winter break: nor cal

Disclaimer: I am aware that locals do not use the terms SoCal and NorCal, but for the sake of these two blog posts, I am going to use them and risk sounding like a dork. Over it.

The main reason for our SF trip was our friend Thad's wedding in Oakland on January 2nd. Thad has been buds and roommates with Drew for most of their college careers and he was one of the first of Drew's friends I met when we started dating. We were so excited that it worked out over the holidays for us to attend such a wonderful and glamorous celebration for Thad and Kari!

 We made the 12 hour drive on New Year's Eve and spent all of New Year's Day exploring SF! First spot on the tourist checklist: Painted Ladies aka Full House houses.

I just looove the architecture in SF. I could totally see myself living here if rent wasn't the highest in the country. LOL, maybe one day.

I asked all of my foodie friends what the best restaurants were in SF, because if there's one thing I love, it is eating my way through any city I visit. Thank you so much for all your recommendations! Sadly, many of them were closed since it was a national holiday, but luckily Tartine Bakery was open and made for the perfect lunch spot. There was a huge line to get in, but I totally understand why. The sandwiches and pickled carrots were tasty, but the orange cinnamon roll Drew and I split was to die for (not pictured we ate it way too quickly for me to snap a pic). Thank you to my foodie friend Liz for this recommendation!! I will definitely visit this place again solely to load up on delicious baked goods.

After lunch, we attempted to visit Muir Woods aka home of the Redwoods aka ENDOR, but it was a bit of a failure. Thanks to our fellow tourists, the site of the woods was so busy and parking was a nightmare. We took a shuttle up to it that we were told would take 20 minutes, only to be stuck in traffic for over an hour. By the time we got to the entrance, the last shuttle available was about to take everyone back to the parking lot. So basically we spent $5 to take a shuttle up to the entrance and back. After this debacle we stopped by to marvel at the architectural wonder that is the Palace of Fine Art. That ceiling is the coolest, but I loved all the sculptures and intricate designs in stone as well. We spotted so many bridal shoots happening and I don't blame them. We were all feeling some Naboo vibes walking around that place.

The NorCal weekend road trip group: Tim, Drew, me, and Coulsen. Thanks for being such great travel companions and not minding the fact that I didn't drive at all. :)

After a delicious seafood dinner at Pier 39, our last stop before driving back to East Palo Alto (Thad's apartment where we crashed for the weekend) was ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery. This place was the common denominator between all my foodie friends' lists, so I knew I had to go. It did not disappoint. After taste testing probably 10 flavors, I settled on the salted caramel and coffee. DELISH and the perfect sweet treat to end such a jam-packed, tourist-y day.

Saturday was wedding day!! This was actually the first sealing I have ever attended after my own and it was such a lovely experience. I even got a little teary-eyed because the memories of our own sealing are still so fresh in my mind. Getting married is the best! The Oakland temple is beautiful, and we were so grateful to witness such a happy moment for Kari and Thad before the party started that evening.

Such a glam wedding party. That groomsman right next to Thad is quite the looker, am I right? hehehe

So this reception was probably the most glam reception I have ever attended to date. We set sail on the Cabernet Sauvignon Yacht and cruised along the San Francisco Bay all night. NBD. It was a blast! There were some truly stunning views from the top deck and it was so funny to see everyone rush upstairs and brave the cold and wind to snap some pictures whenever we passed some kind of landmark (guilty on all accounts). The dancing was equally as fun, and the whole day was such a party! There were so many of their other friends who made the trip too, making it the definition of a perfect destination wedding. Happy marriage Mr. & Mrs. Blankenship!

Shout-outs to Kari and Thad for getting hitched and giving us a reason to visit such a fun city, my fellow road trip companions for letting me pick 90% of the activities and 100% of the food stops, and of course to my sweet Drew for always being the best travel buddy/wedding date/dance partner for lyfe.

winter break: so cal

Guys. Last week I started my last semester of my undergraduate studies...EVER! I cannot believe I am graduating from this wonderful university in April. So many uncertainties ahead! But a lot of exciting things to look forward to as well. Nervous, but excited for sure.

Rewind to winter break, when I celebrated the holidays without my parents for the first time in my life. Most of the time, being married feels no different than dating, but then the holidays came around and I remembered I wouldn't be going home to Lancaster at all and got a little depressed. My house is the best place to be for Christmas. Seriously. My mom always puts up the cutest decorations, I get to visit my Lancaster friends, home ward, and my mother's cooking is second to none. I was definitely homesick for a good chunk of my break. However, trading the bitter cold of Provo for sunny southern California definitely helped.

After recuperating from finals week, we had a lazy weekend in Provo before flying to Yorba Linda for six days of movies, eating, and my favorite event...Disneyland! We decided to go on Christmas Eve and no one else wanted to go with us because everyone thought it would be too busy and figured it would be better to go after Christmas. However, Drew and I left a few days before everyone else (the Monday after Christmas), so Christmas Eve was our only option, because Christmas day would've been a nightmare, and so would the weekend. So, we just ventured by ourselves. SO GLAD WE DID, because it was the least crowded I have ever seen the park! Honestly. The longest wait was probably 45 minutes and since we finished all the attractions at Disney by about 2 PM, we decided to upgrade to a park hopper and head on over to California Adventure for the rest of the day, which was even LESS packed. It was my first time ever going to California Adventure too! Best decision of our whole trip. 

I had to include that ridiculous picture of me on the right to mourn my long hair. Last week I got my annual haircut and I always have a hard time with short hair for the first few weeks, but then I get over it. In other words, I am slowly but surely starting to hate how short my hair is less and less.

The Haunted Mansion decked out with Nightmare Before Christmas decorations was my favorite holiday change to the park.

California Adventure did not disappoint! I'm a big roller coaster person, so naturally we had to ride California Screamin' three times.

Christmas day was equally as wonderful, the highlight was definitely talking to Nic! That kid is such a riot and I miss him lots. He is doing great and although he wanted to talk about Yeezy boots and rap music, he is also improving a lot in his Mandarin and I can tell how much he loves serving the people in Melbourne. He even developed a little bit of an Aussie accent and uses the lingo which was so weird/funny to hear. Less than a year left until he's home folks!!

Elder Padilla probably talking about Kendrick Lamar

Getting married meant gaining this cutie as a nephew and I love it. Look at him in the onesie I got him for Christmas!! I cannot. He is in a huge Toy Story phase right now and he watched Toy Story 3 at least five times that week. Here he is hanging out with his friends aka Toy Story toys in a box.

The rest of our trip involved watching tons of movies, reading up on fan theories after watching Star Wars (please discuss with me because I'm not over it), visiting some friends, and hanging out with Harvey a lot. We flew back to Provo for a hot second (just long enough for me to remember how much I hate the cold and snow) before road-tripping to San Francisco for our friend's wedding! Pictures and stories from our Nor Cal weekend coming soon <3

best of 2015

It's that time of year again!! Time to share with y'all what my favorites in music were in 2015! My resolution for next year is to have read enough books and watched enough movies that I can also compile 'best of' lists for those respectively...but this year was a little bit too crazy for me to accomplish that. It has been my favorite year thus far, but also the busiest. Maybe I'm losing my cool, but this mostly just contains a lot of my old favorites that came out with new music in 2015 as opposed to many newbies. Which also means this list is pretty pop-heavy, but whatever. It was a great year for pop and I shouldn't apologize for that.

With that intro out of the way, here are my top 20 tracks of 2015: 

20. Love Me Like You Do- Ellie Goulding

LOL @ me and the fact that my list from 2014 also started with Ellie. She is my #1 girl crush after all. However, I will be honest and say that Delirium was a little bit of a letdown as a whole, especially since it was a follow-up to 2012's Halcyon which was damn near perfect. But don't worry, I still bought my tix to see her take it on tour next year :) This track was certainly a highlight from the album and I don't even care that it was written for the 50 Shades movie (vom).

19. Disciples- Tame Impala

A fun dance-y track from a stellar album. Currents was excellent, but this head-boppin' tune was my favorite.

18. It's Strange- Louis The Child ft. K. Flay

My first of several Hypem treasures to make the list. I love the use of xylophones and synths and everything in between. Honestly listen to this on repeat almost everywhere I walk on campus. It's hard not to sway my hips to this beat when I do so.

17. Hold My Hand- Jess Glynne

Shout-out to my favorite sister missionary Emilee for first showing me this song many moons ago! Don't worry guys, it was long before she actually left on her mission, so no rule breaking here. I just love this happy girl-power tune from the opening bangs on the piano to the last note.

16. Leaf Off / The Cave- José González

I saw José with Drew back in April and even though I was so sleepy by the end of the show (sorry José), it was incredible. I specifically remember loving his performance of this song, but it is only one of the many beautiful tracks on Vestiges & Claws.

15. Landslide- Oh Wonder

Another Hypem find, this song has the kind of sexychill vibes that I live for. The guy/girl duo singing together makes everything sound so intimate and cool. 

14. Anna- Will Butler
The main reason this song made the list is because of this perfect video. How fun is that?! Emma Stone is the ultimate cool girl. The end.

13. Ship To Wreck- Florence + The Machine

MAH GIRL FLO. We all know this chick has pipes and this song showcases that fact beautifully. It is still my dream to see her perform live. I will probably reach enlightenment when it happens. 

12. Cheerleader- Omi (Felix Jaehn Remix)

I will go so far as to say this was the song of the summer. I played this song a ridiculous amount of times when I first heard it. I think everyone was at least a little bit addicted to it at one point, even if you don't want to admit it.

11. Loud Places- Jamie xx, Romy

If I could objectify this song, it would be a glittering disco ball. Does that make any sense? Just listen to it and I bet you'll agree with me.

10. Fool for Love- Lord Huron

Lord Huron is a band I fell for back in 2012 when they made their debut and returned with a sophomore album this year! Not quite up there with Lonesome Dreams, but this track fits in seamlessly with all my original folksy favorites.

9. Gibraltar- Beirut

Yessss Beirut is back! My two favorite tracks from No No No were in fact No No No and Gibraltar, but the use of all that percussion working so coherently with Zach Condon's silky voice made this track a stand-out for me.

8. Omen- Disclosure, Sam Smith

Everyone's favorite collaboration, wouldn't you say? Ever since the world discovered Latch, it's been made clear that these guys are a match made in heaven. Caracal is chock-full of hard-hitting collabs, but this one is by far my favorite. If you need further convincing, they even did a cover together of Hotling Bling on a BBC Live session that is pure GOLD.

7. Make Them Gold- CHVRCHES

It's no surprise to anyone that this made the list. CHVRCHES is claaaassic synth-pop genius as well as an all-time favorite of mine. Every single track on Every Open Eye ruled. I saw them live for the second time this year, and that ruled just as much. I chose this song because it could totally be in a John Green movie adaptation when the guy and girl are driving around together with the windows down. Think about it.

6. push pull- Purity Ring

When Purity Ring dropped the magic that was Another Eternity, I had trouble listening to anything else for a solid month. push pull is just one of many dazzling tracks, but I distinctly remember being so transfixed during their performance of it when I saw them in May. This was for sure my favorite concert that I attended this year. Wait I lied, Taylor Swift was...but this was a very close second.

5. Where Are Ü Now- Justin Bieber, Skrillex, Diplo
Yes, unfortunately it happened. I became a Belieber. I've always been a fan of his Christmas album, but this year Justin made quite the comeback and made us (almost) forget how much of a douche he is. What Do You Mean, Sorry, and Love Yourself were all standouts from Purpose, but this song just makes me lose it on the dance floor.

4. Tennessee- Kiiara
Definitely the best Hypem track I discovered this year by far. I get the chillest of vibes from this and I hope she will soon release many more songs!

3. Entropy- Grimes, Bleachers
I am such a fan of Grimes AND Bleachers so naturally I am obsessed with this collaboration and hope it happens again in the future. This song is just so happy and makes me feel so good whenever I listen to it.

2. The Only Thing- Sufjan Stevens
Ugh. Where do I even begin? I couldn't even pick a favorite from Carrie & Lowell because I love them all equally, but I decided on one I loved just an infinitesimal amount more than most. This is Sufjan at his best. He returned to the stripped-down sound of Seven Swans, but it was even better. I love Sufjan the most when it's this simple. Just him, his hella sad lyrics sung by his beautiful whispery voice, and a guitar or piano. Listening to this album was like listening to him for the very first time, but it's even more intimate, personal, and beautiful. Can't rave about it enough.

1. Downtown- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz 
No, this is not a joke. I am 100% serious with this choice. I know it's laughable, but I kid you not, Drew and I will blast this song almost every time we start driving anywhere. I've listened to it so much that I've practically mastered all the lyrics, raps included. It's a brilliant and hilarious combination of so many good things. Like the chorus just makes me so happy I can't really explain why. The music video is such a spectacle, you can't help but love it. And can I just say Eric Nally's voice is insanely amazing? I thought it was a woman's the first time I heard it, which makes me love it even more. So yeah, oddly enough this is my favorite song of the year.

Welp, there you have it. Thanks for reading, and please share your favorites with me! I'd love to hear them. In the meantime, check out my Spotify playlist with all of the above songs, plus another 25 of my honorable mentions: 

wedding: part III

Bet you thought you heard the last of my wedding by now, huh?? HA JOKES ON U. But guess what?! Our wedding video is finally finally DONE. It really is a Christmas miracle.  I have been waiting for this finished product for almost four months now and after watching it as many times as I have (too many to count), I can honestly say it was worth the wait. It brings back so many joyous/hilarious/tender memories of what was the happiest August weekend.

There's not much else to say about the video other than it's perfect, but I will anyway because there are people I need to thank! Firstly, I have to give my sweet husband a lot of credit, because I have been constantly nagging him for the past few months to get this effing thing done. I've been so annoying and Drew has been so awesome. Even though I give him a hard time about it, I really am very thankful he's been too busy to work on this sooner. He's been hired on for so many other projects this past semester, not to mention the fact that he recently accepted a new job where he will soon be working full-time, all while finishing up his last semester of college. He works so hard and I am so proud of him! I am constantly impressed whenever I get to see his finished projects. He is so creative and talented. Hire him! ;) 

And of course, the work of our trusty camera man for the weekend cannot go unnoticed! Jordan was such a champ throughout the entire wedding and we were so glad that he was able to fly out to document these special events for us. He captured all of the best moments and I would be lying if I told you I didn't spend hours upon hours watching the raw footage he first gave us, all of which I loved just the same! He was so fun to work with and I was so happy with how well he worked with our fabulous photographer, Monika :) You guys are the bomb.

So without further ado, here's the video! You'll laugh, you'll cry...because you're laughing so hard (#namethatquote)

Videographer: Jordan Wheeler
Editor: Drew Tekulve
Song 1: Samskeyti by Sigur Rós
Song 2: The Ballad of Mr. Steak by Kishi Bashi

PS- if you care to see more of our wedding in pictures, hop on over here and here! bye!

mtv cribs

Drew and I moved into our first ever apartment together as a married couple three months ago, and I'm finally getting around to this long overdue post about it. To be honest, I don't really care for this post and I'm already a little bored writing it...but I promised too many people that I would post pics of my new digs so you are literally the only reason I'm not backing out. So UR WELCOME.

We found this place thanks to one of Drew's friends in the film program who used to live here with his family. I was immediately smitten on our first walk-through. It has all the furnishings and charm of an old, historic house, but none of the gross, decrepit feels or smells of an old, historic house. I keep saying historic because it really is one of Provo's historic sites! The mayor of Provo used to live here some hundred years ago! There's a plaque on the front porch and everything. Later on it was remodeled and built into eight different apartment units and the front little one on the right is the one we call home.

The living room is easily my favorite spot in the apartment. Everything from the stained glass to the bay windows, to the chandelier, to the mantel makes my antique-loving heart sing. Thanks to KSL we were able to furnish this little room all fairly cheaply! The artwork and most of the décor were things we already had on hand. I'd be lying to you if I said I hadn't been picking things up here and there from thrift shops, even before we were engaged, with our future apartment on my mind. Tell me I'm crazy. We even have an "entertainment corner" equipped with TV, posters of some of our favorite bands and movies (all Drew's contribution), record player and stand. We loooove our Crosley and Urban Outfitters stand so much! We bought it a little presumptuously considering our collection of vinyls is a bit sparse right now, but we're slowly but surely adding to it and have used it a few times already! Turning it on and just chilling in the living room is one of our favorite rainy day activities. 2hipster4u.

 

If I was a legit blogger, Cavallini Papers & Co. would have probably sponsored this post because they contributed to about 70% of the décor in here. Those vintage posters you see in the living room, our bedroom, and in the kitchen? ALL from Cavallini. If we're friends, I have most likely told you about this place before because it is my #1 store for all things crafty, vintage, and cool. I buy my stationary, postcards, wall posters, and cards for all occasions from here. I cannot rave about this place enough! Thank you Cavallini, for making all my decorating dreams come true.

Despite the many quirks about living in such an old house, we absolutely love it. Storage is non-existent, our kitchen appliances may be from the 50's, and our bathroom is barely big enough to move around in, but it's ours. Even though we may not be here for a very long time, we put so much of ourselves in it because we wanted to truly make it feel like our home. So come check out our crib! We love having visitors!

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

i could dance to this beat

Hiiiii remember me and how I said I had a bajillion things to blog about from the month of August? Here's the last of it, I promise. After our perfect wedding weekend and our equally perfect honeymoon in Kaua'i, we flew to California for honeymoon week pt. 2 if you will, before starting real life in Provo. It started off with a few days of recuperating, followed by a day in San Diego, a day in L.A., and concluded with our open house. I just got all the pictures back from our open house, so I figured this was as good a time as any to talk about all of it.

After fighting off the jet-lag for two days, we decided it was time to leave the house. The San Diego Temple was high up there on my list of temples I want to visit, so our first day consisted of just that. We went for an endowment session in the early afternoon and it was completely empty. Considering it was an August day in California, we were pretty surprised. Shouldn't there be weddings going on left and right? Well, lucky for us we got the whole place to ourselves which was a really cool experience, plus we got a private tour of the sealing rooms. That temple is, in my opinion, the second prettiest temple of our church. Nothing beats D.C. though. Obviously ;) The architect is actually Catholic, which makes total sense because it is the most castle/cathedral-like of all our temples today. Similar to the D.C. Temple, it just pops up out of nowhere as you're driving on the freeway and is the most stunning and regal site.

 The next day was spent in L.A. as I anxiously awaited the main event of the week...Taylor Swift's 1989 tour at the Staples Center!!! (Hence this blog post title being T-swift lyrics. But which one?! 10 points to Gryffindor if you can finish them). It is a very long and convoluted story as to how I miraculously got my hands on a ticket the day before the concert, so HMU if you want to hear about it. In the meantime, we stopped by to play at the The Getty Center. This place is an architectural marvel. I was honestly more captivated by the buildings themselves than the actual artwork inside. And I'm a museum lover, so that is saying something! After walking around for a few hours, we hit up a chic little Thai-Japanese fusion restaurant in Santa Monica and then I said goodbye to Drew as he dropped me off at the Staples Center to party with Tay all by myself. Thanks Dad!! Seriously though, Drew earned so many dad points that night. Luckily he spent the majority of the concert hanging out with some old friends who live in L.A., but having to navigate back to pick me up amidst the insane post-concert traffic must have been brutal. It brought me back to the days of my own daddy dropping us (me, Ynna, and whichever friends came with us) off at Jonas Brothers concerts and having to kill three hours before picking us up again. So sorry guys. Good thing I married someone so patient and kind who knew how much attending this concert meant to me :)

But about the concert...it was such a party and I loved every second of it. Here's the thing, I have a weird relationship with Taylor where I actually think she'd be extremely annoying in person. Her girl next door, adorkable, gift-giving, cat-loving persona seems a little more forced each day, but I still love her and her music and her glam squad of friends. Say what you will about her, but she's a genius in the industry. Not to mention the fact that she puts on a great show. I've never witnessed so many pyrotechnics, moving stages, back-up dancers, or costume changes in one concert. It didn't even matter that I was dancing and singing by myself, THAT'S how much fun I had. I did however wish I had my mom or Ynna sitting next to me (the biggest T-swift fans I know), but I'm glad that by the end of the 1989 tour, we can all say we were in attendance at one of her shows in our respective cities.

The real reason we were in California was to get everything ready for our open house which took place in the Tekulve's backyard. Besides our families, we had so many people come to help during the day to set up and it was all thanks to them that it turned out so beautifully. It was such a pleasant evening meeting so many of Drew's friends from his home ward or high school that I had heard so much about before. It was so awesome to see everyone that wasn't able to attend the wedding come by to offer their love and support for us! *Bonus*: it gave me another excuse to wear my wedding dress <3

All open house pictures by Kylie Chevalier

Welp, that concludes my stories about August and all the craziness and happiness that it was. Definitely the best summer of my life thus far. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll have some fabulous upcoming posts all about ~*newlywed wife*~ so stay tuned if you're into that kind of thing.