Dear Santa,

Because I'm surrounded by kids every day,

and their favorite thing to do at Christmas time

is write and revise their Christmas lists,

(and I'm also a perpetual kid);

I've been thinking about my own Christmas wishlist...

1) I would just love a mini orange tree

like these cuties from tostinkincute

2) And seeing as my glasses prescription has changed,

I'd love to update my eye-wear with these sassy glasses...

Also,

3) I'd like to find a way to, well, find,

the LDS (and single)

version of Marcus Mumford

I know this is kind of a difficult list,

so I'll settle for two out of three.

I mean, I don't need

a mini orange tree... 

Yup that'd be great.

Thanks Santa you're the best.

Love,

Amanda

Grateful for:

attending the best wedding I've ever been to,

chatting with my sweet friend and hearing her baby in the back ground,

being a nanny for some of the most intelligent kids

I've ever known,

planning what I'll give all my crazy siblings for Christmas,

making  Christmas presents,

the First Presidency Christmas Devotional,

being a member of an exceptional singles ward,

two jobs (to help me pay for Christmas presents),

a text from one of my favorite friends on Monday morning

informing me that Kate Middleton is preggers,

and the way that life just keeps moving and changing and evolving.

I've said it before,

but life is good.

Favorite Holiday

Christmas is truly wonderful,

and I do love it,

and relish in its month-long celebrations.

 

Thanksgiving is my favorite though.

It's all the family time and cozy goodness of Christmas,

but without the stress of presents.

Or shopping.

It's an un-diluted family holiday.

Plus, there's pie.

(maple pear is the best!)

And seriously, I love these guys.

...and all their quirkiness.

...especially Emma's.

 

 

Although, this last Thanksgiving week with these dudes

did leave me with just one question;

 

How in the world are Sophie and I NOT married yet??

-sister sleepovers are unparalleled-

 

 

Well, for Soph at least,

she's got to go serve a mission first...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado!!

On January 16th!

I'm so proud of and sooo excited for her!

And grateful for her example and choice

to dedicate 18 months of her life

to go preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm grateful for my wonderful family,

and for the stellar examples they all are to me.



 

Also grateful for:

black Friday deals which make replacing my fried laptop

significantly less of a financial burden,

and also my Barbara Streisand Christmas CD.

Because I'm obsessed with HGTV.

I love HGTV;

it's like the "food network"

but for design nerds instead of foodies.

Do I lose sleep at night when I stay up to watch these shows??

Yes, yes I do.

My faves are "Dear Genevieve"

and "Secrets From a Stylist"

After I watch them I long for my own space to  decorate and paint and arrange.

Well, I recently moved into a new apartment.

I have my own new room,

and for the first time in my life...

my own bathroom !!

Therefore, I HAD seize hold of this opportunity to design!

...

I really love bookshelves, and plan on having BIG, TALL ones someday,

to hold all my coffee table and childrens books

(but for now this cute little one with my DVD's on it will suffice)

My "office" from 8-12am!

I'm a little in love with it...

Updated picture boards

Seriously,

the most comfy bed in the world...

there are those "egg crate" mattress covers on sale at Target...

and you need to go get one.  Trust me.

Cork boards $5 at Walmart,

Pins $4 at Walmart,

being able to hang up inspiring cards and notes,

priceless.

haha

But for reals though...

Way inexpensive drawer set from Target,

but I love the mid-century vibe it's givin' off

(see how design nerdy I can be??)

it especially makes me happy topped with the 

"let them eat cake" vase 

that my mom gave me for Christmas last year!

I know,

it's just a bathroom.

But I'm so excited about it...

A little reminder of Parisian travels...

I finally framed this print from the Orsay Museum...

in a $2 frame from Goodwill!!

Hooray for excellent deals!

And that soap dish is probably the only thing 

I think I'll ever buy from Anthropologie.

Although, if I had money to burn, I'd buy everything.

And that mirror and vase are both presents;

I have friends and family who know me so well!

Favorite painting... and a fireplace !!!

Sooo luxurious.

"Dear Genevieve",

Thanks for the classy inspiration!!

Grateful for:

not having to spend $200 in repairs for my car,

coupons for my gluten free 'zone' bars,

wifi at starbucks,

stake conference,

baking chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoons,

a year subscription to a gluten free magazine

from my dearest friend who's moved to Utah,

chats on the phone with friends from Virginia to California,

lunch dates with Grandma CC,

dinner dates with my favorite people,

my very own DVD of "Cinderella"

(the one with Brandy and Whitney Houston of course),

the new Mumford & Sons CD,

my ukulele,

my comfy bed/8 full hours of sleep

and, the simple truths of the Book of Mormon

Life is good.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with Strings

Sometimes,

when you think there's no possible way 

you're going to make it through the week,

when you literally have to work two jobs at one time,

when you can't miss your shift online,

but the little girl you nanny has bronchitis,

when you have tons of emails to respond to,

and people counting on you,

when you feel like there are so many people to check up on

and really important deadlines to make,

and far too little time to do so,

when you're going on waaay too little sleep,

and you just want to cry a little bit...

Well, that's when that little girl you nanny pulls out her "laptop"

(aka her little lap-desk and some paper),

sits quietly next to you (so she doesn't interrupt your work)

and whispers she's going to "work" with you,

and then quietly slips you a piece of paper that looks like this...

...and reminds you that you're never alone;

even though you might feel like it sometimes.

And also,

that it's all gonna be okay!!

Grateful for:

every note my mom's ever written me on a post-it ,

any flowers I've ever been given,

any package I've ever been sent,

and any card or letter I've ever been written.

I really treasure them!!

(and also hang as many as I can on my cork board)

New Goal:

send more notes and cards and letters,

and LOVE to the people I love the most!

When I'm too wired to sleep

I'm grateful for my new apartment.

Super grateful in fact.

It's quite beautiful, and I seriously can't wait to invite you over.

And just in case you've never ever moved before,

heads up-

moving is stressful

and real physically tiring.

The combination of the two sometimes creates this awful affect;

you're so past being at a regular level of tired

and also so consumed with all the little things you can't forget to do the next day,

that you can't sleep.

It happens.

Whatevs.

Well, when I can't sleep, I bust out some of this:

Laura Marling's songs are like lovely little modern fairy tales.

I think she's so legitimately talented too

with her honestly lovely voice and rather impressive guitar skills

and the lack of any strain to play/sing showing on her face.

She's cool--she jammed with Mumford & Sons before everyone caught the Mumford fever.

Stressing subsided?

Why yes.

Thanks Laura.

Grateful for:

too many things to even list

New Favorite

A few months ago I posted here

about my extreme love of,

and exceptionally nerdy interest in,

Les Miserables
the musical.

I geeked out and told you about all my favorite preformances.

Therefore, I must now tell you about my new favorite.

It's a version of "Bring Him Home"

From President Thomas S. Monson's Birthday celebration.

The man who sings, Dallyn Bayles,

has a voice that is simply clean and pure and beautiful.

And I also love that Mack Wilberg is conducting the orchestra behind him.

(as my mom says every time she sees Mack; 

"He's the best.")

Plus, to see this song sung so beautifully in the Conference Center,

made the message all the more powerful.

Grateful for:

President Thomas S. Monson;

for the blessing of prophets on the earth today,

and for a prophet who has taught so much by example

the importance of love and service to each individual.

a little BYU-Idaho lovin'

I know someone that just recently went off to BYU-Idaho, and before they left, they and their family asked me how I enjoyed my experience there.  I told them I loved it.  They then asked me why, and expressed their concerns about BYU-Idaho being in little bitty Rexburg, and it being super cold, and frankly, that they were a little worried that it would not be up to par for what they expected a college experience to be.  I tried as best as I could to reassure them.  I knew they'd all love it.  Don't worry, I said.  Rexburg is  tiny and in the middle of nowhere, that's true.  And it is rather cold, and can be socially awkward at times... And yes, for sure, it's different than any other college; that's definitely true too.  But what makes it different though is what makes it such a wonderful experience!  

I'm not quite sure they got what I was trying to say.

I've been thinking about this conversation a lot over the last few weeks.

I've also been studying for and finally took the GRE;

and I've started applying to Graduate school.

All this has made me really look back over my time at BYU-I.

So much so, I was even watching youtube videos of BYU-I devotionals the other day.

I ended coming across this video in my search:

(watch out, the first part is a little cheesy... but I love this video)

I surrre love that place.

When I first moved there, they were still building the temple.

Now that's been complete for a few years,

and they've expanded campus so much.

At BYUI I made life-long friends.

Sincere friends.

Such as, dearest Melanie Roy

who just got home from her mission!!

And lots and lots of others;

examples of worthy preisthood holders,

and faithful Relief Society sisters,

returned missionaries,

and brand-new sealed families.

My education there taught how much I love working with kids.

I also learned how important it is that that kind of work gets done well.

And I feel like, because I learned it at BYU-Idaho,

I gained that knowledge along with learning that it's important

because of how much their Heavenly Father loves them.

At BYU-I I learned a whoooole lot about how Relief Society works.

And learned a new depth for what being a member of Relief Society means.

Now let's be honest for a minute;

Rexburg is  freakishly cold.

And snowy.

And icy.

For a ridiculously long amount of the year.

Rexburg also has very little to offer by way of entertainment.

So we had to improvise a lot...

And it's not exactly the most stylish place; it's too cold to be fashionable.

(and we all know how much I love high heels and such...)

But where else could I have gone to school just down the hill from this?? 

Or meet the friends that I did?

Or start my classes off with a prayer?

Or have my weekly/daily/hourly lessons taught
in conjunction with principles of the gospel?
Or learn about the kind of person I want to fundamentally be
in the same class where I was learning how to do my future job?

... or where else would it be an option to sing "Come Thou Fount" at my graduation?

Or have my commencement speech given by Elder Scott??

(other than BYU in P-town or Hawaii of course...)

BYU-Idaho was just where I know I needed to gain an education.

Going there is a different type of educational experience from any other.

And that has to do in great measure with the spirit that is on that campus.

I'm very grateful for that freezing cold campus in the middle of nowhere!!

My fave quote from that video was,

"I came to prepare for my whole life."

Quote of the day:

"...study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books,

and with languages, tongues, and people."

D&C 90:15

Birthday cake for breakfast.

One of my favorite parts of the summer comes on July 15th;

It is by little brother Max's Birthday.

 This is partially one of my favorite days because he's quite a sweet brother,

who opens the door for you, and offers to carry your groceries.

But also because,

He and I get to make a magical and whimsical,

and creative and artsy-fartsy

Birthday cake.

It started all with a hamburger cake.

Made of two vanilla cakes, with a chocolate cake in between

Complete with fries and ketchup made of strips of pound cake.

Then one year, after one of the Pirates of the Carribean movies came out,

(the first one with Davy Jones)

we made a cake covered with barnacles and starfish

and here's the fun part: they were made of cheerios, 

smarties, and chocolate covered raisins...

and banana pieces covered in icing squiggles

Last year, we made him an "Up" cake.

Complete with clouds, 

and lots of confetti sprinkle balloons, 

and a floating house,

...and Carl and Russell of course!

So thiiis year, after google-ing lots of cake ideas....

We decided it was time for a colosseum/gladiator cake...

With bananas for the arches,

and chocolate and butterscotch chips for the spectators.

Can you see why this is my favorite part of the summer??

Happiest (and much belated) Birthday Max Daniel!!

I love you!

Quote of the day:

"I tried to bake for my mother's Birthday - it took me four hours.

It was terrible, and I cried for three days."

--Rachel Ray

a VERY important question for you...

Y'all... should I...

get my hair cut??

I've had it cut this short before, and I really loved it.

But then it took foreeeever to grow my hair back out...

and I really love having long hair too.

But I could really go for some sort change right about now.

Cons:

1. I would have to hold a bake sale first, or find extra money in the couch.

2. Grandma Rosie would kill me!

3. I would have to actually do my hair every day;

as opposed to letting it just be the wild lion's mane that it naturally is.

Pros:

Sometimes it's just time for a change, you know??

(and supposedly, it could help me in my quest to looking a bit older...)

Should I do it??

Quote of the Day:

(teehee...)

"Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts"

--Jim Morrison