Productivity...

Yesterday was great. I finished things that really needed to be finished. I took books back to the library. I mailed some important letters. I made dinner. 

Today, though, hasn't been nearly as productive.  At least it's Friday, and I have a good excuse for not doing anything. 

Let's Go to the Mall!

Luke and I went for a walk around the mall tonight. We do that sometimes - go to the mall to go on a walk.  We usually do a few laps, maybe go in to a store or two, and then get a snack at the food court. 

Tonight, as we were on our second lap, we stopped in a home decor store. We found some excellent wall art (hint: OWLS!).  Then we doubled back to the candle store.  I love candles and other similar things that make my house smell good. But they are usually kind of pricey.  So when I realized they were having a sale, I picked up a few new candles. 

Now my house smells like fall.  For the first time since moving in, I feel cozy here. It's not perfect, but boy, does it smell delicious.  I've been sad to see summer slowly turning in to fall, but I'm not so sad now. 



P.S. Bonus points to those who know where I got my title. 

Good Reads

I started using Goodreads today.  Well, that's not totally true. Technically, I started using it 4 years ago, but I didn't really know what I was doing. I still don't know what I'm doing, but I added a bunch of books to my profile, and poked around. I'm not sure I'm using it right, but I like it so far. 

You can check out my profile here. I hope to keep it fairly updated. Between my amazon.com wishlist, and the list I've got on my library's website, and Pinterest, and the list here on the blog , I've got quite a few book lists. But I like books, so I'm alright with that. 

Speaking of so many books, I have quite a few book reviews I need to write up. I shall do that next week. 

Women's Expo

Katie and I went to the Women's Expo last weekend.  I love a good expo! There were free samples! And swag {Stuff We All Get}. And contests to enter.  Turns out I really love chocolate covered cocoa beans. 

I had a chiropractor analyse my posture. I guess my posture isn't so great, and now I'm super self conscious about it. If any of you comment negatively about it, I will give you the stink eye.  To make myself feel better, I found a booth with free mini-massages.  And possibly made me consider spending money on a real massage. 

The last few days I've been getting calls from vendors at the expo, telling me I've won a prize. Oh, my excitement! Then I found out that their idea of a prize doesn't match what my idea of a prize is. One lady offered me 50% off one piece of jewelry from her shop. But she had to come to my house so I could claim it.  I don't like having strangers in my house to sell things. 

On the bright side, I still have lots of coupons, two tubes of lip gloss, a nail file, a few pens, some stickers, and a granola bar. I had some cotton candy, but I ate that already. 

Crafty

My favourite mother-in-law got me a sewing machine for my birthday. It's nothing fancy, but I'm not a fancy seamstress, so it works out well. It can make some cute stitches though, and we had fun testing it out. 

So now that I have one, I'll probably do a bit more crafting. I've always been a crafty person, but I haven't been into it as much as I wish I was. Probably because craft supplies take up space, and I don't usually have a lot of space for supplies. Now, though, I have an excuse! 

This means that I might start sharing my projects here, online. Probably not to a huge extent. I'm not going to become a crafty blog. But I like having a space where I can proudly show off the things I make. 

I bought fabric so I can make a little pillow. We'll see how it goes, considering I've had the materials since Wednesday, and haven't done a thing with them. 

Quite

You know that feeling when you just don't quite feel like yourself? 

Yeah, me too. 

I've been feeling that way for awhile. 

And it seems like no matter what I do, I'm not getting back to the way I used to be. 

Change

School has started. But not for me. I still feel the winds of change, though. There's just something in the air. And I can feel it. 

Yesterday I was reading through my church notebook. A few months ago, I'd written about moving. How I was nervous to pack everything and start somewhere new. I'd also listed all the good things about moving - how we'd be closer to school and friends, and have more space, and a washing machine...

Reading back over what I'd written, I was struck with a new appreciation for our place. Sure, it's a bit dark and basement-y. But it's bigger, and in a nice part of town. And close to the library. I really stopped and thought about the great things that I have. 

In turn, this new way of thinking has branched over into the way I think about a lot of things. I feel more energized, more willing to be the person I used to be. More excited about things. More drive. For the first time in a while, I feel motivated. 

So, thanks, past self for your motivating words. When you wrote them, you probably didn't think you'd be reading them again. But you did. And it's stretching you into a better person. 

Good Things to Know About Living in Provo

With the start of the school year almost upon us, and thousands of students moving back to town, I thought I'd do a little write up about the best things to be found in Provo. 

There's not a whole lot of order to this, so take it or leave it. 



FOOD
The best places for dessert are  The Cocoa Bean (for cupcakes, hot chocolate, italian soda) and the Malt Shoppe (for milkshakes). 

If you're going to be out late, there aren't a lot of options. I prefer Denny's. They're open 24 hours, and have pancakes. And unlimited hot chocolate refills. Some people like IHOP, but it's far from campus, and I just don't like it as much. 

If you're going to be on BYU campus and need something to eat, the CougarEat is your best bet. For something healthy, try L&T. The best burgers {in the county, in my opinion} are at Scoreboard. Note that their fries are not as good as the burgers. 

Also on campus, the cafe at the MOA is fantastic, but only open for lunch. And Sugar and Spice is the best place for treats. I love the brownies, but I hear good things about the rice krispy treats, as well. 

Brick Oven is good pizza and great root beer. But you'll want to go on Monday's. Root beer is free {and unlimited}!

Frozen yogurt seems to be pretty popular here in P-town. I haven't been to very many places, but I've noticed that the cheaper the place seems, the better the yogurt is. 

The best Chinese food used to be from the booth at Smith's {the grocery store}. But they've been disappointing lately. So, it's probably a tie between Panda Express and @12, a local place. 



GENERAL INFO
Drivers are kind of crazy. Pedestrians are crazy. But cyclists are the worst. Watch out for them. 

Walmart is cheapest for groceries, but far away from campus.  There's also Fresh Market, but I find it's more expensive. Smiths and Macey's are tied, and I switch between the two based on what's closer. It used to be Macey's. Now it's Smiths. In case anyone cared where I do my shopping. 

I'm pretty sure the DI here puts new things out on for Wednesday. So that's the day for thrifting. 


That's about all I can think of for now.  Any suggestions from you, dear readers? Or questions about anything? 

A Year Ago Today, Part II

It's been a whole year. 

A Year Ago, Part I

So, this happened a year ago....

Yep, it's already been a year since our first reception. It was perfect and lovely. 

Thank you, family, for working so hard to make it so nice. 

Thank you, Rachel for doing my hair and being my maid of honour. 

Thank you, dear friends, for coming. Thank you Whit, for your words of wisdom. Thank you Cathy and Jake, for all your help setting up.  Thank you Susan, for being so delightful. 

Thank you, Wayne and Kathy, for driving all the way to Canada, and being the best in-laws ever. 

 And thank you me, for taking this one nice picture, where I'm not making a face, or trying to be too model-ish.

Thursday, a.m.

So it's now 9:15. I've been up since.........7:30? And today is a gloomy day, so it hasn't gotten brighter yet. And it probably won't as the day goes on. 

Also, I'm feeling like updating the look of this page. So that will be fun. 

Oh. And I really want to go shopping today. It's my birthday month, so I can, right?