highlights of the past few days.

1. my favorite regulars at Starbucks

2. a friend took me out to sushi the other day... it was AMAZING.

3. spent all of sunday studying & trying to keep warm with this little one.
4, 5 & 6. yesterday I was able to attend several Legislative sessions for a story I was writing. the nerdy poly sci major in me had an absolute BLAST. i met ralph becker, stuart adams & ross romero. ross romero is the current sponsor of the co-parenting bill, which i most definitely support. i spoke with senator adams about the funding being cut from the women's shelter in kaysville, & why. i also asked him to support the autism bill.

it was probably one of my favorite days ever! sometimes i wish i stayed a poly sci student... 

hey! parents!

if you have a minute.. *and you want to be awesome*

go to this link & fill out this survey. it only takes about 5 mins.

i'm surveying people with more than 2 children ONLY.

your help is so much appreciated!

me (& my grade in my advertising class) thank you!

winter hike.

this is me & my friend jenny on a lovely winter's hike.

it was straight up ice, but that didn't stop us.
i went with a few of my old college friends. it was lovely!

soren conquers the ice.

i have to say this was the highlight of my weekend. it's been far too long since i've done a hike! 

Indie Ogden DIY - Spray painted wine bottles

I wrote a super rad DIY on what to do with old wine bottles (or any glass bottle, really) over at Indie Ogden today. Be sure to go check it out, and if you're feeling crafty, give it a try!

Also, I have the awesome opportunity to write a 5-part series on VALENTINE'S DAY! So if you're stressing about what to get your significant other, or perhaps where in the world to go for the holiday, never fear! I'll be answering some of the most stressful V-Day questions over on the Indie Ogden blog. Hope you'll check it out.

SIDE NOTE: I'm interested in finding a few guest bloggers. My blog gets over 200+ views a day so if you are a college student, writer, photographer, or anything similar that wants to reach an audience, I'm your gal.

I'm also looking to guest blog for other people. Please email me at laur.gardner@hotmail.com for info & questions.

i am brave!

I wore lipstick today.

Those who know me well, know that I am NOT the lipstick-y type.

But today I decided to be brave. One of my newest New Year's Resolutions (I've already kinda given up on the whole running thing) is to be more girly. So that when I go places in public with Luke, people don't think I'm his little brother. Hahaha just kidding...but not really.

i also began a very fun VALENTINE'S DAY DIY for Indie Ogden. It's not finished yet but it's gonna be great y'all!

quote of the week.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. 

-Judy Garland

my awesome little sister.

my little sister casie leaves today for a 2 month adventure.
she is going to amsterdam, france, germany, italy, england, belgium...all over europe. she's doing it BY HERSELF, too. how freaking rad is she???
she leaves today, & i'm pretty sure i'm going to miss her, slash hate her for how awesome her life is, slash live vicariously through her.
if you'd like to live through her adventures too, follow her blog here. i'm hoping she'll post ALL THE TIME so that we can make sure she's still alive.


she decided a few months ago that she wanted to go on this adventure after a lot of issues with nursing school (why does college have to suck so much?) gave her a semester off. at first i was just JEALOUS. i mean, REALLY?? living abroad in europe would be phenomenal. 
so now i'm looking closely at how my sister did it, & it seems so not as expensive as you would think. she's doing WORK AWAYS, which is where you work at a home in exchange for free food & rent. i've been looking up some places in florence & southeastern france, & there's a lot: everything from hard labor to volunteering at "spiritual camps" to working at a bed & breakfast.
the places where she isn't doing a work away, she's staying at a hostel. hostels may have a scary vibe to them, but they're so cheap & a lot are right within public so it seems relatively safe.
with that leaves airfare, train fare, museum/recreation costs, & misc food (&, if i were to go, wine. my sister won't be doing that though.) she says her total cost will probably end up a little closer to 4-grand. but now that i'm looking at it, that's aiming high.


with that said, i'm starting to seriously consider copying her in a year. if i'm lucky, i'm going to graduate in december, & rather than immediately start working for corporate america, why not go on an adventure?!? i told luke about it & he's down to start saving his money. i won't know exactly when to go until i know more about when i'm graduating. it could easily be next summer before i go. but i'm making it happen..it's been on my bucket list for forever, so why not!?!
CHEERS TO EUROPE! i'm making it happen.

Our one year celebration, in pictures.

We went thrifting and ate sushi and drank sake at Tona in downtown Ogden. I think this little date sums up our last year of being together pretty well: it was perfect.

ONE YEAR.

today marks mine & luke's one year anniversary.

crazy to me, because it seems like just yesterday he would come into starbucks every day, & i would stare at him, & after he left everyone i worked with would make kissy sounds (how embarrassing.)

for our first "date," we went to see "friends with benefits," a movie about friends who tried to hook up & NOT end up in a relationship. it's kind of ironic, because when we first started dating, we called ourselves "just friends" for a few months. he had been single for years & planned on keeping it that way, whereas i had a lot of trust issues with guys & i didn't want to get attached.

so much for that! 

a year later, luke proves to me every single day that i made a great decision by allowing myself to trust him. he came into my life when i was at my very worst. he knows everything about me, & doesn't judge me at all. he cooks for me, tells me he loves me every single day, & he puts up with my quirks & my annoying habits. he is a beautiful person, inside & out. how did i get so lucky!?

i'm pretty sure i am the luckiest girl in the whole world.

happy one year to us! here's to many, many more.

quote of the week.

“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” 

-Paulo Coelho

winter hiking.

this is my old friend leah & i, hiking in logan canyon.

i'm realizing just how much i miss winter hikes lately. i haven't been since last year, which is sad because i've heard ogden has some fabulous trails.

who wants to go for a winter hike?

here's some of my favorite hiking photos (from all seasons):

snowshoeing with my friend Moudi, April 2010, Logan Canyon.

Climbing trees with my beautiful best friend, Fall 2009, Logan Canyon.

More Fall 2009.

Hiking in Layton with Kole Kussee, Fall 2006.

Hiking Yellowstone Lake with my ex-boyfriend Kyle, May 2009.

Weekend Love

weekend highlights:

-going jogging in my bright attire (see above. ha.)

-hung out with my best friend adam who is visiting from california. he is my vinyl "double buddy," which means if one of us sees a record while shopping that we already have, we buy it for the other person. he brought me a fleetwood mac vinyl which is AWESOME. i love fleetwood mac!!

-beto's runs with adam and luke.

-seeing a jazz band perform at union station.

-cooking a beef roast soaked in wine...don't worry, it was delicious.

-& of course, working.

hope your weekend was beautiful!

quote of the week.

“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.” 

-Marilyn Monroe

happy news!

i just wrote an article for the SIGNPOST (Weber State's newspaper) on Ogden's Historic 25th Street. it was a review of all things awesome on 25th...everything from the businesses offered to the summer festivals. Check it out here, if you'd like.
After writing the article, I discovered I love all things Ogden, & subsequently, so does Indie Ogden, a publication dedicated to embracing all local awesomeness in my little town. I now get to write not only for the Signpost and Fox 13, but I am now a features pro, & get to write for the Indie Ogden website as well!
I'm super excited about this new opportunity. So far all I've written is a fun DIY which you can read here. Not much for writing, but still super fun for me to do! I just finished up another article on local band The Old World, so check back often to see all my work! I'm very excited about this.

Cheers to new opportunities!!

this may surprise some of you...

i've picked my candidate for the 2012 election, & no it's not obama.

(this is the part where your jaw drops.)

i've always been a fan of obama, & if huntsman doesn't win the nomination i am FOR SURE voting for him again. but just saying, jon huntsman is an awesome liberal-republican! i didn't even think that was possible, but after hearing his stance on gay marriage (he is for civil unions, which i love..makes the gays happy & the religious less freaked out!), job creation (the WSJ has said that huntsman has "the most pro-growth proposal ever offered by a US presidential candidate") and education reform, i am all aboard team huntsman.

too bad he probably won't get the GOP nominee. what do y'all think??? 

EDUCATE YOURSELVES, readers. we can't expect change if we aren't willing to participate in politics & voting. ROCK THE VOTE.

el camino - an album review.

one of my fave bands just released a new album and i'm SO excited about it! the black keys remind me of a modernesque led zeppelin...all rockin' guitar riffs, bass lines, and rusty, amazing vocals. the black keys have long been a favorite of mine, & i was super excited when, after listening to el camino for the first time, i realized they still ROCK! 

their newest album is sold at my work, which is a bonus because i get to jam out to a few of their songs while making coffee at work every day. check out their songs the lonely boy and little black submarines. they are by far my favorite on the album.

CAN'T WAIT for these guys to come to SLC in may. 2012 is already lookin' awesome as far as concerts go!

PS speaking of concerts...the COACHELLA lineup was released yesterday:

last year's was also phenomenal, but i'm pretty sure this year's is the BEST. i need to find a way to get to this music festival...now accepting donations.

three of the bands (radiohead, manchester orchestra, & dear hunter) are on my bucket list of bands to see live. & also, a few i've already seen (beirut, bon iver, we were promised jetpacks, the black keys) but i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see again. especially at a 3 day long music festival in california. *sigh* someday...