Sunday Best: Valentine Ready with eShakti

dress: c/o eShakti, tights: Smith's Marketplace, shoes: Bella Me

Does anyone else out there get online shopping anxiety? I know, I know. So many people love it. They love it so much they want to marry it. I hear all this talk of, "I don't even have to leave my house! I can shop in my pajamas!" But the thing is, sometimes I like to leave my house. I like going in the store and searching through racks. I like having the luxury of trying stuff on before I commit.

So as crazy as it sounds, I have miniature panic attacks every time I click on that "Add to Cart" button. When eShakti reached out to me, I about had to start breathing into a paper bag, but I decided to try something new and go for it. I've heard a lot of good things about eShakti in the past, so this was just the nudge I needed to try out the magic for myself. 

eShakti makes your online shopping experience easier by allowing you to customize your dress. The dress I'm wearing originally didn't have sleeves. I chose to add elbow length sleeves to my order. Wonderful, right? You can also customize necklines and lengths. Not to mention, their sizing options are much broader than most stores. I will definitely use eShakti in the future.

How cute is this red dress? It definitely had me in the Love Day spirit today at church. I'm also a sucker for anything floral. I thought the floral design on this number was extra delicate and sweet. Oh, and it has POCKETS! Any dress with pockets is a keeper in my opinion (I almost didn't choose the wedding dress I did because it didn't have pockets). I can't wait to wear this dress through the summer months with sandals. Speaking of summer, February is being so unusually warm. I'm not complaining. But I'm also not about to pack up my coats and earmuffs. Utah weather is such a tease!

I can't wait for the coming week and for Valentine's Day!! I probably won't wear this dress for my Valentine date. I might go for an edgier look. Whatever "edgier" means. 

Happy week! xoxo  

A Birthday Getaway

Know what's not cool? Having a birthday during Finals Week. And that's been my husband's birthday for the last several years. Hallelujah that this time next year we won't be pulling all-nighters, writing papers, studying until our eyeballs fall out, and barely having time for dinner (well, hopefully). Today is BWell's birthday and we were able to fit in a birthday lunch and some cupcakes. Now we won't see each other again until probably 10 or 11 (or until morning if I am a good girl and go to bed when I'm supposed to. . . early work makes me have an early bedtime). 

I knew we wouldn't have much time to celebrate today. So about a month ago I had this rebel moment where I was like, "Screw studying. Curse finals." And I planned a weekend getaway to St. George. It was such a joy on Friday afternoon when Brian opening his box full of travel snacks, JT's new cd (gotta have road trip tunes), and a poster that read, "Good for a weekend stay in St. George". And just like that, we packed a suitcase and skipped town. So I can't say we got much studying in over the weekend. However, we did fit in plenty of hiking, pool time, and I even got my first sunburn of the year. 

We hiked Angels Landing in Zion National Park. It was seriously a delight. It was especially a delight scaling along the steep slab of rock at the top, hanging onto chains for dear life, and thinking about the several people who have slipped to their death on that same stretch of the journey. 

In all seriousness though, the hike wasn't nearly as frightening as I had imagined. There were only a few spots where Brian and I found ourselves using the chains. Plus, the entire trail besides the sketchy chain part has a PAVED path. Talk about fancy pants hiking. I had no idea how touristy this hike was though. I think we heard more foreign languages than we heard English. 

Oh, and you know how city people get real annoyed with tourists? Like let's get real, I'm sure they've wanted to kill me all the times I've paid visits and gotten lost, jaywalked, taken pictures of the "huge skyscrapers", and all that jazz. They probably roll their eyes and think, "What a tourist." Well, I discovered over the weekend that country people have that exact same feeling for city people. For instance, when we got held up on the trail because a group of people spotted a lizard. You would have thought it was a unicorn. And then there was the time one couple made us wait FOREVER coming back on the chains because the dude had to take fifty pictures of his girlfriend posing. I get it. You want a cool picture so you can show all your friends how you roughed the wild terrain with its paved pathways and all, but maybe do it at a time when there isn't a line of people behind you. Okay, end rant. I promise I don't hate city people. We actually hiked up with a guy from New York and he was totally cool. Also, while we ate our lunch at the top of the summit, a couple sitting next to us got engaged. That was exciting.

It was a quick trip, but it was a good one. Maybe we will score lower on our finals now, but hey, I got to celebrate the birthday boy. Totally worth it. 

I love you, BWell. Let's make your 25th year of life the best one yet! 

Fun, Fun, Fun til Her Daddy Takes the T-bird Away

I'm not really the kind to worry about what I drive. As long as the vehicle gets me from point A to point B, I'm satisfied. I drive a mini van with over 300 thousand miles on it for crying out loud. And she leaks like a banshee (is that even a thing?), not to mention she's making some real awful noises as of late. But I love her all the same. She has more character than any of those new cars on the lot, no doubt about that. When the day comes that Goldie (my van) breaks down, I don't know what I'll do. Probably search for a used car with plenty of character who is but a lot younger and in better condition than Goldie. However, maybe that day will never come and Goldie will just keeping living and living until I reach old age and have put plenty of miles on myself. That would be peachy. Then hopefully by that point, I'll be old and rich enough to purchase the one kind of car I really appreciate. A classic. Classic cars are just prettier than the cars of today. They each are like a piece of art.

 This past weekend, Brian and I went to a car show, which is much like an art show. Except instead of walking through a museum and looking at paintings, you stroll outdoors through the smoldering heat of the day and admire awesome cars, all while listening to the Beach Boys blasting through nearby speakers. We had a ball, even though it was in the 90s and our faces were dripping with sweat. We bought some smoothies to help cool us off. Then we really cooled off by hitting up the pool after we got our fill of classic cars.

It was a fantastic Saturday. Obviously. Five mile run up the canyon. Cruise In Car Show. Smoothies. Oldies. Swimming. Yes, fantastic.  

LP Love

We made it back on Sunday night from our week long trip at Lake Powell. Traveling is always fun, but I think my favorite part is always coming back home. Being away never fails to make me appreciate walking into my modest living room and dropping all bags on the floor.

Lake Powell is amazing. This whole world is amazing. The blue sky, to the refreshing water, to the red rock in between was like the most perfectly constructed love letter from the big man upstairs. And then there were the stars at night. The nights we slept outside, I just tried to keep my eyes open as long as possible to keep watching all of them shine down on me. That Lake Powell night sky is impressive. Almost as impressive as the night sky in Weston, Idaho. Almost, but not quite.

We spent the week hiking, exploring ruins, soaking up the sun, swimming, reading books, playing cards, wakeboarding, surfing, kayaking, jet skiing, and consuming way too many calories. I loved exploring all the narrow canyons on the kayaks and jet skis. Not to mention, the kayaks were a great arm workout. Oh, and Brian and I were in charge of the t-shirt activity. We made some pretty great shirts using freezer paper and fabric paint. I think they were a hit! Now it's back to real life. I have to shower again. And wear clothes. But at least I brought home a tan as a souvenir.

My shirt has a blue lizard on the back. I just wanted you to know. 

That Time We Went to Hawaii-Part 3

Remember that time we went to Hawaii? Like over two months ago? Yeah, I suppose I better finish posting about it then. And lucky for me, Brian and I got sicker than dogs last night, so all day I've been sitting on the couch and I'm bored out of my mind. So I'll resort to mindlessly blogging. Maybe after that I'll read. Then maybe I'll attempt to stomach a pudding. We've really hit a milestone in our marriage, taking turns at the toilet at 4 in the morning to heave our stomachs up. But that's a totally different story. So, onward with Hawaii.

* * * *

Being the oldest sibling, there are plenty of incidents when I'm out and about with my little sisters and my mom is not present where onlookers assume I'm the mother. The first time this happened, I was around fourteen years old. We were in St. George. I took my sisters down to the pool (the rest of my family was coming down later). As my sisters were swimming around, I sat in a lawn chair to watch them as well as read my book. A few minutes later, a lady came and sat in the chair beside me and said, "Your daughters are just beautiful."

Being fourteen, that seemed really weird to me. "Oh. . .um. . .thank you. But they're actually my sisters. I'll tell my mom you said so though."

Well, while in Hawaii, a similar thing happened. We were getting ready to go out for dinner after cleaning up from a day in the sun. My mom and brother, Jace, weren't quite ready yet. However, I really wanted to catch the view of the sunset. So Brian and I wandered outside to Buddha Point (where the sunset was supposedly especially good) and my two little sisters tagged along as well. We sat on the grass, laughed, and just had a good time waiting for the other two hooligans to catch up with us. And of course we swooned over the gorgeous sunset and pulled the camera out.

And then things got weird. Okay, not weird. Just mostly funny. Because a man came forth and put his arms out for our camera and said, "Here, let me take a photo with all of you in it. The girls will want a picture with both their parents together."

Um. . .yeah. . .okay. So that's when we had our family photo taken in front of the sunset.

Aren't we such cute parents? Shortly after, my mom and brother arrived and then the man learned the truth. It's fine though, it's a common mistake I'm sure.

Then we headed off to dinner at a little local place. We ate out on the deck and enjoyed live music. And oh goodness, the food was tasty!

That's that. The time Brian and I pretended to be parents for about a full minute. And the time we all feasted on fine steaks and sang along to Hotel California as the man with his guitar played away in the corner of the restaurant. Also, I promise my brother was with us. He just wasn't in any of these pictures. Well, except for this one. . .

And I'm sure you can see now why I wasn't going to put it up. I mean, look at Jace's face. He looks like he's been smoking pot with some of the islanders. But he hadn't. I'm sure that's just his hungry face.

Sunday Best: Edgy

shades: Old Navy, earrings: F21, blazer: Maurices, top: American Eagle, skirt: F21, heels: Old Navy, bag: thrifted

I started working at Brian's office this week. Before my first day he told me to wear dress pants or a skirt or something. This is the outfit I came up with. I'm not the hugest fan of office attire. I guess when I dress in lots of black and wear high heels I get feeling out of my element. So I tried to add a bit of my own personality to my business attire. Business with a hint of edginess is what I like to call it. Good thing my hair is also beginning to look a lot like a mullet, that takes me to a whole new level of edgy. This whole growing my hair out thing is beginning to drive me nuts. I'll hold strong though and try to not chop it all off. Again. I'll keep working it in the office with business hair in the front and party hair in the back. 

Sidenote: We took these pictures while taking a stroll down Center Street past all the old mansions. Those old houses are just as charming and lovely as ever. 

That Time We Went To Hawaii-Part 1

The hula lady at church told us that aloha meant breath of life. Yes, there was a hula lady at the Nondenominational Christian church we went to. And yes, my sisters asked us a million times afterwards why we don't say things like, "Thank you, Jesus," during prayers at our church.

Oh, family vacations. They are simply the best. The time we spent driving around the Big Island in our rental van, hoping we weren't lost, laughing, and listening to my younger sisters bicker will be cherished forever.

That insane hike we went on during our first day on the island will also be cherished forever. I know my calf muscles cherished it. After hiking down and looking at some breath-taking waterfalls and patting the backs of some wild horses, we walked to the shore and enjoyed the black sand beach. The dark sand seemed to sparkle as the sun reflected off of it. And it felt so refreshing to just mush the sand in between my toes. It also felt refreshing as well as exhilarating to force my tired legs to sprint into the booming waves. We all laughed as the water came in, knocking us over, cooling our bodies and filling our nostrils with salt. Other tourists watched us and laughed.

And can I just say, it amazes me how pretty this world is? The lushness, the dampness, the sunniness. . .everything about Hawaii was just the break I needed. I needed that breath of ocean air and that time to just reflect on life a little.

After finally hiking back up from the beach, we found the perfect little Mexican bar. I had Mahi Mahi tacos and we all practically overdosed on chips and salsa. Then we went grocery shopping so we could enjoy bowl after bowl of cereal, as well as every variety of m&m you could possibly imagine. Oh, and we had a henna kit. So We decorated each other with henna designs. It was lovely. The whole trip was lovely. So lovely I thought it'd be a shame to shove it all together in one blog post.