I hope you all had a good Christmas! Things were pretty quiet around my house, but we did go to the movies, and I got a sewing machine! I'm so excited to see what I can make next semester.

1. I tried this recipe for Coconut Curry Chicken a few weeks back, and it was pretty good. It wasn't absolutely correct because I didn't have ALL of the right ingredients, but it was still good with cilantro lime rice.

2. We saw Saving Mr. Banks yesterday and it was absolutely wonderful! I wept and wept. Go see it.

3. I saw this wedding video and thought it was so cute! That's one wedding where I would definitely have fun.

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas is always a favorite. I don't care if I don't have time to get to all of the Christmas movies around this time of year, but I make sure that I watch this.

5. This is an article about a Girl discovering a dinosaur and then naming it after herself is awesome.

6. Taken from pinterest.

7. I liked this article about "The documented life." I know there are a lot of articles about what technology is doing to us and it's all cliche, but I did enjoy this.

8. I finally finished Steve Martin's biography and I liked it a lot. He had an interesting life and there was a bumpy road to stardom, but it was honest and funny.

9. I saw this TED Talk today about a kid "hacking his education" and he is SO COOL. He was charming, and quite a good speaker for only being 13 years old.

1. "Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell is incredibly relevant to me right now. My favorite part?

"As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug."

2. This recipe for "Paleo Primal Fudge." I don't really follow or care about the Paleo diet, but chocolate? I'm here for that. I made it the other night and it is SO SO GOOD!

3. This article of some guy asking famous authors if symbolism was intentional or not. I thought Ray Bradbury's responses were pretty funny.

4. This article about why we should stop saying "goodbye" at parties gets me. I have always been a fan of the Irish goodbye and I'm glad others agree.

5. Quote brought to you by pinterest. I'm currently trying to work on this and change some things about myself.

6. I don't know why I'm late to the party, but I just discovered Haim like a week or two ago and I love these girls. Days are Gone is a great album - check out "The Wire," "Honey and I," and "Falling."

7. This was an interesting short video about healthy eating and why it's relative. This is especially interesting because I decided I need to get a better handle on PCOS and start eating well again, which means I'm cutting out gluten and dairy, when I can. Dairy is easier though because I don't like it all that much.

8. We started reading Franny and Zooey in Absurdist Hero and I'm about a 2/3rds of the way through. I don't know how I feel about it yet, but I know that the way Zooey treats his mom is appalling.

9. I LOVED this short, yet powerful video about our relationship between each other and our phones. It reminds me to be mindful and intentional about how I use my phone.


So I'm going to catch up on things like Thanksgiving and some other stuff I've been up to. Maybe I can get to that tomorrow.

1. I've unofficially taken Chris's camera, and this was a nice tutorial. I need to go over this some more and practice.

2. Applause to this mom for having Real Talk with her son and teaching him about his problematic behavior.

3. It was really interesting reading about Passion Pit frontman, Michael Angelakos, and how he's decided to be open about his struggles and triumphs with Bi-polar disorder. I love this guy.

4. This is stunning. Just click. Pictures of remote tribes taken before they've all passed away.

5. Stolen from Pinterest - 5 rules for happiness.

6. "Babel" by Mumford is always a good fall soundtrack.

7. This was an interesting read about why some Swedish prisons are being shut down.

8. THIS SONG Y'ALL. Lorde covered Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and wowowow.

9. Branches released a new song the other day and it's cute. They're offering it as a free download - go, go!

I gave myself the week off last thursday because it was my birthday and I can.

1. This video about Mama Hill's story. She is an incredible woman, and we need more people like her.

2. Derrick - Brianne and I saw this guy play earlier this year, which I wrote about here. Listen to "Unrelenting" - it is so wonderful.

3. Rookie Mag's "Getting Over Girl Hate" article. This is only an idea I've just realized, but it's true, we're really competitive and hard on each other. I've tried to be more mindful of this as I've learned more.

4. A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me - I don't know if this is "slam" poetry, but just watch it anyways.

5. "I think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and reflect that happiness." - Drew Barrymore

6. The Lumineers eponymous album - I really like "Flowers in Your Hair," "Stubborn Love," and "Big Parade."

7. This article about Philippine relief efforts was really interesting and thought provoking.

8. We've been reading in "Nine Stories" for Absurdist Hero and it's...interesting. Many of them are just weird, so I like our discussions in class allow me to understand a bit better.

9. "Single and Not Waiting" was a rather relevant article to read this week. There's been this strange potential relationship...thing...that's been going on for a major part of the semester, and this past week I decided that I'm tired of waiting around for this guy to make a move or decide that I'm worth his time. Usually this stuff bums me out, but this time it was a huge relief when I decided that. I feel like I can breathe again, not worrying about what he thinks. In the meantime, I'm just working on me and continuing to do what I love to do.

Happy Halloween!
This does not look aesthetically pleasing AT ALL, but I couldn't think of a way to make it look nice. Books and folders throw off my perfectly square proportions.

1. These gloves. It is getting so so cold here, and I'm thinking about going to Target to get this lovely pair.

2. It's most likely that your mom used these folders, but I remember when my mom got me a Pee Chee folder in 7th grade and I loved it so much. I haven't seen them for years, but now the Mead website is selling them!

3. Around this time of year, I always enjoy listening to the Dan In Real Life soundtrack. I think it's absolutely perfect for fall.

4. 21 Dog Breeds You've Never Heard Of. This one is a Hovawart.

5. I was reminiscing on my San Francisco trip with Brianne today. We went to Embarcadero center and explored the farmer's market there. It was a perfect day.

6. This cool diy from Garland of Grace. I saw this on pinterest the other day, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do. I'll try it this week.

7. I saw this quote from Dr. Suess, and I had never heard it before. I really like it. "If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew, just go right along and you’ll start happening too.”

8. We're reading Catcher in the Rye in Absurdist Hero, and I absolutely love it so far! I never read it in high school when everyone else seemed to, so when I saw that they were going to be reading it, I knew I had to sign up for the class. Holden is dear to my heart.

9. Read this article about how powerhouse lady Mayor Aja Brown is transforming the city of Compton.

1. These jim-jams from Target. They have cute dogs on them and I think I'm going to ask for these for my birthday, now that it's getting colder.

2. I read this article and watched his "I am a Mormon" video. I really enjoyed it. My brother and I have loved The Killers for about 10 years now, and it's fantastic to watch him share our religion with non-members.

3. "26 Costumes that Prove Pugs Always Win at Halloween" - pictured here is the Pug of the Rings. I love these strange and wheezy canines.

4. Each fall semester, I know that two things will happen without fail: I will cut my bags so they go straight across, and I will want to watch Pushing Daisies. I know I have a lot of favorite tv shows: Seinfeld, New Girl, Arrested Development, etc. But I honestly love Pushing Daisies with all of my heart you guys. It's such a great show and a part of my soul died when it was cancelled.

5. Ain't nobody got time for that - this is always relevant. Especially this semester, geez. I don't know what it is, but I'm having a lot of trouble being productive and getting work done.

6. I can't get enough of "Cameo Lover" by Kimbra today. Her stuff is so great, and this is a fun music video. She's one of those people that, once I found out that she's a year older than me, I wanted to crawl back into the gutter that I dragged myself out of, because if she's doing what she's doing, what am I doing with my life?

7. Rookie Mag's article - "On Taking Yourself Seriously".

8. We finished reading The Plague this week for my Absurdist Hero class, and...I think I liked it? It was ok. For some reason, I found it difficult to get into, and because I didn't space my time out well enough, and had to read it in 3 days. Life hack: don't do that.

9. "A negative mind will never give you a positive life" - taken from pinterest.

1. THIS article about indie woman singers and online hate nails it on the head. Definitely a good read.

2. Stole this off pinterest. I've been having a really difficult time with productivity, specifically homework lately. I need to remind myself about this quote.

3. This week I've been having a lot of feelings about missionaries - we dropped my brother off at the MTC yesterday. I'll write about this in a different post.

4. With that being said, fall in Provo was especially beautiful. It's pretty here in Rexburg, but there aren't mountains like in Utah.

5. Shout out to the incredible German chocolate brownie that my mom and I shared at Kneaders yesterday!

6. This was a cute post from Nienie's blog. I think I'd like to do that someday.

7. Fall is in full swing, and my favorite fall movie (fave movie in general) is You've Got Mail. It fills me with warm feelings and Harry Nilsson's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" never fails to make me cry.

8. I've got about 100 pages left of Mockingjay, but I'm just excited to finish the series!

9. DEEP LOVE IS TOMORROW. I have a lot of feelings about Deep Love, which deserve their own post as well. Expect that soon.

1. I saw this on pinterest and I loved it. "I love the person I've become, because I fought to become her."

2. While Chris and I were wandering around the city, we happened upon a Harmon's. I had never been there before, and if you ever have the opportunity to see one - GO INSIDE. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. IT IS THE MOST AESTHETICALLY PLEASING GROCERY STORE YOU WILL EVER SEE. Chris and I were 2 seconds away from moving in. Also the food was so so good!

3. According to National Geographic, this is what the average American woman will look like in 2050. I think she's so beautiful.

4. Malala Yousafzai was on Jon Stewart the other day and she is one of the most incredible young women of our time. She is wise beyond her years, and I wish I had half of her courage and determination. You should most definitely watch the interview in three parts here.

5. I have no idea where this was taken, but I know it was taken by Hy Bai. He has some really stunning photos. This is currently my desktop background.

6. Little Mix released their new single called "Move", and it is the anthem of my life right now. These girls are so important to me.

7. This is a super easy dinner that I made the other night - Chicken with alfredo pesto pasta. Just combine a little bit of both, and enjoy.

8. This week I finished "Exile and the Kingdom" for my Absurdist Hero class. I had no idea that Camus was such a diverse writer. My favorite story was "Jonas, or the Artist at Work".

9. Conference was so great this weekend. My favorite quote from Thomas S. Monson was, "May we become spiritually refined as we go through sunshine and sorrows." I feel like his talk on endurance was exactly what many of us needed.

Hey, does anyone read Gala's blog?

She's really cute and she's all about learning to love yourself. I'm here for that. Everyone should be here for that.

Anyways, she does this thing called Things I Love Thursday.

I'm terrible about weekly timed posts, but I'd like to try this out.

So here are things I'm loving this week: (from left to right)

1. Audible was giving away Mindy Kaling's Book, "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" and I downloaded it yesterday. I'm really really enjoying it. She talks about growing up and discovering comedy, skits that she used to do with her friends, and her journey to The Office. I feel like people often think of Mindy as an airheaded, narcissistic, shop-a-holic - pretty much synonymous with her Office character Kelly Kapoor. She's quite smart, funny in an underrated way, and I identify with many things that she's talked about so far. I oddly feel as though I've found a friend in this audiobook, and in Mindy Kaling.

2. The 1975. I downloaded a few of their songs from their eponymous cd - check out "Girls", "Heart Out", and "Menswear".

3. I've really been obsessed with different hair colors - mostly pink and purple - but mostly this shade of purple. I'd love to do that to my hair, but seeing as I go to the one of the top 5 most conservative schools in the nation, I know that I would be kicked out in a prompt and swift manner. Ok, not kicked out. But people would be throwing shade left and right at me, and I might be asked to leave class.

4. Lorde - Everything is Lorde and nothing hurts. I'm so glad people are taking notice, because this girl is a star already. Check out "Bravado" - I like it even better than "Royals".

5. Here is a cute fox with a banner that says, "Don't mock people for the things that make them happy." Unless something like pedophilia makes you happy, I stand by this 100%. Also, this has gotten a lot of repins on pinterest lately, so others agree too. 

6. I combined two nail polishes this week to get a pink I liked. This is actually not my hand, or my picture. None of these are my pictures, by the way.

7. Chris and I went grocery shopping and I found these MEGA STUFFED OREOS that are LIMITED EDITION and EVERYONE SHOULD GO GET THEM because WOW ARE THEY GOOD. Double Stuffed will feel like a diet Oreo in comparison.

8. We're reading The Picture of Dorian Gray in Brit Lit. and wowowow Oscar Wilde and his way with words!

9. And a constant favorite, the faces of Nick Miller. What a gem.