Sundance Film Festival + More:

Hello!!

It's been over a month since I posted on here - something I swore would never happen because an online journal is sort of completely worthless if nothing is ever posted... but moving on:

2nd semester of med school is hard! Why didn't anyone tell me med school is hard? ;) 

So studying is consuming my life, but thankfully I am LOVING what I am learning about, my classmates are pretty much my favorite people, and JP keeps me sane by forcing me to leave my studying cave and do fun things. 

Speaking of those fun things, we went to the Sundance film festival!

It's our sixth year attending (crazy!) and I think it was the best year yet. 

We saw three movies -- Digging for Fire, I Am Michael, and Z for Zachariah and they were all so different that I don't even know which one is my favorite. 

The best part about seeing movies at Sundance is that the actors and director are right there and watch the movie with you, then they get up on stage after and talk about the movie and answer any questions the audience has! 

^^^ Dinner in Park City at Vinto after a movie!

^^^ Hi Nick Miller!

 ^^^ James Franco on the left talking into the mic!

So that was really fun. 

See previous Sundance film festival adventures here, here, here, and here!

Then, last weekend, JP decided that we really needed a weekend away and so at 5:00 PM on Friday evening we decided to road trip to St. George!

We jumped in the car with our friends Eric and Kimmi and had the best weekend eating delicious food, laying in the sun, hot tubbing, and playing tennis!

And then last but not least - Valentines Day!

We had a pretty low key valentines this year - it started the night before valentines with our annual heart-shaped pizza group date (thanks to everyone who came!) which I will be posting about soon because I just realized that I didn't upload my pictures off my camera yet haha. 

But here is a picture of what I wore! Very festive.

Then the morning of valentines we went to yoga, played some tennis, and got Vietnamese food that night! And also watched half of Titanic.  It was basically perfect, and I loved every minute of it. 

The 6th Annual Christmas Party!

My friend Jordan and I (see the above pic? That's us!) hosted our 6th annual holiday soiree last weekend and I say this every year but think it was the best year yet!

Instead of a sit down dinner with place cards and hams and potatoes and lots of stress, we did a cocktail-style event and it was fabulous! We had cabaret tables and about 20 different appetizers and desserts, not to mention holiday punch and of course, the white elephant gift exchange! 

This year might have been the best year when it comes to the... um... variety of the white elephant gifts haha and seriously it was such a blast. 

I ended up with a Christmas clock that plays holiday songs every hour and some other lucky winners went home with a 49ers snuggy, a homemade twinky machine, and a pickle (to name a few!) 

This party is one that I look forward to each year - it's the best way to get all our friends from the past 6+ years together and spend a fabulous evening mingling and chatting and catching up. 

This year we had over 50 people come (!!!) and a new addition to the festivities included a photo backdrop that was made by Jordan's sister Kendel - it was maybe the most amazing backdrop I've ever seen and she also was the unofficial photographer of the night and took everyone's pictures in front of it! (seriously Kendel, you're a champ) I didn't even manage to take any photos of the centerpieces, the food, or the decor because I was too busy chatting and then suddenly 4 hours had passed and the party was over. 

What a night! Without any snow around it had hardly felt like Christmas, but after this party I was catapulted right into the Christmas spirit!

And thank you to everyone who came!

And I apologize in advance if your picture didn't make this post! There were  a lot to sort through and some most likely definitely slipped through the cracks!

^^^ Look at how amazing this made-from-scratch-and-held-together-with-3-nails backdrop is!

See previous years HERE and HERE!

Best Of: Utah Edition

Ooh I love living in Utah!

There is so much to do! Winter or Summer. 

And there's so many great places to eat, as evidenced by most of my blog posts... moving on:

Not being in school this semester (hello graduated life) lets me enjoy a lot more of Utah than I usually do during this time of the year!

First up, skiing!!

My dad and I head up to Sundance resort -- I've been skiing there since I was 3 years old so it might not be the biggest resort in Utah, but I always feel like I'm home when I'm there, I love it!!

We went on the weekend with the HUGE snowstorm so the snow was A-MAZ-ING. And then it's decided to rain and be 50 degrees for the last two weeks so...

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

Next up: BYU Basketball games!

Which are seriously so much fun to go to. 

They're so loud and everyone gets so into it!

BYU played Gonzaga last night and it was the best game! 

JP and I got a little cameo on ESPN too! haha for like 3 whole seconds.

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

And then this isn't really a Utah-specific thing but...

HAVE YOU TRIED THESE?!?

Delicious. So so yummy. 

Get out to your nearest grocery store and purchase some! You won't regret it. 

The marshmallow crispy ones are my fave.

:)

Valentine's Pizza Party 4.0

Since it's been like two full months since JP and I threw a party, we were getting a bit antsy. 

Luckily, Valentine's day is just around the corner so that means...

HEART SHAPED PIZZA + PAZOOKIES PARTY TIME!

See previous years here, here, and here!

Our friends Eric & Kimmi helped us co-host this year and it might have been the best year yet. 

I mean, if you combine:

>>> heart-shaped pizza dough, 

>>> enough pizza sauce to feed a party 5x's our size, 

(not a joke, unfortunately. Anybody need pizza sauce?) 

>>> half-baked cookie dough with graham-canyon ice cream, 

>>> and 9 couples, 

with our own version of the newly-wed game,

 hilarity has to ensue, doesn't it? 

There are probably too many pictures but there were so many good ones I couldn't narrow it down, so enjoy! :)

Now, I'm off to look up recipes on pinterest that involve pizza sauce. 

Fire & Ice Festival:

Here's what you will see of our Saturday night:

>>> kissing in front of ice sculptures

>>> kissing the ice sculptures themselves

>>> admiring reindeer and also trying to be a reindeer...

Here's what you won't see:

> the fireworks. They were AMAZING too. But you know what? Pictures of fireworks never do them justice, and plus I usually end up missing the fireworks show because I'm so overly concerned about capturing them on my camera. So now, I don't even try, and I have to say I enjoy fireworks a heck of a lot more now haha. 

> the marriage proposal that occurred in the middle of the fireworks show, it was beautiful and sweet and I didn't capture even one second of it because the camera was put away, as per the above reasons. 

> the delicious mexican food we ate afterwards. Why is mexican food so good when you're starving?!

> our attempt to be olympians, but you can see it here on my instagram. 

Here's to a new week! 

(and a new resolve to be more regularly about blogging! forgive me!)

Day Date: Sundance Film Festival

JP and I have a lovely tradition of attending the Sundance Film Festival every year we've been together (that's 5 years now FYI, crazy!).

And not "lets-go-see-how-many-celebs-we-can-spot" attend, 

(although I would be up for that as well, JP will have none of it haha) 

no, we actually go to the films! And we honestly look forward to it all year. We've been to lots of movies at the festival and have watched them premier right along side the actors, producers, and director. 

There is something pretty incredible about witnessing someone's artistic vision come to life with them right in the same room.

Of course, attending films at the Sundance Film Festival is always risky -- you might not always get into a showing, which is so disappointing, and none of the films are rated so you're always taking a chance when it comes to the scale of appropriateness haha.

But we love it. We love movies -- well-made, thought-provoking movies that widen or even change your perspective. So the Sundance Film Festival is sort of right up our alley haha. 

This year we headed up on the first day and were really looking forward to seeing "Camp X-Ray" but unfortunately due to some traffic re-routing and other unforeseen issues we missed the deadline by 1 minute! 1! 

Just a heads up - They are freakishly strict when it comes to the film scheduling, whoa.

Anyways, we decided to not let the day be a total loss and took advantage of the beautiful weather by walking around Park City and having brunch at our favorite bagel shop up there. 

Not a bad way to spend a morning! And we're going back up later this week! Anyone seen or heard of one that's a must-see? I have a list but it can always be added to :)

See previous (blogged) years at Sundance:

2011,  2012,  2013