I blame pinterest.

let's pretend I have been absent from this little corner of the internet because I am being crafty and having tons of fun with my summer.

no really, it has been mostly fun.  I enjoy snuggling with husband and getting way too invested in certain series on netflix.  we've been camping, and doing projects, eating lots of snow cones, and moving again - this is our third apartment in eight months, and we're really hoping this one sticks.  so really, aside from getting my wisdom teeth out twice and not working quite enough, it's been pretty fantastic.

so since I've been a little crafty for the past few weeks I thought I'd share.  please excuse the awful phone pictures.  I don't have a smartphone that takes nicer pictures than my camera, and I just get too lazy to pull the camera out when my phone is in my pocket.

this is our new apartment.  for the longest time I would see wreaths on pinterest and just think what a dumb trend it was.  why have a wreath for every single minor holiday?  though I haven't, and won't, go quite so crazy with them, I made a cute one for just normal days.  though it does make me want to do some special ones - for christmas and valentines especially.

I found this tutorial on pinterest and decided I needed one too, apparently.  so I whipped this out in a couple of days, learned how to sew buttonholes, and got a bedroom that is all white.  it's okay.  I like it anyway.  and we've since added some color.  husband thinks my color choices are boring.

I'm sure I could do much better than this picture I found on pinterest for explaining the color scheme I am trying to work with.  aqua, yellow, and gray.  I think it is cute.  and so far, it works.  I think.

 before I got married, my mom was getting ready to throw out an old rocking chair from my great grandma.  since I was worried I wasn't going to have any furniture, I told her to hold onto it for me.  it's really old, and not in the best shape.  all the springs in the bottom were broken, and after a million google searches with no results for where to buy new ones, we are getting creative about what to do with the hole in the bottom of the chair.  unfortunately, I never remember to take before pictures until I want to take an after picture.  this time, though, i have some in-progress pictures.  first, I figured you could get an idea of the before by looking at the old cushions.  super cute, right?

 the chair was dark brown, and we spray painted it white.  it looks all nice here, but I'm looking at the chair in our living room and it still looks a bit splotchy under less light.  but i already think it looks tons better white than brown.

and this is the new cushion that after much searching, I finally ordered from kohls.  I'm way excited and can't wait to see it all put together and finished.

saturday morning cartoons.....

sometimes husband works mornings and we both wake up at 5am.
sometimes i can't get back to sleep.
so clearly the best solution is to watch pocahontas at 6,
then take a nap at 8.

a happy list

blank canvases
photos
my library card
my man
getting mac and cheese brought to me for lunch at work
lazy mornings and snuggles
rain
no school
letters
institute
laughing for no reason

catch-up

Today was a grumpy day.

It has not been the best of weeks, so I suppose that was a fitting way to end it.

I finished this book yesterday.  I kept picking it up today just because I wanted to keep reading and taking in the inspiring words inside.  Kelle is just super great.  And it was a most excellent book. 

Also, my plants are all growing.

Well almost.

We have a little squash, several forget-me-nots, some small onions, an aloe plant that is looking much better than a few days ago...

and no more daisies.

my four fears

Today's post is easy, because I am afraid of exactly four things.

1: Spiders
I just cannot explain enough how awful they are - if they're in my house I suppose.  If they're outside, they're tolerable, but inside, they are surely there to attack me, and they are in my house with that intent alone.

2: The dentist
This fear stems from the time I went to the dentist when I was eight years old, and he pulled out two of my teeth without telling me he was going to.  He did that a few more times, and now any time I have to go to the dentist it's like the most ridiculous ordeal.  I am twenty years old and I still cry sometimes.  Oh and having to get my wisdom teeth out is like, this giant cloud of scaryness hanging over me all the time.

3: Airplanes
I have never flown, and I'm sure once I do fly a few times this fear will go away.  Everyone always tells me that there are fewer airplane crashes than car crashes.  And this is true, I just really hate the fact that it's way more likely that I survive a car crash than a plane crash.  Something goes wrong with your plane, and you're pretty much dead.

4: Lightning
I like rain.  I like going outside in the rain.  But if the lightning gets too close, it's a deal breaker.

I suppose there are other things, but they come and go.  I'm afraid of these four things all the time.  Almost.

I don't remember where I got this picture.  I didn't take it.  But it's cool.

what i do.

Today's post is easy, because at this point, I barely have a job.

So what do I do?

I read good books

make art

watch too much netflix

snuggle my man

try to be a good cook, 

a good homemaker, 

and keep an adorable apartment

I listen to mika too loud 

and sing along (badly.)

I blog (also badly.)

and most importantly

it is summertime, and I am happy.

favorite blogger?

I love a lot of blogs.  It's partly why I made one of my own.  There were all these awesome people I wanted to follow and be friends with. (That maybe sounded creepy.)

One of my favorites is lex at he and i.  Her blog and little family are both adorable and I totally wish we were real life friends.  Bonus, she's currently hosting a giveaway (so I get to share with you all how awesome lex is and get extra points!)

day four - a quote

(via pinterest)

This quote is perhaps my favorite from les miserables.

I like that it comes at the very end of the show, after everyone has been through hell and back,

as a reminder

that everything turns out right in the end.

day 3: things that make you uncomfortable.

pants.

that last picture seriously describes me perfectly.  I'd rather wear a dress any day.  Or shorts.  Shorts are much better than pants.  Pants are the worst.

But really - talking on the phone.  I can't stand talking on the phone to people unless I know them pretty well in person.  When husband and I were dating, we had to do long distance summers, and we'd talk for hours.  Talking on the phone to somewhat when I don't even know what they look like is just really bad.  I have had a couple phone interviews for jobs - they were awful.  I didn't get the jobs.  Probably because they could tell I was shaking with nervousness the entire time.

the end.

how to?

the second prompt for this little challenge I decided to do is to teach you guys something....
but I honestly cannot think of anything.

I'm so pro at this blogging thing.

a day behind.

So I found this and I wanted to do it.

I'm already a day behind.  Go me.

So, starting now (which will make this the "blog every day from may second to june first challenge")

the story of my life:

I was born in the summer.  This was excellent until I was fifteen.  Then it seemed like I had to wait much longer than everyone else did to date and drive and all that wonderful stuff you get to do when you turn sixteen.  I have a really great mom, and an excellent dad.  I also have two younger sisters, lou and mags, and one male sibling, also younger.

I was very much not a tomboy.  I loved pink and pretending I was a disney princess.  I tried a lot of sports and was awful at all of them.  I've since taken up running (sort of) because I figure I can't be bad at it.

I believe that every kid has an awkward stage.  Mine was very long.  I was an awkward kid, and an awkward teenager.  I'm probably now an awkward adult.  Luckily through all the awkwardness, I found myself someone to marry. 

I met husband my freshman year of college when we lived in the same dorm.  We dated for (almost) two years and then became Mr. & Mrs.  We're currently working on finishing school (because I didn't go to college to get married, I came to get a degree) and living happily ever after.

We have a happy life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything at all.

you know it's finals week when...

you mix up two of your classes.

so you end up having to write a paper in one afternoon, when you thought you already had it done.

(wish me luck)

my little garden

gerber daisies * onions * forget-me-nots * aloe * squash

After my adventure growing forget-me-nots last summer, I decided that this year i wanted to grow a mini garden.  I am so excited!  We went to a nursery yesterday and picked out some different things.  We are probably silly for growing our squash in a planter outside, but I can't wait to see how they turn out.  I get ridiculously excited about watering them every day and I'm super impatient for them to actually start growing!

happy spring!

fifth graders and their smartphones.

I give tours at the natural history museum on my college’s campus.  Usually these tours consist of field trip groups from elementary schools.  I had two such tours thursday – a group of first graders and a group of fifth graders.  The first grade kids were excited to be there.  They had questions, they participated.

The fifth graders did not.  And most of them (yes, most of them!) had out their smartphones the entire time.  I feel like there's a correlation.  But maybe fifth graders are to the point where they think field trips like this are lame.  I don't know.

I don’t like smartphones.  And it drives me crazy when I see little kids who have them.

I know I’m not a mom, or even close, but I can tell you this: my kids aren’t going to have tv.  Movies will be plenty.  My kids aren’t going to have iPods or smartphones when they’re eight years old, just because that’s what they asked for for Christmas.  I think that’s absolutely ridiculous.  I didn’t even have a phone until my senior year of high school, and I think that’s just fine.  There is no reason for a kid to have a phone unless they’re driving, out and about, and need a way to contact their parents.  Even then it shouldn’t be a smartphone.  A dumb one will do.

I have little cousins, and they are plugged into their electronics all the time.  It makes me super sad to see a five year old who throws a tantrum over not being able to use his dad’s iPad to play angry birds whenever he wants, instead of finding something better to do.  It’s hard to talk to a kid when he totes an iPad everywhere he goes – including dinner – so he can watch Netflix.  It bothers me that even little kids think they need to carry the internet around in their pockets all the time.  I don’t even want to do that.  I’ll stick to my dumb phone, thanks.  (though, husband went in to upgrade his phone and was told that soon, dumb phones won’t even be an option.  So that stinks.)

How about we all just go outside, read a book, or, heaven forbid, talk to each other instead?

the end.

some thoughts on moving house

(long, rambling post warning.)

Having a house is pretty high on my list of dreams for the near future.

I want a house at the moment more than I want a baby.  And I love babies.

I've spent years dreaming about what I want it to look like, how I want to decorate it, et cetera.

I'll be content with a pretty white house with a blue door and shutters.

(I just googled "white house, blue shutters" and came up with a whole bunch of pictures of the notebook.  How cute.)

The night before we signed the contract for our first apartment, I cried.

It was a basement.  And I'd spent the last eight years (minus about eight months) living in basements.

It had wood paneling on most of its walls, concrete floors, and a shared laundry room.

I didn't want it.  

It wasn't going to be home.

"You will make it ours," Husband told me.

So we moved in.  It was close to school.  It had a nice yellow kitchen with a lot of counter space, but not a lot of cupboard space.  It had lots of shelves where we kept our pictures and books.  We had a cozy bedroom with space heaters and a Christmas tree night light for when husband had to work graveyard and I was all alone.

Unfortunately some conflicts with our upstairs neighbors got us thinking it was time to move. 

We found a new apartment.

We moved this week.

It has carpet.  It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and quiet neighbors.  It has lots of storage space.  It was going to be perfect.  I couldn't wait to leave that awful basement.

Except.

As we packed up the last of our things today, I realized the basement wasn't awful at all.  I let it sink in how much it had grown on me, and it was a lot. 

I'm going to miss the wood panels on our walls.  I am going to miss our cozy bedroom, and how the closet lights were so finicky that I usually found what I needed and turned them off again before they even came on.  I am going to miss my yellow kitchen.  And I cried again.

Boxes are filling up our living room.  Our new house is a mess.  Our new house isn't home.

"You will make it ours," Husband told me.

I hope so.  But until then, I am hoping lots of snuggles and listening to the cd this dear friend made before he left on his mission will help it to feel that way.  

And someday, we'll have a place that can be ours forever, but until then, we will be okay.

the day the library and all its patrons conspired against me.

A few months ago I got a library card.  It's my new best friend.

However, usually when I go to the library, literally nothing on my to-read list is available.

Today I went to the library to renew a book I already had.

I decided to browse around a bit, despite the fact that it's getting pretty close to finals and I don't have time to read books.  And guess what.

everything I have ever wanted to read was there.

I'm not even kidding.  It was awful.  Why couldn't there be so many options when I have nothing to do but read books at work all day?

I settled on one new book.  Paper Towns, you will have to wait.

mika sang my song.

[having us snap a beat and singing lollipop a capella]

blue eyes, blue eyes

what's the matter, matter

so blind, so blind

what's the matter with you?

[my song!]

so mika is super funny.

husband and i were both a little bummed that he didn't talk more between songs.

i didn't get to have him sign these.

next time!

and in other news...

i wasted no time making this a part of my movie collection.

we had an adventure

for our spring break, husband and i went to san francisco.  we had so much fun!

and here is what i learned from our adventure:

-it is a long drive to san francisco.

-when i drive for a long time, my second to last toe on my left foot falls asleep.  it's totally weird.

-traffic in big cities is insane.  i am so lucky husband didn't mind driving all week.  related, we couldn't have done it without a gps.

(view from the temple terrace)

-going to the temple is a really good way to start an adventure.

-we are hopeless.  trying to catch a bus was a huge ordeal.  we couldn't figure it out.  so we walked back to the bay from chinatown.

-san francisco has some of the coolest stores!  the san francisco sock market? definitely bought myself a pair of these.

(they are sharks.  eating my feet.  just in case you couldn't tell.)

there was also a left-handed store.  so a store for me and one for my sweet lefty husband.  i wanted him to get a left-handed notebook or something, but he did not.

-san francisco clearly does not believe in parking lots.  parking lanes on the road?  super, super weird.

-i love the ocean.

this was the first time i ever saw the ocean.  it was the first time i ever put my feeties in it.  and i just think that's really cool.  on the other side of that water is japan.

-when you lose your phone in the ocean (husband) it won't break.  but it will get a superpower and you will never need a phone charger again.

(how pretty is this?)

-adventures with my sweetheart are my favorite.  we'll have many 

more someday.

(the golden gate bridge.  because san francisco.)

first day of spring break.

last week i made these curtains for our kitchen.  they were much needed.

one window let the sun shine right in my eyes when i made dinner.

another had an old t-shirt as a makeshift shade (left by the previous tenant.)

i am loving them.

no school means time to work on this little stitchery thing ridiculously cool ex-boyfriend's mom taught me how to do.  hopefully i will get better at it soon!

husband has a new job where he works some nights.

it isn't my favorite.

but spending the evening with some lovely lemon scones and a good book helps a bit.

the origin of love.

guess who is going to see mika next month?!

you best believe i'll be wearing my mika shoes.

an abundance of wedding pictures.

pinky promises are serious business.

instead of a cake, we had red velvet and chocolate cupcakes

our rings must have disappeared for a bit.

we got pictures back and had a ton of cool shots of them.

but i don't remember them leaving for so long.

this was another.  it's our rings in my bouquet, which was supposed to be just red roses.

but we couldn't find enough red ones.

so we got sparkly ones too.  which i was excited about.

we had a hot chocolate bar.

it went perfectly with the cupcakes and turned out so cute!

it took me forever to get hot chocolate though,

luckily i had some pretty awesome bridesmaids who stood in line for my hot chocolate.

centerpieces were christmas ornaments, pictures of us and mints.

i was excited in the first place, but they turned out so much better than i expected.

12.15.12

things i love and things i don't love

things i love:
-husband.
-stormy days.  all day at school you can look forward to snuggling to a movie and hot chocolate.
-getting packages in the mail.  so much better than getting letters.
-rose and nine/ten.  mostly rose.
-new followers
-orange juice and juju hearts.
-our wedding pictures!  which we finally got!

things i don't love:

-when the hot water runs out before you

get a chance to shave your prickly cactus-legs.

-when you go to the library and absolutely everything

on your to-read list is checked out.

-people who don't use right words.  this has been

on my rant list for awhile.  You don't take things for granite.

granite is a rock.  you take them for granted.

also, why does everyone say/write "without further adieu..."?

adieu is a french word for goodbye.

you actually mean "without further ado...."

ado.  as in much about nothing.
-unpacking. we visited husband's family last weekend.  he
unpacked, but you better believe my still-packed bag is still
sitting on our bedroom floor.

I'm having a super productive day.

And I'm feeling awesome about it.

I don't have classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I usually sleep pretty late.  Which I did today because these days 8:30 is late.  But when I woke up, I went right to making my bed and got ready and washed some dishes.......

Grandma sent us a package.  She sent us Pocahontas.  Pocahontas is my favorite movie, don't judge.  And my grandma is the best.

I was able to get reading done for my English class at work, and write a response to it at home on my lunch break.  I took a quiz for my independent study course, which I'm never motivated to be very productive in.

And I just started another paper for English.  My paper is on Tangled.  And I think that's really cool.  Last night I watched Tangled and called it research.

After dinner, I'll stop by two art exhibitions and get two days worth of credit for art insights........

and after that husband and I will have a much-earned date night and go see one of our friends perform in Chicago (The musical.  We aren't actually going to Chicago.)

All in all I think this is shaping up to be a rather splendid day.

I might have cried at this scene last night.  I'm overly emotional. It's fine. 

neveux et nièces

Since I have nieces and nephews now, 

maybe I look for excuses to spoil them the teeniest bit

and make them painted onesies.

ramblings.

I know posts have been few and far between.  I have been busy or had no real wisdom to share.  Today i read a blog post (actually 2. but i'll get to that) by a girl who got married just shortly after I did.

She posted about how one day she didn't have much motivation and didn't want to get out of bed or shower or anything.  One day.  One lazy day.  And she was freaking out and calling herself a terrible wife, and saying how she'd had such a hard time that day.

The second post was a few hours from that same blogger.  She posted about how well she and her husband eat.  How she can throw random ingredients together in the crock pot and end up with a beautiful and delicious meal.  How her potato soup is the best.  How she is a wonderful cook.

This really struck me the wrong way.  I have been feeling every day like she was in her first post.  Every single day.  I think I am married to the perfect man.  He never leaves socks on the floor, never leaves dirty dishes in the sink.  He's organized and studious.  He is practically perfect in every way.

I'm not.
I had all these dreams of being the best wife I could be.  I was a pretty good girlfriend, an okay fiancee, but now I leave all my clothes on the floor, because I hate putting laundry away.  I sometimes (usually) don't make the bed until I get back from class or work.  I let dishes pile up, and when I actually do try to do them, I make a mess.  I am very easily distracted, and not motivated to work hard in classes I don't enjoy.  I try to cook healthy, homemade meals for us, but sometimes we just end up with hamburger helper.  I am a bad influence when it comes to grocery shopping because I want to get something to feed my cheesecake obsession.  The potato soup turns out watery and disgusting.

Her post wasn't bad.  She later talked about how she got over that feeling of being a failure.  I know this wasn't her goal in writing, but it made me feel a hundred times worse.  If that one day made her a "terrible wife," what does the last two months make me?

With valentine's day coming up, I want to brag a little about husband.  He's wonderful.  He is so patient with me and all my imperfections, puts up with my overreactions, and can handle me when I get overly emotional, which is a lot.  When I get feeling down, he always tells me how lucky he is to be married to me.  Which, while I don't understand that most of the time, is something I absolutely need to hear.  He's super handsome, and he smells nice, and he'll eat the disgusting failed potato soup, and tell me that it's really good, and that I did a good job.  He is silly, and he can always make me laugh, even though I'm doing my best to pout.  He's snuggly.  He wanted me to clear that up.  My last post made it sound like he doesn't appreciate snuggles.  He didn't like that.

Basically.  I love him more than I have ever loved anyone.  I'm a lucky girl.  

I think I'll keep him.

mawwiage

(and probably too many pictures)

husband is out in the living room watching batman, and i'm not much into batman.

so i'm in here blogging and watching doctor who.

husband is not much into doctor who either, so it works out pretty well.

we had a lovely christmas.  we spent it up north with my family because our second wedding reception was in my hometown.  but we still put up our own cute little tree in our apartment.

our apartment is all full of cute things.  like paris, which i found at deseret industries for four dollars.

and this cute little wedding gift.

i also spent the afternoon making cute things to hang in our apartment after i decided our bathroom needed some art.

i hung the first one up, but now i'm thinking i like the second one a bit better.

i plan on making a lot of cute pinterest-type things. 

like curtains.  our kitchen needs them.

speaking of pinterest and the bathroom, the bathroom is easily the cutest room in our house.

and the most pinterest-worthy.

yellow and gray?  check.

ombre?  check.

handmade canvas art?  check.

and also speaking of the bathroom, i feel like i'm probably overwhelming husband with the sheer number of bath and body works products i brought with me.

i have a lot of pillows.

i'm a snuggler, husband isn't.

all the pillows are practically a necessity.

once i have wedding pictures or more crafty little things i'll blog more.

(i hope.)