Things that happen when I should be studying:

Hello!

It's finals week, which means I'm basically a hermit. I wake up early, study, go to class, study, eat, study, and stay up late studying more. 

I eat terribly, consume wayyyy too much caffeine, and discover weird things online when I'm taking studying breaks. 

(I also do things like design and order Christmas cards at 2 AM.... so that happened).

BUT, some good has come of my mindless web browsing that occurs when I can't remember even one more equation or commit one more metabolic pathway to memory and they are THE YEAR-END MASHUPS. 

I live for these. December rolls around and random awesome people combine all the top songs from the year into one song and it's PURE MAGIC. 

So, without further ado (and because the allotted time I've given myself for a study break is up) here are my favs thus far!

THIS ONE is my favorite - their talent is unbelievable. 

THIS ONE is a classic. 

And THIS ONE might be a 100% Taylor Swift mashup but.... It's amazing so you should definitely listen to it. #1989

Also, here are some medical school pictures, because I'm almost 1/8 a doctor and I haven't posted any proof at all on my blog:

#picsoritdidn'thappen

^^^ we learned how to put casts on each other! 

^^^ this was probably the coolest day of my life 

^^^ I have a friend who takes pictures of me every time I fall asleep in class.... 

What's been filling my time lately:

Well first of all, because of this little announcement I made a while back, JP and I need to find a new place to live up in Salt Lake City!

So I have been making spreadsheets, scouring the classifieds online, comparing prices and locations, asking for opinions on facebook, following up with referrals and contacts, etc etc and hopefully we end up living somewhere we love! 

It's very exciting, this whole moving business and also bittersweet because we really like where we live now. But the allure of a fresh start in a new city is pretty intoxicating, so the house-hunt is on!

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

Second of all, we attended The Barrister's Ball aka Law School Prom again! Remember last year?

Well this year was even better, they added a photo booth AND italian sodas! haha

But seriously, JP has made such good friends during these last two years at law school, we feel very lucky to know and spend time with such wonderful hilarious people!

And last, but not least, a few links of things that I have been loving and showing everyone lately! Enjoy!

>>> If you've read Divergent or seen the movie, (or even if you haven't) you definitely should read this article! I loved it, so much. 

>>> Also, I've watched this video five times and still am almost crying laughing by the end.

>>> Have you heard about this movement? It's the most amazing innovative idea and such an easy way to make a huge impact. Join me and do it!!

A Look Back at 2013:

2013 was an amazing year. 

In some ways the most trying and exhausting year of my life, and also the most rewarding and fulfilling (and fun) year of my life. 

I studied for and took the MCAT, we moved to Europe for the summer, I attended medical school interviews, and graduated from college. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

But now, because this little blog has turned into something like an online record of my life, a look back at 2013:

I went snowshoeing for the first time in my life and loved it,

I attended the Sundance Film Festival and saw some really fantastic films. 

I went to my friend Hayley's wedding reception and 

hosted the 3rd annual Pizza-and-Pazookies Valentines group date.

We took family pictures before my sister left on her LDS mission to New Jersey, 

I was a bridesmaid for my really good friend Rachel (who I also set up with her husband Craig (!!!) and also now they're having a little girl in April!)

JP and I attended the BYU Law School Ball

and got waffles from the waffle truck!

Then we went to a wedding up at Sundance

and another wedding with a gorgeous view

We cheered on the BYU rugby team to winning the national championships, 

and went to Arizona so I could take the MCAT!

Then we sort of moved to Europe and explored:

>>> Ireland

Vienna <<<

>>> Bruges

Normandy <<<

>>> Sardinia

 PARIS <<<

>>> Germany

London <<<

>>> Washington, DC

New York City <<<

Then we came back home and attended this wedding, and this wedding. 

We went Crawdad fishing and 

I attended my first medical school interview!

And then guess what? We went to another wedding!

We hosted a chili-cook-off party and attended a pumpkin carving party!

We also hosted a Halloween party that was tons of fun and the 3rd annual Pie Party experienced its most successful year yet!

Then we celebrated Christmas with some decorations and a little gingerbread cookie get-together!

Thanks so much for reading. I love your sweet comments and I really enjoy sharing pieces of my life on here!

Here's to 2014!!

Links for the Weekend! Hooray!

^^^ This is my "IT'S THE WEEKEND" snapchat I sent to a friend... seemed appropriate.

It's the weekend! YES!

On a sadder note, I taught my very last anatomy class last night. I've been an anatomy TA for over 2 years now, and seriously it's been my most favorite thing EVER. I love my fellow anatomy TA's, I love teaching, and I love the human body and learning more about it, so it was sort of the perfect marriage of everything I love. And now it's over! This last semester of mine is flying by. I mean FLYING. 

Anyways, that was a tangent and now onto what I was planning on writing:

JP and I are joining my family on a little staycation up at the Zermatt Resort in Midway and I'm so so excited! I love pseudo-vacations! So little stress and so much fun! 

But before i go, some links that have been making my week:

>>> I can't wait to show you guys my new project involving these prints!

>>> This website, I'm obsessed with it. And I'm definitely using their downloadables for Thanksgiving!

>>> Been listening and loving this cover. 

>>> I'm in tears over this story and video. There are people in this world who are absolutely incredible. 

>>> Literally dying to purchase these. Trying to find them a little more in my price range though haha

6 Facts You Should Know...

Guys! I'm so excited, I got nominated by Katie, from The Silver Lining (I'm in love with her blog! She and her husband Kevin are so cute!), to join this "answer 6 fun facts about yourself"!
Which I'm pretty excited about, seeing as I usually just post things I do on here, not necessarily characteristics about myself 
(although those do inevitably come through.... i.e. you all know I'm a study-a-holic/I love weddings/I love JP/etc).

But anyways, here are 6 facts about me!

1. Let us in on a secret you haven't shared with your readers yet. 

>> Umm, lets see... Okay here's an embarrassing secret about myself: I think I can count on 2 hands the number of times I've made an actual non-frozen dinner since JP and I have been married... yikes! But I'm making up for it now in Paris! I'm cooking up a storm over here! (I might even share some of my favorite recipes I've found soon) And a storm is an apt comparison for how the "kitchen" (it's tiny) looks after the food is ready... it's been sort of a trial and error learning experience haha. 

2. What's your favorite part about marriage?

>> My favorite part about marriage has really got to be the fact that I always have a partner in crime! I was lucky enough to marry a guy that likes to do the same things I do -- we have the same desire to travel and see the world, we love getting dressed up and going out, or sometimes really just love staying home and watching all 9 seasons of The Office. But no matter what, everything is more fun with him, and I love it. 

3. If you could have your dream job, what would it be?

 >> A doctor! (surprise surprise haha) At this point I'm thinking I might like to be a dermatologist, or maybe a pediatrician! But I'm not really sure yet. 

4. Share one goal off of your bucket-list with us. 

>> My bucket-list is mostly travelling and places I want to see -- Santorini, Greece; Cliffs of Moher; Normandy Beach, etc. But I suppose a goal off my bucket list is a little bit different, and one goal I can think of off the top of my head is that I want to become scuba certified! I LOVE swimming in the ocean, and snorkeling is great, but I'm dying to go scuba diving. 

5. How did your blog come about?

>> I started my blog almost three years ago (can't believe it's actually been that long...) to document my experience on my study abroad in London. I discovered I liked blogging, and loved how it was a good alternative for a journal (since I am the world's worst journal-writer), so I stuck with it! 

6. Guilty pleasure? 

>> Jet Puff Marshmallow Cream. I can't have it at our house because I eat it with a spoon and the jar will last a week, tops! Seriously try it, it's a hidden gem of a treat.  

Okay now it's your turn! Take it away

Kimmi

Shayla

Beth

Brooke

Molly

Pick 6 of the following questions:

1) What's the one beauty product you cannot live without

2) Favorite song of the week? Provide a link if possible!

3) Why do you blog? What makes you stick with it?

4) You have a day off from work/school/responsibility/etc, what do you do with it?

5) Where do you see yourself/your life in 5 years from now?

6) Alright, what's your guilty pleasure? (this one is too fun not to include again!)

7) What's something about yourself that your readers don't know? (a fact about you, a goal, an embarrassing moment, anything!)

8) Post a picture of what you're wearing right now! And point out how it defines your personal style. 

PS- if anyone else wants to do this please do! Leave a link to your post in a comment because I would love to read it!

PSS - Google Reader is supposedly shutting down today! So, if you don't want to miss any updates, you can easily transfer your feed to bloglovin' by following these instructions, and be sure to follow me here if you don't already :)
OR, thanks to the tip off from Kylee, you can easily import your blog list to feedly! And follow me here if you want!
As always, thanks for reading!

I'M BACK!

Finals are over!

Not only is it sunny but it's actually warm!

Everything is booked for France!

MCAT studying is coming along nicely...! 

(and by nicely I mean I wanted to rip my brain out sometimes but that's normal right?)

And I wanted to check in and give this blog a little attention, so I decided to leave you with a little link list of awesome stuff I've been doing or looking at online!

Enjoy!

This video is AWESOME. Watch it, you'll be in awe.

I just bought this for a friend because 

a) Who wouldn't want to know more about Zelda Fitzgerald and 

b) I have heard really fantastic things about it. 

Can you say summer reading list?

Also, I stumbled across these neat things on etsy and it's probably just my inner anatomy/dissection TA coming out, but I kind of want one haha. 

JP and I recently saw this movie and I don't even know quite what to say about it. It's one of those movies that stays in your mind after you leave the theater, and somehow you find yourself still thinking about it days later. I think Bradley Cooper and/or Ryan Gosling deserves an Oscar for their performance!

And I've been collecting pictures of France such as this one because I can't believe we move there in 6 weeks!! aah!

Wait, What's a Weekend?

I sincerely hope your Saturday was more fun than mine:

I woke up, got dressed, came to the library, and now 9 hours later I am leaving. 

This whole MCAT/getting into med school thing better be worth it!

But my day wasn't entirely boring, because I found a bunch of awesome things online when I would take my mandatory surf-the-internet study breaks every couple hours (you all know what I mean). 

So here's a little link list! 

It's been a while since I've done one of these!

This video has me crying with laughter every single time I've watched it, literally (not figuratively). 

Oh the simple joys in life haha. 

<<<<>>>>

I really enjoyed reading this article about happiness, I loved the reminder of how fundamental and simple being happy can be!

<<<<>>>>

I am quite excited for this movie to come out, partly because I think the story it's based on is interesting and mostly because Sofia Coppola and Emma Watson are two of my favorite people on this planet. 

<<<<>>>>

A friend posted this link just yesterday, and it might be the most bizarre/hilarious/random way to waste time I've ever found online. 

<<<<>>>>

and I've been looking up swimsuits! My favs so far are here here and here. 

But don't worry, I won't be buying any before  May 30 :)

The one & only thanksgiving decoration gracing our home...

aww... festive isn't it?

Okay not really. But hey, don't I deserve a few points for trying? These past few weeks have flown by and suddenly Thanksgiving is a mere two days away. And the motivation to decorate our tiny apartment that doesn't even have a fireplace mantle (oh! the injustice!) is seriously lacking. 

So three cheers for free printables off the internet!  

This particular beauty is from here.

And I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

I am in charge of baking the rolls for our feast, can you say stress? Crossing my fingers that they rise properly and I don't burn them...

Friday Favorites

This story-in-pictures just about brought me to tears (I think the only thing holding me together was the fact that I looked at it while in class haha)

If you have a facebook account, and are friends with some particularly political-minded people, you will find this absolutely hilarious. 

I'm a huge fan of this website I recently discovered, and have spent wayy too much time in class clicking through its pages and posts. 

For the past three days I have had this album playing in my ears pretty constantly. Download it. I'm in love. It's my favorite of theirs since Hot Fuss came out a million years ago.

Along that same thought, I am so-excited-I-can't-adequately-express-it-in-words for this album to come out!! ahhh!!!

My gorgeous cousin just left for a study abroad to London (I know, rip my heart out) and is keeping the cutest blog about her adventures! I check it daily so I can live vicariously through her.  

I also might have just ordered these shoes in brown from Urban Outfitters... they were on sale! And then my friend Rachel ordered them in black, so we can be twinsies!  (and split the cost of shipping haha)

Speaking of Rachel... 

I believe some congratulations are in order for her and her new fiancé!!

Aren't they a freakishly good-looking couple? I know. 

And the best part is (besides them living happily ever after) that I set them up!! 

I am so proud. It will be my greatest accomplishment until I have a child or something. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

I have 4 tests to study for, so chances are yours will be more fun than mine :)

A Link List:

 Here are a few things inspiring me/keeping me busy now that school is out!

• I've watched this video no less than 5 times today! It's beautiful!
•  
• In an effort to spruce up our little drab stairwell (we live in a basement) I scoured the internet to find a good deal on this gorgeous thing! I'm obsessed with it. 
•  
• I find myself returning to this site multiple times a day, it's my new favorite!
• 
  
• I have also undertaken a little DIY craft project! So let's all cross our fingers and hope my copy of this turns out somewhat presentable :)
•  
• This song is on repeat in our apartment. Literally. I am listening to it right now. 
•  
• Also, I am trying to save up/justify buying this for Summer! The buttons down the front?! I'm dying.

Some Things I am Loving:

Hello there! 

Sorry it's been almost 5 days since my last post! Life sort of took over for a minute -- things like Organic Chemistry tests (hello 4+ hours in the testing center), a much-neglected messy apartment that needed cleaning, late night chatting (Mr. JP and I get funnier and funnier as the night gets later and later), and some exciting news* has been preoccupying my time and my thoughts.

But here are some things that I am loving lately! Enjoy :)

This is one of my favorite online magazines (gotta save those trees) -- very insightful and creative articles. 

Possible one of the sickest music videos ever produced. Ever. Watch it, love it, and you're welcome in advance.

One of my new favorite design blogs! Really fabulous stuff going on over here. 

Also, I'm just a little obsessed with flowy blouses and color blocking so when these two worlds collided I feel in love.

This pillow series is pretttttty awesome. Since I don't really have a good theme going on in our apartment I might just add one to the awesome hodge-podge that is our living room. 

Oh and of course I am obsessed with quotes, and here are some of my most favorite recent discoveries:

*I'm not pregnant, just to clear the air.