my first day

It's official, this girl is employed. No, seriously. I got a job.

I started my first ever "real" job this Wednesday as a writer for a health company in Salt Lake. It's quite the commute (hello two hours on a train every morning and evening), but I think I'm going to really like my new office. It's a great company, everyone there has been very welcoming, and I mean, I'm working as a writer in a city, how cool is that? 

On the left is my office building (I'm a little bit obsessed with it). On the right it my first day of work outfit... (excuse the mirror selfie--fashion blogging is clearly not what this is all about).

My first day may have been one of the most overwhelming and terrifying days of my life. We happened to have a ton of meetings that day, and I sat in every single one really wanting to contribute but having no idea what anyone was talking about. I also kept getting the question, "Where were you working before this?" Oh, what? You mean that you all aren't fresh out of college babies like me who have no idea what they are doing? The thought that I kept repeating to myself all day was everyone has had a first day. I just wanted to remind myself that even though I feel lost right now, that every single person in that office had been in my shoes before and hopefully they understood exactly what I was going through.

I know that it's going to be really hard being gone every day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, and that I am going to spend a lot of time at work being swamped and overwhelmed, and I no longer get summer breaks or long holidays (enjoy those all you kids still in school), but as one of my friends reminded me on Thursday, not many people can say that they are doing something they love (writing) and actually getting to use their skills that they worked so hard in college (bye all you haters who asked me what I was going to with an English major). 

Mmm I do love my little walk from the TRAX to my office. SLC is beautiful on fall mornings!

Thank you to those who were so supportive in the job hunt process (especially my parents who let me play all summer). I couldn't be more grateful that I took the time and waited until I found the right position. There were a few times that I started questioning if my dream of being a writer was out of reach, but here I am. I feel amazingly blessed to have this opportunity, and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

peace. love. and employment.

my wildflowers

I'm just so blessed to be friends with the type of people who are sitting around hanging out on a rainy evening and then say, "Let's go pick wildflowers up in the mountains." Ummm, yes. always yes to picking wildflowers in the rain. And not only did the wet, flowered mountains smell amazing, the hanging clouds and the gorgeous light were a picture taking dream. (first and fourth shot by me, second and third shot by Austin Terry)

You can try and tell me you don't think this looks cool, but I wouldn't believe you.

I'd say I want to spend every day for the rest of my life romping through fields of wildflowers, but then I'm afraid it would take some of the magic out of it.

What is this a Lord of the Rings set or something?? Geez the clouds shouldn't be allowed to look this good.

Thank you mountains for bringing me such endless joy this summer as I've been trying to gain a little perspective on life and figure things out for myself.Whenever I need to feel a little rejuvenated, I am so grateful to be surrounded by such beauty. As easy as my summer has seemed (and yeah I'll admit I can't complain too much), that doesn't mean everything in every aspect of my life has been going perfectly, and sometimes breathing the air in the mountains is just a little easier than anywhere else. 

peace. love. and wildflowers.

my lavender love

My friend Katie and I heard that there were lavender fields in bloom up in Mona, so we decided to take another one of our mini adventures and check them out (oh how I am happy that I have found someone who is always down for whatever/whenever). I really want to say that we were not at all disappointed and that it was the most majestic thing we had ever seen, but turns out they harvested 3/4 of their lavender fields a few days before we got there. So being flexible humans, we settled for a lavender patch. Lavender patches although not quite as amazing and not the breathtaking sight we hoped for, are still quite nice and smell absolutely lovely. Alas, maybe next year we will be at least a little more on top of things and make it to see the fields in full bloom.

Let's all wear hats and lavender in our hair every day, okay? It sounds nice to me at least.

Don't tell the people at the farm that we picked their lavender and took it home in beautiful smelling bundles. They won't miss it. It's okay.

I've started to get a lot more serious about trying to find a job, but I am going to miss this adventurous life of mine. Not that I won't be able to go on adventures, I just don't know if I am ever again going to have quite this much freedom in my life. I think the best advice I could give to anyone at the moment is to not try to grow up or get your life going too fast. It's okay to spend a summer playing in the lavenders before you try to find a job and be an adult. In a weird way I feel so blessed that I didn't get any of the internships that I was trying so hard for this summer. Instead, I have met and become friends with some of the most incredible humans on the planet, gotten tanner than I have been since I was a kid (no that still isn't very tan and I'm going to be honest I miss everyone being pale because I actually think it's prettier, SORRY), read a ton of great books, fallen way more in love with Utah, and probably all around had one of the best summers of my life.

peace. love. and lavender.

my salty photo shoot

Since getting my new camera (affectionately named Helena because I have a weird habit of naming everything), I have actually been a little scared of it. I'm just still not entirely sure what to do with all the settings and what not. But, I've decided the best way to get over my fear of Helena is to get out there and start shooting.

Since I am driving a rental car for the week (due to a minor accident last week where my precious car Benny got rear ended), I figured it was the perfect time for a mini road trip out to the Salt Flats to play with my camera a little. I was pretty happy with the results. Also, you're about to be overloaded with pics because there were so many good ones that I had trouble choosing...

This is my stunning friend Katie who came along with me to help me take pics, to keep me company on the road, and of course, also to enjoy the salt flats.

I may not get tan, but I do get lots of freckles. Is it weird that actually seems better to me?

Yeah excuse the serious picture before this. Clearly I can't keep a straight face for very long. 

Sometimes I whip my hair back and forth. But actually, I'm pretty sure this was accidental which makes it an even cooler picture.

I was drooling over how blue and clear the sky was. Seriously. Look at it. So freaking blue.

 We were the only ones out there, so Katie and I had to use a self timer to get a pic together by artfully propped up my camera on my keys. One time we intentionally wore matching outfits and ever since then we keep on accidentally wearing matching outfits. We really aren't doing this on purpose, but we find it pretty hilarious, so I guess it's okay.

Pre hair flip...

..and hair flip! This is probably one of my favorite shots because just look at dat hair!

Taking pictures is hard work so I finished off by taking a little salty nap.

I think I feel a little less afraid of my camera after this and a couple other photo adventures I've taken recently. I'm trying to get a lot of practice in before my McCarty family reunion this summer so that I can take some good pics when I'm out in Oregon. So, like, who wants to go take pictures with me?

peace. love. and blue sky.

my dreams

Last Tuesday, my friend Katie and I went to an exhibit up in Salt Lake called The Dreamathon. It was put on by a few of my friends and a company that they started called The Dream Press, and I have been real excited to see it ever since hearing about it from them. They brought local artists into an abandoned high school and transformed an empty building into a work of art.

Katie and I may or may not have intentionally worn matching outfits for the occasion, but that's not the only reason we had a blast. I loved seeing all of the funky, cool, and interesting creations that they made in this school. A tribute to dreaming and following your dreams is exactly what this pool bum who is trying to figure out what she is going to be doing with her life needed. 

Ok, I guess I should go figure out what my dreams are so I can chase them.

peace. love. and dreams.

p.s. If you are in Utah they will be reopening the exhibit at Granite High School in Salt Lake City on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.

my graduation

So...I realize graduation was a couple weeks ago, and you are probably so so sick of hearing about it...but, I'm going to talk about it anyways. Sorry everyone, but I haven't had my computer for the past week, so we are going to have to catch up now.

To chat about it, here are more pictures of me than you have ever had any desire to see...

Here I am all diploma-ed up. Ok not really, that's just a diploma cover, but we can all pretend. A lot of people seemed kind of annoyed by the whole graduation thing, and I even had quite a few people tell me they weren't going to walk. Here's the thing, if I spent thousands of hours in classes to graduated, you betcha I'm sitting through a 2 hour long ceremony to walk across that stage.

 My sister Diane, her baby James, and my mom and dad all came out for graduation, but unfortunately since my sister Rochelle lives so far away in Germany, she wasn't able to come. Diane and I took this picture to pretend like she was there with us.

 These two amazing humans, my mama and my papa (in the picture below), have been the most amazing support through my college years, and well...every year of my life. I could not be more grateful for all of their help in getting through school (and yeah..life).

 #actiontasselshot

 Seriously, my whole family is amazing (plus Rochelle, Matt, Jed, and Daniel who couldn't make it out).

Every time I tried to put my hat on this little future cougar, he just put it back on me. Guess we'll have to wait a million years till his graduation day to see him wearing a weird flat-topped and tassled hat. (No, seriously. Who invented graduation robes and hats and more importantly why?!)

 Rather than take all my pics just outside of the Marriot Center where my graduation was held, I wanted to take some pictures at my absolute favorite spot on campus, the fourth floor deck of the JFSB. If you have not wandered up there on a sunny day to study (or really any day because it's always so nice), you're not using your time on BYUs perfect campus correctly.

My family all taking pictures of me and looking directly at me, and no one could say Hey Danielle, your hat is really lopsided and off center. Thanks guys.

Well, I guess this is it for me and BYU. I am so grateful for the four years that I have spent here, for the friends I have made, the professors who have taught me, the things I have learned, and the memories I have made. I still remember getting my acceptance to BYU and crying with joy, and I'm going to be honest with you right now, I'm crying just a little while I type this knowing that it's all over. Even with the number of times I pulled all nighters, had meltdowns because I thought there was no way I was going to get everything done, and questioned what I was doing, I still think I might do it all over again given the chance (wait...I guess that's what grad school is. Ok yeah, give me some time to think about that one).  I'm looking forward to bigger things, but I also can't stop looking back on a beautiful four years.

peace. love. and go cougars!

my saturday shoot

Last Saturday Chelsea and I were sitting on her bed, completely ignoring our homework, and feeling super bored. Since it was so perfect outside, we decided to go for a little mini adventure and go exploring up the canyon. We drove up a little ways, parked the car, and started wandering. But, let's be honest, it mostly turned into a photo shoot. I've been really wanting to start playing with my new camera, and I have so so so much to learn, but I figure the more I mess with it the better I'll get. Right? Or some kind soul could just teach me (yeah? anyone?).

I love when candid shots actually turn out.

Snow capped mountains against blue skies are quite possibly one of my absolute favorite things in the world. I am in love every time I see them, which luckily is quite often when you live in Utah.

Oh hello. My roommate is perfect. Get at her boyz.

Can't stop the sass.

Chilly air and sunshine. This was a good day. A real good day. Even if I didn't get as much done as I needed I survived the week, so I guess that's what really counts.

peace. love. and a tad bit of spontaneity.

my fresh air

It's no secret that I actually like the winter and snow, and I'm almost a little disappointed that it's kind of already over here in Utah. But watch, now it will snow again, and I'll be mad about it or something cause it's also no secret that I'm insane. Oh well. One of the glorious things about it warming up again is that I can once again participate in outdoor activities. Oh boy! This last weekend I went on an adventure up around Upper Falls (above Bridal Veil Falls for anyone familiar with the area). It was a bit icy, but it was still a great hike, and it was incredible to be outside and exploring new things again. Luckily my friend Austin Terry not only takes me on great adventures, but also takes lovely pictures of adventures and was kind enough to share them with me so I could share them on my blog.

Clearly this takes me much more concentration than most.

Shout out to Ben for making sure that I never slipped and died with all the ice and rocks that really brought out my clumsy side. But, let's be honest, I don't think I have a non-clumsy side.

Glad to have great friends, great adventures, and great places to go exploring. 

I guess if warm weather means more adventures like these, I might not be that mad about it. I might even be excited about it. Okay. You caught me; I am excited about it. (Seriously I just jinxed us all. Now it's going to get freezing again. I'm sorry!!)

peace. love. and hikes.