor and Trixie was like, so confused as to why I was laying on the floor and she was laying on the couch. Also, it's important to note I fell asleep studying right after this picture was taken and lost like 4 hours of precious study time.

Living in leggings, eating easy food on the Christmas plate we made at Color Me Mine. Pretty much the basics of finals week, right?

I got Trixie doggie bacon and she gets like, so excited every time I give her a piece.

The view of BYU after I finished the last final that actually mattered. So yay! 

But then we had to stay in Provo all day. Like, for 12 hours... So, obviously we got Provo Bakery donuts for date #6 to make the day better. 

Date #7: We never got around to trying the Cronuts in New York, but the one's at Bianca's French Bakery in Orem are prettttttty delish.

Date #8: I love how most of our dates were food. Chocolate chip bagels and orange juice… A must!

My birthday cake! I'm glad I finally had an excuse to make a rainbow cake. 

Date #9: The most delicious raspberry cream cheese croissant from Kneader's and looking at Christmas lights. We happened upon a dancing lights house! It was so perfect. Jake had never seen one before!

I will never have too many pictures of my dog.

It snowed one morning on my way home from work and the temple looked so so pretty with all the frosted trees. Also, this is what laying in bed all day will do to your topknot. I swear, Jake will braid my hair in like the tighest, most perfect braids and every morning when I wake up my hair is so crazy. A part of me wonders what I do when I'm sleeping to wreck it so hard.

Lastly, my constellation mug! The constellations light up when you pour hot liquid in it. I can't even express my love for it. Morning cocoa has never been so enjoyable.