The New Nostalgic

Ringing in the new year with champagne...

2012-01-01T22:31:00.002-07:00

Hair that is! Welcome to my front yard. Someday I might decide cactus is beautiful. Someday. Happy New Year y'all!

Remembering Lot's Wife

2011-12-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

"The Flight of Lot" by Gustave Doré

“Thepast is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embersfrom glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what weneed to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, thenwe look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed towardthe future.”

- Elder Jeffery R. Holland

Go ahead and read the whole thing here.

Iused to keep a small homemade bookmark in my scriptures in the shape of a saltshaker that simply read “Remember Lot’s Wife”. The above engraving by Gustave Doré has been the background of mydesktop for the last few months as a reminder to always look towards the future withfaith rather than dwelling on the past. I’d like to continue this theme and make this year count bytaking Paul’s advice to “[forget] those things which are behind, and reachingforth unto those things which are before (Philippians 3:13–14)." Here’s to a happy and healthy new year armed with lessons from the past and looking forward with faith for whatever's ahead!

Imperfections

2011-12-11T20:57:00.001-07:00

I am the luckiest girl alive for having the mother I do. I learn daily from her example of kindness and charity. She shared this with me today...

Dad and I have this little master bedroom closet. It is too narrow to be considered a walk in closet and yet it is. They put poles for hangers on both sides, but it is way too narrow. Consequently we squeeze into this closet to get clothes and shoes and both of us get frustrated, tripping over shoes, having the poles fall because they weren't secure enough to have a person moving about in there. One day I was getting my clothes out of the closet and thoughts of the crazy closet...why do I keep my clothes in here...etc, were racing through my mind. I then had the thought that one day I will be gone or dad will be gone and then only one person will have clothes in the closet. I soberly thought to myself, 'I love this closet and I love that I can share this tiny space with him.' I would someday miss his yummy cologne smell when entering the closet and he would miss tripping over my shoes. From that day on when I entered the closet I was happy I have this loving man to share the closet with. I have since moved my clothes out to other closets, but leave my shoes in there so I can enter every day and give thanks. I have a great and wonderful life full of imperfections and love it. I love you all. You are so precious to me.

Love Mom

I can't help but tear up every time! It's too sweet. P.S. Mom and dad met when mom was 12 and dad was 14. Who could ask for a more adorable story?

Optics

2011-12-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

Ikea lamp found, repaired and promptly placed in our apartment on K Street

Some light brings warmth, hope, and guidance whileother seems to breed destruction. How doyou know when the light to which you are gravitating is a lighthouse savior ora flame for moths? Is it just a flickerbringing fleeting happiness or a steady stream of brilliance with eternalvalue? One thing is clear; no matterwhich way it is being shed, for better or worse, light brings clarity and truth.

"Scriptures are like packets of light thatilluminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration on high."

Elder Richard G. Scott from The Power of Scripture

First talk of the first session of General Conference. Loved every moment of being there.

"A little pack of fire

I watched you from afar

A blazing, burning star

I came alive, a new design

The tree of life is what you are"

“I Wish” by Eisley

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age ofwisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was theepoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness,it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everythingbefore us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, wewere all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like thepresent period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its beingreceived, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

A Tale of Two Cities by CharlesDickens

"In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?"

The Tyger by WilliamBlake

D&D

2011-11-05T18:09:00.002-07:00

Much to my chagrin I woke to this and every other photo that's been posted on the book this morning.

Discoveries:

1. I'm growing up a little or something because I can no longer sleep longer than eight hours max (but I am really good at taking naps!). No more sleeping in. Sad.

2. I seem to enjoy (???) only half way finishing books boys give me until they're not really part of my life anymore and then decide I should probably still finish them...This isn't the first time this has happened. Probably not the last. Especially if I keep liking boys that enjoy reading which is extremely likely because that's the kind of thing that matters.

3. I am seriously so blessed. But really, all sarcasm aside I've been more than a little ungrateful lately. My life is rich and full of wonderful people and unforgettable moments. I am designating this month one of gratitudes (super original, right?). Life really is good.

Decisions:

1. Moving across campus to a more social side. This decision has already been made (so don't try and change my mind!). Living here with K.P. next semester. All I really want is to stay tucked away in this little attic-esque bedroom until I graduate and move here or here. However, I'm pretty sure that's not what someone else (aka Heavenly Father) has in mind.

2. Dubbing today a snow day, this morning Tara and I watched Love Actually (don't worry family, it's edited). Now all I want to do is watch Christmas and or snow related movies. Too soon for Christmas movies you say? Yeah right! So what'll it be y'all? The Holiday, Snow Day, or It's a Wonderful Life?

3. Hair (here) it is. Decision number 3. My hair! I can't decide if I should change it or leave it? You've been there for the red, the blonde and the ugly so I need your help. Remember when a few pictures of blue hair popped up on my pinterest and you thought I was just admiring these shades from afar? Well what if I really did want those colors?! Not right now ("natural" colors are required for school), but how about right before Christmas break! Just in time for holiday pics. Am I too old? What do you think? Sherri Dupree Bemis of Eisley is kind of my hair idol. She's 27 and has blue raspberry hair...granted she is a rock star. Oh and obviously school would begin again and then I'd have to go back to a more natural shade. I'm leaning towards platinum again. So how 'bout it kids? Leafy brown locks through Thanksgiving, the perfect shade of Powerade for Christmas, and back to blonde just in time to ring in the new year?

what's required

2011-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Harper Casimiro

"The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears or the sea."

- Isak Dinesen ( aka Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke) don't you wish you had a bona fide pseudonym sometimes?

"Hey Harper, there's a heart in that giant rock when you look at it from this angle..." Bet you didn't know that's one of my made-up talents. I'm a pro heart finder. I seriously see them all the time. It's started to get a little embarrassing, so I've stopped pointing them out to people. When you're 23 I think it's time to keep things like that to yourself.

five paces by four and a half

2011-09-06T12:45:00.001-07:00

What a great way to start out my time back in this little town. A weekend getaway to Salt Lake City of course! Settebello (thanks for the suggestion Amy Doll! We couldn't get over how amazing the pizza was.), Asian market, Carol's pastries, new bike (thanks cousin Chris for giving me such a great deal!), Indian in the Cupboard (we rented it as a joke...but I forgot how seriously so good it is), "hiking", Kathmandu (the restaurant not the city), old school rock concert, visiting little Burmese refugees, Sadowski Sunday dinner and lunch with PC & T. I am so spoiled. Couldn't have asked for the past four days to be any more perfect.

Now...bring on the books!

Hi-Lili, Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo

2011-07-01T11:27:00.009-07:00

Summer 08' I watched TCM on a daily basis. I forgot about how much I missed this until Vickie and I fell in love with this adorably odd movie Monday afternoon. Lili is the cutest/most oblivious little French girl who decides to live at the circus because she falls for a wanton magician. Will she ever come to realize that it's the puppeteer who is her true love?

P.S. Can I have her hair?

Au revoir

2009-09-26T22:22:00.020-07:00

Remember how this is the photo I sent in with my mission papers (And yes it is embarrassing...Not only is this photo a 100% nerd alert (shout out to Ki and Scott), but my mom said this wasn't the main picture they kept on file and they would ask for a professional one later. Think again. Oops...)?

Remember how this is what I look like now? Blond and longish to brown and short. Um, I hope they recognize me. (If you’re wondering why the drastic change: #1 since they don’t want me to wear my hair up this will make not styling completely impossible, #2 y’all know it takes me a ridiculously long time to get ready so this should cut down on my getting ready time, #3 in 1.5 years I will have happy healthy 100% natural locks (although I got it colored again today))

Remember how I saw Fame on Friday and was sort of disappointed? And then I saw a sneak preview of Whip It tonight with Kiana, Scott and Donny and loved it plus I got this free t-shirt?

Well in case you didn’t remember, this all really happened. Another thing that’s really happening is that this blog is going to be dormant for a year and a half. Love you and miss you all. You can reach me here:
MTC:
Sister Leah Morris
Utah Salt Lake City Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

Mission address:
Sister Leah Morris
Utah Salt Lake City Mission
3487 S 1300 E West Entrance
Salt Lake City, UT 84106

P.S. Arizona. I don’t know how it happened, but when I had my back turned for one second, I some how fell head over heals in love. Believe me, I was the last to think this would ever happen. Arizona you have grown on me in ways I can’t even begin to explain. Now that you’ve made your way into my heart, there is no denying it. I will miss you dearly. More than words can describe. On a side note, way to be home to some very architecturally interesting churches.

Brown, or black, or carrot.

2009-09-21T07:31:00.006-07:00

What is it about hair that makes it so emotionally charged?

Some people seem to rest their entire lives on their hair. A friend used to say “well when my hair gets long again this will happen or that will happen or I will be happier.” She honestly believed this. I’m not talking about Kari by the way. Kari and I did however have a discussion about hair a few weeks ago. I was telling her that as silly as it sounds, I’ll be happy to be back to my natural if only because people will have to like me for me and not my hair. How ridiculous does that sound? It’s not that I’m saying “oh people liked me so much because I was blonde!” But people honestly did notice me more. They would come up to me and ask me where I got it done, or how I achieved it being so white, since towards the end I was doing it on my own. My hair was a sort of statement that collaborated with the clothing I like to wear. At times I felt like people liked my “statement” first and me second. Kari understood what I meant. She told me how people would tell her all the time how much they loved her long curly hair and how beautiful it was. It was almost like her hair was an entity entirely unto its own.

Someone else’s hair can be emotional for another person as well. If your name is Marion, Bryce’s hair might hold some secret tenderness in your heart. In A Tale of Two Cities Dr. Manette, who was held in the Bastille in France for 18 years, kept with him a locket of his lover’s golden hair. This creates a pretty emotional reunion when he, as a broken and somewhat deranged man, meets his daughter for the first time. Her golden hair is what helps him recall many sweet memories, once lost to him while being housed in the Bastille. We all I am sure easily recognize the lyrics “your hair is everywhere. Screaming infidelities and taking its wear.” Thank you Chris Carrabba. Harper gave me a good sized copy of this photo she took of me. My mom showed it to my papa the other day and he began to tear up. It reminded him so much of my grandmother.

I am wanting to know. What is it that makes hair so emotional?

Yeah I really do think.

2009-09-18T20:31:00.007-07:00

I have been searching my entire life for the perfect red lipstick. I believe I have found it…or at least created it. At the Revlon factory outlet I purchased a red that I had researched and read was the perfect red, aptly named “love that red.” On our way home I tried some on. It made me look “cheap” if you know what I mean. I had also purchased a shade called “raisin rage.” This color by itself made me look “a little too ironic” if you know what I mean. The two of them layered together was the perfect lipstick marriage.

Who knew that “cheap” + “I’m a ‘b’” equated to the perfect “classy” red?

I also picked up a new lip-gloss at half price that happens to be “cool and poppin.” For all you Twilight fans (I for one am not) I bought a “just bitten” lip stain in “plum wicked” that I am very excited about. I like lip-stains because they give you a more natural “I just ate a cherry popsicle” sort of look as opposed to the “I am wearing 5 coats of lipstick and will get it all over you if you come any sort of close” look. And get this…it’s a roll on! I don’t think I’ve had a lip-gloss come in this form since I was in elementary school. The only bad thing about it is that you have to spread it on rather quickly or it will dry and you’ll end up with too much in one place. Then you really do end up looking like Edward took a little bite of your lip (aka it looks like you’re bleeding). What? No, I haven’t witnessed this personally! I applied it very perfectly the first time…

P.S. I love a good cover song. And is it terrible that the one thing I want to do most before I leave is see Fame? Embrrrasing I know, but I am such a sucker for a good dance movie.

Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Orchid

2009-09-15T23:12:00.020-07:00

My mother encouraged me not to post this. She said I sound mean and bratty (what’s new, right?). I kept going back and forth about whether or not to do so, but have obviously decided to post. Let me start off by saying, I have superb friends. Especially guy friends. I am by no means trying to poke or pick at any of you. You guys are great and I love you. Seriously. That being said, take what will follow (if you even decide to read this…I know it is long) with a grain of salt. It started with a small discussion I had a few months ago with Vickie and then somehow turned into essentially a discourse on men in 19th century literature and their lasting impression on women today. A little writing bug bit me and I simply had to get my ideas out. That being said…(remember I truly do love you guys):

Many have named Disney and chick flicks as the driving force behind the wheels that have spun the great delusions some women have when it comes to the ideas of love and romance. This is a very small and minute part of the problem. The real problem lies with the relationships in such literary works as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Yes, I understand these books could in a way be considered precursors to chick flicks (as many have been made into movies anyway), but what I want to discuss here has less to do with the concept of “happily ever after,” and more to do with the specifics of the men in these two novels. Mr. Rochester and Mr. Darcy. They gladly tell you yes I am a jerk, grumpy, sarcastic, rude, and brooding, but throw in a little “but you can find the good in me!” just to confuse things. This is how the delusions all got started.

Exhibit A: Mr. RochesterMr. Rochester is the love interest in Jane Eyre. Just to give a little background, Jane (plain just as one might imagine) comes to work at his manor, Thornfield, as a governess to what is assumed to be his illegitimate French daughter, Adele. From the beginning, he treats Jane terribly, embarrasses her, lies to her and even stoops so low as to ask her to be his mistress. In the end of course love conquers all (Really. It is a gothic novel. Ghosts, fortunetellers, creepy candle-lit nights with sounds of a monster coming from the attic. There is much to be conquered.) and all is forgiven.

Exhibit B: Mr. DarcyThis case is not quite as strong as it is more two sided. I guess one could say Elizabeth is somewhat equally to blame. Regardless, it can easily be noted that Mr. Darcy is a pretty big jerk, especially initially. He is quick to show his true colors and boorish attitude. After seeing Elizabeth for the first time he says “she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.” Of course being the gentleman he is he makes sure she is just within earshot. After later he confesses his love to Lizzy, which he makes clear that it was “in vain [he has] struggled” as he has tried to repress these feelings in the first place because we all just know he’s so much better than her and from a higher class in society and all; he is bewildered by her disdain for him. Being shocked by her long list of things that lead to this disdain he tactfully asks “could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” Bravo Darcy. Bravo.

Yes, maybe Elizabeth’s pride was indeed injured by his words leading her to be more spiteful than usual, but all of the things she said were true (at least to her knowledge at the time). No need for Darcy to degrade her even more in the manner he does.

Well, thus is love, right? It all works out in the end. Luckily they realize what caused them so much trouble in the first place is how alike they are after all. I must note that Darcy does take extreme measures to redeem himself. Measures that are completely swoon worthy and would make any girl weak in the knees. So props to Darcy for this.

I guess the point I am trying to make here is why all the jerk attitude in the first place? I will easily admit to being in love with Misters Rochester and Darcy (Um hello talk about fantastic last names. I think Leah Rochester has a certain ring to it.) in a strictly “novel” sort of way.

This has led me to be concerned. Do I honestly believe that even if a guy were to be a total jerk to me he might change and learn to love me the way he should? As much as my brain wants to say “no” sadly, I’m pretty sure I subconsciously do think this. Fortunately, I haven’t been met with this problem just yet in my life. Here’s crossing my fingers that I never do. Stay away from me jerk guys, okay? I’m not sure I will be able to restrain myself.

One more thing. Why, even though characters and real life guys like Bingley (don’t you just adore him and his red hair in the new version?) are so much more winning and lovable is it Darcy that I am in love with in the first place? Curse you 19th century novels and your confusing but oh so attractive, dark and brooding Misters.

P.S. Just in case anyone is still scared remember, I am not anti-men by any means. I really do consider all my guy friends to be of the utmost quality. This is just something I have been contemplating ever since Vickie and I were half asleep and chatting about it at 3am on the way back from Bon Iver. I believe our conversation then was more along the lines of being in love with the characters rather than why we were. This was me trying to figure out why.

I'd like to make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything.

2009-09-12T22:42:00.009-07:00

When my friend Bobby told me a few years ago in quite the accusatory tone, that he believed me to be some sort of modern day Mary Poppins; I realized then and there that even if I tried I would never be a normal girl.

Not that the following make me “unnormal” by any means, but do you remember how I love:

Antique birdcages?
Now to compete with my name, vintage camera, and typewriter collections, I present to you my very first birdcage. And get this, it was FREE. Maybe Hammurabi's code was somehow involved…

I am hoping to some day have a collection as stellar as this one. Via (I think.).

Anything and everything bike related?

Here.

Vintage dresses?

Oh you know, just having a chat with father time. Clock found in the

"gomi" in Japan and the radio also found on the street, but in Germany.

I promise you, I’ve been a good little girl. This is the only dress I’ve purchased since getting home.

Pat Benatar?

This treasure of a cassette had been sitting in my brother’s house for almost 2 years along with six 8-tracks (who cares that I don’t have anything to play them on, right?), my favorite anthro cake plate and a bag of clothes I thought were lost forever. So glad to have my favorite “Michelle Kwan could have worn this while ice skating” LBD and “I basically won you at my high school graduation after party” B.R. ($100 gift card, thank you.) dress with pockets (dress + pockets = nothing can compare to your splendor).

Sushi?

Okay not 100% true. It always sounds good to me, but then whenever I go and see everything I usually start to feel pretty queasy. I ate one majorly raw roll yesterday. Oh boy was it scary. I think I’ll stick with only cooked ones from here on out.

This song? Love. Especially when mom and dad out of the blue start singing it as a duet.

P.S. Diane Birch’s soulful voice has really been growing on me lately.

As if...

2009-09-11T17:49:00.013-07:00

I didn’t have enough reasons to crush on Ryan Gosling already (he dated Rachel McAdams (she seems pretty legit), he brought his mom to the Oscars, he used to be LDS (I can help him see the light again and I'm sure his mom would be eternally grateful), and duh he’s not totally terrible looking aka he’s kind of really attractive) I give you Dead Man’s Bones. Thank you R. G. You’re swell and so is your “children’s choir incorporating” band.

P.S. I am punching all of you (mentally) for not telling me about this sooner. I know you must have known but were keeping this all to yourselves. How selfish of you. Thank goodness Kiana married Scott so he can keep me musically informed.

That which we call a rose.

2009-09-08T22:11:00.009-07:00

Peter Rabbit

Amy’s post about names got me thinking.
I know the facts surrounding this are most likely complete coincidence, but regardless I have come to believe in a sort of "name karma." For example, I have had rather unfortunate run-ins with at least four Johns. “Oh it’s simply because Jonathan is a common name” you say? I beg to differ. When someone tells me their name is John my palms get sweaty and my heart seems to beat a little faster. Luckily I am sensible enough to consciously remind myself not to judge a John based solely on their name. Besides it doesn’t take much for someone to redeem themselves in my eyes. At times it bothers me as I wish I could, but it just isn’t in my nature to hold a grudge.

Interestingly enough that Amy is the one that stirred this up in my mind; I have never met an Amy I haven’t liked (Amy Bryant – BFF 4th grade, Amy Rarig BFF high school, Amy (Erin’s hilarious friend)). As for the rest of you, I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone with your name that I haven’t liked either. It only seems to be Johns I have trouble with. Except maybe Karis, although in this case it’s the other way around. Karis don’t seem to like me much, so I am fortunate Kari Nicole doesn't seem to despise me.

I love names. What? No, I don’t have a 3 columned 1.5 page word document of names I like…Some people collect stamps or spoons. I collect names. I know I’m strange. Here are a “few” I adore at the moment:

Boys: Theodore, Reed, Harry (this was my grandfather’s name), Phineas (as in A Separate Peace), Cash, Pollock (mom’s maiden), Arthur (as in the aardvark? JP.), Harvey, Otto, Edmund, Maxwell, Ike and Fitz

Girls: Leona (great grandmother’s name), Francis, Brontë (as in Charlotte), Adele (as in Jane Eyre), Beatrix (as in Potter), Finch, Margaux, Edith (as in Wharton), Eleanor, Willa (as in Cather), Joan (as in d’Arc), Emerson (as in R.W.), Ingrid, Stella, Maude, Gretta, Luca, Florence and Blanche

Believe me when I say I tried my best to spare you. There are A LOT more…

P.S. Siblings of mine do keep having beautiful children and feel free to use any of these for my new lovely nieces and nephews (K+S I know you are keen on Theo), but please don’t steal ALL of them while I am gone for 18 months and plus 5 or 10 years until I have little ones of my own.
- XOXO Auntie Lulu

"Your hair looks just like starlight."

2009-09-02T10:41:00.008-07:00

Yesterday was pure magic.

1. I slept in late and ate “breakfast” while hanging with this handsome fellow:

me and Donny boy practicing our pouty looks

We laughed and chatted while he tried his hardest to get a taste of anything I was eating (and not eating: the table, my hand, etc). Did I mention the early risers (everyone else in my family) saved me half of a Reese’s Dark? Yum. Thank you Kiana and Scott for having a very well behaved and adorable babe. Thank you family for encouraging my sugar habit.

2. I found a suit! When I went shopping last week I was so frustrated that I quite literally started to tear up in the dressing room. Really? I’m glad no one was around to witness me being such a baby (no offense Donny).

Bless you JC Penny (I never in my life thought I would be saying that.). Curse you hips that make it extremely difficult to find a decent looking skirt. Curse you peanut butter Oreos that are the cause of said hips. Thank you JC Penny for giving me renewed hope in life.

3. I discovered my hair is now long enough to wear in a high ponytail. I hadn’t realized how much I missed being able to pull all of my hair into a messy bun atop my head. Too bad my mission is a “no pony tail mission.” This might just be the toughest part of the wardrobe change yet. While I hated your ability to create roots within hours when I was platinum, I have realized the error of my ways. Thank you hair that grows insanely fast.

4. We had Mexican French toast for dinner (Don’t try and look up what this is. None of the recipes are equivalent). Coming home to this meal after my triumphant shopping experience was the icing on the cake. Thank you Jared and Kayla for cooking such a delicious dinner.

5. I finished the day off picking out books at the library for the car ride that’s happening today. Libraries are the love of my life. Yes, if I could I would probably marry one. Thank you Joan of Arc biographies.

Today: craft shopping, Ponyo (I grew up on Miyazaki films.) and then we begin our expedition at 3pm sharp. I cannot wait.

Life sure is grand.

Not my favorite.

2009-08-31T15:05:00.015-07:00

14 hour drives are not my favorite. Lucky me, I get to do it twice in one week (there and back). I'm all for a good road trip, but after a certain amount of time in the car, let's face it I will experience:

cornflowerbluestudio via

Boredom. Here's to learning (practicing...I used to know how) embroidery on my drive to San Antonio on Wednesday. Kari, it's a good thing we bought all those loops at D.I. Except oh yeah, I left those in storage too. Maybe if I create something really worth while I will do a give away like legit blogs do. I will wait to see how everything turns out before making any promises. Now for a little inspiration:

I should like to create one of these for practicing in.

P.S. Does anyone watch this show? My sister and brother-in-law think it "tries too hard." Am I the only one who thinks it's funny?

Premonition?

2009-08-29T19:06:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we played a friendly game of Partini. For one of the categories the players had to write statements about me, whilst keeping in mind that I would then choose which one was funniest and which one was true. The one above was written by my sister-in-law Kayla. So what do you think...funny or true?

P.S. Just so we're clear here, I don't have real crushes on the Jo Bros. Just fake ones that are kind of real and 100% having to do with the way they dress not the boys themselves (aka this is me being shallow). Come on. Yes they have a stylist, but who cares as long as they keep dressing the way they do (dreamily).

Sincerity

2009-08-27T13:42:00.002-07:00

via

“They talked no longer of love, but only of like. Talk of love made them feel banished and of the dark-ages. Like was beginning and new; like was when you grew wings that make you lithe and interesting; love was when those wings kept growing, became thick and unseemly— tarp-like— and then smothered you; wrapped you up, like a bodybag. ”
— Tao Lin, “Sincerity” a short story from Bed via

I am content in believing that most of our friends don’t feel this way; however, it saddens me to think a lot of the world does.

My CD club was mainly just swaps between my friend and me. When I told him that I was somewhat embarrassed because a CD I made was mostly love songs, and not to read too much into this he told me not to worry about it. “When you think about it, a lot of the best songs that have been written are about love and loss.”

The Secret to Happiness

2009-08-23T12:14:00.008-07:00

Last Thursday I went with my mom, ChanNa, and Kayla to enrichment. We worked on a few service projects, but before we got started a sister shared part of this message from President David O. McKay. I really like it and want to share:

"Happiness is the end, really, of our existence. That happiness comes most effectively through service to our fellow men.

All mankind desire happiness. Many also strive sincerely to make the most and best of themselves. Surprisingly few, however, realize that a sure guide to such achievement may be found in the following declaration by Jesus of Nazareth: “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” [Matthew 16:25.] This significant passage contains a secret more worthy of possession than fame or dominion, something more valuable than all the wealth of the world.

It is a principle the application of which promises to supplant discouragement and gloom with hope and gladness; to fill life with contentment and peace everlasting. This being true its acceptance would indeed be a boon today to this distracted, depression-ridden world. Why, then, do men and nations ignore a thing so precious?

Is the truth in the paradoxical statement, losing one’s life to find it, so elusive that mankind cannot grasp it? Or is it so in conflict with the struggle for existence that men consider it impractical?

Even so, the fact remains that He who is “The Way, the Truth and the Life” [see John 14:6] has herein set forth an immutable law. …

Specifically stated, this law is, “We live our lives most completely when we strive to make the world better and happier.” The law of pure nature, survival of the fittest, is self-preservation at the sacrifice of all else; but in contrast to this the law of true spiritual life is, deny self for the good of others. … "
- President David O. McKay

Happy Sunday.

Tori Lynn Dickson

2009-08-23T11:06:00.006-07:00

1. Tori = photography.
2. I love that she encourages my dancing because in case you didn’t know, I love to dance.
3. Her t-shirt and skirt combos are dreamy.
4. She isn’t scared of making alterations. I think altering clothing can be frustrating sometimes, but she just goes for it. And who is the sewing minor...?
5. I couldn’t make a list about Tori and not include her hair. It’s perfect in all its imperfectness.
6. She wears hats better than any girl I know. She also has the start of a to die for hat collection.
7. She prefers someone to say she looks "cool" rather than "cute". But Tori girl, what can we say? To us you aren’t one or the other. You’re both.
8. Her love of cats. I think she hated me sometimes for wanting to kick our little neighborhood cat out of our house.
9. She isn’t afraid of color. All the way down to her signature mismatched socks.
10. She is such a proud auntie. I know her little niece will rightfully adore her.

How out-of-sight is Tori?

Kari Anne Nicole Patterson

2009-08-22T16:59:00.015-07:00

1. When she doesn’t hear you instead of saying “what” or “sorry I didn’t catch that” she makes something up and adds a question mark to the end. Example:
Me: Ugh, I don’t want to get ready for bed.
Her: You don’t want to get in my bed?
2. She talks about her hair more than anyone I know. I would too if I had hair as lovely as hers. Wouldn’t you?
3. She talks in a really sassy voice without realizing it. Now that I know her better, I find this to be quite comical.
4. The first time we met she asked me to rat her hair. A few days later she 100% hated me for a day or two. Luckily she got over this.
5. She will harmonize to any and every song we are listening to and she is SO good at it!
6. She owns more sweatshirts than anyone I know. Which reminds me…she looks really great in long johns or leggings which she is sure to sport often.
7. She has a stronger sense of smell than anyone I’ve ever met.
8. She is nothing like me, but the longer and longer we are friends the more she becomes more like me and I like her. She often pretends like she doesn’t care, but don’t let her fool you, she has the sweetest heart.
9. Although her middle name is Nicole, she lets me call her Kari Anne.
10. She can step dance. No joke. Don’t worry about it, but one day I taught her some moves from my old dance routines and she taught me how to step. Yes, we are this cool.

How absolute is Kari Nicole?

This video is another reason why I miss her. It also proves why she and I will be successful in this life. I am sure of it.

Does 6:03 minutes seem like a really long video to watch of your friends when you are a. embarrassed for them and b. the video is terrible quality/ terrible? I agree. At minute 2, there is a little note giving you an early out. You can think of this as a choose your own adventure story.

First I want to thank Erica Nalder for the wonderful mix CD that is the soundtrack to this video and therefore made it possible.

Next, excuses, excuses, excuses:

1. Sorry for the terrible quality. It was taken with my phone. Plus I had to convert it to a wmv because the avi was taking too long to load. And I was driving.
2. Sorry the video is so shaky, but I was driving.
3. Sorry there is so much of my face. This is supposed to be about Kari, right? But I was driving...and resting my phone hand on the wheel was obviously easier than trying to guess where Kari’s face was and trying to aim it at her. (Likely excuse, right??)
4. Sorry, the sound is way off. I would blame this on my phone camera, but let’s blame it on me driving.
5. I also want it to be clear that this is everyday Leah and Kari. We’re not acting for the camera.
6. Sorry the window is dirty, but I am driving.
7. Sorry the note doesn't stay up quite long enough. Learn to speed read (or how to use a pause button) okay? Plus, just in case you forgot, I was driving.

I leave you now with a question:
Obviously one of my hands is holding my phone/ camera and the other one is dancing…so who was doing the actual driving?

Harper Anne Casimiro

2009-08-21T10:54:00.004-07:00

Lauren Cooper Photography

1. She knows how to be a good listening ear, but more importantly when to give someone tough love. She’s a good friend which means she’ll tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. She’s honest. When I was getting dressed as a pregnant lady for her photo assignment:
Me: “Ugh, I don’t want to look like this when I’m pregnant.”
Harp: “Don’t worry. You won’t look this good.”
2. She still dislikes and will cringe at the terms “hipster,” “scene,” and “indie.”
3. Has a crazy amount of hidden scrapbook knowledge.
4. Works magic with yarn.
5. She lets me (and often shares in them too) have crushes on boys I shouldn’t have crushes on. “You shall speak of this to no one.”
6. Photo shoots! Duh.
7. She commits to a theme party just as readily (or more?) as I do.
8. Going along with the last one, she is the perfect party planning partner. She isn’t afraid to go all out (remember our Mad Men themed mocktail party?).
9. Oh how fun it is when she speaks French with me. Although I am usually too embarrassed to respond (my French isn’t near as good) I love that it’s like our secret language (that is when Tyler or Monica aren’t around).
10. She is so patient and forgiving of me. Even when I say terribly bratty things like “No. I am going to carry the cookies into class all by myself because I made them” she still gives me the benefit of the doubt and assumes that I’m just having a bad day. (Which is no excuse, but hopefully the truth!)

How tip top is Harper?

Christina Matekel

2009-08-20T13:22:00.005-07:00

1. I think she likes leaving secret notes almost as much as I do.
2. I completely admire her bravery in moving to a new school to live with four (she knew Harper) potentially mean/ nasty/ scary roommates.
3. The way she reassured me when I was sharing an embarrassing story and asked her to please not look at me poorly. She said “I can’t look down on anyone. I used to wear arm socks.”
4. She genuinely cares about other people’s feelings. Even if she is joking around she’ll triple check to make sure she didn’t hurt your feelings.
5. She’s best friends with P. Clark. Very few people can say this.
6. She is patient with me when I for a split second forget she’s vegan and say things like “oh Christina, do you want a bite of my grilled cheese sandwich?”
7. She has the sweetest smile.
8. Talk about best nail polish colors ever and is always willing to share. Even when every girl and their mom want to use her bright green.
9. She’s a master writer and poet. I can’t wait to read one of her works that gets legit published some day.
10. Her testimony of the Gospel. I love hearing her share it.

How marvelous is Christina?

Oh, so you think I blog too much?

2009-08-19T17:14:00.007-07:00

Well you're right. I do. I simply have too many things in my head. I can't bear to leave them floating around in there!

Something that has been on my mind lately is how much I miss my former roommates and BFF extraordinaries Harpski, Ames, T. Dix, K.P. and Teen. Today I made a list of reasons why I miss each of them (and oh my are there a lot of reasons) and I've decided I would like to share. I am hoping that through these lists you can perhaps get a little glimpse of how brilliant they truly are (as if most of you don't already know!).

Since I could basically talk about how much I miss them all day, I've decided to break it up and share one list a day. Because they are already written out, I wasn't sure who to start with. They all equally mean the same to me, so I decided to go alphabetically by first name. Hehe, I know this is a little silly. Regardless without further ado I give you:

Amy Doll Marie Benkenstein

1. She praises and practices bike tricks with me.
2. She takes a mean photo. She is rather humble about them, but her photo skills are totes phenom.
3. She is a good “Idaho Falls Day” buddy. She let me do my thing and cheerily tagged along wherever I wanted to go.
4. She will listen to and sing country with Kari and me. This one is a biggie. All of the other girls would quite literally gag.
5. She’d always make little delicious biscuit pockets and share. Did I mention she always shares? Even if people don’t necessarily ask first.
6. She has lots and lots of craft supplies. And I thought I had a lot…
7. She is such an awesome example when it comes to studying her scriptures and the like.
8. She has fabulous (really it’s fantastic) taste in music, but is never one to flaunt it.
9. She understands the reasons why I prefer to have crushes on bros rather than hipsters.
10. She doesn’t jealocize. Especially over what other people are doing without her. I really respect her for this. Going along with this, she’s completely content doing her own thing which I think is really neat.

How superb is Amy Doll?

Do you know the way to San Antonio?

2009-08-18T23:33:00.023-07:00

I went to San Antonio two weekends ago to attend this sweet girl's engagement party. It was so much fun seeing old friends and hanging with my nieces and nephews. Epecially because I'm the favorite aunt of course (right guys?). I didn't know how else to include all of the photos of my marvelous trip, so I smashed them all together. If you want to click on them for more detail I promise they're not way too huge. Plus if you want to read some of the smaller text you'll probably have to do so.

The first two photos were after I first got there. I hadn't seen Narci for a year or more so he just stared blankly at me while he ate his homemade blue cotton candy. He warmed up to me pretty quickly though and he and I made chocolate rock soup on the bleachers while Kylie and Malikai had practice.
How to get your 5 year old niece who won't let her mother touch her hair (it's a daily battle) to let you braid her hair for cheer practice? Pull the cool auntie card of course.
"Kylie, do you like my hair (it was braided)?"
"Oh yes!"
"Do you want me to do yours just like mine?"
"Yes, please!"
Works every time.
They seriously work those little boys so hard. Malikai was totally beat after a 3 hour football practice in the humid SA heat.
P.S. These little babes are a quarter Mexican (my sister Melinda's husband is half) hence their beautiful olive skin. Does this make me sort of cool by association Vickie?

Zee party. I may or may not have had crushes on one or two of these boys (*cough* the two on the right *cough*) at some point in my life (we're talking yeeears ago). Jaimie and I were overachievers together (volleyball, cheer, NHS, Student Council, S2S, Academic Decathlon, FCA, etc etc. Keeping in mind my school was bite-sized).
By the way Christina, the boy in the plaid was the one I commented on your blog about Copeland about.

It was so hot and humid it was insane. I forgot how much I hate humidity. San Antonio was quick to remind me. P.S. I don't necessarily recommend going to the River Walk on a Saturday night. There were wayyy too many people out.

Yeah, I just LOVE this place.

When we started the hike Maddie says to me "I'm a princess, but I'm climbing this mountain!"
Story of my life Maddie, story of my life.

Enchanted Rock. Can you believe this little barely turned 3 year old hiked the entire thing with me??

My sister Kerstin is in the Young Women's presidency in her ward, and hiking this was one of their activities. She just so happens to be more than a little prego and had 1 year old Ty with her, so there was no way she could hike the entire thing with him on her back. Maddie was pretty adamant about hiking "the mountain", so I agreed to help her. I kept saying "Okay Maddie, let's turn back when we get to that rock or that tree" thinking there's no way we're going to hike all the way up and she's going to be okay walking all the way back down. She kept saying "we're not at the top yet!" Duh, Leah. So we hiked the whole way.

She got a little scared once we were up there because it was pretty windy. When we began our descent, she started to cry a little. I gave her a little pep talk about being a big girl (I should be pretty good at these as I received quite a few from Kiana while growing up) and there wasn't another complaining peep from her as we hiked all the way back to the bottom (and to her mom).

Something that makes this place a little extra special for their family is that Kerstin and Matt got engaged here many many moons ago. Cute.

Ty is the cutest with his little curly locks.
After the hike we headed to Fredericksburg (originally settled by German settlers). I didn't really get any great pictures from our trip there (top left and middle two), but this town is so ideal! It's located in the Texas hill country and is definitely my favorite little town to visit. We used to go pick peaches there every summer, but they had a freeze in April and lost all the crop! And I was so looking forward to getting my usual fresh peach cobbler with homemade peach ice cream.

The photo on the middle left is of a girl I couldn't help laughing at. I know I'm terrible...but really she's that serious about her cowboy boots that she has to wear one even though her other foot is in some type of brace?

The bottom left photo is to show you that it's totally the norm and even encouraged to wear your cowboy boots to church (I believe Kari's already got this covered). These are Malikai's. Talk about Sunday best! JP. Really most people don't wear them, but oh how I love it when they do.

Lastly, Maddie and I saying peace out. We went to Texas Thrift, my local stomping ground in high school. I purchased many a little boys t-shirt here (including a Spiderman one I dearly miss.) in those days.

You see guys, Texas isn't all that bad. I've had some pretty wonderful experiences and met some really awesome people there. If you're still not convinced, go back and read another one of my little guides to San Antonio here.

Longest post ever? But really, it's not like I could have left anything out!

My family is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

2009-08-16T21:00:00.026-07:00

top row from the left [born]:
Melinda [San Antonio], Dad (Marty)[AZ], Mom (Diana)[AZ]
Kerstin [Germany], Me [Baltimore], Paul (James Pollock) [Germany], Shaman [AZ]
Kiana [Flagstaff], Jared [Baltimore]

That is if we are what we eat.

Yesterday my parents came home with an entire box of “soon to go bad” bananas. Our whole house now smells like them as our 3 dehydrators are packed to the brim with banana slices. These are my FAVOURITE (I like them so much that I used the UK spelling). They truly taste like candy. But they’re not. They’re just dehydrated banana slices. They don’t taste anything like the gross store-bought crunchy ones. They are chewy and delicious. I guess you could say they taste like banana laffy taffy but better. Plus there are no added sugars or preservatives. Maybe I will mail you some if you ask nicely.

Okay, but we really are “bananas” sometimes too. Here is one small example:
If you say something that remotely sounds like a line from a song it will be sung…by someone, somewhere in my family. I think we get this from my dad.

When we are playing any type of card game and Kiana plays a diamond she must sing “diamonds are foreverrr.”
When we are playing hearts and B.I.L. Scott plays a card he knows we are all going to pound/demolish he always sings “bring ‘em out, bring ‘em out.”
Of course when we drove past Taco Cabana last weekend in San Antonio I began singing “at the taco, taco cabana (“Copa Copacabana”)."
ChanNa begins to explain yesterday about people only having relationships over the book. Scott says “oh like facebook lovers?” So of course Kiana has to develop this into a strange rendition of “Goodbye My Lover (I know I didn’t link the right song, but this is funnier).”
Yesterday, while playing balderdash someone said a phrase beginning with “some people” so I started singing (and was quickly joined by S.I.L. Cassie) Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”.

Maybe this doesn’t make us that strange. I’m pretty sure a lot of people do this (e.g. Katelyn? I think I remember her telling me she does this a lot). All I do know is that I think it’s really fun and funny when it happens. Also, I love my family ("L-O, L-O, L-O, L-O-V-E").

I wasn't born yet in these next two. I liked them too much
not to include them. New Years Party. Dad, Granny (Dad's Mom),
Mom, Shaman, Paul, Kerstin, Kiana, Melinda

Kerstin, Melinda, Shaman (that's right...he's in the McGruff suit),
Kiana, Paul and baby Jared

Me and Kiana.
What can I say? I was taught how to act with attitude from a young age...
(This is from a photoshoot styled and shot by Kerstin)

Oh yeah. And we used to fish a lot.
Me, Pollock (we never use this), Kiana, Kerstin, and Jared.
(Or the shortened versions/ lazy versions of our names
we use more often: Lea (or lea lea), Paul, Ki, Kerst, and J)

"We despise all reverences and all objects of reverence which are outside the pale of our list of sacred things...

2009-08-14T14:44:00.018-07:00

Questions I would like answered:
Who are Lloyd, Cath, Elizabeth, and Sandra?

Is it really scoliosis or just a temporary issue?

Will I ever get tired of my mom’s green chili tamales?

Things I would like to accomplish in the future (even if some of them are scary):
-Ride in a hot air balloon.
-Live by myself in a foreign country.
-Successfully cook a soufflé.
-Teach someone to read.
-Learn to sail (I’m sort of scared of boats and water).
-Own/ build a legit tree house.

Last time I posted lists on blogger, I feel without meaning to, I semi-accomplished quite a few of my goals (at least to some degree). I guess it’s all about making positive goals for myself, but ultimately being okay with whatever happens. After all, I’m not really the one in control. The older I get and although it’s tough at times, the more grateful I become for this fact. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and the blessings I receive on a daily basis.

Also, this song has been getting stuck in my head lately, but I don't mind one bit.

P.S. Here is a list of some other lists I found to be of interest:
-The Best 60 Books of the past 60 years: UK Times Online
Twilight? They do realize they said “best” right?
-12 ways to travel the world for free
-10 interesting abandoned places
-list of fictional ducks

In dummy glasses and a cardigan

2009-08-12T20:21:00.013-07:00

Oh hello. It feels like I have been gone forever even though I was only gone for a mere five days. I just got back from a little trip to SA and it was MAGIC. I will definitely be sharing more about the trip later.

I was supposed to play with/ watch nephew number 5 today but my back managed to start hurting massively (Why? I have no idea.). So there was no play date for the Don and me today. I am 21 and obviously have zero children and therefore in my mind have no reason for this. The whole back pain thing makes no sense. I have to say it scares me a little (twice in the past 3 years it’s been bad enough that I haven’t been able to walk for a few days and my back is feeling pretty similarly at the moment). What is going to happen when I do get older and do have children? My theory, as far as why I get the pain, is that because I used to have a rather strong back and used to be pretty flexible, (Playing volleyball, tennis, and *cough* cheer *cough*, I used my back muscles quite a bit.) my back is like “Leah what’s with this no exercise/ being out of shape thing? You need to fix this or I will fix you.” Yeah I agree with you. My back is kind of a jerk but it’s also probably right. Looks like it’s time I start doing some yoga or something.

Okay, so you don’t believe me when I say that I used to be athletic? To be honest, sometimes even I find it hard to believe. Well, here’s a little proof (these are not costumes I promise):

Sorry the quality of this one is so terrible.

(Alisha, Beatrice, Jaimie and me our senior year)

See Kari, this really happened. Remember how you

were saying it was hard for you to imagine me actually

playing? My sweatiness in this photo is your proof.

Oh dear...

P.S. This fan made video for “Little Bribes” became official when DCFC declared it so. It’s definitely worth watching. Read more about it here.

Can I tell you...

2009-08-07T00:36:00.024-07:00

that I secretly love quotes? Yes, I really am that sort of girl.

{HERE}
Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said;
"one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen.
"When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day.
Why sometimes I've believed as many as six
impossible things before breakfast."
- Lewis Carroll (Through the Looking Glass)

{HERE}
You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

{HERE}
If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely
everything is ready, we shall never begin.
-Ivan Turgenev

{HERE}
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within
me there lay an invincible summer.
-Albert Camus

EMERGENCY!

2009-08-04T23:19:00.011-07:00

Okay I hope I didn't scare you. It's not really an emergency, but it is urgent. I only post twice in the same day if it's about something really important (remember these?).

#1. Someone needs to buy this suit. Really it MUST happen. If you are in Arizona or will be this weekend (*wink* MYKE *wink* QUINN *wink* anyone you guys know *wink*), go to the D.I. at 1020 W Broadway in Mesa. Hurry fast because someone might buy it! I don't know why I am being so crazy, but it seriously is the most perfect suit. It's brown pinstriped polyester (I know it would get hot especially in AZ, but I swear it would be worth it) and the pants are skinny. It was a little snug on my brother (So could be sort of big on you guys? I know nothing about boy sizes.), but he still looked so fly in it. It's not really his style (aka super amazing flawless style) so he obviously didn't want to purchase it. There were a lot of hehes and hardy hars from my family, but this is no joke to me. This is serious business. All girls will love you in it. I promise. Well, cool girls at least. ABnyUwYay eTnHoEugSh rUamIblTing.

#2. Utah and Idaho yummies (ok I just really wanted to try out this silly term), you should go to Craft Lake City. It sounds wonderful. Amy, Kari and I went to the Beehive Bazaar last semester and it was marvelous (remember the Arizona charm I purchased there?). The girls that ran the Beehive Bazaar sent me an email about the fair (I am sure you girls got it too) and made it sound like it's going to be 10 times better than the bazaar if that's even possible. AYnOyUwaMy yUou shSoTuld gAo iTf yToEu cNaDn!

Y'all are totally the best because I know you're definitely going to take my advice. Thanks for being such awesome friends!

P.S. I cannot stop listening to "Deadbeat Summer" by Neon Indian. It's at the top of my playlist at the bottom of this page. Oh and I almost failed to mention that Winsome Wednesday is officially over for now. It’s not like I don’t blog about the things I like all the time anyway. Please know I find all of you to be especially winning even if I didn’t specifically blog about you. Especially you two bears (pooh and panda). So glad you were born. Love, ex-goldilocks.

I am mortified.

2009-08-04T14:23:00.004-07:00

The other day Harper was discussing with me the statistics of our little (and quite dormant) blog an arm & a leg. I didn’t think much of this. My sister Kerstin has a little map on her blog showing where her visitors are coming from. NBD. A lot of people have those.

Today my sister Kiana and I were discussing how some people have secret stat counters on their blogs and it finally dawned on me. There’s a good possibility many of my friends and non friends may have this sort of secret stat counter. Why didn’t I realize this sooner? I know not. I’m not really sure what those stat things entail, but what I do know is that if you have one you must all think I am some type of no life obsessive psycho for the number of times I may visit your blogs in a day.

Let me explain myself. Of course the blog feed may tell me when you post something new, but what it doesn’t show is when you get new comments on your posts. Half of the fun of reading your posts is reading what other people have to say about them. So yes, I might look at your blogs again and again and again even if you haven’t posted something new just to check if you have new comments. So maybe I don't have much of a life...but knowing that I am checking so often simply to watch for comments makes me seem a little less crazy, right?

Phew. It feels good to get that off my chest. I’ll try not to stalk you guys so much, but I can’t make any real promises. You are all basically celebrities in my book.

We’re not even there yet.

2009-08-02T17:34:00.012-07:00

(I don’t condone or support this movie in its entirety as I have not seen it and don’t plan on doing so because of the rating. However a friend shared this clip with me a few years ago and I quite enjoy it.)

I try my hardest to look for the small simple beauties around me. I thrive off this. Love and therefore life isn’t about the grand gestures, but rather unexpected moments of clarity that help in realizing what really matters is the who that is giving, not what or how it is being given. We all give in different ways the parts of us that we can. It’s in our best interest if we can learn to accept these differences. It’s when we close ourselves off because of fear, pride or insecurity that we miss out on opportunities to give and receive love (I’m talking about love in general. Not specifically the romantic type.). I’m sure you might be wondering what all of that has to do with the clip. I’m not quite sure, but I do know that it portrays the purest sweetest sort of love that can even be shared between two strangers. It is beautiful in its simplicity.

What video (music or otherwise) or photo describes you? Interpret this however you like. It doesn’t have to be anything serious or thoughtful but please explain why you chose it, if you please. Play along by commenting or posting on your blog if you like. I don’t mind if you “don’t like” either ;)

Ok enough sappiness. My mom shared this humorous little video with me yesterday. Although it is described as “a guide to finding the right husband,” I promise it is all in jest.

I am a walking, talking, breathing literary device.

2009-07-31T16:20:00.015-07:00

How to take and post a photo of myself without looking a. vain or b. myspacey. It’s c. impossible. I apologize in advance.
Natural color, I know you are in there somewhere.

1. To show you my deserty backyard. I am standing next to a 17 ft tall saguaro cactus. There are also orange and grapefruit trees behind me.

2. To show you how annoyed/ embarrassed I was to be taking these of myself but I did want to make sure to show you what the color would actually look like if you saw me today (tomorrow it would probably be lighter. Fadage is totally the best). It’s actually darker than this, but I couldn’t figure out how to get better lighting without a flash, so this is the most accurate photo I was able to get of the color.

3. To show you there is still some red in there especially visible when I am in the sun. Red = hardest color to keep and hardest color to completely rid yourself of.

For now the color is a little darker and little redder than my natural. By a year and a half I should have happy, healthy, natural, long locks. Perfect.

And because it's lovely, "The Last One" from Au Revoir Simone's album Still Night, Still Light that came out just before my birthday in May. I think I may start posting a song or two with my posts occasionally (or all the time). Not because I know anything, but simply because it is fun. Don't get annoyed, okay?

Winsome Wednesday VI

2009-07-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

1. Sometimes I dream of hair like this and I long for my cotton candy, unicorn hair. Then I remind myself of how marvelous it will be to be natural again. My hair will love me, I won’t get chemical burns, and hopefully natural highlights will return. Tomorrow, Thursday July 30th, Salon Vaunt, 2:00pm I attempt to make it back as close as possible to my natural color. I am crossing my fingers that Jessica will use milkshake products in my hair. They smell delightful and make my hair very happy. Wish me luck.

The photo above is definitely not my photo, but I’m not quite sure how to attribute it. Okay so I know how, but it’s from someone I know but doesn’t know me aka embarrassing. If you really want the info for some reason let me know and I can give it to you.

2. I found these onesies on etsy about a year ago and immediately fell in love. It was a given that I must attempt making similar ones. I’ve been putting it off, partially because I was a little nervous about whether or not my skills were up to par. Tori began making some for her soon to be niece the other day, so I decided it’s about time I try my hand at them. I’d already amassed a pretty large collection of lace and thanks to a few D.I. trips. Yesterday I purchased some plain onesies and dye in pumpkin, violet, green, and pink. I’ll let you know how they turn out…if they turn out!

Sorry, this photo was simply begging to be poladroided.

3. I get to sleep with this little fellow next to my bed. He’s a Grundig shortwave radio made in Germany most likely in the 40s or 50s (I couldn't quite figure our exactly when). My parents found him when they were stationed in Germany in the early 70s. NBD or anything, but when we lived in Maryland we used to pick up radio stations from across the pond. All of the dials, etcetera (including all the possible cities you could pick up signals from: Paris, Budapest, Luxembourg and Prague to name a few) are written in German. Nadia, would you mind translating?

Neenie and Papa

4. When my Papa (grandfather) calls me baby or girl (not to be confused with babygurl). It’s interesting how hearing those same words from someone else could make me feel kind of silly or uncomfortable, but when coming from the right person it means something totally different. He stopped by to see ChanNa and me today. When he said he couldn’t understand why we didn’t have boyfriends we of course said something to the effect of it being our choice not to have them. Then he said well of course. You shouldn’t have one, but four or five. That way they can pay for everything. He also said to make sure our “hubbies (his term not mine)” are rich so we can live in a nice place like the part of California he visited this past weekend. He said if they have a good job and a testimony of the gospel that’s all that matters. Oh grandfathers. I love my Papa.

5. “Yummies.” I just discovered this ridiculous, yet supreme term from an online article in a SLC mag. “Young Urban Mormons.” I am translating this to mean LDS hipsters. Y’all know I love a good acronym. This one is perfect, no?

Autumn Triss Rigby

2009-07-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Remember this hair color Autumn?

I was always jealous of your hair color bravery.

I took the leap eventually.

Somewhere I swear it must be written "while living in Heritage you must

make at least one trip to Walmart past 3am while donning bright colors

and even brighter makeup. Also, you must document it."

Seriously. I think it's a rule.

She was my first and last roommate at BYU. In actuality, we were paired with different girls, but realized our personalities and sleep schedules were more akin and asked to switch to room together. When I was embarrassed by our terrible appearances while checking out (and checking out the cashier– he was a cute boy in our ward) at the Creamery on 9th I said something like “Uh, I promise we don’t normally look like this.” And she wittingly added “yes, we actually spent time getting ready today. Normally we look much worse.” She let me have Prince Harry over William. She went to the Middle East way before all the other kids started going. But really I swear a bunch of people I know are going this year…she went like five years (maybe I’m exaggerating) ago to Jordan. She lets me share her crushes and would give me a full report on the potentially cute “I went to England on my mission and came back very stylish” boys in her ward before I would ever come to visit. Even if we haven’t spoken for months (dare I say a year sometimes?) with her it’s as if no time has passed by. One time I came for a visit and we spent the entire day walking around Park City in the pouring rain and saw three rainbows on the way home. She hates Mr. Rochester like no other girl I know. Honestly I can’t say I know any girls who don’t like him. For half of a season, she had me addicted to Grey’s Anatomy. Her sarcasm and witty repertoire always keeps me laughing. This girl is capital.

Prom with Jesse

2009-07-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

I don’t like hellos or goodbyes. I am not confident in my ability to give a good first impression. You would think after moving 9 times (not including the 7 times of different apartments, wards, and roommates at college) I would be better at hellos and goodbyes. When I was leaving Thursday evening, I didn’t want to make a big scene. Tori, Brady, and Kari, being the only ones home, walked me out to my car. I didn’t expect to get choked up. Kari got a little tear in her eye, so that didn’t help. After promising Brady I would call if I got any sort of tired, I pulled out of College Ave at 11:35 pm. I managed to drive away without any real waterworks. Just a little teariness. It was surreal realizing I wouldn’t see everyone for two years or possibly never again in some cases.

Most of my friends are pretty attached to the places they are from. When people ask me where it is I call home, I always feel I am fibbing just a little when I say Arizona. I know this is cheesy, but for me home isn’t where I am living or my parents have a house, or where I’ve grown up. Home is within the people I care about and love most. Moving around as much as we did made my family extremely tight. My family, now spread across 4 states, is home for me. You all managed to make Rexburg home for me, if only because each of you was there. Each of you contributed somehow whether you were part of the foundation, a wall, an old couch, or painting on the wall. I don’t know why I am getting so sentimental. I guess I am just in that sort of mood. I realize this isn’t forever, but I do feel I am ending a chapter in my life and am beginning a new one. I want to thank you all for in some way or another being “home” for me.

One more cheesy thing, if you can handle it…This is how I’ll know that I am 100% honest to goodness in love; that I’ll want to spend eternity with that person. It won’t matter where we’ll live or where we’ll go because they will “remind me of home.”

P.S. To quote the great Arnold Schwarzenegger: Rexburg, “I’ll be back.”

Winsome Wednesday V

2009-07-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

1. (2 and 3) Pick me ups. Magazines, treating myself to dinner and the all encompassing chocolate chip cookie. Finals = stressful. Monday, to go along with my cleaning supplies, I bought a copy of this month’s Teen Vogue (I previously decided I am too old for this, but have since realized it’s more applicable to my life than most other fashion mags.) with Emma Watson on the cover. I learned Emma’s dating a financier (financier? How old is this gentleman?) and why “smart girls are drawn to nothing but trouble” (when it comes to boys of course). I may blog about that later…Thank you T. Vogue for all the nonsense and teen angst. It was a nice short little escape from my French finals and endless sewing projects.

Monday Kari and I also went to Thai for dinner. It’s only the second time I’ve been this whole semester, plus I had to go one last time just in case they go out of business while I’m gone. I’m really good at finding excuses aren’t I? Also, Thai for dinner means Thai for lunch. Aces. Have I told you how much I love Thai?

Yesterday it’s quite possible that I switched off between raw Pillsbury cookie dough and fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies á la Harper Anne. Eeek. The fact that it got my mind off how much I dislike my barely completed quilt (I stayed up until 4:30am finishing it. Amy can witness to you how out of it I was. When I am tired, I sing.) for even a few moments, made the calories and disgusted/ “I am embarrassed for you” looks I received totally worth it. Plus I had a nice little HP chat with Laurel Hulme (she enters the MTC a few weeks before me and is going to POLAND. So neat.), Tori, and pro Facebook album commentator Zachary Stout in the kitchen. Speaking about Harry Potter makes it feel like the magic will never end. Thank goodness.

4. Scandinavian songstresses. Scandinavians? How ground breaking of you Leah! I know this isn’t news to you but regardless, these girls are pretty ideal.

Lykke Li [leaky lee]. She’s really old if we’re talking indie/ hipster time, but I don’t mind. I still haven’t tired of her. The first time I heard her was from somebody posting this video. This one is also of her singing "I’m Good, I’m Gone" but in the back of a taxi cab rather than a bathroom. It’s really wonderful.

Frida Hyvönen. Watch.
With her Aggie D. style hair, she makes me miss my blonde locks.

Anna Ternheim. Gander.
Her english accent sounds a little Irish to me. Lovely.

Amanda Jenssen. Listen.
Her voice is like Ingrid Michaelson's mixed with the Joe Bros. No joke.

Ane Brun. Look.
Folk. Didn't pick up a guitar for the first time until she was 21.

5. “I love a good intrigue!” I believe I’ve used this line once in real conversation. Lately I’ve had a hankering for using it. Please come up to me and say something to the effect of “Leah, I have a secret to tell you and you cannot tell anyone. It’s super cool and super secret.” I will then say my part. You can’t possibly fathom how much this will mean to me.

Marty and Diana

2009-07-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Plaid, plaid on plaid. What more could I ask for?

My parents are fab. I wish you could understand. I could tell you lots of nice things about them, but you probably still wouldn’t understand. Just know that they’re the type that would and have done everything for their kids. And pretty much everyone they’ve ever come in contact with for that matter. They are the most selfless people I know. I hope to someday be even half as great of parents as they are.

they hang like ghosts of the people I've been

2009-07-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Some people have music induced memories. While songs are sure to remind me of people and events; I have found, especially recently, articles of clothing or specific outfits remind me of these things just as much, if not more. I’m not talking formal dresses here. Just every day run of the mill attire.

For example, whenever I wear a certain pair of my “workout” (whether or not I actually work out in them is beside the point) pants I remember fainting in front of Carriage House last semester, Nadia freaking out, running to get Erica’s car, slipping on some ice, denting said car and then after finally getting home, laying on the couch, eating a banana, and trying to recover while my roommates refuse to let me go anywhere.

This sort of flash back thing happens quite often with just about every item in my closet. I start to get tired of articles in my wardrobe if only because they start to get too heavy with memories. Once an outfit or item gets too bogged down with memories I know it’s time for something new. Something with a blank slate to add to the mix that is my wardrobe and therefore life.

I'm the wolf today

2009-07-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have heard many friends recall sweet memories of their first CD purchases. Perhaps it was memorable. Maybe you heard of the band from an older sibling. It was probably life changing. My first CD purchase, although memorable in a sense, doesn’t hold the other two to be true. Regardless, here she is. My first purchase:

Just to be sure, I listened to the entire album on youtube etc this morning and yes I still remember every word to every song. Now, if only I could remember the synchronized swimming routine I made up to "C’est La Vie"…

Winsome Wednesday IV

2009-07-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

1. Catchphrases. Kari and I, have managed to amass a good number of catchphrases throughout the length of our friendship. They are used exorbitantly and include, but are not limited to:

“Hotlarious”- when something is hot and funny. Just funny, just hot, or neither.

“Who are we making jealous?”- A quote from Drive Me Crazy. Works in any type of situation.

“Whatev, I’m over it.”- our mantra for the first half of the semester. Luckily, one of our first weeks at church we picked up this gem. A girl spoke about how saying this to herself has helped her get through many a trial. We of course say in the most obnoxious voices as possible.

Our newest phrase “Stay HOT.” Heard this used in all seriousness after church last Sunday. Use in parting.
Ex:
Person 1: Bye!
Person 2: Stay hot.

2. Ronald Weasley. Red hair and British? Puhlease.

3. Maddy’s BFA senior show. See it in person if you can. Outdoors, indoors. So SO entrancing. Maybe, I just so happened to be lucky enough to be in one of the photos.

We're so excited. Monica's from Kari, Amy's from

Harper, mine from Amy and Kari's from me.

I promise we didn't cheat!

From Amy Doll to yours truly. Ain't I lucky?

(Don't worry. That word has never really been spoken by these lips. I just felt it fit.)

I am lusting after Amy's penmanship skillz.

4. Mixtapes (CDs). My sister would come home at the end of every semester with 5+ mixtapes from 5+ boys. I reaped the rewards in the end as she would graciously hand many of the CDs off to me. I thought this was what college would be like. Boys falling in love with me and giving me mixtapes to express said love. Never happened. I subsequently started a mixtape club (CDC if you will) with one boy and one girl from high school. It continued for a little while but quickly fizzled out.

Yesterday for Tuesday Fest (the celebration of Tuesdays) we held a secret swap (you couldn’t tell who you had and therefore didn’t know who had you) with 15 of our friends. It turned out splendidly. I was lucky enough to be drawn by the one and only Amy Doll. Really one of my favorite Tuesday Fest activities EVER.

Squished scanner hands, but you get the idea.

5. White nail polish. This happened last summer. I all but begged Amy to adorn it (not that she wasn't more than willing) before heading to SLC last Thursday. Cute little “why can’t I be more like her” Jenny Lewis sported it as well. She and Amy were fingernail twins. I started craving white nail polish after a few too many viewings of Lynn (played by Helen Hunt) wearing it in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I was blessed enough to have a sister who bought some OPI polish in “Alpine Snow” in order to do French manicures but decided she didn’t like it. The nail polish then came into (and onto) my hands. Don’t you love it when people buy something you love and they find out they hate so they pawn it off on you? To go along with this heat I am really feeling the need for some “Alpine Snow” in my life. Amy, hopefully you don’t mind being triplets.

P.S. Jenny Lewis was in Troop Beverly Hills? It’s an all time family fave. Also Monica got some pretty deec footage of Bon Iver (as I begin watching I am thinking to myself, ugh I wish everyone would have quit talking so much and then there I am chatting away…eek.) as well as a little video of the after party (Denny’s) including our very own Andrew Mayfield saying and I quote “How is things” in a very rugged voice (can voices be rugged?). HERE. Scroll down a ways. You might as well read the entire post while you’re at it. She’s groovy.

Amanda Leigh

2009-07-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Amanda's 11th birthday party. Theme: Beanie Babies.

That's her in the front and me with the pig tails.

Us with said boy. Or as Zachary Paul knows him as, "6'4'' dreamboat".

I love love.

Why? Because…She is exactly seven days older than me. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say she’s a huge music buff these days, she introduced me to Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, and The Faint when we were 15. She remembers conversations word for word. I’ve never made up more dance or synchronized swimming routines with any other person. When we had a slight falling out for the first half of 7th grade she wrote me a note asking if I would consent to being her best friend again. We fought over the same boy once and realized a. how dumb we were being and b. how dumb he was so we c. thought we were really cool and tp'ed his car. We made it a goal to eat at every ice cream related place in San Antonio and its surrounding areas. She says her “wh”’s a lot like Rod Kimble. She is a southern girl through and through. She asked me to be her maid of honor “someday” when we were 17 and this is a big deal (see previous). She’s found the love of her life and I think they are a perfect match. Despite the odds (2 moves and going off to college) we’ve been best friends for almost 11 years. She’s been there through it all. Really. B.F.I.T.

Pascal

2009-07-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

“Tokens"
Every person has his or her little aspirational markers of success. You might say "I want to be wealthy enough to X" or "I’ll have made it when I can do Y whenever I want."

My mom’s token of financial security is to keep several cartons of ice cream in the freezer at all times. Not for eating, necessarily, but because they symbolize abundance to her.

My token is to one day have enough good-quality clothes to be able to choose exactly what I want to wear based not on weather, circumstance or durability but on style. I want to have many possible items to wear instead of two on a given day. (This is just a token.)
-Magic Molly

I’m not sure if this follows her definition, but my token is art. This possibly sounds a little pretentious but please don’t take it as thus. I’m not meaning this in the sense of creating it, but more along the lines that someday I’ll be financially stable enough to display original pieces of artwork on my walls (Not famous masterpieces or works by masters, but just artwork I like and maybe some from my “are so talented that they will be famous someday” friends?) and be able to visit all of the museums/ monumental edifices I would like.

In every material sense of the word as possible, what is your “token” of success?

Winsome Wednesday III

2009-07-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

1. Beautiful swimsuit from Anthropologie. Where else?

2. I’ve had my eye on this shirt for about a year now. Isn’t it ideal?

3. These bouquets. And the rest of this wedding. I know…weddings? I am such a girl.

4. This home is lovely. Anyone who knows me knows it’s my dream to buy an old house and fix it up. This dream is one of the main supporting reasons leaning me towards this graduate program in this little town (it’ll still be a few years before I get there of course).

5. Artist Kate O’Connor’s embroidery.

P.S. Reading through this guide to SLC, I recognized or have been to many of the places, but there were still just as many or more I hadn’t heard of. I think it’s a very well put together guide to our precious Salt Lake.

Lindsi (almost named Syndey) Bristow

2009-07-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Cutest bike with a banana seat. How did she find such a gem at D.I.?

Luckily she is little enough to ride a kids bike.

Lindsi and her old roommate Sam (she's from Georgia and sure is sweet) on Halloween.

Lindsi and my left half (better half?) at Eisley a few years ago.

I don’t know if I’ve been able to be myself more than with Lindsi Bristow. She used to go to school here and even though she may not have thought so, she is probably the coolest person I’ve known while at BYUI. She let me be my crazy, analytical, obsessive self and is the only person I’ve ever felt completely comfortable crying in front of. Being the true BFF she is, in my craziness she once pretended to purchase a certain home item from a certain home store in order to talk to a boy I had a crush on. TMI? I bet you didn’t know I was that much of a creep. Luckily this was 3 years + ago, so it no longer embarrasses me.

Her favorite bands are NFG and Journey, she dreams big like I do, loves Rocky more than any girl (and most boys. Maybe she has a life-sized cardboard cut out.) I know, is a scrapbook fanatic, will sing early Brand New with you, and loves the BSC. "It's Scientific." She is so boss. Lindsi Bristow, I miss you.

A Matter of Perspective

2009-07-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Curses of my life:
1. My almost photographic memory.
2. I’m not hip but I like hip boys.
3. I can’t cut straight (this means I might ruin your hair).
4. Caring too much.
5. Sugar.

Blessings of my life:
1. My almost photographic memory.
2. I’m not hip but I like hip boys.
3. I can’t cut straight (this means no one (*cough* Harper *cough*) will let me ruin their hair).
4. Caring too much.
5. Sugar.

P.S. Over the past week: Summer rain that actually feels like summer (It was hot outside but the rain was cold), the start or even glimpse of a tan line (I’ll take what I can get), the entire time I am watching Star Trek I am thinking to myself “that is the most marvelous shade of olive,” T-minus 10 days, beautiful scar line (Really. I like how scars can be a roadmap of where you’ve been), being mistaken for being European, “haha” game fireworks (made it so much more comfortable), seeing true chivalry thanks to Ford and Chandler, donating a summer mix tape (still working on this Monica) and lemon bars for our ward service auction, and last but not least Kari returning home (we missed her so!).

My life is a dream come true (Don’t worry Harper. Not that dream…).

See I wasn't lying. I used to be tan.

You can thank my mother and

grandmother for this photo.

Winsome Wednesday II

2009-07-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

1. Flats/ studio apartments. Especially in swell places like NYC. I like the challenge of making a small space look good (not that I try much at school. I end up moving every semester anyway). I like the idea of having to make every inch useful and beautiful at the same time. Look at this apartment.

2. Beards. Duh.

3. Via Amy via "I can read." I waste time here. Since when have I not liked things that are cheesy and lovey dovey?

4. Fortunes/ fortune cookies. I received one of my all time faves last summer.

5. Please look at this. Really. It’s the sweetest. I would probably make this for a girl friend before I would ever make it for a boy/ husband. Boys just don’t get stuff like this (Sorry for the blanket statement. Marion I know you hate such statements, but I’m sticking by it. Maybe if I was Kirsten Dunst and in love with Orlando Bloom then I would feel differently – that’s a little shout out to Katherine).

Donavan Scott Shipley

2009-07-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

"The Shipment" is a play on their last name - Shipley.

Just like his father. Soon he will start wearing tall tees.

Isn't this dear?

Born April 10th, this little cutie is my newest nephew. He just so happens to have some pretty hip parents (my sister Kiana and brother-in-law Scott). I haven’t seen him since he was a week old. I can’t wait to get home and give him a little squeeze. See more photos here.

Forever NOT in blue jeans

2009-06-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wore jeans. I am always surprised by the reaction I get when I wear them. The last couple of times I have worn them, I have gotten questions like “Leah, why don’t you wear jeans more often?” or even something as simple as “Leah…are you wearing jeans?” For some reason I have a tough time imagining normal people get met with this much shock when they adorn them.

I was wearing a pair of Kari’s (since I don’t own too many myself) and because of the way I cuffed them Harper and Tori even went so far as to say I looked like I was a girl straight out of the 60s. Why don’t I wear jeans on a normal basis in a normal way (I have no problem wearing skinnies under a dress (but don’t worry I try to make sure it’s in a non-disney channel sort of way as possible))? The truth is, they scare me. Shopping for them is a nightmare and even more chilling is actually walking out the door in them. When I told Harper I don’t feel comfortable in them after the whole 60s comment she said “why because they actually show that you have curves?” Maybe this is the reason. I just can’t seem to come to terms with the idea that I have hips. I don’t know why. It’s not like I haven’t had them for a while or like they will be going away anytime soon.

I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best to work on wearing them more often. Who knows…maybe someday I will wear them often enough that you might actually be surprised to find me in a dress.

These are worth

2009-06-29T19:51:00.001-07:00

...and not worth the second post; the best and worst thing that have ever happened to me;

my savior and my demise; my new best friend and oldest enemy; my one true love and unrequited lover.

And I thought people were complicated:

UPDATE: In case you still aren't convinced...I purchased these cookies around 8pm this evening and they were all gone by 11pm. Everyone is in a complete frenzy over these cookies. We just headed to Broulim's where two more purchases of said cookies were made - even one by the Ford Wanwaring Erickson. So as the great LeVar Burton would say, "you don't have to take my word for it". Seriously. Go buy some. But beware.

Combinations

2009-06-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Is it that obvious? Kari and I rode our bikes to Walmart for the second night in a row on Saturday evening. She got hit on twice. Well, really Amy’s bike got hit on (not to say Kari’s not totally gorgeous because she obviously is). The first time was on the corner across the street from Arby’s. These boys told Kari they really liked her bike (Amy’s) and that we should all hang out sometime. They were gross (aka bros). Being the sass that I can be when talking to such boys, I blew them a kiss as they drove off. Next was in the Walmart parking lot when we were getting back on our bikes to leave. The whole purpose of our trip was for Kari to get batteries for her camera. So, when we got outside she pulled it out to give it a try. A car with two boys in it pulled up next to us. Our conversation went as follows:

Bro 1: Do you want us to take your picture?
Kari: No thanks, I think we’ve got it.
Bro 2: Well, don’t you want one together?
Me: No, we’re ok.
Bro1: My buddy here is a professional photographer. He takes photos at parties.
Me: Oh cool, well all of our roommates are photographers so we can always ask them if we want to.
Bro 2: Are you guys riding a tandem bike or something?
Kari: Uh…no we have two bikes.
Bro 1: (To Kari) Your bike is really cool. I like your organic basket (it’s wicker). I only wear 100% natural cotton t-shirts.
Me: I hate the environment.

Then they drove off. On our ride home Kari and I tried to figure it out. These “bros” all thought they were sooo funny talking to “girls like us”. But how could they tell we were “girls like us” and not the typical Ridge/ BYU-I girls especially when it was so dark outside? I felt I was wearing one of my most normal outfits. One of my less exciting shorter dresses paired with long shorts. Kari was wearing cut off jean shorts and my Eisley tee. Pretty average summer attire, no? That’s when Kari came up with the idea that it must be the “combination” of the two of us together and being on bikes when little did they know we both own cars. So of course I replied in the only way I could. I burst into song…“combinations all around us.”

I Love Scars

2009-06-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Coeur de Pirate Comme des enfants from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

I know I tend to exaggerate. A lot. But I think my heart literally just skipped a beat. I was quite shocked by its loveliness. I guess I acted dramatic enough for Kari to think something was legitimately wrong. This discovery is all thanks to my new friend Monica whose blog I have just been stalking. This video is “a bike ride and picnic on a summer day followed by skipping through wildflowers and finishing off with an old black and white movie in the park” type of heart stop. Well even better really. Just watch and you'll see/hear.
Apparently I can't seem to get enough of French (well really Québecois) songstresses (aka I want to be them), so you may as well look at this video while your at it.

P.S. This happened today:

I received two new soon to be scars! One to hang out with the cute one above my eyebrow and one on my left arm to match its twin on my right arm. Ever since I was a little girl I've periodically gotten these "bumps" (Do not look up pictures. They're gross. Luckily mine have never really looked gross.) and they're really cool. The only way to remove them is by incision. No one's sure why I get so many.

I woke up this morning, took a shower and put on my polka dot headband to make me brave. The dermatologist explained to me that it was NBD and would be a quick surgery and why not also take out the one that's been on my arm for 5+ years? I turned on Sufjan so I would be calm. The numbing shot was the only part that really hurt. I was sure to close my eyes for the duration. Five songs, and five stitches (2 on my forehead, 3 on my arm) later and it's a brand new me.

Kari's really excited for me too!

Winsome Wednesdays

2009-06-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things I love. One of those things being Wednesdays (it’s still early enough in the week for me to get the things I have been putting off done, but late enough in the week that I can almost taste the weekend). Every Wednesday from this day forward (Okay, until I get bored of doing it or chance to forget to post) I will post things I find to be particularly winsome or delightful.

1. Fake glasses. Even though I blogged previously about my vision getting worse, it's still pretty great. Those of you who wear glasses for bona fide reasons please understand. Really I am just jealous.

2. TLC Kashi granola bars (and basically anything else Kashi). They have sucked me in. Yes they are hip, yes they are expensive, but they taste so good! Plus I feel like I am actually eating something of substance when I am running late (which you know is just about every day) and therefore don’t have time to eat a real breakfast.

3. Notes. I love writing them and leaving them in unexpected places for unexpected people. Kari "re-found" this in her backpack today. I guess I left it in her room one night in the fall when she was off at the library. Be warned I have a tendency to sound a little odd (e.g. creepy but I am trying to limit my use of this word) in my notes but I promise I’m a normal person.

4. Black licorice. This has always been a road trip staple in my family. Half the excitement of the trip was the treats.

5. Cereal topped with fresh strawberries and bananas. This is one of my all time faves. I don’t feel there is anything else I need to say on this subject.

P.S. I have also decided to feature one of my favorite people every Wednesday as well (see below). You may or may not know them, but either way just know they are probably pretty remarkable. I feel extremely lucky to have these people in my life. Also, next time I will try not have so many of my favorite things be food related...

Malia Sadowski Austen

2009-06-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Fort Kamehameha, Hawaii

Scofield Reservoir, Utah
Please note we were already starting to share clothes at this age
(I am wearing her same shirt in the previous photo). And yes, I am
gutting a fish in this picture. That's my dad in the straw hat.

She might hate me for posting this one, but I think she is SO adorable.

Chris and Malia Austen.
How's that for a last name? Talk about a dream come true.
Luckily I think he's pretty great too.

My lovely cousin who is 2 years my senior. Growing up we didn’t get to see each other very often (with my family living so far away the majority of the time), but whenever we did, there was no separating us. When I attended BYU in the fall of 2006 we were attached at the hip. This girl is a true beauty, ¼ Hawaiian, hairdresser extraordinaire (she’s the one to thank for my various styles and asymmetrical lengths over the past few years), real fashionista, has an phenomenal vernacular of made up words, is a soon to be supermom and a world class best friend. I love this girl.

Beautiful Faces and Loud Empty Places

2009-06-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

I used to get this:

Then I started getting this:

Now this? My sister-in-law’s 8 year-old niece:
“You look like Taylor Swift.”
“Really?”
You are Taylor Swift.”
“No I’m not.”
“Yes you are.”
“Nope.”
“Well then you’re her twin!”

I’m pretty sure my eyes are twice as large (little boy sitting next to me in the airport: “Dad why are her eyes so huge?” in reference to me) and she doesn’t have red hair. Must be the new bangs and the style I was sporting. Funny thing is Harper had told me earlier that day I looked a little like her...Odd, no? Well, I can’t say I mind the comparison if it means dating someone like this:

P.S. Are you considered a pathological liar if you lie to yourself to make yourself feel better or in hopes of making the lie come true (Don’t experts suggest we do this?)? Or even if you lie while really honest to goodness thinking it’s the truth but realize a few minutes (hours, days, what have you) later you've probably uttered the biggest lie you’ve ever told? The whole thing with pathologically lying is that you are doing it to benefit yourself regardless of other people’s feelings, right?

Also, does anyone else think it’s strange that if you look at the root words of “thesaurus” you essentially get “lizard god”?

One more thing of note. I had a dream the other night I was chatting it up in French with Karl Lagerfeld (head designer for Chanel). We were basically best friends. I wouldn’t mind too terribly if this happened in real life.

Archipelago

2009-06-19T23:55:00.000-07:00

You know how people say everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten? Well I believe a variation of this idea. I think some of the preferences and likes/dislikes I have are due to experiences I had as a child.

Exibit A:

I love Asians. Sometimes I really wish I were Asian. Probably only Christian Siriano, Ashley Cook, and Lindsi Bristow understand this fully. I believe this affinity for Asians and their culture is due to the fact that we moved to Japan when I was 6 months old. Some of the first people I knew and associated with were Asian. Hence the obsession. Since the closest I'll ever get to being Asian is having Harper as a best friend let's move on to...

Exibit B:

I love red hair. Ariel has red hair. My sisters all colored their hair various shades of red when I was 7. When I was in 4th grade my best friend Katie had red hair. Also in 4th grade, my red-headed neighbor William Gallagher and I sat on the bus together on our way home from school. One day we wrote on a piece of paper 3 people we each had a crush on in our school class. We both included each other on our lists. I guess you could say he was my first love. I have always wanted red hair. I figured why not try it out while on my way back to my natural color?

Q&A

2009-06-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

I think it could be really fun if everyone answered these. I tried to come up with questions you might not normally get asked in this sort of thing. So maybe y'all could answer in the comments section or you're welcome to act like you've been "tagged" and post the answers on your blogs. Also, it could be neat if you posted some original questions on your blogs and then we can answer them and all get to know each other a little better. That would be swell.

1. What's your favorite non-food/ supporting food (e.g. ice cream cones (the cone itself), whipped cream, marshmallow creme)?
Rainbow chip icing plain. No cupcakes involved.

2. Favorite book pre-high school?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

3. Whose handwriting do you envy?
Harper's and Christina's cursive. Stephen Lagutchik circa 2005.

4. What does your blog title mean/ where did it come from?
My friend Lindsi and I used to like making up band names. "The New Nostalgics" was one I came up with. Plus I think the phrase describes me pretty well.

5. Favorite chore (or least hated):
Laundry. I love everything about it: pre-sorting, post-sorting/ folding, the smell, the warmth, and having lots of clothes in my drawers and closet to choose from.

6. What's your favorite kind of chip (baking and dipping)?
A. peanut butter B. Poore Brothers salt and vinegar chips

7. Favorite animal (mythological and real)?
A. unicorn B. zebra

Now it's your turn!

How you get so fly?

2009-06-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up with “suga suga how you get so fly” in my head (I know…but thanks to good old Rexburg I heard it on the radio yesterday), had a therapy session with a clown (what I needed to hear, but not what I wanted to hear), ate cupcakes with rainbow chip icing, and watched Kit Kittredge (see Kari’s post). In other words, today was a pretty typical Saturday.

This has been the summer of singing for Kari and me. Yesterday we went on a lengthy bike ride with Boston and Katherine and sang many great hits including “Lucky” by B. Spears, “C’est la Vie” by B*Witched, “Honey Honey” by ABBA and “Head Over Feet” by Alanis Morissette. We spend a lot of time in our room with Kari strumming tunes on her guitar as she and I both sing along. We just finished singing Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me” and like singing a Cranberries song or two now and again. We enjoy singing Dixie Chicks a little too much (Please forgive us! What can I say? We both got introduced to their catchy lyrics around the 4th grade – I lived in Texas and she had a best friend from Oklahoma – these types of songs never leave you). Our favorites to sing however are probably Eisley (or songs from Josie and the Pussycats...I mean what?). Now you know what we do when we sneak off to our room when you are all sitting in our living room. We just love to sing!

Eisley - New Music - More Music Videos

Not any time soon, but some day I WILL have my hair cut like Sherri's in this video.

Vegbos Say the Darndest Things

2009-06-09T23:35:00.001-07:00

"I am so emotional that I have no emotions." and a few minutes later "I want to take a bubble bath." - Kari Nicole Patterson

"Curse my life! I just ate my body weight in Reese's Puff cereal."- Harper Anne Casimiro

"Double Date! Double Date!" - Tori Lynn and Amy Doll

"We're not doing much talking...if you know what I mean?"- Christina Matekel

P.S. Don't worry if you don't understand any of this. Just know that we're really funny.

Friday I'm in Love

2009-06-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you schedule no Friday classes for yourself:

You wake around 12pm and peek your head over the edge of your bed (Yes, you have bunk beds. Jealous?) to find your bff/ partner in crime/ girl Friday/ Kari Nicole typing away on her English paper. You head towards the living room to find company is already over but you don’t mind because some of your other roommates are still in pjs and are watching cartoons. You make your way into the kitchen where you pour yourself a bowl of cereal over which you begin to cut up fresh bananas and strawberries (your favorite) only to find a large wasp crawling up the window pane (you are deathly afraid because you’ve never been stung). The company that is over happens to be a boy so in order to save yourself and your roommates you challenge his manliness by asking him to take care of it. Not to let you girls down, he takes care of the pest quickly.

Bff finishes her paper and comes out so you decide to watch the redbox you’ve rented last night (New in Town. Yes it was as dumb as it looks). After that’s over you, bff, Amy, and Katherine decide it’s a good idea to bake cookies and watch another movie. Because you need butter, baking soda and eggs, you and bff head to the store in your pjs with no make up on or even bothering to brush your hair. When walking in you run into Kat and Vicks who have just baked banana bread and are renting a redbox. Apparently it is a movie/ treat day. 4 cookies, “don’t pull a mental dad,” catholic school uniforms, neon spandex, and a dance off later (the girls fell equally in love with Girls Just Want to Have Fun) it’s 6:15 and you haven’t even thought about getting ready for the day. Brady makes you feel better by telling you your hair looks nice – bed head and all.

With some friends you eat at a little dive in St. Anthony for Marion’s birthday where the service is terrible, partially due to the fact that once you arrive there is a freak rainstorm (A legit one. Good job for once Idaho.) causing the electricity to go out not once but three times. You ride back to Rexburg with Tom, Katherine and Amy. You discuss Marion's last blog post about "bratz" the whole way back.

You all head back to Marion’s for cake; which you decide to skip out early on for fear of getting even more sick (everyone felt pretty queasy after dinner) plus you and bff want to watch Drive Me Crazy because you have been quoting it all night (“Who are we making jealous?”). You arrive home to find your Asian roommate Harper with blonde hair and that Zach has brought over doughnuts for National Doughnut Day. You make the wrong choice and decide to eat one even though it doesn’t taste very good.

The other girls arrive home and you all start watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Tori's pick of course). No, this isn’t a joke. This is your fourth movie of the day. Everyone gets tired and decide to turn it off so you turn to your computer. Bff and all the other roommates head off to bed. Two hours later it’s almost 3am and you decide it’s really time for bed. You find bff is still awake after all, sitting in bed typing away. You can’t help but laugh to yourself thinking things are right back to where they started that morning.

I just love Fridays. Hopefully today will be more productive. I have at least two appointments scheduled- sewing with Kat and the possibility of a doubles match. I just hope it doesn’t rain. There is also a 90s party tonight in which Harper got us all invited. She says it’s a “bro party” so we’ll have to see how legit it is (are they going to play proper music and is everyone really going to dress up?). Kari and I are off to D.I. where I am hoping to find the perfect floral dress and she will be looking for a good pair of mock Dr.Martens. Wish us luck!

May I admire you again today?

2009-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is the best thing I’ve seen all week. Thanks Ryan for sharing.

It almost compares to the 80s style birthday surprise my friends gave me last week. Kari and I heard a little knock on our window (which is quite large by the way) and we pulled up the blinds to find 15 or so of our friends standing below holding a cake alight with bright pink candles, and singing happy birthday. Harper said she was going for an 80s style surprise. She knows me too well. 80s movies (Girls Just Want to Have Fun was watched at least once a week in my home growing up- Lindsi, you know exactly what I am talking about!) are by far my favorite. I have the keenest friends.

P.S. Dear Zooey,
Stop being so adorable. You are making the rest of us look pretty pathetic.
XOXO,
Jealousy

Benjamin Franklin

2009-05-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Year 20 was an eventful one. It started off in the humblest of ways. I always thought of 20 as more of a filler year. Boy was I wrong as it turned out to be quite lively. I took on many different faces in my 20th year of life. I was:

Mary Poppins

Tori Lynn Dickson
Goldilocks

Harper Casimiro
Marie Antoinette

Maddy Lucas
Alice

Harper Casimiro

Florence Owens Thompson (disclaimer: Harper asked me 15 minutes before I left for class (mind you I still had 10 minutes worth of getting ready to do) if she could quickly photograph me for a project. This is not me posing. I guess it was either really sunny or I was really grumpy.)

Tori Lynn Dickson

Loved

Let's just pretend the "Hated" never happened.

Techincally it was a week or two before I turned

20 anyway.

Harper Casimiro
And then loved again.

Here’s to another year of just being me.

Sentimental Heart

2009-05-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was considerably sweet. Literally. By the time 7:30pm rolled around I had only eaten banana bread (So choice. Thanks Kari!) and Oreo cookies (Never disappoint me. Thanks Amy!). Y’all (I like to pretend I’m from the south sometimes. I also like to claim the east coast. Basically I’m a hodgepodge of the places I’ve lived, so I like to claim the best parts of everywhere when I can.) know this is pretty normal for me. I don’t seem to get around to eating regular food until after 7pm or so.

Anyway, back to the sweetest part of all. I found this pearl of a record player at D.I. yesterday.

shiny knobs housed in my favorite colors

through rows of mermaid entwined shrubbery

After realizing my last record player had no chance of being revived, I have been on the lookout for a “new” one ever since. I’ve been dreaming of a little French Teppaz, but I know they are pretty impossible to come by especially on my budget. This little guy may be bulkier than what I was imagining but he is sturdy, dependable, portable and ready to please! Isn’t he the cutest? I can’t wait for the dance parties, sing alongs and late night rendezvous we’ll share.

P.S. Over the next 4 weeks (the amount of time it’ll take for my roots to become unbearable again) I am going to decide whether or not to go back to my naturalish color (light brown). I am considering this for a number of reasons/ possibilities. I used to look like this:

Heartaches

2009-05-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

My heart aches over these things:

Erin Rhyne is first class. This girl is the sweetest and oh my is she inspired. Her new shop ZOAA is up and running, full of hairpieces that are definitely worth yearning for. Many of you know her, but for those of you that don’t just know that she is the type of girl that would love to have a tea party with you and can pull off red lipstick better than anyone I know. She is refined in all the best ways while managing to stay down to earth and genuinely modest despite her marvelous talents and dream hair that everyone is envious of. I love this girl!

Being the star-gazer that I am, I love any excuse to make a wish. These postcards by threefold are especially endearing.

No matter how many times I watch this commercial by freelance director Cole Webley, it doesn’t get any less wonderful or winsome.

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." -Victor Frankl

2009-05-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Gratitudes:

I can’t remember what I am wearing these days.
Usually I am pretty good at keeping a mental
catalog so I at least don’t wear the same outfit
twice in one week. I have been slipping up a lot
lately. I am grateful for D.I.

photo courtesy of Teen Vogue
My vision is getting worse. A few years ago
I had better than perfect vision. Something
like 20/15. I am grateful for the prospect
of glasses.

photo courtesy of Harper A. Casimiro
I am living with friends for the first time in
my life. Every other semester I’ve lived with
complete strangers (unless you count last
semester where I had met Nadia twice before).
I am grateful for girl talk (no I’m not talking about
Gregg Michael Gillis). With these girls there is
never a dull moment.

I am here. He is there. I am grateful for
the postman.

jewelry box courtesy of Kari N. Patterson
I am a girl that loves a good rainstorm, but the
timing of the storms in Rexburg has been so
unfortunate as of late. I am grateful for the state
I now call home. I purchased this little charm in
the shape of Arizona at a craft fair this past weekend.

Pay it Forward

2009-04-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually that into blog chains or whatever you want to call things like this, but I think this could be neat. My sister had it on her blog but I wasn't going to sign up to get a gift from her because come’ on, she does enough for me already! I patiently waited over a week for 3 people to sign up and only one person did. I couldn't take it any more so I went ahead and commented. Besides I really wanted to continue the game by posting it on my blog. So here goes:

How it works: The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a gift from ME. What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise. The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO! Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions). Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift.

P.S. Can't wait to see you all! Arizona has been first-class but I have been dreaming of what this summer holds in store for quite a while now. Also, I have a new baby nephew named Donovan. He is a darling little boy.

Because Zach and Tom said so

2009-03-31T22:58:00.000-07:00

At DQ tonight after having a discussion about truffles (no there were not mushrooms in your blizzard Zach) Tom and Zach informed me that today is blogging day and I must blog. I am keeping this short for Tom's sake. Hopefully it won't take more than a day for you to read this. Recent discoveries:
1. Ford and Myke have almost the same exact food preferences.
2. Besides Zach not liking peanut butter cookies (I know?!) we have almost the same exact food preferences.
3. I have a lot of dreams with celebrities in them (last night it was Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway).
4. I love sugar (ok this is not anywhere near a new discovery).
5. Next semester I am going to miss Darcie's ghetto fabulousness, listening to guilty pleasure music artists with Nadia, speaking with Erin in a British accent (Really, it's to the point that it is automatic. Whenever I speak to her it is always as if we are transported into a Jane Austen novel.), and Erica having no shame in discussing things that she probably should have shame in discussing.
6. This is getting too long for Tom. Go ahead and take a little breather.
7. I am so very excited for this summer and decorating my new room in my new house with the one and only Kari Nicole.
8. I am glad my parents retired in Arizona (This one has been a long time coming. I am learning to love it if only because I am really over the weather we have been having in Rexburg).
9. My life is pretty sound right now. Although I do at times, I really have no reason to complain.
10. Tom, if you made it through this whole list in one sitting give yourself a pat on the back.

Silly Me

2009-03-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little silly as #1 it is now halfway through March and has been almost 4 weeks since valentine’s day and #2 as a general rule I hate valentine’s day (if only because I feel it creates situations of contrived love rather than honest to goodness love full of sincere sentiments), but embarrassingly enough I had been planning this valentine’s inspired post a week or two before February 14th to be posted on said date. As I was in Seattle and busy playing with trolls, feeding ducks, reacquainting myself with much missed friends and eating some of the best Greek food I have ever tasted, I am just getting around to this. Please humor me as this post is extremely girly and childish and all those lovely things I can’t seem to push from my brain as I am trying to grow older and become more practical and quit buying dainty little aprons from the 20s and stop spending so much time dreaming of living in a different decade. Anyway, here are a few things I find to be particularly dreamy and quixotic.

I dare you to look at more of Rob Ryan’s paper cutouts. I will be very surprised if your heart doesn’t skip a beat. They are all so lovingly and painstakingly crafted. If you can believe it he even created this dress for Vogue UK. Oh so neat.

Postcrossing's tag line is “send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” I haven't signed up yet, but plan on doing so very soon. There are 88,132 members in 191 countries. There's something very charming and romantic about sending and receiving postcards from a complete stranger.

Photographer Josh Goleman is magic.

Assignment 16: Make a paper replica of your bed. Learning to Love You More is a project started by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. A good friend once told me I reminded him of Miranda (in the way that I think about things). What a lovely compliment-one I’m not sure I really deserved. I can’t say I agree with all of her political/social/views/values, but what I can say is that if everyone had a heart like hers, this world would be a much kinder one. If you are interested at all in “Learning to Love You More” it’s worth it to watch this video where she talks about how it all got started.

I am such a sucker for anything even vaguely picnic/bicycle related.

First Love is a fairly new blog and I don’t think it’s really amazing just yet. However, I feel it has a lot of potential and I love the concept behind it.

I think this is such a neat idea. During the Fall ‘07 semester my friend Lindsi and I wrote a “choose your own adventure” story we planned on painting on the sidewalks of Rexburg. I even have 100 or so flyers in the glove box of my car telling everyone to go check it out before it got washed away (we were going to use sidewalk chalk paint). Of course it is a love story.

This music video is a few years old, but it never ceases to make
me smile on a particularly dreary day.

I blogged about this before, but it’s worth a second post. Cassette From My Ex is an archive of mixed tapes from or for past lovers. Individuals send in the tapes along with the stories behind them, and lists of the tracks (yes sides A and B) that can then be seen and heard on the website (they pull the songs directly from the cassettes so they have a certain messiness to them rather than uploading mp3s). It makes me wish I would have grown up more in the cassette era and less the CD one.

"The pink sheep of the family"

2009-01-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm trying not to post about things like this because I know it's not as interesting to everyone else as it is to me, but in this case I cannot seem to help myself. How have I not heard about this?! Alexander McQueen for Target (well actually McQ Alexander McQueen to be exact, but still either way it's him right?). As a designer, his clothes are as dreamy as it gets. His use of lace confounds me (in a good way). Things are going to be a little different for this special collection for Target as he's stated Leila Moss of the band the Duke Spirit to be his muse (aka a little less satin and frills and a little more rock n' roll). Although I'm not too familar with her or the band, the idea of this excites me even more. I won't bore you with any more photos (the ones above are all from various collections from the past couple of years). However, if you are interested, some photos of the collection set to be in stores March 1st can be found here.

I can hear the bells

2009-01-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Although this may be as long, I can't say it is as profound as Myke's last post. However, I just couldn't bring myself to leave out any details. And yes, I know this picture of Zac is ridiculous.

It all started when we were leaving church today. One of the girls mentioned how they’ve never had home teachers that actually come every month. I told them how when David Archuleta was my home teacher he always came. Last semester I had a home teacher that looked exactly like him, to the point that I convinced my roommates they were cousins. Of course I was joking, but they believed me anyway. So at mention of his name, Erica and Nadia shared the secret that they both had actually both really wanted to listen to “Crush” by him. We listened to the song at least 4 times in a row when we got home.

Another important fact to note is that I stayed up until 6:20am last night…Over the past few days I have managed to get on a pretty awful sleep schedule. Luckily our church didn’t meet until 12pm, so it wasn’t too bad getting up this morning. I still how ever had an inadequate amount of REM sleep, so try as I might to not take a nap today in hopes to cure myself of this horrible schedule, around 5:15pm I fell asleep. “{}” means comments Erica, Nadia, and I make as I am recounting my dream to them.

This is when it happened. Nadia’s real life dream became a reality in my dream land. Let me remind you that, my brain was already pretty screwy from pre-teen boy pop overload (D.A.) and lack of sleep. Besides the fact that my parents decided to have another baby (I’m 20 and the youngest of seven…so yes it would be very weird), my dream got even crazier. Nadia and I went to a Zac Efron concert together {Erica: Does he have an album? Nadia: No, he says he’s just going to focus on his acting career} and we end up somehow getting in a fight. At the end of the concert, everyone is asked to go out a certain door where Zac will soon be leaving out of. I, along with a few other people follow Zac secretly into this backstage area. After a few people talk to him and are totally lame and star struck I go up to him and give him a hug. It was a really awkward one where my one of my arms ended up feeling kind of jammed. {Me: Yeah he was a little sweaty. Nadia: *Weird sound she makes* Sweaty??!} Anyway I say “well, I have to be honest and tell you I only listened to your music for the first time last night. My friend Nadia converted me and so we decided to come to your show.” I keep talking to him for 15 minutes or so and tell him how we’re kind of embarrassed to be there in the first place because we’re both 20 years old {Nadia: OMG well he’s like 21 so it’s no big deal. Me: I know it could totally be legit (I’m getting really excited by this point especially because Nadia is practically jumping out of her bed as I am telling her)}. So, at the end of it, he takes out this Sharpie (celeb’s always have a sharpie handy for signing things if you didn’t know) and writes something to the effect of “please be there when I play with Transatlantisicm tonight” with me understanding that he means Death Cab for Cutie and offhand mentioning to him how odd it is that Ben G. and Zooey D. are engaged. I also remember him misspelling some words on the bag (it was one of those stretchy cooler bags and had lots of merchandise in it) and being kind of turned off by this. He hands me the bag and I head for the door.

There are now a couple hundred people that have squeezed their way into the room including random people from high school all witnessing Zac and my conversation. I forgot to mention that as I left I gave him another hug, which was much better than the first. I push my way out and find Nadia standing near Lynzie Glaus (Yeah, I know. This dream is really weird.) who is crying? Like crying because you’re so in love with a teen sensation type of crying. Nadia tells me how I just missed him walk out and then I’m all “NBD, but I just talked with him for like 15 minutes face to face!” I remember in my dream wondering the whole time where Vanessa H. was. “Have they broken up?” was the thought that kept crossing my mind. So we get in the car and I’m so excited to wake up and tell Nadia in real life that I forget to look what’s in the bag he gave us. Huge bummer because I bet there was some cool stuff in there. By now it’s now around 8:00pm. I jump out of bed and run tell Nadia and Erica the whole story. Although it’s embarrassing to say this, I’m pretty sure this is one of the best dreams I’ve had to date.

This time last year

2009-01-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

During winter semester last year I nannied for my sister's three kids (2 boys(M was 6 and N was 2 years old) and 1 girl (K was 4)). It was a pretty crazy experience and made me glad I still have a few years until I'll be a mom, but I miss the kids so much sometimes! They live in San Antonio, so I don't get to see them very often. I found some old notes I wrote to myself about silly things they would say and some of my favorite moments (I'm not putting full names because my sister is kind of anti having information about her kids on the internet):

M wanting some of my gum but feeling he needed to give me an excuse “My breath was kickin’ at school today. Can I have some gum?”

The babies actually getting upset when I suggested we turn off "The Breakfast Club" and go jump on the trampoline (don’t worry I convinced them we should go play outside instead and it was on TBS).

“Wow, you’re REALLY good!” after I made M a paper airplane. He had already made me 2 that he had written secret notes to me in, so I made he and K one with a poem in it about us going to the zoo.

"Leah you're magic." – K after I wound the hanging end of the blinds up out of reach so N would stop pulling on it. Kids seriously give the best compliments.

M skating with his new skates and me trying to follow close behind in case he fell "You can go. I got this."

A few minutes later..."Life is just too hard!" when he couldn't get a rock out of his skate.

K: "Black is the best color! It's CRAZY."

K again: "You are a girl because you like pink."

Whenever Kylie would cry even if she was being a brat or was crying because she was in trouble, N would give her a hug.

K: "God knows everything, so does Jesus...but not baby, the big one."

Let me also add that these are probably some of the hippest kids you'll never meet. Whenever I would bring them over to their dad's office (he owns his own graphic/ web design company) I would eat fudgsicles while they would take turn riding a longboard in the parking lot (yes, even the 2 year-old although he would go on his knees). M's favorite band is Modest Mouse and his favorite food is sushi with squid.

Play Dates

2008-12-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Moving around as much as I did as a child, and being the shy kid I was, it was always hard for me to initially make friends at school. At church on the other hand, I always had pretty immediate friends. For the times when I did have trouble, I can remember a lot of play dates and Mom arranged friendships happening. Is this why my Mother tried to force me into one today? I guess her mother told mine that she (as in the daughter) was complaining about there being nothing to do on this side of town and just being really bored in general. So my mother told her “Oh Leah says the same thing!” Yes, I do get bored, but I also have realized there’s basically two more weeks until I go back to school and all of my siblings and their little babies will be here Wednesday so it’s nbd. I can handle the boredom for a few more days. On my way out of church today my Mom yells to me “Leah, Leah, wait!” I come back in to face the poor girl, who I can tell is really embarrassed, along with her mother and my mother standing around her. She goes to BYUI too so it was basically "where do you live at school, what track are you on blah blah blah." Only, it was her mother asking me all of these questions and me answering as if the girl was asking me, and the girl just looking really uncomfortable the entire time. At the end of it all I said “Well, I’m sure we have each others numbers in the roster..so yes, we will have to do something.” Mom, I think I am a little old for play dates.

Sherri and Judy

2008-12-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

mom and dad ages 15 and 17

my beautiful mother

my sister Kerstin in Holland

my brother Jared and I

Yesterday I went to Goodwill and came out with two pairs of shoes, two scarves, a lace dress, and a couple of records. I then went to the library and checked out Great Expectations, Little Women, Rebecca and the movie "Funny Face" with Audrey Hepburn. When I got home I asked my dad to help repair my record player. While looking for it in our garage he said "well here's someone's old organ." "Oh that's mine too..." He just laughed and told me I need to move forward...into the present at least. Later my mother told me excitedly (because she knew I would be excited) that she had finally bought a new slide projector. We spent two hours or so looking through slides of my parents as a young couple and others of when our family was young (meaning I wasn't born yet) and traipsing through Europe. The point of me relaying all of this is not to bore or to brag by any means, but to preface a few question. Why buy all this stuff? Why am I so excited by what many consider "junk"? Why this affinity for the old, the antique? Is it because "life was simpler then" or because things were "better quality"? Maybe it's because I like to think there's a story behind the pieces I purchase; that Sherri and Judy, the previous owners of my record player as written in a child's scrawl along the inside cover, would be happy to know someone is still finding joy from the same player they once did? I know many of my friends have the same affinity for this "junk". Why do you invest your time and money in it? I'd really like to know.

P.S. As I have been accepted into the fast grad program, I will be attending BYUI this next winter semester (yes Harper I have prayed about it!). I'll be living with Nadia, etc. at Pineview Place. If you will be in Rexburg during the winter, please plan on being my friend as I am going to need all the ones I can get!

I am such a lucky girl

2008-12-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

This has been such a positive semester for me. I am so grateful for everyone in the "family." Everyone has been so wonderful and sweet to me. If you knew me at all last semester, sorry... You may have thought I was snobby, or boring, or rude (maybe you still do?) but really that's just me being shy! Funny thing is, most of my best friends have hated me at first. Not really sure why this happens! Anyway, I really do love you all. You are the best "friend family" a girl could ask for.

Remembering the Alamo

2008-12-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

It's not set in stone, but I think I am going to spend winter semester in San Antonio. I miss it so much sometimes! For those that don't know, I grew up with my dad in the army. I lived in San Antonio a total of 7 years (with 2 years in Maryland in between). Now that he has retired, my parents have chosen to reside in Arizona. Here are a few of the places I have been missing:

McNay Art Museum. Once a house owned by a lady who had quite the little collection (Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, to Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Sloan, and Marsden Hartley to name a few); in her will she asked for it to be made into a museum. I went here for the first time in 3rd grade and have been back many times since. I have great memories of this place. I'm hoping I can get an internship here. This also happens to be the most popular place in San Antonio for girls to take their quinceanera pictures (these are a big deal).

May sound silly, but Central Market really is the best grocery store in the world. Whenever anyone would come to visit we would take them. I met Tommy Lee Jones here once.

King William's District. The most amazing houses surrounded by excessive amounts of green. Lots of old pecan and cypress trees. I love getting lost in this neighborhood.

Twin Sister's Bakery and Cafe. My mother spent a year trying to recreate their peanut butter granola bars (our recipe ended up being better in my opinion). This place has art work for sale on the walls and brussels sprouts in their sandwiches. Last time I went here, there was an old VW van outside owned by a folk band playing inside whose youngest member had to be at least 45. It's located in a little subdivision called Alamo Heights whose high school Jay Leno once named the snobbiest high school in America.

Don't forget the River Walk. Yes, it is very touristy, but you can find some pretty good texmex down here and you really cannot deny its beauty. This is a picture of my cousin and me when she came to visit my junior year of high school.

Apple Annie's Tea House is about as wonderfully tacky as you can get. Order the queso soup. I love to go here with my girlfriends. It's located in the most perfect location - the Artisan's Alley which just so happens to be home to some of the best antique shops in all of San Antonio.

Sam's Burger Joint. San Antonio has a major lack of good live music. Sam's really tries (although often fails). Luckily Austin is only an hour and a half away. The burgers are great however and they have the best decor (think Hard Rock Cafe, but more original).

Bet you didn't know we have one too. It's called the Tower of America's and was built in 1968 for the World's Fair. A couple of friends and I climbed it (the stairs of course) to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. There was a lady throwing up on one of the platforms on our way up.

My old house on post is probably what I miss most, although now I am only able to admire it from the outside (think 12 foot high ceilings, old maid’s quarters, butler’s parlors, bath tubs with feet and creaky wooden floors).

Just wanted to include these pictures as well. The first is from my 12th birthday (I actually lived in a house down the street from the one pictured above at the time -this was from the first time I lived in San Antonio). The girl in the top row in the very middle attends TCU and has been my best friend since 5th grade. The other picture is from my junior or senior year of high school. A few of my siblings and I are playing hopscotch outside a building on post called the quadrangle. Built in 1876 (and therefore the oldest building on Fort Sam) deer, rabbits, peacocks etc. run around free on the inside and you can feed all of them! Geronimo was housed here (legend has it that he refused to eat army food, and the wild animals were added for him to hunt) after his surrender in 1886.

Really there is so much more (some of the best estate sales by the way) and I cannot wait to visit all the places I’ve been missing. I lived here last winter and bought the most amazing cake stand (you can’t tell but it has a little bunny and flowers on it) a type writer and 5 or so 8-tracks. I didn’t have room to bring everything home with me and so I am very excited to see them again. Anyone that wants to come visit me is more than welcome!

Credence

2008-12-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

"For as long as you can remember, you have been a pleaser, depending on others to give you an identity. You need not look at that only in a negative way. You wanted to give your heart to others, and you did so quickly and easily. But now you are being asked to let go of all these self-made props and trust that God is enough for you. You must stop being a pleaser and reclaim your identity as a free self."
- Henri Nouwen

“The greatness of a craft consists firstly in how it brings comradeship to humanity.”

2008-12-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Very excited for this.

Easy as Pie

2008-11-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

It's around 1am and I just finished making pies! I was assigned to make the pecan ones. If you don't know this already, I love blind taste tests (assuming no one is going to make me eat something gross of course). Once, my brother-in-law and I got 4 or 5 different types of apples at the grocery store to decide which apples were the best and to see if we could tell which ones were which. He won, but I was a pretty close second. Well, I decided to find out which pecan pie recipe is the best (seeing as it is my favorite type of pie) so I used 3 different ones - Martha Stewart (don't worry I didn't add any bourbon), Yankee Magazine (I did add a little imitation rum extract to this one just for fun), and a recipe by someone named Joanne (who swears your pie will only turn out if you use authentic Texas pecans). I did stray slightly from all the recipes by adding more pecans than called for on my mother's advice. Mmm such good smells today! Pies (I also made banana cream and ChanNa made pumpkin) and I do believe Arizona has the best rain smell in the entire world. I think it's because it gets so dry here and rains so infrequently. The whole earth rejoices when it does. In the middle of typing this I could hear the rain getting really loud outside so I had to run out and watch the lightening for a few minutes. I love thunderstorms!
So many little things to be grateful for this year.

Thanksgiving day schedule:
Breakfast with cousins from my dad’s side I’ve never met (this means getting up at 6:30! Eeek.)
Play with niece and nephews (who should actually be arriving shortly)
Pie race!
Thanksgiving dinner with ALLL of the cousins (on my mom’s side)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, you are my favorite!

Dust

2008-11-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

I'm only 20. I forget this a lot. Does foreshadowing occur in real life or just in works of fiction? I hope it does.

Art. Is it worth your life?

2008-11-25T00:02:00.001-07:00

I have studied and read about WWII many times throughout my educational career. However, I have never thought to look at WWII and the Nazi rampage with an art history perspective. This evening I watched a documentary on PBS called "The Rape of Europa." It was really great and I highly recommend watching it if you get the chance. Hitler, at some points, literally traded people’s lives for the artwork they possessed (specifically well-to-do Jewish art collectors). The documentary raises the question of whether or not soldiers' lives should be risked to save historic sites and artwork. There's also mention of how at the age of 18 he was rejected acceptance into an Austrian art academy which just so happened to hold many Jews on its board of admissions. They speculate this may have helped kindle early feelings of anti-Semitism. Anyway, I found this documentary to be very interesting and am glad I stumbled upon it! Also of note; I caught the very end of Jeopardy today and got the final question correct. It really feels great when this happens. And just if you wondered, no I did not watch TV all day! I promise these are the only two things I watched...ok and I did catch the first half of Martha Stewart this morning as well.

You are not dreaming. This is real life.

2008-11-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

"No big deal or anything but Babydisco is the new hip club in Paris.... for children, specifically those aged 3-7. With regular Colette dance classes as well as their own DJ, the club’s hour long sessions are spent parent free and spent dancing their heads off."
Thank you UO blog.

Happy Birthday Russian Vogue

2008-11-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Forget lip gloss, this year for Christmas I am going to design a unique Russian nesting doll for each of my friends. Well...in my dreams.

worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum

2008-11-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little morbid, but this thought has often crossed my mind while driving especially by myself. I think, "if I were to die right now, what would people think about the music I am listening to?" Of course when I imagine this everything is in slow motion and my music just happens to be blasting very loud for all to hear, or my iPod magically stops when I die and is found and analyzed later. I don't mean will they think my music is "cool" or "hip", but I like think those that know me best would be able to decipher how I was feeling in that moment based on what had been playing in my moment of death – people that know what my happy and sad music is.
Also, I read an article today that has convinced me I am an "optimistic fatalist." This essentially means I assume bad things will happen, but I'm hopeful that they will not.
P.S. Wouldn't it be fun to run a pirate radio station? This article teaches you how using an iTrip and your iPod. Watch out Radio Free Roscoe.

Thirty-two and a Third

2008-11-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sweet poem by Jeffrey McDaniel:

The Quiet World

In an effort to get people to look
into each other's eyes more,
and also to appease the mutes,
the government has decided
to allot each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear
without saying hello. In the restaurant
I point at chicken noodle soup.
I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,
proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn't respond,
I know she's used up all her words,
so I slowly whisper I love you
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.

Jeffrey McDaniel

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

Rodarte

Alexander McQueen

Narcisco Rogriguez

Christian Lacroix

“Since everything is in our heads, we had better not lose them.”

2008-10-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late on this, but I would like to share a few of my favorite pieces from the Spring 09' collections. Winter is coming on strong while I'm dreaming of spring!

Monique Lhuillier's collection is whimsical. The fabrics are such delightful shades and look like they would be so comfy. Love.

Nanette Lepore. I assuredly want her perfume for Christmas. It's grannyish but in a good way. The color combination in this outfit is bewitching. I'm giving a presentation on Manet in 19th century art tomorrow and this coat is definitely reminiscent of the impressionists. Braid!

Oh my, Luella Bartley. There's not much else I can say. The hair pieces alone! Smitten.

cute. funny. lovely. silly. neat.

2008-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Yes they mainly do wedding and baby announcements, but there is no question about the originality of the girls at Bird and Banner. Everything they make is so sweet and thoughtful. I recommend their etsy shop as well. They make lovely vintage hankie cards. My favorite card however has to be the "you have my heart" one (of course); although I'd probably just make it myself.

Ya'll know I'm a sucker for anything vintage/ vintage inspired/ dyi/ saving the environment by recycling/ Elizabethan/ neck accessorizing. No, but really some of these are pretty neat.

Let's make one! Robots in disguise.

These are really cute! Doesn't it just make you want to go on a picnic real bad? I believe you know the rest of the daydream H.

TRL is cancelled. If you think this is funny you'll think this is even funnier. If you don't think this is funny, we're probably not friends.

This is silly but a pretty smart idea. "Mail Goggles" is a new application you can enable on your gmail account. By default it's only activated late at night on the weekend. This could potentially help a lot of people.

So neat! Diem Chau carves sculptures out of crayola crayons!

We bear our souls and tell the most appalling secrets.

2008-10-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

Melinda, thank you for educating me about music at a very young age and for surrounding me by cute music playing boys that probably only played with me to impress you. I remember you let me sit down in the basement (we used to always play jump rope down there in the winter) while they played their guitars and wrote goofy songs. When you and Nanci asked me to help you create the answering machine message with Bjork’s “It’s Oh so Quiet,” I knew you were cool then and it made me want to grow up and be cool just like you. Nanci would come over and Mom would adjust her recipes so they were vegan. Nanci gave me a huge coloring set for my birthday when I turned eight. She gave Jared a cool nickname and I was jealous so she called me Ladybug. Jared and I sang at her baptism. I remember lots of band boys crashing at out house (i.e. The Fairlanes when I was nine). You would all skateboard and you would let me sit outside and watch. I remember putting little buns all over one guys head. You taught me shopping at the thrift store was cool and that navy blue corduroys never go out of style. You came to visit and gave me a Mickey Mouse ring watch and pierced my ears for me when I turned 10 (you worked in a piercing shop at the time). Thank you for teaching me to have an opinion and to not care what others think.

Kerstin, thank you for teaching me that if you don’t like how things are going in life, do something about it. You’ve shown me what it looks like to work hard. You’ve shown me what it looks like to be patient. Thank you for educating me on the basics of style and fashion early on; although I probably break most of those rules nowadays ;) Thank you for always letting me borrow your clothes. Thank you for treating Jared and I to the movies (A Goofy Movie) or taking us to lunch when you probably would have rather been out with friends. You always let me tag along and made me feel older. When I came back to visit Texas over the summer after 8th grade I stayed with you at your apartment and you treated me like an adult. Thank you for showing me how to make others feel special and important. You were/are always doing nice things for others and have a huge heart. You’ve always been a really good listener and I’ve always appreciated that. Thank you for doing my hair and makeup for countless school dances. Everyone was always jealous they didn’t have a sister that was as good as you. You always created the best clubs and parties. Thank you for being an amazing example of a good host. Everyone always wants to be invited to your parties!

Kiana and I in Japan

Kiana, thank you for telling me big girls don’t cry. You began telling me that when I was five and we were living in Hawaii. Thanks for standing up for me when I was six and Emily Jewell who was nine wouldn’t let me play with the rest of the group. I can imagine it wasn’t very fun for you sharing a room with your sister that is four years younger than you, but you always at least tried to be patient with me when I would borrow your stuff without asking. Thank you for always comforting me by telling me stories when I would get scared at night. I’m so glad you are the care free happy person you are. To this day I don’t know the difference between the Back Street Boys and Nsync because by your standards they were uncool. The Spice Girls’ lyrics “didn’t make sense” or so I would tell my friends at recess. I did however know all the lyrics to the Jagged Little Pill album. I always looked up to you and was proud to have you as my sister. My friends would come over and want to hang out with you instead of me and I would get really jealous! Thank you for creating various dance routines with me (my favorites having to be the ones we made to “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from The Lion King and “I Feel Good” by James Brown). You’re my favorite person to work out with. Thanks for teaching me to be tough. You even made it into the Jr. Navy Seals (the neighborhood boys only club). Thanks for always making the time to have tea parties with me.

Thank you for being my big sisters. I couldn’t have asked for better ones. I love you.

list to the love of these

2008-10-21T00:32:00.000-07:00

Harper dear and I had a discussion today about lists (her post about resolutions inspired me to create this post as well). I love making them. They make me feel more organized even when I am not. They make me feel more in control when in reality I have a very small amount of control over what happens in my life. I have a folder under "my documents" containing such lists as: names I like, movies to see, books I would like to read, artists to consider and recipes to try out. A few weeks ago I began creating some new lists in a notebook of mine. I made quite a few lists, all of which are rather long, but am going to share two of the shorter and probably less embarrassing ones:

I want to learn how to:
-love
-be a better friend
-make goals and accomplish them
-help others feel love
-be selfless
-be more grateful
-sew without patterns
-knit
-crochet wearable items
-read faster
-snowboard decently
-write in calligraphy
-fluently speak French and 2 other languages
-use my old cameras
-accept things how they are
-NOT accept things how they are

This one is a little silly and may be weird to some, but I like it.
Things my dad does I want him to do:
-always have chapstick
-always have a handkerchief (or something for me to blow my nose in)
-always carry cough drops in his suit pocket
-always be singing/ making up silly songs even when I'm in a bad mood
-always be willing to hold my stuff in his pockets
-always be willing to help his kids with homework no matter how busy he is
-always tell jokes but in the form of serious stories
-always take the time to read to his kids in bed

P.S. I recently read some poetry, journal entries, etc I wrote around this time last year and the year prior. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone - those who were with me then and those that surround me now. And despite what my dreams may tell you, I am doing so very well these days and it is all thanks to you, yes you (to quote G.B., so glad you were all born).

Gwen Goop

2008-10-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

Although only in its infancy, Gwen P's new website GOOP has already amassed a large amount of scrutiny from the blog world. I can't say I love the name, but the overall aesthetic of the site as well as it's general message is rather pleasing to me. Besides I wouldn't mind channeling G. P. any day of the week. She seems to be a really lovely girl.

P.S. Maybe Harry Potter is real?

Comfortable

2008-10-01T23:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot count the number of dandelions I have wished on this semester. Out of habit whenever I see one I promptly pick it, make a wish, and toss the stem aside; often not blowing all the seeds off in one try. I've tried to tell myself it doesn't matter if it takes more than one try to blow them all away, but everyone knows this isn't true. There are set rules for dandelion wish making. Today was different. I was in a thoughtful mood. I took the time to formulate the wish poetically in my mind, took in as big a breath as I could muster and then blew out. All the seeds danced off into the wind. Maybe now my wish will really come true.

And all I could say was, "hello".

2008-09-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the last time I sang in the shower, sent or received a post card, listened to a cassette, played hopscotch, ate a homemade chocolate chip cookie (no shortcuts), watched "Bed Knobs and Broomsticks," have had a nice tan, or been asked to dance.
P.S. Spotted...you know the rest ;) Also, I'm watching "An Affair to Remember" and I know it's destined to be one of my favorites.

It's a First

2008-09-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

First full day in Rexburg (of the semester). First time to the new bookstore. First time wearing this dress. First time going out with my new roommates. First official blind date ever. Fun?

P.S. Love Love Love

boyish/equestrianish/motorcyclistish

mondrianish/60sish/modish

pollockish/primary colors are 123 red yellow and blueish/and still the bootsish

Gratitudes

2008-09-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

My favorite color is shiny is my new favorite blog. Although I don't know her, G. B. seems to be the most sincere and thoughtful person I've come across in a long time. Her mantra is "I love love!" Anyway, each post is a list of gratitudes. I could definitely work on being more gracious! Here are a few things that make me happy:
1. Mom took me to get my hair colored today and paid! It was expensive...I really really appreciated it! My stylist Jessica was a doll and took very good care of me. Mom sat there for the 2 hours or so it took to get it done (my hair is very deceiving! It wants you to believe there is not very much there, but I have A LOT. Just ask anyone who's ever styled/cut/colored it)...thanks again Mom. You're the best. A lady also gave Mom a pedicure for free just because! Mom also bought me the best smelling hair product EVER by a brand called milkshake (made in Italy= neato, makes my hair happy= I'm happy) This is no exaggeration. I love you Mom!
2. I spent the most wonderful weekend (Friday-Monday) with my family at the Bingham's cabin on Mt. Graham. It was a great escape from drab and hot Phoenix. Church was so nice again this year (it was much colder). One family let us borrow two blankets when they saw we didn't bring any. An older gentleman (who used to teach at Saford High where Mom and Dad attended hs) told me I was his "kind of girl" for wearing jean shorts under my dress! You couldn't see them except for when the wind blew my dress up. The first night I barely slept at all because I was up in the loft where there was tons of open space above my head. To my mind this meant lots of places for bugs to hide! Yes, I am deathly afraid of bugs (mainly spiders). The next night everyone shifted around just for me so I could sleep in one of the bedrooms downstairs. I'm grateful for confined spaces! It enabled me to ocdly check all the walls, under the blankets, all the floors, in my sleeping bag for bugs a few times before I went to sleep each night!
3. Cute cute cute Marimekko. I LOVE designer collaborations! Wish I could be here for this!
4. I think this is a really neat idea. I'm glad people are blessed with creative minds :)
5. Camping/ road trip stuff : hot cocoa, tomato soup+grilled cheese, red and black licorice, homemade trail mix, cheese-its, tribond, charades, diagnosis?, battle of the sexes, hearts, canadian fruit salad, oldies music, tunnel breath holding, not monopoly playing, abc game, don't spell a word game, braids, scrabble and Mom and Dad meeting at an Easter picnic and going steady when they were 12 and 14 stories and MORE.
6. School starts next week. I'm nervous. I've signed up for 21 credits. I'm living with people I've never met in a place I've never been inside just like every other semester. But, I'm kind of excited. I have a feeling (at least I'm hoping) this semester will not disappoint me!

Weave, weave the sunlight in your hair

2008-08-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

I've been dreaming of getting a pixie cut for the past two years. My mom says "do it! Everyone thought you looked adorable when I cut all your hair off when you were five!" My reply "Mom, I was five. Everyone is adorable when they're five." Plus I all of the sudden really want to grow my hair long so I can wear Heidi braids around my head and possibly get a hair wrap put in my hair by one of my bffs.

Maybe a little less Mary Jane and a little more auburn in color? Who knows.

I'd possibly do this one with shorty short bangs a la Emily Blunt in "The Jane Austen Book Club." I also wouldn't mind having a pixie in this color.
These are the next 3 haircuts/colors I would like to have. The only problem is I'm really having fun as a blond, and I don't want to color my hair any other color until I am completely finished being blond. Going back to blond after going dark is out of the question. I want my hair to keep loving me, not hate me for being indecisive.

You probably thought I had more upstairs

2008-08-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

Things I am slightly embarrassed about:
1. Yesterday while my mom was checking out at the grocery store I picked up Teen Vogue to quickly skim through. (I often like Teen Vogue more than Vogue a. because it comes in an adorable miniature size, b. they sometimes have fun people on the cover like Ron, Harry, and Hermione, and c. they always have dyi articles.) So while scanning I decided to read my horoscope. All of the sudden I really want to believe in them...mine is so good this month. This feeling has never come over me before. So if you happen to be in line at Basha's/Alby's/Macey's/Smith's/Sprout's/Long's, pick up Teen Vogue (it has V. H. on the cover. Ew. Seriously what does Z see in her?) and thumb over to the horoscopes. I'm a Gemini. You might want to check out your horoscope too because I think they really know what they're talking about this month...at least I'm crossing my fingers they do. Lol.
2. You would think I'd be over model shows by now, but somehow I'm not. I am over Tyra however so although I no longer watch ANTM, I have been watching Germany's Next Top Model...I know. But Heidi is adorable and the girls are so much more gracious. Plus much less drama about growing up in the ghetto and being left by baby daddies. Now if I could only get someone to translate China's Next Top Model for me. Does anyone speak Mandarin? Also, I'm kind of excited about this show http://www.vogue.tv/#Watch/Channel_Guide/8.
3. Besides Sunday for church I can't remember the last time I put on a stitch of makeup. You may be thinking "oh this is ok because you've probably been staying inside a lot. It's hot in AZ." No. I have been going to many many public places dressed like so. I've worn my Eisley shirt 3 out of the last 5 days. Anyone could tell you, I LOVE dressing up but these last few days of nonchalance have been so marvelous.
P.S. If you really wondered, I am not and never have been embarrassed about any of these things. In facts this list should instead be called "reasons why I love being a girl."

Bet You Didn't Know

2008-08-11T17:20:00.001-07:00

The U.S. Air Force owns 3 Ninjas. P.S. I am having mexican french toast for dinner. Reason number 5,348,261 my mom is the best. Oh yeah and reason 5,348,262. She put my hair in a french twist today. I know what your thinking. Aren't I a little old to have my mom doing my hair? My answer is you're probably right.

my mom's cooler than your mom

2008-08-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

My mother makes the best whole wheat bread in the entire world. If you don't believe me ask the dishes! Also, I can prove it to you. Exhibit A: It is late. I should not be eating at this hour. Often when I do choose to eat at such an hour I choose to eat something I come to regret when I wake in the morning with a tummy ache. Tonight is a different story. I am eating a delicious piece of homemade whole wheat toast. It's probably still not a good idea that I am eating this late, but me choosing to have this toast instead of eating another push-up must tell you something!

things aren't how i left them

2008-08-06T23:53:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post includes whining.
Today began at 8:19am when I woke up before my alarm went off in P and C's lovely home in Sandy, Utah. I watched my adorable nephew from about 10am to 5:30pm with C coming home during lunch. This part was all fun and games except for the poor little guy wasn't feeling so well and was a little fussy. My flight home this evening was grand. I got a window seat and entire row to myself seeing as there weren't too many people traveling from Salt Lake to Phoenix around 8pm this evening. Before getting on the flight an old man (in his 70s or so who was there with his cute little wife) bought me and another girl each a bottle of water when he found out our flight was going to be slightly delayed. He even tried to help cheer up a little baby that was crying. It was cute really. It reminded me of that story about President Kimball...anyway on to me complaining.
After being picked up by my brother, etc (I say etc because that's a story in and of itself) we eventually arrived home around 11:30 or so. My parents were still up so they said quick hellos, we said a family prayer and then it was bonne nuit. What happened to staying up and hearing of the thrilling travel adventures and tales of crazy cousins and sordid scandals (ok so really it’s basically did you hear so and so is getting married and so and so is having a baby?)? Since everyone headed off to bed and I hadn't eaten since lunch I was so excited to eat something "mom-made" and catch up on project runway. I decided to go for the never failing “Jared style” nachos and mom-made salsa. This is where everything went truly wrong. #1. chips were stale. #2. salsa was not the original salsa I’ve been eating since I was 8 years old. I think it even included *gasp* cilantro! #3. Come to find out my parents have cancelled cable. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for reading over watching and think most of T.V. is mindless but there is one show I cannot give up. Like I said I'd been waiting for this moment to reunite with Timothy Gunn and before I knew it our chance at true love was shattered. Anyway, looking back my day wasn't so bad after all. I'll get over it, but you know that feeling when you are really looking forward to something? You think everything is going to be just how you imagined it and how it always has been and then one day you wake up and everything has changed! Oh well, the day at least ended on a good note - I found push-ups in the freezer (you know those ones that used to have Flintstones characters on the outside)! This is all thanks to that fact that we have tons of little cousins that come over and now that my mom's become a grandmother (we call her Nani (nawnee). it means beautiful in Hawaiian) she has to keep treats around for them and therefore me! If you haven't eaten a push-up in a while, I highly recommend it.