to grandmother's house we go

this weekend my dad picked me up in the city and we headed upstate to visit our extended family and the family pumpkin patch. i would just like to say that my dad is a good road trip buddy because he let me listen to taylor swift the whole drive and showed great interest in my explanations of which ex-boyfriend each song was about.

our family has operated a pumpkin patch for the last 30 years and it is quite the beloved institution in upstate new york. there are so many fun things to do, and they have added at least one new attraction every year. this year was also the third annual pumpkin patch mud run 5k, which was very fun to watch. pictured above is my grandma's house, where my dad and his seven siblings grew up. for october it's decked out with pumpkins and storybook characters. also pictured is the barn, with the snack bar, halloween gift shop, and apple cider donuts straight from heaven. on the lower level of the barn there is a movie theater, hay maze, and farm animals. not pictured are the farm market, go-carts, hayride, four-story treehouse, giant slide, and corn maze. all my childhood memories of october are fond ones of playing at the farm with my cousins, and all my teenage octobers were spent making donuts or working in the gift shop and snack bar (and dancing to ghostbusters in the barn after all the customers left). because i was out at BYU, i hadn't been to the pumpkin patch during october since i was in high school, and it was such a treat to visit again while it was up and running.

i love my family, and the pumpkin patch really is a special place. my grandpa passed away four years ago, and my dad is currently working on putting together his personal history. i was reading some of it while visiting home recently, and i was really touched by what my grandfather had shared about the farm, and his lifelong mission to make it a place that would teach, support, and uplift his family and the community. he had a lot of goals for the farm and the pumpkin patch, and among them were creating opportunities for his grandchildren to learn to work, have fun, and make memories. i can't imagine a better place to have done those things and i am grateful for the pumpkin patch and for my grandfather's legacy of love and hard work.

between general conference, quality time with the fam, and unlimited donuts, it was a pretty perfect weekend. if you're ever in new york in the fall, be sure to make it to the pumpkin patch!

hi november

it's november and i'm so glad. it felt like this semester was going by really slowly but all of a sudden we've reached the last few weeks of classes. soon it will be thanksgiving, then finals, then christmas! i think my antibiotics have been working because i'm starting to feel like myself again and it is such a relief. school is ten times harder when you're sick and i'm so happy to be functioning like a normal human again. besides the bronchitis, i've actually really enjoyed this fall semester. i love learning italian and my modern art and history of photography classes are so interesting. i have two ten-page papers due next week (not fun) but one of them is about how the photography of the kennedys influenced american public opinion of the jfk administration and it has been fascinating to research. also, for my art business class we are taking a field trip to southern utah for a conference on the business of art this weekend! mostly we're excited because our hotel has a swimming pool and we might do a little exploring and visit zions too. i love road trips and the girls in my class are really fun so i'm looking forward to it. plus, i get an excused absence from school. i haven't been on a field trip since high school so i'm pretty excited. happy weekend!

thoughts at 2 a.m.

hi. it's been a while.

blogging has been at the back of my mind quite a lot recently, but i always have a lot on my plate, so i'm taking advantage of my insomnia to finally start writing on here again.

school is kind of great and terrible. i was at the library for ten hours today. ten. on a saturday. that is a long time, people! i'm (mostly) enjoying my classes, but i'm really looking forward to the end of the semester. i'm ready for a break and a change of pace.

the other day i had a cool, chance meeting with one of my favorite bloggers, natalie, from nat the fat rat. i went to the wilk to grab some dinner before taking a test and she was there with her sister. she was super nice and totally adorable and we chatted about the east coast and byu and art history and then i was dorky enough to ask for a picture. thanks, natalie!

i'm really excited for the month of november! lauren will be visiting soon (yay!) and for thanksgiving, liz and i are taking a road trip to san francisco. i can't wait! i think i was eleven the last time we were there, and i loved it, so i'm looking forward to experiencing the city now when i can better appreciate it. and i'm really excited to go to the sf moma and the palace of the legion of honor. and bi-rite.

only about three more days until it's kind of socially acceptable for me to listen to christmas music. yessss.

speaking of music, i bought taylor swift's new album and i'm obsessed. duh. i think my favorite song is "the last time." i can't stop listening to it. also, please watch this. tswift and a beautiful man and paris and my other fave song. love.

speaking of being obsessed, i just got this coat in yellow and way on sale and i'm in love, i'm in love and i don't care who knows it!

i've applied for this study abroad program in the spring! i am so incredibly excited about it. between my french and art history classes, i have spent every day dreaming about going to europe, and now it's hopefully going to happen! i cannot believe how amazing the program is—england, france, italy, greece, austria, and germany! is this real life?

also, it's halloweekend. hooray for last-minute costumes and happy halloween, from my biker gang to yours. (mom, please note the tattoo i got for you)

back in p-town

life lately:

new job

new classes

new ward

new friends

also, waffles

i'm diggin' it.

gratitude (and gratuitous photos of myself)

november through december is my favorite time of the year. and while i love having the holidays as an excuse to eat more food than i even knew was possible, i'm more grateful for them as a reminder to me of how blessed i am. sometimes it's hard to look past the commercialization and superficiality that have become so mainstream in this season, but i love that the very nature of thanksgiving and christmas points us to the lord and helps us to recognize our many blessings, especially the gift of our savior.

i was blessed to spend last week in the most delightful and lazy way: sleeping in, spending time with my sister and cousins, hanging out with a couple of my roommates who were still in town, and watching these delightful movies. my sister and i went to her friend's house for thanksgiving and spending the day with her family was so nice. and delicious. (we had nine different types of pie.)

i was literally going to explode.

liz and i made two pecan pies... who knew that pecans cost $12 for a little bag?! highway robbery, macey's, but they were delicious and totally worth it.

i am grateful for my family, my friends, the opportunity to go to BYU, and the gospel of jesus christ. i am also grateful for the tender mercies of the lord—he is constantly blessing me more than i ever deserve. also thanks, liz, for the photos.

i am also grateful for free $10 gift cards to sammy's, and their burgers and shakes which are nothing less than heavenly! i went there today and i had an amazing burger and this red velvet cupcake shake. ohhhhhhh and it was free, too. best. day. ever.

i can't believe this semester has gone by so quickly! just a week and a half more of classes, five final exams, and i'll be on a plane to philadelphia. i can't wait to be home with my family! i miss them lots, especially this girl. and i'm excited, as always, for our little family tradition of a trip to new york city during christmas break. i've missed that place.

15 days.

hello november

okay i'm officially the least consistent blog poster ever.

but... some awesome things about november so far:

1. president monson gave a devotional at BYU today and it was so wonderful! you can watch it here. i have to say though, my favorite part was probably when he quoted the lion king. "look inside yourself, simba. you are more than what you have become."

2. christmas music. sorry all you anti-christmas-music-before-december people, but i'm more of a christmas-is-a-two-month-event type of girl. and can i just say how much i'm loving the new christmas albums by she & him and michael bublé and jbiebs?

3. going home! well, not until mid-december, but we did buy our plane tickets to go home for christmas today! the countdown begins.

4. return of the santa shorts. these little beauties will be making an appearance very soon. aka as soon as i get together with my hall and we watch little women and drink hot chocolate and debate about who should really end up with christian bale. (come on people, we all know it's jo. or me.)

5. registering for classes. over the past few days i've registered for my classes and gotten my schedule all figured out for next semester. i'm especially excited for my art history classes and french 102. j'aime le français.

6. sweater weather. okay i'm not quite ready for the rain/snow/slush that was going on today but i do love crisp chilly fall weather. especially because it means i get to wear sweaters and scarves and boots.

7. halloweekend. okay, not november, but it was fun. i dressed up as rosie the riveter and hit up various halloween parties with my roommates who were dressed as a pirate, hannah montana, and pikachu. aaand i need to steal pictures from my roommate. and get better at actually remembering to use my own camera.

8. also not november, but hall reunion! we all finally, finally got together and i was so happy see the girls from my hall i love so much. i missed these ladies.

happy november. let the christmas season begin!

fall = baking time

i love living in an apartment, mostly because i have a kitchen. i love to cook, but i love baking even more. since moving in, i've baked oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie bars, zucchini bread with cinnamon streusel topping, and a four-layer devil's food and white cake. the best thing about baking, though, is eating what you bake. that's pretty much why i like it. i'm so excited for fall! i love the crisp weather and wearing sweaters and drinking hot chocolate, but my very favorite things about fall are the baked goods. i have a growing collection of pumpkin recipes and i can't wait to make some pumpkin treats. i have canned pumpkin sitting in my cupboard just waiting to be used, but the hard part is deciding which recipe to make first. just look at them all! mmmmmmmmm.

here are the recipes.

pumpkin donuts

pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie

pumpkin cinnamon rolls with caramel frosting

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

pumpkin scones

pumpkin spice pancakes

pumpkin chocolate chip brownies

pumpkin ice cream

pumpkin waffles

enjoy! i know i will as soon as i overcome my indecision.

here's to happy

1. fall baking, aka pumpkin in every treat you can imagine
2. yellow rain boots and a navy trench coat
3. curling up with hot chocolate and hulu
4. nutella on french bread
5. being done with all your homework
6. sleeping in late
7. getting an A on a test
8. making lists and goals and life plans
9. putting the kettle on to boil
10. walking to the bakery down the street
11. bike rides with friends
12. rainy days you spend inside
13. a denim jacket and leather boots
14. stripes
15. making a really satisfying meal
16. guys wearing cardigans
17. being really productive
18. making someone's day
19. a really really good song
20. a compliment from someone you don't know very well
21. french class
22. when something you learned in class comes up in real life
23. charming foreign films
24. free t-shirts
25. watching while you were sleeping for the hundredth time
26. a clean kitchen
27. sticking to your budget
28. when the things you need at the grocery store are all on sale
29. puddle jumping
30. dressing up just to go to class
31. really great hair days
32. braids
33. drawing and painting in a sketchbook
34. tender mercies
35. answers to prayer in an unexpected way
36. patriarchal blessings
37. general conference
38. nail polish
39. pretty things on pinterest
40. BYU tall club
41. BYU french club
42. free food
43. breakfast foods
44. wearing skirts and dresses during the week
45. BYU divine comedy
46. jamba juice
47. getting under the covers when you're cold
48. apple cider
49. snail mail and cute stamps
50. colorful leaves and crisp weather

happy autumn

speak now & snow

yesterday was exciting for mainly two reasons:

1. i bought taylor swift's new cd, "speak now" and i'm in love with it!

if i had to pick my favorite songs, they would be sparks fly and enchanted.

2. IT SNOWED!

it feels like december—and it didn't help that my classmates were singing

christmas songs all day! i can't believe it's not even halloween yet.

the snow's all gone now, but the mountains are snow-covered and BEAUTIFUL.

i'll take pictures soon.

creepy contest

my hall had a halloween door-decorating contest.

cat and i didn't win. but it's okay because our door looks awesome anyway.

to make our door look like a wall inside a creepy old house, we cut

black frames out of posterboard, and decorated them with orange glitter.

then we used them to frame creepy halloween art.

[aka a photograph of edgar allan poe, illustrations from the raven and treasure island, a painting of the headless horseman from the legend of sleepy hollow, etc.]

i drew "scream" by edvard munch on our whiteboard.

and don't forget about the rats, bats, and spiders!

happy halloween!

cookie craving

ever since it started getting colder i've been getting an overwhelming urge to bake things. cookies. cakes. all kinds of fall treats. liz, you can bet i will be coming over to your apartment soon to do just this, since the dorm kitchen is a little bit lackluster.

this past week i discovered my new favorite cooking blog! seriously. i spent way longer than i would like to admit looking at recipes on there. they're all so creative and they look to die for. here are the cookie recipes i just can't wait to try out!

double pumpkin kissed chocolate chunk cookies

oreo truffle surprise cookies

[they literally have an oreo hidden inside!]

chocolate peanut butter cookie duo

cinnamon roll sugar cookies

chocolate fudge butterfinger cookies

ummm yes, please!