camping.

clarksburg, md.

this is enough happiness to last me forever.
peter behind the lens.

new york 09: the subway.

one of the times I was on the New York City subway, I saw an advertisement for a book that collected a bunch of stories from celebrities and their first encounter with New York. if I loved NY just a little bit more, I would probably buy this book because it rang so true to me...a first time in NY is pivotal. when I came I had high hopes, and was surprised at my own reaction--pleased, satisfied.

new york 08: in love in a movie part 1.

5/28

@ 91st street gardens in Riverside Park in New York City, upper west side.

sharing a bench with a small bird and sitting where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks meet up in "You've Got Mail." this is a pinnacle of my summer. it is as beautiful as I imagined and I just love it. New York is meaningful to me because of movies. I can relate to the city because of them. it is wonderful. of course I just know Tom Hanks or someone like unto him is going to meet me here, wiping my tears and kiss me like Clark Gable.

but as Rosie O'Donnel tells Meg in "Sleepless in Seattle," 'you don't want to be in love, you want to be in love in a movie.' if any statement defines me, it's that. really. not just about being in love in a movie though...everything. my imagination, my dreaming heart envisions things in perfect, Utopian forms. whether it's a bridal shower, a potluck dish, a date, a class, a paper, a hairdo, or a conversation. I am constantly anticipating the scenes dreams are made of. but the more I live, the less disappointed I am and the more I choose to make reality my new dream.








self-timer in ny public.

to remember:

I woke up early, even after an exhausting night in New York, got ready while my host was sleeping. I remember I didn't bring a blow dryer on the trip, assuming I would be able to borrow one. but there was not one visible and I didn't want to wake anyone up. I tried to straighten my hair while still wet. nothing devastating happened, thank goodness. I creaked around on the old wood floor in Chelsea's beautiful, naturally-lit apartment.

I made it all the way to the upper west side all by myself. on the subway (as the New Yorkers call what I know as the metro), I saw a missionary couple or mission presidents on their p-day. they ran into some girls going to the temple, one returned sister missionary who seemed to know them. this made me grin from ear to ear. I couldn't believe I could get from point a to point b all by myself in New York City. (remembering now that it was still only weeks after I moved from Utah to the east coast and could barely use the D.C. metro on my own, let alone the New York subway). I was Kathleen Kelly herself as I hopped off the metro and made my way to Riverside Park.

I walked in the park probably 25 blocks before I realized I was going the wrong way. everywhere everyone was with dogs. how could I not think of Brinkley? I called Melissa, my New Yorker sister. she had just finished her first year of med school! so proud of her.

I sat and imagined, over and over, that Tom Hanks would come around that corner.

+do you have a place you've been to or want to go to that's special just because something special happened there?

pictures of me. i love the white house.

me + andrew.


this is how I feel...all the time. especially when I'm with these boys. (Jeff, Andrew, John, Peter, Russell)

got to go inside the White House. it was incredible and though I did not see President Obama nor his family, I feel like we hung out all day. I love Barack. my friend Andrew was nice enough to take numerous pictures of me on his iPhone and what else would I do with pictures of myself besides post them in large format on the world wide web?

certainly, everyone feels some sort of connection to the White House and I am no exception. it belongs to the American people and I just wanted to hang out there for a while. the secret service officers were super nice! they get to see Presiden Obama nearly every day! Andrew made the mistake of calling one secret service agent "security officer" to which she kindly informed us that as a member of the top police force, she has jurisdiction over the entire world. awesome. we also met Agent Solis. he was incredibly kind and even took our business cards (I don't have any, of course) and e-mailed us about joining the USSS.

I took home a $1.06 souvenir: a small notebook with Misty Malarky Ying Yang (Jimmy Carter's cat) on the front. needless to say, I wanted to stay forever.

commitment to blog.

I promise tomorrow that you'll be glad to know where these feet of mine were standing in NY. am very excited to be a better blogger. xo.

growing up, turning 21.

isn't this so beautiful? this is one of my best friends from elementary and middle school. my best friend, actually. and look at her--she is amazing! her little Harlo is also just beautiful. a friend, Errin Andrus took these photos and I am just breath taken.

also on Errin's site and on Mikki's are pictures of another childhood friend, Brittany. she is stunning. and I am so happy for her new little family. I just can't believe I grew up with them.

my time in D.C. is wrapping up and it goes without saying that I have not been a diligent record keeper on this surface--the blog. however, my journal remains full as does my camera memory card. I am promising myself to post everything together, here.

I have done a lot of growing up this summer and this year. 365 days ago I was in India, realizing how little time I had left with the sweetest children in the world. today I'm realizing how little time I have left in D.C. and to be young in general. I'm living it up the best I can. hopes and dreams drape my mind as usual and I find myself content, happy as a clam.

really, I am hoping to see more people in person than I have been recently. I'm sick of facebook stalking and gchatting. I want to spend a few hours on Phoebe's couch, and hold that little Elijah in my arms. I want to write in my journal on Melissa's bed, and eat Katie's cafe rio salad. I want to go to breakfast with Megan and Carly, and play mini-baseball with all those boys I haven't seen in 2 years! I want Emily to paint my fingernails and my mom to make salsa with me. I can't wait to visit baby Olive and all those Larkin children who perhaps forgot me by now. I want to see Ariel's newly-wed home and have a dance party with Lene, Audrey, and Dani. ready for some face time.

i miss my nephew.

i'm so excited to see baby Elijah in a few weeks. i hate that he's growing up without me. guess i should get to used to it!

dc everyday items.

my most essential D.C. everyday items:
1. pocket moleskine (for all things significant and otherwise)
2. hi-tec-c 0.25 mm japanese stationery pen (this is the site I get these..cheap and pretty reliable)
3. smartrip. can't leave home without it!
4. rosebud salve. comes in gloss form now, but I like the pot. plus, I live a few blocks away from the huge Sephora in Georgetown.

paris.

i've never wanted to go to Paris until I saw this picture.

happy birthday chels.

still miss you girl.

urban drawing.

one of my small drawings.

another collection from this past weekend.

not mine, from Urban Sketchers. (I wish I could draw like that!)

I came across this site and it reminded me how badly I want to take a drawing class. I really am going to. and I'm going to get better. living in an urban setting really does make drawing so much more relevant.

ariel's bridals.

all photos by Keira Haddock of Peace and Pandemonium

look at these gorgeous photos of one of my best friends for the past 2 years. I sort of had to digest these slowly when I saw Ariel in that beautiful gown. isn't she majestic? I can't wait to go home sweet Utah in 3 days to see her and Steve. click above to see more.

new york 07: times square at night.

in sum, the day's (May 28, 2010) events went like this: wake up, try to find a Starbucks, instead find the streets of New York, some bagels, and the sound of my own heart beating; head off to Times Square, 30 rock, and shopping; hot dog, grape soda, and a Carrie cupcake in Central Park; visit Apple store and FAO Schwarz; meet up with Kailey, Russell, and Russell and head to Chinatown after a quick look in Tiffany's; in Chinatown we ran into missionaries and tried to draw in a crowd for them, and also bought a $5 pashmina for the chill winds in NY that weekend; go to the Yankees game! I was the only one without a ticket and had to bum one off a charming salesman. it only took me about 20 minutes to find the $20, a reasonable price to pay for the funnest thing I did in NY; after the ball game we went back to Times Square to enjoy cheesecake; I considered going to the Empire State Building but decided it would be best to get home while I still had some guardians.

the group. Russell F., Jeff, Andrew, David F., John, Annique, Hannah, Brooke, Andrea, me.
some girls.
Jeff (left) had this thing about seeing Spiderman in New York.


we ran into Emily and Ryan in Times Square. Later, Jeff and John and I ran into Kailey and Sweeney in McDonald's. it was weird how we kept running into each other like we were on BYU campus or something.

new york 06: go yankees.

1. I love the Yankees. I always have secretly, even though most everyone seems to love the Red Sox. they're fine too. but I just love those pinstripes.

2. the Yankees game was the funnest thing I did in New York. I loved it.

me + Annique.

David F., Annique, Andrea, Andrew, and Brooke.

new york 05: the big piano.

the big piano was as fun as I imagined. more fun even. like I said, New York means nothing to me without movies, and this was no exception.

blurry.

kids were making me really happy on this trip, especially these kids. they were sliding around and it was hilarious. I was hysterical over it and I think their mom thought it was funnier because I was there, laughing at them.

I really liked FAO Schwarz. I'd go back there and buy a giant giraffe. for sure.

new york 04: lunch in central park.

i loved Central Park. really. it's everything it should be. and it's huge. i loved this bubble guy and glad this picture captured those crazy kids running around.

for lunch we got $1 hot dogs and grape soda with a Magnolia Bakery cupcake for dessert. I got the "Carrie cupcake" and it was delicious. although, Natalie's red velvet was better. I actually sort of hate the cupcake craze. but then again, they're so delicious.