Quote for the Day

Wedding Shower Time

Saturday afternoon I through a wedding shower for my very best friend Julie Tukuafu! As her maid of honor, it was my job to make the shower very special for her. I know this is an exciting time in Julie's life and I want to let her know how happy I am that her and B.J are getting married. I witnessed when these two met, had their first kiss, started dating and when they got engaged. I am excited for these two love birds to start their life together. Congrats to the both of them! 

"We are all wired to find love. And when we meet someone who radiates it, we naturally crave their company"

-Kari Kampakis

For Julie's shower we followed the traditional "wedding shower agenda". We had a yummy lunch, played a game and opened gifts. The lunch by the way was amazing and I feel like I can say that because I am not the one who made the food. My mom is an amazing cook. What makes her so great is that she comes up with her own recipe ideas. If you haven't ever had a warm turkey sandwich on a pretzel roll then I highly recommend you try it. My mom also made a killer salad with butternut squash, beets, red onions, edamame, spinach and sunflower seeds.  We were all going crazy over it. 

The dessert.... well I can't take credit for that either. I bought cadbury eggs, sugar cookies from Old Griss Mill and an assortment of cookies from Paradise Bakery. I  didn't see the point in making my own cookies because I am moving out of my house soon. I didn't want to by a bunch of ingredients I would just use once and eventually have to throw away.

 However, even though the treats were store bought I am absolutely obsessed with Paradise Bakery's cookies. My favorites:

peanut butter chocolate chip, the black diamond and their coconut chocolate chip cookie. 

Julie's good friend growing up, Emily Cozzens, made these adorable party favors.

"B.J whisked Julie off her feet and now they are a perfect mix" 

The Bride to Be!!!

The game we played was a lot of fun. I wrote down questions and had B.J answer them. Then, when the girls were giving Julie her gift they asked her the questions. We wanted to see if Julie's and B.J's answer's matched up. I am not going to lie. The two of them did a really good job. It seems like they know each other pretty well. 

B.E.X for Life

Congrats to one of my best friends Sarah Wetzel on her engagement. I have been friends with Sarah since junior high school. I have so many memories with this girl but one of my favorite memories is when we invented our club B.E.X. It is sad that it has been so long but I don't even remember what B.E.X stands for! We made up the group during our 8th grade year with our other friend Lauren. The three of us came together because we were best friends. It was one of the only things I remember liking about junior high and those girls were my saving grace during my 8th grade year. Such an awkward time for me! 

I remember one night in particular, the three of us were having a girls night. We ate lots of chocolate and watched the notebook, a favorite movie of ours and the closest thing we had to "romance" at the time. We were young and inexperienced. After the movie was over we had a long conversation about love, boys and our future husbands. Looking back on that conversation it makes me laugh so hard. I don't remember exactly what we talked about but I know the underlining theme was about our dreams of falling in love and meeting that "perfect" guy. I mean what girl doesn't grow up dreaming that dream? And now, almost ten years later Sarah really has met the perfect guy for her. Well both her and Lauren have!! Me on the other hand, well I am still dreamin.

I couldn't be more happy for Sarah and the fact that she has found the love and the person she wants to be with. What a wonderful thing to find. I look forward to her wedding and wish her and her future husband the very best in their new life together. Love you girl! 

Reasons to be Happy

I am trying to learn the art of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. It sounds contradicting, I know, but I think it is possible. I say that, especially at a time right now because there are so many decisions I am going to be making in the next few years that are going to determine the course of the rest of my life. No pressure or anything right? It definitely gives me anxiety about making the right decisions and not feeling regret from the decisions I make. I think what is most difficult is remaining patient in times of uncertainty. It's like we want all the answers when we want them, mostly we want answers immediately. I know I do. However, I have learned that is okay to live life being uncomfortable sometimes. Answers to questions may not come for years at a time and sometimes the best answer to uncertainty is to stay calm, stop worrying, trust and let go. I believe that if we worry it  will cause an entirely different outcome than if we just have faith and let things fall in to place a little bit. 

I have also learned to live without expectation. 

I believe being happy is being accepting. We can never wish our life away or wish circumstances were different because we are going to miss the life that we have now. The one that is real.

A person that never made a mistake never tried anything new. And even if certain experiences in our life end badly, it's worth it if it made us feel something and most importantly if it teaches us something.

So maybe I should take my own advice. Maybe they aren't mistakes...just lessons learned? I think there is a definite difference between mistakes and regrets. I think regrets come from not being honest with ourselves. I believe if we are honest and let go of our pride while trying for the best than we can be assured that life worked out the way that it is suppose to. I think, at least in my experience that letting go of my pride and humbling myself has brought a lot of blessings. 

Great Harvest

(lunch time is the best time)

I look forward to lunch time everyday. Mostly because I never go grocery shopping so I find myself eating out almost everyday. It's also another excuse to call one of my friends and do two of my favorite things, eat and talk. It's a nice break from the work day and I love trying out new restaurants. One of my favorite lunch spots this year has been Great Harvest. Who doesn't love a good sandwich, chips and a cookie? 

This sandwich in particular is the Rachel. I love it because of the Rye break, freshly sliced turkey and coleslaw. Another sandwich of choice is the Turkey Pesto.I have also heard they have a killer Ruben sandwich if you are into that kind of thing .

Hittin the T.J Maxx Jack Pot

I have to brag for a little bit about my T.J Maxx shopping cart because I feel like it looks like I went shopping at Anthropologie. In my dreams. I can not afford Antrhopologie in this day and age. I am a poor college students who works 30 hours a week on $8 an hour.  So.... alternative..T.J Maxx. Their clothes section is alright but their home goods is amazing. If you don't care about paying for the name and would rather shop low prices, then take my advice and check it out. You can find some great home decor!

Conference Sunday

I felt lucky to once again have the opportunity to attend a session of general conference. I attended the Saturday afternoon session back in October and that was the first time in a long time I had been to one. Usually I am dressed down in my sweats watching conference from the comfort of my couch. This time, my friend Justin (to the right of me in the picture) called me Saturday afternoon and said he had a few extra tickets to the Sunday afternoon session. I felt I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Tickets don't come around often so when you get the opportunity to go, you have to take it.

  Conference is a wonderful and inspiring thing but I will admit, at least for me, that it is so much better watching it in the conference center. I am more attentive and less likely to fall asleep. Sorry! But it is true! Conference puts me to sleep almost every time. The voices of the speakers and the music from the mormon tabernacle choir are so soothing. It is near impossible not to fall asleep. Especially if I am at home, in my sweats, sitting on my couch.

Conference can be long and I have the attention span of a 3 year old so it is hard for me to stay focused the whole time. However, each speaker is inspiring based on the individual. Even if you aren't of the LDS faith there are so many messages that are uplifting and we can ALL learn a lot by listening to the wisdom of the prophet and general authorities.