be of good cheer

Before I bombard your feeds with my end-of-the-year lists, I wanted to do a quick little update on my second favorite month of the year. I'm still missing these trips and people like crazy, so I'm happy to reminisce and share their goodness with you here.

On November 13 we flew to what's become one of our favorite places in the world- beautiful Utah, for the wedding of Callan Graham and Holly Brinkerhoff. Callan and Holly were married on November 14 at the lovely Payson Utah Temple. Payson Temple is so gorgeous!! And it's always such a joy to witness two friends come together for eternity. We partied in Provo that evening with a Slab buffet, so you could say it was the best wedding reception I've ever attended. Congrats Callan and Holly, you guys are perf.

On Sunday we brunched at Sundance because during my entire 4 years in Provo, I never made the trip. Then Molly and I bravely agreed to hike Lake Blanche with Grady and Preston. It was slippery and cold, but just the prettiest sight to see. Utah truly is one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived. I'll say it again, but all you Utah residents are BLESSED.

It's always fun going back to Provo and hitting up our favorite places and discovering new gems. Like I know it's old news to you, but Sodalicious is the bomb and I would've appreciated those 32 oz of goodness during finals week let me tell you.

For Thanksgiving we went to Pennsylvania to spend the holidays with my parents and Drew and Alyanna. Oh my goodness I loved this week!!! I love going home, I'm obsessed with my parents and my mom's cooking, I loved seeing Alyanna and Drew and I loved that we were in PA for Thanksgiving AND my bday. Oh yeah, I turned 24. And Maren and Kaile came to celebrate with me! There are no pics of my besties, but I promise many snuggles and giggles happened. 

On the 28th I decided to extend my bday and Preston took me to New York for the day because is there a more magical place than NYC during the holidays? We went to the Guggenheim and marveled at the architecture and got yelled at multiple times for sneaking pics. 

We walked through Central Park. 

We got cereal milk from Momofuku and Preston has since recreated it for us here in Dallas. It's actually pretty good. 

We stocked up on weird, adorable Japanese goods at Muji. We went to Washington Square Park and at first I was mad cuz it was dark, but the park looked so pretty at night I decided it was ok. We took notes of all the books we need to get at Strand. 

We had dinner at The Smith. And then we went home.

We left early Monday morning and now we're back in Dallas getting ready to leave this Sunday for California to be with Preston's family! Oh what a wonderful time of year it is. I hope you are having the best time with your families and friends and celebrating the real reason for Christmas, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today we had a such a lovely sacrament meeting and I got to sneak out of nursery for an equally lovely Relief Society lesson. I'm always so amazed and touched by the musical talent in our ward and the time and effort everyone puts into lessons. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

kev & rachel & utah

Last night we got back from a five day vacay in Utah to celebrate the wedding of Kev Nemelka and Rachel Mclaws. We had a superb time and I'm already missing the majestic mountains and Cafe Rio and all our wonderful friends.

On Wednesday we left to go hiking and camping in southern Utah. We stopped first at Bryce Canyon and marveled at the beauties there. Utah is such a geographically unique and gorgeous state and I'm actually pretty envious of all our pals still living there. If you are, go outside!!

After Bryce, we drove to Zion's and hiked Angel's Landing. I forgot how effing hard that hike is, but the views are pretty rewarding. Utah was super hot, but unlike Texas, the heat is dry and somewhat bearable. Utah > Texas.

Such a treat to spend time with these guys. Callan rented a Chrysler Town & Country minivan and it was the best decision of the trip. When we came home Thursday night, Preston and I ate our first Slab in years and it was divine. (We ate again on Friday).

Saturday June 27 was wedding day! Kev and Rachel were sealed in the Salt Lake City temple and it was a sweet and lovely sealing. Kev is such a dear friend to both of us and we were so happy to be included in his special day. I haven't had the privilege of hanging out with Rachel much but I know she's a gem and super a great chick if she's married to Kev.

Here's the pretty wedding party on Temple Square. Don't they make a great pair? And isn't Rachel's dress gorgeous?

I got to see Alyanna too which was fun. We danced the night away at Kev's reception and squealed about her upcoming nuptials in August.

One wedding down, one to go this summer! Big congratulations, hugs and kisses to the new Mr. and Mrs. Nemelka. We are so happy for you!!

it's gonna be may

April 30 and you have no idea what I've done this month besides make fake Coachella lineups! What a travesty!

April has been a super exciting, fun, happy month for me. On the 17th Preston and I flew to Phoenix where we parted ways, he to go camping with Kev in the Grand Canyon and me to Scottsdale to celebrate Jenny's soon-to-be-ending bachelorette status. We stayed at a gorgeous Marriott resort and laid by the pool and chatted with almost 30 (?) other girls from all over the country who were connected to Jenny in some way. It was a fun, hot, relaxing time. I'm stoked for Jenny and Tim and know their wedding will be one of the grandest and most beautiful of the summer.

Before we left, Kylie and I wanted to find real, giant cacti to have a photoshoot. Granted, we didn't need to look very far cuz we were in the desert, but it was worth the drive to the middle of nowhere to pose with these majestic beauties. I love the desert!

This past weekend my childhood BFF Maren came to visit Dallas with her boyfriend Ryan. We had a blissful Saturday brunching, biking and BBQing. We also laid by the pool and did not actually BBQ, but ate BBQ, but these details did not go with the B alliteration. Between Preston and me, we have 3 bikes and were luckily able to find a bike rental stand right by our apartment so we could fulfill all of Maren's cycling dreams.

So blessed to have this beauty in my life and spend a fun weekend with her and Ryan. Also fun to reminisce on our childhood and teenage years with our significant others to laugh at us.

On Monday we went to a Texas Rangers game. My second MLB experience was almost rained out, but after a late start, the game went as planned, though much chillier than anticipated. Here's a pic of the stadium and the pretty rainbow that formed just in time for the first inning. Rangers played the Mariners and I am a Mariners fan by marriage and we won! Woo hoo!

Preston tried to surprise me with these tickets but somehow managed to get the confirmation email sent to my gmail so I knew about it weeks before but we still had a lovely time seeing Iron & Wine at the Granada Theater. Iron & Wine is one of our favorite bands and we have both seen them multiple times, but agreed that we had the best spots and time at this show. Sam did his own set but opened it up to the crowd to yell requests. It was obnoxious but cool.

I've cried at two other concerts in my life before this one. He played "16 Maybe Less" and I silently wept because of how beautiful it sounded. Honestly, as cheesy and hippie as it sounds, I live for those moments when you're so overcome with beauty and appreciation for your situation and surroundings that it brings you to tears.

I don't have a picture for it but probably the most exciting part of April was getting a new job!! I will be working as a speech therapist assistant for the Early Childhood Intervention program in Dallas. I'll be working with children aged 0-3 and helping provide speech therapy and evaluating their need for more speech before they enter preschool. I am so, so, so excited to start this job because it's actually what I got my degree in and something I am so passionate about. I start next week!!! 

I'm feeling super blessed and excited for the upcoming months and feeling ready to conquer another blazing Dallas summer I think...!!!

thanks for waiting for me

Last Friday we took a semi spontaneous trip to New York City and it was a lovely little weekend. We came across cheap flights one night in December and decided to book the trip because you only live once. I'm so glad we did. My heart often aches for the east coast and especially this crazy, bustling city. We had the chance to meet up with old and new friends and even welcomed the beginnings of the not so blizzard Juno.

We flew into LaGuardia at 8 PM and went to The Meatball Shop with friends. I was happy to try TMS because 2 Christmases ago I wanted so badly to have lunch there but it was closed or something because we went the day after Christmas. We stayed with our friends Dustin and Kari Drees on the Upper East Side.

Saturday morning Kari and I woke up bright and early to get our butts kicked at Soul Cycle. I'm obsessed with this trendy spin class and would love love love if they opened one in Dallas. I think it would do really well here because we have a lot of rich sorority girls who care a lot about their bodies and expensive fitness. After Soul Cycle we ventured to Nolita and had brunch at Jack's Wife Freda. I heard a lot about this place aka saw many pics on Instagram via my girls Karlie, Chrissy and Taylor so I just had to try it. Confession: it's not worth the 1-3 hour wait, but it was a yummy, fresh, Mediterranean experience. We dodged the super long wait time by a miracle cuz we met up with friends Jadyn and Sean McGrath who got to the restaurant a little bit after us and were told they could have a table if we showed up in 10 mins. So we hustled and ate.

After brunch we visited the Saturdays NYC shop because #menswear. Apparently the store has a reputation for having terrible customer service from a bunch of dudes too cool for school. It lived up to its rep, but that didn't stop me from dropping $20 on a graphic tee, my ultimate weakness. After Saturdays we went to visit the civil engineering marvel that is the Brooklyn Bridge. Preston narrated a history for us while we walked back and forth and admired the structure. It really is an awesome bridge and I love how pedestrian friendly it is. After the Brooklyn Bridge we visited the 9/11 Memorial and parted ways with Jadyn and Sean.

My parents got into the city Saturday afternoon and while we were waiting for them to finish up at the temple, we went the Dover Street Market. Preston found out about this place and explained to me beforehand that it was basically a giant showroom of designers' recent collections-- Prada, Commes des Garcon, Alexander Wang, Jil Sander, Rick Owens, etc. Basically it was a dream house for me cuz lots of FW14 pieces were on display to touch and potentially buy (lol). If you like clothes, hit this place up. After Dover, we met up with my parents at a Filipino/Thai restaurant called Pig and Khao.

Before leaving, we scanned concert sites for any fun shows that would be going on during our stay and saw that Kap Slap would be at Webster Hall. He's a fun mashup DJ and for $25, we decided to go. Our friends Deb and Rique agreed to join us, which was perfect since they were regulars at our Provo IDPs. It was fun re-living our Provo days, despite being surrounded by 16 year olds making out for dear life. It was pretty hilarious and I am in awe of the upcoming generation and genuinely wondered if I was as weird/disgusting/annoying.

Sunday morning we met my parents for church and WE SAW TAZA AND TIESANDFRIES. I mean Naomi and Josh and their darling children. I didn't realize until 30 minutes into sacrament and then I spotted them and forgot to breathe. Apparently my parents were in the elevator with Josh and babies and exchanged good mornings. Eleanor and Samson were very shy hehehe. Preston was embarrassed of me, but it made my morning.

After starstruck sacrament, we went to brunch at Jacob's Pickles. You guys, this place is goooood. It's Southern food which you'd think I'd be sick of by now but oh my goodness best fried chicken of my life. Also true to the name, the pickles are fantastic. We actually had the sampler which was pickles and pickled carrots and green beans of assorted flavors. Really great meal, worth the hour wait. After brunch we went to the Museum of Natural History to kill time before seeing the New York City Ballet perform 3 Balanchine movements. This was one of my favorite thing we did. As a retired ballerina, I was mesmerized by the grace and strength of the men and women of NYCB and I reminisced on my own dancing days. I had never been to the Lincoln Center either, which was a beautiful sight in itself.

Following the ballet, we hopped over to Magnolia's to secure the famous and incredible banana pudding as well as cupcakes and a magic bar (I swear it was called that). From Magnolia's we had dinner at a Greek restaurant called Kefi. This place was ok, but we had a super tiny table in a corner despite having a reservation and arriving when there was plenty of other tables. The food was good, but nothing spectacular, but alas. Now we know. We said goodbye to my parents and took the subway back to Dustin and Kari's to enjoy our Magnolia spoils.

Monday morning, Juno morning. I forgot to mention that while we were at the ballet we got an email that our 8 pm Monday flight was canceled. Thankfully we were able to book a 1 pm flight to Dallas, but it cut our trip short about 6 hours. We woke up early, got me a bagel and headed to the Guggenheim. This was the most depressing part of the trip because 1) it was frigid cold and I literally uttered the words, "I want to die" repeatedly 2) Guggenheim is being renovated so only the bottom floor was available to tour and you couldn't go into any of the spirals. We were sad because the Guggenheim was the one museum we definitely wanted to hit and spend the most time in, but it was a blessing in disguise because we wouldn't have had much time anyway and we were able to go to Laduree. I got my delicious overpriced macarons and we did a quick walk through of the Ralph Lauren mansion before taking 2 buses back to LaGuardia.

It was stressful watching the snow fall from the airport and even more stressful when we were packed like sardines on the plane and still hadn't moved for 45 minutes. Thankfully we were able to safely make our way back to Dallas, which was a tropical 72F when we landed. I was actually kind of depressed about it.

New York was a ball and it was so nice to see so many friends in such a short amount of time and great to hang out with my parents.

darling i'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream (banana)

This weekend I visited my childhood best friend Maren in Atlanta, Georgia. Maren and I have been friends since kindergarten, in the same ward our whole lives, left for BYU together and marriage and jobs have brought us to the dirty South. Because I haven't seen her since Christmas and have never gone that long without seeing her, I decided it was time to venture to ATL. I left Saturday morning and arrived in Georgia just in time for lunch at Gladys Knight's Signature Chicken & Waffles. Naturally, this had been my only request stop for the whole weekend. Get the Midnight Train and mac and cheese.

After lunch we went to a Halloween party where I dressed as a banana and Maren and a group of her friends from the ward dressed as greyscale 50's characters. The party was held at the most magnificent house and I had fun dancing as a banana.

At the very end of the party we set off paper lanterns like in Tangled and it was magical! These things go SO HIGH and are a spectacular sight to see.

 Of course they won best group costume because come on. They are black and white starlets.

Maybe the best part of the trip was going to the grocery store after the Halloween party in our costumes. We figured, hey it's the weekend before Halloween there are tons of parties going on tonight it won't be that weird. This didn't stop us from cracking up every time we saw ourselves in the security cameras.

Sunday was spent sleeping in, going to church and driving around the pretty neighborhoods of Atlanta. Atlanta is very similar to Dallas, but the area Maren lives in is much more scenic. I love looking at old houses so I was excited for this little tour. The house above is President Snow's house in The Hunger Games. Like that house is in the movies and J.Law herself was there. 

Georgia was great but the best part was talking and laughing about our lives and memories with my BFF. 

This came out the morning I flew back to Dallas and if you haven't done a complete run through of every track, stop what you're doing and listen. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVES??? I'm all about "How You Get the Girl" (my #1 I think), "Blank Space" and "Style." I love this album and cannot wait for tour dates.

so glad to meet you angeles

We returned to Dallas at 2:15 AM this morning after a five day jaunt through southern California. Danny Ritter married Kellianne Coltrin on June 28 in the Los Angeles temple and we flew out to celebrate their wedding and spend time with friends.

We arrived to LA at 8 AM on Friday and our first stop was Magnolia's Bakery for the best banana pudding in the world. After Magnolia's I marveled at everything in the Marc by Marc store (the only store we don't have but should at Northpark) and we snapped some pics in their photobooth. After shopping on Melrose Ave. we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This was a gorgeous museum, which we kind of zipped through because we were hoping to beat traffic on the way to Huntington Beach.

There was a great contemporary and modern art collection and I especially enjoyed Chris Burden's "Urban Light" outdoor sculpture (is this the sculpture in No Strings Attached when Ashton gives Natalie the carrot bouquet???). After LACMA we braved the infamous LA traffic to Huntington Beach to spend some time with friends and Danny before his big day.

Danny and Kellianne were sealed for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles temple the morning of June 28. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sealing. I met Danny after I started dating Preston and have always been a big fan. So big a fan that I tried to get all my close friends to date Danny, which didn't work out, but he did find a wonderful bride when he met Kellianne. Danny was a groomsman in our wedding and when we heard the news he was engaged, we were so excited to come to LA to attend his sealing and celebrate his marriage. Danny is a great example to Preston and me and is the quintessential guy you would want to take home to your parents. Preston and I are so lucky to call Danny one of our friends and when I met Kellianne very briefly in March, I was excited for both of them. They are both top notch individuals and will make each other so happy. Congrats Danny and Kellianne!!

After the sealing and luncheon we had some time to kill so we drove to the Getty Center, which was on the way to the reception. Preston was very excited about this spot because he used to want to be an architect, and the Getty is an architect's dream. It really is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen in my life and its views of the city are spectacular. Every corner of the Getty was a vision and I couldn't stop taking pictures and fawning over each structure. I can't help but fantasize about how gorgeous of a reception venue this place would make. I highly recommend this spot if you're in the area.

I'm obsessed with Yelp, treats and trying new restaurants. Yelp released a list of top 100 places to try in the United States and several of them were in California. The #5 spot was Porto's Bakery in Burbank which just so happened to be a few minutes away from the reception. We made a stop and I am still dreaming about the cheese rolls and mango turnovers we bought. Do yourself a favor and pay this Cuban bakery a visit. The prices are great and we got 8 sweet and savory pastries for under $7.

This concludes the first 2 days of our California adventure. I have sooo many pictures and so many things to say so I thought I'd break it up into manageable entries instead of one monster post that no one wants to read. Stay tuned for more pics and stories!