last day of freedom

today was my last day of freedom. tomorrow i start work again at the bakery. and of course i spent my last day of freedom doing some very important and necessary things.

like going to the gym.

and taking a shower.

and playing around with photoshop.

and updating my blog.

and writing letters.

and organizing my pinterest boards.

and watching some good ol' ncis.

and getting gas.

and uploading photos from my camera to my computer.

and listening to the weepies.

and doing laundry.

and taking the nail polish off my fingernails. sad face.

and that has been my day. ah, to have a few more days of freedom. but it's okay because tomorrow is the BAKERY and i get to wear my apron (which i love) and i get to wear my clogs (which i would wear every day if it were socially acceptable) and i get to see all my friends and i get to smell the fresh breads and i get to look at all the pretty things for sale and i'll probably find some espresso beans in my shirt when i get home but i won't even care because i'll smell like coffee. and i'll be happy.

so here's to a summer of baked goods and non-painted fingernails!

here are some photos that i've neglected uploading for forever.

a lot of awkwardness at the bijou market with steph and shelby.

get it? steph's native, and...yeah. that's the only one that really matches. ha.

i love these girls. please note my hand on heather's stomach. awkward much? ps we have a lot of stuff...

thirty-seven ♡

destination moon

i want to learn to play a stringed instrument.

like the guitar.

or the banjo.

or the ukelele.

new summer goal? i think yes.

i want to take this song and put it to guitar. anyone willing to try? just a fun idea i had. also, loving the screen cap of this video.

six years old

yesterday i was driving down hwy 29 and thinking about when i was little. you know, i'm going to be 20 this wednesday, and that makes a girl think. what have i done with my two decades of life?? 

anyway.

sometimes i wish i was still six years old.

like when i would go with my best friend jenni's family to eat at taylor's refresher in st helena. back when it was taylor's. back when we would wear sunflower hats, pink overalls, and saltwater sandals.

back when there was that big oak tree in the grass area that we would sit on. there was a huge branch that we would ride and it would be an elephant's trunk or snake. it had endless possibilities. and we would ride it until our hamburgers and fries were ready. and when we finished eating we would ride it some more until it got dark and we went home.

i had to draw in the tree. they cut it down about ten years ago. and it never stabbed anyone, i'm just really bad at drawing on the computer. oh, and the grass was way greener.

life was great when i was six. 

and do you know what? 

...

it still is.

that's two good things, sydney hughes

so when my brother played soccer, his coach dennis would often tell the kids things as they were running up and down the field. one day there was a kid who did two bad things (i can't remember what they were), and coach dennis yelled, "that's two bad things, joe brunetti!" my family uses this quote all the time now. it's a pretty good one. we say it for good and bad things.

today i have two good things.

number one.

remember how i hated physical science?

BOOM. passed with a B+. and i couldn't be happier.

number two.

edna mode was on jeopardy tonight. and i laughed and laughed and laughed.

also, i actually enjoyed running today. so that was a third good thing, sydney hughes.

nfl? when did that become a thing?

while i was away at school, my family became hooked on football. and i don't really understand it. how? why? it's okay though. i've come to terms with it. tonight, instead of watching the draft, i decided to watch tv in my parents room. and i watched ncis and the latest episode of psych. that one needed rewatching, people.

"i'm shawn spencer, and this is my partner sh'dynasty. thats s-h-comma-to-the-top-dynasty."

"comma to the top?"

"that's god's comma."

and

"the plot, unlike your hair, continues to thicken."

there was some really brilliant stuff in that episode. pure genius. just sayin.

here are some photos of my day!

got some gas...we has english issuez in calistoga.

went to the bakery, saw my peeps, ate a coconut macaron...good times.

went to michaels for some arts and crafts goodies...seriously love that place.

i miss borders...but barnes and noble is pretty great, too. got me some summer reading :)

now i'm off to bed. yes, i'm calling it a night. i'm getting up early so i can skype with becca who has been in china for forever! and i'm excited :) night, everyone!

ps this is my 100th post. i feel like i should get some sort of prize for making it to 100? anyone want to bake me some cookies or something? :)

pony tails

one of the things about summer is...

i wear my hair up. erry day.

and i love it. because i can wake up in the morning and really not care what it looks like. and it goes with my bakery uniform, which is excellent.

so here's to a summer of hair up in a pony tail. i'm just grateful it's finally long enough to fit! :)

the start of summer

summer. it's great.

for me it started moving everything out of my apartment. there was a minor explosion, and it happened at about 3 am. photo included below. my plans changed suddenly when i was invited to bear lake with the christensen family, making it necessary for me to be moved out a day earlier than i was expecting. and so i pulled an (almost) all-nighter and got a full two hours of sleep. heather stayed up with me (mostly) and we packed and cleaned and cleaned and packed.

mike helped me pack all my stuff into karen's car and then i drove it to my aunt maryn's house. and then we went to bear lake. and we played with the nieces and nephew and we looked at the cabin being built and we planned the fire pit and back yard and we ate cheeseburgers and milkshakes and we played pool (and i stunk, surprise, surprise) and we played in bear lake for a second and we skipped rocks (and i skipped a rock, like for realsies and for the first time in the history of ever) and we ate pizza in midway and we knocked carved bears off of trees and we listened to good music and we laughed. and it was a great two days.

and then my family and i drove home to california. that was a long drive. a really long drive. but do you know what? my home smells like flowers. and there are bees that are humming in my front yard. and the wisteria on the back porch is in full bloom. and the entire valley is green. green, green, green. and sometimes driving around the valley just takes my breath away because i can't handle how amazing it is. truth.

i've also done some shopping for my mama, caught up on writing in my journal, spent time with my family, gone to the branch and the singles ward, and successfully purchased bridesmaid's dresses for miss cammie lou's wedding!! i've painted my nails, ate all kinds of california fruit (literally stuffed myself with raspberries, strawberries, and grapes), and i've caught up on once upon a time. i visited grandma coco and eaten from taylor's refreshers (which is now gott's roadside, but i refuse to call it that). and now i'm blogging.

it's been a good summer so far. and i'm excited to see what the bakery and the pool are gonna bring my way. i'm excited to hear about what steph, karen, and heather are doing in jerusalem. i'm excited to see what life throws at me! (hopefully a puppy? please mama? please?) happy summer, everyone! :)

oh my explosion. heather and i had a minor panic attack at this point.

karen had an entire trash bag full of boots. and i found it hilarious.

we stopped at arby's on our way to bear lake...steph and i have never understood this slogan. it's just too weird.

bear lake

one of the bears that aj didn't knock down

cammie mutz's bling bling

cammie and i decided that this is us, in about 50 years. we're going to live next door to each other.

napa valley lovinnnn

fresh california fruit. it's magic.

mumbo jumbo

1. i found a cute blog
2. they posted a beautiful poem - i like poetry
3. i like reading their thoughts
4. i'm procrastinating like crazy because i'm dreading taking physical science
5. my shoes and feet are wet because my poor little shoes couldn't handle the baby puddles on the way to campus
6. i ate a cinnamon roll for breakfast and i'm a happy camper
7. i watched white collar with mike and his roommate and his roommate's lady last night and it was a great study break
8. i am so tired that i fell asleep while praying last night. i woke up an hour later still kneeling on my bed. whoops.
9. i can't stop listening to ben rector, matt wertz, and jason mraz
10. i really don't want to be studying if you can't tell
11. warm brownies with ice cream please
12. i have a headache, probably from lack of sleep and too much studying?
13. i'll be all done tomorrow morning and i can't wait
14. can you tell i'm running out of things to say?
15. i'm a happy person. happy happy happy :)

the end!

what i like about finals week

ok so finals kind of stinks...but i have still found things that make me smile. ready? here i go.

1. finding funny quotes scribbled in my class notes (that was not an intentional rhyme.) i found this quote from a girl i was sitting next to in marriage prep, in regards to "that kid" in the class who always had really articulate things to say.
"he makes me feel like life is a big math problem on a white board."

2. and continuing on with marriage prep, i aced my final, which clearly means i am ready to get married. so hurry up, eligible suitors! i mean really. (i hope you can sense the sarcasm in this.)

3. instagram. i had no idea people followed each other on instagram until this week. yes, i most certainly am a little slow in the whole social media thing. but i have a facebook, a blog, and a pinterest account. what more does a girl need, really? well apparently instagram. and now i'm hooked. whoops.

4.  food from my aunt maryn. every finals week, she brings me some uh-mazing gnocchi from la dolce vita (a little italian restaurant here in provo). it's so yummy, and it makes me and my tummy very happy.

5. bijou market. oh. my. gosh. it was this amazing vintage and handmade market bazaar thing that my friend shelby told me about. so today shelby, steph, and i hit it up. and when i say hit it up, i mean i bought a lot of really cool things. like a watercolor of the oakland temple that i'm obsessed with. and a necklace that matches a ring that i have. and a print of a poster that says "i wish they all could be california girls." when we walked in, steph and i said to each other, "these are our people." i was so happy and wanted to stay there for hours and hours and hours. but alas, other things had to be done.

6. so now we move on to study groups. i love study groups because 1) you get studying done, and 2) you get to talk about life with friends. we just had a study sesh for french and it was actually really helpful, and we got a lot of other talking done, too. very good, very good. also, if you haven't seen my friend brittany's blog, please check it out. it's a good one.

7. getting sleep. last night i got some really good sleep. like i haven't slept that well in a long time. and for that i am grateful.

here are some photos from the past week!

my friend kiefer and i. last physical science lecture EVER and we were so so happy.

karen's car decided to stop working...it wouldn't move out of park. lame.

last day of foundations of education. party!!

animal mask photo shoot with mike and jim.

normal.

being fashionable as always.

michael fell asleep during our 7 hour library marathon last night. finals are hard.

kiefer making physcial science reviews SO much better.

heather and i keeping things interesting by writing with our right hands. which are our wrong hands. if that made any sense.

i opened up my computer and found this. it's a thing of beauty.

good luck on finals, everyone!

ps. new layout? yay? nay?

compliments

yesterday i was walking through the wilk when i was stopped by a guy i've seen around campus before. he has some disabilities and a difficult time talking. he looked at me and said,

"you look very nice today."

i thanked him and smiled, and i told him that i liked his shirt and we laughed because it matched my skirt (both were blue).

he replied with,

"well you look very pretty."

and my heart could not have been any happier :)

a universe of concern

so i have this wednesday night class (foundations of education) from 6 to 8 that i dread. all. day. long. but then, once i get there, i remember why i love it so much.

dr mayes helps me to see just how much the savior loves us. he teaches us that the students we will be teaching one day are going to look up to us as examples and constants in their lives. he reminds us that we need to show them the same love that our savior shows us.

on wednesday, he said something that i absolutely loved. he said,

"everyone is a universe of concern for the savior."

fast forward to 11 am this morning. i'm sitting the the planetarium for a physical science assignment. i looove the planetarium. i've always been a big fan of the stars. i would rather be laying on my back, staring up at the nighttime sky than just about anything else. they twinkle and glitter. they remind me of my place in the world, and they give me perspective.

and it suddenly hit me. the universe is enormous. there are no words big enough to describe it. really. just think about it. you can't get to the end of the universe. it goes on forever.

in my own little self-centered world, i can't comprehend having that kind of love for someone. maybe it's because i haven't experienced it yet. or maybe it's because as imperfect humans we aren't capable of it yet.

but guess what. our savior is. he loves everyone that much. me. little ol' me, a small town girl who has dreams of traveling the world, teaching kids, raising a family. me, who makes mistakes and can't possibly be worthy of being a universe of concern.

but somehow, i am. the savior loves perfectly. he loves so much that his love for me would fill up an entire universe. and his love for you would fill up another universe. he loves you no matter who you are. there are no exceptions. you can't get to the end of his love. it goes on forever.

i don't think dr mayes realizes that what he said helped me to have this epiphany. but he said what i needed to hear at exactly the right time. and for that, i am grateful.

so take a minute. think about what christ did for you. what he did for me. and then think about why he did it. it'll change your life.

happy easter :)

"a universe of concern" by me. sorry the lighting is funky...

french family

i have a family here at byu. they're my french family. three semesters of languages classes together will do that to you.

tommy: i thought you was going to be the typical east coast boy. you proved me wrong. you're funny, smart, and you get me out of my comfort zone with the crazy things you like to do.

michael: well, i don't know you very well, but since you're char's son, i'm sure you're awesome. ps i like your tie-dye shirt.

char: i don't know where to start. you are the best. the absolute best. your stories make me laugh so hard i cry (like tonight), and you give great advice. and your chocolate mousse is to die for.

kara: kara, kara, kara. where do i even start? i love our chats. and our megamind quotes. i like that we tell each other our lives. i like when you shoot le petit lapin foo foo. i don't like it when you graduate, but you're moving on to better things ;) but really. i feel like we've known each other forever, and i'm glad that we're such good friends!

derek: it was nice meeting you tonight. i approve of you.

cameron: i will never stop laughing at petit lapin foo foo. and the time when frere christensen asked us what we did over the weekend and you said you went to africa. i thought you were lying. but you weren't. and that's pretty cool. congrats on your engagement!!

kelli: your laugh is infectious. every time you laugh, i want to laugh. oh and ps, your eyes are awesome, and i'm so excited for you to go to paris in like two weeks!!

annie barton: we're freaking going to paris together. you make me laugh, and i'm so glad we got to know each other!! and that we're going to eat macarons together. ps my blood blister is gone, so that's good news. ha.

annie duffin: you are the best. i love you. i love that we lived in penrose together and that we're taking french together and that we're such good friends. you have nice soles (hahaha) and you know how to rock the mullet. i'm going to miss you this summer!!

and that's my family. well, the family who was here tonight.

we all went to a french choir concert together and afterwards went to the awful waffle. char treated us all. she's the best.

here's my family :)

left to right: tommy, michael, char, kara, kara's beau derek, cameron, kelli, annie, annie, and me.

yeah, that's us. we're that cool.

marriage

no. i'm not even close to getting married (correct me if i'm wrong, but i think you have to be dating someone first to do that). anyway. guess who is.

cammie.

she and jacob easley are getting married.

and i couldn't be any happier. really though.

last night, i got a phone call from jake. (actually, i missed three phone calls from jake but then i called them back.) anyway.

they asked what i was doing.

i said i was eating chocolate.

they said cool. then they said they were engaged.

and i think i squealed and laughed and flailed my legs and jumped around and squealed some more for a good 5 minutes.

at the end of the phone call, they told me to enjoy the rest of my chocolate.

i told them to enjoy the rest of eternity.

(yeah. i was pretty proud of that one.)

way back then...

and now. 17 years of friendship :)

paris is a pamphlet

for my paris prep class, each of us were assigned to make a pamphlet on a certain arrondissement, or neighborhood, of paris. i finished mine today (a solid 24 hours before the due date, take THAT procrastination!), and was so excited that i was on top of things that i walked into the kitchen and announced to baby j:

"I'M DONE!! I FINISHED MY PARIS PAMPHLET!"

to which she cleverly responded:

"i, too, know that paris is a pamphlet."

ah, mormon jokes. so good.

p.s.

(if you don't know what i'm talking about...go watch the best two years. then you'll get it.)

oh, and here are some photos of the 10th arrondissement.

canal saint-martin

du pain et des idées - fabrication traditionnelle. so excited to nom on some bread here.

gare de l'est

gare de l'est

boulevard de magenta - one of the huge streets that cuts across the arrondissement

gare du nord - each of the 23 female statues on the façade represent a different city the station provides service to. the one on the very top is paris.

you can see the statues a little better in this one.

rue du château d'eau is lined with african barbershops. next haircut here??

african barbershop

hotel du nord - just like the film. it was actually filmed here.

mairie de 10eme arrondissement (town hall) - sticks out like a sore thumb! it's almost château (castle) -like, and doesn't fit in at all with the surrounding architecture.

SO excited to actually be there. soon!!

all of these talks are about don't getting tattoos

the title of this post is a quote from baby j, who said that to heather after she drew all over her hand during conference.

conference weekend is always that one weekend where you feel good about everything and everyone. it's the weekend you can spend with your family (or in my case my roommates) and listen to the prophet of god and his apostles share the things that the lord wants us to hear.

this conference weekend, we watched the saturday morning session at our apartment, and then for the afternoon session we went to salt lake to watch it live with the mutz ladies and jacob. on our way there, i saw my stake president and his family! we waved frantically and it was a happy moment.

after conference, we walked around temple square a little bit. we ran into heather's friend who is serving there so we talked to her for a little while. then we were STARVING so we went to the eagle creek food court and ate nasty food but it was delicious. ha.

once our tummies had been satisfied, we walked around the new city creek center and it was awesome. i went into a tiffany & co. for the first time in my life and i was in heaven. the diamonds, the tiffany blue...ahhhh. when the door opened and the greeter said, "welcome to tiffany!" i knew i was home. hahaha. kidding. but really. it was one of the better moments of my life.

then we went back to temple square and took some room photos in the flowers and stuff. it was presh. (love the abbreviations? we do too. in the most joking way possible, of course.) it was super windy, though. after we left salt lake, we went to target in orem where i got some allergy meds which made me just about the happiest girl in the history of ever because, hello, i can breathe again. then we went to bed. yep. that's how it went down.

today we're watching both sessions of conference on our couch. it's pretty great to watch in pajamas, i've got to admit. ren (aka karen) and i made waffles and eggs this morning for breakfast, so before conference, we listened to the motab performance and stuffed our faces. it's a pretty laid back day, so we're just taking it easy between sessions. i cleaned out my closet and found lots of things to give away (and now i don't have to pack them up and take them home! hurray!)

tonight i'm having dinner with my aunt maryn, which i always love because it is always delicious and always fun. super looking forward to that.

also, i have a kink in my neck. anyone know how to get rid of those things? cause i'm not a huge fan of mine.

champ and i. ignore my dopey hairs.

oh my gosh i died. this little dog is named tilly and she has a bow on her head. so cute.

steph: "glorious! that's a phrase from my dreams." me: "glorious?" steph: "no. sky bridge to nordstrom."

WE LOVE TIFFANY & CO.

swarovski store. it sparkled so.

i just enjoyed this

it was so windy i had to hold heather's skirt down

and karen held steph's...special

blossoms and the temple

steph and i like to be precious whenever possible

individie

i like to make awkward faces all the times

i'm just so cheery when we go to the temple

somehow i always make the best faces?

heather and i love each other

we are the best at being awkward. and that's a fact.

the rooms. we missed baby jjjjjj.