no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here

February 4th, 2017. Another weekend, another march. Has it really only been 15 days? 

Saturday was a sunny, warm, and beautiful day in Salt Lake City. The perfect conditions to march with thousands of other Utahns. This was the first march I was able to attend in the series of marches over the past two weekends. I desperately wanted to attend the march in Park City on what should now be considered a holiday (International Women's March Day, January 21st...who's with me?!), but unfortunately the snowy weather was so bad I couldn't make it up to Park City to participate. I am so glad I had the opportunity to come out for this one though! Although we got to the party a little late (hence the sparse crowds in some of these pictures), I still managed to hear some inspiring speeches, read some truly hilariously clever signs, meet some lovely people, and feel an overwhelming sense of love and community with my fellow Americans. 

See more at: #utahmarchforrefugees

a beautiful sea.

This past Saturday was one of my favorite Saturdays in a while. A few months ago, Drew and I made a day date out of driving up to Salt Lake City to see a double feature at the Broadway, an independent film theater that is part of the Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS). We are big supporters of the SLFS and love that we get the treat to see some great indie flicks that don't always make it down to Provo. We figured we'd have to do it again once all of the Sundance favorites began trickling into select theaters. So on Saturday, we did just that! The day started with Sing Street, then we tried out the new Nordstrom Grill for dinner, finishing off with a late night viewing of Swiss Army Man. I'm still thinking about both movies, so I felt the need to share the goodness over here!

Sing Street is officially my new favorite movie of 2016. It's the kind of movie I could watch over and over again, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy it. It's the perfect amount of happy sad. The characters are lovable and hilarious: teenage boys without the teenage angst, who would do anything for their ~art~. And don't even get me started on the music here. When we discussed the movie over dinner, Drew said that it was exactly the kind of movie he wants to make one day. He's always said that if (when!!) he makes a movie, he wants it to be either set in the 80's, or have a score of all 80's music. I've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop since Saturday. The songs that weren't originally written for the movie (all of which are brilliant and incredibly catchy) include the hits of Duran Duran, A-ha, The Cure, and more. What's not to love?? I can't rave about this movie enough! So go watch it now!

"Maybe you're living in my world. I'm not living in yours. You're just material for my songs." 

-Cosmo

 "The problem is, you're not being happy sad. That's what love is, Cosmo. Happy sad." -Raphina

Swiss Army Man was a totally different story. I hesitate to recommend this to everyone because it caused quite the stir at the Sundance premiere, with several people actually walking out of the theater throughout the movie. So yes, it's weird. It's downright disgusting at times. But it's also tender, beautiful, and magical. In summary, Daniel Radcliffe's lifeless body brings Paul Dano's character, a suicidal castaway, back to life. It's unlike anything I've ever seen, and most people agree that it's impossible to categorize. It's a heartwarming story of life and friendship, told in the most imaginative, demented, and visionary way possible. Again, the music is what's really selling it to me! The story dips in tandem with the phenomenal compositions by Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, with Paul and Daniel helping along with the sound effects in the most hilarious ways. It's the kind of movie that you still think about and talk about with those who watched it with you. So please, if you do venture to see this, let's discuss!

Manny: "You want to go home so you can have love, but you ran away because nobody loves you."

Hank: "Shut up! You can't just say everything that comes into your head, that's bad talking!"

"Before the Internet every girl was a lot more special." -Hank

"If my best friend hides his farts from me then what else is he hiding from me, and why does that make me feel so alone?" -Manny

^^the kind of disturbing yet real questions that really make you think !

Both soundtracks are now on Spotify so I recommend that you 1. Go watch both movies and then 2. Proceed to listen to the soundtracks for a good time! 

I love movies and I love the SLFS so much. I owe it to the fact that I married a huge film buff who has given me an even greater appreciation for the art of filmmaking. I'm trying to make this a thing to write more movie reviews on here, so we'll see how it goes!

come listen to a prophet's voice

This past weekend I had the always wonderful opportunity to listen to and attend the 185th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I saw and heard our beloved prophet and apostles give their powerful messages over the pulpit. Social media flooded with quotes from every single talk, the hashtag #ldsconf was trending worldwide, and thousands of members paid homage to Mecca aka Temple Square to gather and watch conference together. As hard as it is to narrow down everything that I learned from conference and which of the talks I heard were my favorite, the topic that is still on my mind is one that actually came from a blog post I stumbled upon at the conclusion of the weekend. Greg Trimble's post entitled: "President Monson...I Wish I Could Have Come and Held You Up" caught my attention. My exact thoughts were written so eloquently, you might as well just go and read it HERE. 

One of the talks that had a similar and equally powerful message was by Elder David A. Bednar, who explained why "indeed it is wonderful to have older men of such spiritual maturity and judgement serving in the senior leadership positions of the restored church of Jesus Christ." Over the years, there has been a lot of criticism concerning the leaders of our church, and how it seems to be run by 'old men.' Elder Bednar makes so many valid points about this, and you can hear all of them HERE.

What I'm getting at with this article and this talk is that these men have been called of God. We need to remember that there is a reason they are seated on the stand, and as faithful members of the church, we should love them, sustain them, and pray for them. What made me the saddest after reading that article and listening to Elder Bednar's talk was thinking about all the people who openly criticize these leaders, whether it be through social media, or attending conference and opposing these kind and gentle old men in person as they raise their hands in opposition. People need to realize what it actually means to be a general authority of the church. Not that I have any experience, but there is nothing glamorous about it. They travel the world for most of the year and live in hotel rooms more than their actual home. They leave their wives and families to visit with members, leaders, and missionaries from around the world, all of which look to them for spiritual guidance and knowledge. Once you are called as an apostle, you are dedicating the remainder of your life to serving the church.

President Thomas S. Monson was called as an apostle at the age of 36. That means that for over 50 years, he has been in a leadership position of a global church with over 15 million members. I think we all could see how much this calling has aged him and worn him out as our hearts broke watching him struggle just to speak on the podium this past weekend. Can you even imagine the burdens he faces on a regular day? Just consider what he has gone through in the recent past: his beloved wife Frances died leaving him a widow, he's had to call upon new apostles as three of his dear friends passed away in a matter of months, he stands back and watches the deteriorating morals of society effecting the members of the church, and on top of that, as president of the church, millions are looking to him for comfort and to lift their spirits, when I think sometimes he needs it most of all.

I have a testimony of a living prophet in our church. I believe that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today, and God speaks through him, and through his counselors and apostles to address the world with His message. D&C 1:38 states "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."  These amazing men are called of God because they have the maturity, years of experience, and spiritual knowledge that only someone of their age posseses. As much backlash our church gets for having these men in leadership positions, I know they are the best men for the job. I look forward to hearing them speak every six months, and I am grateful for the sacrifices that they and their families make for the well-being of the members around the world.

I know this wasn't like anything that I normally post on here, but I definitely do not share my testimony as much as I should, and I am trying to improve on that! I just want someone (out of the five of you readers) to know that I do love this Gospel and it is the biggest blessing in my life. I honestly do not know where I would be without it, or without the counsel, love, and support I receive from my church leaders and teachers. The church is true! Go watch all of conference HERE!

"Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other" 
-Thomas S. Monson

(every)body likes you when you're 23

ANDREW'S BIRTHDAY WEEK 2K14 went a little something like this:

Monday: As one of Drew's birthday presents, I bought us tickets to see First Aid Kit play in Salt Lakc. We went with one of Drew's friends Colin and met up with some other friends at the show as well. This was the ~*dreamiest*~ concert and I loved every second of it. These Swedish sisterly songbirds were absolutely incredible live and I adored everything about their set, from their gold wardrobe to the glittering backdrop. So glam. And what concert would be complete without post-In-N-Out? To ring in Drew's birthday at midnight we of course had to go and sing him happy birthday on the ride home.

Tuesday: Mitt & Ann Romney graced BYU with their presence at our Tuesday devotional. Naturally they came to wish Drew happy birthday. I brought the donuts. Best quote from the devotional? In regards to receiving a lot of advice throughout his campaign: "Someone told me I should go a few days without shaving so that I would look more sexy...as if I needed that." LOL claaaassic Mitt.

Communal is for birthdays. I took Drew out to our favorite restaurant in Provo for a delicious meal and more presents to open. We saved room for Sodalicious and spent the remainder of the evening watching episodes of 'Goosebumps' and then 'The Nightmare before Christmas'. I dk, it was his choice.

Wednesday: Since Andy's birthday was two days after Drew's we decided to host an Andrew Birthday Bash on the day in between their respective days of birth. So on Wednesday night we picked up Chipotle burritos for a birthday dinner, followed by partying with birthday pies and friends. ALSO, that night we posted the full-length promo vid for Provo Yacht Club's launch party. In case I haven't told you about this already, it's a music blog started by Andy and Drew. Not only do they (and other blog contributors, including me) post new music on the site daily, but they will also be hosting a number of dance parties in Provo as well. SO CHECK IT OUT NOW: www.provoyachtclub.com and Facebook for the event info. I promise it's cooler than my blog.

Friday: So Thursday was spent doing all the homework we neglected to do during the week. But on Friday we went to see Vance Joy who put on the most chill show. We met up with a bunch of other people there and enjoyed dancing and singing and meeting new friends. It was the perfect ending to the week. Happy birthday Drew, I'm really glad you were born. Blink 182 is dumb, because EVERYbody likes you when you're 23. Especially me :)  

goodness gracious i can't seem to stop

I think the title of this post encapsulates my attitude toward concerts perfectly (also they're lyrics to one of my favorite Ellie songs so like, duh). Anyone who knows me knows that I prefer to spend my time/money at a concert over most things in life. This past week was one of the happiest I've had in a while because I was lucky enough to attend three concerts by three of my favorites artists of all time. Spring and summer are the most wonderful times of the year not only because they mean no school and warmer weather, but also because summer tours kick off. It just so happened that these three particular tours all stopped in Utah within a week of each other. I'm not even mad. So here's a recap/review!

CHVRCHES- The Depot, Salt Lake City 4/22/14

When I first heard that CHVRCHES were coming to Utah on April 22nd, I had a minor heart attack because it was during finals week so I didn't think I'd be able to go. JOKES of course I still went. It was the last night of finals week so I justified this by making it a goal to finish all finals before the last day so I could party with CHVRCHES! ...That didn't happen either and I still ended up taking a final on that last day, but I did fine and it was still the best way to end the semester. I went with Drew, Desireé, and Andy and we all had a svper fvn time. This was the first show I've been to at The Depot and I loved it! It's small and intimate and the crowd was pretty chill. Lauren Mayberry, the lead singer, is so adorable and actually looks like a 12-year-old girl but she sounded just as good live. Dancing to the sweet synth-pop beats of CHVRCHES was the perfect way to say goodbye to winter semester. PS school's out, scream and shout! I love spring so far because I'm not taking classes and working at my receptionist job for BYU's Evening Classes office full-time. This means reading, snacking, scrolling tumblr, taking trips to the creamery, and occassionally answering phones and filling out excel spreadsheets for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. It rulez and CHVRCHES rulez and everyone should go see them. 

Ingrid Michaelson- In The Venue, Salt Lake City 4/29/14

This was the fourth time I've seen Ingrid in concert because she is one of my all-time favorite artists and I love love love seeing her live. She is so cute, funny and witty and has the voice of an angel. The second time I saw her was in Philly two years ago with Desireé. Desireé's mom drove us both and just waited for us until the concert was done. Sis. Miller is like a second mother to me out here at school and I was so excited that she bought herself a ticket too so she could enjoy the concert with us! She even brought us bags of Cool Ranch Doritos again. (But that's another story you should ask me about if I haven't told you already).We all love Ingrid and she never disappoints. I first fell in love with her when I heard 'Keep Breathing' on an episode of Grey's Anatomy, so that song was definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Her band is all so talented as well and I was a big fan of one of her openers, Storyman. Although Ingrid's sound has changed quite a bit over the years from her first albums, I love her just the same and will continue to see her when she tours again.

Ellie Goulding- The Great Saltair, Magna 5/1/14

This concert and this day will forever be one of my fondest concert memories because it was awesome and insane and perfect. I've said this before but Ellie is my #1 girl crush and I have been looking forward to the next time I would see her since I first saw her last February. I don't think I've been this anxious for a concert since the glory days of my Jonas Brothers obsession. Desireé and I planned on camping out all day long at the venue because we were determined to be front row center for this chick. And we did just that. We were the very first ones in line and I know we're crazy but IT WAS WORTH IT. In fact, the wait wasn't even that bad because it was a beautiful day outside and we made friends with some awesome individuals. Me, Desireé, and four other Ellie-obsessed fans were in line first so we figured we should get to know each other since we would be hanging out for the next seven hours. All of them were concert junkies much like ourselves. Not to mention they were all in high school. Listening to them swap concert stories about all the times they've roadtripped to shows and met bands made me realize how much cooler they were than I ever was in high school. They were all so sweet and I was glad we all made it to the front row for the show together. We even swapped contact info with all of them so I'm sure I'll be seeing them again soon at the Utah concert scene! OH and shortly before doors opened, Desireé and I carried our stuff back to the car and when we did a white van drove right by us and ELLIE GOULDING WAS IN THE BACKSEAT. She's so sneaky and had everyone thinking she arrived in one of the tour buses earlier but NOPE there was no mistaking her. She smiled at us and I'm pretty sure my mouth was agape and I almost dropped everything in my hands. So THAT was amazing and just made me even more excited to watch her perform in a few short hours.

OK SO ABOUT THE CONCERT. Easily in my top five favorites of all time. I was actually terrified once I was at the railing and had flashbacks of how terrible the Saltair was in the past and how rough the crowds got. I imagined myself getting trampled and thought I would probably have a more enjoyable time in the back. OH HOW WRONG I WAS. For future reference, if you are directly against the barrier in the front row, it's not even that bad. If you're toward the front but not quite front row...good luck and godspeed because the people directly behind me were getting the worst of it. Of course there were still moments when I thought my organs were permanently rearranged as I was smushed against the railing, but I've been in worse situations (like the time I had to be lifted up and out of the crowd at Passion Pit because I was scared for my life). So the concert was perfect and I had the best seat in the house. She is so fabulous and FUN. Below I added a video that I took during the concert so you can all witness what an amazing performer she is. Not only her, but her backup singers were flawless and I loved watching them. She had such a long setlist too and I didn't want it to end. When it sadly did, Desiree and I took our exhausted but exhilarated selves to In-n-Out, our post-concert tradition. If you did the math correctly that means YES we went to In-n-Out a total of three times in a matter of nine days. You can judge me because I hate myself too. Our diet starts tomorrow. I can't express how blessed I am to have a friend who is crazy enough to go to all the same concerts, and go to such lengths to make it the best experience for both of us. If it wasn't for her, who even knows if we would have attended the majority of the concerts we've been to together. Love ya Dezmillz. 

Anything Could Happen:

Congratulations if you've made it through this entire post as I gave you the play-by-play of my past week. It was certainly one for the books and I am so grateful I was able to attend these shows with my friends (and made some new friends in the process!) I've had the best time and I cannot wait for what the rest of the spring and summer concert scene has in store for me!

films, fangirling, & furs

DAY 1-Park City: 

     Sundance Film Festival 2014 is winding down in Utah this year as it approaches the end of its 10 days of movie premieres, concerts, celebrity panels and parties. I was lucky enough to go three different days, at three of the four locations of the festival (Park City, SLC, and Ogden). Last Saturday me, my roommates and our good friend Ethan ventured to Sundance in Park City. After seeing just how many celebs flew in on Friday and would be there opening weekend, we decided to go up and make a day out of stalking celebrities and roaming all of the fun shops and restaurants that Park City Main Street has to offer.

     Our celebrity sightings this year were significantly more impressive than last year. But aside from going in the hopes of meeting celebrities, Sundance is easily one of the best events to go to people-watch. So. Many. Fur. Coats. I will admit that I do eventually want to own a fur vest, and Sundance is one of the few places it is socially acceptable to wear one. So now I just want one even more. But seriously, the get-ups at Sundance are like none other. You see some of the most stylish and hip-looking people, but then you also see half-naked girls sitting on top of cars with massive wigs resembling ice cream on top of their heads. I spotted the following A-D list celebrities along Main Street, and I even shook hands with Mark Ruffalo as he walked by! 

Zoe Saldana

Mark Ruffalo

Zach Braff

Matthew Gray Gubler

Joe Maginello

Naveen Andrews

Alex Ebert

Richard Ayoade

Melissa Benoist

Rhett & Link

I may or may not have crept on Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana through
a glass door until they were done with an interview outside on the balcony.
 they had to come inside at some point, right? hehe

one big, happy, polyg family (it's okay, we can joke about it because we're mormon. what?)

AirBNB Haus. this fun little lodge/cafe looked pretty cool from the outside, so I ventured inside to
a). use the bathroom
b). get a closer look at the vintage/country/cabin-inspired décor

Olive & Tweed. suuuper cute clothing store along Main Street.
it's like an anthropologie/francesca's mash-up of wonder.

oh yeah, and then we stumbled upon some of Banksy's artwork too.

DAY 2-Salt Lake City: 

     When the announcement of the Sundance line-up and schedule came out, I was prepared to do whatever it took to buy tickets for at least one movie. After many stressful minutes on my work computer and panicking with Abby on the phone while the site repeatedly crashed on us, I bought four tickets for "Happy Christmas," a movie directed by Joe Swanberg starring two of my favorite female celebs: Lena Dunham and Anna Kendrick. Let me tell you, it certainly did not disappoint! Joe's movies typically do not have much of a script, so a lot of what you see is totally improv, which makes it that much funnier. All of the actors were so hilarious and candid and I loved every second of it. Best part of the evening? After the movie, Joe Swanberg himself came onstage to answer questions from the audience and afterwards, we bolted out of the theater in the hopes of meeting him. AND WE DID. He was so friendly and humbled that we even knew who he was, much less asked for pictures with him. Cori was brave enough to ask him a question and she did so quite eloquently. You could totally tell he was impressed because she actually knew what she was talking about. Go Cori! Also, shout-out to Abby for introducing us to Joe Swanberg in the first place. She has been trying to get us to watch another one of his movies, "Drinking Buddies" and has been raving about his work and the mumblecore genre as a whole for months now. We continued fangirling on the ride home and it was totally worth having to wake up four hours later for work the next morning. It was the perfect ending to my MLK weekend.

necessary 

illegal spy pics in the theater

Q&A with Joe 

OMG [JOE SWANBERG] I LOVE YOUR WORK.
(10 points to gryffindor if you can name that quote with the correct celeb)

roommates that obsess over indie films together, stay together

DAY 3-Ogden:
Sadly, tomorrow is the last day of the festival, but last night me, John, Desireé, and Garrett were able to go for one last screening and saw "Mitt," a documentary about Mitt Romney. After watching the trailer (five times), I was so excited that I snagged tickets to watch it at Sundance. But don't fret, it's now streaming on Netflix and I advise everyone to go watch it. It was such an intimate look at his life during the 2008 and 2012 elections, and shows how brutal a presidential campaign (much less TWO) is on the candidate as well as his family. At certain parts I felt as though I was re-living the election, so I became sad all over again. I loved the scenes that showed the Romney family talking and joking with each other, and there are several scenes of them praying together. The documentary has been said to have a 'humanizing' effect on Mitt Romney, and one friend of mine even said "if I watched this movie before the election, I might have voted for him." I loved it and I wouldn't be surprised if future candidates release their own documentaries before election night.

Sorry for the novel, but I had such a wonderful week at Sundance and I feel so lucky that I attend BYU and I can go every winter. My goal for next year is to meet Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I am determined to do so before I graduate/leave Utah. I had such a fun time with friends and I loved having the opportunity to watch these amazing films and see the talent of everyone involved in them. I just love movies a lot. Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

my favorite weekend

Last weekend, Oct. 5th-6th 2013, was the 183rd Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conference weekends are my favorite weekends of the year. They are our chance to listen to the words of the prophet and leaders of our church who received divine revelation from our Heavenly Father for the world to hear. Attending school at BYU means I am only a hop and a skip away from Salt Lake City, where conference is held and broadcast throughout the world, in hundreds of different languages. This meant I was fortunate enough to attend the Saturday morning session live with my dear friend Yuki. We did this exact same thing last fall, and I would like to make it a tradition for us. I feel like I need to be in slc for SOME part of conference weekend, just because I love the atmosphere and temple square is just so beautiful. Neither of us had tickets, but just like last year we worked one of the street corners by the conference center (and by worked I mean stood there smiling at people throwing deuces, signaling we needed two tickets) and managed to score bomb seats because Mormons are so nice and always have extra tickets to hand out. 

This session was in fact my favorite session of the entire weekend. Our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson announced that we now have over 15 million members in the world, as well as over 80,000 full-time missionaries! It warms my heart to see the spreading of the gospel and the eagerness of young missionaries to serve all over the world, especially since I now know a fair amount from my freshman year. My favorite talk was by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and you can listen to it here. He talked about all of the wonderful reasons as to why people join the church, as well as why some sadly leave it. My favorite quote by him, and in fact from the whole weekend was "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." It was such a powerful message and made me feel so happy about my knowledge of this gospel and strengthened my desire to be a better missionary to those around me. Hopefully this blog post helps! :) 

Yuki and I hitched a ride to slc with Abby and her cousin, and after conference we all drove back to Provo in time to stop by the farmer's market to grab Jeano's Pizza and fresh fruit. This is a Saturday morning tradition for me and I am SO sad that the farmer's market will only be open for another two weeks :( what will I do on Saturday mornings?! Sleep. I watched the next three sessions in the comfort of my own apartment. Sunday was the best because we lounged around all day to watch conference together and made quiche and fruit salad for brunch, a tradition established by the four of us roommates last conference in April. 

We live in a technological world, and during conference weekend it is so great to see how easily the messages of these great leaders can be shared with everyone! For instance, the twitter world and other social media sites were blown up by quotes from each speaker (I contributed a fair share of those) and can all be found searching hashtags like #ldsconf. Here are a few of my other favorites from the weekend, some of which I couldn't help tweeting myself:

"Though we may feel we are a broken vessel, we must remember that broken vessel is in the hands of our maker" -Jeffrey R. Holland

"Man's law cannot make moral, what God has declared immoral" -Dallin H. Oaks

"God is perfect and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us-His imperfect children-and imperfect people make mistakes" -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

After conference weekend I am always so filled with the spirit and the love I have for this church grows even more. The key is to keep those feelings after conference ends, and to make it a goal to apply what I learned in my daily life. I am so grateful to attend BYU where I can discuss these messages in class with professors, as well as with my peers and neighbors. You can listen to conference in its entirety here. The fact that we get to listen and read these words again gives us no excuse to let the spirit of conference diminish over the next six months. Can't wait until April!

"Above all, never lose faith in your Father in heaven, who loves you more than you can even comprehend" -Jeffrey R. Holland