WOO HOO, JANUARY IS ALMOST OVER!

Five more days until we leave on our little vacation to Portland and I cannot wait. For almost a week I will be able to relax, do whatever Greg and I want, and get out of this sweatpants-after-work-everyday-because-I'm-exhausted routine. The month of January is always the hardest for me, and I think for a lot of people. The holidays and fun are over and it's back to work and school with nothing to really look forward to until the warmth of summer. I have been busier than ever this month, trying to keep track of three jobs, multiple freelance design projects, and trying to figure out a plan for myself for the next year or so. Is it time for more schooling already or is it time to make and save money? Luckily, I have a few fun plans for the next six months that are getting me through the work and stress including our Portland adventure, a vacation to Hawaii, and a girls weekend in Vegas.

Does anyone have any fun summer plans yet?

Socks // Stance $15.00

IN GOOD COMPANY.

I had quite the busy weekend with friends but it was most definitely a good one. I wish I could've gotten a few better photos but let's face it, who wants to carry their camera to the bar? This is when iPhones come in extra handy.

Friday night we got to go to a Sundance film that actually debuted 19 years ago at the film festival, Plan 10 From Outer Space. The writer and director, Trent Harris, was also at the showing and he was really interesting and hilarious to listen to. It makes a film so much more satisfying when you get to see the mind behind it. The actual film was, well, very odd but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. It's pretty funny and it's interesting to see your city and the culture of it on film.

After the movie we got to go and celebrate my wonderful cousin Tiffany's 22nd birthday at Cheers to You. I had no idea that they do karaoke there on the weekends but apparently they do! I wish I had the courage to do it myself but I'm afraid that it would've taken about 4 more shots and a lot larger bar tab to get me to do it! Happy Birthday Piffy, I love you!

Saturday night we had a fun night in with our friends Nick and Kim, who recently moved closer to us and we couldn't be happier about it. We see them so much more now and it's been great to have a couple-friend who is always down to hang out.

Sunday we got to spend the day with one of Greg's oldest friends, Brett, and his beautiful wife Kirsten, who were in town from Puerto Rico. For days leading up to it we were stressing about what to do with them, what to show them, etc. but it ended up being a simple, fun little hangout. We barhopped a little bit and just got to chit chat. It would've been fun to show them Park City but Greg and I both despise that cute little town during Sundance. Too many people, not enough parking, blah blah blah.

UP BEFORE THE SUN.

Greg has to get up at 6 AM (well, his alarm is set for 6:08 for some insane reason) every morning for work. I, on the other hand, have until 8 because, well, I'm lucky like that. But depending on how many drawers and doors get slammed by him every morning while he is getting ready, Karen Cat and I are sometimes up at 6:08 too.

This morning was one of those days. And although Karen was able to keep falling back to sleep at the foot of the bed, here's a list of my productive morning...
// Had my morning coffee.
// Made bacon and eggs.
// Did the dishes.
// Sent a few e-mails.
// Wrote a summary for work.
// Packed my lunch.
// Shook the bathroom rugs.
// Cleaned out the photos on my phone.
// Dusted my nightstand.
// Did a little Pinterest-ing.
// Switched all of my things from one purse to another.
// Hung up some clothes in my filthy closet.
// Catch up in my Q & A journal.

Voila! The things I can do when I get up two hours earlier than necessary.

COOL AS A CUCUMBER.

When I was growing up, I visited my great-grandma Lorlee every other Saturday morning. Each time when I would walk in the door, after a great big hug from this tiny woman, there would be a sliced cucumber with a dash of salt sitting on the counter on my favorite pink plate. Next to it would sit a splash of Dr. Pepper in my favorite dark red "fancy" glass. Every other Saturday, without fail. For the rest of our visit we would play games, blow bubbles, or go pick the cucumbers from the garden.

My Grandma Lorlee passed away about five years ago but to this day, each and every time that I eat a cucumber, I think of her and smile. They are still one of my favorite things to eat and I searched the web for some new recipes to try and to share with you all. I already made the first one on the list and I will most definitely make it again, it was fabulous. Enjoy!

// Chilled Sweet & Sour Cucumber Noodles
// Cucumber Mint Noodles with Ginger Dressing
// Cucumber Crostini
// Shaved Cucumber Salad
// Apricot Basil Cucumber Salad

Photo Credit: Flickr

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS.

Or even when it doesn't, this cat's snuggles keep me going. The past couple weeks have been the busiest ones that I have had in a very long time. With a lack of sleep, no day off in fourteen days, and too long of a to-do list, I can't believe that I finally have a day tomorrow to relax. I sometimes tend to bite off more than I can chew, well, most of the time. But I'll tell you what, tomorrow you will find me and my coffee (and then wine) sitting on my ass reading a book and I can't wait! We all need some "me time" occasionally.

NOM NOM PALEO.

As I've posted before, I am trying a semi-strict Paleo diet and have been for over two months now. So far, I've had nothing but good results. I have lost 11 pounds and I have felt a hundred times better. Once in awhile I will have a cheat meal and it becomes so obvious how processed foods affect my body.

If any of you are familiar with the Paleo diet, you are most likely familiar with Nom Nom Paleo and all of her amazing recipes. She just published the book shown above with some of her best recipes. I got it in the mail yesterday and I am more than excited to start making some of them. First things first, I will be making her Paleo Sriracha recipe and I can't wait! I highly recommend the diet/lifestyle change, as well as this fabulous book.

Photo Credit // Virginia is for Hunters and Gatherers

NOBODY LEAVES WITHOUT SINGING THE BLUES.

Thanks to a snowy few days that we have had here in Salt Lake, I'm starting to feel some winter blues coming on. Don't get me wrong, I like the winter much more than summer but by now every year it tends to add up and any little thing that comes along and pisses me off escalates to a full on tantrum of "I HATE WINTER!" So here is my list of my rants for the day...

// Why do I have Facebook when the majority of the time the things that are said on there irritate me?
// Why did I curl my hair today, only to go outside and get drenched in snow?
// Why is this woman talking on her cell phone right outside of my office so loudly that I can hear her through the glass?
// Better yet, why is she standing on the street corner in the middle of a blizzard on her phone, anyway?
// I wish that the pizza delivery boy that got the wrong address would of left them here.
// Who keeps grunting?

On a positive note, I enjoyed this blog post today by Free People about cats. It's days like this where no matter what mood I am in, I go home to my little fluffball of a cat and everything gets a little bit better.

Summer photo courtesy of Cat over at Little Fox Blog
Tank // Urban Outfitters
Jeans // Adriano Goldschmied, style: Premium, $220 at AG Jeans

FRESHEN UP.

After almost four years of not coloring or bleaching my hair, the past couple of months I've decided to gradually go platinum again. It's a scary process when you have finally accomplished getting your hair back to it's healthy, natural state after so long but it mixes things up and makes life a little bit more exciting. In high school I changed my hair constantly, anywhere from platinum, to brunette, to hot pink. If it was possible to do to your hair, I probably did it! But when I started college and mom and dad stopped paying for me to get my hair done, it wasn't realistic anymore!

My friend Kerestin added a little bit of blonde a couple of months ago and then yesterday we took the plunge and added lots more. I love it, it feels so great to have something a little bit different again. The same ole long hair gets boring and then I start having these crazy ideas of chopping it off. I know I would regret that almost instantly so this is probably the safest route to having a change for awhile. I feel a little bit Barbie-ish but that just gives me more reason to wear leather and boyfriend jeans to counter it, right?

(P.S. Sorry for the pixelated photo. I have no clue why the Blogger photo uploader is doing that to me today.)

Sweater // Wildfox Seeing Stars Sweater // $198 at SHOPBOP
Jeans // 7 For All Mankind Second Skin Skinnies // $189 at 7 For All Mankind

DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS.

Well, I have spent the first three days (and counting) of 2014 in bed with some terrible sickness. Sore throat, fever, no voice, headache, the whoooole enchilada. I'm going crazy, I'm not really the lay-in-bed-all-day type of personality, even if I'm sick. I feel like I've spent more time on Pinterest than ever before combined. Luckily, even though I'm not well enough to go into work, I've been able to lay here and get caught up on some freelance projects that need to get done this month. For once, I'm actually ahead of the game!

I started the book The Defining Decade last year and only got about thirty pages into it before school took over my reading time. I have this semester off so I am planning to read all of the books that I haven't had time to read in the past four years of college. In the past couple of days, I have already gotten three-quarters of the way into this book and I love it. My generation has the view that "thirty is the new twenty" and that we can just have fun in our twenties and then get serious at thirty. I haven't ever had this view, making it difficult for me to see why other people felt that way. I have always been serious about my future (possible too serious at times) and would rather work hard than sit back and smell the roses. However, I have also had the view that I won't get married young, will always live with someone before marriage, and many other things that this book has called me out on and made me realize that I have only been living to justify these feelings in order to convince myself that they are true.

The book addresses the outlooks that twentysomething-year-olds have on work, love, and the brain and the body. It's so inspirational but at the same time, calls you out on the bullshit feelings that as a twentysomething you have and insist that you are right about. I have learned that I need to find a definite balance between work and play, but also a lot about marriage, careers, and myself. I know that I will be changing a few things about my life and feelings about myself and the relationships of my boyfriend, my friends, and my family. Changing these will make me a better person and have a positive influence on my future.

FIRST POST SINCE LAST YEAR.

Happy 2014 everyone! Rather than having a New Year's resolution, I prefer to have somewhat of a long to-do list for this year. A list that of things that range from easy to accomplish to difficult, an entire spectrum of goals. I want to continue to add more as I think of them but I've started with this small list...

1 // Get into law school.
2 // Take a weekend girls trip to Las Vegas.
3 // Complete a long bike ride with Greg's mom.
4 // Try one new recipe every week.
5 // Finish a secret design project that I've been working on the past few months.
6 // Move into a house.
7 // Have platinum blonde hair.
8 // Use my sewing machine.
9 // Keep a plant alive.