first week of no school

It's been a busy week...

25+ hours at Avenia

10 hours of custom work 

Saying "bye" to Taylor

and getting sick

Taylor left for Dallas yesterday - he'll be there through July

ugh. No bueno. 

Before he left we...

Had lunch at noodles and co. 

Watched my sister's Orem Dance Company concert

Went to City Creek

 And had dinner at The Roof 

(I sadly only had my ipod so the pictures are horrible quality)

I wish we had full body pictures..

On me: Cashmere sweater, wool pants, suede booties (not pictured), and Bracelets - J.Crew

On him: Shirt-Nordstrom, Tie/Chinos/Sperry's/Timex-J.Crew, Jacket-Gap

 I somehow failed to take a picture of our 3 dessert plates, we tried at least 13 different kinds (it was a buffet) and they were all amazing!!! 

The view from our table!

(He spoils me!)

Saturday I got sick and Sunday I was stuck in bed all day

I meant to take outfit pictures and didn't (well I have two)

I'm not quite in my summer routine yet, once I get better I'll pick it up and get on a good schedule. 

(Which means more projects to blog about)

Mom:

Skirt-J.Crew

Shirt-Target

Jacket-Park City (a shop on Main Street)

Shoes-?

Earrings-aBree Original 

(my 2 not too exciting outfits)

outfit 1:

Shirt-Urban Outfitters (my favorite t-shirts!)

Pants and Belt-J.Crew

Earrings-Cherry Lane (gifted)

Shoes-Kaleidoscope/Farylrobin 

Bracelets-J.Crew and aBree Original 

outfit 2 (love chambray with white jeans):

Shirt-J.Crew

Pants-Hudson

Shoes-Michael Kors

Earrings-Banana Republic

Bracelets-J.Crew and gifted

It's finally summer break!

Alright friends..

Now that I have sufficiently slept (about 7 hours on and off on Sunday - and 7 hours last night) I feel like I am ready to get back to business. 

I finished finals on Thursday, it was the hardest semester of my life. Two 300 level classes (Finance and Business Writing) along with Econ (plus Art History 201 and LDS Marriage and Family) made it very tough. But it is over and I did the best I could - I learned a lot and did my best and that is all that matters!! I also had the opportunity to teach 3 jazz classes and meet so many amazing dancers. I spent my days in the library with Taylor and quite honestly, it was so much fun! This semester was hard and challenging but so good. I am so blessed to be at BYU, to be able to teach, and to spend my days laughing, talking, studying, and learning with my best friend.

On Friday the semester wasn't quite over... I went to Amber @ Remedez for my usual monthly massage (only I went for 90 instead of 60 minutes) then went to help Taylor who had 25 pages of finals left to do by midnight.

Saturday I worked for 7 hours, went to Colton's homecoming party (Colton is one of Taylor's best friends who just returned from his mission), then finally saw The Vow. I really liked it!

When Sunday rolled around I realized how tired I really was from finals (I hadn't really taken a break yet), so after Colton's talk I went home and tried to be productive but wound up sleeping pretty much all day long! It was SO nice.

Now I am back to work. I made my summer to-do list, worked out, and started my first sewing project. Thank goodness this blog is going to be more fashion/sewing related this summer (and not so much boring school stuff).

This summer I will be working at Avenia a lot, sewing a lot, working-out a lot, sketching/designing a lot, missing Taylor a lot, helping plan weddings a lot, reading a lot, teaching dance (2 classes in Summer semester) a lot, and enjoying the summer break a lot.

I am excited.

3 FOR 3

Well.. it finally happened.

TALYN GOT ENGAGED
this morning.
in St. George.
in a hot air balloon.
to Colby Crabtree.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Crabtree!!!!!!! ah, I love it!

so Talyn, so gorgeous!

I could not be happier!!!

This completes the list - all of my best friends are engaged and by mid August... will all be married!

3 down, 3 to go

The past week was CRAZY busy.
3 finals down.

-MCOM 320 (Advanced Business Writing) written portion
-MCOM 3320 multiple choice
-ARTHC 201 
-and DANCE 231 is done, they tested Saturday morning at 8 AM

I studied (aka memorized) like crazy and think I did pretty well on all three...

Now the hard ones.

-BUS M 301 (Finance)
-ECON 110

ugh. I don't think I have adequate time to study for both....it'll be tough.

I gave my body a little break last night and this morning though - it needed a little rest (plus isn't that what Sunday is for?).

Taylor and I had a final last night (Saturday) at 8 PM so when we finished at 9:30 we made a stop at Guru's for sweet potato fries to-go and just sat on a couch, watched the news, and ate. It felt SO nice to NOT be in the library on the hard wooden chairs. To take a couple hours and relax.

I followed up with 8 hours of sleep, a nice talk with Talyn (did I mentioned she moved in for a couple weeks?), a long shower, a quick mani/pedi, church, more Talyn (and Bain) time, a little (finals week) shopping on jcrew.com and now my relaxation is over.

The other final I have is LDS Marriage and Family, so I am studying for that tonight!

(I surely didn't have time for the little relaxation/break...but my body did, and it's got to go super hard core for the next 4 days, I just hope I don't regret it!)

And... here is a bit from Easter (Church with the family, Easter egg baskets/hunt/breakfast, THE LAST EVER EPISODE OF ONE TREE HILL (I am SUPER sad....One Tree Hill has been my show since it came out in 8th grade, I will miss it terribly), Easter dinner (my favorite meal of all time), and then I went up with Taylor to his granny's house). It was a lovely day.

Easter baskets with the Family

My daddy..... haha bunny style

I won the Easter Egg hunt!

opening my treasures

Lamb, asparagus, rice pilaf, curried fruit, pistachio jell-o salad, rainbow jell-o

let it begin..

Reading days + 6 finals

Tay and I are all geared up and ready to go

complete with all the essentials

HUGE BAG OF GOODIES INCLUDE:

Wheat Thins

Cheez-its

Pumpkin seeds
Gardetto's
Nutri-Grain Bars - raspberry
Fiber One - oats and caramel bars
Power Bars - chocolate
Carrotts
1 pack of crumb donuts
Newton's Fruit Thins - blueberry brown sugar
Cadbury Eggs
Easter candy: Jelly beans and mini candy bars
(P.S. I'll post about Easter..maybe this weekend?)

and my famous locker blanket..
cause it is cold in the library and it's nice and soft for power naps!

And since it's been awhile since I've shared something substantial...
I wrote an email to my dance classes thanking them for a great semester and sharing my testimony...so I'll share some of it with you too!

"I want you all to know that our bodies are gifts from our loving Heavenly Father. The ability to move and dance and learn was given to us by Him so that we could enjoy this life and grow as sons and daughters. I truly know that God loves each one of us and truly wants nothing but the best for His children. Let Him help you become all that you dream to be. Don’t spend time comparing yourself to others; we are all individuals with specific and divine talents that aren’t meant to be competed against. We are all unique and that is how we become perfect. Take what you have and love it! Let it become a joyous part of your life and don’t dwell on the negatives. Be happy with who you are and know that you are loved by our amazing Father in Heaven.

If you are looking for a good, quick summer read I highly recommend, You Are Better than You Think You Are, by Ardeth G. Kapp.

I’ve included some of my favorite quotes from her book below:

“I knew that if I were functioning on my own I would have a legitimate reason to feel inadequate, but when I did my best to prepare and then trusted in the Lord, he would magnify me far beyond my natural ability.”

“We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, but the truth remains that we are the children of God and He has actually given His angels-invisible beings of power and might-charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”

“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.”

“May we cherish each and every day, even with its ups and downs, and protect ourselves from becoming consumed in what may sometimes seem like the big things, which might rob us of all the little things that are the very essence of life.” "

happy studying!

If you need me I'll be here, hibernating in the HBLL, until Thursday at 3 PM

so sorry...

I promise this blog will get more exciting... after I take my 6 finals. Next week.

school..

This semester is killing me..

I am so done. I don't know if I can last the next two weeks. I just get so distracted, I am not productive, I don't want to do any studying, and I have no motivation. I read a paragraph in my book and then check my email, or blogger, or pinterest, or whatever I can come up with.

BUT at the same time... I guess all I do is homework. For instance I had a HUGE group project for my Advanced Writing (MCOM) class. It turned into being a nightmare. On top of working on it for the past couple weeks, Tay and I spent 5 hours on it on Wednesday night, and 10 hours yesterday not even researching but "simply" putting together the PowerPoint presentation, compiling the research into a nice report, and producing a handout for the class. Oh, and preparing/memorizing an oral presentation. Luckily it turned out great and went smoothly. Even though we both had to miss other classes to get it done, and basically fail our Finance assignment because we didn't have time to do it properly.

We treated ourselves to a large french fry at McDonald's afterward.

Now, it's almost finals. I have 4 scheduled finals. ALL ON THE SAME DAY. the FIRST day of finals. which also happens to be a Saturday. lovely. The other 2 are not scheduled.

FINALS WEEK. (reading days start Thursday, finals start Saturday)

Thursday: MCOM final part 1 due (writing portion)

Saturday:
8am-10am: Administer 231 Jazz Dance final
5:45pm: Marriage and Family final
8pm-10pm: MCOM final part 2
8pm-10pm: Art History final

so.. that doesn't work. MCOM has another section I can go to. 5pm-7pm.
that doesn't work either. Marriage and Family has another section I can go to. Tuesday at 3pm.

Awesome. only 2 of my finals I can actually take with my scheduled class.

I guess that is what you get for having 3 evening classes on Tuesday/Thursday

Monday-Thursday: Econ final and BusM 301 (Finance) final

Bring out the sour patch kids and Cadbury eggs.

Things to look forward to:
-Talyn is living with my family for a couple weeks (she moved in Sunday, I saw her basically for the first time last night) ha!
-I just applied for a scholarship for dancers who are not dance majors! 
-Emily is having a BRIDAL SHOWER tomorrow
-EASTER Sunday (my FAVORITE meal of ALL TIME-so excited)
-2 weeks until I get 4 months off. happy day.

Sorry for the rather depressing tone of this post. I will try to post another one soon that is more upbeat, positive, and worth-while! 

Best compliment ever..

"You definitely look more like an East Coast girl!" -Bride @ Avenia Bridal from Boston

Thank you, I try!

I haven't posted an outfit in FOREVER - but I had a little time before work today to snap a picture. Since it was so warm and sunny I decided to go for a very bright and fun look.

Shirt, Cardigan, Pants, Shoes, Belt, Earrings, Blue and Yellow Bracelet: J.Crew

Pearl Necklace: Gifted from Debbie (Nordstrom I think)

Amethyst Necklace: Gifted from Taylor

Green Bracelet: aBree Original 

Watch: Michael Kors

------

Remeber the Trunk Show I mentioned?

I think Matthew Christopher may be my new favorite wedding gown designer.

He does AMAZING bead work (which I LOVE) and is reasonably priced for the intricate details and gorgeous designs that he produces ($3,500-5,500) ((I know that may sound like a lot...(since most Utah County dresses sell for under $1,000) but it is SO not compared to the rest of the world))

SO... while I had the opportunity to.. I tried on some gowns after work yesterday

(I've never really tried on gowns before..once in 2009, the first time I went to Avenia Bridal, I tried on one for fun, and I put on one a couple months ago to help a photographer pick out a dress for a shoot because her model wasn't there - and since I never even went prom/homecoming dress shopping either... I thought, "Hey, I work at a bridal store and I've never even had the experience, (and since when I do get married, I won't be dress shopping either (I'll be making my own) so, "why not?!")

Come try them on! Purchase a Matthew Christopher for your wedding day! (it's so worth it) AND they are 10% off when you purchase at our trunk show (going on until Saturday, April 7)

Disclaimer: All the gowns are size 12 so, they do not fit well and are not proportionate to my body

I snapped some pictures to show off the gorgeous details 

Gorgeous peacock design, the skirt is UNREAL!! I wish I had a better picture of it

Unbelievable silhouette!! So beautiful.

LOVE the bead work!! SO pretty

Again. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

My mommy's favorite

(this one was originally strapless but Matthew Christopher worked with us and built in sleeves and shoulders exclusively for Avenia Bridal!)

And for fun, this is not a Matthew Christopher but a custom Nancy Barrus Couture

It is our best-selling dress and so I thought I'd try it on

I can see why it is

I don't even love lace and this was just GORGEOUS on

Super flattering and simply classic

So, make an appointment at Avenia Bridal!

801-373-0194