Just some things that make me happy

well friends, i'm nearing the end. next friday I will officially be on summer break. with that comes cleaning projects, more blogging {yay}, 2 weddings, and lots of exciting stuff.

until then, i will be a nutcase. but here are some things that have brightened my day.

 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

not to mention, my new iPad is currently making me very happy. and so is the moodboard lite app which i made this mood board with. super fun, totally recommend it if you love creating mood boards or are a pinterest fan, or whatever!

have a happy week friends!

first maxi dress!

well it's the start if another crazy weekend. lots going on, plenty of stress, and it's all going to be ok because my first maxi dress came in the mail!

i have never had a maxi anything because, we'll, i'm a shorty. they were always too long, but now I have a sewing machine! solved that problem! i have also never bought anything online... i've just never been sure it would fit and that scares me.

i don't know what made me change my mind this time. maybe it was forever 21 and i love that store. maybe it was the fact that it was on sale for $15 and i love a good sale. maybe it was because it was a knit fabric dress and i know those are ridiculously comfy. or maybe it was because it the dress was striped and, more importantly, coral! yeah, i think it was the coral.

forgive my iphone quality photos, like i said, it's the start of a crazy busy weekend.
sadly, because it was on sale, they are no longer carrying it. but I would highly recommend checking out the rest of the sale items here. happy weekend!

foliophoto {link-up} bright

i was almost going to skip this week of foliophoto-ing.

i had no inspiration for the prompt: bright.

but this morning while i was eating breakfast i saw this image and i couldn't resist. i know you have probably been bombarded with images, thoughts, and prayers that go to boston and victims and their families, but i'm adding mine anyways. it's such a tragedy, but things like this continue to bring us all closer to one another, appreciate our loved ones, and come out a little stronger.

i have never been to boston. i don't know what it's like there. but this mug came from some friends who were there recently. i know a family who lives near there. and i found out this morning that my mom spent the first few years of her life a mile away from the explosion. it's a small world, and somehow we are all connected.

i add my prayers to so many of yours.

there is hope for boston.

 camera: iphone | filter: amaro via instagram

next week's prompt: smile

a little push + thoughts on multitasking

life is nuts.

i don't really have much more to say about it. you have probably noticed in my recent posts how overwhelmed i am.

and when i am overwhelmed, i tend to shut down and not do any of those things on the ridiculously long list i have. it's a shame, but that's just my natural instinct.

thankfully, i am quite a lucky girl. see, i have this husband. he's probably too good for me. he pushes me to be better. he works hard all the time. he strives for growth and progress. and he treats my like a queen.

i tell him every day i want to quit life. mostly school, but life would be good, too. and he usually says, "me too" {he also hates school}. but monday when i was feeling particularly overwhelmed he gave me hug and told me:

don't multitask. just focus on one thing at time. 

and you know what? it worked! i love to multitask, i don't know why. maybe it helps me feel more productive? but really it just creates a little chaos in my brain. i accomplished quite a lot on monday and have been taking to heart those words. it really does help to just sit down and focus on one thing at a time.

don't move on until you finish.

do the most difficult things first.

prioritize.

and reward yourself after you have accomplished all those daunting tasks {like with blogging or a quick break!}.

thanks, brock!

old picture from our honeymoon | grand canyon, nov 2011

planking fails and senioritis

i have senioritis. i want to drop out. i won't, though. i am one semester short of the pretty, signed document.

there's only four weeks left of school for this semester and  i feel like suddenly the clock has sped up into overdrive. there is so much to do, so many assignments i know will be coming up. not to mention finals. curse finals.

there are plenty of papers to write, online discussions, chapters to read, videos to make, presentations, you name it. oh yes, i must also find one more class to take next fall so that i can... graduate! and i need to apply for graduation, too. oh, bless.

dear people with the prospect of college in your future: college is great. if you are doing what you love. if you are just getting through to get the piece of paper at the end {like me in many ways}. i suggest a trade school. seriously, become a chef, or an artist, or a cosmetologist, or a mechanic. you might be happier.

dear people who have already graduated: do you not feel so relieved? honestly, do you feel like you benefited from the experience or do you feel like it was a waste of time?

ok, now i have ranted about my college experience and all the stress that is building up.

here are the plank fails i promised. hehe. these silly kids crack me up.. mostly max, as you can see. good times! {missing tucson + family}

spring break fun {planking}

so as you all know, i got to visit good ol' t-town for spring break. there was a lot going on. weddings, seeing family, seeing friends, dinner with grandparents, swimming, hanging, playing, fun.

probably the best day was our trip up to mount lemmon to play and hike. thanks to max {that's my sissy poo!} we started planking. if you don't know what that is, get out.

just kidding.

kind of.

it's basically laying in a horizontal fashion anywhere and everywhere you can. absolutely straight. it's hard sometimes. and here is our fun! {there's a lot, be warned}

clearly, planking is a family affair. everyone got in on it. it was silly, but we had a good time finding good spots! the winner of the best plank and spot: max!

did you ever get in on the planking craze?

plank fails to come. hehe

craft time: DIY journal

i know i promised trip updates, but this is more important.

i just finished making my general conference journal for this weekend. i had to share it first... just in case you wanted to make one for yourself. i needed to give you time to make one :) see? more important. 

ok, i found this last week at one of my fave blogs: fox + hazel. isn't it so cute?? check out the full instructions on this bad boy right here.

photo credit to the lovely lady, torrie, at fox + hazel

she is using hers as a way to keep that healthy life style on track. mine is for general conference this week. i will most likely make one for every single one after this because a) they are the perfect size, b) i can have one for every conference and feel better organized and archived, and c) i am slightly obsessed. here's my version:

 

a couple things i did differently than the original:

• my envelope was too big, so i cut it and edged it as follows:
• i took 4 strips of paper 2in wide and  folded them in half. Then bordered my notebook by putting the edges of the envelope inside the fold and sewed around the edges like a hem.
• i also sewed on the piece of lace underneath the front side folded paper and around the edge.
• my title strips are sewn on, too.
• i used 15 sheets of graph paper and no washi tape {but if i had some, you best believe my notebook would have been covered!}.

as you can see, i get a real kick out of sewing on paper. i love the look of it.
hint: if you are going to be sewing paper, i suggest having a needle just for paper. paper will dull your needle just like it does your scissors. 

happy notebooking! and if you decide to make your own, send me any pictures or tag me on instagram! i would love to see.

xo

foliophoto {link up} twins

i feel like i have been a little m.i.a. this week. sorry friends! that's what happens when you go on vacation: you come back and have to do all those things you didn't do when you were gone... like homework that i have been chasing to keep up with all week, church responsibilities {meetings, potlucks, planning, fund raisers, whew!} and getting my house back in order. it's been crazy.

things are finally starting to mellow out... at least as mellow as it was before vacation. so keep an eye out this week for vacation recapping fun! i have lots to share.

in the meantime, it's a foliophoto day! this week's prompt was twins. goodness glaciers. i was racking my brain on this one. and i decided to go with something that just happens to be my most favorite thing about arkansas {besides brock, of course}: flowers!

subject: tulips {see what i did there? TUlips, twins. get it?}

camera: iphone filter: none

i love springtime. all the flowers make me so happy! daffodils pop up everywhere {my faave}, every tree has a different colored bloom, and the air is filled with freshness. don't be surprised if more flowers show up on the blog over the next few weeks. 

next week's prompt: hidden