randoms of the past week or so.

the other day while doing laundry i decided to walk over to burch creek mercantile to see what all the fuss was about (casie & chris have been going there on their weekly dates so i was curious). 

first of all...check out all that ice cream. they have so many flavors!!! it's dangerous for chris & i...but i couldn't resist. i got one scoop of coffee flavor, & one of the green flavor...which i don't even remember what it is now. midterms have my brain feeling mushy.

raking leaves in luke's parent's yard...& then our niece kaylee doing what's supposed to be done with them...jumping right in!!! she loved it & i was laughing my head off at her laughing. it was a lovely sunday.

oh you know, just one cute picture of my little nugget. at the utah game last weekend i bought a u of u blanket because it was freezing (& we need blankets since our house is always freezing, & all the blankets we have are hanging in the windows so i can sleep during the day.)

well we brought it home & neither of us have had a chance to use it since. nesta is OBSESSED WITH IT. i dunno if it's the fabric or the fact that it's something for her to claim as her own (like she has everything else in the house) but she won't get off it no matter what we do. she rolls around on it & stretches out & gets this same look on her face every time.

we're glad you approve, nesta.

an incredible sunset i took the other night as luke & i wandered 25th street.

ogden is beautiful...& utah never fails to give me amazing sunsets.

happy tuesday!

J'ai passe un bon weekend.

the highlight by far of my weekend was papa taking all of us to les miserables.

it was the third time seeing this play on the "big stage" (i also got to see it in san francisco & SLC) but boy was it just as amazing as always.

broadway (san fran) is always a much bigger stage with awesome effects, but the guys in cedar city did an excellent job nonetheless.

we roadied down..four hour drive..got some cafe rio, & headed over to the theatre on SUU's campus, which was beautiful.

luke gave us a mini-tour & then we sat in our seats to be amazed. i cried three times...of course. how can you not tear up at the end of the play? it's so beautiful!
le francais langue est tres jolie.. j'ai adore' le lyrics et la musique a un bon musicale.

thanks so much papa for taking all of us on a date!

 

the next highlight was the U of U football game...luke took me on a little date to watch his utes dominate cal...our first pac 12 win.

 

all in all a fabulous weekend, and like always, monday is here WAY too soon.

local first monthly mixer.

this past thursday indie ogden was chosen as the "monthly spotlight" for the local first monthly mixer. local first puts on the event every month, picking a restaurant to go to & people to spotlight. the restaurant this month was the greenery, a beautiful little place located near the mouth of ogden canyon...it was beautiful!

the greenery is notorious for their "mormon muffins," which i ate about 12 of. they offered several appetizers & a lot of people came to get excited about ogden. it was so fun!

the editors.

me, super pregnant (adorable) mikki, & jenny!

jenny explaining what we're all about, & talking about the best of ogden awards.

mikki's daughter hunter. she is my favorite.

weekend.

 

you can't even see it in this photo...which is why i posted this one first (for my family who is probably going to cry. see it's not that big!!!!) i got another tattoo this weekend, with this lady:

 

i've been wanting to get something on my wrist for a long time, but i was torn cuz i had SO MANY IDEAS. i finally settled on one: guess which one is mine:

 

if you guessed the candlestick, you win bragging rights! everyone has been so surprised the tom petty lyrics one isn't mine. i do want a tom petty tribute tattoo..but i want one on my other foot.

i would have gotten it done last weekend if i didn't remember how much the foot sucks getting done. sucks! 

 

ally being brave.

 

i love love LOVE it!!! it's so cute. & more girly than i was expecting. & it didn't even hurt..bonus.

happy weekend for sure! 

planning something awesome.

 

me & my lovely friends pictured above from the blog i write for are planning a seriously awesome event.

it's putting everything i've ever learned in my PR major to work...seriously. i'm writing real life press releases, meeting with possible vendors, receiving 25+ emails a day about it...holy crap!

it's been a lot of stress & busy bee-ness (busy is my middle name) but i am so excited for this to come together!

december 7th @ union station we are hosting the "best of ogden awards!" we had over 500 nominations so the meeting we had yesterday was about narrowing things down. which was super hard. 

my fave coworker BEN WINSLOW has agreed to emcee the event...there's gonna be lots of classy people, dressed up, ready to celebrate.

any of my fam in the utah area...i'd really appreciate you buying a ticket to the thing. it's not very often i ask you to spend money on me...so... it'd be a good christmas present. just saying.

it's really going to be so so so awesome!

an early birthday present.

 

the other day i was cleaning the house when i accidentally discovered luke's birthday present to me...

two vinyls from the band the xx, one of my favorites. they had a new album come out just BARELY...and i've always wanted the old album on vinyl.

needless to say he knows me well.

i was sad to have to text him, "hey...i may or may not have found my birthday present" & even though he was a little sad the element of suspense is gone, we have not been upset about being able to jam these albums over the past few days.

thanks so much luke!!! you really are the raddest boyfriend in the history of boyfriends. i think i'll keep you around. 

another goodbye.

 

earlier this week i had to say goodbye to my youngest nephew... luke & i look at this picture & laugh our heads off every single time. seriously, how EVIL do i look??? this picture was hilarious, since i told luke to take one..first we had to get preston to look at the camera...then we realized we had to turn around so we weren't in the shadow...then preston ended up in the shadow anyway & i looked ready to kidnap him.

this is seriously something you'd see on awkwardfamilyphotos.com....or an amber alert.

but really, i blame it on the fact i was so sad & trying to hide it with a smile. i miss this boy & his awesome parents already.

my brother alex has always been so easy-going..he's been the sibling i've always gotten along with, even if he does like to tease. susan is an absolute gem of a sis-in-law...i really am so lucky to call them family. & i miss them so much already.

 

i guess i will have to hold down the fort as the "family redhead" in utah.

& the plans for my trip to texas continue... 

mid-week date nights & adventures with nesta.

 

luke & i had a mid-week date...i didn't have to work until 1pm the next day, so to celebrate the fact i didn't have to go to bed at 4pm we made MEXICAN FOOD! i even learned how to flip a tortilla. this boy is turning me into a pro chef slowly....but surely. actually, he did most of the cooking. i just watched & smiled at how lucky i am.

we also watched "clue," which is kind of a funny story, since i hate the board game...so much. so when he suggested it i said, "no, absolutely not. no way. i hate the game so i will hate the movie." after some coercion, he convinced me, & it was one of the funniest movies i've seen in AWHILE. it just doesn't get any better than 80s movies.

anyway, so after our "date" was over, we were getting ready for bed (at 8pm, because by then i was just exhausted) when we heard a meow. "oh crap, i forgot about nesta," i said..we opened the door to let her in, & guess what little brat once again found herself stuck on the roof, scared out of her mind?

 

after 20 minutes of meowy drama, luke finally convinced nesta he was tall enough to grab her if she just got close enough.

we are constantly rescuing her from high things...trees, rooftops, the roof of our shed..jeez, this brat is the definition of "curious cat."

another random nesta story: ally (her mom is my landlord) was at the house the other day for an hour or so. she told me the other day she got in her car to leave & heard rustling in the back seat. she turned around to see nesta looking at her, big-eyed with a look on her face that said, "what are you doing in here!?" she then hissed at ally & jumped out the window.

that kitty....i love her. 

turns out i don't have a radio voice...

 

but it sure was fun being on the radio anyway.

if you're ever in the ogden area & you hear someone that sounds like me...it probably is me! 88.1 weber fm has started letting me & my friend jenny record promos to run all week long! it's for the blog i write for, which is all about ogden. so we get to spout off a list of all the great things happening in ogden all week...and they play our "ad" 100 times per day!  

 

jenny getting everything ready.

 

*on air* shhh!

i'm super excited about this; it'll be a great way for WSU students to get involved & realize ogden is actually SUPER awesome.

we also got to be on the "local lounge" radio show last weekend! mikki, jenny & i were interviewed by 3 dudes (sadly i can't remember their names) about ogden, how we keep up the blog that's gotten super huge in the past few months, & other random things (like what we're being for halloween. haha). it was so fun! & although i learned the hard way i do NOT have a voice for radio, i enjoyed it nonetheless. 

18 rules for living by the dalai lama

I'm by far NOT a perfect person, but these are the rules I have written down in my journal, & I take the time to look at whenever I get a chance. These are the rules I try (keyword, try) to live by. It is not easy by any means, but nothing ever is as easy as it seems, isn't it? Enjoy!

18 Rules For Living

 1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: 1. Respect for self 2. Respect for others 3. Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other    exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

sunday brunch.

 

sunday we had luke's best friend amy & her girlfriend over for brunch. we had bloody mary's, cinnamon french toast & hash browns, with peanut butter cookies for dessert.

it was the perfect way to end the weekend, even if i had to leave the fun early to go to bed at 5 pm (yuck). thanks for coming ladies! & thanks to luke & amy for cooking... so glad i have a guy who can do all that...so i can watch from the couch ;P 

fall colors, food & family

 

how cute is my nephew in that snug little hat? 

this weekend was a much needed relaxing weekend spent with family. since most of my fam will soon be out-of-staters, i'm getting in as much family time as i can before they all leave me. luckily we still have luke's family in kaysville, so that will be nice. but overall i'm already missing my brothers & sisters-in-law, & especially my ridiculously cute nephews & niece.

every conference weekend my family goes camping, usually at wasatch mountain state park. this year they were closed for some reason (boo) so they opted for jordanelle instead.

luke & i went up to spend the day with them saturday, & it was beautiful: 

 

checkin' out the water at jordanelle. i'm totally the bad aunty who let preston stick his hands in the water. :P

 

preston & ky ky

 

luke & i went on an adventure as well. awesome.

 

preston & his mama...aren't they the cutest?

hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend! it sure is nice to have cool weather. 

fact checking.

 

i have many choice words about last night's debate...most of which my family would not approve of.

but i did think this graphic (if romney & obama switched hair) was hilarious, & brought a lot of laughter to an otherwise dismal situation.

i hate to say it, but both candidates sucked. & it is SERIOUSLY infuriating to me that so many people think romney "won." all i really heard from the guy (who i like to call mittens) was "romneycare is a model for all 50 states, not the entire nation" (huh?) & "i will miraculously create jobs, bring us out of debt, & balance the budget, all while swearing i won't increase anyone's taxes"

i didn't realize having a platform with zero substance was "winning." 

both candidates were filled with lies about each other's campaigns & it was disappointing to me. both of these candidates have done nothing but lie to americans. who really wants a president like that anyway?

i IMPLORE you, family & friends, to begin by reading this article, which is from factcheck.org, the most unbiased website i've yet to come across. we use it almost daily at my work because it seems to be the only source of accurate information.

basically both candidates are a bunch of liar faces.. (i sure hope romney repents for all the lying he did yesterday!!!! seriously, though. i don't understand.)

on that note, i've begun looking into all the third party candidates... gary johnson, ron paul & jill stein being at the top of my list.

i'll keep you posted if i find a candidate that doesn't suck.

 overall i'm feeling completely unpatriotic & saddened by the fact that so many people believe everything they hear without trying to find things out for themselves. also, i give it fifty years before there's complete reform in our government system, because the two party system is an absolute failure...in my humble opinion.

happy voting! 

quote of the week.

 

forget expectations... & just do what makes YOU happy.

hello october.

 

the pumpkins are turning orange, the weather is getting crisper & cooler, & my yard is beginning to look a little less green. i am gladly welcoming this autumn season...fall is my favorite & i think it does NOT stick around long enough..utah is too quick to get into winter (my least favorite).

i am super excited to bundle up in hoodies & sweats, drink pumpkin spice chai's, & pay 150 bucks a month for my heater...haha. just kidding about that last one.

happy fall, y'all. 

Weekendin'

 

ally blowing out the candles on her birthday cheesecake. she turned 24 yesterday & we celebrated with her mom (my landlord), her mom's boyfriend, & her brother. we ate edamame, ginger chicken, rice & cheesecake for dessert! YUM.

it was a lovely weekend, filled with family, friends, lots of food, and my kitty cat. the weekends always go by WAY too fast... and midnight on monday always comes way too soon. luckily i only work overnights twice this week... wednesday through friday i'm filling in for the nightside crew and i'm SO EXCITED to be reunited with the people i've worked with the most.

here's some highlights from the weekend: 

 

kickin' it with nesta pants, my little tiger. (she is grounded, by the way, for ripping holes in my bike tires. little stink.)

 

catching a million of preston's big smiles (& tears) on camera.. this kid is gettin' to the funnest stage of babyhood.. he's startin' to try to crawl around, make noise, smile & laugh. 

these were all taken saturday, at alex's goodbye dinner. he leaves this morning for texas :( it was great to have one last  hurrah before he moves... there's a lot of big changes goin' on in our family...soon enough there will be more family members out of state than in utah i think. we'll see. 

  

i love having weekends off because i can finally take advantage of the AWESOME farmer's market ogden has. seriously, if you're in utah & haven't been to this one yet you have to go. they have so many adorable crafts & delicious food! I had a pumpkin chocolate chip slice of bread & it was heavenly. 

hope everyone has a fantastic week!