odds/ends.

via bourgeois.bohemianism.

odds/ends, coming to you from boresville, usa (work). this might have been the most boring work week of the whole year ... when does that time come in life where you can take the whole summer off for swimming er whatever? 

without further ado, a list of what i have spent my time doing this week (since WORK wasn't really an option):

- something i've recently picked up on is podcast-listening, while working. it's like i'm learning AND working. or it's like i'm laughing AND working. or it's like i'm bored of music so podcasts are a good alternative. one that i've bookmarked, baconsale. i started listening to this podcast cause i occasionally see movies with one of the hosts, kent. i continued listening to this podcast cause it's really funny. i find myself quiet-work-laughing quite frequently during listening. to start you off, listen to the disney movie ranking episodes [episode 7: ranking disney part 1 (when you wish upon a tier) and episode 13: ranking disney part 2 (tier as old as time)]. they're silly and have a musical element. win win!

- if i want to feel really productive whilst wasting time, i like looking at our freaking budget. i actually went to byu with these two. aren't they adorable? they always have been. and now they're as cool as ever teaching the internet about finances, living in new york, with two darling children. two posts that i really like and are really worthwhile, why you should invest in a 401k and how to save for a home (probably because these two posts are really applicable to me).

- it's been about a year now since my first spa experience. turns out, i'm addicted now. i'm addicted to expensive 90-minute swedish massages. it's KIND of a problem but not really. it is the most pampering, luxurious past-time, which is SO ME! anyway, i'm heading to st. george today with the family. i thought it most fitting to celebrate my year-mark at the place it all started, st. george day spa. really i just wanted to write about it so i could think about it more, daydream if you will. so yeah, i recommend it.

- i can't explain why i've just now started watching comedians in cars getting coffee (i feel like a failure of a seinfeld fan). but i love it! the jim carrey one is a little weird, jimmy fallon is always the best, fred armisen, always funny, but i think my favorites are the sarah jessica parker and jon stewart episodes. check out the latest with stephen colbert. other shows i'm really into right now are the mind of a chef and the bachelorette, obviously.

- looking at pluto.

i also had to study for my real estate license, go to the dentist (NO CAVITIES!!!), and get my oil changed this week, so it's not all fun and games.

st george, february 2014.

i promised you a st george post like 2 months ago. sorry it's taken so long. i needed to get over my ptsd before i could write about it.

this photograph sums up the trip remarkably well. paige and i had just rolled into town and decided our first stop of the trip should be to the top of the water tank on ... st george mountain? is that was that place is called? i don't know. but does it look cold? CAUSE IT WAS. 

after the water tank we ate at pizza factory, a long time tradition. then i think we saw a movie ... i can't be sure, because i think i have mentally blocked this whole trip as a coping mechanism.

here's what happen:  somewhere between eating pizza factory and visiting a snow-covered zion national park the next morning, my body decided that it would reject everything i had lovingly fed it the last 48 hours, and then refuse to accept anything else. 

i spent the trip laying on the couch (when i wasn't in the bathroom). i MAY have watched a movie? played a game? i know i tried to eat texas roadhouse steak fry and it wasn't good. not good at all.

uh, so there you have it. the trip re-cap i promised.

take to the highway.

august was a travelin' month for me (which has got me thinking why am i not ALWAYS traveling? what with my marital and financial status, there is no excuse). so sit back and relax, this is gonna be a long one.

once upon a time my mom discovered that alligant air flies out of provo. cheap cheap cheap $50 flights to oakland is what possessed me to visit san francisco twice in one month. luckily they were completely different trips; one with ma and pa, one with friends, one staying in sf, one driving 2 hours down the coast. but both were great!

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trip number one consisted of a visit to the oakland temple, a stay in the san francisco marriott, the ferry building farmer's market and  a LOT of good food with my mom and dad. they visited probably 15 years ago and have wanted to take me ever since. we found the cheap flights and decided to make it a combined birthday celebration for my mom and me.

^^^ loved this series of buildings. sf has great architecture! i also really liked coit tower and of course, the story behind it.

^^^ fisherman's wharf.

^^^ we had to hit up ghirardelli square. it was so packed with tourists we had to fight to get a seat. in fact, everywhere we went this weekend was packed with tourists. but the crowd didn't take away from the deliciousness of this shake. 

^^^ my mom with cousin it at the palace of fine arts.

^^^ me in china town! i wasn't too psyched about seeing this. i've been to other china towns and they're fun but maybe not take-2-hours-outta-my-trip fun. this china town though, was worth it. lots of fun shops and eateries. it reminded me of little italy in new york, but china in san francisco.

^^^ sunday we drove across the golden gate bridge, out of the fog (thankfully), and over to muir woods. if i ever decide to move to northern california, you'll find me working as a ranger in that park. so pretty! and that smell is one i would wear as perfume.

^^^ these toes finally felt sand after the windy road to stinson beach. the beach was lovely, the drive however, made me mad barfy sick.

^^^ we put the finishing touch on our trip at fenton's. my dad served his mission in the bay area and remembered fenton's as the after-temple pit stop for members and missionaries alike. i was also surprised to find out that it was featured in one of my favorite pixar movies, up!

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the second time around was a road trip! we flew into oakland (yet again) and picked up our convertible. holla! this was like the single girl's trip of your dreams. driving down the coast in a convertible, staying at a beach house, and again, of course, good food.

^^^ site seeing on fisherman's wharf. it wasn't nearly as crowded as last time and was warmer ... maybe only because this time i had a jacket. we wandered around the pier and ate dinner at a creperie with latino workers and reggaeton music. fun!

^^^ here's me in the windy city, wait, no. but it looks like it right! haha. we took a boat ride from pier 39, under the golden gate bridge, and around alcatraz. it was QUITE choppy and a little chilly, but good times were had all around (until the last little bit when my sea sickness hit).

^^^ my feet at the palace of fine arts.

^^^ just BEAUTIFUL at sunset.

^^^ one fun night. we drove maybe an hour and a half to get to our beach house in watsonville. when we arrived we were starved, so we got some jack in the box then went on an adventure to find the beach. we could hear and smell it, but it was so dark we couldn't see it. when we finally did see it, it was so so lovely. the waves catching the moonlight is a sight i'll never forget. we were all so elated (and maybe a little hyper-tired) that we stripped and ran out into the ocean; one of those "and in that moment i swear we were infinite" moments in life. 

^^^ our house was right on the beach. so every morning i would go out and pick up sand dollars and snap pictures of the fishermen. that morning ocean mist could cure cancer i think.

^^^ santa cruz pier. what a fun place! we rode a couple rides then swam for a bit. LOVED it!

^^^ ready for the log flume. amelia's face ... kills me.

^^^ davenport beach. i feel like this came right outta from here to eternity. like a secret hidden gem.

^^^ we ended our second day strolling around the natural bridges beach at sunset. you can see the fishermen in the background of this. there were couples and tandem bikes. it was such a quaint lil place.

^^^ and here's the car and my feisty attitude that accompanied.

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^^^ i was home for a quick juice cleanse and a swim in emily's dad's pool, then it was off again to st george.

^^^ shoulda been a model.

and now, before i even realized, it's september! and the state fair is starting tomorrow! and all the public pools are closed! and the first byu home game is saturday! and and and. i can't say i'm TOO sad this summer sped right by. it means that my paige is close to coming home (86 days). plus, i always love me a little fall.

hope you had a good summer. here's to a marvelous fall.

10 days in the sun.

via 80smusicvideos.

woo! it has been quite the adjustment going back to the whole working thing after my vacation. i think i could probably stand living in st george; a thought that wondered through my mind a couple of times during my stay. although it was quite the scorcher >>>

with a pool and working air conditioner, i'd live. here are a few pictures from my days in utah's paradise (imo):

^^^ this was my monday. i worked hard to save up a week's worth of vacation, and this is exactly how i pictured using it.^^^

^^^ we went to vegas on tuesday, after a lovely brunch at the egg & i. paige and i usually have to talk our parents into driving down there just to go shopping. this time my tactic was to find exciting things to do and those activities would do the convincing. i found a neon sign museum online that seemed just our cup of tea ... but i couldn't figure out if you needed an appointment. then i found a lion habitat at the mgm ... but found out that it has since closed (only after walking from caesar's to mgm in the 115 degree weather). instead we ate at cheesecake factory, did a little shopping, walked to the mgm, stopped at the coca cola and m&m factories on the way. we picked up some personalized m&ms to send to paige. as you can see from the picture, it was a blast!^^^

^^^ here's a glimpse of the swimsuit that took me ages to find! and my book ... yes, i'm still reading the same book i was reading in november. but hey! at least i was reading it on my vacation (if only for like 10 minutes).^^^

^^^ for the fourth we woke up, caught the last half of the st george parade and got breakfast in the park. we tired of that pretty quickly and stopped at swig before heading to the lone ranger. then we swam and lounged, ate at texas roadhouse, and ended the day with card games and fireworks. just what i always wanted in a holiday. oh, and i bought this festive shirt.^^^

^^^ we went on a few hikes during our stay. first to red cliffs; i've heard this is a great hike ... but not in the middle of summer. all but two small, allege/creature infested pools had dried up. best to see it in early spring, now i know. second was this ^^^ falling man petroglyphs near mesquite. what a bizarre area this was. on the twenty mile stretch from the exit on i-15 we saw (mind you, in the middle of the desert): a white pyramid atop a mountain, a deserted (it seemed) oasis-like resort, a little house, and a dam with some stairs up to the top. huh? yeah, it was fun.^^^

^^^ another hike we attempted, were the lava caves in snow canyon. it's like a refrigerator in there!^^^

^^^ the last night we were there i just wanted to soak in all the goodness. we ate at cafe rio and somehow i managed to down a whole burrito. eating outside on the patio was just perfect and the light was just gorgeous! after dinner we watched the sunset on the red hill (and on our trip). i just love these two ^^^ sometimes i feel silly going on trips with them at 25, all by my lonesome. do 25 year olds do that? but that feeling lasts a split second cause they are the most fun, adventurous, nicest, lovingest, bestest travel companions and parents i could ever ask for.^^^

^^^ on the drive home i realized (thanks to my timehop app) that was the day, 4 years ago, that i got my mission call! what a great day!^^^

^^^ and here's a selfie for the road.^^^

happy weekend!

i'm off ...

in just a few hours i'll be on my way to my favorite vacation spot. i've been looking forward to this 10 day trip all year! 

so if you're looking you can find me: 

- eating good food (mad pita, the egg & i, pizza factory ... and then arugula & fennel salads with shredded parmesan, sweet & sour chicken stir-fry, classic st george sandwiches, fish with veggie pancakes ... i could go on. mmm.)

- hiking at red cliffs and sipping on swig (both of which will be NEW st george experiences for me)

- shoppin'

- seeing mary poppins at tuacahn

- vegas baby!

- visiting the temple

- shuffling to the sounds of poolside, 1960

- swimming swimming swimming (wearing my new swimsuit in the process)

- and roasting our buns off!

in closing i have to add that i'm 

SORELY DEVASTATINGLY SADDENED

by the fact that we are missing the social event of the year, taylorsville dayzz. HERE is the list of festivities if you'd like to go in my stead.

what i eat at work: kneaders.

i've been trying really hard not to eat out lately. i even cooked 2 whole times this week. and even though my corn chowder and chicken chalupas were quite tasty, i can't shake the habit. i brought a lunch today so i wouldn't be tempted but when 10am rolled around i found myself ordering not lunch but BREAKFAST at kneaders. i can't say i was disappointed, in fact, i may do breakfast out more often now that i've experienced it. also cause it's the most important meal of the day you know ...

i ordered the greek omelet. i have a weakness for feta cheese and this omelet did not disappoint in that area. the omelet had feta, spinach, and mushrooms and came with a side of wheat toast and two slices of oranges. oh boy it was GREAT! a good substitute for my favorite st george breakfast at the egg and i.

kneaders has MANY wonderful things on their menu that i'm no stranger to (thanks city creek). you need to try their all you can eat french toast during mortality, i'm a sucker for their chocolate croissant; at lunch try their broccoli cheese soup or just a simple ham and cheese sandwich, in college i loved their chicken salad sandwich and parmesan chips with a cream cheese brownie for dessert.

basically you could go there for anything, at any time of the day and be happy.
long live kneaders.

that time i went to st george (for the 1,659,954th time).

it never gets old, that st george; even when it is rainy and maybe the coldest you've ever been while visiting, and the heater in your condo is broken, and there aren't any movies to see, and your normal travel companion is in italy.

it's STILL great.

- the five hour drive from salt lake, talking to dad the whole time; never gets old.

bffs

- these red rocks and hiking in canvas tennies; never gets old.

$1.50 at thrift town. beat that!

- getting a lime glacier from larsen's; never gets old.

although i can never seem to eat the whole thing ...

- exploring the white rock amphitheater; never gets old.

actually this is the first time we've done this.

and here's a picture of my white hair to finish things off.

sticking to my word.

i'm off.

in a few moments (13 hours) i will be in st george. this is the perfect kick-off for spring (which doesn't actually begin for another 2 weeks).

and here's a series of diving photographs: