cuteness overload.

I went to the zoo on my way home today to see the zoo's latest addition. This darling little creature doesn't have a name yet, but she is 11 days old and was put on display yesterday.

 She is tiny and wrinkly and perfect!

 Images Via

as if that wasn't enough my mom showed me this today. I died.

-J.M Bairre (Peter Pan)

Ode to the singles ward..

Two Relief Societies ( Women's organization). One Elder's Quorum ( Men's Organization)

:

Via

Mediocre Expectations

When it comes to my budget student housing, I try to keep my expectations low... like really low. because usually they are... less than ideal.

Last years apartment was a good example of this.. I had been in my fair share of dorms, and I knew as long as I didn't have bugs, I should be counting my lucky stars. It was your basic dorm.. gross white walls, bubbled carpet, leaky faucets, 4th floor without a lift ,no bugs...Home sweet home.

This year is definitely an upgrade. I feel like I am out of my gross dorm days and into my less gross townhouse days.. although the following expectations were not met.

Drawers in the bathroom. What kind of person puts drawer faces on a bathroom cabinet and no drawers!! What a cruel trick. I am protesting by not putting my bathroom stuff away. It shall remain in it's box until those drawers turn into drawers.. or I get over it. whichever comes first.

Shower Curtain. So I was thinking people like to be nice and provide curtain liners so their bathrooms don't get damaged ( I know! I don't know what I was thinking) well. people don't. unexpected bonus: BUBBLE BATHS BABY! at least until I get my curtains this weekend.

Lighting..My kitchen light strobes. fast. Like seizure inducing rather than dance party inducing. Luckily florescents are replaced by maintenance. normal lights are not. My bedroom light was acting up, but after a death threat it's behaving.

So all in all, not bad. not bad at all. I plan to be quite happy here. as soon as I get over mourning the loss of my bathroom drawers.

I am not a blogger, but I do have a blog.

If I was being perfectly honest with all you lovely people I would tell you I really have no business being a blogger. I don't a cute husband, a fabulous camera, mad Photoshop skills, an ideal love life, or my pinterest board closet.

My life is in no way extraordinary, my thoughts aren't always willing to be herded into eloquent articulations, my creativity comes and goes, and I Really like wearing T-shirts.

so..

I blog because everyone has a story to tell.

 I blog to stay in touch with my two best friends on a more creative level than the usual "hi, how are you" texts.

 I blog for the inspiring people I meet through the blogging world.
& naturally

I blog for myself; to attempt capture the wisps of thoughts, and ideas floating in this head of mine.

I am not a blogger
but,

I do have a blog.






______________________________________________________________


In other news: A layout overhaul is in the works. Be excited!!

Dollar Store Spoils

I took a trip to my local dollar store today, this one in particular is my favorite, its kinda more like a surplus store type deal rather than a cheap toy place. 

 Overly large lacy Hair bow. Love.

New eye shadow pallets

Fun new nail polish colors

Those sunglasses that clip on glasses

My last pair got lost.. and I spent ten bucks on them. these are the exact same ones.. a dollar. happy girl

and..a fanny pack. Hey now. They are very functional don't mock. I have been wishing for one for my walks etc.

Yay for Thrifty new stuff!

What We Find at Stores

I realized that I have not posted for a little over a week until yesterday and now I have all these things to say- so here is another post by me. Sorry to keep popping up in your face.

Saturday night Jane and I decided that we were long overdue on a play date. After I got off work Jane came over and picked me up and we went on a little late night adventure. We went to Walmart and Macy's Grocery store and we found some interesting things.  I love that woman and an evening with her is just what I needed! 

Here are some pictures from our evening:

We thought that poster board was interesting, that pinata scared me, crystal light has weird drink flavors, the cards- we practically read every single one, and I think Jane is adorable on that horse! 

Childhood Dreams.

You know. I have always wanted stop sign red hair. Based off this lady:

I may have been a little obsessed. I still am. Really truly. That hair is superb.
Anyways. Now that I am a big girl I have the opportunity to do an Ariel.
Red goes the hair.

This face is extremely awkward. Excuse it.

Yay for childhood dreams coming true. If only I can figure out a way to pause time, become a mermaid and ice skate, then my childhood will be complete.

Creamed Corn

Creamed corn is probably one of the most evil things you will ever find packaged in a can.. besides spam and spinach. It's all just so wrong.

In my quest tonight to put together some semblance of an eatable meal in a small amount of time, I grabbed a can of innocent looking corn off the shelf. all was well until I opened it up and it started oozing..evil. the can oozed evil. and gloopy white stuff. That's what evil looks like in it's raw form.

Cream. should be creamy. corn should be corny. corn should not be creamy, nor cream corny.

Its just how the world works ok?

It reminds me of that one time when my tupperware of canned corn got moved to another roomates shelf and lost for a few weeks, until it was discovered.

it was creamy. 

and the cream was moving...

yum.

So basically, I am convinced it is really just corn that didn't get canned soon enough.

as soon as it starts becoming a microbial hangout, they swap out the label and add a tiny "creamed style" to the top, that will surely be looked over twice. once at the grocery store, and once at home.

 I am to busy to read stuff you know?!

Sneaky sneaky...

Ps. I found seven four leaf clovers tonight in the space of about two minutes. I think that makes me double lucky. Just not lucky enough to grab the nice corn.

A Reading Picnic

This is what I am planning on doing today since I have the day off of work. I have old favorites I want to revisit and new ones that I can't wait to discover. The difficult decision I have is deciding which book to read, but in the end it won't matter because I'll be heaven no matter what. Here's to an elementary day read-o-thon. Well, I'm off to enjoy my happiness.

{Image via Pinterest}

The Sister Date.

Today I was bored. And so was Emmie, my sister. We were pinteresting and found this recipe. 

"Oreo cheesecake cupcakes?!?!" We said. "Heck yes!!"

So we embarked to Ridley's to get oreos and then got started!

The Process:

 

(From the top left): Oreos in the base of cupcake liners. MOUNDS of cream cheese. Adding sour cream. Mixing them together. The oh-so-important sugar. Can't forget the salt! Eggs. REAL vanilla. Oreos in the blender. Blended oreos. Putting the cupcakes in the oven. Side photo of finished process.

(Middle): THE FINISHED THING!!!

The sisters:

(From the top right down): Me, in all my glory, struggling with the mixer. Emmie, dumping mounds of cream cheese in the bowl. Emmie, mixing the oreo bits in. The popcorn we ate as we waited for them to cook. Eric, Lucy, Petey and Emmie, watching Phineas and Ferb while we waited some more.

(Middle): Me and Emmie, after consuming the cupcakes. Happy happy girls are we!

 Of course, we didn't do this alone. As I mentioned, I was having issues with the mixer...so we recruited our Dad to assist us in the matter. Aren't dads wonderful? I say yes.

But try these. They are wonderful.

Off to watch Ramona and Beezus with Em.

Bake on, my friends. 

Adventure Apparel.

ONE. The Outfit. top: Khols, Belt: thrifted. Skirt: Down East Basics Shoes: Keds

TWO. The Girl. Out for a ride on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

THREE. The Bike. oh how I adore my little blue cruiser.

FOUR. The Trail. It was perfect.

FIVE. The Boy. What a fabulous day. :)

Guardian Angel?

Ok. Confession.
I'm a little bit of a spaz.
Sometimes...a lot of the time...this comes out when I drive. Penelope fears for her life occasionally.
I promise I'm not bad. I just tend to get distracted by shiny things. And then over correct or something. But I never do anything blatantly dangerous. Really.
So many times I swear I could have gotten into a car accident, but I think I have a special guardian angel watching out for me once I insert my key into the ignition.
For example. Today I was driving to the library (aka my favorite place in the whole entire world) and was turning right onto a street. The sun was setting and I couldn't make out much of what was coming from the left, but I noticed a car from the right was about to turn left so I assumed no one was coming and just went. But I was wrong. A car was coming, and speeding no less, and I almost got in a wreck which would have been my fault. I just couldn't see it because the sun was in my eyes.
I felt very protected.
Thank you Guardian Angel.

Not just friends, BEST friends

Jane came to church with me on Sunday and she drew my future and it made me laugh. I love it with all my heart and it makes me smile because it is so random. I love it though. It's as cute as a button. 

And sometimes you have days that are just a hole in the mud. I was texting Penelope and this is what she replies with. She comes over with brownies and we talk and she gives me the advice that I need. 

No kidding. I really think that I have the best friends in the whole world. 

"Best Friends are hard to find because the best ones are already mine." 

Welcome Home Pioneer Brother

My brother has been gone for the past 3 days because he went on the pioneer trek and yesterday he came home! Welcome Home Brother! 

The Pictures:

1. Blake and me
2. The sign of time of arrival for the buses
3. I got a little bored so I took a picture of my feet (we were 1/2 an hour early).
4. The arrival of the buses!
5. Blake getting off the bus. Welcome Home!
6. Everyone getting their stuff. It was just a little crowded. 

Happy Sunday. Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Some Days We End Up Like This

Call us crazy, but we decided to do a photo shoot of our friendship and these are the results. We have way too much fun together but who said that was a bad thing?  And  Penelope and Jane are just as cute as the bees knees. I am so lucky to have these women as my best friends because they bring out the best in me.

And as you can see from the pictures above, we are little wild children when we get together.

One of those days...

sometimes, Lipstick days and T-shirts days coincide

Today?... was one of those days

carry on.

Alice

Today is Alice's Birthday!

We love Alice.

Isn't she gorgeous?

Fun Facts about this women.

Penelope met her almost twelve years ago. The first thing she noticed is how much Alice laughs. She has a great laugh.

She is an amazing journal keeper. I used to think it was so weird that she would save even all my silly notes to her and tape them in her journal, but now I am so glad she did.

She has never had a cavity. she was numbed once when they took out her wisdom teeth, and she didn't even swell up. lucky chica.

She is very thoughtful and a friend to everyone.

She mixes up common sayings and idioms and ends up saying things like "I love you to high heaven"

Her happy attitude and laughter are contagious. She makes everyone around her smile!


Jane has known her for five years. They were in the same PE class in high school. She was possibly the best thing that came from that class.

She introduced me to Penelope and it's been the three of us ever since.

She's the one I can count on for anything. She is always there is listen and encourage.

She has a wicked sense of humor and you cannot be around her without laughing your face off.
No wonder we all have six packs ;)

Also, she is the best back scratcher/hair player I know.

We love you to high heaven Alice! Have an absolutely amazing birthday!

Love,
Penelope, and Jane

Summerfest.

One of the great things I love about summer is the carnival the city I live in puts on every year. Rides, vendors, concerts, fireworks, parades...it's just super fantastic.

This year, we didn't ride any of the rides because A) when I was younger I never realized how ghetto they are... B) it was SUPER windy and cold C) I went and saw Mirror, Mirror instead.

I mean, the rides are still great and I probably would have gone on them if it wasn't cold.

I did, on the other hand, go for a concert. Because my brother was playing in it and he is freaking good. My brother's teacher had all of his students play a song with his band, and my brother played Over My Head by the Fray. I video taped him. Forgive the poor quality, I only had my phone. But he's the drummer.

I guess you can't really see his face--it's behind the cymbals.

Also, I'm not the best at filming...as you can see because the first part is upside down. No comment.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend.

Here's hoping yours was equally fantastic.

Smile on, my friends,

It's Called a Kilt.....Helllooo!

Brownie points if you caught my adapted movie reference.

They say that your brain is so good at adapting that when given a pair of special glasses that turns everything upside down, it takes your brain two days to adjust and it sees everything right side up.

That's basically how I feel after my two days at the Scottish Festival. men in skirts is normal right? haha

On Friday and Saturday, Hiccup invited us to come to a Sottish Festival he was playing his pipes in. so much fun!

This is me laughing at the poor kilted man trying to sit down and be modest. It was really windy. I named him Marilyn. I thought it terribly witty. Him not so much.

My cute sister was my buddy for the day!

So graceful.

The games! 

Caber toss! So cool!

I think this is called sheaf toss. They stab those bags with pitchforks and toss them over bars high in the air.

Cabers, aka huge heavy logs.

Waiting for Hiccups Band to perform! 

It was Sooo windy; our poor hair was beyond help

Here they come. I have video. I will post it soon

Hiccup

What a stud. He was on the News on Friday promoting the games,  His face is blown up on a poster in the deli. He is basically famous.

food is good

Thanks for such a fun day Hiccup!

It was fun to be Scottish for a weekend!!