Currently On Repeat

Bridal Veil

Today, my Sunday drive took me up to Squaw Peak where I was denied by a forest ranger, they've closed it for the season, then to Vivian Park and South Fork to see the horses and lastly to Bridal Veil Falls at the mouth of the canyon. The sight was breathtaking, or that could have been the frigid wind, and parts of the falls have frozen, leaving gigantic icicles hanging from the cliffs. I sat there a while taking pictures, listening to music and reading a bit, both from the Doctrine and Covenants and from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. There have been many things that have stuck out to me in both books, but in the last chapter of Siddhartha, there was one particular quote that had significant meaning to me:

"When someone seeks then it happens all too easily that his eyes will see only the thing he is seeking, that he cannot find anything, cannot let anything in, because he is always thinking only of that thing he seeks, because he has a goal, because he is possessed by the goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal."

Maybe this time around a goal isn't what I need, what I need is to be more open, willing to let new experiences in and to stop being so stubborn.

Elle

Born November 10 and already stealing my heart.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

-Khalil Gibran

Home....Again

I've moved once again, this time down the street from my old condo, but into a much better space. The vibe and feeling of love in this house is so strong and welcoming; plus I'm right across the hall from one of my best friends so now I can laugh at our embarrassments in person! I hope to make this more of a permanent stay than I'm used to and taking the time to really settle in and make it feel like home.

So far so good. 

Outro

Last Sunday, I grabbed my journal, my scriptures and a hot chocolate and headed for the mountains. The clouds were hanging low that day and being alone I thought it best to stay close so I drove up to the Squaw Peak overlook. Provo canyon is gorgeous anytime, but really outdoes itself in the fall. 

I sat on the little rock wall writing for a while, trying to ignore the anti Mormon radio station blaring from the truck next to me until the rain really started to come down and I was forced to sit in my car. After my hand was too cramped to keep writing I drove up the dirt road toward Hope campground listening to The National and M83 along the way until I made my way back home.

This quick trip was everything I needed and more. I absolutely love the mountains; at times I even crave them. They are my place for solace and peace and I am so grateful to live in a state where I am surrounded by them.

October

I just love October, it’s my favorite month of the year and it’s finally arrived! The fall leaves are in full swing, pumpkin spice candles are burning and the Dairy Queen pumpkin pie blizzard is back. Plus one of my favorite holidays is just weeks away; what a month.

Maple Lake

This weekend my friend Holly and I went for a quick over night trip up Payson Canyon to Maple Lake. After a short hike to The Grotto and having to duct tape our tent poles together, we walked down to the lake and sat on the shore drinking diet cokes, watching the sunset. I love the beginning of the fall season; the leaves are just starting to change and there's just a hint of chill in the air.

We spent the rest of the night around a campfire, making s'mores and biscuits and cursing the rain while trying to act like we weren't scared of the noises surrounding us. I really enjoyed this impromptu trip and I want to make them more often. There's no better feeling than being in the mountains to me. There's a sense of peace and awe that I don't find anywhere else.

Currently Loving

-These clogs, yes I said clogs.

-Mini Lop Rabbits, they grow up to four pounds, stay little and have floppy ears! I die!

-Modern Kids Co Instagram and website

-Hold On, We're Going Home, by Drake



-Binge watching all nine seasons of X Files

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”

-Marianne Williamson

Namaste

Until recently, I always had a weird attitude toward yoga. I think part of me thought it was too trendy or only something actresses did so it was unattainable. Or maybe it was my fear of how I'd look in tight yoga pants as I struggled to bend and balance. Regardless, I wanted nothing to do with it. That is, until my friend Drea took interest in yoga as a way to exercise after knee surgery and fell so in love that she went to school to become a certified yoga teacher. I still had my apprehensions, but my Grinch heart was starting to grow. 

After graduating she started teaching a class every Monday at the health clinic we both work at and because I'm a fool I literally forgot about it every week. I attended one class with a few other friends and I'll be honest I was sore the next day. Okay the next few days. Then once again I spaced the classes, but have since started up again and I have to say, I am enjoying myself. I have had a yoga change of heart! It's hard work, harder than I ever thought it would be and I love feeling my muscles get stronger. (These are obviously expressions from someone who doesn't exercise much). 

Even though I'm only in the beginning stages, I've literally been to four classes, I hope to keep it up and get those toned yoga arms I've always wanted. O and get spiritual enlightenment and stuff.

"...always remember that, nine times out of ten, you probably aren’t having a full-on nervous breakdown – you just need a cup of tea and a biscuit. You’d be amazed how easily and repeatedly you can confuse the two. Get a big biscuit tin."

-a letter from Caitlin Moran to her daughter

8

Sweet Hannah is getting baptized next week and I couldn't be happier for her.

27, Single and All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go

Life is a funny thing. It's so completely different for everyone around the world that it kind of melts my brain thinking about it. I have times when I think my life is mediocre, that I could be doing so much more, when in reality my life is cake. I say cake instead of pie because pie is very involved and complicated whereas cake is basic and hard to mess up, even if it doesn't look good.

Just a few months ago I was set on quitting my job and fleeing to the promised land of Salt Lake City then reality slapped me and I remembered how good I had it even if I was so over Provo that it made me physically ill. So here I am, back home for round three or four (sadly I've lost count) trying to once again find my way and I can say with confidence that I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

I'm not really sure what the point of this post was, maybe I just needed to get it off my chest or admit to myself that I am on the constant move for contentment and I need to make a decision and stick with it. Too many thoughts. I really need a designated decision maker who will also be the enforcer of those decisions. Any takers? 

San Francisco to Burney

Last week me and my good friend Maddi loaded up the car and headed west for San Francisco. It was part vacation, part visiting a friend that had recently adopted an adorable baby boy and part meet up with Maddi's boyfriend AJ who has been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for the past four months. So much to do!

First of all let me say driving in San Francisco is....a nightmare! Everyone is so impatient and I've never heard so much honking in my life, there are even billboards about 'honkaholism'! After a day or two I felt I had it down and I could whip around cars and cut someone off with the best of 'em. Our first big day out we stopped for brunch at Zazie which is not only delicious, but has the cutest atmosphere then headed over to the Japanese Tea Gardens.

We did just about everything touristy we could think of, including walking the Golden Gate Bridge and sitting at Alamo Square across the street from the Painted Ladies where we had a picnic of Easy Cheese and Ritz Crackers and acted like we were hanging out with Uncle Jesse. We walked along Haight Ashbury laughing at the hippies in the park and stopping in shops along the way as a piper and beat-boxing accordion player blared down the street. 

Our last full day started at Fisherman's Wharf for some salt water taffy and a fishwich and since we were denied an Alcatraz tour we opted for an hour boat ride on some dude's fishing boat. It was kind of legit in that we had to pay for it, but we were literally sitting on plastic lawn chairs in the back, perfectly ghetto and made us laugh the whole time. I even made a new unwanted friend that had Maddi and I striking up random conversations and turning to look behind us in order to avoid him and has given me the new nickname of Denise. So awkward, but funny.  

That evening also led us to one of the prettiest places and beaches I have ever, EVER been to. It's called the Sutro Baths Ruins and it is gorgeous. There used to be pool houses along the beach, but they burned down in the 60s and were never rebuilt. We were in complete awe. I still am just thinking back!

Friday we packed up and headed out early for the four hour drive to meet up with the boys, but first made a quick stop to Stinson Beach. Soooooo coooooold! We drove longer to get there than we actually stayed, but it's a cute beach with an even cuter town. I'm torn between living there and Truckee. They have a beach, but Truckee's got the burger.

We met the boys in Burney, and drove into the mountains for a camping spot and a campfire dance sesh. It was fun and interesting seeing a glimpse of their daily lives while on the trail. Lastly we made a quick trip to see Burney Falls and cool off in the lake. Sunday was a looooong drive home, but the trip as a whole was a success! Now I just need another week to relax and recover.

Take a Seat - Make a Friend?

I love seeing these videos pop up around Internet and I will always stop what I'm doing to watch. They make me smile and in a way renew my faith in people to be good and kind.

July 4th...and after

The 4th of July was done right with a low key, candy filled parade down main street in Mt Pleasant followed by tacos and burgers in the park and finished up with the best fireworks show I've seen in a long time. My favorite holiday has found a new tradition!

The rest of the day/weekend was spent in the pool, playing games, snacking on Red Vines, going on four wheeler rides and lounging around talking and laughing. Just to break things up we had two massive rain storms that almost blew away our camp and tried to flatten my tent, but I loved the thunder and lighting show we got. All in all it was a perfect weekend at Del Boca Vista and the perfect Fourth!

 

Freedom Week

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, anyone can attest to this. Come Independence Day I'm decked out in head to toe red, white and blue, can usually be found at some sort of patriotic parade, enjoy a classic American hot dog and watermelon for dinner and wrap it up with a fireworks show. What is not to love about all of those things?! Seeing as it is 4th of July week, I thought I would share a little patriotic play list to get us all in the spirit. Enjoy!

Slow

After about a month of disinterest in reading, a book caught my eye on Goodreads that has gotten me out of my reading funk. In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honoré has opened my eyes to slowing down in all aspects of life. Not that I'm a rushed person, but I am extremely impatient for no apparent reason. Road rage boils over and I find myself yelling and whipping around the car slowing me down when I have plenty of time to get where I'm going. My Internet browser doesn't load fast enough and I give out an aggravated sigh and click refresh a thousand times (like that helps) and the list goes on. I hate feeling impatient, I hate what a grump it turns me into and for what?

I've only read about half way into the book, but I can already feel the effect it's had on me. I'm more aware of my surroundings, I don't let small things bring out my impatience and I take time to just do nothing. Something I didn't realize was so difficult until I forced myself to do it. It's amazing the things I notice that have always been there and how much more I can get done and enjoy when I'm not trying to multitask everything. Doesn't seem to make sense, but try it and I promise you will notice a difference! 

Another aspect of the book I love is his focus on eating and food in general, one of my favorite things (too much of a favorite sometimes!) We've become obsessed with convenience aka fast food and I am most definitely guilty of this. My excuses usually include not having a kitchen I enjoy cooking in and finding recipes for one person that can also be good leftovers; only one of those is still a good excuse in my mind. What it really comes down to is laziness, as most things do. Here he talks about a food movement that started in Europe, but now has a U.S. chapter and even a local chapter here in Utah! It's called Slow Food and it's all about eating locally and naturally grown produce and meats and taking the time to make a home cooked meal and even more time enjoying it. Cooking then sitting around for hours eating and relaxing? I can do that. 

Hopefully as I continue to read I'll only become more inspired and I plan on starting my venture into Slow Food as soon as possible, maybe starting with a Marghertia pizza, a craving I have yet to fulfill! 

Lake Blanche

The original plan was to hike Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon, but an overheating car and fear of being stranded lead us back down the canyon to the Mill B trail heads and what we thought would be a quick 2.8 mile hike to Lake Blanche. We couldn't have been more wrong! Sure 2.8 isn't that bad, when it's not going completely uphill to the TOP of the mountain! The first pic is when we were only slightly winded and loving the gorgeous scenery, not knowing the hell to come. That was a bit dramatic, but seriously this was the hardest hike I've ever been on. 

 

It was around what seemed like mile fifteen that our new found friend and motivator Brett had to turn back and get home. I'm still sad that he didn't make it and even sadder that we didn't get a picture with him. 

Maddi's expression perfectly sums up how we felt at that point and we still had forty-five minutes to an hour of hiking left!

After three strenuous hours of hiking, climbing and complaining we FINALLY made it to Lake Blanche. The closer we got the more we were told it would all be worth it and they were right. It was so serene and overwhelming.  I have to say we were both feeling proud and accomplished. Our attitudes had completely changed just sitting on the shore and only got better with the thought of walking downhill. About a half hour into the walk back down I did an ankle give out-bounce-slide fall down the side of the trail resulting in the wounds pictured above.  It was more funny than painful and we laughed about it almost the rest of the way down. By the time we reached the paved road I'm sure we looked like we had been stuck in the woods for days on end, but it really was worth the struggle.