A Couple of Gems:

Just recently (meaning like twenty minutes before I published this blog.....) I was working really hard on an essay browsing YouTube and I came across some of my favorite songs from my childhood.

Isn't it funny how you won't hear a song for over ten years and magically all of the words come to you, along with some funky dance moves? It truly was a moving moment for me- I may have shed a tear of happiness. *Key words are "may have" EHEM.

Remember Smart House?! (before Disney Channel started producing stupid movies?!) Yeah, well go on and react how I did when I heard this song again:

I nearly died of hyperventilation and began to spasm on my kitchen floor.
There may or may not have been foaming at the mouth involved.....

This song used to still makes me feel like a little rebel. 

Man, Aaron's pre-puberty voice sure knows how to get me a-movin'! I didn't know how great embarrassing of a dancer I truly was until I listened to this song again.

Along with these jams that are sure to keep that funkadillious  (yeah, I just used that word. Don't judge) kick in my step I have these things to make that kick a little higher:

The completion of my re-creation of Van Gogh's Starry Night

This little monster caused me to walk out of studio with a huge black mark on my face. I kind of looked like this.... Except scarier.

And these:

Of course new oxfords that are the reeeeaaal deaaaal are making this Friday the biggity-bomb! 

The moral of this is that classic 90's jams, good/messy art and new shoes can make any girl feel invincible! Until she realizes that the pigment of the black chalk hasn't completely come off of her face....

Happy Thursday! {ed. 2}

It's that day again!

You know the kind of day where......

You can-ask-Emily-for-a-favor-and-she-will-willing-oblige.

No-matter-how-much-you-have-to-do-you-do-it-with-a-smile.

Or-the-weather-permits-you-to-wear-sandals-for-the-first-time-in-six-months.

And-where-you-clear-your-mind-by-investing-your-everything-in-your-latest-art-project.

It was a serendipitous day.

 It's Thursday :)

My excitement for this weekend is off the charts. Why you ask? because of this:

 I invite you to watch General Conference this weekend. Your spirit will be touched and you will be prompted to do that which is right.

I am soooooo excited (and even that's an understatement) to hear living prophets, seers and revelators speak.

& My biggest wish is for you to be excited as well.

There is no message greater, no message more vital, than the message that will be shared this weekend!

You will not regret it. I can testify of that confidently and with my entire heart/mind/might/spirit. 
So watch :)

The Greatest Snow on Earth

Back home in sunny California I would occasionally see a Utah's license plates "The Greatest Snow on Earth."

I never really thought anything of it, simply a state being overly-prideful and boasting about the one thing they can (I would then be a prideful Californian and laugh, saying, "HA! They are just saying that because they settled on snow due to the lack of beach!")

BUT TODAY, I BECAME A BELIEVER.

Utah truly does have the BEST, MOST AMAZING, BREATHTAKING,  PHENOMENAL, ASTONISHING, PERPLEXING, STUPEFYING, GREATEST snow on Earth. 

Despite the fact that the word "greatest" seems to be so vague, it truly is the only word that can sum up the beauty that is Utah snow.

I need to stop babbling and just show you the real-life, photo evidence as to why I am hopelessly, irrevocably and whole-heartedly in love with Utah's snow.

 All smiles going up the lift!

 Until I looked down and saw how high we were....

(I swear we were 273 feet off of the ground, turns out it was only 30 feet. Needless to say I felt dumb. Still horrified though......)

We dominated that run. Yet we are so gentle and humble in our demeanor and this picture captures that perfectly! (Fuuuunyyyy joke, right?!?!?)

The 2014 Winter Olympics U.S. Ski/Snowboard team! Sochi, Russia HERE WE COME!

Guys, I was so proud of myself. YOU.DON'T.EVEN.KNOW. I made it through runs without falling on my face/butt/elbows/any other painful body part to land on several times... SEVERAL TIMES!!!!!! WUUDDDD UPPPP, PRO STATUS SON!! 

Sorry, I take on the personality of a NFL running back who has just caught a 75-yard touchdown when I feel accomplished. I'll stop now.....

She's a good friend I tell you! One day I will ski black diamonds and get 8 feet of air with her, I promise :)

Views like this that can only be captured at the top of a lift sure make the longings for California slowly diminish for the time being.... Utah, you're growing on me :)

Happy Thursday!

Thursday is my absolute favorite day of the week!

Everything amazing seems to happen on Thursdays; they are simply Heaven-sent (I am not exaggerating! My like love deeper-than-love feelings towards this day is off-the-charts!)

  

Today was another testament as to why Thursdays are my favorite days.

Here's why:

I woke up in an excellent mood! Which is quite normal for me since I have been blessed with being a morning person...... But today my normal happy-go-lucky attitude in the wee hours was magnified by a trillion gabazillion megasesillion! (I had fun writing that, FYI! Even more fun saying it in a little kid voice ;)

It was one of those days where your hair, your outfit and your mentality all seem to line up in perfect uniformity. Which begs me to ask myself, why does this not happen to me more often?!?!?! GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

ANYWHO! Sorry for the outburst, I am a female afterall and we come prepackaged with that ;)

I have become inspired by her and decided to follow her fashion-sense. Today was the beginning of my journey of wearing preppy-vintage esque clothing.

Needless to say, I'm hooked.

I went to lunch with my good friend Deon Sagers  (you should totally follow out her blog. AMAZING I TELL YOU!) who happens to be one of my best friend's (Christian) mom and his brother, Sean!

Excellent food, excellent conversation & extraordinary, phenomenal people.

best.lunch.ever.

To add to an already excellent Thursday, Sister Sagers welcomed me to lunch with these:

Wait for it.........

I want the anticipation to kiiiiiiilll you!

**Cue the cherubic hymns of "ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

If you know me, you know that the easiest way to  get to my heart is through dessert.

ILOVECUPCAKES.ILOVECUPCAKES.ILOVECUPCAKES.

My friend Christian knew of my little HUGE love connection with Thursdays and I would wake up to a text every Thursday that read:

"Happy Thursday Emily!"

Since I won't be getting those weekly-texts for the next two years, I decided that from here-on-out I will be posting a **joyous, extra-happy message every Thursday-- Christian inspired :)

**Lets be honest, all of my posts are joyous and extra-happy... But these ones will be exuberant!

I hope you had a exquisite Thursday! I sure did :)

The First Day of Spring

I've always loved today. I love what it represents, rather.

 Every creation slowly comes to life (thank goodness! Provo has been looking kind of  extremely dismal lately!) and color/heat/happiness are once again restored.

It's a rebirth, a new beginning. 

So if you already broke your New-Years' Resolutions (and lets be honest now, we alllllll know that you have, we are all friends here, we won't judge!) today is the prime-time to start fresh!

Do something you've always want to do, hang out with people you never thought you would, be outside as.much.as.possible, make funny faces at random people... 

and listen to this song... it's today's anthem!

See, life is soooooooooooooooo much more meaningful when instead of just living, you decide to thrive.

A Farewell:

Last Sunday I had the joyous opportunity to go to Elder Christian Sagers' mission farewell.

(Ehem... The guy below if you couldn't guess.)

It was a beautiful day filled with so much love! I was truly sad to say goodbye to this amazing young man for two years... But being the good friend that I am I decided to loan him to the lucky people of Sweden for a couple of years (they promised to give him back in two years when he is taller, more handsome than he already is and overflowing with the spirit. **WINK WINK!**)

He didn't give me the memo that we were making funny faces! Thanks a lot Christian, now I look like I am trying too hard.

You know, just sheepishly looking down and pondering the many adventures he will go on in the land of the Swedes!

Wait.. is that camera pointing at us? Not sure.. Smile and wave just in case it is.

Sister Sagers is gorgeous. I am not worthy standing next to this hot mama in a picture, that's for sure!

iamnotworthyiamnotworthyiamnotworthy.

Flawless goodbye, eh? We know, we know. But what to you expect from two lanky & long individuals?!

Pshhhhh, I wasn't crying! I am no cry baby.. *Sniffle sniffle* I'm just staring into the sun.. Yeah, I'll go with that one. *Sniffle sniffle*

So even though you won't see this for two years, (hopefully you still want to be my blog's biggest fan when you come home), this one is for you, Elder Sagers. 

See you soon.

Thanking my Lucky Stars

As this week comes to a much needed close I am rejoicing with everything that I have, which includes:

Making one of my bestest friends, the AMAZING, KIND, FUNNY (not to mention, handsome!)  Elder Christian Sagers, Sweden-inspired cookies! He's gonna be the happiest Elder at the MTC today come mail delivery time!

I attempted to make it look like this:

And it came out like this.....

Hey, give me some credit... Making a flag out of cookies is harder than it looks!

I know, I know... I am the sweetest friend EVER!  (and humble, too!)

Going out to lunch with Sara, Kota & Ara. This was not your normal, run-of-the-mill meal (say it aloud...that's a tongue-twister, ehh?) It was filled with boy talk because ARA IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHMYGOODNESSOHMYGOODNESSOHMYGOODNESS! 

Thank you, Shirley Temple for letting me quote you.

While we were eating yummy subway and fro-yo (that's what the cool kids call it, right?)  We asked some polite, young men to take a picture since I document everything I do. Yeah, my friends get annoyed, but they love me anyway!

Good looking group, huh? We know, we know. Just kidding! Kind of...

Little did I know that I was being watched intently (though not too intently because he failed to notice me eat a gummy bear off the floor....) by the young man taking the photo. After taking this gorgeous photo above, the boys left and we carried on  discussing the frivolities of life. Fifteen minutes later the polite bloke came back in with a burning urge in his bosom to ask me on a date!

Of course I said yes! How could I say no to this confident young man? Especially after he called me cute, te-he!!

Since this is my favorite song EVER... Enjoy :)

and don't hate on my girl R-Black!

                                          

HAPPY FRIDAY YA'LL!

An Homage to Beyonce:

Guys, I have to admit something....

I have a small HUGE girl crush on Beyonce Knowles. (Or as I call her all the time, Sasha Fierce.)

**Here are a few of the multiple reasons why this woman is my idol:

Exhibit 1:She's gorgeous. Seriously Beyonce? It isn't fair.

Exhibit 2: Her and Jay-Z's marriage was a match made in hip-hop Heaven. They are so cute!  Not to mention private, which I totally respect! Way to go Be&Jay! (yeah, we have nicknames, be jealous.)

Exhibit 3: Be&Jay are not only uuuuuubbbbbbbber talented, but their genes are at the top of the market. Look at what half of his chromosomes and half of hers created....

look.at.that.hair.

Exhibit 4: Beyonce is the best dancer that I have ever seen. I watch her videos and try to re-create what she is doing but end up looking like a dying sea-animal that ends up falling to the floor shouting, "WHY CAN'T I BE YOU, BEYONCE?!!?"(did I really just admit that.....?)

WATCH THIS VIDEO....

She danced like nobody's business while she was pregnant IN 8 INCH HEELS. Let me repeat, WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT. Plus at the very end Jay-Z does looks like such a proud and loving hubbie. So if you want your night made, make sure you watch the last part of the video!

                                             

Exhibit 5: She is the prime example of a strong, independent and beautiful woman. After all, she is a diva and not afraid to  flaunt it.

**I bet those of who who don't truly know me will think that I am creepy, crazed fan and never talk to me. But we can't be bff's until you accept that me & Sasha Fierce are bffs too. Mmmkay? Good.

Dreaming of the Osaka Sun

I was born and raised in this:

Southern California.

The land of endless beaches and a thousand suns. Where Jack Johnson and reggae is not only the soundtrack of our summers, but throughout the entire year.  The place that people all around the world flock to- and for a good reason. Seriously, look at that picture!

And I moved here:

Utah.

Wait, wait, wait. Before I get hate mail from my native 
Utahans let me explain myself! Utah is beautiful. Just not the kind of beautiful I am used to. The rocky mountains that stretch for miles leave me mystified and left in wonderment and awe.

But once again, I wasn't used to it! 

I guess what I am trying to say is that I miss my California Sun. The sun that penetrates not only your epidermis, but your soul.

I have been in a shortage of sun for the past eight months due to me being at BYU for school. Some of you are shaking your heads saying, "silllllly girl! the sun still shines in Utah!" I'm talking about real sun.

 This sun-drought is taking a physical toll on me. Eighteen years of genuine, bright and never-ending sunshine to this?


 ***My body is flipping out.
-Random twichings.
-Foaming at the mouth at the sight of a non-sunny day.
-Mental whiplash due to the bi-polar weather (seriously Utah, make up your mind.)
And:
-Emotional distress that has caused me to stand on the top of my building, shouting at the skies "WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS, YOU DIVA SKY?!?!?!?"
***I actually exaggerated about what it is making me do.... The only side-effect is depression. Sowwwwy for lying!

Now it all makes sense how most people in cloud-ridden states are more susceptible to depression!

Get me the real stuff and fast.

A Saturday in the Life of a Food Snob

I woke up today sick as a dog. (I've never really understood that phrase because none of my dogs ever get sick, but adults us that and I want to join the in-crowd.) Thankfully I felt good enough just in time to join two of my fabulous roommates at The Awful Waffle, or as I like to call it, addicting batter sent down from the heavens that is fried in love (aka, oil) which is then drizzled with the nectar of the Gods.

Let's be serious... Even if dying of an illness (like I convinced myself of this morning) I would have still gotten myself out of bed because no one passes up The Awful Waffle.  NO ONE.

We asked a couple on a date to take a picture of us in front of it. They asked if we were tourists and I answered in my head: "No, we are just fatties who like to document places that add a couple inches to our love handles, thank.you.very.much."

While at this glorious establishment we had the pleasure to meet Provo's hottest rapper. That's right ladies and gents, B-MONEY! He sure made our breakfast much more.... entertaining. If you don't know who this fellow is, here is one of his greatest hits. I promise you will die of laughter, cry due to extensive amounts of laughter, stop breathing due to the two physical side-effects above, have a life-changing experience.

After our eventful morning I volunteered at D.I. which was a humbling experience. Being in the service of others is truly a gift, one that I will never want to stop giving!

The adult session (so stoked that we can now go to the "adult" sesh! I AM A BIG GIRL NOW!) of Stake Conference was tonight, which was amazing! And even that is an understatement. I had the privilege to meet Elder Ronald A. Rasband. That's right, I met a general authority! I was cool, calm and collected while talking to him... But inside I was freaking out knowing that this man works with President Monson and the Apostles on a weekly basis! Yeah, no biggy. 

After a spiritually edifying session I went to Haley's, one of my closest gals here, surprise party. Though it wasn't much of a surprise to her, we all had a glorious time. **I especially had a great time knowing that we would be having homemade chocolate cake which was delectable (Great job, Sinead!)

The beautiful party-honoree! Happy early birthday, Hales!

**If you want me to have a good time at your party, bring out scrumptious food and I promise you I will rant and rave  about how your party was the best party of the year, which will then increase your street-cred, which means you will then need to pay me back for making you so popular. I accept any form of baked goods, preferably something that is sure to make me feel guilty after eating it.

It Was Just One of Those Weeks:

One of those lucky if-you-get-to-bed-before 3AM weeks.

And one of those can't-seem-to-find-enough-time-to-study-yet-I-have-enough-time-to-Facebook-stalk-everyone-and-their-mother weeks.

Or one of those can't-seem-to-eat-a-meal-that-does-not-include-ice-cream-or-string-cheese kind of weeks.

Thankfully there were a few shining beacons of happiness that helped me keep my sanity!

The first being my Miss Dior perfume that I splurged on last weekend! I only wear it on days that I want to feel exxxxxtra pretty, and it sure pulled through today. Confidence in a bottle, I tell you. And this gorgeous, bright, robin-egg-blue nail color that I borrowed from one of my lovely gals. That's right, expensive perfume and nail polish pulled me through this week, don't judge me.

Bowls that lie to everyone. Okay, it wasn't filled with soup. Rather Cap'N Crunch's Crunch Berries... Nonetheless it made me feel like I was eating an actual meal when I used it every night for dinner this week!

Bows + Braids.

The ultimate combination of femininity! ...........Or the go-t0 hairstyle when I am lazy. Even when I do have time to do my hair I do this because it is so darn adorable.

I've been obsessed with this song for as long as I can remember, and have been playing it non-stop this week. They are my favorite.

And what is a better way to end this week than with a day blessed with sunshine, laughter and getting involved in a movement like this?

All of a sudden my problems seem to be much, much smaller.

How in the World Do They Do It?

i have the absolute greatest major in the world: elementary education. i am utterly ecstatic that for the rest of my life i can re-live my glory days; but this time, i will be the tall one on campus! no more being the victim of cruel and unusual punishment for being vastly tinier than everyone else for this chick... i am moving up the totem pole! (on a side note: i have forgiven you, past tormentors of elementary school, and i only hope your children will be in my class. ha! take that!) just kidding, i would never. oooooooorrr would i?! anywho! being an el ed major means i get the joyous opportunity to take the coolest classes ever. i am not even biased or anything!(that's a lie) some of them include art studio for el ed majors which is simply 3 hours of doing kid-friendly art projects that turn out AMAZING! and a p.e. class for el ed majors. going into the class i was like the rest of you, thinking "pshh! think will be a piece of cake! what a joke!" i was wrong. this class is ridiculous and every monday/wednesday when i am trudging up the rb stairs after class i think to myself, "how do little kids do this so effortlessly?!?!" i have yet to find an answer to that question... but that class has revealed some  gems unto me. here they are.

1. i am not nearly as in shape as i thought i was. i used to pride myself on the fact that i am an avid runner, hiker, dancer and a dabbler in practically every sport imaginable... but now i realized that all of those activities do not hold a dime to hula-hooping for seven minutes straight and crab walking around the gym for half of class.

2. my complaining seems to have hit an all time high in this class. when an activity goes on for longer than i find necessary in class (because the world should live according to my time, right?) i begin whispering under my breath in a spiteful tone, "okay, lets move on. now." most of the time when i say this is when i am not mastering a certain activity, by the way.

3. little kids are freaks of nature, and i say that in the most complimentary way possible. i promise.  they have so much energy, so much endurance! they can physically handle sprinting to corners of a gym for thirty minutes and then ask if they can play some more! what. the. heck. this class has made me realize how little humans, no they aren't even humans, little creatures (said in the nicest way possible, again) can endure an extensive amount of activity and finish it with the biggest, brightest and most infectious smiles. i commend you, little creatures. you make me want to be a better, bigger creature.

one thing that hasn't changed since my days at eucalyptus elementary is the fact that i am still lethally competitive. that will never change. but since i am competing my heart out with my other classmates for two hours, i come home looking like this.... 

and this...

i did move a little bit, though... so it is an improvement.

Escape From Heritage!

Being a college freshman living in BYU dorms without a car can get pretty monotonous/restless/repetitive/every word that describes the helpless feelings this can bring. Being a GROUP of college freshmen living in BYU dorms without a car is all of that x751981815619841761174177418741171615132558 (I think you get the point...) more frustrating. So myself and three of my amazing roommates became sick of seeing the orange-brown brick buildings of Heritage Halls every.single.day.all.day.long. and decided to do something about our shut-in, BYU, social lives!

We took a bus to the University Mall in Orem, which was quite far away for a group of girls who are only used to walking within a two mile radius. It was scary. It was like being dropped off at college all over again. But we put our big girl panties on and braved the world outside of quaint BYU! We shopped our little hearts out and then came home to then have a girl's sleepover in the kitchen.

So here is an afternoon/evening/late night/early morning in the live's of not-so-rebellious girls who like to think going to the mall and spending a ton of money is way rebellious.... (Humor us, please?)

See my stance? The feminine, yet strong  wrist symbolizes my sophistication and endurance to take on the mall, one card swipe at a time.

We felt so "New York" (is it possible to have a state be an emotion? aw, who cares! i just did it!) taking the bus. We can now say that we are cultured, college students!

Mallory and Ari decided to juvenile and play with kid's menus at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Grow up! We are in an adult establishment!

The adults at the table- radiating class and elegance. Can't believe we shared a table with such childish women... 

We swooned over this Ryan Reynolds/Ashton Kutcher look-a-like allllll dinnnnneeer looong. It is hard to eat your ravioli when you see this gift from above cleaning tables. (he touched my shoulder!! he touhced my shoulder! HE TOUCHED MY SHOULDER!!!!!!!!) breathe..... okay. I'm better now. 

Once my love left I could finally eat without the fear of him seeing me and finding me utterly repulsive. What can I say? Us, true Italians are messy eaters. Don't hate.

As you can tell I abandoned my mature, adult-like manners and conformed to Mallory's crazy ways by trying to balance spoons on our noses.  First problem: My nose is not one for balancing objects. It's not, I've tried. Have you seen it? Second Problem:  The spoons at the restaurant were not spoons. They were rectangles with slightly bended edges. It was impossible! If anyone can do it there, I will give you twenty dollars! Just kidding, I won't.

Shopping day=SUCCESS!

And after an exhausting day of shopping (both physically and  to our funds) we found solace in our cozy kitchen and had a much needed estrogen night. Oh how I love painting my nails, embracing no make-up and talking about the difficult, tortuous and confusing specimen that is the male mind.

As Maya Angelou once said, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." I still need to work on the not-complaining part, but today sure proved to me that I have the power to change anything. **Cue the song "I've Got the Power" and a montage of me being a boxer.**

This is Not a Basis for Judging Me...

You do not truly know me unless you know this one thing: other people's mishaps amuse me a little bit a lot. Whenever I am at a social gathering I insist on obtaining a computer/laptop/any technologically advanced item that can project a video to show off my favorite videos of the innocent suffering at the hand of fate. I know what you’re thinking… “this girl is a bona fide lunatic!” Well I hate to burst your bubble, but you are late to the party with that one.

If you cannot handle the fact that I laugh mercilessly at these poor civilians, then I am sorry- we’re just going to have to break up.

Here are just a few in my collection:

This one is a personal favorite. So quick, so effortless. Pure beauty in pain form.

I wish I had been here to witness this hilarious act in person... If only.

And finally...

Now that you know this about me there is no need to run in the other direction and hide. Take it as a compliment that I am willing to share this sadistic secret with you.

You're welcome.

love, love, love.