change and fall and school and things

School starts on Tuesday.

This is going to be the last fall semester that I have a full load of classes.

It's a strange feeling. I love school so much, but there are some days when it feels like my time here at BYU will never end. And yet here we are. 2 semesters away from just that. It's wonderful and sad all at the same time, and it's given me an even greater sense of needing and wanting to soak up literally everything as much as possible, especially during fall semester, which is my most cherished time of year. 

I've been making tons of lists lately. 

Lists of fall activities. 

Places to camp. 

Foods to eat. 

Halloween parties to plan

Mountains to climb. 

Trips to go on. 

Goals. 

Wishes. 

Somehow, list making and goal setting makes me feel a lot better about life. It gives me direction and order, two things I crave, especially when life gets busy. I love starting a new school year by doing just that.

And I must say, as much as I adore summer, I've decided I adore fall even more. 

For me, the season feels like coming home. It's full of comfort and familiarity, which  happen to be two other things I desperately crave. I know that mid-semester, I'm going to loath the constant mountain of school work hanging over mine and Christian's heads, stealing away precious time. Right now however, I'm welcoming autumn with open arms

I think I'm finally ready for September, with her lingering warmth and chilly evenings, her smell that hints at an impending change. Her football games, her ability to lure me into mellow music and hot chocolate and premature Halloween decorating.

I'm ready for October, with her crunchy leaves and brisk wind. Her thrill because "Halloween is just around the corner!", and the fact that each day of the month feels magical to me. October is my favorite. 

I think I love the changing season so much because sometimes, I just crave change. And fall brings just enough of it that it leaves me feeling refreshed without simultaneously feeling the need to overhaul my whole life. 

And that's just the perfect amount of change, you know?

wellness wednesday: august music

Top 3 Favorite Workout Songs

- August Edition - 

So here's the thing.
I really really really love Latin music. I took six years of Spanish and it completely lit a fire in my heart. That's actually half the reason I love Zumba so much. It lets my Latin flair completely loose for an hour and makes me crazy happy.
Or maybe just crazy. But anyways. 
I'm about to share some Latin songs that I absolutely love, and might just light a fire in your heart too.
You've been warned.

*Also speaking of Latin things, can we just discuss how wonderful it is that Juan Pablo is the next Bachelor.
I mean, we women LOVE our suave Latin men, obviously. So I'm foreseeing the best season yet.
Viva el Bachelor!!!*

Best warm up song:
La Camisa Negra- Juanes

This is the guy who started it all.... the fuel behind my Latin-loving fire!
If this song doesn't make you want to get up and groove, well....
Git yer head checked!

Best power song:
Ave Maria- David Bisbal

How's that for a screen shot?
Seriously listen to this song, it's definitely NOT the Ave Maria you are familiar with.
Also don't be fooled by his Cher-like voice.
I don't know what that's all about, but whatever.

Best cool down song:
Flor De Campo- Don Omar

Don Omar makes some seriously great music, but this song is probably my favorite. 

Sit back, stretch and enjoy!

And there you have it. 

Now go high-tail it to a Zumba class or something. 

people of walmart

We've had some funny experiences at Walmart the last few times we were there.
Let me share them with you.

We were in Vegas a few weeks ago and scrambling to get some food the night we got there, so naturally we stopped at good ol' Wally World (which was under construction by the way. This is important)
We literally had some bagels, cream cheese and orange juice, thus expected a speedy checkout.
However, because of all the construction, there was no visible way for us to get to the registers.
So I look behind us and see this guy checking out at the jewlery counter and I'm like:
"SWEET! There's our way out!"

So I walk up behind him and basically say to the girl helping him:
"Would you mind doing ours really fast too?"
Being super nice of course.

Seriously this is the response I got:
The biggest eye roll in the history of ever, seriously I was worried they were going to fall out of her head kind of eye roll.
Aaaaaand silence.

So I turned on my sass, threw the orange juice in her face, and ran off. 

Kidding I didn't do that.
But I did get super exasperated and give her a tiny piece of my mind, right before finding another register of course.

Then, just a few days later, we were at the Walmart in Orem.
The parking lot was super packed, both with people and cars. So we're trying to hurry through, because we don't want to get stuck behind a mass of pedestrians, like any other self respecting car-driver amiright.

Well, apparently we got in some angry guy's way because 3 seconds after we drove by him,
HE PUNCHED OUR CAR. 

Like straight up, balled fist, pulled out all the stops-punched our car.
So naturally I rolled down my window and yelled
"Are you kidding me?!"
*Let's not acknowledge the fact that I have unheard of amounts of sass these days*

To which he responded:
"ARG NO.... BLAH BLAH BLAH... SOMETHING ABOUT BEING AN IDIOT.... ARG BLAH BLAH!"

All that was going through my head was that line from kid history.
"Don't punch... our car"
Probably should have just said that and called it good. Probably I'm not going back to Walmart for a long time!

Have you ever been to Walmart and seen someone who's just absolutely lost it?
(Actually, I don't have to ask that question. I know you have.
IT'S WALMART)

p.s. I love you

Did you know Christian confessed that he loved me before we even started dating??
Pull up a chair and let me tell a story.

When Christian and I were still babies, and very much in "like" with each other, we were all about communicating via text. 

(It's like we were 18 or something!)

Infants.

One night, I was hanging out in my dorm watching a chick flick with my girls. 

Otherwise known as basically what we did all the time. Anyways. 

Christian and I, staying true to form, were just texting away when he asked me what I was doing. 

"Watching a movie"

I said. 

"What movie?"

Is Christian's natural response. 

"P.S. I love you"

I told him. 

Because duh. 

That's what we were watching. 

Now if you know anything about my husband, he is literally the biggest tease in the history of ever. And it was on this night that I was about to get my first real dose of that.

Seconds later I get a text that says

"Well I love you too!"

So I'm like

"No no no, we're watching P.S. I love you"

To which Christian aptly responds again

"Yeah I said I love you too!"

Versions of this conversation continued for about 10 minutes, during which my thoughts ranged from

"Is this kid serious right now?" to "He's go to be kidding" to "Wonder if he's serious?!" to "Oh my word I hope he's serious!" to "Can't. Handle. This. Ridiculous. Conversation. Any. More."

And that is the story of how Christian said he loved me before we even officially started dating.
What a lil' schmooz.

wellness wednesday: bb cream

I'm switching things up today and we're talking makeup. 

dun dun dun. 

I've been hearing about BB cream for the last year or so, but I've been skeptical of jumping on the bandwagon because I love my current makeup so so much. A few weeks ago however, I bit the bullet. 

And I must say.... I'm totally in love!

It works great to smooth out skin tone, moisturize and give a little added SPF.
My only beef with it is that after applied, it looks a little "masky". It definitely needs to be complimented with blush/bronzer/highlighter or whatever. And if you have any blemishes, concealer is still a must.
However, for fast coverage that's light and easy, I highly recommend it!

a reluctant sprint to the end of summer

Life is strange sometimes. 

Lately it feels like time is zooming by, and we are reluctantly zooming right along with it. School starts in a short 15 days (AGH!), and with it, a whole new slew of responsibilities. And yet, when I look back at all that has transpired this summer, it's seemed to last forever. 

See? Strange. 

Despite this being the busiest summer of my life, I wish it wouldn't end. I love these long days. The hot sun. The lack of school responsibilities looming over our heads. I guess I will just be praying for a long, glorious fall so we can keep enjoying the sunshine (read: happiness) as long as possible before it's time to hibernate. 

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

In light of..... well.... a few "summer bummers" that hit in June and July, Christian and I decided we were in need of a break. Desperate need. Like "a few breakdowns short of visiting crazy town" need ha! So last week we loaded up our car and headed south, where we spent the next five days camping in Sand Hollow State Park, hiking in Zion, swimming, and just generally enjoying life and loving each other. It was a little piece of heaven.

We match all the time, so that's good.

 Quaint little campsite. And that view!!!

Angel's landing.
Which should also be called "don't ever do this hike or it might just give you a hernia and you'd rather be dead than finish"

You see that giant mountain and those perilous drops behind Christian?
Yeah. 
You are supposed to hike that. 
And guess what. The only way you can make it is by HANGING ON TO CHAINS THE WHOLE TIME.
Yeah, thanksbutnothanks.

This is not feigned terror, you guys!
Okay maybe a little.
Seriously though, when we tried to hike that last mile, my body was literally seizing up because I was so freaked out. Like, verging-on-panic-attack kind of freaked out.

Get a load of this hunk! No wonder the last week was so much fun!
*    *    *

So I've never really considered myself the camping type.
(Probably because the only time I've done it in the last 10 years was at girls camp when I was 17. And even though I totally peed in the woods, I feel like that doesn't count.)
Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it. Granted I'm sure it helped that there was a shower and we slept on an air mattress and we brought tons of good food.......
Baby steps people. Baby steps. 

josh groban diaries: the necklace

YOU GUYS. 

Look at what I found the other day. 

The literal smallest picture of Josh Groban in existence. 

Inside a locket.

That 12 year old Brooke printed and cut out and then wore around her neck. 

Also notice that the picture is SUPER blurry. 

This is because I wore the locket in the shower at girls camp once, and it got the picture all wet. 

I was pretty sad about it, but obviously nothing could stop me from wearing my beloved Josh around my neck!

I mean. This kills me.

If you ever question whether or not you are obsessed with something, go ahead and compare yourself to me. I guarantee it will make you feel a little bit better. 

Unless you are wearing a picture of Diet Coke around your neck or something. 

Then I will just salute you and welcome you to a whole new level of fandom.

a few things

1. This morning we dropped my baby brother off at the airport to go back home to Florida. 

I cried for a solid 20 minutes because my brother is sweet and hilarious and brings so much light to my life. 

Who in their right mind wants to let that go!?  

Also I 'm basically just dying to go back to Florida. I love that place with  my whole heart. Ghetto and humid and insect infested as it may be.

Also also we woke up at 4:30 this morning after falling asleep around midnight, so maybe I was just a stitch tired too. That's probably the biggest reason why I was crying actually. Either that or I was hungry.

Story of my life.

2. Yesterday in primary, the teacher posed a question to the kids. 

Something along the lines of "What did the pioneers have to do to receive blessings?"

And completely out of the blue, my favorite little sunbeam said in his most serious voice:

"PANCAKES"

Dying. For like a solid 10 minutes. I love primary so much. 

3. Christian and I biked about 30 miles on Saturday. It was hot and long and exhausting and full of sunburns and swear words (I GOT A FLAT TIRE SUE ME). But it was also super fun. I love biking with my guy. 

Also I've perfected the art of riding without my hands. Seriously did it for 3 straight minutes on Saturday. 

LIKE A BOSS. 

Just another thing to add to my list of useless talents.

Also here is an awkward picture of my sunburned legs. Y'welcome.

4. I started watching New Girl last week and as much as I loved Zooey Deschanel before, I'm like 100 times more obsessed with her. Also I feel like Jess does and says everything I would say if I didn't have reservations about being a freak. I'm happy I have a show that's NOT Keeping Up with the Kardashians that can make me laugh during my unfriendly time of the month. 

(Also, Christian astutely noticed that I only indulge in KUWTK during my ultra pms-y time. 

I have some very embarassing habits and a wonderfully observant husband, to say the least)

5. My girl Nicole and I spent July 31 emailing Harry Potter themed articles back and forth all day. I'm so glad I have someone to indulge in untouched levels of HP fandom with me. 

Also, Buzzfeed is the mecca for those things in case you were wondering.

6. Finally, Christian and I are heading south for some camping and lake-ing and just general fun having. 

I've never been so excited for a trip in my liiiiifffffeeee!

June and July packed quite the whallop for our little family, and I'm thrilled that we will get to disconnect from life and reconnect with each other for a solid 5 days. 

Gotta eek out the last of summer while we still can!

a summer playlist and stuff

There are so many days when I sit at my desk for hours and hours and I slip into this weird state of boredom-verging-on-depression, aka the literal worst thing ever because I'm already grouchy I have to work when it's so nice outside, but that's another story. 

Anyways, when I'm feeling that way, that's usually when I realize I haven't been listening to any music.

*face palm*duh*

So here are some of my current favorite jams to lift me up out of my inevitable afternoon funk. 

Fair warning, it's a healthy mix of literally everything. Enjoy.

A summer playlist for your 4 o'clock hour

Wagon Wheel (cover)- Mumford and Sons
Mirrors- Justin Timberlake (this song.... I just can't. It's too good)
The Day That I Die- Zac Brown Band and Amos Lee
Heart Attack- One Direction
All Eyes on You- St. Lucia
China Grove- Doobie Brothers (I hope that makes you laugh Nicole)
On Top of the World- Imagine Dragons
Bust a Move- Young MC
Tree I'll Grow- The Lone Bellow (If you watch this video, skip ahead to 3:40. So good)
Radioactive- Kings of Leon
Runnin Outta Moonlight- Randy Houser (Okay seriously. I love this song a little too much)
It's All Good- Cher Lloyd and Neyo
A Face to Call Home- John Mayer (be prepared for some swoon worthy, face melting guitar at the end of this one. Srsly I die.)
Life on a Rock- Kenny Chesney
Photograph- Def Leppard
Fire and Rain- Babyface (I mean I love the original, but man this is a sexier version)
Mexico- James Taylor

I hope this makes your day as good as it makes mine!