Morning...my favorite thing. I love morning, I wake up extra early just to relax and enjoy the peaceful feeling that only comes with the early hours of the day. NOW it is even better, I sit at my desk and open my window and have the most beautiful sensation of fall blowing on my face. It smells like fall, it is chilly, it is calming, it is my favorite spot, get me a cup of hot chocolate and I am PERFECT. and then 9:00 comes......

Fashion Avenue... where I live


So here are my projects I've been working on...

Basic Skirt, Basic Bodice, Basic Sleeve, Mandarin Collar (Project 1)First ever attempt at draping



Flare Skirt (cones), Bodice with underarm dart, Short sleeve with cuff, Peter Pan Collar...(Project 2)



Here is the subway... my form of transportation.. I took an unnecessary trip on the subway the other day (I didn't mean to) but it put into perspective how much money is wasted on pointless driving. I would never take the subway anywhere for no reason but that is exactly what I used to do in my car. I saw the $2.50 go right down the drain.. It is the same thing basically so why is driving pointlessly completely normal and having to go on a pointless subway ride was so frustrating and wasteful... Think about where and why you are driving and how much money gets thrown down the drain if there is no purpose in the journey. Don't get me wrong sometimes you just need to drive aimlessly, which is fine...especially to look at the fall leaves! It was just an interesting and sadly an eye-opening experience for me



EMILY, KATIE AND MY DESSERT!!! yummy, it was basically our meal, literally. haha this place was amazing, MAX BRENNER! chocolate/dessert menu 20 pages long and every description makes your mouth water... so good!



So I had a major work out day... this is for you Nicole, i thought about you the whole time... with the rate i am going with these desserts I will come home and be fat//// no joke, everyone says they can't picture me fat and I want to keep in that way so.... I ate really healthy today and went to this hour workout with this amazing instructor, he is like P90X drill Sargent and i love it. it is a real legit workout and I go 3 times a week if my schedule isn't too bad, then for Dance Team we run.... RUN.. haha I don't run... haha we ran around the block, the whole block, twice... haha then we have class in a steam room basically haha for 2 hours. Ah it was a good day. I am going to be so sore tomorrow.. haha but I had to, dessert last night, AND Thursday I am getting my FAVORITE DESSERT EVER because it is my friend Emily's birthday, we are going to Serendipity! HAPPY DAY! Also it is my daddy's birthday so I will obviously think of him and sing him happy birthday in my head as I ALONE scarf down Birthday dessert! I love you dad! Wish you were here!

another week in the city

I swear it is always the weekend... the days FLY by, well actually the days are rather long, but the weeks are gone before I know it. School is good, it is getting harder, I am learning so much! I started going to Institute which is fun, it is at NYU and I get to go with Emily and Katie. It is such a welcome break from the everyday life here at school!

This weekend was nice, Emily and I found this AMAZING Italian restaurant Le Zie. I needed real food haha I have had way too many almond butter and banana sandwiches. I eat one everyday..... so if anyone wants to send over some food cash i would love it! haha I am so kidding! actually I really enjoy my sandwiches.

I went to the most BRILLIANT and IMPRESSIVE place on earth today... the Frick Collection. It was a home converted into a Museum. It is right on 5th by central park, 70th street i think and I recommend it to ALL! Every painting (and there were a ton, they filled every wall in every room) was part of Mr. Frick's personal collection! The house itself is a piece of art, it is beyond anything I have ever seen, I just want to dress up Renaissance style and spend a weekend in there. This Frick guy had good taste too, almost all of my favorite painters were there. It was better than the met, I couldn't take pictures though....there was a Jan van Eyck painting there, and honestly seeing that painting was like seeing Brad Pitt, that is how excited I was! It wasn't my favorite painting of his but it was his and it was beyond description! I even enjoyed the Rococo art he had.... and I don't like Rococo. It was simply magnificent. He had...

Vermeer- MANY
Rembrandt- Self-Portrait
Turner- MANY
Bellini- St. Francis in Ecstasy
Stuart- George Washington
Jan van Eyck- Madonna and Child

Just to name a few. I saw so many paintings I had studied before and it was amazing to me because they weren't in a Museum, well they are but only because they were part of someones own personal collection! I loved it!

I later went to the Relief Society Broadcast with Katie. Here is the Manhattan Temple which is connected to the building that I went to for the broadcast... I didn't take the picture...


Well... I don't have much to say, it was a rather uneventful week but CONFERENCE is next weekend and I can't wait!!!! Oh.. No school today which was excellent! Jewish holiday! and I am going to an AMAZING dessert place tonight called Max brenners. Ah I LOVE FOOD! and especially Dessert, I live for DESSERT!

Also if there are any 'Blue Blood' fans out there the 4th book comes out on October 6th!!!!! YAHOO. and if there are any 'Twilight' fans there is a TV series you should watch. Vampire Diaries on CW. Very good!!

xoxo

Well it has been a long and tiring week... and I don't think this week will let me catch up on sleep either. But I guess it was expected that I would never be fully awake and alert during this semester.

I love the weekends here!!! I actually look forward to them, not because I don't have school and can go out and stuff... But because it finally allows me time to think, and digest everything i had learned that week. It is my only time to do homework.. The weekends are so necessary for school, I only wish I would have time to enjoy the city more.

Saturday I had to go to MOOD fabrics for my homework! Pretty sweet, my kind of homework! I LOVE that place it is the most brilliant place in the world. I had to get swatches of fabric for a collection I had to draw in my class. Going to Mood is one of my most favorite things in the whole world! and it is only 10 blocks uptown! So close and perfect. This was a picture of mood from when I was here last summer, I didn't have anyone with me to take a picture this time.
And tonight my homework is to go shopping (not to buy but to study) at Saks! haha GO HOMEWORK!

HAHA for all of you shoe fans I had another shoe pick up line done to me today! haha yes that makes 8. This time it was a stranger on the subway, no he wasn't a creeper but he was drunk I am pretty sure, and no I never felt scared or anything and the subway was very crowded which means it was safe. anyway.... So I am wearing Sperry Top Siders, ones that are red with blue anchors on them and this guy had some top siders on too. So he of course had to mention the obvious and then went on and on about how my shoes were the coolest thing he had ever seen and how he was going to take them off my feet and wear them.... haha there were 2 of them in on this conversation... oh and Emily was with me so i wasn't alone. anyway then on his way off the train he said, "Your shoes are so awesome, you'll find your future husband tonight while wearing those" hahahahaha ah goodness, then this lady, as she was getting off the subway said "nice work!" haha ah man. funny times.

I made FIT's Dance Team. We are legit too, we get a sweatsuit AND shoes this year. haha that is why I did it, for the sweats. haha I am really excited to be able to dance while here at school! We perform at homecoming, the basketball games, and a closing end of year show. There are 20 of us on the team and we start Tuesday I can't wait!!! I've missed dancing! I'll be thinking about my little sister all the time cause they do a lot of hip hop here......... not my style, haha but Bain is pro, so I'm going to have to have her send me her good hip hop vibes and maybe I can get as good as her! haha.... we'll see....

Haha.... here is my first attempt at art..... My self portrait(if you couldn't tell).... haha as you can tell I am here for Fashion not drawing. Enjoy in the laughter kenzie! haha

feel good quotes, You are better than you think you are!

You are created by a very special person and that makes you special. You are better than you think you are-and with our Saviors help, you can be better yet. He is counting on each one of us.

We came [to earth] with enough, and if we do our very best the Lord will make up the difference. With his help, we will measure up; we will be enough to fulfill our foreordained missions as sons and daughters of God.

“[The gift of the Holy Ghost] quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections and adapts them by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form, and features. IT tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feelings. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens and gives tone to the nerves. In short it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.”-Parley P. Pratt

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.-The Secret

Stop comparing yourself to others. You were made the way you are for a reason.

Give plentiful, genuine compliments.

Remember that kind deeds can soften hearts when nothing else can.

Remember that you control how close you are to the Lord.

the LORD is my light

This weekend was amazing, i basically hung out at the church Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We had a big institute conference...that means a lot of singles... and when combined with Katie, Emily, shoes, and myself equals many hilariously awkward stories and a good time! Every part of this conference was perfect, the speakers were all so great and i really grew so much!

Friday night, 'a night of remembrance'
Since it was Sept. 11 we had a sort of memorial session. I've obviously felt sad about the events of 9/11 but it had never really hit home to me cause i was so little, so far away, and really had no connections to anyone who was affected. The man who spoke changed my whole perspective and the events from that day take on a whole new meaning. This man worked on Wall Street, just a couple blocks away from the Towers. I wish i could tell you the story of that day through his words cause he was simply mesmerizing. I felt like i was next to him experiencing the event, the ashen ground, the crowds of running screaming scared people, the hopelessness that was all around. All the miraculous stories of Christ's intersection with the lives of many that were saved. Along with the horror of the day's events I was able to also feel the peace that was felt by those who understand the gospel.

Here are a few notes and some of my thoughts about what was shared...There is a time and a purpose for all things in life. It is ultimately up to the Lord, all we must do is TRUST in Him, and choose the right. Our safety lies in the virtue of our lives. "Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." The one who overcame the world is our guardian, our teacher, our FRIEND. Remember that Christ can calm the sea, He is all powerful. If He is on our side, we can do anything. He loves us and can calm the troubled waters in our lives. We will have opposition, but we need to have peace, have faith, and remember our JOY lives with our trust in Heavenly Father. Remember that there will never be a better day than today and remember that no burden is too heavy for the Savior.

Saturday.
Since the temple finally opened (it has been closed for cleaning since i've been here) I went this morning! It was so PERFECT. I love the temple, I love the feeling of angles surrounding you, the peaceful feeling that can only come from being in the Lord's house. I got to join in on a youth group of kids who spoke Spanish. Everything was translated into Spanish and many of the prayers were in Spanish and it just made me feel so grateful that the gospel is true in every language, that the Spirit can be felt in any language, by anyone who has an open heart. It is also the language that Seth, Taylor, Brick, Gavin, and Greg were all called to teach the gospel in, so i have a special connection to it.

Saturday evening they had some workshops, dinner, and a dance...
Haha just fyi for if you ever come to a NY singles ward activity...the biggest pick up lines from guys tend to revolve around your shoes.... haha so if you are into that sort of thing then wear shoes that can be easily commented on, but also know that even if they aren't easy to comment on the guys will find a way to make it work. haha. I won't go into detail since I think every example (and yes there are 7) are the type of stories that you had to have been there to understand. But between me and Katie we honestly had 7 different experiences, different guys.... and honestly I have never laughed so hard in my life as i did this weekend. IT was GREAT! Also if you want guys to be able to talk to you easily give them a reason to, like getting up in testimony meeting your 2nd week at church...." Hey you are the new girl right, the one in Fashion school, you bore your testimony last week!" ya bad idea bree. haha cause the whole-guys talking to me thing- is not high on my priority list. Although I do have to admit it was well worth it cause of the many hilarious conversations haha. i did meet some really great people though and it really was so fun. Plus I got to know Katie and Emily better cause we now share so many great stories together. If you want details you can call!!! I'll be more than happy to tell you.

Mostly we just tried to avoid awkward conversations but they seemed to follow us. We spent the dance sitting in the hall laughing and talking with some other people in our ward and enjoying the beauty of a singles dance! haha. Basically we met a lot of interesting, funny, awkward, and awesome people this weekend.

Sunday. Sacrament meeting, Testimony meeting
If you ever need to feel of the Saviors love, if you are ever in doubt read the words of the hymns; 'I Stand All Amazed', 'The Lord is my Light', 'I Know That my Redeemer Lives', 'Come Come Ye Saints', or "I Believe in Christ'. I've read the words to 'I Know That my Redeemer Lives' a thousand times but the second verse this time really stuck out to me. Jesus Christ lives FOR US, INDIVIDUALLY, that is his soul purpose.

HE LIVES to grant me rich supply
HE LIVES to guide me with his eye
HE LIVES to comfort me when faint
HE LIVES to hear my soul's complaint
HE LIVES to silence all my fears
HE LIVES to wipe away my tears
HE LIVES to calm my troubled heart
HE LIVES all blessings to impart

WOW we should always go to the Lord cause that is why He is here, my favorite lines are that He wants to calm us, to hear our complaint, to wipe our tears. He wants to be a significant part of our lives. He lives to be our soul redeemer, our strength, our comfort, and most importantly our kind, wise, heavenly FRIEND.

One of the speakers talked about the spiritual gravity that fills our lives just like the physical gravity does. We are always being pulled down by gravity (gravity being both physical gravity and the adversary). to stay in motion there must be a constant force pulling in the other direction, key word being CONSTANT. we must be consciously engaged in a good cause. We must be active because Satan, like gravity, is always pulling us down, our force must be stronger.

Another thing I haven't put much thought into cause it was so long ago was that Christ lived on THIS earth. Think about it, think about how AMAZING that it. I knew it obviously but to really understand the reality of it is really overpowering. Also if you want to read an AMAZING book about Christ's life then you should read 'The Fishers of Men' series. Everyone should read that series sometime in their life, I read it this summer and it was truly incredible.

Be as nice to yourself as you are to others! Don't forget yourself. If you seek the light you will be the light. Don't measure your worth by one single event. We are each here for a reason, to impact others, we are each special. We are each individually worth enough for Heavenly Fathers only Son to lay down His life for us. One event doesn't change that. Own your life, if it is everybody else's fault you can't fix it. 'Fear not... for the kingdom is YOURS. The Savior will NEVER leave you alone. We are each his child.

I am a Pisces and we are "changeable" i never really believed that I was true to that part of my sign but I am defiantly realizing I am. The change of moving here has never affected me, the change of all my friends leaving on missions was never too hard, I have recently had many HUGE changes yet they haven't really been hard at all. I realized today that it is because no matter how many changes i have in my life I will always have at least one constant, the gospel. My Savior is my constant, with him by my side i can do anything, i can handle everything. Through out all the changes I have not cried, I haven't really even been sad, I have not ever felt alone. My love for this gospel will never change. The future is going to be perfect for ME. no matter what happens. I am so blessed to know that Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me.

'Christ is in the DETAILS of our life.' -Someone said that in Testimony meeting and i loved it so much!

Also this line struck me so hard, it is so simple yet so beautiful. " I believe in Christ, so come what may."

'Life is beautiful, this church is one big beautiful family.'

CES Fireside -Sister Dalton
"Return to Virtue" You matter, you were reserved to come to earth at this time in life. We aren't random, we were foreordained and prepared for this time, we were called and chosen. We all knew the plan before we came here, we all agreed with our Father, we all chose our path, it literally breaks my heart that so many people forget when they come to earth. In heaven they understood. Every single person here on earth knew the plan and chose to come to earth and yet so few of us were blessed to have the gospel in our earthly life. Be grateful for it. The missionaries are my heroes, be missionaries. We were all in heaven rooting for each other together, see others from a heavenly perspective, remember that we all grew up together in the pre-mortal life! We need to remind everyone of their worth, and we need to remember everyone's worth.

Smile you are a son/daughter of God. have a brightness of HOPE. Let Heavenly Father be your best friend and let the Holy Ghost be your constant companion. 'Reach out and take the masters hand, mine angels are round about you.'

Haha if anyone is still reading this i am so sorry it is so long. There was just so much good stuff that i heard this weekend and I needed to share it!