april sponsor time!

here's the drill. if you want to swap buttons with me, email me. if you want to stay a sponsor just comment here & let me know.

can't wait for all the fun we're gonna have!

& happy general conference weekend!!

3 reasons why i want a baby NOW

exhibit A:

this is my darling friend Rachael and her lil' goober Creighton. i can't get over his hair & the way it sticks up on its own. or his eyes. or his face. or his lips. or his cheeks. or the way he made karate poses at nick. or mama Rach & how absolutely happy she is. the caption for the picture on the left is "my life is perfect." aw!

exhibit B.

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baby clothes. there is nothing that fancies me more than teeny clothing- bowties, tutus, tuxes, delicious onesies, etc. nick made the observation that the tinier the clothes get the higher my excited shriek is-- which is fine if you're not in the mall.. which we usually are when this happens.  



exhibit C



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i collect children's books for the sole purpose of having a library like this some day for my babies. so far i have some from both grandparents & my in-laws (still working on my parents.. *wink*) but i need to have a baby first...

pulling teeth.

yesterday nick got one of his molars extracted, and it's been a loritab trip for the past couple of days. (him, not me, i promise!) 

so in his "absence" i got creative-- this are our only easter decorations, & the only decorations that have been up since... christmas. i know i know... we're hip.

he also had an interview today. a BIG interview. wish him luck! 

this new blogger layout... kind of digging it? i like how big it is now. not so confined & squelching.

for now i have a puppy asleep on my lap, a husband who is zonked out on the blow-up bed (we're borrowing it from my parents so our friends can stay over this weekend & he decided it's more fun than our real bed) in the middle of the living room, and a growling belly. t'is to be an exciting evening, fellas, you can count on that! 

happiness is...

- eating lunch in the sun on the 3rd floor patio at work
- eating my 12th red velvet cupcake in the last 5 days
- my new teacup i painted at Color Me Mine on our anniversary
- love letters from nick
- house hunting.. and dreaming
- registering for classes & getting every single one i want
- thinking about Disneyland
- general conference this weekend
- hair that has finally grown out from a horrendous haircut a couple weeks ago
- swimsuit season quickly approaching
- lace dresses found on etsy & tea length tulle skirts ready to make
- summer, summer, summer.

let me tell you about love

how did i know that i was in love?

we drove over to great harvest & he took me "back stage" for a fresh taste of treats.
he asked me what kind of sandwich i wanted.
i stood there, staring up at the sign with my mouth open wide (probably, that's how i imagine it in my brain.)
he came over and put his arm around me.
i let my head fall onto his shoulder.
& i forgot how to breathe. i'm pretty sure my heart was going at a thousand bpm, and my stomach was going to leap out of my throat. i got nervous and asked him just to make me his favorite so he would move his arm & the spinning would stop.
i sat down and watched him. he kept looking back at me, and i kept staring. was it indigestion? it had to be indigestion. it's the scone he gave me! heartburn? maybe i'm dehydrated. no, no this was real. is it love? what is love? ♫ baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more ♫ but for reals, i was wondering how another human could make me feel this way; so happy, so frivolous & upbeat like i could smile for a hundred years and not be tired of it. so calm & peaceful, but at the same time so anxious & nervous. like every emotion ever in one single moment, over and over again. like a combination of throwing up and that feeling you get when you jump really high on a trampoline. sweet, sweet love.
i thought, "i can see myself marrying him."
wait, what? did i just say that in my brain?

...

we went climbing & he would kiss me on the forehead every chance he got. i just wanted to leap into his arms every time i saw him smile. he made me feel so complete.

...

i was eating a scone.
my roommates and i were getting ready to watch the Swan Princess, and i let him in.
he had come from a YSA fireside so he had on a suit & a nice cashmere scarf around his neck.
he always looked super spiffy & my heart melted for the bazillionth time.
we sat on the teeny sofa because all the big ones were taken, but i didn't mind.
it felt nice to have his arms around me. a peace. like they belonged there, and i felt warm inside (no, really. i did. all warmy fuzzy happy like. it's not weird.)
he called me adorable when i knew all the words to all the songs, and then he rubbed my feet.
(minutes before nick arrived JJ told me, "steph, the man you marry will spontaneously rub your feet. got that?")
i was 100% myself that night, and it felt good.
we laughed at ridiculous youtube videos & all i wanted was to be closer to him.
closer, & closer. please.
then it was midnight. my roommates had all gone to bed & boyfriends had left for the evening.
it was just me and him on a plastic dorm room sofa.
and i loved it.
he cradled me in his arms and we talked about things that truly mattered to us.
i felt whole and complete.
3 a.m. he held me at the door but didn't kiss me good night. he didn't kiss me at all.
but i didn't mind.

...

he brought me to his FHE while i was in sweaty sweats, introduced me as his girlfriend & held onto my hand the entire time.
i was definitely his & was so happy to be.

...

we were the only ones in Pizza Hut. we sat on the same side of the bench & tried not to make our waiter feel weird with our constant canoodling. i thought for sure he was going to kiss me, but he didn't.
we drove right up to the haunted hospital "just to see". i thought for sure he was going to pull over and kiss me, but he didn't.
then we watched a movie in my room (ooh, scandalous) rather than in the people's eye view of my apartment living room.
halfway through Avatar i could tell he was staring at me, so i looked up & sure enough his bright blue eyes were deep in thought.
"what are you thinking about?" said i.
"i'm just wondering if now would be a good time to kiss you." replied he.
i looked up at him and asked, "well, what do you think?" i thought for sure he was going to kiss me.
and he did!

...

it was lunch time & we were taking a nap together before his english class.
"nick, why do you have to go to the U?"
"why do you have to stay here?"
"well, i guess if i moved up north with you we'd have to be pretty serious. you know?"
"well, we are."
"hmm... what do you want to have happen to us?"
"i want us to be together. permanently."
"nick, are you saying that you want to marry me?"
he gave me a look, and my heart exploded.
"....you're not supposed to know that yet."
then i laughed. because more than anything i wanted to marry him & he wanted the same thing, too. and the world was great. and we laughed together.
"is that okay with you?" he asked.
and i said, "yeah, that's alright with me."

...

1st year anniversary date

our anniversary was monday, march 19th. can i just say how strange it is to think that a whole year has gone by since we got married? MARRIED? holy moly.
i didn't think we were doing anything the day of because we spent a solid 5 days together for a little staycation the week before, but nick surprised me.
he had made a reservation at color-me-mine, and then we went to Red Robin afterwards (two of our favorite places ever!)(also, the foothill shopping center tends to be our favorite place to do everything, i've noticed.)
i love that guy. seriously, he never ceases to amaze me with what thoughtful things he comes up with. & needless to say we had a great couple of weeks full of anniversary celebration.

our wedding

Beautiful Wedding Announcements in Riverton. we & the designer sat down and made a custom design, and his wife gave us a huge discount. they're awesome! they even gave us 250 free insert cards which we used for our registry, Cedar City open house, & temple sealing request.  we had our engagement pictures printed up at Walmart (which wasn't the greatest choice, but who cares! we were getting married!)

i got my dress, veil, & sash at the Bridal Center in Lehi. i had the hardest time finding shoes to match, but i finally ran into a pair on a whim at Forever 21, and they were perfect. we got nick's suit at JC Penny for $100! a steal, for sure. 

for the bouquet & boutonniere, we ordered bulk roses from Costco & my mom & sister put them together.

we both got our rings at Clark & Linford in Cedar City.

we were sealed for time & all eternity in the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple. it was the most beautiful event & the most memorable part of our wedding. we didn't have a real photographer, but our pre-wedding photographer Shade Tree Studios did a great job . i finally stumbled upon bride's maids' skirts at DownEast Outfitters.

my friend Rachael did my hair & i couldn't be more grateful for her! 

i didn't want to make a big deal out of the reception, so we had it in church cultural hall. the decorations were a collaboration of my mother's skills & neighbors' help.  I designed our guestbook & ordered it from Mixbook.com. our cake was made by my aunt, Krissy Richards & came all the way from Las Vegas! we had Red Velvet cupcakes, a candy bar, and Italian sodas for treats. the men wore tan pants & we got their ties at Tie One On.  first dance song: Hold On- Michael Buble

after the reception, we stopped by Kneader's in our wedding attire & got 2 french dip sandwiches & a key lime tart to go.

happy birthday to the greenest brother e'er

happy birthday to my baby brother mark!
i love him & i can't believe how fastly he's growing up.
party, party, party little leprechaun!

prose on herbal tea & snippets

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my favorite is peach.
nick and i have got some awful cold going on over here, and i can barely keep my eyes open due to total lack of sleep last night. what is this?
i've gone through enough tissues to successfully blanket the world's homeless, & when i'm not at work i'm in my pajamas with with my mouth wide open like a goon, for my nose is simply hopeless.
and, i've ventured further into the world of herbal tea. not sure how that's going.
aside from being too spicy, the darker teas tend to stain my white foam cup. and then i think of my pearly whites and how they must not be stained! i think i'll stick to the fruity/vanilla herbal teas from now on.

i'm thinking about opening my heart to starting an etsy shop. i.e. blog design, invitation design, cards, etc.
i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i also want to practice taking pictures. lovey pictures, weddings, engagements for cheap & for fun. any thoughts?

THIS GIRL'S BLOG IS NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEWING. please go there. now. you won't be disappointed.

does anyone else ever feel like trolling* pinterest? like, "that pale blue hair color is good, if you're in clown school."
*(not that i ever will, because it's just rude.)

UVU? let's not go there. even though i am. fail.

♫ so sick so sick of being tired, and oh so tired of being sick ♫

i'm having the hardest time finding just the right pair of sunglasses for this spring/summer. it just has to be perfect. can you believe it's here?! this weather is just wondrous. i look forward to many evenings spent on our new longboards. those with longboards, come to join us!

i almost applied for a full time job at KSL Studio 5 as a Studio Coordinator & Photographer. totally qualified. totally great. totally irrational if we want to buy a house somewhere in the future. (which we will!)

our 1 year anniversary is on monday. i'm still in awe. wedding/honeymoon posts soon to follow.

also, thanks all of you for reading this blog and making me feel special. i'm so grateful for the friends i've made, those i've been able to keep in touch with & the acquaintances i've acquired. you are all beautiful and i look forward to reading about your lives daily & i'm so happy i can share mine with you.

with that said, huzzah for fridays!