We Got Elegance

Every now and then
we have an elegant date night...

such as dinner and a ball.

We put on our fancy clothes.

We eat at Olive Garden

and I actually finish the whole meal.

We take pictures in front of a green screen.

And some normal pictures after that.

Okay.
Maybe just one normal picture.

Weird pictures are just too much fun.

Throw in chocolate-covered strawberries

Robert from Vocal Point (and his fiancee) sitting by you

creme puffs

attempting to talk in snooty British accents

and dancing until your feet and back are in pain...

that about sums it up.

"We got elegance.
If you ain't got elegance,
You can never ever carry it off!"

The Day BYU Became a Giant Ice Rink

My college campus turned into a death trap today.
Winter in Provo is rather cold, so I have seen nothing but snow for the past month. However, today it was raining instead of snowing.

Normally, this would be a sign of warmer weather, but I think that Mother Nature just wanted to have a good laugh. You see... even though it was raining, it was still very cold outside... so the water froze on the sidewalk!

BYU became a giant ice rink.

Fortunately, I did not fall at all. I had some close calls though, and I saw plenty of other people who weren't as lucky as me and landed flat on their rumps. Everyone was shuffling across campus at a very slow rate, and we all looked like a bunch of penguins! It was a pretty funny sight to see.

The best part? BYU is built on a hill, so there are some areas on the northern-most and southern-most ends of campus where you have to walk uphill/downhill to reach the school. I feel sorry for the poor people who have to climb up steep paths with the ice. Slipping backwards? Not fun.

Going downhill looks a bit better though! Check out this video :)

And you can watch a first-person video of a guy going down this same ramp here.

Basically... some people loved being able to slide around everywhere, and other people hated falling on their rumps over and over again. It was still raining lightly when I came home tonight at 7, so we'll see if the ice is even worse in the morning.

While I go and prepare myself for an icy day tomorrow, why don't you say hello to the lovely ladies who have been sitting on my sidebar this month. Check out their blogs while you're at it, okay? Thanks.

Jen Foley

blog // facebook // twitter // pinterest // instagram // catering website

I'm Jen!  Chef, Business Owner, Wife, and Wine-o.  Professionally, I'm a personal chef and caterer.  It's safe to say food is in my top 5 greatest loves, after my amazing husband, my wonderful family and friends, and my puppy, Bella.  My blog covers all of these topics and more.  Come visit!

Evelyn

blog // facebook // twitter // pinterest // google+

 I am retired from Law Enforcement and I share my retirement adventures which include travel, recipes and crafts.   I host two blog hops each week: Freedom Fridays Blog Hop (recipes, DIY, crafts and other projects) and Let's Get Social Sunday (social networks blog hop).

I started blogging to create a forum to share my travels with my family. Then my blog just took a life of it's own and grew into a new road of adventure, making new friends and learning ever so much along the way.  I just hang on and enjoy this awesome ride!

A Belated Weekend Update

I know, I know. All of the "what I did on my 3-day weekend" posts have already been posted. Except mine. Because I'm actually trying to not procrastinate my school work for once, and so my blog is suffering.

Anyways...

I got to see The Phantom of the Opera on Friday night! It was awesome!!!! And it was a BYU production. My college is just that cool. Two things: first, the guy who played Phantom should just hurry up and go to Broadway already. His voice is amazing. Second, the guy who played Raoul (I'm friends with him!) is sooooo short, but he is so good at hiding his Australian accent. You couldn't even tell he's an Aussie. Honestly.

The 3-day weekend was also filled with two baby showers, one of which was for my sister-in-law! She's due in a little over a month. I'm going to be an auntie! I cannot wait to meet my first nephew.

Also... owl-themed baby showers? So cute!

There was a make-your-own Cafe Rio chicken salad bar.
For those of you who don't live in Utah and have never tasted Cafe Rio... I pity you.
Their dressing is amazing.
I was one happy auntie-to-be.

It was a busy, busy Saturday... and a very busy Monday filled with rehearsals for the play I am stage manager for... but it was still an enjoyable 3-day weekend.

New goal: Don't neglect my blog so much.

Me an' My Blog

Yeah, I'm still here. And I'm still freezing. But hey, I'd rather look at snow than at dead, barren trees and grass-less ground. Yeah, I prefer the snow.

In the meantime... I have some new followers, and I was recently tagged in a "confessions of a blogger" post, so I figured it would be a good way for new readers to learn a bit about me and my blog. *WARNING this post is as little lengthy. Just saying. So here... we... go!



1) When did you start your blog?
          My first post on this blog was on September 11, 2011.

2) Have you had any past online presence before? (Other blog, youtube, etc...)
          There are a couple videos floating around on Youtube that I show up in. Some are recordings of my high school's production of the Sci-Fi rock musical Starmites. I was a banshee. Yep, you heard me. A full-out Amazonian woman. The other videos are some spoofs of Twilight that a group of us did for our German class in high school. I played the roles of Jessica and Victoria, as well as the role of Jane in our New Moon sequel. (Evidently, my group just liked casting me as the evil vampire each time. Cool.) I also had a blog several years before I started this one that I only posted on three times. Lame, I know.

3) Why did you start a blog?
          Confession time... I started this blog because there was a guy I really liked. And I discovered that he had a blog that he posted on every now and then. That inspired me to start a blog again because if that guy could keep a current blog, then why couldn't I?! Plus... I wanted to have something in common with him. That man is now my husband.

4) When did you become serious about blogging?
          For the first 10 months or so, I only blogged for the sake of blogging. I thought it was fun and a great alternative form of journal-keeping. (Plus, I wanted to impress that dang boy...) I was serious about blogging, but only in a personal sense. Then, around the end of July 2012, I told myself "Hey, why don't you push your blog out into the public world?" And so I gave my blog a little makeover so that it looked more presentable and gave it a push. And... look at it now! Half a year later... almost 400 followers!

5) What was your first post?
          Basically, I just talked about my decision to jump on the blogging train. I know... exciting, right?

6) What has been your biggest challenge about blogging?
          I have to keep reminding myself to stay true to myself. I started this blog because I was excited about it and I want to blog for me. I need to keep telling myself to always blog because I love it and not because I feel like my readers expect me to post something. If you don't like what I post about and think I'm boring, then you don't have to keep reading. I just don't want to lose sight of my love for blogging and write posts just because I think people will like it and just because I want more people to follow my blog. That's not what blogging is about (and that's also why I stopped doing ad swaps and whatnot).

7) Where do you see your blog in 1 year?
          It will definitely look different. This baby is overdue for another makeover, and I'll give it one once I have the time to sit down and do it. I also hope that I will have a readership that likes reading my blog because I enjoy writing it. Once again, this applies to what I said in question 6. I want my blog to be something I've enjoyed creating and posting on.

8) What is the most rewarding thing to you about blogging?
          I have kept an up-to-date journal since 5th grade. One of the reasons that I like blogging so much is that I can record my thoughts, experiences, memories, etc. in a way that is so much more creative and fun that a simple journal. There are just so many more doors open to you with a blog! Also, I like seeing my readership grow and knowing that people are interested in my weird life and in what I have to say, even if they are irregular readers.

9) What is the most discouraging thing that happens to you?
          It's a tie between writer's block and meeting those "fake" bloggers. And when I say fake, I don't mean  pretenders. I'm talking about the people who just blog because they want to have more followers than anyone else. They go around to everyone's blog and ask them "Will you please follow me?" and then don't even bother to get to know you, read your blog, or network. It's all about the numbers for them. I went through a phase like that, but stopped once I realized that it wasn't the best method. If I want people to read what I have to say, then I have to be willing to read their blogs and get to know them. I could go on and on about this, so I'll stop. And writer's block is pretty self-explanatory, right? We all experience it. So frustrating.

10) What's your lasting inspiration or motivation?
          There are a few choice blogs that I stalk on a very regular basis. I love these blogs because their writers are so down-to-earth and real. They blog about what matters to them, and they don't put on a false image. Their blogs are simple and tasteful. Not a lot of clutter and ads on the side, not too much color. When I read these blogs, it reminds me that I can create something beautiful on my blog too. I just forget that too often and focus more on trying to impress my readers. These blogs have a large readership, and it's not because they go out of their way to find followers. It's because they just be themselves, and that attracts readers like flowers attract bees. I love reading and getting inspiration/motivation from what they are able to do with their blogs. Maybe, with a little practice, I can create a blog work-of-art like they have.

Thanks for the tag, Meghan.

When Temperatures Drop

Dear Provo,

I do not like it when the temperature drops below 0 degrees. However, I love love love all the pretty snow. Is there any way that we can compromise? I don't like having my nose turn as red as Rudolph's and my cheeks get all numb, but I love living in a winter wonderland. Dilemma.

As long as I have my fuzzy warm winter clothes and a full stock of hot chocolate, then I guess I can survive. Besides... it's too much fun trying to push my husband in the snow to really care about the temperature. (And when I say "trying" I mean pushing him and then having him grab me and push me instead. Sometimes I can pull him down with me though! But not always...) Oh, and I must say that I love listening to the bell tower in the evenings. Those chimes + snow + hubby = happiness! Thank you BYU for having so many people who are awesome at music!

Via

So, Provo, I guess we're at a cease-fire for now. Since it's the weekend, I'm fine with the cold because I can stay inside where it's warm. But... once Monday comes again, make sure to save all the cold wind and heavy snow for when I'm inside. Not when I'm walking to school. Okay? Thanks!

GNO: Cupcake Dates

School started again today. Recently, I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with school, but I do believe that this semester will be much more enjoyable than the past semester (even though it will be more busy).

But for the moment, I don't want to talk about school.

Over the weekend, I went on a little GNO with this cute (former) roommate of mine. We went to The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe... because who doesn't like gourmet cupcakes and Mexican Hot Chocolate when it's 10 degrees F outside?

She's cute, just precious, even though every dang picture I took of her turned out pixel-y-ish. Yes, that's a word..........

This was supposed to be a (very) belated birthday outing, but she got engaged recently, so it was more of a "happy engagement!" celebration. Most of our time at the Cafe was filled with engagement stories, wedding talk, and commenting on how the lights in the building made our rings super sparkly.

Behold, the Phat Monkey cupcake. I bought it for two reasons: 1) It tastes amazing, and 2) it's called Phat Monkey. The name alone makes it worthy of consumption.

I spent another couple hours back at her apartment talking with her and my other cute (former) roommate whom I took on a very similar cupcake date back on her birthday.
And we ate homemade cheese dip and pretzel bites right out of the oven.
Because a big, fat cupcake and yummy hot chocolate wasn't enough for one night.

Lesson to be learned? Marriage is amazing and I loooooove spending time with Doug... but sometimes, a little bit of girl time is wonderful! (Doug... don't let me forget that, okay? Because I can be a little reclusive. Okay. Thanks.)

Um... since when is it 2013?!

Is it just me, or did 2012 seem to just fly by? At the same time, I must admit that there were some parts of the year that seemed to go very, very slowly.

For example: being engaged was torture. The wedding seemed ages away! I thought the day would never come. Not to mention that I didn't even see my fiance for a whole month prior to the wedding week, which isn't that long when you compare it to how long other people have to wait (think of guys in the military) but still... it seemed long to me! But the day finally came, and it was definitely the highlight of the year.

My sister-in-law had a New Year's Eve party at her house, and we literally spent half the time playing this game that she, my husband, and their siblings made up when they were young. All the lights in the house are turned off and the person with the pillow is "it". Everyone else has to avoid getting hit with the pillow. If you're touching hardwood floor, you are not safe and can get whacked by the pillow. Everywhere else is safe. You have to try to sneak from safe spot to safe spot without getting hit. We were having tons of fun... Were we all adults? Yes. Did we have any alcohol? Not one drop. It just goes to show that you don't need to drink to have a ridiculously good time at a party!

At midnight, we were out in the snow yelling, banging pots and pans together, and drinking sparkling cider. You can't ring in the new year without making a bunch of noise, after all!

Me an' my forehead wrinkles...

Dear 2013,
You have a lot to live up to. 2012 was a pretty amazing year, but I'm confident that you can be an even more amazing year than 2012 ever was! Oh, and I still owe you some resolutions. We can't have a better year than 2012 without making some goals, right? So let's get started, shall we? Here's to a new year!