i'm not getting married, but . . .

. . . i was doing some spring cleaning today on my computer, browsing through my files of photos i've grabbed from various websites and stumbled across this post from alyson at unruly things and remembered how in love i am with her ring.

quick detour/explanation: in college, when girls would look at rings and proclaim "this is the one i want" and say it loudly enough for all roommates to hear so that future fiances could be steered in the appropriate direction, i never had that moment. nothing ever won me over. this might have been a little bit because after seeing "Blood Diamond," the traditional diamond solitaire felt inappropriate. i eventually decided i was probably more of a pearl person, but i still wasn't super in love with the idea.

back to alyson's post. seeing how stunning a nontraditional engagement ring can be inspired me to do a little searching and find some "this is so me" options.



[alyson's ring. the hammered gold band, the smoky grey stone? sigh.]


[grey diamond ring from erie basin.com]


[black diamond ring from melissajoymanning.com]


now, who knows? by the time my opinion on engagement rings actually matters, i will have probably changed my mind three more times. but at least i know what i want today. that's worth mentioning.

i made it!

so my first solo road trip went down without a hitch. my road trip mix was great, i listened to this fun audiobook . . .



. . . and ate these delicious snacks.


i split up the trip into two days so that i wouldn't get too tired and it was perfect.

the first few days in provo were beautiful. pretty sure it was at least 80 and when i drove with the windows down to supertarget [best. store. ever.] i got a few more freckles. best trip already right there.

then i decided that since i was in the land of beauty schools and everyone worth seeing was finishing finals i should spend a few hours at paul mitchell and dye my hair. this time i did a dark purpleish black color that i love and looks really cool in the sun. and it was only $30. why don't i live in utah again?

in between packing up everything my sister owns, including the worlds' largest sweatshirt collection, i got to see some of my favorite people.


me and mckenna l. after lunch at guru's.


me and mckenna c. thanks for the photoshoot, chris!
[one can never have too many friends named mckenna]


on my way home, i stopped in boise and got to hang out with this guy . . .




. . . and baked the ugliest cake i will ever admit to making. but we learned an important lesson on patience with bundt cakes. good thing rainbow chip frosting was there to save the day.



now i'm drowning in laundry and trying to catch up on tv [project runway finale!] and my too-big stack of books from the library. good to be back home.

hello again and a request

well it's been a crazy two weeks of nannying all day and i'm just now getting around to emails, laundry and getting more than 6 hours of sleep.

but on to the fun stuff . . . i'm taking a road trip! i'm headed down to utah to pick up my sister from college and i couldn't be more excited. beautiful weather, catching up with friends, and hopefully sneaking in some shopping and good eats while helping my sister pack up. i've never driven on a road trip by myself before but i think it's going to be great. i just need a little help figuring out what to listen to on loooong drive. i have a few good audiobooks that i haven't got around to listening to yet, but i need some fun songs to keep me entertained. any good ideas?


my sister Lindsay and I (the only one I could find of us in a car, circa 2007?)