missing school

 Remember when I did this...

Well now that I am graduate I am no longer a school goer.  Today is the first day of school for all the cougars (BYU students) and I find myself not being apart of it.  In fact this is the first time since kindergarten (17 years or so?) that I have not and will not be having a first day of school.  Sad.  I've always loved school and am really jealous of all my friends who are having their first days today. But I am proud of myself to have finished my college degree and move on to the next phase of my life (hopefully I find a job soon..) and hey if I ever get really "school-sick" there is always grad school right Sarah and Mandi?  Anyways, we all know one thing is for sure:
once a coug, always a coug:

proud cougars with their cougar claws

Southern Hospitality

Well i did much better this time and took some pics while I was on my trip to Louisiana.  I had a great time there and Harold's family showed us a great time-(We missed you though, Mary Martha & Andrew).  I had never been to the real south before and needless to say I loved it! Here are some pics from my trip and unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries so I didn't capture everything.  Most of these pics are from our 2 day trip to Natchez, Mississippi where we visited a lot of old Antebellum homes.

We started out by eating at this fun little restaurant- only in the south can they get away with a place like this- love it!

me and Harold's mom, Martha.  also note the blueberry lemonade-delish!

This is where harold's grandparents lived there first year of marriage.  They lived on the second floor and his grandmother told us that it was tradition for the husband to carry his new bride up the stairs to their new home, which his grandfather did for her.  We found out later that the stairs were on the other side of the house but I love that tradition!

The place above is called the Elms and now is part of the garden club

This was the next plantation home we went to and it was huge!  Very beautiful and if you can see tiny in the picture that will really put things into perspective for you

This is what I was standing on in the picture above.  It is a little set of steps and was used to help them get on their horses.  Not sure if it was just for the women or if men used it too...

Just relaxing on this nice big porch.  I love how so many houses around here have big porches, I think I could get used to sitting around rocking on my porch all day.

I loved this cute blue home with the darker blue trip and the white detailing.  I also thought it was a cool pic with the Natchez water tank behind it.

This home is called Stanton Hall and we actually went inside this one. It is amazing inside and out.  These people must have had some serious money- thank you cotton.

A closer shot

This house is named Rosalie and another beautiful home.   I love the contrast of the red brick in it.  

The house above was right next to the Mississippi river.  This was my first time seeing it.  Huge.

This house's name has slipped my memory but is actually now owned by the government.  It is under some renovation but you can still go inside which was neat to see.  It also had the largest front lawn I have ever seen - like 2 football fields long. Maybe that's where the cotton was grown... ;)

This is Monmouth Plantation where we actually got to stay the night- It was a really beautiful place and we got to eat in the dining room and had a fancy 5-course dinner that was delicious on the most beautiful china set.

This is inside the house just right outside my room- cute lil china set!

You can see the house in the distance- so many homes had really large front lawns.  Unfortunately I didn't capture the back of the house because they had some amazing gardens, ponds, and overall beautiful grounds to walk around.

Here we are driving up to one of my favorite homes, Longwood.

Here is a closer shot of the place but it is so big it is hard to capture it all.  The house was actually never finished and when you go inside you can tell.  It is 6 floors high and has a basement where the family actually lived.  The owner had to leave for war and they weren't able to finish it so they lived in the basement.  Unfortunately after the war they didn't have the means to do so and always lived in the basement.  I couldn't take pictures inside it but the basement was well furnished and beautiful.  The architecture of this house is really neat because it is in a circular shape and very unique especially for the time.  had it been finished it would have been amazing.  But the fact that it wasn't finished gives it a very historical, authentic feel because it help shows some of the effects the ward had on these people and how so many people lost their fortunes.

This is us at Windsor Ruins.  This house burnt down soon after it was made.  Apparently someone's thrown away cigarette started the fire and when it happened the family was not at home.  The columns are huge and had it been saved it would have been one of the largest homes in the south.  Sad that after so much work and money the place burned down- wish I could've seen it in its glory days.

Helps you show how big these pillars were.  Even this picture doesn't do it complete justice.

Next we went to a little Mississippi town called Port Gibson. Really interesting little place and this was painted on the side of a wall and I thought it was fun

Ok so notice the captain moroni looking thing on top of this steeple? Well it is actually a gold hand with its finger pointed towards the sky/God.  I thought it was pretty funny but great that everyone here loves God!

 After this we went to Vicksburg but my camera died.  Vicksburg was where an important battle was fought during civil war and it was a quaint little town that I enjoyed.  We also went to the old courthouse where there was a sort of a pro confederacy museum there. haha. Only in the south. But it was really cool to see it and they had lots of interesting things in there.

Well unfortunately I didn't get many other pics outside of our trip to Natchez which I am bummed about but we had a lot of fun in Monroe, Louisiana where Harold is from.  There is a river in his backyard which you can go boating on so we took the boat out and did some skiing.  We also rode horses on the levy by his house which was fun to see the neighborhood and all the beautiful homes.  We went to some local stops and ate at some really yummy places. I loved the trip and loved spending time with his family, including his mommie (grandmother) and his sister with her husband and 2 kids.  I think it is safe to say we all had a great time even with the super hot heat!

I sure experienced some true southern hospitality...

Coming Soon

Just got back from Lake Powell on Saturday and now I leave to Louisiana with Harold (we're going to visit his hometown) and I am so excited!!! I'll try to take lots of pics and post some when I get back.. look forward to it!

p.s. I think I like this back-to-back vacation thing- remind me why I would want to get a job???? Just kidding! I am still very much on the job hunt, so if you hear anything let me know (sorry about the shameless job plug but I am getting desperate people)

summer reads

Isn't summer great?  Not only is it the time of great weather, vacations, and bbq's but it is also a time when you are able to have more time to read good books.  Taking a book to the pool or on vacation is prime, or if you are like me reading in the middle of the day whenever you want because you don't have a job yet also works.  Recently I have finished a couple books and am just starting a new one.  Here are my brief reviews on the two:

LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel

I really enjoyed Life of Pi.  Many people may have read this in high school but I never did so I decided to read it.  Ultimately it is about a boy stranded in the middle of the ocean on a boat with a tiger- but trust me it is not as weird as it sounds. The book is very symbolic and would actually be a great one to discuss.  I really like how the boy talks about different religions and the message at the end. Some say the middle of the book drags on a bit but perhaps because I was forewarned I was kept interested the whole time.  The writing is well done and overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it- especially if you had someone to talk to about it.

CATCHING FIRE (book 2 of Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins

Well for those of you who liked the first book of this series than I am sure you already read this book or are thinking about reading it.  It's about as good as the first and of course always keeps you interested.  Keep in mind it is a book for younger readers so it's a quick read and keeps you entertained more than it focuses on eloquent writing.  But I think they are a fun series so if you are looking for an easy, fast-paced, quick read than I'd say this is your perfect laying-out-by-the-pool kinda read.  The third book comes out in August!

Well for now that is it.  I have just started THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett and hear great things- I'll let you know how it goes.. Aren't books the best?

"Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort." -President Hinckley

NYC photo dump

Ok so turns out I am kinda the worst blogger but I do have some good updates.  Turns out while in NYC I left my camera connector thing so I could never show any pics I took while out there (although I didn't exactly take a lot, ever since London I got burnt out) but I do have a few to show the second half of my New York adventure...

**Many of these photos are courtesy of my pals Kylie and Rebbie- they were much better at snapping the memories than I was.. probably because they did a coolpix ad campain..

First things first.. Harold came to visit!!! twice actually.  Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera out the first trip so I only have pictures from his second trip out here.. But here are a few pics of our weekend together..

We went to a Yankee's baseball game

    

Harold's best friend Kent lives in NYC and came with his lovely friend Jillian

 

The game was FIVE hours long and we got a little tired..

But still happy to be at the game!  

Next day we played frisbee golf in Central Park

Kent and Harold mapping out the course

Look at that form.. 

Like most of my throws, I think this one went in a completely different direction than intended.

I was mostly just there for moral support and encouragement.

Unfortunately these are basically the only shots I got of our weekend together but we had a great time and did a lot!

Now onto more highlights of my NYC adventure:

We spent many afternoons relaxing in the park. This is us in Central Park

We constantly sought out treats.. on a daily basis.  This was the one and only Doughnut Plant.  The most amazing doughnuts.  If anyone is going to NYC soon you HAVE to go to Doughnut Plant.  It is in the most random location but worth walking through smelly Chinatown to get there.

We got funky at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre.  This is one of my favorite things we did in NYC.  Michael Jackson, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder are just a few of the legends that started out here.

We constantly ate good food.  This is at the big apple bbq where all of the best bbq places from around the country gather for a big bbq fest. This shot is for all the great southerners in my life! ;)

On top of the warship Intrepid.  An old WWII ship that is now used for a museum and take tours on.  They also show free movies right on deck and we watched Top Gun.  Perfect movie choice to say the least.

 We went to free concerts.  This concert was on Governor's Island and while I did enjoy the Morning Bender's concert I think I was more excited about the island itself. It was an abandoned island right off of New York City and they have only recently reopened it to the public.  Apparently it was used early on for the exclusive use of New York's royal governors and then later used as U.S. army post.  But for the past while it has not been used for anything.  It was weird to see a bunch of buildings, schools, homes, and even a hospital no longer in use.  We were convinced the place was haunted at that we would never get off the island. But alas I am here to tell the tale of Governor's Island...and so is wikipedia

 

 This is a majority of our advertising group that was in NYC together. We spent many nights in Union Sqaure- a cool little area where a lot of NYU college kids and other people hang out here at the corner.  I enjoyed just hanging out here and people watching. One of the times I was here there was a rap off between two guys and it was so cool to watch them go at it. 

 

We saw some shows.  My best friend Sarah came out to visit and we all went and saw the musical Jersey Boys on Reb's birthday.  It was such a fun show and we all loved it.  The music and acting was great.

 After Jersey Boys we went to celebrate Reb's birthday at the Stardust around the corner.  Let's just say the musical lives on here.. basically the waiters sing to you as they are working and it is hilarious.  The food is terrible and waaay overpriced but it might just be worth it for the experience. 4/6ths had a great time but missed the other 2/6ths of the candy shoppers.

These are just a few of the highlights of being in NYC for part of the summer.  As you can see we had a great time!  I am happy to be back in Utah now but definitely miss those fun summer days in New York City.  (but not missing that sweaty humidity)

Well congrats to those who made it down this far.. I hope you feel that my lack of posting is made up with this super loooong post.

WICKED

My family was just in town this past week and while we got to do a lot of fun things (beach, little italy, museums, eat yummy food, parks, etc.) I think the highlight was seeing Wicked the very last night they were here. oh and did I mention my sister and I got to sit on the very FIRST ROW, FRONT AND CENTER??? Ya sort of an interesting story of how we got them (but not that interesting to put on this post) and let's just say it was quite an amazing experience. I had seen Wicked before in London but definitely not that close and my sister has never seen it. Ever since my family made plans to come out here to visit me, my sister has been talking about how excited she was to go see Wicked. So when the night finally came and we luckily scored those tickets, I felt as if her dream was coming true. It was like a child going to Disneyland for the first time- the girl was beaming all night. Let's get real- we both were. I already loved the show and the music, but seeing it front row was a whole new experience. It was as if they were giving my sister and I a private showing... on Christmas morning. Needless to say it was a memorable experience and magical night.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." -Roald Dahl

We watched with glittering eyes.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple..

literally.

For those of you wondering what I am doing out here in NYC apart from my internship, well turns out I am most likely eating. Can you blame me when there are so many amazing places to eat out here? I'm like a kid in a candy story trying to pick one candy, but of course wanting them all. It seems that so often the first thing I think about after work is not what club, show, or activity I want to go to but rather it's all about where am I going to go for dinner??? The options are endless out here. Unfortunately my wallet isn't as excited about eating out as I am so I have to get thrifty sometimes and buy stuff at the grocery store. Luckily there is a Fairway close to where I live (New York's version of a Smith's) and while it has pretty good prices, I still end up paying a pretty penny for my groceries. One small box of cereal was almost 5 DOLLARS. I didn't even dare look at the price of a family size. No wonder people don't have a lot of kids here- my family of 9 would've starved. But luckily I've managed to scrape up a few free lunches at work- and if you thought you appreciated free lunch, well it's a whole new ball game out here- it's like getting manna from heaven. My girl Rebbie wrote a witty post on this phenomenon of free meals.

(back in September when we ate at Max Brenner- notice that huge choco-peanut butter sundae)

Some recent faves out here have included La Esquina- an authentic taco shop that puts Diego's to shame. Amy's bread- a tiny little bakery that smells (and tastes) almost as good as an authentic French bakery. A sandwich shop that the king of sandwiches, andy, showed me. Max Brenner- a chocolate lover's dream, aka, my dreamland. And this precious little Italian place called Pusticci where you can eat outside under lights draped around- so romantic, trust me. wink wink.

Speaking of food and free things- it's bagel monday at the office so I best be off to enjoy my free bagel. I live for bagel mondays- it makes Mondays not so bad. Here at Y & R, Tuesday is the new Monday.