the most important lesson i've learned in my four years at an accredited university is that you should always buy your books on amazon

to say i did not cry in the byu bookstore today would be the truth.

to say i did not pause to pretend i was texting while i regained my composure is a different story.

i just hope that they enjoy the eighty-five dollars they are keeping from me, while i enjoy yet another dinner of canned kidney beans, because i cannot afford groceries right now, and recently discovered allergy-induced exclusions from my dietary habits preclude me from eating ramen.

(was that the most collegiate sentence you've ever heard?)



the second most important lesson i've learned here is that the size of my age is inversely proportionate to the caliber of my social skills.

and also that i suck at math.

i wanna be, wanna be, wanna be jim morrison

I spent $45 at DI the other day.

Yes, I have a problem.

But I wanted to do a picture frame project, and then I found some shoes, and then some glorious pillows! AND THEN... the call of the outdoor section was too strong, and i found myself toting around some very hideous chairs that I tried -- guys, I TRIED -- to resist the call of, but their power was too strong and.

anyway.

Mallory couldn't believe it. 

"Aren't they beautiful?"

"........no."

But I had vision. And here they are today:

Unfortunately I didn't really invest myself in trying to get fancy with my iPhotography.. sorry for the shitty quality.

BUT! Cute, right?

They don't actually really fit in my apartment, so things are starting to feel a little cramped. Damn me and my need to save beautiful, unwanted furniture!

Also, my walls are so drab. And I'm renting, so I can't really do anything about it.

But I saw shiny duct tape at WalMart and I KNEW there had to be a use for it.

Chevron wall treatment!

This picture doesn't do it justice. It also doesn't convey the amount of time and tears that went into this project. I was going to do chevron down the walls, which then turned into huge diamonds down the walls, but due to a lack of rulers in my house, it was just a hot mess that drove my OCD insane. I left a half-finished disaster up for a few days and just avoided that part of my house. Too stressful.

Finally, during a much-needed post-finals night alone, I buckled down and just did it. I had to use a note pad for measurements and a steak knife for cutting (my scissors really hate duct tape.) It's not absolutely perfect, but it's miles better than my first few attempts, and it really adds dimension to the room.

or some other cliche interior designer thing.

this is a(n extra extra long) story about how my table came to be.

and the award for trashiest new years house party goes to...

ME!!!!!!!!!!

and it really was just the trashiest thing you ever did see.

like, i even had to break up a fight at one point.

but i feel like a really trashy house party is a requisite for your first real place. i'm glad i got it out of the way early, while i don't really have any furniture to break.

AND-- it was so much fun!

i've always hated new years, and had really low expectations for it. i figured things wouldn't be any different this year when my plans fell through early in the day. but there seemed to be a lot of people who didn't have any specific plans who just wanted to get really, really drunk, and somehow we all found each other.

and we had a freaking blast.

i kept meaning to take pictures (because i never take pictures anymore) but i was having far too much fun to worry about it. also, i lost my phone ten hundred million times. probably a good thing, too, because i only inappropriately texted about 5 people. i almost took a picture of the aftermath, but i don't want you to judge me.

anyway, i didn't make any resolutions or anything. i don't want to. because here's the thing-- i'm already working super hard toward self improvement and personal growth and all of that. i already know the things i want and need to do in order to get to a place where i want and need to be.

and things are really coming together for me. i have a car that i LOVE that doesn't require very expensive maintenance every two and a half seconds; i have my very own apartment that's just humble and (for now) very empty, but it's my very own; i'm getting back into school; i have a full time job with full health and dental insurance; i have-albeit very, very few-some really good friends.

i have a great feeling about 2012.

and you know?

i think it has a great feeling about me.

this sweet thing is my new baby. 

it's the only thing i wanted (besides my apartment, which i'm getting into this weekend. merry christmas to me!!!!!!) and i couldn't be more ecstatic. 

but. here's the thing. 

i don't really play that well. 

correction - i don't really play. 

i can pluck out house of the rising sun by the animals and wonder wall by oasis (because i'm pretty sure it's a requisite to learning the guitar) and that's pretty much it. 

but my one and only love in life is music. hearing music and having music and making music and being music. it's just what i do. 

not in front of people. i'm not my sister, mind you. 

anyway, i miss the piano. every day, as i lay my body to rest, my fingers ache of loneliness. but since i'm in the nomadic phase of my life, slash since my new little apartment is barely big enough for just me and all my shit,* slash since i'm way poor, a piano is just out of the picture for me for the next little while. 

but my body must make music, so my cousin, who is amazinnnngggg at the guitar, is going to start giving me lessons so i don't have to just play adele's someone like you over and over and over. 

anyway. 

that's what i got for christmas. thank you, santa. 

*moving, which involves packing and lugging and lifting, etc., always makes me realize how much freaking shit i have. really?! 

**in other news, a few of my friends have recently gotten married and have non-returnable extras of almost everything , so i am the proud owner of a new griddle, spice rack, and silverware set. thank god for utah and terribly young marriages, right?

stress

i have been incredibly stressed out lately. last week, i totally dropped the blogging-ball because i just had no time.

by the end of the week, i was grateful for every blink because it was like a micro-nap, and i just desperately needed some sleep.

but i wanted to tell you some secrets i discovered in dealing with stress. feel free to pitch in in the comments--i need all the help i can get!

life's always an adventure when you drive a shitty car

my radiator overheated and shut my car down on the freeway exit this morning on my way to work.

at least it didn't shut down on the freeway, right?

a nice man in an army uniform stopped to help me.

he basically told me i needed a new car.




so that's what we're looking into now.