a year ago today

i had a facebook status that said

"peacing out to jerusalem to have an excellent adventure! shalom!"

i can not believe it has already been a year- the time has just flown by! it is fun to think of myself at the airport boarding the plane and have not a single clue that i was in for the. best. time. of. my. life. honestly i could go on and on and on and on about how life changing, meaningful, wonderful and precious my time in Israel was.

a member of the First Presidency said that accepting to go on this study aboard to the Holy Land is not only a privilege but a responsibility. the students who get to go now have an obligation to be changed forever and to come home and change others. we are to share what we have learned and give back what we have been given- a strengthened testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ.

as i compare myself today to the person i was then i sincerely hope that i have changed for the better. i feel like i have grown but i always want to make sure that the changes that happened in Jerusalem never disappear from my heart.

mrs. crane

yesterday my lovely best friend Lindsay
said goodbye to her last name of Chriss and hello to her new last name of Crane.

i was lucky enough to be her Maid of Honor and be apart of their happy day.
they were married in the Salt Lake Temple and they just beamed the whole day!
it meant so much for them to be sealed in the House of the Lord


the day started off for me at 6:00 am (and ended past midnight after packing and cleaning up, but so worth it. i had so much fun!)
i literally rolled out of bed and drove over to Lindsay's. i did her hair and makeup and off she went to the Temple!
i hurried and ran home, showered, got ready and zipped over to the Temple to greet them coming outside. don't they look like a princess and prince- especially with his uniform?

seeing her married for the first time

after they came out we had big group pictures on the Temple Steps. while the rest of the party when back to get ready for the Luncheon, Lisa and I (Lindsay's mom) went around with the couple to help with more pictures.
i mainly fixed her train and kept her hydrated.
we had tons of people stop and watch them take pictures. it isn't often you see a Marine as a groom, he looked awesome.
at one point I ducked into the Lion House to buy rolls and a slice of chocolate cake to give us all a boost. it is amazing how much better we all felt after carbs and chocolate
then we had a yummy luncheon where I had to give a toast, I mainly just cried during it.
I am just so proud of Lindsay and so excited for her.
After their honeymoon to San Fran the couple moves to California where Michael is stationed.

the ring ceremony and reception was at Le Jardin. It was gorgeous!
it was a magical garden with delicious food and an awesome photo booth.

their gorgeous cake

mother of the bride Lisa

best friends (katie is getting married in October!)

i love these dolls!

first dance (not to toot my own horn, but i am lovin her hair haha)

marine girls

it was such a great day and just so wonderful.
i really love Lindsay, we have had so many amazing times together.
i felt so lucky to have been there for her on the best day of her life.
all the guests kept saying they have never seen a couple so in love and just glowing.
Congratulations Mrs. Lindsay Crane!
xoxoxo

farmer's market

the family on a summer outing

and so it begins

yesterday my best friend Carly Flamm became Carly Weller.

Everything about her wedding was beautiful.

She was an amazing bride.
I wouldn't be able to describe it all so I won't try but it was a wonderful thing to see her so happy and just glowing. congrats Carlsbad!
i love you.
xoxoxo

also Carly is the first of my closest friends to get married and starts off a whole chain of weddings
so definitely to be continued....

jason!

do "pressure baby!"

this is my favorite trick of his.

tea party

today i put on my hostess apron again and threw a bridal shower for my adorable best friend Lindsay. she is getting married in 9 days! this is so exciting!

i am so happy to be her maid of honor.

she is going to be a gorgeous bride!

this time i did a theme of a tea party

here is the back patio where we had it.

i decorated with lanterns, roses, daisies,

white doilies strung up and teacups filled with candy or flowers

teacups with candy and flowers

we served quiche, pumpkin banana muffins, cinnamon rolls and fruit kabobs

some doilies leading to the backyard

white popcorn for party favors

more decorations for what my mom called "little visual stimulations"

it was quite lovely.

cheerio!

1 day of summer

I ALMOST MET MY HUSBAND... TWICE!

so since i am living the easy life these days {aka no school OR work} i have the time to run errands that i never seem to get done.

this is the first time EVER in my life where I haven't been working or going to school or both.

let me tell you- it. is. a. dream.

i am getting spoiled beyond belief here.

usually i can not wait to get back to school because i am so sick of work, but without horrible work to promote my yearning for Provo, i don't want school to start this year.

at first i thought i would get bored but with 5 weddings this month of my friends - two of which i am helping out with, {maid of honor duties are actually really fun ps}

i have fun creative things to keep me busy.

and if you know me, you know i love a good art project.

and at one point i seriously considered being a wedding planner.

for instance i am cutting seat covers out of tulle for one of my bride's sister's wedding.

{my bestie's sister gets married a month before her so i am helping with that one too}

i am also throwing another bridal shower this saturday so i am going to dust off my hosting apron once again.

anyways today i was running around and at one point i was at fashion place mall.

i fixed my phone, let Sephora rob me for eyeshadow and dress shopped for Katie's wedding.

at one point i realized it was lunch time.

i was hungry and decided to eat lunch at the Corner Bakery.

as i walked in i was thinking i was just going to get it to go but realized i was headed downtown from here for another errand. so i wouldn't be able to eat it in the car and didn't want to wait till after to eat it when it is cold.

so when the cashier said "is this to stay or to go?"

i did something brave and something i have never done before.

i said "to stay."

that's right- i had lunch by myself. i ate alone at a restaurant.

as i sat down to eat my chicken carbarna i realized that i even had my book with me.

sometimes i like to pull a Rory Gilmore by always having a book on hand.

i felt very classy/movie-esque/confident.

and surprising not shy, pitiful or depressed.

i think it helped that i was really feeling my outfit.

i quite enjoyed my pasta paired with Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway

as i read and ate i felt someone looking at me.

i looked over at the table next to me and these two guys were eating.

you could tell that they were on a lunch break from work.

they had on business causal clothes on.

plus what two guys do you know that meet up for lunch to catch up with a friend?

that is such a girl thing to do. they were on lunch break for sure.

they were late 20's maybe 30.

then one of the guys kept looking at me for so long my eyes couldn't help but flash over and i totally caught him. awkward! but i couldn't help it- it is a reflex to look at the person looking at you!

i was determined not to do it again

but 10 mins later i checked to see if he was looking again and he was.

woof.

i couldn't tell if he was checkin' me out or staring like who is this sad little girl eating all by herself.

well its not like i sat by them on purpose, i just sat down at a small empty table.

soon i couldn't take it anymore so i got a to-go box and peaced out.

i guess my self confidence comes with an expiration date in situations like this.

MAIN POINT OF THIS LONG STUPID POST:

i almost had a 500 Days of Summer moment.

remember in the end she tells her ex bf how she met her new husband?

she was eating lunch and reading A Picture of Dorian Gray and her future husband came up and asked her about it.

well change it to Virginia Woolf instead of Oscar Wilde and the girl staying instead of dashing out then it could have been me.

i could have met my future husband today.

too bad i didn't stick around enough to let him come up to me.

but then again i am only 20 - so self preservation or self destruction.

meh.

c'est la vie.

i also hung out two nights in a row with 7 European men who are all in medical school.

we are talking Danes and Austrians here people.

my two favorite words- European and medical students.

hello!

my husband could have been in that group too.