just a girl and her tutu

I believe in color...lots of it

I believe in frivolity...especially the kind that makes my face look weird

I believe in accepting others...even their shadows

I believe...

Jacket-BYU bookstore
T-Shirt- Zumies
Tank top- F21
Jeans- Pacsun
Tutu- Hot Topic
Bow- Hot Topic
Necklace- F21
Converse- Journeys

little things that mean the most

Today I'm thankful for...
family members being okay after a small car crash ><
prayer
kevin bacon
footloose
domino's pizza (hawaiian style, please)
good grades
being reunited with my love machine t-shirt from high school
clean clothes
enjoying my psych class
thinking i lost my phone in the library only to find it in my coat pocket an hour and a half later ><
the weird yet charming relationship i have with my hubby
(think...dancing koalas...hahahhaha)

bookworming and other miscellaneousness

What I'm reading...

Still trucking along with "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

Currently on page 208 and reading through 261 tonight for hw.

We discussed a particular passage from the reading today in my lit class.

We applied the idea Bush coined, "The Axis of Evil," to Oskar seeing similarities in his opening night audience of Hamlet; most of the audience shares the last name Black.

It was a very interesting conversation, one that I didn't want to end.

This is a collection of short stories written by Stephen King, obviously.
My mother purchased this book for me when we were on a long trip...possibly to Branson? Or maybe Colorado?
I finished "Gingerbread Girl" on Sunday night for the second time.
Now I'm onto "Ayana."

What I'm listening to...
"Sophia" by Laura Marling

First ever outfit post!

My awesome sweater vest came from DI.

My mother made my skirt.

breakfast in bed sunday

What a long week. 

Whoa. 

I got to hug my dad again, meet his girlfriend, eat home-cooked meals, watch sappy movies, explore downtown Denver, sit in an Irish pub [while sipping a Pepsi], fall in love with Zac all over again, and cuddle with some adorable dogs. 

I also got this skirt at H&M on Friday afternoon.
I'll be wearing it to Emily's wedding! Hooray!

Happiness, happiness, happiness.
Zac and I finally made it back to Provo last night after a long day stuck at the Salt Lake bus station.
We left Denver at 12:40 am and got into Salt Lake at 10:35 am.
Our next bus was scheduled to leave Salt Lake at 6:50 pm therefore getting us in Provo by 8 or so.
Then we'd have to walk the four miles from the bus station in Provo all the way to our apartment.
With 5 pieces of luggage.
We were placing our suitcases grudgingly in an expensive locker at the bus station when a woman came up to us and said she'd talked with one of the workers and had them place her luggage in a back room b/c she'd be in Salt Lake for 8 hours.
We followed suit.

 [Flashback: On our 4 hour layover when we were going to Denver, Zac and I went on a walk and stumbled on a mall! We window shopped, ate some cheap Applebee's, and shared some Rocky Mountain Chocolate. We had no idea we would be getting a date. I pulled Zac into Anthropologie, myself never being in the actual store. We found this and this and this and were shocked at the prices. haha]

Our last night in Colorado before our midnight bus.

After putting our stuff in the back room, we decided to go back to the mall.
We ate McDonalds [$6 total], window shopped, and read for several hours in Barnes & Noble.

Zac texted Tim to ask him if he could pick us up [b/c he works in Salt Lake]. He obliged.
We got back to the bus station around 2:30 pm, expecting to get our stuff and wait for Tim to pick us up.
How wrong we were.

><
Come to find out, the ticket office and the terminal closes from 12 pm-5 pm. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. WTF.
We stood outside the back room door, paced the bus station, and stalked potential bus station workers for several hours. By that point, I was tired, hungry, sweaty, and just plain filthy. Zac was stressed and frustrated. We both just wanted go home, shower, eat dinner, and fall into bed.

Tim shows up at 4, ready to take us home, but we still don't have our stuff. We think some workers will show up b/c a bus arrival is expected at 4:30. The bus never comes.

At our wits end, we finally flag down a worker, he opens the back room, we grab our stuff, and head home.

After thanking Tim profusely for everything he did that day, Zac made some Shells and Cheese, while I started unpacking our luggage. I got two suitcases back from my dad that I'd left in Colorado last July, so being reunited with my clothes and knickknacks was AMAZING. I won't be needing clothes for a long time. And that is so happy, I think.
We ate our dinner, showered, and spent our evening together.

We slept late today, he made me breakfast in bed, and now I'm setting out to finish unpacking my long lost clothes. haha :]

[SCENE BREAK]
We found out yesterday my older sister Pam is engaged! 

HOORAY!

Good break, if I do say so myself.

:]

attack of the adorable

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the way to my dads house.

Spending time with my dad for the first time in a year and a half!

I think this picture is too wonderful for words.

little things that mean the most

Today I'm thankful for:

sleeping in
a husband who kisses me before he leaves for school
old, good friends finding new relationships
a clean apartment
messy hair
warm fuzzy pink blankets
waking up from two nightmares right when they got a little too scary
realizing my life is so much better awake than asleep hahahaha
packing
my red scarf and gloves
not having class until 1
taking a bus to colorado with my best friend in a couple of hours
seeing my dad tomorrow morning at 7 am!

happy tears
long hugs
zac planking on me
my surprise fits of laughter at 12 am

reddit

bookworm extravaganza and music madness monday

What I'm reading...

I started reading "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer last night for my Fund. Lit. class with the sole intention of completing the homework assignment (pages 1-75).
...It went so quick and earlier this afternoon, I found myself on page 110.
I'm enjoying this book more than words can express. The writing is so poignant and mesmerizing. I haven't read a book this good in while and it feels amazing. Even though I'm reading it for class, it doesn't feel like I'm dragging myself through it or annoyed in the least.
Well, I may be a little annoyed because my writing is so inadequate compared to his.
><
Haha.

I actually read this book (Reader's Digest version) back in April, but picked it up again last night.
My grandmother sat me down in her small but beautiful house in Arizona one afternoon after lunch.
She asked me what kinds of stories I enjoy reading.
"Anything with mystery and attention to detail. It may be nice to have some love in there, too..."
She laughed and told me I could have one of her Reader's Digest collection of stories.

In that collection was "The Girl Who Chased the Moon" by Sarah Addison Allen.
She said it was perfect for me.
I went home and devoured it...When I'd come up for air, I couldn't breathe. It was that good.
I'll probably be taking it with me on the trip out to Colorado on Tuesday...Long bus ride=grumpy Chelsea.
I love forgetting about a book for a while, then opening it up again, and finding out why I loved it the first time.

What I'm listening to...

"Lost Things" by A Fine Frenzy.

I just found this literally 5 minutes ago.
I am speechless.
So beautiful.

I wish I had her hair.
Zac probably doesn't.
:]

Plaid shirts and A KITTEN (Part two)...and a mustache

Bert loves box.

Chelsea loves Bert.

Plaid loves Chelsea.

Chelsea loves mustaches.
Oh, wait.
><

Plaid shirts AND A KITTEN

Well...I don't think I'm cool anymore. :(
I just went out to play in the snow with Zac. He was way more excited about the snow than I was, seeing as this is his *first* snow (his first first snow happened when he was really little). He grew up in California. I, on the other hand, grew up in Kansas, where snow starts in November and doesn't go away until February-Marchish. Also, while growing up, I was the target for all the snowballs. I thought, "Hey, maybe today will be different! Maybe today I will destroy Zac and win in a snowball fight! YEAH LET'S DO THIS!" Instead, he totally owned me. I just kind of stood there, frowning, laughing, and not feeling my hands while he threw snowballs at me. >< hahaha Oh, well. At least I looked really cute! :)
Well, now I'm off to go play video games with Zac and his friend, Josh.
Wish me luck.
I may definitely need it.

I WAS JUST REMINDED THAT JOSH HAS A KITTEN
I AM A HAPPY GIRL!

:D

Making the most of what I have

While writing this, I'm sitting at my desk, eating strawberry banana yogurt. Not just yogurt, mind you. I put some whipped cream on top of it. Though it may look kind of awkward, you can't beat yogurt with a whipped cream mountain on top. :]

Zac is in bed behind me, needing to nap for a bit. He had an exceptionally long week full of tests and quizzes, but he came out the victor. :] I'm so proud of him, you guys. He really means the world to me. I tucked him in bed, made sure the layers of blankets and quilts covered him properly. I'm pretty sure he's asleep now.

When we woke up this morning at 7:40, we jumped out of bed, dressed, and ran to school, needing to be on campus by 8. While we ran, I yelled at him, "Let's play tag!" He looked over at me and gave me a questioning look. But I touched his shoulder and shouted, "Tag, you're it!"  then ran like a madwoman through the freshman dorms. He eventually caught me. Then I tagged him back. Then he tagged me. By that point, I was all laughed out, dizzy with endorphins, and my legs felt a little wobbly, so I breathed out, "Game. Overrrr." hahaha He was quite a ways ahead of me, but slowed down to let me catch up. Once we were next to each other he said, "You aren't gonna pull something low, like tag me--" Then I lightly tapped his arm and whispered, "You're it."

Our game of tag will definitely be one of the most meaningful memories I carry with me throughout my life. Even after I'm gone, that memory will still be very much alive with me. If someone were to ask me after I died, "What made your life meaningful?" I think I'd struggle putting into words my answer. But I do know I'd go back to a certain few memories that have meant the most:  My childhood, past loves, tears cried on friend's shoulders, warm hugs from parents, realizing for the first time my testimony of Jesus Christ, meeting Zac, marrying him in the temple, and our journey together throughout this life. When it all comes down to it, he really is my everything. I hope I don't come off as being narcissistic or boastful. With all the humility I can muster, I honestly love him more than I love myself. I don't know where I'd be or who I'd be if I lost him. I do know, however, that he loves me for me. And if I did lose him, he wouldn't be hard to find because he's a part of me. He completes me in the most sacred and personal way imaginable.

When we first started dating :]

Next Tuesday, we'll be travelling by bus to Colorado to visit my dad who I haven't seen since last July! Yippee skippy, I can barely contain my excitement. My dad is the best. :] I can't wait to hug him tight, kiss him, and introduce him to Zac. Yes, you heard right. My father still hasn't met my husband. Haha, Oh good golly. Dad is looking forward to "Meeting the young lad," and Zac is maybe more apprehensive. But I know my two amazing men will get along just fine.

School is coming along just fine. I've cleared the midterm craziness, so has Zac, and now we're taking a breather before finals. After this semester, I'll only have 3.5-4 semesters left of school until graduation! Thinking of that moment when I receive my diploma from BYU is just too mind boggling. I seriously can't wait. 

:]

Zombies, pumpkins, tights...I love fall!

My life in pictures over the past couple of months :]

I was in a brilliant one-act by August Strindberg, "The Stronger"

I was Mdme. X, a retired actress and housewife

I was a zombie for a church Halloween party

Won scariest costume :]

Zac's Yoshi pumpkin

My happiness with a bow pumpkin

Zac, Chelsea, Tim, and Emily pumpkin

Cute

for

church :]

Chili cheese fries and my "ugly duckling" syndrome

I have an unexpected yet likable relationship with compliments.

It's like with chili cheese fries. 

When I was a kid, I didn't think chili could go with fries, or that fries could go with cheese. However, I was all for chili with a little bit of cheese on top. I thought everyone who ate chili cheese fries had their brains taken over by aliens or something. But then, one day, I was dared to eat a chili cheese fry. It wasn't just any dare, mind you. It was a double dog dare. So, I had to eat it, duh. I plugged my nose and took a bite.

And it was, without a doubt, the best thing to ever happen to me. I was like, "How did I not think this was good before?!" 

When I was younger, I wasn't necessarily the "coolest" or "most popular" girl in school. I had a slight unibrow (gross right?) I wore high water jeans, I didn't brush my hair, I had thick glasses, I stuttered whenever I got nervous (especially when called on in class) I laughed at really lame jokes the teacher's made...it wasn't so much a "laugh" as it was a "guffaw"...And I had a tendency to stare at clocks or walls for extended periods of time.

I am on the second row, in the white and gray sweatshirt. Kindergarten.

Me, third grade. Yes, I signed my picture.

I am on the front row, on the far left. Fifth grade. What did I tell you?

Summer before sixth grade. Oh, good golly.

I didn't think I "went well" with compliments...hence the chili cheese fry reference. :)

Fast forward eight years, I'd say I've transformed from an "ugly duckling" to a *cough cough* "swan" on the outside. I've learned how to dress myself, how to style my hair, how to wear contacts, and where to spray perfume on my wrists, neck, and hair.

Though a "swan" on the outside, I am sometimes still that "ugly duckling" on the inside. I am sometimes shy and timid. I am still that little girl in elementary and middle school who'd whisper hello or laugh really loud in people's faces. Just an awkward, confused mess.
Today, I was complimented quite a lot because of my outfit:

• An oversized blue button down shirt (kindly donated by Zac)
• A cilp on Slytherin tie
• Robot necklace
• Black skinny jeans
• Beat up converse
• Curled hair
• A charm bracelet
• A Hawaiian bracelet

The really weird thing is I was so excited to wear this outfit on campus. I did a runway show for Zac before I left for school. He loved it, I loved it, we loved it (mostly because I don't wear makeup or do my hair as much as I used to before getting married...Probably the motivation behind looking so fly today). So when I got to school, I walked quickly through the HFAC, hoping no one would see my outfit. I thought that so strange and then decided to walk slower. And people came up to me, complimented me, then wanted to chat! I blushed through the compliments and then quickly took the focus off of me, and onto them. I felt better that way. It almost tasted like a chili cheese fry. In a totally not weird way :)

A smiling and confident Chelsea.