day thirty-one: #bedm comes to an end

i did it.

i posted every freakin' day in may.

 you guys must be oh so proud of me... even if some of the content sucked.

 

here are some of my favorite posts that resulted from this challenge:

 

day six: some soul searching.

day fourteen: disneyland pictures.

day nineteen: my besties.

day twenty-four: meet zach sobiech.

 

 

also, i started a series. yeah, bet you didn't know that since i didn't really point it out. it's called #typethenthink and i post every thursday. you can see those here, here, and here.

Sparks

I have a hard time claiming my feelings. I convince myself they're meaningless, simply made up in the corners of my mind.

How horrible to make fire into flames and flames into sparks.

But I don't like being moved by someone else. I don't like them to be in control of my feelings.

My hands shake. my head spins. And I can't stop it.

So I smother the flames into merely sparks stored in the recesses of my mind.

My heart may attempt to carry me to you, but I'm good at running the other way.

i love you costa vida

welcome to my night.

 i also ate at costa vida for the first time last night. all i can say is: amazing. their pulled pork tacos are my new favorite thing, especially at a buck fifty a piece.

 

tonight i'm going to get my country on at twelve west, the best place to cling to my small town roots with some country dancing.

 

you should come.

Pop-Up Shop at West Elm

It's getting real guys. The Etsy pop-up shop at West Elm Scottsdale is this Saturday! I went to the store today to get my bearings, see where I was going to set-up, etc. I felt a little overwhelmed because West Elm is pretty dang fancy. I might be a little out of my element, but I am super excited.

RSVP t

in case you were wondering...

Here's an exclusive inside look at my phone. Ooh, ahhh. You get to creep on me with my permission. Everyone's dream, I know.

 my wallpaper /// shortcuts on my homescreen

I'm addicted to snapchat /// fantastic snapchat doodled by hannah.

some of the pictures on my phone /// I'm also addicted to Instagram.

 people I've texted in the last 24 hours /// hilarious convos with hannah.



Why I'm Not A Fashion Blogger

I believe these pictures are enough evidence of why I'm not a fashion blogger.

Let me stand here awkwardly. Also, Harley, please be in my picture.



Extreme close-up of my nose?

I'm pretty sure this is my come hither look. No wonder I'm single.

Unless I get myself a professional photographer, I think I'll avoid fashion posts.

sorry not sorry

sometimes boys take me to abandoned freeways and we cover the whole thing in chalk drawings. sometimes we stay up until we realize it's five in the morning. sometimes i'm really tired and have nothing to post about. sometimes i'm in the middle of #bedm so i have to come up with this lame excuse of a post.

 

 

hope everyone is having a great memorial day weekend!

live today

i came across this video yesterday and it moved me, i mean really moved me. i can be a bit emotional at times (see: always. also: biggest cry baby ever.) so believe me when i say i was a wreck by the time it was over. please watch it in it's entirety. you won't be sorry.

it made me think of this quote by elder utchdorf:



source via alicia on pinterest



also read this post for more on living a full life.

ps- last day to enter the june sponsor giveaway.

Drawn to the Flame

I've heard we want what's bad for us.

Just like a candle. It's purpose is in vain unless a spark gives it life. A candle yearns for a flame, yet once lit, it slowly melts into a puddle of wax. What it needs to meet it's objective, the very reason why the candle was made, will ultimately bring it to it's demise. I tell myself it will be different, that I won't let myself slowly burn out.

I've also heard we want what we can't have.

Something just out of reach seems so much more alluring than when it's simply put in our lap to enjoy. I watch as I am so close to grasping what I want, but it slips through my fingers every time. Do I realize my attempts are in vain and give up? No, instead my desire for it grows. So I'll keep clenching my hand around thin air.

Where I'm From

Mesa, AZ 1991: A dusty white mobile home sits behind my grandpa's house. It's my first home, where my childhood began.

My older brother and me on my birthday. Circa 1993.

Mesa, AZ 1994: I move to the house on Princess Street. I start school while living here. Bus rides home is what I remember most.



Holding my little brother. Circa 1996.

Mesa, AZ 1998: Omega Drive is a house my parents had built from the ground up. I would spend my summer complaining about how hot it was until my mom would turn on the sprinklers in the backyard. I would run back and forth as the water cast rainbows across my small oasis.

Me with my brothers and some of my cousins. Circa 1999.

Show Low, AZ 2000: I leave the desert and head to the mountains. We live in a rental home in a country club. It was my first winter with snow and we had the best hills in town right in our backyard.

Lakeside, AZ 2001: We move to a more permanent location. We had to evacuate this home twice because of wildfires. As siblings, we bonded the most while living here.

Saint Johns, AZ 2004: Because of my dad's job, we move to Lyman Llake, a state park outside of Saint Johns. Hiking, swimming, and exploring ensue.

Saint Johns, AZ 2005: We move to town into the house that I consider my home. My high school memories are made while living here.

Mesa, AZ 2010: I graduate and start my life. And in starting my life, I mean moving in with Grandma until I can find a place of my own.

Mesa, AZ 2010: My first apartment. My older brother is my new roommate. Changes are rampant.

Mesa, AZ 2012: I decide to venture completely on my own. with, of course, Harley. A small studio apartment is mine. I have fun making it my own, but miss having other's around.

Chandler, AZ 2013: I haven't moved in yet, but in July, Chandler will be my new home. Liz, Jennifer, and me will be living in an actual house and plenty of adventures are expected in the future.

PS- My childhood was awesome.

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So this post may or may not have turned out differently than I planned. I'm trying to write down a little bit of my history, but it's super hard. Hopefully when I do more of my personal history, they'll turn out a bit better.

On another note, I went on a super fun date last night. Dirt roads, four-wheel drive, an amazing view, great company, dancing in the middle of the desert, passing around a guitar in our little cumbia circle. I like a good, small-town-feel date. It's my kind of thing.

santa monica beach

i was a little excited to be going to the beach.

 

what a gorgeous view, am i right?

 

no, i'm not tanning. i literally passed out for a two hour nap on the beach.

 

 

 

you can see my disneyland pictures here and my morning spent looking at temples in california here.

 

 

ps- make sure to enter the giveaway. only 4 days left.

az blogger meetup

i have pictures! i know, you're so excited. without further ado, the az blogger meetup...
 

all the lovely bloggers.

we had a fantastic venue. via



via

 

a big thanks to meghan, katie, and camille for putting it all together.

 

hannah just started a cooking blog. she is amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

all photos (unless otherwised sourced) came from these two. they were the sweetest. check out j&l photos!



you can see more photos on instagram at #azbloggermeetup. via

day nineteen: friends

meet my best friends:

 

numero uno is jenna.

jenna has always been my bestie. she's now married and extremely prego, but even though our lives are at different points, we're still close friends. she even let's me crash at her house when i go to saint johns. i'm anxiously counting down the days until little tycie shea will join her family (june 17th can't come fast enough).

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number two is hannah.

let me start off by saying hannah is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. she will do just about anything for you. and that's why i love her so. also because we plan to grow old and become crazy cat ladies together. my life wouldn't be the same without my dear hannah.

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number three is liz.

this girl is hilarious. she's always the life of the party. i mostly keep her around to entertain me. and we're going to rent a house together... so she can entertain me at all time. i love this girl.

 

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i'm so lucky to have these three in my life as well as so many other good friends and examples. they make me better and i'm so happy that they put up with me.

 

sometimes i feel like a tortoise on a turntable

 

guess how much sleep i got last night. go ahead, just guess.

if you guessed three hours, you were right.

 

the four nights before that, i got a whopping five.

 

my evening doesn't look like it will be over tonight until the wee hours of the morning.

 

i'm not sure having a social life is worth not sleeping... because i really like to sleep.

having friends is totally overrated.

newport beach and la temple

after we visited disneyland on friday, we decided to swing by both the newport beach temple and the la temple before we hit the beach on saturday. it was my first time seeing either so it was a real treat.

newport beach temple

 

 

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los angeles temple