summer reading

one of the best parts about this summer for me has been having so much free time to read. i really love reading, as i've talked about on this blog before, and having so much time to do so has been really satisfying and restorative. below are most of the books i've read this summer. a few, like ella enchanted, the great gatsby, and harry potter, are old favorites i've read many times. others, like lunch in paris, the happiness project, and the help, i just read for the first time and loved. i've been keeping track of what i'm reading on goodreads for a couple years now, and i love it. if you don't have an account, i really recommend making one. it's a great way to keep track of what you've read and want to read, see what your friends are reading, and discover new books.

since i always love hearing book recommendations from other people, i thought i would also share what books are next on my list to read. i'm hoping to finish a few more before the semester starts pretty soon and i have a lot less time on my hands! what are you reading this summer?

steve jobs

east of eden

half broke horses

the silver linings playbook

the diving bell and the butterfly

how will you measure your life?

fifth avenue, 5 a.m.

gilead

argo

almost there

unrelated photo of pizza. it's whatevs. (the photo choice, not the pizza. the pizza is amazing.)

the end of this semester has been a long time coming. i don't think i've ever been as relieved to be done with classes and finals as i was this past week... even packing and cleaning has been a joy in comparison. that's saying a lot because packing is one of my least favorite activities in the world, right between going to the dentist and raking leaves.

minus some annoying housing issues (good old provo), this week is turning out pretty great. last days in provo mean eating as much pizza and waffles and tacos and ice cream as we can fit into our schedule. also this weekend one of my best friends is getting married! i'm going to be a bridesmaid and then i'm flying home on sunday to spend a couple days with my family before i head off to europe for my study abroad. i can't believe that i'll be arriving in greece in a week! i've been counting down to this for so long, it seems unreal that it's finally here. i'm kind of freaking out. i'm so excited about everything, especially italy and france. i'm planning to blog and upload photos while i'm in europe because i want to remember everything and i know my family wants to know what i'm up to. we'll be traveling to athens, rome, florence, venice, vienna, salzburg, munich, paris, and london. can you believe that list?!! i still haven't gotten over it.

once my program's over, i'll be spending two and a half weeks at home and then i'll be back in provo for summer term. i'm really excited because i've never been out here for summer before and i'll just be working part-time and not taking classes. paaarty.

but for now, i'm attempting to pack six weeks' worth of cute clothes in the smallest suitcase possible without having a meltdown. WISH ME LUCK.

things to do: washington dc

this summer i really wanted to go to washington dc. i hadn't been in a really long time, so i convinced my dad to go with me and we headed down there one saturday. i'm so glad we did it! it's an easy day trip from new jersey and i had forgotten how much i love that city! i would love to go there more often. here's what we did.

first we headed to the national gallery of art (it's free, like many of the museums in washington). i was in heaven. their collection is amazing, especially the impressionist and post-impressionist pieces, which are my favorite. walking through those galleries is so impressive because you already recognize almost every work!

after wandering those galleries and other galleries of european and american art, we went to the other building of the national gallery, which houses many of the modern and contemporary works. it was also really neat.

after leaving the national gallery, we walked around capitol hill and then we ate lunch. my dad got a burger and i got a milkshake from good stuff eatery. it was gooood. and i got a slice of spinach and artichoke pizza from we, the pizza next door. oh man, it was amazing.

also, isn't my dad cute?

after lunch we headed to the national portrait gallery. it was so interesting! i've never been to another museum like it. it's so unique in that it's an art museum but it's all about people. my favorite things were the amelia earhart exhibit and the gallery of presidential portraits.

it was a long day, so after the portrait gallery we decided to head home. but first, we got some gelato from pitango! it was delicious.

we had a really great time. there are so many things to do in washington dc, and as a museum-lover, i am dying to go back there soon! hope this is helpful for your next dc trip!

up next? things to do: monticello, philadelphia, southern california, and los angeles! be excited.

things to do: new york city

this is going to be a long post, and i am definitely no expert, but i love traveling and i've spent quite a bit of time researching things to do in new york city. living only two hours away from one of the greatest cities in the world is something you need to take advantage of! this summer i've gone up to new york twice. neither of these two particular trips was very involved or elaborate, but i had a lot of fun. here's what we did.

somehow i convinced my dad to go up to new york with me in april to see (don't judge me) nick jonas in how to succeed in business without really trying before the show ended its run. he was fantastic, as was the entire show. we drove up to the city that morning and got tickets for $30 with general rush. some broadway shows have general or student "rush" policies where you can get pretty great tickets at great prices the morning of the show. if you want to see a particular show, look up their policy online to see if they have any deals like those. if they don't you can also purchase half-price tickets for broadway shows in the tkts booths in time square and south street seaport.

after we bought our tickets we headed to the metropolitan museum of art. i've been plenty of times before but it's so enormous there are always new things to see! at the time they had a pretty incredible exhibit displaying the stein family's art collection. (if you aren't familiar with the steins, maybe you remember gertrude stein is depicted in the movie midnight in paris!) they had an astounding collection, mostly picassos, matisses, and cezannes. my favorite part was seeing matisse's woman with a hat. it was incredible in person; the colors in reproductions just can't compare. it was really neat to read about each of the paintings and how the steins acquired them. they bought woman with a hat very inexpensively and at first none of them could stand to look at it!

before heading to our show we grabbed lunch at my fave, shake shack. it's a definite new york experience and i think their burgers and shakes are great. in fact, they just opened a shake shack in philadephia and i'm thinking i need to head over there and get a bite.

my other trip to new york this summer was with my mom and lauren. we did a little shopping in soho and then we went to see newsies. they got me tickets for my birthday, and oh man, was it fantastic! seriously, if you have the chance to go see it, go. we were in the second row and it blew. my. mind. the dancing is incredible, not to mention jeremy jordan aka jack kelly. as a long-time newsies fan, it was just about perfect.

here are some other new york recommendations i have based on my own new york experience and my online research.

THINGS TO DO
-go to the top of the empire state building.
-explore times square.
-walk the brooklyn bridge and brooklyn heights promenade.
-shop at the brooklyn flea market or hell's kitchen flea market.
-shop on broadway in soho: zara, h&m, madewell, etc.
-go to a broadway show.
-go to a taping of a tv show. martha stewart, jimmy fallon, and david letterman tapings are all free, but you have to sign up in advance.

-go to a museum. i love the moma and the met, but there are dozens of other art museums in new york, like the guggenheim, the cloisters, the frick, etc. target hosts some free or discounted museum nights like friday nights at the moma. if you have certain memberships to other museums you can often get in free as well. our membership to the philadelphia museum of art gets us into the met for free. there are plenty of other museums in new york besides art museums, too.
-(in the winter) go ice skating. bryant park is supposed to be the cheapest rink in the city.
-go to rockefeller center. do top of the rock or go ice skating or just shop.
-(in the summer) go to coney island.
-go to central park! find the balto statue and that gazebo/pavilion from enchanted
-ride bikes in central park.

-go to ellis island to see lady liberty.-just walk and wander. i like the idea of exploring a specific neighborhood (soho, noho, greenwich village, chelsea, financial district, upper east side, upper west side, theatre district, etc etc)

-check out the manhattan temple.
-ride the subway! it’s a must.

PLACES TO EAT
-shake shack. i’m obsessed. so good and they have locations all over the city.

-in brooklyn: grimaldi’s pizza (under the brooklyn bridge) and brooklyn ice cream factory. i haven’t been to either but they’re both highly recommended.
-levain bakery. supposedly the best cookies in nyc.

-momofuku milk bar. city bakery. sprinkles cupcakes.
-john’s pizzeria and bleecker street pizza. both in greenwich village.
-popbar. gelato popsicles. these were so good.
-more restaurants i’ve never been to but i’ve heard highly recommended so just google them if they sound intriguing? bubby’s in tribeca. eataly. stand. dinosaur bar-b-q in harlem. asia dog. brgr. nooï.
-chelsea market.
-ellen’s stardust diner. singing waiters! a real nyc experience.
-for the chick flick lover: café lalo (where meg ryan gets stood up slash “runs into” tom hanks in you’ve got mail) or serendipity (like in the movie serendipity! and the frozen hot chocolate is supposed to be amazing, though overpriced)
-doughnut plant. they’re supposed to have really amazing donuts with really unique flavors.
-for macarons: ladurée (probably the best but also the busiest and most expensive), macaron café, bisous ciao, la maison du macaron, bouchon bakery.

-also, when you're in the city, i highly recommend the urbanspoon app. you can look at all the restaurants near you based by distance, rating, or price, and you can even check out the menus. it's a life-saver.

i hope these are helpful! enjoy your next trip to the city!

east coast summer

this summer has been a very busy one. while it's nice to relax, i enjoy having a lot of things to do because i like to make the most of my time at home. working full-time is a bit exhausting but i've still managed to do a lot of neat things on the weekends. this summer my family and i have made trips to new york city, philadelphia, monticello, and washington d.c. as well as doing other fun things more locally. there are only a few weekends left of my summer before i head back to utah for school, and i will be spending them in upstate new york visiting my dad's family, at the beach, and then in sunny southern california when my family heads out west to vacation and visit my mom's family. i can't wait!

i thought i might do some posts on some of the day trips we've taken and fun things we've done this summer. my very favorite thing about living on the east coast is the proximity to so many amazing places!

home stretch

summer is coming.

one more week of classes, then it's finals week and i'm heading home! i can't wait. my mom and lauren visited us this past weekend and it was so great. i'm excited to get to spend more time with them very soon! i'm really looking forward to going home for the summer. i'll be working full time, but i've got a lot of plans with lauren and some personal goals that i hope will help keep me feeling sane and productive.

one thing i was worried about this summer was how to keep up my french! i don't want to forget everything i know since i won't be taking it again until the fall. i bought a french book of mormon and i'm going to read it alongside my english copy, which i think will be challenging and also awesome. one thing my teacher suggested i could do is keep a journal in french. i love that idea! i also plan to watch a lot of french movies this summer. i hope you're up for that, fam... 

other things i am really looking forward to this summer? day trips to new york, philly, and washington dc. seeing this show and this exhibit. a potential family vacation to california. checking off some of these. having time for leisure reading. it's gonna be good. now i've just got to get through finals week...

p.s. last week i got saltwater sandals and an iphone and i am obsessed with both of them. that's all.

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

back in blue

before i start the section of this post i like to call "reasons i am glad to be back at BYU," i will give you a quick recap on our new york vacay and cross-country drive.

sorry for the overdose of sisters-in-a-row-hands-on-the-hips pics... we need to come up with some original poses. anyway, i didn't take as many photos in new york as i should have but we had a really fun week. we saw a whopping FOUR broadway shows!

we had bought tickets to wicked and how to succeed in business without really trying way in advance, but my dad spontaneously bought tickets to the musicals catch me if you can and spiderman during the week we were there. wicked blew my mind and rocked my world. i had been dying to see it ever since it came out when i was in seventh grade and it was everything i'd hoped and dreamed of and more. plus our fiyero was quite good-looking. then we saw how to succeed which also blew me away! daniel radcliffe really was amazing. often when they put a big name in a broadway show the other actors kind of dance around them but daniel really held his own. he was so so great and his singing and dancing were really so impressive. he's only there until december so if you have the chance, see it, see it, see it! the actors in catch me if you can were so great and i was actually really impressed with the flying around involved in spiderman. we also spent our fair share of time eating in restaurants, visiting museums, and just exploring. it was a fun week.

then catherine, liz, and i embarked on our cross-country journey. besides every single inch of our tiny car being absolutely packed, it was not so bad.

we drove for four days and ended up driving straight through the last day so we could get in provo one day earlier. on our way we spent a night at our friend kinard's house near indianapolis and our other indy friend, chloe, came over to her house for the night too! we hung out, ate graeter's ice cream [which you should definitely try if you're ever in the midwest], watched jane eyre AND something borrowed, and crashed in the basement. it was just like old times.

we are back in provo and back in school! i am so excited. we had a little bit of a rough start with our apartment [it was not clean when we came to move in—gross!] but we got everything all taken care of with management and we are really liking bountiful courts so far. so here it is...

reasons i am glad to be back at BYU:

1. i share a room with these two lovely ladies. and i have three new roommates i'm liking a lot.

2. i love walking around campus and seeing someone i know every time i turn around.

3. i'm in an all sports pass group with my friends from last year and i can't wait for football to start.

4. is it weird that i love grocery shopping? and i really love cooking and baking.

5. i love my classes so far. and tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays i get done class at 11 a.m. awesomeee 

6. i'm officially changing my major this week to art history!

7. because of said major change, i am also taking french! i have always wanted to learn french.

8. i could come up with lots more but i have homework to attend to, so bonsoir!

also, things i do not love = the job hunt. but i'm working on it.

anyway, it's good to be back.

packing is of the devil.

tthe title of this post is dedicated to emma watkins. i miss her fave sayings and movie quotes and facial expressions and i am excited to see her and all my other BYU friends sometime next week!

i am currently in the middle of packing simultaneously for our stay in manhattan later this week AND our upcoming cross-country drive back to school starting on sunday. i'm so excited for both of these things, but packing is the worst, especially when you have to pack for two different things at the same time. my room looks like a war zone. why can't my stuff look this pretty when i'm packing?

source

in other news, liz has forced our fam to watch several bollywood movies since she got home...i have to admit i'm a fan. who knew there was an indian version of she's the man? substitute cricket for soccer and add subtitles and it was the same. no amanda bynes, but it was preeeetty great.

anyway, 1 day until we're in new york city [cue another comment from emma about how i already live there], 5 days until i'm on the road driving to utah with cat and liz, 6 days until we're staying at kinard's house, 10 days until i'm moving into my new apartment with cat and caro, and 13 days until classes start! see you soon, p-town!

hello, busiest month of my life.

how is it already august?
today was my very last day of work for the summer.

can i just say... HALLELUJAH

no more fertilizing basil plots or staking pepper plants or setting up sunflower trials for this girl. tomorrow we leave for bethany beach, delaware for the weekend. we've spent some time there almost every summer at the beach house of our very good friends. have i mentioned it's on a private beach and it's right on the water? this is the view from the screen porch. it's okay if you're jealous.

photo by liz

i plan to drink orangeade to my heart's content, finally wear the romper that's been hanging in my closet all summer [not too many opportunities to wear a cute romper on the farm], swim in the ocean all day long, and hopefully make my farmer's tan a little less pronounced while still avoiding sunburn. right now my arms are almost literally black and white... tan lines are cool, right?

then girls camp starts on monday! i've been spending this whole week getting all the crafts supplies and everything we will need together and planned out and i'm anxious for camp to start, besides the fact that i still need to pack... after camp i will be home for a grand total of 2 to 3 days before we pack up again and head to manhattan! i am beyond excited for our new york city vacation, and once our time in NYC is up we will be getting home, packing the rest of our things for college as quickly as possible and starting our cross-country drive the very same day! i am looking forward to and also a little apprehensive about our drive to utah since none of us have ever driven such very long distances, but i'm excited to share the experience with cat and liz and i think it will be a lot of fun/craziness. i love being home in new jersey but i really can't wait to be out in utah again and moving into my apartment [!!!] and starting classes. oh man oh man it's gonna be so good. august is already going by so quickly.

here's to summer sun and fun!

heat wave

if you're on the east coast and you ever go outside you've probably realized it is HOT lately. i've had an interesting weekend. some things i realized?

-115 degree heat index + farm work = no bueno. avoid at all costs.

-i wish i was in europe with mah sista. but i am so happy because she gets home in two days!

-never go to a double feature at the drive-in theatre during a heat wave. it's brutal and you'll want to die.

-never watch a transformers movie. unless you really love movies where they say things like "decepticons" and "autobots" every 2 minutes or if you're a big fan of battle scenes between humans and alien-robots that last for about two-and-a-half hours. then you should probably see it because it's right up your alley.

-captain america is one good-looking evil-fighting patriotic man. was anyone else really upset by the ending? because i was.

-i should never go to forever 21 because it is literally impossible for me to walk in there and walk out empty handed. i HAVE to buy things.

-i heard it on the radio yesterday and realized i still know every word to summer love by justin timberlake from summer '07 when my sisters and i listened to it allll the time. don't judge.

-i'm really excited to live in an apartment this year! and i really need to work on my recipe book...

-2 more weeks of work, then the beach, girls camp, new york city, and ROAD TRIP BACK TO P-TOWN.
ohhhhh yeahhhhh

also, my little sister lauren just started her own blog and i helped her make this banner for it. to get this look she actually laid out some of her instax polaroid pictures on top of a lace dress on top of a bedsheet! then i took some pictures of it and edited them and added the text. it turned out neat, right? she's adorable and her blog will be way cute. this makes me want to give my blog a makeover.

have a good week! mine will be extra crazy and full of cleaning and packing and planning.

i can't wait to see my sister!

be cool.

via weheartit

manual labor in 100 degree heat + humidity is not my favorite. so naturally, this week wasn't my favorite because that's what i spent 40 hours doing. but it's all good, and you know why?

popsicles.

i'm pretty sure popsicles may be the only reason i survived this week. the heat really was brutal, but we had the bright idea to stock the freezer at work with lots and lots of popsicles and, let me tell you, a freezer full of popsicles does wonders for morale. and heat stroke.

another reason i survived this week?

paychecks.

after more than a month of working full-time without seeing a dime, i finally got some of my paychecks. and i'm pretty sure that's one of the best feelings. money, sweet money. not to sound greedy or materialistic or anything.

some other things that made this week bearable:

-this movie trailer. i won't tell you how many times i've watched it because you would definitely judge me.

-discovering this website. keep calm and carry on has become sort of cliché, but this is by far the best version i've ever seen. hp foreveeeeer

-yeah, yeah, call me a dork, but i can't stop thinking about the hunger games. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT 285 DAYS FOR THE MOVIE? okay don't hate i might have just started a countdown...

-tie-dye friday. or if you say it like my co-workers so it rhymes, "tie-dye fri-die." now that i actually work with some girls, unlike in past years where i've always been way outnumbered by middle-aged men, [no offense, guys] we actually have some fun at work. and we decided wearing tie-dye on fridays is a must. so we made it official.

that's it. hope you have a wonderful saturday.

i guess a blog post is long overdue.

sorry i've been MIA most of this month. i've been so busy and hadn't realized how much i've been neglecting the blog until my mom and little sister started getting on me to post again. i had no idea they cared so much, but now i know i have at least 2 avid followers... haha thanks, mom and lauren.

my older sister, liz, has been getting on me to make one so i finally made a pinterest! i haven't added very much to it yet but feel free to follow me if you want. i'm still getting used to how it works but i really like the idea and i love seeing the beautiful things my friends are finding.

in other news, i just read the hunger games trilogy by suzanne collins and oh man it was so good. the first book was by far the best, i mean really i could not put it down and i finished it in a day even though i was working for eight hours of said day. even after i finished i could not stop thinking about it. the second one was slower at the beginning, but once the plot really got moving it was also great. and the third one drove me kind of crazy at times and ripped my heart out a little but i think i can say i was satisfied with the ending. so if you haven't read them, DO IT. my dad saw how engrossed i was with the first one so he is currently reading it, which makes me both laugh and smile. and already i am so stoked for the movie.

i've been trying to compile a list of the books i want to read during the rest of the summer. so here's what's next on my list:

this book is based on a true story during world war II about a zoo in poland that was bombed, and how the zookeeper and his wife saved 300 jews by hiding them in the empty animal cages. i've just started reading it but i already kind of love it. the writing is beautifully descriptive.

i wanted to read this as soon as i saw the trailer for the movie coming out soon with emma stone.

i've been wanting and meaning to read this forever, and seeing the new movie last month only increased my desire tenfold.

a little chick lit never hurt anyone...

i love tina fey. and i read an excerpt of this and it was hilarious. the end.

somehow i missed out on reading this when the rest of the world was but i'm finally catching up and reading it soon.

the movie based on this book is oh so ridiculous and one of my favorite of hugh grant's. plus one of my favorites to quote with the fam. "are we having duck? delicious!" i've heard the book is supposed to be very enjoyable.

this is another book i've been meaning to read for forever! liz highly recommends it, as does j.k. rowling [so the cover tells me]. it's written by the same author as 101 dalmatians, and it's about a family that lives in an old castle.

i'm a big fan of oscar wilde's plays but i still have yet to read this novel of his. i've heard it's fascinating.

the great gatsby is one of my very favorite books and i've read and loved many of fitzgerald's short stories but i've been wanting to read another of his novels.

also, if you don't have a goodreads account, you should make one! it's a really good way to keep track of all the books you've read and want to read and see what your friends are reading.

during my freshman year i was so busy that i didn't really have or make time to read much just for fun. just having time to read again is one of the things i've loved most about being back home. what are you reading this summer?

do it yourself.

this summer i've been planning to make a lot of two things: tie-dye and bracelets. also i love blog discoveries. i've found some really cool DIYS on this website. i want to make some of these. check it out.

this hex nut bracelet.

these colorblock mocs.

and these glitter oxfords might be my favorite.

so cool.