You live and you learn...

I've learned....

...that things don't always go according to plan
...that life can be ugly and so beautiful at the same time
...that learning the hard way isn't always the best way
...that family is the most important thing in the world
...to simplify rather than complicate
...that things usually work themselves out
...that worrying is like a rocking chair- it gives you something to do but it never gets you anywhere
...that in order to solve a problem you need to focus on a solution
...that patience really is a virtue
...that we live in a truly amazing world
...I may not understand why at first but everything happens for a reason
...that I will never be perfect no matter how hard I try
...that you need to love yourself in order to be able to love anyone else
...that love really is everywhere
......that music can unlock your soul
...to not be afraid of what could or might happen
...to expect good things to happen instead of bad
...that negativity gets you nowhere
...to enjoy life in little moments
...that I control my own destiny
...that being myself is perfectly OK

Four Things Tag

Nicki tagged me! Here we go...

4 random things I like about my husband:

~He is a brilliant cook- he should be a chef!
~He has been cleaning around the house lately so I don't have a big mess to clean up over the weekend.
~He stays positive through our rough times.
~He is really cute when he cuddles with Sammy

4 books I'd read more than once:

~Twilight Series

~The 4 Agreements

~Anything by Jodi Picoult

~Lovely Bones

4 TV shows I watch:

~America's Next Top Model
~The Hills (shut up I love it!)
~The Soup, I can't get enough of Joel McHale
~Nip/Tuck & Weeds, I couldn't decide

4 places I have been:

~Connecticut
~Chicago
~San Diego, California
~Pretty much every state on the east coast

4 people who email me regularly:

~Dad
~Mom
~Aunt Jan
~That's about it, I don't have a very tech-friendly family.

4 favorite foods:

~Mom's meatballs

~Josh's spicy chili- I can't wait for him to make it this football season
~Cafe Rio tortilla soup
~Grilled tuna sandwiches

4 places I would like to visit:

~Hawaii
~Seattle
~Italy
~Canada

4 things I am looking forward to in this coming year:

~Hopefully moving closer to family
~A new president!!!
~Family vacation on an Oregon beach
~Starting school again!

Hear ye, Hear ye! Princess Nicki of Swilorville is getting MARRIED!

So my good friend Nicki Christensen asked me and Heather to throw her a bridal shower for all of her friends at work.

We have been calling her "Princess Nicki" ever since she got engaged and thought what would be more fun than a PRINCESS PARTY!?

OK I just have to say... this was SO much fun to plan! We planned it right down to the tiny details :) We played fun princess games, gave everyone a crown to wear, wands, and bubbles!

Since Nicki has already taken the initiative to blog about this eventful night complete with pictures and details I'm going to direct you there: Nicki's Bridal Shower.

In the words of Cinderella.... "Dreams DO come true!"

CONGRATULATIONS, PRINCESS NICKI!!

Oh yes it's ladies night... oh what a night!

So after a very long and stressful week, me and Hailey decided it was time for a girls night out! With lots of alcohol involved of course! Turns out her old band, The Boom Sticks, were playing a show at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake. How perfect!

After pre-gaming with some Bacardi Grand Melon (with Sprite- sooo yummy you should try it!) we took a cab ride over the bar and Hailey got hit on by the Iraqi driver. Classic.

Urban Lounge is kind of a grungy type dive bar, lots of punk rockers with green hair and goth chicks with corsets and fishnets, so me and Hailey definitely stood out!

We started with Gin & Tonics, then beer, then more Gin & Tonics, then more beer.... and I think I remember drinking a half empty Cosmopolitan at the end of the night. Turns out they spill everywhere when you're trying to walk to your table hahaha

Let's just say we had ourselves a goooood time :-)

Starting out looking pretty!

Gettin our drink on!

Trying to be a punk rockstar. To my surprise I was loving the loud and crazy screamo music. ROCK ON!


Holding our hu-mungo beers!


Watching the Boom Sticks play- they kicked serious ass!

Chillin with the drummer and lead guitarist- he makes a lot of crazy faces ahaha

All together now!

Drunk on the right and Drunker on the left.

These are 2 amazing and CLASSY women!

From what I can remember it was a well deserved kick ass night!
Thanks for another crazy Friday night, Hay Hay!

Tonight and Forever

I just fell in love with this song called "Tonight and Forever" by The Damnwells. I heard it off of the movie Chaos Theory (which by the way was SO good- you should go rent it!). Have a listen:

I am...

I am... a hopeless romantic.
I think... constantly.
I heart... my dog Sammers.
I dance... when I'm feeling happy.
I want...to stop worrying.
I have... great hair thanks to the brilliant Hailey Johnson.
I am scared of... spiders. And now moths as well. Don't ask.
I hate... when people are mean on the phone... RUDE.
I miss... my friends and family back in good ol' CT.
I write... "i love you" messages on steamy mirrors.
I wish... I could go to the beach and hear the waves crashing.
I fear... of losing a loved one.

Sunday with Amber

I was so excited to see my older sister this past weekend!!

It's hard to find enough time to see each other when we live an hour away from each other (for some reason she decided to live in Ogden *gags*). But the woman is my only family here so I have to make time.

We decided to meet in Layton to have lunch at Winger's and then we went and saw "The Women" which by the way is SUCH a good movie!! Go with your best friend, sister, or mom. I seriously don't remember seeing a male in the entire movie! It was really funny and had a great story about friendships and relationships. And Meg Ryan looks really good for being what... almost 50 now? Check out the trailer here.

Then we decided to grab some coffee and go check out bargain deals in the mall. My sister is the queen of bargain shopping. The girl is just talented! She goes into the high end stores like Dillard's, Macy's, Banana Republic.. etc and goes straight to the clearance section. She usually never spends more than $10 or $15 on a shirt. Kinda made me want to start taking maybe like $20 out of every paycheck. That gives me $40 to work with... which could turn into 3 or 4 shirts! Sounds like a good deal to me.

I'm more of a "oooh that's pretty" shopper and I get the new stuff displayed in the front of the stores. It feels good at first until a couple months later I see the same shirt I paid $40 for on the clearance rack marked down to $15. They just don't look happy all bunched together in those clearance racks :( Well I'm going to start taking my sister's advice and I'm going to discipline myself and only get what's on sale. I hate it but it's what I must do!!

I think my sister and I are starting to get a lot closer. I've started to be more honest with her lately and she's been really helpful when I tell her about my issues. She's not afraid to tell me her life isn't perfect and that sometimes she tends to go crazy. We're just women...

And we like it that way!

You'll be my American Boy....

I looooooove beyond love this song right now. Some chick named Estelle? I like the remix with Kanye... gotta love him. Have a listen folks...

Fall Fashions

So I've been dying to go shopping lately, especially because I love shopping for the cold months coming up. Since I don't have the extra cash to spend I decided to look online for some of my favorite fall looks and create a shopping list!







I love these long cardigans. (^) You can layer them over your cute tee's and tanks you wore all summer. It's probably best to get one in a neutral color so I can add pops of color with accessories.

I also really want to try out these sweater dresses. Its like wearing a really comfortable long shirt and the best part is that I can wear leggings underneath. Add some heels and I'm good to go! Definitely good to wear on your "fat" days.

I'm also wanting to get a blazer so I can wear them over cute dressy sleeveless blouses. I would pair them with some really great wide leg trousers like these (<---).

I really love pops of color, especially turquoise!! And I love 3/4 shirts and scoop necks, they always seem to be most flattering on my body. How cute is this argyle sweater/shirt? I could pair it with some cute colored tights. And those brown boots are a must. After sloshing through snow in my flips flops last winter and almost getting frost bite on my toes I would say I'm in need of some super cute boots, what do you think?


I'm also loving these shoes called "booties." It's like a shoe, boot, and heel combined! I'm always trying to find cute dressy shoes to wear to work when it's cold out. These look perfect!

Let's hope I can save some extra cash before the snow hits! Wish me luck!

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo? That is the question.

So I've been thinking about getting a tattoo now for quite a while. About a year to be exact.

I always hated tattoos growing up and thought they looked dirty. Now it seems the tattoo trend has grown.. everyone wants to get one now a days! Shows like Miami Ink and L.A. Ink showed me that it's more than just a tattoo.. it's an art form... and they are very deep and meaningful to a lot of people. Like a constant reminder of who you were at that time in your life. It's just so PERMANENT! Kinda freaks me out a little that I will be an old granny with saggy tats. HAHA.

So here are some of my ideas, tell me what you think:

I would love to get one symbolizing my Gemini zodiac sign. I was thinking of getting 2 women figures on my back, one an angel and one a devil. That's where my mind starts to wander. Should they be on opposite sides of my back, maybe looking at each other? Or I thought they could have their backs showing, holding hands, and looking back over the shoulder. Or back to back. I'm not quite sure, but I know I would want something symbolizing the Gemini and not just the sign itself. Or maybe a mix of both...

And then there's my crown idea. My mom named my sisters and I after queens for our middle names because her daughters are her queens! My older sister's is Amber Elizabeth, then there's me, Kristen Victoria, and my younger sister Alecia Catherine. I was originally thinking of getting a really decorative cursive V with a queen crown on top of it. Or maybe just the crown itself. I was thinking to get it on the back of my neck or the back of my shoulder. I'm still searching for the perfect crown design though.

And then there's another one I have, I will probably save this one for later when I've gotten used to having tats, not to mention the crazy amount of money it would cost. But I thought it would be really pretty to have like a string of orchids or different flowers going down my stomach area, starting up on my side and then coming down to around my belly button. I'd have to start liking my stomach to get this one but I love the idea.

Nicki's wedding in Vegas next month? Sounds like the perfect amount of time for me to decide what to get!

Artistic Inspiration: Ashlynn Pierce

So I discovered another exceptional artist named Ashlynn Pierce.

She mostly does oil paintings and from what I can see she is extremely talented. I read up a little bit on her bio and she has been winning art contests since she was 8, got an art scholarship and recently started painting full time.

She mostly paints Abstract style paintings and she gets inspired by beauty around her and also paints from visions in her dreams.

"Sometimes I just start painting and see things emerge in the painting.I develop the vision and even I am surprised at the final creation."

How true! Sometimes when I paint I may have an idea in my head when I start but as I work on it I come up with new ideas and it turns out nothing like I had planned. Thats what I love about art- it is spontaneous and surprises you.

The painting above is called "REQUIEM" and is described as "murder with passionate rage." I like paintings with a little gore :) Amazing use of color and imagery... you can really feel the passion coming through.


This next one is called "INFERNO" and is described as "water being engulfed with flames." I love the shapes and use of color. Blue and Orange are complimentary colors and make the other stand out. I could see this pattern in a fabric or something. The different sized water shapes shows depth and and the direction carries your eye around the whole canvas.


I'm in love with this one to my right called "FIREDANCE" described as "a modern abstract southwestern scene." This is a great example of Impressionism which is the use of bright colors in small brush strokes. Edgar Degas and Claude Monet used this technique in their paintings as well. If you were to see this painting way up close you would see the tiny brush strokes and pops of color and as you stand back it all blends together. I love how the water looks like its moving. I always thought landscape paintings are the hardest, I still need to try it out.



This one to the left is my favorite! It's called "ALURE" and is described as "butterflies being drawn to the light." I especially love the colors and the black outlines. The different sizes of the butterflies create depth, like they are getting farther and farther away. Its just a beautiful painting to look at. I made it my new desktop background hehe :)

Stay tuned for more artistic inspiration!

I can't get this song out of my head....

I love this new song by Shontelle called "T-shirt." It reminds me of trying to get over my old boyfriends.. it's one of those songs that every girl can relate to. It doesn't have an official video but it shows you the lyrics.. I love it- hope you like it too!

Brett Dennen

I have discovered a new favorite music artist.. Brett Dennen!

If you like Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Ben Harper you will definitely love this guy. I even made a playlist so everyone could have a listen :)

My favorites are "She's Mine" and "The One Who Loves You The Most"

Enjoy!

Artistic Inspirations

I got to thinking the other day...

For as long as I can remember I have been an artist. My art assignments always got selected for art shows, I was artist of the month in middle school, and my senior superlative was "Most Artistic." I even went to college to pursue a degree in Art.

Well as you may know I quit schooling and turned my focus towards working full time while being young and married. I noticed that since I quit school I haven't been drawing or painting as much. It's all about what outfit can I wear or what colors to use in my new living room. Pathetic!

So my question is... what happens when you stop being a student and no longer have the constant inspiration to draw and paint? I think that is where true artists are born- when they don't have anyone giving them assignments- they have to think of it on their own.

So since I've been slacking I'm going to try something out. Every week I want to research an artist I have never heard of before, pick out my favorite pieces from their portfolio, and blog abot them :)

So you may have noticed all these beautiful bare breasted women all over my page! Not to be a lesbian or anything but these paintings are so amazing and beautiful to me. They are by an artist named David Bromley. One of his most well known themes is the female portrait.

What I like most about these paintings is the use of bold color. I love how the actual drawing of the women is so realistic but the abstract painting totally transforms it and makes it pop.

This artist truly understands the woman's shape and form. He has drawn them looking so soft and elegant, but then he paints with sharp brush strokes and edgy patterns- contrasting the two together so beautifully.

I can sense these women's emotions too. I love when a painting has an emotional reaction- it means the artist captured the soul of their subjects and made it into visually stimulating pieces.

Here are a couple other pieces from him:


"An artist's duty is rather to stay open-minded and in a state where he can receive information and inspiration. You always have to be ready for that little artistic epiphany."
~Nick Cave