wedding season 2014

It's that time of year again. All the engagements that you liked on Instagram 3-6 months ago are turning into "countdowns until I marry my best friend!!!" which is awesome. I love weddings and I wish I could get married every summer to Preston and wear a different dress every time. Once you get married you start anxiously awaiting the marriage of all of your close friends so you guys can all hang out together as marrieds or at least have an excuse to reunite and celebrate together. As a girl, it gets a little bit stressful picking out your outfit because like we all hang out with the same people and you can't be wearing the same dress to multiple weddings because Instagram. It's even more stressful finding a modest, stylish and wedding appropriate dress that doesn't break the bank especially if you have to attend multiple weddings. I've compiled a small list of 6 different options which don't require a cardigan or one of those Down East shirts (Morms know what I'm talkin about). Also all 6 of these are under $100!! And maybe you think these are all hideous which is fine, but at least you have some sites to search to find your own. Simply clink on the number to view/buy a dress. Happy shopping and happy wedding season!

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the healthiest biblical know-it-all in the world

On Saturday I finished reading The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs. It was the third AJ Jacobs book I've read and rarely do I like every book an author has written, but this is the case for Mr. Jacobs. (Ok so I didn't read The Guinea Pig Diaries which is a collection of his articles but I assume I will enjoy it). In Living Biblically AJ attempts to live the words of the Bible as literally as possible from the basics like keeping the 10 commandments to the more obscure like not touching a woman during a certain time of the month. I laughed out loud several times while reading this and love AJ's self-deprecating humor. One of my favorite parts about his books are how his experiments affect his personal relationships with his wife and family. Living Biblically displayed these relationships more than the other two books, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Another aspect I liked was the diversity of religions AJ chose to explore. He did everything from visiting Israel and dancing with the Jews to attending an evangelical church in Virginia and even visited my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to commune with the Amish. 

In The Know-It-All, AJ attempts to become the smartest man in the world by reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z. This book is comprised of each section of the Britannica and AJ's favorite or what he found most interesting about each section. Lots of random facts which would otherwise be a bore to learn about, but many made me laugh. He also gets to participate on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire during his experiment.

Finally, Drop Dead Healthy was the first AJ Jacobs book I've read. He attempts to be the healthiest man in the world by incorporating a variety of different health techniques, diets and exercises into his everyday life. He monitors his health and gives updates on his weight and BMI. I liked this because I actually learned a few tips on being healthier like counting the number of times you chew something to eat slower. I eat very fast which results in eating a lot.

I highly recommend any of these books, regardless of what type of genre is your favorite. They are interesting, informative and entertaining and make great read-by-the-pool reads because it's that time of year ;)

You can always see what I'm reading and what I thought about it on www.goodreads.com. Get an account and follow me. It's cooler than Facebook.

monthly playlist: may

click the song title 2 listen :)

MAY

Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea) -Ariana Grande

Words (Glastrophobie Remix) -Anna Graceman

Goodness Gracious (Vaux & Rivera Remix) -Ellie Goulding

Riptide (Vance Joy Cover) -Gossling

Pools -Glass Animals

Shine (Kygo Remix) -Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Brooklyn Nights -Lady Gaga

Ride Wit Me (Viceroy "Jet Life" Remix) -Nelly

Like a Drum (Chainsmokers Remix) -Guy Sebastian

I Will Never Let You Down -Rita Ora

Completely Not Me -Jenny Lewis

Empress -Morningsiders

words words words

It's May and it's already uncomfortably hot here in Dallas :( Stay tuned for my post about how modest is literally the hottest. Last month we did some things like celebrated Easter. It's a Padilla tradition to get matching Easter dresses and despite living in 3 different states, we still rocked our matching dresses this year. I made Preston pose for my Easter bunnies pic after church and he is very embarrassed. Not pictured are the homemade peanut butter eggs I made :-O
We bought tickets for Austin City Limits! I reeeeally wanted to go to Coachella this year but since all our friends are getting married this summer, we had to save the flights for their nuptials. It's ok though because in October we'll be seeing most of the people on that poster^ I am very very psyched for LORDE. She came to Dallas a few months ago and I wanted to go so badly but didn't so I made sure we got the weekend 2 tickets to see her.
I'm having a baby! Just kidding. But J.Crew made this onesie which matches my t-shirt so I had to buy it. I can't help but giggle every time I see it. Which is more often than you would think. Preston thinks I'm ridiculous, but I'm looking forward to the matching t-shirt photo shoot with me and future baby someday.
On Wednesday Preston's YMCA team won the men's championship! Sometimes I tease Preston about how he never won me a BYU intramural t-shirt but now he has won a shirt of sorts in and with the least likely place and people. Super proud of his bball skills.
Have a good weekend! Here is >>the song<< that inspired my post title

met gala 2014

I love the Met Gala because I feel like it's a highlight reel of fashion week. It's who's who in fashion and pop culture coming together to see who can look the flyest. Not really but a little bit. It's also my favorite thing when celebs go with the designer of their look as their date. This year's exhibit is "Charles James: Beyond Fashion." Here are my favorites from this year's Met Gala:

RiRi in Stella McCartney looking like a fierce space queen. I'm hesitant, but I gotta say it's my favorite look of the night // Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in Gucci making everyone re-think their self-worth // Vera Wang and Joan Smalls in Vera, Joan rocking that purple lip like no one else Karen Elson, Zac Posen and Dita von Teese in Zac Posen, really I'm in love with Karen Elson's dress- such a beautiful silhouette and I can't get enough of blush this spring/summer // Hailee Steinfeld with Prabal Gurung in a custom gown by Prabal, too cute. Hailee has been doing such a good job dressing age appropriate, while managing to look refined and sophisticated. Big fan of her red carpet looks // Suki Waterhouse in Burberry. If I were to have another wedding, this would be my dress in ivory Karlie Kloss in Oscar de la Renta. Another favorite of the evening. She gets #3. KK is flawless // Kristen Wiig in Wang with Alexander Wang. Here's an example of going with the designer date. Not a huge fan of Kristen's look, but a huuuuge fan of Kristen and A.Wang // Lily Aldridge in Michael Kors. Very close contender for favorite look of the night and my #2. Lily is too pretty for words and I never say no to head-to-toe metallic. Chanel Iman in custom Topshop with A$AP Rocky in Topman. Very impressed with the custom Topshop looks of the evening. Kendall Jenner and Zoe Kravitz also opted for custom Topshop. I love seeing the stunners from the runways this season, but I also like when celebs go for the more wearable and affordable // Lily Donaldson in Burberry. How to do summer whites if you're a supermodel // Chrissy Teigen and John Legend in Ralph Lauren. Can you guys just not? Chrissy is my #4 of the night.

So that's what I thought about the Met Gala. Recap of my top 4: 1) Rihanna in Stella McCartney 2) Lily Aldridge in Michael Kors 3) Karlie Kloss in Oscar de la Renta 4) Chrissy Teigen in Ralph Lauren

Hope you enjoyed the prettiness as much as me.