the 11th hour.

say hello to our new studio apartment! HI APARTMENT! i can't wait to meet you!

as of yesterday afternoon, we had no home down south to call our own. we would have showed up saturday with a bunch of stuff and nowhere to put it. i can attest that miracles DO happen and prayers ARE answered. it's so perfect; more perfect than all the other apartments that somehow fell through & disappeared on us.

nick was gone all weekend searching for this place. (p.s. i'm so happy that he's home! it was the first time we'd been away since we've been married!) little did we know that we had already found it weeks ago, but no one would answer the phone when we tried to check it out. i loved it anyway. i stood longingly at its front door in awe of the 1920's majesty before me & snapped a quick picture. i guess it was just meant to be!

things are finally starting to fall into place and i couldn't be more relieved. our friends rachel & drew & baby creighton are moving down to st. george the same weekend (coincidence? i think not!) so we're splitting the cost and renting a moving van together. we are just so blessed & so grateful for everything that has happened.

if you know that you're supposed to do something, and you act on it despite the world working against you & the impossible rearing its ugly head, things will always work out. even if it's all the way in the 11th hour.

"amelia, we will find you."

i'm on the edge of my seat after watching that episode. props to whoever can name the TV series that quote comes from. granted, it's probably quoted wrong. but whatever you do, don't blink. good luck.

i've had no time for anything the past little while, so many pictures to put up, but last night i did finish my research paper. what was it on? blogging. how ironic. i must be a hipster.

speaking of hipsters... jef holm & people water. okay.

nominated for the Liebster blog award? what... is a Liebster?

The rules are-

Say 11 random things about yourself.

Answer the person's 11 questions

Nominate 11 people

Ask them your own 11 questions.

1. i'm less than 3 weeks away from finishing this semester, moving, attending yet another school & starting a new job. yikes.

2. internal battle from the question of the century: Canon or Nikon?

3. things i want to do really badly:

- go on a plane ride

- take a vacation to the coast. either one is fine with me.

- go camping and hiking

- splurge on more photography gear

- eat at market street grill. i just want some crab legs, okay?

4. the shoes i am currently wearing are held together with masking tape. i can't get myself to go and buy new shoes & all the other ones were eaten by my dog.

5. i am eagerly looking forward to the next time i can have a pajama party in my living room.

6. if i could be anything in the whole wide world, i would be a national geographic photographer. have all the nifty gear, be paid to travel the world & for taking pictures of things i love, having the chance to be home most of the year if i choose.... THAT IS THE LIFE.

7. i have a real problem with mean people. not people who do mean things, because the thing isn't the person. i'm talking about glaring at you, rude over the phone, selfish people who adjust themselves accordingly to make your life as miserable as possible.

8. i feel like Liz Lemon when i say that i believe all anyone ever wants is to sit down in peace and eat a sandwich. my favorite sandwich includes turkey & roast beef, bean sprouts, tomatoes, dressing, olive/mayonnaise spread, & Muenster cheese on fresh french bread.

9. the other day (knowing perfectly well that there is a .0001% chance this could happen right now) i grabbed a pregnancy test from the bottom drawer in the bathroom. i don't know why i was so sad that it was negative. but it was, and i was.

10. i'm convinced that the less stuff you have = the happier you are.

11. you know what makes me really really ridiculously happy? ice cream shakes. can't wait to be back in southern utah so i can go to Nielsen's year round.

1. What does your blog name mean?

well, i can't really say that it means anything. i just made it up. sort of Fall Out Boy/P!ATD/Relient K tongue-in-cheek mixed with rational thought.

2.Why did you pick that name?

it's marketable.

3. Why did you decide to start blogging?

to be passively aggressive towards an ex boyfriend. honorable, right?

4. What in the blogging world gets you jumping excited?

design blogs, photography blogs, and clean things.

5. What's your favorite blog?

my favorite as of right now is pencil box.

6. What's your favorite quote?

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

7. Why is your best friend your best friend?

because she is my other female half. nick is my male half, but tiffany completes me. she's outgoing, i'm more shy. she isn't afraid to drive around, i'm terrified of getting in a car. she is not afraid to make mistakes, i'm so afraid of not being perfect that i forget to get out and do things. on and on.

8. What is your dream vacation?

all-expenses paid month long vacation to Europe & the middle east, including Italy, Egypt, France, England, the Mediterranean & all that that entails.

9. What famous person (past or present) inspires you?

i'm going to say Jesus.

10. What's your favorite holiday?

October.

11. Favorite flavor of ice cream?

pistachio or grapefruit on regular days, pumpkin on holidays.

if you feel like participating then i nominate YOU because i don't like picking only certain people to do something. it gives me anxiety.

here are my questions:

1. favorite place to eat?

2. what does your perfect day have in it?

3. which disney prince would you choose in real life?

4. marry, kiss or kill: Liam Hemsworth, The Doctor, Channing Tatum.

5. favorite theme/amusement park?

6. which coast is your favorite: east or west? or if you haven't been, which one would you rather go to?

7. seafood or BBQ?

8. what inspires you?

9. how many times do you check facebook/instagram per day? (be honest)

10. what is your dream job?

11. if you were to star in a movie, who would you choose to be your counterpart?

hope you guys have a fantastic tuesday wednesday! i'll be trying to get rid of my cold & planning stuff.

in which we do not wear clothing for days.

so let's talk the weather. i'm not usually one to outwardly complain about stuff like this-- this whole summer i've been passive agressively quiet about how our upstairs neighbors moved out, and even though our landlord unlocked their door for us so we could have access to the swamp cooler that is only upstairs, the "tenants" turned it off, locked the door and will not let us into their apartment to turn on the AC. (we can't get a hold of them, neither can the landlord. i swear, this place gets more and more unbearable the longer we stay here.)

so, even though we have access to sweet, cold air, our upstairs neighbors really have it in for us. 

it is currently 82 degrees in our BASEMENT apartment. i'm this close to high-tailing it to walmart for some dry ice and a fan so we can stay sane. but our car doesn't have AC either, so i don't want to.  

we've been living without clothes on for the past few days. get home from work, take clothes off. have to go outside? throw on minimum clothing. come back in, clothes off. someone knocks at the door? minimum clothing. clothes off. i'm so happy i don't have long hair anymore. if i still did, tonight i would have chopped it all off.

you guys will let us stay at your house.. right?

we promise we'll wear something. 

well, we're moving! last week we found out that it wasn't in our cards to attend the arch program at the U, so we're pursuing our education in good old cedar city. only one year until nick's done with his degree!

initial disappointment is mostly gone, and now we're just excited to get back down there. of course we're sad to be leaving family and friends we've acquired up here, but we're excited for the new adventure that's ahead of us.

God knows what he's doing, and we take comfort in that. there's no need to be sad or disappointed anymore, so why not be incredibly happy and excited? that's what we're saying!

in other news, our rear window in our car got smashed in last night, probably by drunken teenagers. as far as we know, they didn't take anything. or maybe it was the peeps that took up our entire parking space in front of the house (again) and we left them a kind message asking them to leave us space also.. maybe they did it. or maybe it's a sign that we really do need to book it out of this neighborhood. amirite?

not that any of this news is huge or as big of a trial as other people have, but we're consoling ourselves with pink cookies & a 30Rock marathon this evening. 

take care, everyone! 

& thanks for all the sweet notes & comments. we really love you guys!

'murica's birthday

oh, happy day! so much good food-- so much! now that's my kind of party. 
we played bean bag toss games, the american version of Rummy, and i seriously ate so much i almost threw up. okay not really. but really. i think i had 8 fudge-dipped cherries and more cupcakes than should be ever be allowed. 
in true "us" fashion, on the way home we needed gas.. but neither of us had our wallets. 
so we parked out at a gas station and waited for my mom to come buy us gas. but while we did, we watched the valley completely full of fireworks- it was the perfect little moment.

on the way home we drove past the Murray park fireworks and watched the Sugarhouse park fireworks from our house. man, aren't we so lucky to live in a place like this? 

happy late birthday America! 

keeping up

raspberry chicken salad @ Blue Lemon

this week has been filled with many wonderful things. anticipating changes, a trip to the temple, visiting with friends & babies, eating tasty food & celebrating the birthday of this fine country of ours.

plans have turned a 180 on us, but i'm grateful we thought about B's and C's & are able to look forward to the future with faith, keeping our spirits high. i'm so grateful for family & friends for giving me hearty stomach laughs i haven't had in a while & for cuddling puppies in the wee hours of the morning. i'm grateful for silent prayers heard & answered, as well as my sweet husband & my Father in Heaven who guide and direct our little family to where we need to be.