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 positive energy

I've talked before on my blog about positive and negative energies, how I think that they effect us, and how I believe that we control how much positive and negative energy we allow into our lives. But, something that I have been coming to accept recently, ok always/my entire life, is that I can't control everything, and I really wish I could. I am very controlling, and if I could control every minute detail of my life, I would be so down with that. But, I can't. I can't control what the people around me do, or how they feel about me, or what choices they make. I can't control everything that happens throughout my day, and I can't always control when things don't go the way that I want them to. This is something that is sometimes HARD for me to accept. So pretty much what I am saying is that no matter what I do there is going to be negative energy in my life, and I can't stop that from happening as much as I want to sometimes. What I do always have control over is the positive energy in my life.

I'm kind of caught in a weird position right now where I have no idea where my life is headed. As one of my friends described it, my life is one huge question mark right now. I don't know when or where I am going to find a job, and let's be honest I don't even really know how to find the right job or how I want to be spending the next few years of my life (and yes, as a controlling person, this is driving me crazy). So even though right now I can't control the negative energy in my life, I can control the positive energy, and my goal recently has been to infuse my life with as much positive energy as possible. This has led me to make trips to the temple, go on hiking excursions, find a yoga studio, bake lots of yummy treats (dear roommates, I'm sorry that I'm trying fatten you up), and lots of other things that just make me mentally, physically, spiritually healthy and happy.

Below are a few pics from some adventures I have taken to Antelope Island and up Provo Canyon...

My life recently has been all about finding balance. I know that I am never going to have everything figured out. I accepted a long time ago that that is a complete myth and nobody has their life figured out no matter how much it seems like anyone has their shiz together. But, even if everything is confusing, and I have no idea what I am doing, at least I'm trying my best to fill my life with positive energy so that maybe I can be a positive energy in other people's lives too.

peace. love. and energy

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 snow and sunshine

Who says you can't have snow and sunshine all in one weekend? I've had a thousand things to get done...but I also just really like to play. And if it's nice outside? Woof. Good luck getting me to be productive. So, Friday I ignored homework and reality and hit the slopes because I mean come on, you have to go skiing at least a once every winter if you live in Utah. I'm pretty sure it's actually a requirement.

But, here's the thing, there are many things that I am very good at, but skiing is not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it. I'm just really really bad at it. So should you ever happen to be skiing with my friend Sarah who I was with that day, don't let her decide which way to go. Don't do it. You will find yourself at the top of a black diamond that is far beyond your abilities, and you will have no other way down the mountain. If you are me, than your stubborn side will kick in, you will refuse to go down, you will take off your skis and walk. You may even shout something along the lines of "I am going to stab you with my ski pole once I get down there." That may seem dramatic now, but at the time it felt like the proper sentiment. 

Despite that one snafu, I was pretty happy for most of the day.

Even if I was real real sore the next day. Should I not be in Utah next year, it might be a while before I ski again, so I'm glad I got at least one day in. I'm a busy girl, I've only go so much time, ok!

So after a bundled up day on the slopes, it only felt appropriate that I spend a sunny day at the park. It wasn't actually very sunny by the time we left, but when you live in Utah, your perception of warmth gets pretty skewed. I had very much intended to stay inside and do homework all day, but it's frighteningly easy to convince me to go out and play instead. The result was an afternoon of croquet and football in the park. It's almost like spring is here, but not really cause it's only the beginning of March.

Mama C has always emphasized the importance of looking good, and sometimes this means coordinating your croquet equipment to your outfit. 

We might have lost, but at least we had fun. You think if I'm not gunna be good at regular sports, I should at least be good at obscure sports. But, alas, no.

Ok, now everyone go watch the Oscars for me because I don't have cable, and they are my absolute favorite. I'm not going to let myself look at Oscar dresses until I finish at least half the work that I must have done for tomorrow. 

peace. love. and outdoors. 

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.

my night out

Last week was rough. I had six essays and a portfolio due all in a three day time span, and there were a few times when I was not so sure I was going to get through it all. But, of course I was just being dramatic and feeling way too stressed, and I got everything done. So this weekend, other than having to pop by a couple review sessions, I decided I was just going to relax and enjoy being done with my essays. I felt like I deserved it. And, perfect timing, one of my friends had her bachelorette party on Friday night, and I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate being done with the worst week of my semester than going out with all my favorite girls. We went to a piano bar in Salt Lake danced, laughed, had fun, and it was almost like we were freshmen again back when we weren't so stressed and were way more carefree.

The whole crew. These girls are the greatest. So blessed to have met girls like these my freshmen year.

 I could not be more excited for the upcoming nuptials of my cute friend Ashley. I am bummed that I won't be able to make it to her wedding, but happy that I got to be a part of the pre-celebration.

So lucky to have friends like Al in my life. And so glad she is still willing to slip away from her hubby every once in a while to spend a night out with the girls. 

Congrats Ash!!! I love you.

Well, now just a few tests and I am home free. Literally going home and free from having to think about anything school related over the break. Guilt free lounging around. I can't wait. 

and of course, it's almost Christmas!!!

peace. love. and going out.

my salt flat fun

I feel really good about the number of adventures I've been going on recently, and this weeks was particularly good. A group of us were originally going to go to Vegas for the weekend, but plans fell through, people got busy, yada yada yada. But, we figured we still needed to go somewhere, and so we decided on the salt flats at sunset (which just has a magical ring to it if you ask me). I had never been out to the slat flats before and I would have been sad if I had spent all this time in Utah and never went.

I was completely entranced, so I took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, I am a complete fool and instead of bringing my beautiful camera, I forgot (again) and had to resort to iPhone pictures (again). uhg.

The obligatory selfie. (You've missed these the last few posts, admit it.)

Seriously, anytime anyone ever wants to go on an adventure, hit. me. up. Especially when it is October and the world is perfect (really any month will do though).
This earth is so beautiful and I still have so much of it left to explore, and I'm sure you do too. So, ignore your homework/work/obligations for just a couple hours this week and go on your own adventure. You will not regret it.


peace. love. and salt.



p.s. big birthday shout out today to my big sis Rochelle. love you!!!

my starry night

I love going on little adventures (this really shouldn't be new information to anyone). So, yes, the idea of driving an hour up to Strawberry Reservoir and standing out in the freezing cold to take pictures of stars was a very appealing idea to me, and that is exactly what I did last night. One of my friends wanted to try and get some pictures of star trails, and I really wanted to look at some lovely stars, so win/win.

There were a few mishaps including: not being able to find where the camera was left out in the field and damaging of equipment. But, other than that, really even with that, I truly enjoyed my evening with some real great people. Sorry I don't have any pics to share with you, I wasn't the one taking them and iPhones just don't really capture the night sky very well, but picture every star you have ever seen and that is how lovely it was. I think if I had reached out far enough I could have touched the big dipper. 

Nature is so perfect.

peace. love. and stars.

wait! also, this little cutie (my nephew James) and his mama (Diane) came to visit me this week. 

my Utah appreciation post

When I first moved out to Utah, I was excited to be at BYU, but not so excited about living in the midwest. It's dry, there are way fewer trees, and it gets real real cold in the Winter. But, Utah has proven itself to have a lot of positives, and I would even say that I have to come to love living in Utah (but Georgia will always be my home of course). This weekend Utah provided me with some great outdoor adventures.

Adventure number one was a hike up to Stewart Falls

It was a great little hike, with a good friend, to see a lovely view.

 I look real awkward in this picture and my eyes are closed, but this is the crew I went on adventure number two with.

People keep asking where I went for adventure number two...and I actually don't even know where I was. We drove way up the mountains, did a little bit of off roading, and then found a rive and started hiking up. We were walking through the water, and it was so frozen, but it was fun anyways. (I apparently have a thing for half face selfies. sorry I'm not sorry)

Found a little spot to wait while the boys were climbing trees. I'm more of a small tree climber...none of those huge ones. 

And driving there and back the view was perfect the whole time. 

Utah, you have treated me very well this spring. I am gunna admit that I am actually pretty bummed to be leaving Utah for the summer, but excited to enjoy the wonderful humidity of the south. 

peace. love. and Utah. 

my thoughts on being in my early twenties

      I am aware that I am in my VERY early twenties right now, twenty-one actually...ok twenty-one and a half, so I'm hardly an expert on the subjects. But, maybe because I've been reading a lot of articles on Thought Catalog recently or maybe because warm weather makes me feel pensive, but I've been thinking a lot about my stage of life right now, and I've come to the conclusion that your early twenties are just a weird time of life. And don't get me wrong, I don't mean weird in a bad way....just in a weird way. It pains me a little to do this, but I'm about to quote Taylor Swift in a blog post where I am trying to be kind of serious, but it's true, we are "happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It's miserable and magical."
     I don't think I'm alone here when I say that there is a lot of confliction in the life of an early-twenty-something. You are making major life decisions and expected to act like an adult, but you still feel like a little kid most of the time; you aren't worried enough about important decisions like what you are going to do with the rest of your life, but you are really concerned with the number of likes on your most recent instagram post; you are in a state of nomadism so nothing is ever permanent; you want the comfort of a relationship, but the freedom of singleness; your mind changes constantly about what you think you want; some nights everyone you have ever met will want to hang out with you and other nights you will sit on the couch watching old episodes of Gossip Girl hoping that someone will text you, cause everything always happens on one night and no social events ever spread themselves out properly; you feel this weird mixture of being very social and exciting and being really lonely and boring; at 4 p.m. in the middle of your class you are pretty positive that you have never been this tired in your entire life, but when 12 a.m. rolls around and you think it would be smart to go to bed, you have never had so much energy, and so on and so on....ok, so I think you get what I am saying. Everything is a little out of whack. But, I guess this is what makes being in your early twenties that awesome mix of "miserable and magical."
     I seriously feel like a constant jumble of crazy, but really in the best way possible. I have been really trying to learn to enjoy everything not being perfect, which is somewhat hard for someone who is very controlling. When I was young, people in their twenties seemed so old and so responsible. Now that I am in my twenties, I realize that we are not. We are confused, excited, anxious, impatient, happy, free, and really just trying to figure it all out. And, my guess is that whatever the next stage of life is really won't be much different, I'm not sure if life ever completely sorts itself out....but, thank goodness that in my early twenties I have decided the answer to most of my problems is Diet Coke...so thank goodness for the early twenties metabolism too. I'm not gunna trade that for anything.

peace. love. and twenties.

my new year

First of all Happy New Year ya'll!! I would like to say that I was waiting till the year started to write this post and that I just wanted to really think about my past year and what I want to say before putting it in writing...but I was in my basement watching Downton Abbey. So, whatever (but, seriously. Downton Abbey-- unreal how good it is). 

Anyways, 2012 could not have been more filled with blessings. I lived in Paris and backpacked through Europe where I indulged in everything! (and because of this there was a little more of me to love following the first third of the year...thanks French pastries). I learned so much about travelling, planning, remembering to relax, and taking time for the little things. Next came India. I don't think I ever feel as happy as I do when I am in India working with the people there. I love the kids at Rising Star Outreach with all my heart and three months there just wasn't enough, but I know what one day I will be back there (I will run, swim, and climb my way back to India if I have to). I discovered in my time there that it is the lowest lows that make the highest highs so beautiful. And then comes the last part, back to Provo. Which seemed like it could be a big let down after romping around the world, but you can find adventures anywhere as long as you are willing to look for them.

And now we are onto 2013. A new year with new things to be discovered, new trials to face, new blessings to be grateful for, and explorations everywhere. My goals to make this year the best one yet?

cut back on social media (I have a problem)

stop waiting till the last second to get everything done

remember to write all my wonderful friends serving missions

go on more adventures

let no one I know or no one I meet not realize how much truly I love them 

and everyone else

and, be my best. always. 

Seems simple enough, eh? Now go make some goals for yourself and don't forget to be realistic and keep in mind that your goals in January will probably be drastically altered once you've hit December, and babes there is nothing wrong with that.

so, here's to another year of....

peace. love. and adventures