making the switch.

hi guys.

after some deep meditation and self reflection, i have decided to move my blog.

i will now be posting my life's happenings to the link below. i have imported these five years worth of posts to it as well, so i am not starting over completely. i am not sure if i am going to delete this one yet. decisions, decisions.

http://ahlinrochelle.wordpress.com/

anyway, for the newest news on my life, head on over.

niki and corinne take texas: part two.

friday we went to breadwinners for brunch and it was, of course, most delicious. then we went to my work so my mom and niki could meet my coworkers and see my little office. from there, we went to the dallas museum of art. i love that place. plus they have a beautiful monet that i love. then we did a little more shopping before going to the bishop arts district.

the bishop arts district is one of my favorite places in dallas. it reminds me of both park city and provo center street. plus it has this pie shop that is so cute and has the best apple pie i have ever had. besides my mom's of course.... it's called the emporium and i'm glad i got to share it with my mom and niki.

niki and corinne in texas: part one.

my mom and niki came to visit me for a couple days and it was practically perfect in every way.

i picked them up from the airport and we went straight to velvet taco of course. then after a couple hours of late night chat we went bed, so excited for our plans.

thursday morning we took our time getting ready (in true griffith arrington rodriguez style) and went straight to northpark, our amazing mall that holds every store you can imagine. we got through about half of it before we were too famished to continue. (it's a hard life). we then went to central market for some food and to explore the amazingness of that fresh store. i will miss central market dearly.

we then came home and i got my hair cut by my beautiful friend ronnie (as seen here). then we waited for david to call us so we could hangout via google while he opened his mission call. i'm so grateful i could be with my mom and niki when we found it, it was so exciting!

anyway, baby bro opened the call and he's going to omaha, nebraska! he reports to the mtc one week after graduation. wow. i am so inexpressably excited for him. i think about it all the time. the next time i see him will be the last time i see him for two years!

more to come from niki and corinne in texas...

ch ch change.

and it feels goooood.

how i take care of myself.

- string lights and mirrors for my room.

- make sure i don't get hungry.

- white linens.

- long showers, clean hair, and smooth legs.

- read all the books so i feel like a kid again.

- daily scriptures and prayer.

- write my grandmas via post and email.

- chapstick always.

- the shamu cup filled to the brim with ice cold water.

- make plans.

- talk to my parents regularly.

- recognize blessings.

- talk to people when i would rather stay silent.

- run run run.

- early to bed early to rise.

- surround myself with uplifting things.

- assume the good.

- indulge in that man who smells oh so good.

- lists galore.

- sweaters.

- give in to things i enjoy and keep away from whatever i do not.

- believe in love.

- see my beautiful self.

- invest in the relationships with the ones i love.

- create.

- winged eyeliner and heavy mascara.

- collect notebooks.

- candles.

- do hard things. over and over.

- f.r.i.e.n.d.s.

- don't apologize for what you need not apologize.

- wear my killers shirts for strength.

- work out in makeup.

- longs walks and less social media.

- sing really loud in the car.

- dark brows and bright lips.

- sleep.

- laugh at myself on the regular.

inspired by here and here

table for one.

i went to olive garden for lunch today with the endless soup and salad and breadstick special in my heart and as i sat there by myself i started to think of the wonderfully confident woman i have become.

sometimes this confidence in myself is shown very publicly, like eating at a busy restaurant on my own or wearing that bright pink lipstick. other ways are minuscule, yet not less significant, in that they are proof to myself and myself only how far i have come.

and this is a nice feeling.

to realize i've got my back. that no matter what, i will be there for me, come hell or high water. that i can decide who i am, who i was, and who i want to become. to make note of what i like and what i do not. to decide to be true to myself no matter what. because if you can't be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?

my world 2.0.

a list of what is going on in ahlin's world as of late:

- travel plans galore.
- future life plans galore.
- freaking out over the office every second.
- reading hpatcos very slowly because i can't read it at night because basilisk.
- training for this guy. yikes.
- a bonfire. i have sorely missed the outdoors.
- gave up pinterest for lent. still deciding if that was a good idea.
- preparing for my mom and niki to visit. (!!!)
- deciding what to do at my next haircut. this weighs heavily on my mind.
- enjoying every possible second of texas.
- trying not to eat every salted caramel cupcake that comes my way.
- still instagramming tons. sorry not sorry.

puzzled.

i am super into puzzles right now. shana and i were obsessed with this thousand piece beauty that becca brought home from christmas. we finished it in about a week. and by 'finished' i mean there is one piece missing. for real. 

we have become puzzling monsters.

[my 'valentina why are you taking pictures of me can't you see i'm puzzling' face.]

a note on love.

valentine's day this year was great.

inn n out, nbc, long chats, post date news.

what else is there?

k city.

a couple weeks ago i took a weekend trip to kansas city to visit my good friends, jeff and becca johnson. i hadn't seen them for a year and it was so nice to catch up and see where their new life. [jeff is going to dental school and becca is going to nursing school. basically they super humans]. 

among some of the fun things we did: walked in the power and light district. vistited the liberty jail, the independence visitor's center, and the rlds temple. ate delicious kansas city bbq. saw monet and a massive birdie at the art museum. ate becca's favorite local ice cream. played scrabble and watched netflix. went to church and drove by the temple on the way to the airport.

it was a fun filled trip and i am so grateful i got to see my friends. they were amazing hosts and it was just the getaway i needed. thanks for everything mr and mrs johnson!