graduation things

Alright. Graduation things, here we go. 

SUNDAY:

I made my mom promise me we wouldn't have a "thing" for my graduation because I'm not really a "thing" person. So, she just got me this cake and we ate it during Sunday dinner. 

Trixie was there being cute, per usual. 

TUESDAY.

This was my last day of school. (Or more importantly my last day at BYU.) The rainbow roses Jake ordered me came in the morning and they were just as wonderful as I always dreamt they would be. I've waited a long time for these suckers, kids. WORTH IT. I then enjoyed an açaí bowl and stared at my roses the whole time. It was the perfect morning. 

My v nice brother-in-law tipped me off that Kneaders was giving away free cake to BYU graduates! So, natually we went there. The guy working was super nice and gave me two pieces. A car picnic ensued. 

I can't even get over these rainbow roses. I'm definitely drying these chesters and keeping them forever. 

We took a few pictures just for memory's sake. I had to take some "normal" ones for my mother (you know how it is) but this one is my favorite and will be the one I display and show to my children.

In closing, I'm mainly just really glad I completed my goal of graduating college in 2 1/2 years! It wasn't the easiest thing, but it wasn't the hardest either.

I also feel the need to thank people. So, thanks to my bb bacon for working so I could just focus on school and take 18 credit semesters. I couldn't have done it without him! Thanks to my mother for helping me out with my first year and for letting us live in her house for my last. A very special thanks to my grandma for listening to all of my BYU rants and validating my emotions. And thanks to the rest of family for being nice, supportive, and caring about my life and education goals. Thanks to everyone who gave me a graduation gift. And lastly, thanks to BYU for admitting me and letting me receive a college education! 

XOXO

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E

a happy list: 63

Ok, so I'm going to leave out all San Francisco things, because I feel like that would take up all of this happy list. But, just know that San Francisco things were a huge happy thing themselves! / Graduating from college. / Jake getting me rainbow roses. / My morning routine now involving açaí. / Seeing and chatting with my grandma and grandpa! / Preparing the trunk of my car for spontaneus road trips. And finally cleaning it out. / Being able to apply to what we like to call "real adult jobs" since I now have a degree. / The conversation two girls had in a different language on my Instagram photo. I tried to use Google translate, but it didn't work haha. / When I texted my mom at 11:00 p.m. and jokingly said "Where's my picture of Trixie" and she actually got up out of bed, located Trixie in the house, woke her up, took a picture, and sent it to me. Ha! Whoops... at least I know she is a v nice mom though. / Petting Chows in real life. 

Some funny things that were said this week.

Leah: "I get emotional about math." 

Jake: (We were going to eat at a place called Ramen Yamadaya.) "Yama-bb."

Me: "I'm emotional right now!"

Jake: "Let me be your emotional pillow. *hugs me* Squeeze me."

And lastly, here are some internet things to make you happy. This nurse that is actually a cat. / These cat masks? They are partially creepy but I feel like I would be really happy to see on in real life. / These prints of superheroes with jobs are the cutest! / Actual LOL because this HONY post is the epitome of my life. / My mom showed me this video, and needless to say I have been singing it daily ever since.

That's all folks! I feel like a lot of things happened this week. So, hopefully I can catch this little journal up with everything eventually. I'm just way too pumped about having so much time to clean and organize. Not to mention I have 3 shoots this week. No idea how that happened, but hey! I've got the time!

XOXO

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E

P.S. I did not proof read this, so sorry for any erros lol. 

a happy list: 62

Finding a parking spot (a car was pulling out) right after I pulled into the BYU parking lot, in the closest row no less. / Finishing my recipe book. / Watching Pitch Perfect again. It was so better the second time around for some reason. / My niece on Sunday. She was out of control! / Getting the gold jelly soap bar from Lush. / Fixing the string lights I spray painted, after fiddling around with each individual light for an hour haha. Worth it. / OUR NEW ROOM SET-UP. It screams ambiance. / Jake's Sunday breakfast traditions. / Seeing a guy on BYU campus trying to hand feed some ducks that were by his table. / Açaí bowls forever and always. I'm getting so close to perfecting the recipe.

Here are some internet things to make you happy.

I have followed Alexis Ren on Instagram ever since I saw her first shoot with Bryant. Well, she's now dating some guy and their relationship/life just keeps getting cooler. I thought it was so funny to open Bloglovin' and see them on Bored Panda! Anyway, follow them for life envy. I am sort of getting tired of reading blogs, because I always end up feeling like I need to have tons of money, or live in a really cool place to have fun. I love this couple, because they don't wear super expensive clothes, or post about all the fancy restaurants they are eating at. They just post about their adventures exploring the world around them. And in Utah, we can DEFINITELY explore haha! So, there is some great inspiration there that breaks away from the materialism that so often plagues social media. / Lol these dog toys. / Street art will forever be one of my very, very favorite things. / Lykke Li does it again. Not to mention this song by Drake is one of my favorites. 

I'm almost done with school! People keep asking me if I'm excited and I don't know what to say back. It's not like I hate school or anything. Plus, it's just hard to conceptualize not being in school. I mean, I have literally been in school for 16 years! I can't remember ever not going to school in the fall and winter. Then, when I started high school and college I did classes in the summer, for a while here I've been doing school around the year. So, it's just weird because I honestly don't know what it's like to not be in school because it's never happened! Ha!

It is nice to know that I still have to go back and get my Master's degree. I honestly love school and learning, and I think it's one of the most important things we can do in this life! Learn! So many people don't have the opportunity to get an education, and lots of times we just take it for granted. It really is a bummer, because it's one of the few things we get to take with us after this life. So learn, learn, learn! 

Anyway, in the mean time I am going to clean my house (for once) and try to find a decent job somewhere! If any of you know of anywhere super cool to work, let me know haha. 

XOXO

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E

Trixie + Chewy = luh

Ok, shoutout to Chewy for being the cutest. This month they sent Trixie a little brush! Three-way hair pamper nights! Haha, I'm excited. Also they added in these little appetizer bites that are adorable. You just sprinkle some on top of your pup's food! Trixie loves it. She is so spoiled! She has so many bags of treats and is so pampered. But hey, she deserves it because she is a QT. 

XOXO

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E

180 Tacos!

We've been hearing v good things about 180 Tacos. I went with some blog friends on Thursday and took Jake back the next day because it was so good!

Jake got mojo roasted pork and buffalo chicken. He said they were delicious! He loved the buffalo chicken. 

I got the falafel last time, which were good. BUT THESE TOFU. They were super spicy and super delicious! 

Ok I can't remember who recommended these malasadas but THANK YOU. They were so good! We are obsessed! And at only $3 how can you not? 

I loved this place because it was college-budget friendly and DELICIOUS. Add it to your Utah bucket list!!

XOXO 

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E

"Let's Go Go Go From Here"

California: Mono Lake / Golden Gate bridge / Sift / The Mystery Spot / California Donuts / Belly Good Cafe and Crepes / Maestros / Gioia Pizzeria / The Cookie Dough Cafe / Madonna Inn / McArthur-Burney Falls / Jefferson State Canyon Creek trail / Pacific Coast highway / The Last Bookstore / Loving Cup / Batteries to Bluff's trail / Ghirardelli Square / Fairmont Hotel gingerbread house / It's Mesquite Rotiserie / Sprinkle's / The Griddle / Murray Circle / Baker's Beach / Japanese baths / Lake Tahoe

One day.

XOXO

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E

a happy list: 61

Argh I accidentally published this and didn't even notice until just now haha. Also, the list I made is erased... so... um. 

Drinking chai tea and listening to the rain while the world woke up. / The chocolate croissant from Enliten Bakery. / The way cake batter looks when you pour it into the pan. / The song Go Go Chaos by Bonjah. / Thinking about our future dog, Mochi. And then deciding that Cookie would also be the cutest name. And then laughing out loud and how cute the names Mochi and Cookie were together. / Prepping my açai bowls! So now all I have to do is throw everything in the baggie into the blender and add some apple juice! / Heated blankets. / LUSH. I love everything about that store and going in there makes me so so happy. / 180 TACOS. I went again and took Jake. We love it! / Gaining some confidence about my future :).

Here are some internet things to make you happy! This guy's stolen iPhone story. It's a little long, but it made me so so happy after I read it. People are so funny! / All I want for the rest of my life is this giant bunny. / This is hands down my favorite thing I have ever found on the internet. / Ok, cutest sleep masks in all the land. / These vintage photos make me even more obsessed with New York than I already am haha.

In other news/happy things, I am excited! I had a sort of reinvention. I'm not sure I could explain it on here, and honestly I don't really want to. But, basically things are changing and I'm feelin' good!

XOXO
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E

"What I Want And What I Need Are Two Completely Different Dreams"

Transferring my old blog posts to this new blog has made me realize how much things in my life have changed. Most are for the good, but a few are for the bad. I've completely let my photography morph into a service instead of an art form. I want to get back to making art through photos. I used to carry my camera around my neck EVERYWHERE. Then, the whole blogger world thing hit, and I started feeling self-conscious about it. I started to get bugged by people who were doing things only for the photo opportunities, so I made it a point not to be that person. I didn't want people to be judging me or laughing at me or being annoyed at my constant photo taking.  

In doing so I started putting my camera in my bag instead of around my neck. I only took pictures of things I thought were "worthy", or things I really wanted to remember. I forgot about the beauty and worth in the little things. I forgot that photography is as much about creating beautiful images as it is about remembering. And I miss creating beautiful images of the small, everyday things.

So, I'm taking my camera out of my bag, and wearing it around my neck.

XOXO

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E

Another outing with T-Ricky

First of all, sorry for the iPhone pictures. 

Second of all, look how cute Trixie is. We went to my sister's house for dinner the other day and decided to bring Trixie after our fun donut outing. 

She usually shivers in the car, but she fells asleep on the way over! Haha!!

Trixie and Max reunited. Isn't this the most dweeb picture? Lol. Trixie's face FTW. (Side note: My father-in-law used to think FTW meant f*** the world haha! Needless to say he thought I was pretty hardcore for a while lol.)

Jake fell asleep on my shoulder. QT!

Then he woke up and snuggled with Trixie. She had her head on his chest haha. 

More adventures to come, little T.

XOXO
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E

I Have Friends!!!

Lol at the title of this post. I always joke that Trixie and Jake are my only friends, but I really do have others I guess. 

A Friends IRL event finally happened! We went to 180 Tacos. I got the falafel tacos and they were pretty delish. I really want to try the tofu tacos next time. I might drag Jake here with me the day we celebrate my never having to step foot on BYU Provo campus. I want to try their little donuts I keep hearing about.

We then explored the colored walls in Provo. So, enjoy those awkward pictures of me. Can you tell that I am definitely not a fashion blogger? Actually almost everything I am wearing in those pictures is a hand-me-down from my sister. Thanks, Ash. 

Oh, but look how cute me and Riley are in our first friend picture. Yay first friend pictures! I feel like I have been reading her blog 4ever. Also, I feel like we have done many random, awkward blogging things together. So, that's always a bonding experience. This picture is actually authentic but I'm not sure I want to announce on the internets what we were lol-ing about haha. #politcallycorrect.

We went to get treats at Enliten Bakery afterwards! (McKenzie, is it "afterward or afterwards"?) Ok. So, I have been to Eliten Bakery many a times. Their cake balls are very good and also very adorable. Their chocolate covered macaroons are also very good. Their hot chocolate is decent. BUT OMG THIS CHOCOLATE CROISSANT WAS HEAVEN. Like, it was seriously soooo good. I also got a chocolate chip cookie, because apparently I can't go to bakeries these days without getting two pastries haha. It was okay, but I would rather make Love Taza's chocolate chip cookie recipe at home, because that recipe makes 100% the best cookies in the world. But anyway, make sure you add Enliten Bakerie's chocolate croissant to your Utah bucket list. Have them warm it up for you!

Thaks for meeting up Riley and Mindy! Twas a v fun time. 

XOXO

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E

P.S. I have a BYU rant that I want to put somewhere haha. UGH. I have so many problems with the testing center. 

First they made me pay $20 for a calculator that I accidentally took out of the testing center, without calling to tell me I had a certain amount of time to return it. And they didn't even let me keep it. And it was one of those dollar ones from Wal-Mart. UGH. 

Then they didn't have my American Heritage test I spent days studying for. Then they made me go all the way up to Salt Lake to take the American Heritage test when they finally did have it. UGH. 

Now they "ran out of my test" that I had to take for my internship. They didn't know when they would have it back in. I asked them to call me when it gets in so I don't drive all the way down there again for nothing, and I think they were kind of annoyed. But, I think that if you say you are going to have a test, and if people believe you and take the time out of their day to drive to you and prepare for it, and you don't have it? The least you can do is call them when you do so they don't waste their time again haha. So, I have to set aside another 2 hours of my life tomorrow to drive down to Provo to take it haha. It expires tomorrow, so cross your fingers they have it!

Ah, the struggle is real with the testing center, guys. I have the WORST luck there. I honestly don't hear anything bad about it (aside from turning people away for beards or wearing clothing that isn't allowed) so it's so weird that I have had this many unfortunate experiences with them. Thank the heavens I am almost done and won't have to go there again haha!!

An Entire Post Dedicated To Food

Are you surprised? I am not. Food is so good. I literally can't even imagine how people could not be "foodies". You know? Those people who are just like, "Oh, I just eat whatever. It doesn't matter." LIKE HOW CAN IT NOT MATTER. IT MATTERS SO MUCH.

UGH. The struggle. Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures of food that have been sitting on my computer. First up, Cubby's. The only reason I know of Cubby's is because my mom is obsessed with their salad bowls and made me go with her to this creepy warehouse to look for them. We drove 45 minutes up to Salt Lake to get to the store. We were literally in there for like an hour and a half and we didn't even find the bowls. (Turns out she found them later, on another outing to the store.)

SO. That was my introduction to Cubby's. It makes people obsessed with their salad bowls lol.

I honestly can't remember much about the first time we went other than eating allllll the fries. They have rosemary on them and are seriously so delicious. They were much like the fries we got at Eva's for my birthday dinner two years ago, except much closer than Salt Lake. I would go there for the fries alone.

I made some raspberry sticky buns that were delicious!! I accidentally rolled the log the wrong way, haha. But, they still turned out pretty well. 

We went back to Cubby's literally the next weekend. We both got salads in the much-talked-about salad bowls. SO GOOD. It's been ages since I've gotten a salad somewhere haha. Also, this time we tried the sweet potato fries that were ALSO VERY GOOD. I'm a fry person, what can I say.

This is the scone from Normandie's with a chai tea latte (buy caffeine-free Oregon Chai and mix it with equal parts milk and you're ready to go)! Best combination and best breakfast! You really must try one of their scones if you haven't already. Your life will change forever.

Pudding! My mom had doilies? So that was weird but made it v cute. Also, if you can tell me where that red tray is from then you win. (Hint: It's from a food place, not a store.)

Lastly, Gandolfo's! After my niece was born I ran over to grab a sandwich for my brother-in-law. My mom and I ate there too. I'm pretty sure the employee thought I just got a second sandwich for myself. HAHA. I got the Riverhead breakfast sandwich and it was 10/10. I love love egg breakfast sandwiches. I want to go back and try the East Village one of these days!

Really, trying new food places is one of the my favorite things to do! I have so many places left on my list, but I am excited to go through them all and find all the best places to eat in Utah!

XOXO

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E

Dons with the Tick

I'm not really sure why we did this, but we did. Sometimes Trixie just looks so sad when we are leaving the house, ya know? Anyway, it was v enjoyable. This was the seond time we tried Art City Donuts and let me tell ya. Those glazed were wayyy better than the ones we got last time. I think last time we got the shortcake donuts and I decided I didn't like them. But for some reason the just plain, glazed donuts were SO GOOD.

There is this horse-drawn carriage in our neighborhood that comes out during the summer. It's quite strange and I have no idea where it comes from or why it happens, but it is pretty majestical. We saw it on the way home! The first sighting of the season! If anyone knows who owns it and how we can book a ride... please let me know lol.

XOXO

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a happy list: 60

Making at home açai bowls! (Recipes welcome.) / Finally making the decision of what to do over Christmas... we are going to Cabo! / The remote falling and my newborn niece jumping from fright haha. / I was at a red light in realllllly slow traffic. I was picking my split ends and looked over to the car next to me... the girl was picking her split ends too lol! / Mila live tweeting me her stalking moments while reading through my old archives from high school. / Seeing my niece be born. The miracle of life! / Participating in my first photography collaboration! / WatchinG The Village again for the first time since 5th grade. It was better as an adult! / Trixie's constant teeth chattering. / REESE'S EGGS. Oh my gosh. If these are in front of me I eat them all. I'm not even kidding. I ate two on Tuesday, and two yesterday, and one today! Aka I ate all of them except for the one I gave to Jake!

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Here are some funny things people said this week...

(We took Trixie with us to get some donuts. She threw up in her mouth. There was one donut left.) 

Me: "Should we give it to The Tick?"

Jake: "Nah, she doesn't deserve it with her burp mouth."

Me: "Jake come hug me."

My mom: "Emily. He's busy."

(Jake in background putting the lid on a bottle of Dr. Pepper.)

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Here are some internet things to make you happy! This domesticated squirrel is literally the cutest thing. / I really want to do a stylized shoot like this! Any hair and makeup artists and models out there? / You best believe I'm going to be looking up this neat street art when we're in Seattle this fall! / Was I the only one who ever wondered about what it would be like to buy a space in the mall and live there?

XOXO

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E