together in paris

last week i took a quick trip to utah for my cousin becca's wedding. it was also the perfect excuse to see my sisters, friends, and extended family, and i am so grateful i could visit. becca and david got married in the oquirrh mountain temple, and it was a very cold but very happy day. basically, it reminded us all of cat's freezing wedding in manhattan two years ago. it was so wonderful to be there and be reunited with my cousins and liz and lauren (cue the anastasia quoting). shoutout to my bestie, caroline, who came to the wedding, lent me that beautiful purple dress, and let me stay in her gorgeous condo. caro stayed at my house in new jersey for cat's wedding and i stayed with her family for her sister amanda's wedding, so it's kind of become a tradition at this point.

the other major highlights of this trip were seeing friends and eating food. lauren picked me up from the airport, so obviously we hit up cafe rio and sodalicious right away. i was only in utah for two days, and multiple meals were covered by the wedding events, but i still managed to eat cafe rio, banbury cross donuts, cubby's, and waffle love. oops. it was so good to see my utah peeps! love you all. i should've been better at taking pics, but i'm glad i got a photo with alyanna and with my 1100 girls. also that pic of lauren at target makes me LOL. miss u, homegirl. to be honest, i never thought i would miss utah very much but i really do. two days was definitely not long enough! it was so sad to leave and head back to new york but i guess now it's everyone's turn to come visit me, hint hint. in the meantime i will keep praying for cafe rio to come to manhattan. till next time, utah!

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!

christmas break

christmas break was the best best best. besides having a wedding right in the middle of it, i got to spend lots of time with my parents and sisters, cousins and grandmas and aunts and uncles, and my best friends. we hung out in new jersey as well as visiting philadelphia and new york city several times and upstate new york where our extended family lives. it was so much fun, and much of that is probably due to the number of bakeries and museums we went to. bakeries and museums are my two favorite institutions in the world. anyway, here is a play-by-play of the photos above:

happiest reunion of lauren and scout

happiest reunion of shake shack and me

city of {sisterly} love

federal donuts, this one is gingerbread and giving me withdrawals

LOVE and christmas

selfies with babies at basketball games

times square and bryant park

girl with a pearl earring!

levain bakery and the cookies of my dreams

hannah and caro take new jersey

central park with my top dudes (thx dad for being our personal photographer)

starry night and golden marilyn, 2 faves from MoMA

LOVE my bffs

rockefeller plaza pals

i'm very much wishing i was back on the east coast playing instead of in utah studying. april, come quicker or someone plz mail me a dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookie from levain!

the perks of being a wallflower

or rather, the perks of standing in front of a wall so your sister can do her photography homework. basically the perks are getting some great new prof pics. just a tip from me to you, anytime your facebook is looking a little dull, volunteer to help lauren with an assignment. this was fun, though i have to admit it was a little embarrassing when my friend told me later that she saw us through the periodicals windows. haters gonna hate.

empire state of mind

lauren and i spent friday in new york, our favorite city. our dad went to the temple and we hung out in the flatiron district. we went to the empire state building, ate shake shack in madison square park, and then stuffed our faces at doughnut plant. it was delightful.

lauren made the cute video above and i've probably watched it a million times. she also just redesigned my blog for me and taught me how to make my blog posts look a bajillion times better with html. lauren is my little sister but she's always upstaging me with her talents. hopefully that doesn't sound bitter; i'm just constantly impressed by her and everything she has taught herself to do. lauren has this drive and determination and i'm really excited to see her grow and thrive at BYU. we leave this friday for utah and i can't wait to have both my sisters in provo with me! it's going to be so much fun. lauren, i sure love you!

birthday girl

i just realized that i had written this draft the other day for my sister's birthday but then forgotten to publish it.. oops! happy belated birthday, liz!

thanks for always being an example to me and mostly for putting up with me and my nonsense. i've loved getting to spend these past two years at BYU with you and i don't know what i will do when you graduate! i love you and your idiosyncrasies, your increased stress level in my presence, your acknowledged snobbishness, and your passion for the things you love. i love hearing you talk about design and italian. i love discussing life philosophies with you. i love running into you on campus and going to the library just to talk to you. i love that you love one direction. i love when you walk over to my apartment at 11 pm to bring me cookies. thanks for being here for me. it's meant a lot. have the happiest birthday—you deserve it.

love you tons,

em

week of death

i exaggerate. but only slightly. this week i have a 4 or 5 page paper due almost every day, a class presentation, a test, and a 12 page research paper. but, in much happier news, this girl and my mom will be getting here on thursday! i cannot wait. i probably won't be around the blog too much this week though. i leave you with lists.

reasons why last week was awesome

-HUNGER GAMES. peeta, i love you.

that's pretty much the only reason. but it's a good one.

reasons why this week will be awesome

-lauren and mom in p-town!

-liz's birthday

-my red saltwater sandals are going to arrive

-general conference! so so so excited.

-i am probably finally getting an iphone

-my class presentation is on audrey hepburn

-sweet tomatoes. ohhh yeahhhh

reasons why i cannot wait for summer

-more time with lauren

-$14 an hour, baby

-summer = no school

-cream valley

-time to read for fun and watch downton abbey

-clearplay! i plan to watch my week with marilyn and wes anderson movies to my heart's content

-newsies the musical! lauren and i are going in may

-beach/new york/philadelphia/washington dc/general east coast lovin

-my fam is maybe going to northern california? sweeeet

oh, and one more...

-this needy little kitty loves me

birthday girl

happy birthday to my favorite little sister!

lauren, i miss you a whole lot. thanks for being an example to me and for always reminding me how to be a good friend. i like your style, your sense of self, your passion for learning new things, and how perfectly you always understand me. i love skyping with you and your weird cat, watching audrey movies together, and even working at rarec with you. (just kidding about rarec, but my summer was fifty times better when you were working there with me!) i miss sitting in your room just to talk and trying to convince you to let me raid your closet. thanks for putting up with me when i'm crazy (even though you do roll your eyes a whole lot) and for always supporting me. i can't wait for you to come visit in march, and i can't wait to spend this summer with you! i hope your day today is magical and filled with all of your favorite things.

love you tons,

em

feels like home.

i got home on thursday and despite being a little crazy at times, it's been so nice and we had a very happy easter with the wanlass fam. liz already left for italy and is currently loving siena. i don't start working until next week so i'm planning to spend the rest of this week trying not to sleep in, unpacking, relaxing, reading harry potter, and maybe doing a little cooking and baking. i have a goal to make at least one new [to me] recipe every week. i love cooking and baking and i want to really practice a lot this summer to prepare myself for living in an apartment this fall. and by the way, i already miss all my taylor 1100 girls like crazy.

that's all.

summahhhhtime

i'm beyond excited for day trips to the beach and the city,

seasonal ice cream stands,

having picnics in the park,

and just spending time with my sisters.

even though one of them will be in italy for most of the summer! so jeal.

chillin in the summertime. i know i keep saying it, but i really can't wait.

15 DAYS.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIZ!

my older sister/best friend turned 21 today!

she's really great.

seriously though, she is.