goals.

SUMMER. 

JUNE. JULY. AUGUST. 

is FINALLY here!

I have a few summer goals that I am going to write down so I am held accountable. Also anyone is more than welcome to join it on the fun. My goal is to grow closer to my Savior, work on my talents, get a rockin' bod, and focus on family and friends. 

• Temple twice a week (once with Talyn, every Wednesday evening, once with Katie)
• Starting June 1, tomorrow, through the end of August read the entire Book of Mormon. (for those who want to join Talyn, Katie, and me it is about 6 pages a day)
• Read the Spring Conference Ensign (3 talks a week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday))
• Finish my wedding/j.crew/inspiration journals. FINISH THEM ALL so they are up to date and I can continue to easily add to them. 
• Scrapbook my 2009 year (before blog days) and all big exciting events that weren't properly blogged about. 
• Make Taylor his mission scrapbook
• SEW for myself. At least 5 different things.
• Read. More. I miss it SO much! I need to find my long list that has been building up for the past few years.
• Continue my daily workout. (I will post it on here soon, it's a good one!)
• Find time to enjoy life, never miss an opportunity to be with loved ones. 

That's all for now. I am sure there are more I will come up with. Happy summer goal setting, for me it's so much easier in the summer than the new year.  YAY. Bring on the warm weather PLEASE!

AMAZING.

My friend recommended this talk and it is WONDERFUL. I highly suggest you take the time to read it because it is so enlightening and beautiful. 

October 2008 General Conference

The Way

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge
Of the First Quorum of the Seventy

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way.

Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” ¹

 

He said, “I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world.” ²

 

He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” ³

 

He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” ⁴

 He said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” ⁵

 

He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” ⁶

 

He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” ⁷

 

Jesus Christ is the Way. He is Light and Life, Bread and Water, the Beginning and the End, the Resurrection and the Life, the Savior of the world, the Truth, and the Way.

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.

He offers a well of living water. Either we drink and never thirst more, or we don’t and foolishly remain thirsty still.

He is the Bread of Life. Either we eat and hunger no more, or we don’t and foolishly remain weak and hungry still.

He is the Light of the World. Either we follow Him and see clearly, or we don’t and foolishly remain blind and in darkness still.

He is the Resurrection and the Life. He said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” ⁸ Either we learn of Him and have life more abundantly, ⁹ or we don’t and foolishly remain dead still.

He is the Savior of the world. Either we accept the blessings of His Atonement and are made clean and pure, worthy to have His Spirit, or we don’t and foolishly remain alone and filthy still.

He is the Way.

No Other God

“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” ¹⁰ The plan of the Father was implemented by the Son that we may have the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. The way of the Father is the way of the Son. He said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” ¹¹

 

Only God can bless us. Only He can sustain us. Only He can cause our hearts to beat and give us breath. Only He can preserve and protect us. Only He can give us strength to bear up the burdens of life. Only He can give us power, knowledge, peace, and joy. Only He can forgive our sins. Only He can heal us. Only He can change us and forge a godly soul. Only He can bring us back into His presence. And He will do all of that and much more if we but remember Him to keep His commandments. What then shall we do? We will remember Him to keep His commandments. It is the only intelligent thing to do.

Jesus Baptizes with the Holy Ghost

John the Baptist said that while he baptized with water, Jesus baptized “with the Holy Ghost.” ¹²

 

Nothing in this life is of greater worth than the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the source of joy, peace, knowledge, strength, love, and every other good thing. With the Atonement, it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak. With the priesthood, it is the power by which marriages and families are sealed together eternally. ¹³ It is the power by which the Lord makes Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him. ¹⁴ Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that.

To that end, Jesus Christ entered a garden called Gethsemane, where He overcame sin for us. He took upon Himself our sins. He suffered the penalty of our wrongs. He paid the price of our education. I don’t know how He did what He did. I only know that He did and that because He did, you and I may be forgiven of our sins that we may be endowed with His power. Everything depends on that. What then shall we do? We will “take upon [us] the name of [the] Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]; that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” ¹⁵ Everything depends on that.

“My Yoke Is Easy, and My Burden Is Light”

One of the most popular and attractive philosophies of men is to live life your own way, do your own thing, be yourself, don’t let others tell you what to do. But the Lord said, “I am the way.” ¹⁶ He said, “Follow me.” ¹⁷ He said, “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” ¹⁸

 

Don’t think you can’t. We might think we can’t really follow Him because the standard of His life is so astonishingly high as to seem unreachable. We might think it is too hard, too high, too much, beyond our capacity, at least for now. Don’t ever believe that. While the standard of the Lord is the highest, don’t ever think it is only reachable by a select few who are most able.

In this singular instance life’s experience misleads us. In life we learn that the highest achievements in any human endeavor are always the most difficult and, therefore, achievable only by a select few who are most able. The higher the standard, the fewer can reach it.

But that is not the case here because, unlike every other experience in this life, this is not a human endeavor. It is, rather, the work of God. It is God’s work and it is His “glory … to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” ¹⁹ There is nothing else like it. Not anywhere. Not ever.

No institution, plan, program, or system ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind [everyone, living and dead] may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” ²⁰

 

The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. “There is an opposition in all things,” ²¹ everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. ²² We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ²³

 

Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it.

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way is foolishness.

I bear record of Him, even Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of the living God, He is the Bread of Life, He is the Truth, He is the Resurrection and the Life, He is the Savior and the Light of the World. He is the Way, the only Way.

 May we have the good sense to follow Him. In His holy name, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Utah's FINEST

@ our prime. 

When Bain and I are together in the late hours of the night we are a little um...... strange haha. It all started with my mom trying to put eye drops in my eyes.... ya apparently I am not good at sitting still and keeping my eyes open. I squirm like a 3 year old for some reason and make weird sounds... I don't really understand.. I wish it was recorded though because apparently I am ridiculous ha. Then it came time for the usual ugly face session with Bain. This is what we came up with tonight. 

retainer and all...

(notice the crashing noises... yep Bain banged a few things when she fell to the floor laughing)

THEN after all the fun and hysterical laughing we both got ready for bed when I hear "...Bree.... come here..." hahaha Bain's toothbrush somehow got attached to her braces hahahahaha so funny other than the fact that she kept saying "ouch.." Oh man, with tooth paste coming out everywhere. Best night ever! Hands down.

stuck

pulling out

toothpaste everywhere

Classic. Love you Bainy!

and there you go. The secret life of Bree and Bain.

Taylor's Homecoming

I am getting a new camera tomorrow... all my pictures turned out horribly and I am sad. It was Taylor's homecoming today and I have no good pictures from it. Hopefully I can borrow some that were taken on the Wilkins' camera but.. for now the blurry ones are all I have. 

He did a wonderful job speaking in church (seriously he should win an award for best speaker), he is handsome and amazing, I'm so lucky to have him as an example and friend. Debbie did an amazing job with the food and everything was wonderful! Such a lovely day spent with a lot of my favorite people! 

mission pictures

all the yummy food!

my THREE best friends!!!!! all together.

blurry Taylor and Debbie

2008 vs. 2011

Taylor's look alike pillow

my blurry family with Taylor

The rest of the weekend was lovely as well. Friday after work I went to lunch with Emily and then that night Taylor took me to Los Hermanos to get some Hispanic food and then we saw Adjustment Bureau which was VERY good! Saturday I weeded with my family, went to work, then helped Debbie and Taylor finish getting everything ready for the Homecoming. I love spending time with them! Tonight Sy graduated from Seminary and I stopped by to see Brandon since I couldn't make it to his homecoming talk today.

Everyday I see more and more how blessed I am. My friends, my family, my beliefs, my talents, my dreams and aspirations are all made possible through my Heavenly Father. He has given me so much and I only pray that I can give back to Him and show Him as much love as he continually pours out to me. I love my Savior, I love knowing He has a plan for me. I love relying on Him and knowing that He will provide me opportunities for complete happiness if I follow Him and do His will. As I was talking with Brandon tonight I re-remembered how grateful I am for the experience I had in NYC-to really have my eyes opened to the beauty of this gospel and for the way it transforms lives. Nothing makes me happier than to know that I have so many friends who have or are currently serving missions. This gospel brings so much joy and reassurance into my life. I KNOW that all things are possible through my Heavenly Father, that if I put my trust and faith in Him I will receive guidance and knowledge. Recognize your blessings and strive to feel His love for you. As Taylor testified today in his talk, God loves every single one of His children. His love is all consuming and powerful. That simple truth, that God loves us and changes lives. It doesn't matter what we have done, it doesn't matter if we feel like we don't deserve it, He still LOVES each and every one of us and all we have to do is accept that and love Him back. I am SO incredibly grateful for my Savior. For His love.

guess who else is home...

ELDER BRANDON HARVEY!!!! 

Such a stud!

I stole the picture from his sister's facebook...

The only downfall to all these returning missionaries is.. their talks are on the same day. Taylor's is at 9am, Brandon's is at 11am and my friend Megan had a returning missionary boyfriend who is also speaking on Sunday. Such a happy time. Amazing men returning from a wonderful experience who come home changed and ready to conquer their dreams. I am so grateful for missions and for missionaries. I am so grateful for amazing friends who made the decisions early on in life to complete a mission and I can't believe I am old enough to see them all returning. Life is amazing.

food and shoes

I created a new cake ball and it is AMAZING!!! I am making oreo and cake balls for Taylor's Homecoming so I tried experimenting with flavors... the first time I made the cake balls I just used red velvet since it was for Valentines Day and they were not very exciting... SO... I wanted to try something new.

All you do to make cake balls is bake a cake. Mix the warm cake with frosting. Shape into balls. Cool in fridge. Dip (cover) in chocolate. Super easy.

This time I used lemon cake with lemon frosting dipped in white chocolate with yellow sprinkles (turned out SO yummy)

and for my MASTERPIECE

Cinnamon (cinnabon) cake mix with cream cheese frosting, DIPPED IN CARAMEL!!!!!!!!, then dipped in white chocolate with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. Perfection, I am awesome! I got the idea from the fantastic apple pie caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory which is a green apple dipped in caramel and then white chocolate and then cinnamon and sugar.

Cinnamon balls-horrible lighting

Lemon balls

On a completely different note..

Yesterday I bought an AMAZING pair of shoes... I couldn't resist. They are perfect. I've been searching for a neutral/nude heel and though these are not the typical nude shoe that I was originally looking for

typical nude shoe-which I still LOVE and want

they are even better. I LOVE wedges, they are comfy and they flatter the foot so well. The little flower detail is SO ME and I just am IN LOVE WITH THEM. Plus I already own a pair of shoes in this brand and they are SO comfortable. Thanks Katie for talking me into speding my precious money on these babies!

My NEW shoes!

hunk list. and tally

again. I love the temple. I love my friends. yesterday Katie. today Talyn. I am so blessed. 

after we made a list of all the traits we want in our eternal companion. I was given this advice a couple months ago and I never did it... Then last week Talyn said she wanted to make a list and that we should do it together.. so we finally did. I think it is a pretty good and logical and reasonable list. So here is our "Hunk List" enjoy (in no particular order)...

• ·         Thoughtful and considerate
• ·         Loyal and honest
• ·         Chill/Low maintenance
• ·         Balanced in all aspects of life (serious/playful, work/home, closeness/space)
• ·         Makes me laugh/fun to be with
• ·         Makes me feel good about myself but also makes me want to be better
• ·         Romantic/Shows affection
• ·         Honors his priesthood
• ·         Values time together/makes time for it
• ·         Communicates well/open
• ·         Knows me and my wants and needs/strengths and weaknesses/guilty pleasures
• ·         Has ginormous work ethic (yard, fix it stuff, calling, school, career, relationships, etc.)
• ·         Patient
• ·         Loves to give legit massages
• ·         Intelligent/capable of carrying a meaningful, thought-provoking conversation
• ·         Loves his family and wants one
• ·         Doesn’t want pets
• ·         Holds my hand and kisses me every day and does more exciting things to me at night
• ·         Someone I’m proud to be with in public (presentable, friendly, capable of getting along with strangers, not awkward
• ·         Conservative with money/wants a modest living
• ·         Thinking of others and wanting to serve/give to those who need it
• ·         Temple attendance-monthly at least
• ·         Not afraid to be stupid and silly in appropriate situations
• ·         Knows who he is and what he believes and is always true to that
• ·         Wants to go places and do new things 
• ·         Likes to cook, do dishes, and take care of kids
• ·         Is a great role model to kids and takes advantage of teaching moments
• ·         Sensitive to thoughts and feelings/recognizes good and bad moods (and knows how to deal with them)
• ·         Good listener (knows when to give input and when to keep his mouth closed and just hold me)
• ·         Offers compliments openly and sincerely (not too much, not too little)
• ·         Plays games (the board and card kind—not the mind kind)
• ·         Taller than me and very attractive to me
• ·         Has the desire to take care of himself after marriage (avoid the newlywed ninety!!)

Talyn I love you. Thank you for spending the evening with me.

I love...

I love the temple.
I love feeling the Spirit there.
I love how easy it is to talk to God in His house.
I love the work.
I love being comforted by my Savior.
I love the time that I have to ponder and relfect on my many blessings.
I love asking for guidance and help.
I love knowing I am heard by my Father in Heaven.
I love how it brightens my day.
I love that I have amazing friends who go with me frequently.
I love how my testimony grows every time I go.
I love that I am surrounded by so many here in Utah.
I love that my heart is so full of joy.
I love the purpose and beauty of all the happens within those perfect walls.
I love knowing that I am loved by my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I love what I believe in.
I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
I love the temple.

Provo Utah Temple (image found online)

Today was lovely.
I went to the Temple.
I worked at Avenia Bridal.
I observed a cotton fitting.
I beaded a wedding gown.
I observed a build up fitting.
I sketched a collar on a build up for a bride.
I unpicked indivisble thread between delicate lace.
I learned alot.
I helped Debbie with Taylor's Homecoming refreshments.
I went to Bain's last choir concert.
I watched the season finale of Glee with my family.
I made a new summer goal.

Heaven on Earth. Thank you The Chocolate. and Katie Agle. We ate this on Thursday afternoon-our lunch-I was hoping it would calm my nerves for Friday. SO DELICIOUS. Please TODAY, get one, if you live in the Orem area. You won't be disappointed. Fresh baked cookie, right when you order, warm-gooey and perfect with ice cream on top. PERFECTION.

Cazookie @ The Chocolate

Look how adorable my little stud of a brother is. Such a cutie. Senior pictures. I cannot believe he is graduating!!!

 

weekend...

I already posted about Friday. Saturday my dear friend ABIGAIL who I danced with at The Dance Club had her bridal shower. She is getting married on June 3rd!!! So exciting. I love weddings, I can't wait to see how beautiful she is in her dress with all the decorations. It will be STUNNING. (I don't know the photo credits... I stole it from facebook) So cute!

After the shower I went to Talyn's house and watched the new Narnia movie with her, we drank Sonic and talked outside in the wonderful weather before I went to Tay's to watch Avatar. I have never seen this movie-I know, shocker, and honestly I wasn't dying over it. I am not a huge fan of computer animated movies and... it was just kind of weird. On Sunday I went to Stake Conference with my family because Sy was sustained an Elder, and my dad a High Priest. Very exciting. Then Taylor came with me to Katie's ward where she was giving a talk. Ya see, she really wanted to meet Tay because she was stuck with me talking about him but not knowing him for the past 21 months. I was also able to meet her boyfriend Daren. (who she has been dating for almost 5 months and I had never met...) so that was nice. Katie did a wonderful job not to mention she is beautiful and her and Daren are so cute!!! (another one I stole from facebook)

My family wanted Taylor to stop by so we talked with them for a couple hours and then I went with my mom and Bain to take Sy's senior pictures. After dinner I finished season 5 of LOST. Only one season left.... depressing. Guess I'll just have to start one of my series over... heroes, prison break, or lost....as for this week...hopefully I start back up at Avenia Bridal, get some things crossed off or at least started from my summer to-do list, get my voice back... yes I sound like a man, it is pretty much completely gone at the moment, workout like a mad women to make up for my vacation, visit the temple, and hang out with my lovely friends and family.

what to wear...

That was the question on everyones mind (at least my fashion girls in NYC) when I found out when I would be seeing Taylor for the first time in over 2 years.. Since I am a pretty casual person (though I love dressing up) I decided to go with my basic formula.. pants, silk cami, cardigan, and topsiders. This is what I came up with...

my favorite summer jeans-J.Crew

my newest silk cami-Banana Republic

my favorite cardigan-J.Crew

my favorite sperry topsiders-J.Crew

for accessories..

the usual plus

earrings (can't see in picture-sorry) are new and beautiful

bracelets: pearl bracelet from Wilkins' family and gold stone bracelet from Taylor

I am holding the present I gave Taylor.

I placed slips of papers with fun activites we can do together this summer in 'our "fun things to do" jar'

Here's the story. Taylor's family picked him up from his mission in NY on Wednesday May 11. Since his mom was out of town she asked me to make a "welcome home" sign for her. They arrived home around 1am this morning. Taylor was released at 3:30pm and we were finally able to meet up at 6. I met him up in the canyon and have been smiling ear to ear since. We hugged, we smiled, we laughed, we complimented each other, we held hands, we were both very very happy. We took a drive up past Heber and just talked and took it all in. Us. again. It felt so normal, so good, and so perfect. I am happy. Our reunion ended early because he is wonderful and had to drive to the airport at 9 to pick up a member from the Bronx who was flying into town and needed a ride. Though I wish I was with him now, I am so glad that he is so amazing and so willing to help others. He is such a good guy and I am so happy he is home! He is my best friend, and I missed him so much!

Taylor is BACK!

the rest of my WONDERFULLY perfect trip

Friday:
Like I mentioned before, my mom and I started the day at the french place and then stopped at Mood before getting my suitcase in Queens. On the way back to Manhattan we ate a lamb gyro and then checked into her hotel. For dinner we ate at Rosa Mexicano (fresh homemade guacamole DELISH!)

making the guac

happy with guac

entree-AMAZING

Then we had the 2nd FIT dance concert. Here is the dance I choreographed..some pictures and a video (actually the video wouldn't load.. so I'll work on that)

pictures by kaitlin cremmins



my team

After the show my friends and I went to the Houndstooth Pub for dinner-my first time at a pub. The food was SO yummy-hands down the best sweet potato fries of my LIFE!!!!

Monika, Me, Brit, and Taylor

Saturday:

This morning Taylor, Brittney and I decided that we should end our last day of performances with a tea party in Central Park (since the theme of our show was tea party/wicked wonderland). It was a chilly but beautiful day to spend in the park with my friends-eating croissants, fruit, crumbs cupcakes, pasta salad, cheese and crackers, and tea (water for me).

Afterwards I met my old roommate Hannah at Chelsea Market for lunch-She ate at a delicious crepe place, I wasn’t feeling well (probably the cupcake for breakfast) so I had a snow cone (straight off the block of ice-with homemade pear and plum syrup). After we went to the sample sale that was going on in CM. I wasn’t going to get anything but then I saw this AMAZINGLY ADORABLE skirt that probably retailed in the $150-200 range and I got it for $45. It made me SUPER happy-I love it.

I took a much needed mini nap and went to FIT to get ready for the final show. We took pictures and enjoyed each other as much as we could. I LOVE dancing with these girls (and Max). Truly it is an honor to share the stage with them. They are inspiring and beautiful and I love every minute I get to share with them. Dance team-THANK YOU for letting me come join your show this weekend. It was just what I needed. I miss you guys SO much and will always remember how much you all meant to me (and still mean to me). I want to thank especially the girls in my dance who picked up the choreography so quickly and danced so beautifully, for all the choreographers who let me join their dances at the last minute, and to all those who lent me their space for the night. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at FIT-to meet you all- and now, to have danced with you again. I love you guys!!!

Soaking our feet in Epsom Salt before the show

clockwise: Katie, Amanda, Alyssa, Taylor, Laura, Max

"the birth of Bree" haha backstage and stage view



Katie's Dance



elbow stand

 

acro lift



Taylor's Dance

my dance

After the show I met up with my mom and her friend Teri who joined her on the vacation and we ate at Shake Shack. I introduced her to the ‘Shroom Burger-she LOVED it. I was so happy my mom could see me perform! I love having her in the audience. She is so supportive.

Then the whole team met at a bar for the after party. It was my first time ever going out in the city. I now am 21 so I could legally get into the bar and be with all my friends. It was SO MUCH FUN!! The karaoke was hilarious and the lovely drunk guys with pick up lines like “hey, where’s the bathroom?” then when I point he continues with “oh… well could you actually show it to me?” (He asked this a few times after I continued to point/ignore him)… Creeper. Sorry no! haha thanks to Amanda who showed him what’s up by forcefully telling him that he did not need help to the bathroom, that he was basically pathetic and that he needed to leave me alone. All in all it was such a great weekend! (even though this night and weekend was super tiring, we didn’t get to bed until around 4 am)

documentation of my night out on the town...while holding my friends drink

Sunday:
Rise and shine bright and early for 9 am church (at the new year my singles ward switched times from 9 to 11 so we ended up at the family ward). I was kind of sad because I really wanted my mom to meet my old Bishop and I wanted to see some old friends.

We had a pumpkin scone (from heaven) from Alice’s Tea Cup while we waited the supposed 2.5 hours for a seat to eat brunch. It ended up being only about 40 minutes until they were able to seat us. OH MY GOODNESS- this place was adorable and so delicious. I had French Toast (naturally) that was more like bread pudding!!! Masterpiece in a bowl is what I would call it. My mom got a poached egg and smoked salmon over a scone which was also amazing! We got caffeine free Christmas Brew Tea which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

For our afternoon entertainment we went to the Broadway show Wonderland. It was very good, entertaining, and funny. ALSO I about died… the male lead (the white knight) PROPOSED!!!!!! To the female lead (Alice) after the show. Like FOR REAL!!!!! Seriously the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed. I was crying-it was perfect. It was also Wonderland’s last show… we were so lucky to be there.

We stopped in Central Park for a little walk before having dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the West Villiage. I got amazing cheese ravioli with crème sauce with peas and prosciutto!!!! LOVE IT! And Italian doughnuts for dessert dipped in chocolate.

just some NYC pictures

my mom caught me reading a text.... I guess I was happy... haha even if it only said "hey how are you?"

I had to say bye to my FIT dance girls-again-I hate good bye’s. I’ll miss them so much.

Monday:
We went to Hoboken New Jersey to visit Carlo’s Bakery (The Cake Boss). We were so lucky the line is known to be anywhere from a 2-4 hour wait… BUT we only had to wait 30 minutes or so!! It was delicious. I don’t follow the show but my mom’s friend Teri does and she LOVED it! We had many different baked goods and stopped at a juice press store to eat up.

Today was our shopping day-we had a few things on our list like…Canal Street (which by the way I am getting SO good at working those sellers! I got a price down from $65 to $35 (watch) and from $70 down to $20 (perfume)! I also wanted to show my mom the J.Crew at Columbus Circle that I used to work at. I got to see a few of my managers and old associates which was really fun… (I REALLY WISH I STILL HAD MY DISCOUNT!) I did get bright yellow Sperry TopSiders (for J.Crew) rain shoes that were on sale that I love. After J.Crew we stopped at GROM for the best gelato in the world.

I met up with Jenn at Rockefeller Center to chat for a bit before she had to go back to work. We hit up H&M because Bain needed a dress for her freshman formal this weekend. Then we ended the night at Serendipity. This time we got the Lemon Ice Box Pie Sundae with fresh berries and sauce. SUPER delicious!!

Tuesday: By today I am just SO tired and SO ready to go home. 18 days is a LONG time to be hopping from place to place and filling everyday with walking, dancing, and activities. I am so worn out! We needed to buy some more costume trims and I was looking for horse hair (a plastic woven strip that is used around hems of evening dresses to hold their shape) so at M&J trimmings I was told I could find horse hair right around the corner. It was still early so not all the shops were open yet and so I stumbled into an evening dress store because it was the only place that MAYBE would have it… the guy had a thick accent and kept telling me “HHHOOAAAAAAAAAAAARSEE hair? What’s hhooaaarrse hair? I’ve been in the business 35 years and I’ve never heard of it. Who named it that anyway?” After explaining what horse hair was (that it helps keep the shape of a dress) he said he knew what I needed and I told my mom he’d bring me a petticoat. Sure enough he did and he said “and you don’t even need to kill any horses for it!” OH man, it was the funniest thing in the world. I am guessing you had to be there I just wanted to write it so my mom and I could always remember! Hahahaha we did find the right place later in the day once it opened.

the hotel

We then went to my favorite museum, the Frick Collection. SO beautiful-too bad I was so tired I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to (but I have been before so it’s all good!)

After we stopped at RICE TO RICHES (my mom and I tried the almond and cheesecake flavors! SO delicious!) then we had lunch at the Meatball Shop-seriously amazing. My mom’s sandwich was incredible. It was a beef meatball with mushroom sauce with cheese on a soft bun and oh my my, so delicious.

rice to riches signs-so funny

the meatball shop

the only Taxi ride we took

Teri was picked up for the airport and my mom and I did a little more shopping around for beads and cheap jewelry then we got picked up for the airport. The ride was long. I haven’t been feeling well for the past week and today was the worse so my stomach didn’t appreciate the ride but it is okay because we made it! Our flight was delayed but arrived on time and my daddy drove us home.

Dear bed. I love you.