so?

 

which state should luke & i open our business in??

sadly enough the states i wanted to move to are out of the "a" range. perhaps texas isn't as bad as i thought... 

dreamin'.

i'm sure many of you know, but one of my lifelong dreams (& #2 on my bucket list) is to open my own business. for years i've wanted a simple coffee shop, perhaps with some pastries, but mostly low-key and NOT starbucks (haha). a few months after luke & i started dating, he told me one of HIS dreams: to open his own antique/thrift shop. i pretty much knew i loved him then. 
a year later, luke & i have a full-fledged dream in set, though it's a big one. we are combining our "dream jobs" into one. what's better than sipping coffee while you look at old records, anyway??? we personally can't wait & really hope to get things taken off in about 10 years from now (after we make a little money).
though the dream is still a decade away, i am always browsing the internet looking at cute little shops. i have a perfect vision of what i want in my head (a san francisco looking feel to it, with the business on the lower level, & mine & luke's awesomely cute, tiny apartment above it), and sometimes i see pictures online & think, "they got that from my head!" here are a few examples of what i mean:

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS.

well needless to say, i started my summer off right. immediately after finishing my last 2 finals on tuesday, ally & i headed out to broomfield, colorado to check an item off my bucket list.. SEE TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS LIVE!
holy cow, it was so much fun! ally & i got into town around 5, & after driving around for 2 hours & talking to some locals we found out there is a FIRE BAN in the whole state... unfortunate, since all the food we packed required being cooked by coals or a fire.
so before i had a meltdown (anxiety, anyone?) we found an ADORABLE bed & breakfast right in town, with a very cool name:

wildflowers just so happens to be the name of my favorite tom petty album, so we felt it was meant to be.

after we checked in we wandered around trying to catch all the wild bunnies... seriously. there were probably 50+ little bunnies running around this place. it was the cutest thing. i was in bed by ten, thanks to my sleep schedule being all messed up from working at starbucks, so poor ally resorted to calling her bf & eating chips in the bathtub so she wouldn't wake me. luckily i stayed up long enough to see the most amazing sunset:

ya, it was awesome.

the next day we woke up & headed to BOULDER! i've been told by about 10 people that i "belong" in boulder, & so i've been very curious to check it out & see what people mean. sure enough it's the best place i have ever been to. it reminds me of 25th street in ogden, but about 10 times that size & filled with people 10 times as nice. we had people wandering up to us all morning! they told ally they loved her tattoo, & i got about 10 compliments on my tie dye dress. there were little shops everywhere, selling just about anything you can imagine. i bought luke a carved elephant & a dream catcher for myself! the lady i bought them from even threw in a free bracelet. score!

there were marijuana dispensaries (haha), little cafes & tea shops, clothing outlets, antique stores, & even a 100% vegan/gluten-free restaurant!!! ally & i thought that was amazing, since she is vegetarian & i'm eating gluten-free, & finding places to eat for both of us was kind of a challenge! the restaurant was called LEAF & was so delicious!

a bumper sticker shop...i almost bought gigi another tattoo.

this guy was SO COOL! he could play the bass standing like that, & he could play the guitar while standing on his bass! skills.

ally & i wandering boulder.

excited to eat at leaf!

after boulder we headed back to broomfield & found a cheap hotel for 80 bucks, that even had a shuttle service up to the arena where tom was playing. so we headed up to wait in line & ended up in FRONT ROW for the show.

regina spektor opened for him & was so adorable... i was stoked to see her perform! however, nothing compares to the excitement i felt when tom & the heartbreakers came on stage. ally & i were screaming! it was by far the best live concert i have ever been to. he played a lot of his classics, like "free fallin," "i won't back down," & "runnin down a dream," as well as some older songs i was very excited about like "yer so bad" & "you wreck me." it was amazing! for the finale, he came back on stage & played "mary jane's last dance," which has been my fave song of his for at LEAST 20 years, & "american girl." 

here we are before the show with our friend AJ. we were so excited!

the best part of the trip might have been when i got this picture message on the drive home. luke (who i'm pretty sure missed me a lot ;) haha), bought this acoustic guitar for me to jam to! how sweet is that boy? i spent the majority of the drive trying to remember chords & songs i used to know.. it's been over a year since i played, so wish me luck!

all in all, a fabulous start to my summer.

SO STOKED ABOUT THIS.

my whole entire life i have wanted to see this man perform.

i remember years ago (i had to have been 4 or 5, max), dancing around my living room to mary jane's last dance. i absolutely LOVED that song, as well as free falling, of course.

the other day my friend ally and i were listening to him, & talking about how it was on our bucket lists to see him perform. so just for fun, we looked up tour dates.

turns out he's playing in broomsfield, colorado, only 8 hours away, in april. so naturally, we bought tickets. I AM SO EXCITED!!! it's going to be the most amazing night of my life, i'm pretty sure. the best part is REGINA SPEKTOR is opening for him!! it's going to be a spectacular evening. two months is going to take forever to go by!

now, here's some tunes for your tuesday:

ps, happy valentines day, yo!! luke & i celebrated yesterday so i have school all day. perhaps i will post about it later in the week, when i'm not busy cramming for a french test :/

MOAB, part one.

so last weekend luke & i went to moab with a bunch of random people. his best friend amy invited a few of her closest friends to her timeshare down there...we all knew amy but none of us knew each other. the other couples there were in their 30's, so i was kinda nervous that i'd be a little too immature for them..ha ha!

but turns out it was the best vacation ever. amy got such a great group of people to go...we all got along immediately & had such a fun weekend!! here are a few of my favorite photos:

bryce turned 34 while we were there..his girlfriend made him this delicious lemon cake. notice anything wrong with this picture? ha ha ha ha.

hiking.

loved the name of this little record shop in town.

possibly my favorite picture of the trip! seriously, the delicate arch hike is a MUST DO in utah. it's one of my very favorites!

laying under delicate arch.

more photos soon.

SKY DIVE.

i celebrated the warm weekend by going sky diving for the second time!!! this time i went with my coworker steven and my little sister casie. it was both of their first times which made it fun to watch them. i was SO NERVOUS from remembering what it was like when i went the first time:

SO INTENSE!

and the second time was no exception...i was just as nervous as before and kinda felt like i was gonna puke. it was so much fun though...a great start to my summer.

waiting to load up!

my sister about to jump. she did the video/photos this time and it turned out awesome.

all of us on the plane!

after we landed.

got my certificate..i just need to go one more time and take the class and i'll be sky diver CERTIFIED. that means i can go all by meself. :]

hooray for bucket lists!

can i live here, please?

it's on my bucket list to live in a camper and travel at one point or another in my life..

and i think doing so with this little number would be rad. RAD!

if someone wants to buy this, or something similar, for me, i don't think i'll say no.

bucket list.

my bucket list

1. learn to love my enemies.

2. go sky diving

3. meet president obama.

4. buy & renovate a vw bus.

5. meet damien rice.

6. write a song.

6. see paris.

7. meet brandon boyd.

8. pay it forward.

9. learn to play the guitar.

10. graduate college.

11. go on a cruise.

12. sleep under the stars...for at least a week.

[gigi in sand hollow...the beginning of my homeless summer]

13. visit jamaica.

14. volunteer in a third world country.

15. cliff jump.

16. see tom petty & the heartbreakers in concert.

17. have dreadlocks...just for a little while.

18. open my own little coffee shop/antique store.

19. publish a book.

20. eat escargot.

21. visit the 9/11 memorial in NYC.
22. visit washington dc.

23. visit seattle.

24. see incubus live in concert.

25. get a tattoo.

26. own a record player.

27. work on a PR campaign for a nonprofit of my choice.

28. see australian pink floyd live.

29. visit ll 50 states.

30. adopt a child from a third world country...most likely uganda.