cali

you gotta love that red northern california dirt!

 shirt: christmas gift from my sissy, cami: downeast, skirt: ross, belt: f21, ring; earrings: freddy's

so this post has been a long time comin', sorry bout that. :) 

these outfit pics were taken in my grandparent's field in cali! when my sister wanted me to, once again, take more pics for her. sigh. so i decided to teach her a tiny lesson in photography at the same time.

didn't turn out too bad. 

Anyways, cali was filled with fun times with family

(this is my aunt j, everyone says we look alike) 

whiskeytown swimming! 

ice cream!

the heat (it was in the upper 90's the whole time) 

and plenty of love :)

adios

shirt; jeans: ross, cami: downeast, shoes: target

 you guys are jealous. i'm leaving for california today. and you're jealous. well, unless you already live in california.....

my fam and i are going to go visit my grandparents. its been years! i'm excited. and i get to ditch this crappy oregon summer for a little while! 

these pictures are deceiving....they were taken on a very rare occasion as of late when the sun actually decided to make an appearance. we were at the park with some friends and the sun/light was just so lovely!

and we ate some very yummy food.

raspberry calfouti.

and gluten-free orange custard cake. 

go ahead and drool while i go pack my suitcase.

do the creep

for your entertainment:

do the creep. moulin rouge style. 

if you don't know what I'm talking about, watch this. now. 

okay I'm done.


(and if you haven't seen moulin rouge...well, shame on you).

late night hair

Welcome to my face with no make-up on! yahoo :) Do you ever get this sudden urge at 1 o'clock in the morning to do your hair? Well, that happened to me last night. I've tried this style before after seeing Ashley's tutorial but it didn't stay/turn out right because I had slightly straightened my hair before hand. This time I decided to try it again with just my natural hair (which used to kinda do this on its own but somehow decided to stop). I love how it turned out! Next time I get my hands on a slightly bigger curling iron I'll for sure try it again (mine's only maybe 1 inch).

All you do is take a section of hair (I grab various sizes) and curl it from the roots (or as close as you can get) by twisting it around the barrel without using the clamp. I spray each curled section with hair spray as soon as I've curled it so that way it stays. I absolutely love Dove Damage Therapy Extra Hold Hairspray- because it doesn't have that awful strong hairspray smell and it has a super light formula that dries quickly but doesn't leave your hair stiff or sticky. Its almost like not even having hairspray in your hair at all. Its glorious.

After I'm all done I usually shake it out a bit so it looks more natural. I even slept on it last night and it still looked good today!

you are the smile to my face

shirt: ross (i think), skirt: freepiled 

 theres no point in starting out this post with apologizing for how much i stink at blogging, right? okay great cause i'm totally skipping it :) 

life has been an interesting whirlwind again...but a much kinder one this time. Lets just say that I feel absolutely fantastic about my life right now no matter what.  I'm running with the fact that any uncertainties I might have at the moment will just make the ride more interesting. Also I take a ton of comfort in this quote I came across the other day:

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

what a classy lady.

gettin...uh...crafty?

I designed this little number last night for the about section of my photo blog! you like? I do.

I'm planning on adding an about me section here too soon! No worries. And it will be great. 

ignite the light, and let it shine

shirt: roommate hand-me-down, sunglasses, earrings: claire's

 so these pictures are actually from sunday. tricky huh? I just haven't uploaded the pics my lovely mother took of me today in the fabulous outfit i wore to my interview. And oh, I rocked it by the way (the outfit and the interview, of course). And these ones were actually taken by my sister with my f/1.8 lens...I was trying to teach her how to use it and she didn't do too shabby.

Now, for your amusement I would like to share a joke my 8 year old little brother made up and shared with my sister and I at the dinner table this evening as we were munching away on taco salad. He said:

"Two men were sitting and talking, but one of them said, 'I have to go home and do some work.' Then the other one said 'What kind of work?' 'Homework, of course!'"

Get it?

We busted up and were giggling like the little goofs we all are.

 And oh, your dose of cuteness for the day (or errr....night): 

she was picking flowers for mommy.

funkytown

oh hey. its been a while. goodness gracious. I've just been in such a funk lately....some stuff has happened that has thrown me for a bit but thats life and it goes on. right? right.

 cardigan, shirt: mila, pants: freepiled (ya thats right...got em for free!), headband: no clue? :)

in other news: I have a job interview tomorrow! yay! and it pays good! I'm really hoping I get it. i'll put on my sexy new black pencil skirt that I got from khols yesterday (while I was being a good little grownup and going on all sorts of errands...including grocery shopping for my mama), a cute flowy shirt, some red heels, and curl my hair and i'll nail it!    

shoes: target! they will make a better appearance, because they are too cute and comfy and i wear them all the time.

and now, whenever I'm feeling icky, I'll just remember this picture and how happy I was in this moment, shakin my booty. You are free to do the same. 

I'm going to go back to editing photos and watching the voice/chopped now. 

readjusting

hello. I'm back! before I say absolutely anything else, look at my sister's face!!!!! isn't she just too gorgeous for her own good? Yeah, I think so too. I'm taking her senior pictures and letting her be one of my senior reps and this was a little trial shoot we did the other night when our family decided to go over to the park before it got dark. and i used my new lens (oh and camera too, by the way. but the lens is even newer)! I'm just a little bit in l.o.v.e with it. see more on facebook or on my business blog. and oh i'm shooting my first wedding on friday! happy happy! 

I'm not going to say much else but that only now in this moment have I really felt like blogging. My life has been such a whirlwind lately, and although I hate sounding like a complainer but I seriously need some kind of outlet besides blabbing off the ear of my mother or one of my best friends! So I'm sorry. But I also kind of want to take this opportunity to express my love for my life, blessings, and the Gospel. So maybe instead of sounding like I'm whining, I'll inspire whoever else happens to stumble upon this little blog. I think thats something I want to be able to do here. (I'm also too hard on myself and that needs to change but we don't have to talk about that I suppose).

Today I realized many things. Risa's (refer to below post) sister Railee, who is equal in best friend-ness as Risa or possibly more since I've had the chance to be around Railee more and I met her first, texted me this morning (well...it was more like 11:30) while I was still in bed and sweetly asked if she could head over to my house in a few minutes. We talked for hours. It's been a couple weeks since Risa's passing and it was a relief I think for the both of us but definitely for me for us to sit and talk. Rai told me  so much about her experiences with Risa and especially of her last experiences with Risa and I think it was able to give me a little bit of the closure I so very much need. There is nothing like losing someone. But, I heard Elder Holland say in a BYU-I devotional from back in 1998 called "Christmas Comfort" (I had to listen to it for a final project for one of my classes this last semester, you can search for it by going here) that "no one can truly experience real love if they have never experienced real loss." I cannot tell you how right he is. He also said that temporary separation at death is just one of the prices we have to pay for love in this world, and that "we can't rejoice over the joy of one's birth and living, unless we are prepared, and understand, and accommodate with some grace, the inevitability, including the untimeliness on occasion, of difficulty, and trouble, and death." Lets just say that this Easter will be very special for me and the people around me. Risa's funeral is on saturday and I am looking forward to the peace it will bring me. Does that make sense? I hope so. Excuse me for taking up so much of this post. I can't help it.

It's been harder to readjust to life at home and in a family again (oh byu-idaho and your three-track system) especially with the stresses I'm supposed to be letting go off, (and while having some roommate withdrawals) than i thought it would be. But that's okay. I have people who love me and that's all that matters.

I've been thinking about how to use this blog lately, and how to get more followers/readers, and if that's really important to me or not. All I want to do is bring some sunshine into other people's days, and find a way for me to be an over-all better person. So I think I will use this to post outfit pictures here and there to make sure I actually look presentable, to share photos of the simple things in my life so I appreciate them more, to share inspiring thoughts so my heart stays happy, and to maybe even possibly share recipes or writings or cute ideas of mine, etc. so I don't just sit here on my bum all day. 

sorrow and joy

my dear friends, my heart is literally aching right now. it is so unexplainable. one of the reasons why i have been MIA lately is not only that i'm right smack in the middle of my finals, but one of my best friends Risa, who has been struggling with a very rare and advanced form of cancer for the past year, is leaving this world very soon. I found out last wednesday that her liver is failing, and she was given no more than a week to live. And by now she only has a couple of days left, if anything. She has even gotten so far to the point where she cannot communicate or necessarily understand words spoken to her.

This girl has changed my life. not only has she been a faithful friend for years, but the guiding light that she is has opened my eyes. She has made me fall in love with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and changed my entire outlook on life. And not only is she ridiculously strong, but so is her family. They are valiant soldiers. And such good examples to me. I am now more thankful than ever for the knowledge of eternity that I have.

Prayers for me, but especially prayers for her and her family would be so very much appreciated right now. Thank you for your kind hearts.

mucho love.

little things

forgive me. it has definitely been a while. but its not my fault! the last few weeks before the end of the semester are always super crazy for me. so i've kind of told myself that i'm not going to be able to do much blogging until i get back home. oregon, you are so close yet so far!! :(

anyways, i just took this picture like 5 minutes ago. i wanted to show you all one of the simple little things in life that make me really happy. bright red nail polish! seriously there is just something about it that makes me smile. and it also makes me feel pretty. i got this stuff from broulims for like, $1 something.

also a couple more little things that make me happy: 1. singing hymns, 2. watching like three...or four...movies all in one day with my roommates because its saturday and just because we can (which may or may not have happened yesterday), 3. orange slices. the candy kind, not the fruit kind, 4. crest vanilla mint toothpaste, 5. anything coconut, 6. bubble tea! 7. camping, 8. kisses from my little sister, liddy. yep. that sums most of it up.

and oh hey...

check out my extravadance shots! 

realizations

shirt: ross, pants: khols, jacket: F21, shoes: ross

today was good. i got a good amount accomplished!!! i slept in until the glorious time of 12:30 in the afternoon, worked on my video package for my intro to journalism class (huh, do i seem to talk about that class a lot or is it just me? well i get the most homework in that class), chilled out, and went to extravadance! it was nice to be able to actually concentrate on and watch the dances this time. the lovely brooke took my outfit pictures today! i took a few of her too, those might show up here sometime soon :)

look! carlson ave :) my last name is a street! and its funny how i've lived in rexburg for over a year now and i haven't really gotten a decent picture with it. this one, i think, is decent :)

my heart has been touched in so many ways this week. the earthquake in japan has not only kept me up worrying about friends and family but has brought so many realizations to my attention. i realize how important my family is to me. and i also realize how much of a hand God has in our lives, in my life. but the biggest thing i have gotten out of it is that i now TRULY and wholeheartedly know that i am on the right path. i am meant to be a journalist. no matter how terrible the effects of the earthquake are and how dangerous it might be, i have the strongest desire to be there covering it all. somehow, i feel like i could make some kind of a difference that way. 

mucho awkward/awesomeness

shirt: ross (from a looong time ago), cardigan: target, belt: came with a skirt, earrings: claire's 

k so heres the deal, i didn't wear this today but i wore this outfit...well one like it... yesterday. (this picture was taken earlier in the semester) sooo yeah. i felt like i needed SOME kind of outfit picture since i haven't blogged since monday. it won't happen again! notice the box of cheez-its on the shelf...yep thats my main food source. 

since its thursday and i'm going to conform to what all (or...most...) bloggers are doing because of the hilarious sydney from the daybook, i'm gonna start my own awkward and awesome thursdays! starting today! 

awkward: 

-me, with my skinny little chicken arms, lugging around a massive camera case with precious cargo inside...aka a 70-200 mm lens, 1D Mark 2, another lens, etc etc...and looking people in the eye as i walk past them while saying (in my mind..) "nooo, i am not about to fall over thank you very much." 

-elevator rides when there's only one other person in there with you...we all know this is awkward. and its even more awkward when the elevator stops working. yeah.

-being called the name of another redhead from the class since there are three total in the class...and everyone but the teacher knowing he got you mixed up with the other redhead right next to you

-the fact that my face just burns up and turns beet red, beet red i tell ya...whenever i get embarrassed, or sometimes just when something is funny and i'm laughing or when i'm simply talking in class...sorry folks there's nothing i can do about it. so don't point it out because you know it will get worse. 

-these boots. just sayin'.

awesome:

-walking in front of the media lab while a class is going right as an old teacher...from almost a year ago...sees you and WAVES! he recognized me!

-shooting extravadance last night. there's nothing not-awesome about it.

-the weather in rexburg today. bliss.

-planning on going to winger's with a bunch of our roommates and friends tonight for my roommate alisha's birthday for probably a week now...or at least a few days...and me getting a text coupon this morning for buy 1 get 1 free at winger's. and then i texted it to my roommates and they texted it to everyone else. i am awesome. it was fate.

-compliments. they're just awesome.

-knowing that your day will be crazy crazy busy and dreading it but then it ends up just being happy and good for no particular reason at all. 

monday monday

jacket: F21; gifted, shirt: downeast, scarf: walmart, skirt: ross, tights: target, shoes: thrifted 

alfkghlakhalaaa. that's the noise i just made. today....has been....just meh. not terrible, but not fabulous. lets just say its definitely monday. i had to present in my intro to journalism class today and was 20 minutes late because i procrastinated and then had a printer problem and i was going crazy. the i can't breathe i'm gonna bang my head against my computer kind of crazy. which actually happens almost daily. so nbd. also, right after i was done with my presentation and sat down in my desk, i noticed blood on my paper. i looked at my right thumb thinking it was coming from the hang nail i currently have there but that wasn't the source! it was my left thumb! and i had to wait until the presentation after me was finished to go to the bathroom and help my poor little thumb :( and it KEPT bleeding for a while. sorry if that grossed any of you out. but i now have a cute bright purple bandaid on my thumb. anyways. it was so nice in rexburg this morning, the sun was out and i could actually feel WARMTH! but now its all dreary outside. i want the sun to come back! 

oh, i apologize for the lack of excitement in my choice of background as of late for my outfit pictures. its just at the bottom of the stairs to my apartment and the easiest. i promise it will change soon. and hey all! if you like what you see and read here on this little blog i would love it if you'd follow me :) thanks! 

MUCHO love!

secrets

shirt: ross (i think...i've had it for a while), pants: thrifted, shoes: ross, headband: target

little secret about me: i used to DETEST the thought of tucking in shirts. but now its not so bad. huh. and excuse my funky poses at the top...i've found its way difficult to pose myself and make sure my roommate kirsten is taking the picture...since she knows nothing really about photography (bless her heart) but its quicker than a tripod and i love her! you are so darling kirsten and i've gotten so used to your jumping up in bed and mumbling something that i always ignore whenever i come into our bedroom late at night. :)

secret number two: (even though its probably not really a secret, since its pretty obvious) that piece of hair in front of my face= annoying. i want to cut it. but i can't. i'm trying to grow my bangs out.  

anyways, thank goodness its friday. i'm so happy. AND i get to go to the temple tomorrow! it is going to be so worth waking up at the crack of dawn for. i have a lot of things i need to think about and i need to clear my head. 

another little secret: i have a tiny guilty pleasure, if you'd call it that...haha. i love reading the blogs of cute married couples. i love all the adorable little stories and stuff. sometimes it awfully depresses me, because i want that for myself so bad...someone to love for eternity who i KNOW loves me. who i don't have to worry about trusting. but most of the times it just makes me smile because i know it really isn't that far off for me AT ALL. is it weird that i know that even though i don't really have any prospects right now? hmm well i don't care. all i care about right now is my relationship with my Heavenly Father. which i am so entirely grateful for.