kelsey’s wedding

 

one of the coolest parts about college has been seeing my friends meet their significant other and end up getting married to them. witnessing the whole shebang is pretty satisfying. gotta love love! kelsey, one of my best friends and old roommate for 3/4 of my years at byu, and mark got married on april 27. the whole day was perfect. the bride was drop dead gorgeous, the food was pretty wonderful, and i got the chance to whip out my new lens

take a peek! 

congrats, you two! you’re perfect.

april at a glance

school is now out, and i am completely relishing my F R E E D O M. it feels so good to come home from work and not have homework and tests looming over my head. ah summer! i’m actually starting some online classes soon… but giving myself at least a week to recuperate before diving into gen ed classes i should have taken years ago. (groan)

so april, yeah? it was great. in fact, i think april is quickly becoming one of my favorite months due to the new LIFE that just springs up out of the depths of winter. shedding a jacket for the first time has got to be among one of the best feelings ever, even if it is only 40 degrees outside. i swear- that first time you feel the sun on your back it doesn’t matter how hard the wind is blowing it is pure EUPHORIA! 

so this month i ate a lot of green stuff. these are collard wraps i concocted filled with quinoa, tomato, avocado, garlic, chickpeas, and loaded with salsa. not bad…. but ice cream still tastes better. // speaking of things that taste better, brick oven veggie pizza beats out collard wraps, too. // evie playing a train that i used to play with when i was probably her age… the sound that sucker makes will never die! // cold, rainy days on campus with low fog that makes you super thankful for sunny days ahead.

april was school CRUNCH TIME. many nights my roommates and i would all sit around the kitchen table with out own laptops “studying” and i would often resort to just painting my nails because lets be honest here- you can only study so much stuff about infectious diseases in one night! // i’ve been eating spring rolls. they don’t taste like ice cream either, unfortunately. // my roommate is getting married tomorrow! we bought her this gigantic bowl she wanted so badly from crate and barrel. // i made it an april goal to learn how to do the splits, meaning stretching every day. this was as far as i got before i probably pulled something and put that dream on hold…

yellow mole tacos from taqueria 27. they were….. alright. cool concept, though. //when i go to hailey’s house my favorite part (besides seeing her, of course!) is drinking out of this HUGE big gulp cup KISS cup. it is just the perfect cup i tell you! // i’ve been experimenting with natural beauty products… read: i use baking soda for everything, and it is great for cleaning your face. try it! you just put about 2 teaspoons in your hand, mix enough water to form a paste, then put it all over your face, then rinse it off. // this is some lemon walnut kale pesto i whipped up when i probably should have been studying for something. it made me miss emily scoggin’s pesto skills. 

this, my friends, is what a 7 AM final looks like. the tests are in that envelope. i forgot to write my name on my test and my teacher had to email me like i was in 1st grade again. oy! // i wore these running tights to take a final at the testing center, and the workers told me that i was breaking the rules because “leggings are against the honor code”. can my immodest legs and i graduate yet? // SPRING! i like sunday walks and i like seeing spring colors. i don’t, however, enjoy the putrid stench of the fish trees. // my married pals. i tell ya what

i got rico all tuned up and ready to ride! he is happy. so am i. // kelsey thompson became kelsey nielsen! they’re partying in hawaii right now. i am jealous // the inside of the joseph smith building at temple square. i totally fell asleep waiting in one of the big comfy chairs// say hello to the new mrs. nielsen flanked by her totally awesome single friends.i got to go to TRADER JOE’S while i was waiting between wedding and festivities, and so i bought some of my favorite things, namely kettle corn, apples, white bean basil hummus, sun dried tomatoes, and some roasted seaweed snacks! seriously, these things… and i don’t want to hear about how gross they look because they’re absolutely delish. // there’s tulips out my front window! this fact basically sealed the deal that this apartment is my favorite place i’ve ever lived. // not every day you see a guy driving a scooter in a toga… // i went to the library and began my summer reading list today. i probably bit off more than i can chew… but whatever. i really can’t wait to dive in.

one of my friends and i went to check out a new thrift store on center street to find this gem: brigham young drinking bourbon. classy. // i have this awful habit of filling up jars with water, then only drinking a little and letting them sit there forever. as you can tell, this was day three of studying// after finals ended i let myself break out the candied almonds my family bought me from spain. oh, they’re delicious. i miss spain! // my car broke down multiple times. cars! i tell ya!

as far as other things, i’m currently…..

reading: well… nothing yet. the closest i came to reading anything this month thanks to finals was text books and twitter feeds. next month will be my shining reading moment

watching: food network. seriously, chopped is my relaxation tool. also i went to see this really awesome documentary called girl rising. when i think about complaining about school, the realization of just how lucky i am to even have the opportunity to learn smacks me right in the face. 

listening to: this song was my favorite and the video is just great. also,  a lot of NPR and coverage about the boston bombing. seriously, i was hanging onto every single word.

eating: that dang white bean and basil hummus from trader joes. if it isn’t served in heaven then i am not going (good news! i found a copycat recipe HERE!) . also, mighty maple peanut butter from the peanut butter co. and a lot of green smoothies. i like this recipe. also, tempeh. this sandwich with the sun dried tomato pesto is phenomenal.

have a happy may! since school is out i hope i can get around to posting more? (don’t get your hopes up, invisible readers

my cosmopolitan friends. and seeing one in salt lake.

the other day i realized that my six best friends currently reside in 6 different cities. arizona, louisiana, germany, india, boise, and salt lake…. you’re lucky to have these people! 

hailey lives in salt lake. well, kind of. we live forty five minutes away from each other, (thirty, let’s be honest with my driving skillz) but during the entire time i have been here since getting back from spain we’ve seen each other once thanks to her crazy JOB that has got her doing laundry in about all fifty states! anyway, last week when i got that golden text message from her telling me she’d be home for the weekend, we made sleepover plans because isn’t that what 22 year olds do? i mean, NOTHING is more fun that sleeping on the ground and not brushing your teeth and eating a whole bag of trader joe’s chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels in one night, right? (yep)

we talked and commiserated about our majors (always) discussed our friends babies (weird) got tacos from taqueria 27 (necessary) saw the movie 42 (wonderful) slept on the ground and tried to watch les mis while hailey fan girl-ed enjoiras (clinically obsessed, that one) made breakfast in the morning (fulfilling) and went to church together (hilarious). 

the tacos at taqueria 27 were…. well, i got mole and i thought it was alright, i give it a 5.7 out of 10, but it was in DIRE NEED of some salt and sriracha, but the tortillas were preeeeetty tasty. hailey got tacos and said they were good. we got this guac that was pretty stellar, and there was an asian transvestite across the way who kept us pretty entertained with his (her?) antics. i’d say go there, but BYOS. (bring your own salt shaker, duh)

i should probably explain this picture of this specific cup. ya see, this is THE KISS CUP. like, you know, kiss the band, duh. it is HUGE and i always request it when i go to hailey’s. i’ve got a thing for huge cups full of ice water. oh, i covet it so! 

it is funny, how people always seem to say that high school friends are the ones you’ll forget… that the college buds are the ones that you’ll end up connecting with and going on vacations with when you’re old and married with children. why is it that whenever people i meet talk about their “high school friends” they act as though once you leave, that door is completely closed and barricaded shut, as if the only true measure of a person is growing up and out of those friendships, shedding those immature relationships and getting uppity college friends? becuase i’m here to tell you people that that is SO not the case in my life. yes, i’ve met cool people in utah and have made some good friends, but those high school ones are the girls i know i will grow old with, reminisce with, and connect with the most when i shed this utah skin and get out into the world. because, like i learned in daisy scouts in kindergarten, MAKE NEW FRIENDS BUT KEEP THE OLD, ONE IS SILVER AND THE OTHER GOLD. 

familial gatherings

hey, april.  let’s cut to the chase, shall we? let’s get to the 23rd as quickly as we can so i can be DONE WITH FINALS and DONE WITH MY CLASSES okay? thanks.

so last week my family came into town, and actually the only proof they were actually here is in photos i took with my phone. it came and went so quickly that i have had a hard time convincing myself it actually did, in fact, happen. we had fun, though. we always do. here’s some photos of just what went down.

kourtni got her senior photos taken, and what a sight we were, i’m sure, running around downtown provo with this girl, following her with with cameras and reflecting devices, old chairs, and outfit changes. she’s model material, i tell ya!

another day, we went prom dress shopping for the girls and they each found their own power dress. the universe actually smiled down upon us and the hunt was quite quick and painless, if you can believe it. they’re so cool. also, my dad really got into it.

i guess you could just call family in town the ball’s food crawl, because that is what we spent a good amount of time doing. we hit up happy sumo for sushi for lunch one day, and my grandma took to spearing her vegas roll with one chopstick and dousing the entire roll with soy sauce. my mom blamed a sick stomach on an extra large piece of raw tuna. payton said top ramen was better than the noodles he ate. my dad finished his roll, looked up at us all and said, “that was great…. now where do you want to go eat for dinner? i want pizza.” and now you know why i am how i am.

so we went to pizza. nicolitalias, to be exact and it is preeeeeeeetty delicious i must add. we were all busting at the buttons, but the creamery called later that night, and i changed lives by introducing my mother to graham canyon. also, i didn’t eat anything thanks to me giving up sugar for lent. that was dumb.

other things happened, too. we watched walking dead together and cried over merle. we ate cheddar pretzels in the car and talked about our trip to hawaii. my mom held mason and got baby hungry. (sorry mom. no babiez pls) they visited my apartment and ate all of my roommate’s cadbury mini eggs. the weather cooperated. it was quite nice.

and then just as they’d come, they left back to boise and i wished i could have gone, too. not having a spring break is the pits, ya here?

thanks for the visit, familia!

a review of march (quick and painless)

 

 

this month was in like a lion, out like a drugged lion, and fast as a cheetah. as far as the monthly theme goes…. i think MIDTERMS. would probably suffice. lots of tests, papers, and cramming happened this month. also, presentations. read on! 

hawaii shape up is in full force… which basically means i just go to the gym on friday nights to lift heavy things. totally normal. // this was my first outdoor run of the season when i decided to break up with winter. // my lunch in the RB every monday and wednesdsay. also, i get weirdly self conscious when people ask me what i’m eating// this picture was taken as i was leaving work…. AKA it was STILL BRIGHT OUTSIDE! my soul smiled. thank you daylight savings

this month i got the opportunity to present at an inquiry conference put on by BYU and i presented about my project in spain. i was sufficiently terrified, but thanks to a little retail therapy and my nerd glasses i got through it. also, no one showed up but my mentor…. but then again, maybe i should have actually invited people? // my thursday grocery shopping haul. THOSE MARVIN’S CRACKERS are crystal meth good. // guys, mark this day in history that i successfully made spanish tortilla. and it was really good! i think pilar would have been proud. // just those little ragamuffin cuties i read to on thursdays. they always ask me if i have my phone to play with. mostly i lie and tell them it is dead. 

kourtni got her senior pictures taken. she was WORKING THAT CAMERA. what a babe// here’s my cute family waiting for our sushi. lindsay got bacon sushi. typical. // this is how my grandma eats her vegas roll. not pictured: dousing the entire thing with soy sauce. //me and payton. he always tells me to stop taking pictures… but this one is evidence that he totally likes it. 

my best girl kelsey is getting married. she fainted at her dress fitting. // i made waffles. they weren’t as delicious as they look, unfortunately. // we learned how to check for breast cancer. it was hilarious and well, hilarious. for my birthday i told my friend i wanted to have a cheese tasting AKA just buy many blocks and wheels of cheese (actually pieces out of the 1.99 or less bin at sprouts. let’s be honest here) and eat them with things. WE FEASTED. herbed goat cheese, wisconsin sharp cheddar, queso fresco (probably made in a bathtub. thx shane), sweet pepper cream cheese, brie…. for half an hour my life was complete. we ate it all with awesome crackers and dried fruit, nuts, apples…. guys. it was off the hook. 

and maybe after being sophisticated with our cheese we went and hit flaming golf balls into utah lake. actually i hid under a blanket because it was FA-REEZING. // more sushi. haters gonna hate.// i made lingerie cookies for my friend’s bridal shower. sometimes i frost cookies for three hours. // kourtni’s favorite pastime is stealing my phone and taking approx 1.6 thousand pictures of herself. so, i figured at least one should be displayed.

with it being lent and all, i gave up sugar for all month. during easter this bowl of cadbury mini eggs just would NOT LEAVE ME ALONE and just when all the eggs would be gone… somebody would fill it up again! let’s just say i ate my fair share of it come easter sunday. // OMG spring is here and i like being able to finally see the blue sky // just a creeptastic picture of me at the end of the month. // on sundays i like to take a little walk and listen to a podcast or two… usually dealing with moms and kids. i’m weird. this last sunday as i was walking along i saw this on the sidewalk and it made my day. “timshel” means “thou mayest” and is a HUUUUUGE theme of my fave book, east of eden. basically in a nutshell it means that you control your life and the way you’re going to live regardless of circumstance. at least that’s what it means to me… i suggest you pick up a copy and fall in weird love with adam and HATE CATHY. anyway, seeing this made miss the summer and reading and emily scoggin. also, i put this picture of insta and NO ONE LIKED IT therefore i guess i am alone in my love of literature namely this book.

as far as other things, i’m currently…..

reading: this article on living with less  kind of extreme for me, but i dig it.

watching: walking dead. SEASON FINALE! 

listening to:the one and only justin timberlake 20/20 experience. so good & full of subliminal drug refs.  

eating: too mush shushi! also, KALE. BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

hope you’re having a good april, ya’ll.

scattered thoughts

sometimes i feel like my days are just one big blur of WHO KNOWS WHAT and i feel like i need to write things to prove that the day happened and that i was here and there.

my family came and then they left meaning i have to make my own food (psych i went to my grandma’s and ate pizza)

i still felt like i was wearing a wig. ya see, last week i yearned a little bit for my old life and my old hair… and just that was made possible by a dear aunt who has some serious PATIENCE with me. and i’m thankful and all, but looking in the mirror is still somewhat frightening.

i went on a run sans watch and sans music. this led me to think a lot, you know, mostly about gay marriage and how the internet is taking over our lives as i ran down university and wished i was back in boise running on the greenbelt instead.

i made kale chips and sauteed brussel sprouts while fighting an internal battle on whether or not to take four online classes this summer and which class would be easier- technical writing or writing about literature. basically what i’m saying is that the advanced writing credit is trash.

i made a to-do lists at work and realized that next week will probably be logistically impossible given the amount of shifts i’ve decided to cover and tests i must take and papers i must write and…. stress?

since it was thursday, i went to sprouts to get the 20% student discount and buy mostly fruit…. which i end up mostly consuming on the way home. also, i saw my missionary friend’s “boyfriend” and we chatted…. and he mistook one of my hand gestures as a sign for a hug…. and went into it full force. i mean, is there anything weirder than hugging your friend’s boyfriend?

i wondered if static cling will always rule my life an if i will ever stop eating my coworker’s mixed nuts she leaves in the bottom drawer of the receptionist desk.

i thought about europe and travel and solo trips and patted myself on the back because THAT was a ballsy move, alyssa kristine. good job.

i got sucked into the internet and read blogs instead of doing those things on that to-do list.

the end

on my first day of being 22

i ate some forkfuls of peanut buttter straight out of the jar (all the spoons were dirty)

i began and ended the day with a good dose of justin timberlake.MIRRORS.( i’m sure jessica biel is super happy he wrote an ENTIRE CD about HER)

i only went to four out of my six classes… mostly because i hate my doctrine and covenants class and thinking about going to a 2.5 hr technology class made me want to cry** in chronic disease we learned to palpate breasts to check for cancer. it was hilarious and awkward

i sat on my living room and ate an assortment of goat cheese, brie, apples, and crackers because, um… cheese plates.

i laughed hysterically at my mom’s first grade class singing me a happy birthday message. they were so endearing and  i wanted to pinch all of their cheeks

i got a full body massage from a guy named dax which left me feeling like i’d been hit by a truck (in a good way?) also it is weird getting a massage from some guy that looks like he’s seventeen and him asking if you want him to massage your pecs. mmmmm pay to get felt up? ithinkiwillpassTHANKS. (that picture above of me looking super wasted is right after my massage. TRAINWRECK)

i got a free sandwich. it was…. well, free.

i got a package from my family and read each note about 15 times. they’re hilarious and wonderful.

i responded to birthday messages on facebook and texts.

i got some free red mango… it totally doesn’t count as sugar. it is YOGURT

i went to yoga and completely exerted what remained of any residual energy i had.

i went to bed.

see ya next year, march 20.

**and of course i had my little annual birthday cry anyway because, ya know, i only cry like once a year and it always falls on my birthday. it is weird and confusing to even yours truly, but ya know it’s my party and i’ll cry if i want to… right?

things i’m loving right now.

here’s just a short list of the best things about life as of march 18

1. MY MISSIONARY FRIENDS CAN EMAIL ME. evidently the mission rules have changed regarding emailing friends, so mondays are the best day of the week mostly because i get emails from britni and emily. i miss those girls x100000000000

2. these recipes:  this muesli recipe. it is so good and so cheap! this apricot larabar recipe. i adapted it a little bit by adding much more apricots and much less dates + orange peel and i was extremely pleased by the results. i used one hand to shove one in my mouth and the other hand to pat myself on the back. this soup. asparagus season is upon us! i can’t wait.  also, homemade peanut butter. my favorite recipe is just 2 cups of dry roasted unsalted peanuts, 1-2 T coconut oil, cinnamon, and 1 T honey all pulverized together to form something…. heavenly.

3. warm-ish weather/ daylight savings. more light at night generally means my happiness and productivity increase tenfold. last week during my hour break i went outside and laid on the brown grass. it didn’t even matter though, it felt so good to have the sun on my face.

4. a working vacuum. guys, this whole time i thought the vacuum at my apartment was broken when really it was just clogged with probably about 15 years worth of dust and hair. i broke it out on friday night, and vacuumed my room for the first time ever. that, coupled with the fact that they’ve finally finished water damage reconstruction in my room makes me feel like an actual human being living in an actual house and not a war zone. ahhhhhh

5. yoga. this month i’ve been trying to make it a point to go to yoga every wednesday night. it is kind of a mediocre class with sweaty mats and not a lot of ambiance given the basketball gym right next door and the incessant ball bouncing, but whatever it is free with a gold’s pass so i’ll take it. what i wouldn’t give to be OMMMMMMing at b3 in the riverwoods, though. rich people have all the fun.

 

a few things from this weekend.

hey mid march, good to see ya.

so we’re down to four weeks of school (THANK GOODNESS) and then maybe one day i won’t keep track of the days according to deadlines and midterm schedules. until then, though!

this weekend was great. i should stop complaining about my workload and whatnot, seeing as i only go to school on mondays and wednesdays, so technically my “weekend” starts on thursday, even if i still work every day beyond that til sunday. anyway here are a few photos from my weekend.

thursdays i work, then volunteer. this semester i am working with a program called conexiones that places students with hispanic families who have kids who need help with “homework”…. which is a term i use loosely. usually my time is spent reading with a few of the five kids, avoiding touching disgusting animals, and mesmerizing children with my oragami talents (thanks youtube) it is great. i accidently cut out matthew from our pic, but here we are taking a break from reading dr. seuss’ abc book (it is so freaking long) to take some really stellar pictures. thanks, iphone.

friday after work i went to a dress fitting for one of my good friend’s wedding next month… things were great until she fainted. needless to say the fitting was cut short and rescheduled for another day.

on saturday whitney and i went to lunch at cannella’s in salt lake. i’d write more about it, but i only feel like i can give it a 7/10 and that isn’t worth writing about. i got pizza and a salad that was awesome, though. my slice housed roasted mushrooms, mozzarella, truffle oil, and arugula. insane! the best part of our meal, however, was the huge spanish family a few tables away from us. i basically wanted to go chat with them the whole meal.

after lunch i wandered around city creek and then to trader joe’s. their 3.99 sushi is my favorite thing in life right now. this lobster roll was sent straight from heaven, and that apple in my mouth was awesome, too. also, a word to the wise- sushi isn’t very conducive to driving and eating. i mean, maybe i dropped it all on the ground while trying to open my packet of soy sauce…. and maybe i ended up just pulling over then picked it all back up, blew off the dirt, and ate it anyway. what can i say? i’m a woman obsessed (and probably the worst public health major, ever. long live the 5 second rule!)

on the way back to provo i stopped in lehi at the new outlets. to whomever decided to put  j. crew and le creuset  outlets right next to each other… i want to kiss you on the mouth.

sundays are good. today i woke up with waffles in mind, so i whipped up a batch of these this morning because we have church at 1 and i can… they were awesome. i ate too many.

here’s to another week!

 

a review of february (can you believe it is already done?!)

i’m kind of “meh” to the whole january 2-march 19 sprawl…. especially when the whole lot of it is spent trekking back and forth to byu campus, with tight boundaries ranging from north orem to springville. bleh! i stayed pretty darn busy, though… february means midterms, which means nights like tonight, where i put off studying and instead making peanut butter (dang good stuff, that peanut butter), listen to podcasts about transvestites, and blog. oh my life.

so here’s my month made manifest through some grainy iphone photography. enjoyyyyyy

family dinner with cute cousins// cousin date to cafe rio. boys ordering salads?? //cousins playing twister…. bahaha// happy sumo with my good ol’ roommates

food photos. not sorry! yellow curry with cauliflower rice // shaking up my avocado toast// THE BEST SALAD with greens, roasted brussel sprouts and sweet potato, goat cheese, honey dijon dressing, soy nuts // spinach and artichoke pizza on valentine’s day

another day done on campus// WAITING in line to TAKE a test on a SATURDAY while it was SNOWING // byu parking lot: you can’t read it, but the license plate said “hella” and i laughed// work is over and i am going home!

FREE YOGURTLAND DAY the best day, obviously // brunch date with whitney// SUSHI// lobbying on capitol hill

still trying to decide on a new pair of glasses// eating mongolian bbq takeout in my car in the snow with hailey// seeing friends from boise! // how i spend most of my days… on the phone with screeching parents on the other end

a stuffed animal taking refuge in the back of a cop car?? // my favorite place to eat my lunch mondays and wednesdays during my 15 minute lunch break between classes. SUNLIGHT. // special deliveries from anthropologie must be documented // it is great being the only girl at the gym in the weights… also i am pretty sure that guy is posing for me.

the needle i get put in my arm twice a week// i won a jar of FREE PEANUT BUTTER on twitter and obviously i got a jar of dark chocolate dreams. i am in love with it.// my favorite meal of the month- sauteed kale with a roasted sweet potato topped with goat cheese. *saliva// and this picture is purely to document my ONE WEEK UNWASHED HAIR. love me or hate me.

as far as other things, i’m currently…..

reading: three new favorite blogs here and here and here

watching: lincoln

listening to: this podcast which left me with a lot to think about regarding gun violence

eating: baked sweet potatoes with goat cheese and honey and no dessert for lent (i’ve made it two weeks! eeeeeee)