the blessings of our day

last night, my friend annie and i got to skype allie in china. it was so much fun to see her face and hear her voice. allie and i have been emailing back and forth for the past few months, but it was awesome to really catch up and laugh with her again. allie is in china teaching english to little kids. she is learning and growing so much and i sometimes find myself envying her experience, although i know it's hard for her and she gets homesick.

i am so grateful for modern technology that allows us to keep in touch in such efficient ways with loved ones all around the world. we are so blessed in so many ways.

a colorful weekend.

i had a fabulous weekend.

went to the color festival with my best girlfriends...

sarah was in the mosh pit..made it all worth it.
sarah is the pickiest eater i know..sierra made sure the sandwich she made for her was up to par.

stripes, pearls and floral..can't go wrong there.
felt so lucky to spend some time with great friends, ali, carla, sarah and sierra. we had a sleepover in Provo at Ali's place and watched the Titanic until about 4 am. so good to all be together again.
i weasled in to the midnight premiere of the Hunger Games with my fun friends, Jon, Ben, Mike and Stu. It was great to hang out with these guys again..some of them I hadn't seen since they had been home from their missions. Lots of fun, some things never change. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I haven't read any of the books yet, but I am definitely more motivated to after seeing the movie. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.

city creek opened here in salt lake on thursday. i was forunate enough to attend the gala with my cousins, a charity event hosted on the wednesday night before the opening. we got to be the first to see the mall (first shoppers in sephora at that mall, i'm honored!) eat some yummy snacks, and were given a card with $20 to spend at any store in the mall. All of this was for $50. well worth the money! it was a fun memory with my cute cousins, audree and annie. it was audree's birthday and such a fun way to celebrate.

i am in love with the new mall. i have already been to it twice and think that it is such a great addition to salt lake city. i forsee some wonderful memories to come. i got a new job at banana republic at city creek! so, i will definitely be spending more time at the new mall and i'm really excited! i have always wanted to work retail. I have loved shopping ever since i can remember and i'm excited to try out this new job and see how i like it. i also feel very blessed because since the church paid to have city creek built, and it is on church property, none of the stores will be open on sunday's. nowhere else in the world can you find a retail job at a major store like banana republic and not have to worry about working on sunday's. i am one lucky girl!

my world is full of loveliness

"a day without laughter is a day wasted"

-charlie chaplin

"Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there."

-Judith Viorst

"A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. "

-Hugh Sidey

life is to be enjoyed.

here's to another blessed year

there are so many people to love in my life.

i have loved 2011. i look back and can't even believe all that i have been blessed with this year and always. i have had some pretty amazing experiences with family and have loved making new friends. i have learned a lot this year. i'm going to share a snipet from my journal:

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
My heart is so full. I am so blessed and so grateful that the Lord humbles us and gives us chances to become something great. I look forward to this new year with much anticipation. I have hopes and dreams of a better version of myself. I look back on 2010 and am not that impressed with my progression. I have much room to grow, and I am excited.

i still have a lot to keep working on, and that is okay.

but overall, it has been a wonderful year.

2012, i am ready for you.


(sorry for so many pictures. i don't know how to stop and there were so many more that i wanted to add)