up to date

(just including this photo from cinco de mayo because i find it really amusing)

my sisters have been posting some pretty neat things on their blogs lately so, not to be outdone (i'm totally outdone), i figured it was time to make a reappearance. and i remembered there are some cool things i did this past semester that i wanted to blog about (trips to chicago and san francisco, mainly). as for this spring, life is good. a little crazy, but good. my plans for the next few months have changed approximately 20 times, but i am finally headed back home and i'm so ready for an east coast summer. lauren and i have some big ideas (hashtag summer bucket list 2k14 hashtag beyoncé concert) so things are gonna be fun. this is a pretty pointless post, i just wanted to say hi again blog and NEW JERSEY, HERE I COME!

blogger's block

i am so over this weather! it's been freezing for far too long. i thought that was bad enough, but then today we had a freak storm that covered all of campus in a sheet of ice. quelle nightmare. (name that movie, please)

anyway, i'm going to blame the weather for my lack of inspiration, because i've totally been having blogger's block. is that a thing? i don't know, if not i'm making it a thing. i really do want to blog more. my sisters are so good at it and they make me want to be more consistent and creative too. (check out my little sister's blog redesign. i'm in love with it. #artsy)

until i come up with some better ideas, i leave you with an instagram photo and a list of what's going on in my life at the moment.

right now i am:

-wishing for sunshine and saltwater sandals
-reading anna karenina and loving it (and by "reading" i mean i was reading it 2 weeks ago before school started and i keep intending to pick it back up)
-still loving the lumineers
-counting down the days until i leave for europe (we're in the double digits—96!)
-craving a cubby's tri-tip steak salad like NONE OTHER
-still obsessed with the mindy project
-also obsessed with these rice krispy treats (they're the easiest and SO DELICIOUS)
-pretending it's already friday

happy almost weekend!

on resolutions

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i love this time of year. i've been reflecting recently on the past year and the things that i've experienced and learned. 2012 was a good year for me. i turned twenty. i finished half of my junior year of college. i got a new job that i love. i got to travel a lot. i grew closer to my family and friends. i had a lot of really wonderful experiences. i also had some difficult and trying experiences, but those have helped me to grow and to learn more about myself, and i'm just as grateful for those experiences as i am for the others. with the beginning of this new year, i've been thinking a lot about this talk and i've made several of my own resolutions for 2013.

this year, i resolve to:

1. have more meaningful and consistent scripture study.
2. go to bed earlier.
3. read thirty books.

the first and second resolutions are both things i have struggled with in the past, but i know working on them will make a world of difference in my daily life. the third is just something i've been wanting to do. i love to read, and making time for reading even during school makes me a lot happier. i'm excited to work on these things and see the changes they bring about. happy new year and here's to resolutions!

thankful

image via

i am feeling incredibly grateful this week. i had a lot of tests and papers and projects all coming up at the same time and i was feeling very overwhelmed, but the last couple days i've experienced one tender mercy after another and so many answers to prayers. i am truly blessed, and it gets even better because i get to take a break from school and head to san francisco with this girl for the rest of the week!

i'm really thankful for my family and for my friends. i'm thankful for my job and the opportunity i have to go to byu. i'm thankful for where i'm at in my life and for the gospel i'm blessed to have as well. i'm thankful for all the little luxuries that make my life happier and for the little experiences that make it richer. i'm thankful for my heavenly father and the ways i see his hand in my life every day.

i love the thanksgiving season and the reminder it is to count our blessings and be grateful. i really loved this recent byu devotional on gratitude. if you get the chance, you should read it this week. anyway, i hope you have a great thanksgiving and that you get to spend your time with loved ones doing things you love.



p.s. wish us luck on our 12 hour road trip tomorrow. PARTY

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)