huskies, wildcats and cougars oh my!

Preston and I had a great weekend. First, it was General Conference (post to follow!) which meant breakfast in bed and listening to great talks in pajamas. This weekend was also the Final Four and our sweet city hosted most of the festivities. 
Friday, Saturday and Sunday there was a March Madness music festival held in Union Park, a couple of blocks from our apartment. We went all three days and saw a plethora of artists from Jason Aldean (Friday. LOL) to Bruce Springsteen (Sunday. RULES) and rode the ferris wheel twice. It was like a itty bitty baby Coachella, for free! Friday night was mostly ferris wheeling and wandering around the back of the Jason Aldean crowd. After conference on Saturday we walked over for The Killers. I gotta be honest, I didn't know many songs from any of the artists we saw, but I could sing along to all of the Hot Fuss singles. Brandon Flowers is a hot dad and put on a fun show. On Sunday we waited in the rain for Fun. and Bruce Springsteen. Again, didn't know many songs from either artist, but Fun. was high energy and, well, fun. Nate Ruess reminded me of a 5 year old boy. We ended the night with Bruce Springsteen and he was my favorite show of the weekend. The E Street Band is HUGE and such a spectacle. Bruce is an incredible performer and so interactive. He crowd surfed (we touched him!), brought people onstage and sang to random girls in the audience. I had a lot of fun despite the rain, cold and bladder almost exploding. The pics above from L-R are The Killers, Fun. and Bruce crowd surfing.

Last night we went to Arlington to watch the championship game between the UConn Huskies and Kentucky Wildcats. AT&T stadium embodies everything about Texas and America. It is a monstrosity and such sight to see. Basketball is my favorite sport to watch and I have always wanted to attend the Final Four. I had a great time cheering for the Huskies (cuz only a small fraction of the crowd were UConn fans and Preston explained to me UConn was the real underdog despite their higher seed than Kentucky). I also talked Preston into getting the ultimate nachos which are not pictured but deserve their own mention.

All we really wanted was a good, close game and we got it. Both teams were fun to watch and it was just a treat in itself to be in attendance at such a huge sporting event. After UConn won I couldn't help but vocalize to Preston how happy I was for UConn to which Preston made fun of me and said, "You're always so proud of them (them being any winning team)." But come on, they worked so hard and beat so many teams! Plus, who had UConn taking it all on their bracket? I think they were out in the Sweet 16 on mine. I just get really happy and emotional for the winning athletes in big sporting events that I care about.

The energy was so high at AT&T Stadium and I can only imagine how much more excited I would be if BYU ever made it and I was in attendance. Speaking of the cougars, look who we ran into! They had a little advertisement about BYU winning the 6th fan competition and we let out what we thought were the only cheers in the stadium, but before the game started we saw Coach Rose himself a few rows away from us. At the end of the game we went over and said hi and got a pic. We luv BYU. 
 I don't know when we'll get the chance to see another Final Four game so I'm really glad we took the opportunity this year. So ends another fun weekend in sweet Dallas, TX. 

undwindulaxing part 2: provo, ut

After spending a few days in Palm Springs with the Kutneys, I flew to Utah to spend a week with my friends and attend the wedding of Jadyn and Sean McGrath on March 30. Most of my time in Utah was spent eating which is one of my favorite activities, so I had an excellent time.

I flew into Salt Lake on the afternoon of the 25th and was picked up by Kylie. We met up with Jenny and had a life conference aka dinner in Salt Lake. I love those glam ladies. Then I drove back to Provo with Jenny and lived with her until Friday. Wednesday I went to campus to give Terrance a package from his mom and it was very weird being on campus. No one knew that I don't actually go to BYU anymore. I had lunch at Cubby's which is just as good as I remembered with Blythe, Kaile and Alyanna (pictured above). That night I had Slab with my soon-to-be newlyweds Grady and Molly (below). I also third-wheeled with them to Cafe Rio because TEXAS DOESN'T HAVE ONE. 

 

Another fun thing I got to do besides eat was attend Xtend Barre with Molly. She works and will soon be teaching class there and if you like pilates + ballet + cardio, you need to try Xtend Barre. I have been forever saying how much I want to take a dance class but a) can't find any b) am too self conscious. Xtend Barre was great because it combined ballet technique with pilates moves plus cardio. I got an awesome workout and broke a sweat. I'm going to try and find a close by class I can go to here in Dallas. Xtend Barre/Barre Method/Pure Barre is very popular among the SMU sorority chicks out here.

I am sooo excited for Grolly 2014. We have already bought our tickets to Nashville and now I just need to find the perfect outfit for June 6!

I tried Sodalicious because I've seen it on Instagram so many times and Emilee is a loyal customer. Above is us rolling in the grass after my first Sodalicious experience. I had to say goodbye to Blythe who was heading to New York for the week. 

Friday night to Saturday morning was all wedding activities and I have a whole post dedicated to that lovely day. I spent Sunday with my sister and Monday I bought an entire Slab pizza. This is something  have always wanted to do. I brought back a slab for Preston because I am the nicest wife and there it is in my carry-on. Utah was great and I sure do miss living 5-45 mins away from all my best friends, but I was glad to come back to Dallas but wish I could bring Slab with me.

mr. & mrs. mcgrath

I flew to Utah this week to attend the wedding of my dear friends Jadyn Cherry and Sean McGrath. They were sealed for time and all eternity March 29, 2014 in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Yesterday was a lot of firsts for me like first time ever seeing the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and first time attending a sealing other than my own. I felt so happy and blessed to have the opportunity to attend Sean and Jadyn's sealing. My heart was so full for the both of them and I was also reminded of my own sealing and how special and wonderful that morning was.

Jadyn moved to Pennsylvania in high school and was in my stake. I would hang out with her at stake events but we really became friends when we were in the same hall freshman year. Jadyn and I hated everything about BYU and the freshman experience and wallowed in self-pity together. We lived together sophomore year where we only became closer (and happier). I met Sean the same year because he was our neighbor. All three of us have remained friends and Sean and Jadyn surprised me in the library when they told me they were getting married. I am so happy for these two because they complete in each other and are two of the smartest and best people I know.
How perfect is Jadyn? I am so obsessed with her dress and her entire wedding day look. It was so Jadyn and sooo beautiful. She truly looked like a goddess. 

The reception was held at The Underground in downtown Provo. Really cool and cozy venue. Jadyn's reception was so much fun and a spectacle in a good way. For example there was fire dancing right before their send off by a world renowned fire dancer. One of my favorite moments of the night was the daddy daughter dance which was actually a slow salsa. Jadyn and her dad are great dancers and it was the coolest daddy daughter dance I've ever seen. I used to spend a lot of time with the Cherry family during the summers they were in Lancaster. I miss them and it was a treat to see all of them this weekend.

I'm so thankful to have been a part of Sean and Jadyn's day and it was an honor participating in their wedding festivities. I am so happy for these two and know they are just beginning another incredible adventure together :)

unwindulaxing part 1: palm springs, ca

Greetings from Provo, Utah! I am currently on day 5 of my 10 day vacation. Part 1 began in Palm Springs, CA. Preston and I left Dallas Friday afternoon and after a series of delays we finally made it. Saturday-Monday were spent playing tennis, going to exercise classes with retirees, eating and bronzing. We spent most of our days at The Vintage Club, a luxe country club Preston's relatives belong to and have a house. Preston went back to Dallas on Tuesday and I continued my vacay to Salt Lake.

Above is the two of us floating in the pool. The weather was hot and sunny and I did get a couple shades browner. The last time I was at The Vintage Club was in April 2012 during Coachella Weekend 2. I spent part of the weekend in a random house with Kylie and other festival attendees and then spent the remainder of the weekend with the Kutneys. 2 years ago we had been dating for 6 months and it was my first time meeting Preston's parents :-O It was one of my favorite trips of my life.

Here's a picture of how beautiful the club is.

Now I'm back in Utah anxiously awaiting the wedding of my sweet Jadyn Cherry to Sean McGrath happening this Saturday!! Being back has been so fun and I'll have a post dedicated to all the food I ate and people I saw :)

time the rhythm racing on the gold card

It's almost April. Here's what I've been doing since fashion week:

Above is Preston demonstrating his civil engineering skills at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, a few blocks from our house. I think we actually did this in February or even January. Oops. But it's a really great museum and lots of hands on stuff for kids and young adults that get bored of museums quickly.

We teach the 12-14 year olds' Sunday school class but once we got to substitute for the sunbeams. Above is a game Preston invented called "Who Can Jump the Highest and Grab the Scrap of Paper In My Hand?" Very spiritual and educational.

This past Friday was Pi Day and we've visited this little pie shop called Emporium Pies in the Bishop Arts neighborhood a couple of times. Really delectable pies, a little overpriced but very cute ambiance. Because I always have my treats radar on, I checked to see if they were doing any special promotions for Pi Day and turns out, if you recited the first 14 digits of pi, you got a free slice. Obviously I made us go. 

 On Sunday night we went to see RAC in Deep Ellum. I will admit, I was a little disappointed at how little he sung. Going into it, I knew that he did mostly remixes but has recently been singing in his newer songs so I was expecting mostly remixes and instruments, but more singing. It was ok though because we stood in the very front and danced to all of his great songs including my #7 song of 2012 "Hollywood." Other good ones you should check out are "Sweet Disposition," "Let Go" and "Tear You Down."

Finally, Preston made fun of me, but I got the set list and it was my most triumphant moment of the evening cuz homegirl next to me was lunging for it after they left the stage before their encore, but I kindly pointed to it at the end of the encore and Karl just handed it to me. If you didn't know, it is VERY COOL to get the set list. Preston didn't know.

Other updates in my life:
1) I quit working at the cupcake shop and only work at J.Crew now.
2) We are leaving for Palm Springs this Friday and then on Tuesday I fly to Utah for my baby girl Jadyn's wedding.
3) Preston took the GMAT and did a fantastic job. He studied very hard and I'm so proud of him.

Life is good. I hate dieting. The weather is unpredictable, but mostly pleasant.