an east coast christmas

Did you know this past winter break was our first prolonged visit back to Lancaster in over a year?! Unacceptable. My time back at home was so so necessary. Not only because 2016 was a shitstorm that desperately needed to end, but it was also the first time my whole family was together in over two years! There truly is no place like home for the holidays.

Don't ever think it's impossible to attend a concert that starts four hours before your flight from SLC --> PHL departs. It can be done if you don't have a problem with appearing homeless and bringing your luggage into the coat check room :)

Cute front door and even cuter mommy 

Christmas morning: before

Christmas morning: after 

*please note that this was taken from my dad's digital camera :) :)*

 Drew's first time to our nation's capital featuring Ellie, monuments, Library of Congress, Capitol Hill books (not featured: Ted's Bulletin pop tarts, National Gallery of Art, sushi in Ellie's cute hometown of Bethesda).

I'm getting emotional looking through these D.C. pictures because I'm thinking about the fact that the world is ending and every day since Friday has gotten worse and look guys it hasn't even been a week yet :') :') :')

YOU GUYS I FINALLY MADE IT TO TERRAIN. I have been not so subtly hinting to Vanessa and Caroline to take me here for at least a year now. It was just as dreamy and Instagram-worthy as I imagined.

I'm at this point in my life where people from my hometown have forgotten about me so I don't really talk to anyone from high school anymore. These two babies (see above and below) are the exception to the rule and some of the only souls outside of my family I make a priority to see every time I'm in Lancaster <3

But like when will you visit me in Utah???

 Me and my twin doing what we do best ((forcing our husbands to take photos of us in the woods to win free leggings because they are tired of funding our love for Outdoor Voices. We didn't win the leggings.))

best of 2016: music

Per nobody's request, I made my fourth annual list to commemorate my favorite music released in 2016. Over a week late, but here it is.

Top 20 Tracks of 2016:
20. Animal Spirits- Vulpeck
I dare you not to listen to this without bopping your head and dancing along !!

19. Burn the Witch- Radiohead
How could this comeback single that took Radiohead over a decade to finally complete NOT make my list? Those dramatic strings in the first few measures were enough to make their four-year absence well worth the wait.

18. A Lovely Night- Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone
At this point, everyone and their mother is telling you to go watch La La Land if you haven't already. It is definitely one of my favorite movies of the year (I'll talk about all of them in a separate post!) and it's no secret that the music was also great. This song was in my favorite scene in the movie, where Sebastian and Mia tap dance together against that gorgeous L.A. sunset after attending the same party. Can we all agree that no two actors of this time have more onscreen chemistry than Ryan + Emma?? I could marry them both.

17. 22 (OVER SooooN)- Bon Iver
One of my main critiques of 22, A Million is that I truly have no idea how to say (or clearly spell) any of the song titles?! Like why must we be go back to AIM profile aesthetics from 2006? I wasn't overjoyed by Bon Iver's comeback as a whole, but there were a few tracks that again reminded me that I love Justin Vernon's voice more than most.

16. Same Drugs- Chance the Rapper
To be honest, I didn't give Coloring Book a thorough listen until I watched Chance perform on SNL's Christmas episode. I was feeling it and Chance is just so cute?! I never noticed before.

15. Ultralight Beam- Kanye West
Once again, within the year Kanye makes everyone hate him in all other aspects except for his music. This first track is the perfect opener to the nearly flawless Life of Pablo.

14. It's All in Vain- Wet
Wow I just loved loved loved every song from Don't You. My inner dancer will always add my favorite "if I were a choreographer I would choreograph a contemporary/slow hip-hop boy/girl duo to this song" song of the year and this one earned that title.

13. Ivy- Frank Ocean
Hey remember when Frank Ocean faked everyone out at least twice a year for the past four years about his new album release and then it FINALLY happened in August?!? Good thing the entire album is incredible so I totally forgive him!

12. Bourbon- Gallant
This list wouldn't be complete without at least one hella sexy-chill vibing songs from the year and this one totally takes the cake.

11. Feels (Jai Wolf remix)- Kiiara
So I know that this single technically came out in 2015...but this particular remix and Kiiara's EP were both released in 2016 sooo I'm totally justified. She was my favorite new artist from the past two years too, so she deserves this.

10. Kiss It Better- Rihanna
badgirlriri at her finest. ANTI was surprisingly one of my favorite albums of the year and I was jamming to this track in particular when it first came out.

9. A Beautiful Sea- Sing Street
I loved the movie Sing Street so much that I even blogged about it after watching it for the first time. True story. This soundtrack is definitely one of the best from 2016 and I  had a hard time picking just one of the super fun 80's-inspired tunes from the movie. Watch this if I haven't already bugged you enough about it!

8. Cranes in the Sky- Solange
This was truly the year of the Knowles sisters. First Beyoncé hit us with Lemonade (which I will GET TO in a hot second) but then Solange released another politically charged album that truly hit it out of the park. Every single music video from Seat at the Table was visionary and the inspiration behind the making of the album needs to be known. Just today I read an article from Interview mag where Beyoncé conducts an interview with Solange and she talks all about it. Definitely worth the read!

7. All Night- Beyoncé
Told you I would get to Lemonade in a hot second. All I can say about this album is dayummmm. Seriously. The Queen delivered yet again and Lemonade was on the top of almost every single music blog's picks from 2016. WITH GOOD REASON. Quick story, Lemonade was released on the weekend we were traveling to Europe. We were in the airport for a long layover in Boston and figured we should have some good tunes to listen to while we road-tripped across Iceland (rightly assuming we wouldn't have Wi-Fi for the majority of the week), so I bought the album right then and there and we proceeded to watch the film in the airport. Both of us were hooked and surprisingly enough, Drew had zero complaints throughout the next two weeks of traveling when all I wanted to listen to was Beyoncé! He was officially converted to the Beyhive. The end. Oh right, the song. 'All Night' serves as the 'forgive u boo, luv u boo' track at the conclusion of the album and is a new go-to slow jam for me.

6. Real Love Baby- Father John Misty
So happy and 70's sing-songy. If I could have another wedding, I would want to this to be our first dance.

5. I Love You Always Forever- Betty Who
I try to avoid including covers on this list, but I listened to this song on repeat for several days when I first discovered it. If I could have another wedding, I would want this to be in our wedding video.

4. Waves- Kanye West
I give myself a two song limit per artist on here, and I did just that for the artists I believe released the best albums this year.  First of which would have to go to Kanye. Team Breezy + Yeezy FOREVER (they are both terrible people but damn can they sing).

3. Solo- Frank Ocean
This !!!!! I go HARD on the chorus of this song every time I listen to it in the car. Frankie baby, please don't make us wait another four years for more beautiful music. Blonde was simply brilliant and I knew it would be one of my favorite albums of the year before I even listened to it in its entirety.

2. Hey Big Star- Kishi Bashi
Spotify notified me that this was my single most played song in the year 2016, so that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. It's no secret that Kishi Bashi holds a special place in my heart. One of the saddest days of my year was missing his concert in SLC with my husband because I was in Lancaster for Nic's homecoming :( (something I can hold over his head for years to come). Although Sonderlust wasn't a home run for me, 'm'lover', 'Say Yeah', 'Statues in a Gallery' and 'Honeybody' were the other stellar tracks that showcased Kishi Bashi in all his glory.

1. Hold Up- Beyoncé
One of my biggest regrets of 2016 was not finding an outrageous yellow dress in time for Halloween so I could recreate Beyoncé's lewk from this music video. This song was everything amazing about Lemonade and I think I love it even more because of how iconic that music video was. Truly my most played track of the year (but of course your girl hasn't released this album on Spotify yet, so I'm just guessing here).


My honorable mentions are also included in this playlist. Have a listen and happy 2017!

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!

the city of love & lights

Originally, our plan was to spend one full week in Iceland and the second week in London. But after a little bit of arm-twisting, I convinced Drew that we should cut our time in London a little short to hop on over to Paris for three days because, IT'S PARIS. And it's safe to say that it was totally worth it!

For every person out there who thinks Paris is overrated, there are thousands who will tell you it really is amazing. I am now happy to report that I am one of those thousands! It's the most fawned over city in the world and is known as both 'The City of Love' and 'The City of Lights' for a reason! (hence this blog post title, because I looked it up and I guess both are equally valid nicknames). Many people think it's not worth the hype, but I disagree. Sure, there were things I didn't love about Paris like the insane crowds and the outdated Metro, but the city made it up to me with the stunning architecture, rich history, beautiful museums, and THE FOOD.

Because we only had three days, we really had to make those days count! After dropping off our things at the cuuutest AirBnB, our first stop was Musée d'Orsay. This museum was especially cool because the building itself used to be a train station and was later converted into a museum. It is home to the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist pieces in the world, so I loved seeing the familiar works of Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, and Cézanne, just to name a few! After wandering around d'Orsay for a while, we walked along the Seine and marveled at Notre-Dame Cathedral. After a quick nap at our apartment, we headed back into the central city once it was dark outside to climb up Arc du Triomphe, which boasts of the most stunning view of Paris at night. It truly was magical, and despite our best efforts and SPRINTING up to the top, we made it in time to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle for only a few seconds (it does so every hour on the hour for five minutes). So, we decided to leave Triomphe a little earlier to get prime seats right at the base of the tower in time for the next hour. I know Paris is full of these kind of clichés, but it really was the one of the most magical and romantic moments of my life to see the dazzling display of lights on the Eiffel Tower in person. I was so happy to be experiencing it with my sweet husband! <3

Day two was a marathon day, starting off with a visit to Musée du Louvre. That place honestly overwhelmed me with both its grandeur and amount of tourists. It was so massive that I would need to devote at least a full week to see everything on display. We only had a few hours but managed to see some of my favorite highlights: Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Dying Slave, Great Sphinx of Tanis, and Mona Lisa.

 

After the Louvre we got lunch in the Tuileries Garden, followed by a visit to my favorite museum of the entire trip: Musée de l'Orangerie. I loved how small and secluded this museum felt, especially compared to the insanity that was the Louvre. It didn't take long to go through the entire museum, which was conveniently located in the west corner of the Gardens. My favorite part was the eight gorgeous Water Lilies murals by Monet on the ground floor. They are housed in two large, white, oval rooms with each one spanning the distance of each of the walls. It was so peaceful just sitting there and admiring those masterpieces, I could've done so for hours. But I didn't, and following the museum we did some more sight-seeing at the Paris opera house Palais Garnier and Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

As I mentioned before, one thing that made Paris so wonderful was all the delicious food. We ate French onion soup, crêpes and crème brûlée at a cafe by the Eiffel Tower, baguettes, croissants, éclairs and beignets at street corner boulangeries, the best gelato of my LIFE in the Tuileries Gardens, and macarons from Ladurée. My favorite meal of the whole trip was dinner in the Marais at the world famous L'As du Fallafel. Shout-out to my foodie friend Emily for recommending this place because I am still thinking about that meal. If you ever find yourself in Paris, please go for me! It is 2DIE4.

On our last day, we took the train to Versailles to spend the day exploring the grounds and the palace. This was one of my most highly anticipated days of the whole trip. I even made Drew watch Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette with me a few weeks before we left so we were both equally as pumped to see the extravagance of Versailles in person. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Everything about that place can only be described as ornate, ostentatious, and over-the-top. I loved every bit of it! From the massive palace itself, to the gardens, Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and the Queen's Hamlet, the entire tour of Château de Versailles was so dreamy and so much fun!

It was, as you can imagine, very bittersweet to be leaving Paris and Europe in general. I had the most amazing two weeks with the coolest travel buddy ever. It's safe to say that traveling with your husband is the very best arrangement. Especially if said husband has a great sense of direction, becomes super friendly and chatty with all of your AirBnb hosts while you nap in the other room, knows how to budget the cash when you keep switching monetary systems, puts up with you complaining about tourists/the weather/walking all day, watches The OC with you every night (Icelandic Netflix > American Netflix), reluctantly becomes your Instagram husband, and takes the siiiickest film pictures for you both to enjoy and to later post on all of your obnoxious blog posts. I love being married to the perfect travel companion and I'm stoked that we have the rest of our lives to explore all the many countries we want to visit together!

For those of you still following along here on my annoying travelogue, here's a lil video that I put together from our trip. This is important because even though Drew is the actual professional around here, I did this (mostly) all by myself! As pathetic as it is to be impressed by myself for making it since it's not even that well done, I totally am. And it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, so this probably won't be my last ;)

ICYMI: stories and pictures from Iceland and London can be found here and here. Thanks so much for reading!

winning london

If you do not understand the reference from this blog title, please educate yourself on the cinematic brilliance that is the Olsen twins' filmography from 1998-2002 (this movie in particular) before reading. I will wait.

I had high expectations for the city of London because everyone I talked to told me how much I would LOVE it since it has so many things that they knew I loved. And folks, y'all were right!! So kudos to you. 

On our first night in the city, we party crashed the BYU Film study abroad's festivities at the British Film Institute (BFI) and walked around South Bank to enjoy the stunning views of the city lit up at night. My favorite part was walking across the Millennium Bridge (the Death Eater bridge) to see St. Paul's Cathedral. Simply beautiful! Drew did this same study abroad with the film program two summers ago, so thankfully he knew his way around the city well enough to map out our five days here. I honestly would have died on this trip without him-- or at least gotten lost a dozen times due to my lack of any sense of direction--so thanks, boo. 

The first full day consisted of my most highly anticipated event of the entire trip: the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour !!! I could honestly write an entire post solely about this day, but who wants to read that?! (But like, if you're thinking to yourself 'um me, I'm also a huge Potterhead,' then holla @ me and I will totes write one 4 u). All I will say is that it was magical and amazing and everything I dreamed of. If you also consider yourself a huge fan of the series, make it a priority to visit this place at least once in your life. This may sound dumb (and it definitely sounds dumb if you don't even like HP...I'm sorry but who are you and why are you here get out), but I seriously left that place confident that YES the wizarding world is real YES Harry Potter is real YES MAGIC IS REAL, YOU GUYS. The end. 

^^OKAY BUT THIS ?!? So. Many. Emotions.

I don't want to post a ton of pictures so it remains somewhat of a surprise for those of you who are planning to go! But I will leave you with these because I think they encapsulate my feelings fairly accurately: 

This is no exaggeration, I actually started crying. And now this is officially the end of my HP nerd ramble.

Day two started off with a visit to the National Gallery, the first of many amazing museums in the city. The National Gallery had the most gorgeous architecture and we saw the works of J.M.W. Turner (like the Skyfall painting), plus the famous Arnolfini Marriage. Our next stop was Covent Gardens where we picked up a box of Ben's Cookies and proceeded to eat most of it at Green Park. Then, the trifecta of sight-seeing: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I met a certain heartthrob known as Uncle Jesse at Westminster Abbey. After all the amazing things I did/saw on my trip, this is still the one event everyone is asking me about. It was such a funny 10 minute spectacle of me silently stalking John Stamos from afar contemplating if it was really him, until I finally walked up and asked for a picture. We even bonded over the fact that both his girlfriend and I are Filipina. And yes, he is just as charming as you'd imagine. Have mercy.

That evening Drew, Lauren (one of our dear friends who was on the study abroad!) and I dined at Dishoom, home to some of the best Indian food I have ever eaten. Afterwards we walked over to Piccadilly Circus to watch Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre !!! If you know me at all, you know that this is my all-time favorite musical. I'm not even a big musical theater buff, but something about Les Mis makes me lose all chill. I was so happy that Drew managed to find us cheap tickets two days before. I had the best time, cried over the same parts I always cry at, and left singing all my favorite songs on the way home.

Here's another fun tweet that gives you an idea of what my opinion of the show was, since we didn't take any pictures that evening. I am crazy but now Drew understands my obsession after watching a live performance, so it's not a total turn-off anymore ;)

Another day, another museum. On day three we started off at Tate Modern and saw Duchamp's Fountain, Warhol's Marilyn Diptych and Guerrilla Girls, Lichtenstein's Whaam!, a few Picasso's, and so many other amazing contemporary pieces. After walking around South Bank again, we wandered over the the British Museum to see the famous Elgin marbles. I finally ate some fish & chips which were decent but not life-changing, and then we headed back over to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to try our luck with getting tickets for that night's sold-out performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Luckily we were the first ones in the returns line and some kind soul even gave us a ticket for free! £5 and two hours later we were standing front row center for the play. The actors were so talented and I was crying from laughing so hard! I loved how interactive they were with audience members, and being so close to the stage made it all the more dramatic and memorable.

*The following are all iPhone pictures since I guess we didn't really take too many great film pictures this day lolwoops*

On our last full day in London, we checked off the remainder of the must-do's on my list: ate brunch at Portobello Market, roamed the colorful streets of Notting Hill (sadly didn't see Hugh or Julia though), window shopped at Harrod's (in true Elizabeth and Annie James fashion), strolled through Hyde Park, and marveled at Royal Albert Hall and The Albert Memorial. For our last meal in the city, Drew took me to Churchill Arms, his favorite restaurant from his study abroad. It is the coolest looking English pub with plants and flowers climbing all around the inside and outside of the building. The best part? It was actually a pub/Thai restaurant combo. It didn't really make sense to me, but it didn't have to once Thai food was involved.

*A mixture of film photography and iPhone photography*

London was exciting, dreamy, entertaining, and everything I hoped it would be. One day I will return so I can visit more museums, see more shows, spend more time in the countryside outside of the city, and eat five more boxes of Ben's Cookies. The next morning we took a train to Paris for the last stop on our trip :)/:( You can bet I have dozens more pictures and stories to share so stick around if you're not sick of me yet!