a note on love.

valentine's day this year was great.

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

what else is there?

utah: reception night.

i have been to my fair share of receptions, and i am only twenty two. but if i was to give this reception a title, i would say it was the most tumblr-worthy i have ever attended. if you don't know what that means, just know that it is awesome. i love having such a cool sister.

 jade and i are actually pretty awesome.

complimentary shoeshine. are you for real?

 mine bestie sarahmainesduke came. this reunion was so happy.

 i love her forever.

and off they went. it was magical.

also, please note all the incredibly well dressed individuals. i was gawking all night.

last utah post to come!

ten eleven twelve.

this is happening...

....and no words can describe how happy i am.

pure gold.

here are just a few gems from my valentine's day playlist on spotify:

islands in the stream - dolly parton and kenny rogers
hold you in my arms - ray lamontagne
i just called to say i love you - stevie wonder
at last - etta james [rip]
make you feel my love - adele
you're the inspiration - chicago
when a man loves a woman - michael bolton
i don't want to miss a thing - aerosmith
got your back - t.i. feat keri hilson
my heart will go on - celine dion

speaking of celine dion, have you guys seen this trailer for titanic 3D?! i get chills every time i watch it. yes, i have watched it multiple times. no judging.

if that doesn't get you excited, i don't know what will.
what's on your valentine's playlist slash movies to see list?

another married.

one of my besties got married. but this time it was a dude.

jjcjj.

jeffery justin cody johnson junior.

otherwise known as jeff.

 bearded jj.

check out that groom's cake. i've never seen anything like it.

 he married becca. i love becca. almost as much as jeff.
she is amazing and beautiful and i can't think of anyone else better for my friend.

 the whole crew back together [sans rob. who is also married. holy crap.]
iphone quality. nice.

i love my friends. and married people.

congrats jj. youda youda best.

resources.

my friends gave these to me.

thanks guys.

invested.

via

real.

via

california haps.

sometimes it seems like all i do is wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to bed. but i do more, i swear! i watch jeopardy between dinner and bedtime. me and alex trebek be tight.

ok ok i do more than that. here are some haps over the past few weeks.

my dad took me to kobe, a really nice japanese restaurant. we had AMAZING food and watched one of his high school friends perform with his son. it was so fun! and they were fantastic.

my first time eating chipotle. delish. [i still miss cafe rio though...]

 my uncle went biking in laguna beach. it was so fun! and hard. but it was really pretty and quite the adventure.

 we made it! why yes there was an american flag at the very top #teamusa.

 my friends heather and todd got married in la so i went to their reception in valencia. it was so beautiful and they were so cute and happy. yay for love and marriage!

 so... yeah. my life is pretty happenin.

it's a love story.

two of my best friends from high school got married last weekend.

michael and michelle.

and let me tell you. it's been about six years coming.

seriously. i have been waiting for this since i was 15 years old. one summer day in 2005 michelle said she liked someone in the ward so i said every boy's name until she blushed and denied [very unconvincingly] that she liked michael. after some sleuthing i was so sure he liked her too. but alas, we were not sixteen so we had to wait another year for anything to happen.

why yes my whole head is hideously braided, thank you for noticing. is girl's camp a good enough excuse to do that? i think not.

junior year was weird. michelle dated mike's best friend. mike dated someone else. pretty much nothing that was supposed to happen did. it was a long year and a long story that has been blotted from our memories [really though, we don't talk about it. very taboo. in a kind of hilarious (to me at least) way]. i did go to homecoming with mike though. best first date ever, so fun. after our trip to europe that summer, michelle decided she couldn't date shawn anymore. so she broke up with him. sad. for him.

mike came up to byu that summer and for the next year michelle went to visit him on a pretty frequent basis. i don't think they were ever technically dating though... weird. the next summer, we graduated and mike came back home to st g before going on his two year mission to sweden. before he left... let's just say they finally 'fessed up to their feelings.

so he was gone for two years, she wrote him rather consistently and when he came back, they finally began to for real deal date each other. except, another problem: she went to suu and he went to byu [3 hours apart, omg!]. so guess who's couch michelle became best friends with? her best friend's of course! [ahem. that's me.] so for the past eight months i've been able to not only see my high school bestie on a regular basis, but i was able to watch this relationship finally unfold into what it was meant to be all these years.

last weekend they were married for time and all eternity in the st george temple.

 and yesterday was michelle's birthday. i'm so glad she lives here now so we can go to gold's together and then subsequently get some froyo [no one loves frozen yogurt like michelle, not even me].

happy birthday my friend.

i'm gonna make you see

my heart is set on you

i don't want no one else

and if you don't want me

i guess i'll be all by myself

give in to me by garrett hedlund and leighton meester [from country strong]

image via

when you realize.

this kind of changed my life.

it was my valentine's day gift to myself.

because i love love.

why do i still love love? i have no clue. but i don't feel like pouring out my heart and thoughts about it right now so we'll just settle for my top picks and my movie guide. i hope you enjoy and maybe even learn some new fun interesting original things.

best kiss: penelope. hands down.
favorite tv couples: lily and marshall. rachel and ross. claire and phil. lois and clark. rory and logan/jess.
favorite tv love moments: friends. how i met your mother. gilmore girls.
saddest tv love moments that i like to watch for some reason: gilmore girls. friends.

favorite love songs:
will you still love me? chicago
i got your back ti feat keri hilson
how deep is your love the bird and the bee
a white demon love song the killers
she is love parachute
the girl city and colour

favorite songs for the depressed heart:
the nicest thing kate nash
if it kills me jason mraz
mr. brightside the killers

favorite movie couples: jack and rose. tom and jane. terry and nickie. landon and jamie.
favorite movie love moments: becoming jane. the notebook. you've got mail.
favorite love movie that i feel does a pretty good job portraying actual love: how do you know.
favorite men: james mcavoy. brandon flowers. lee pace. milo ventimiglia. rob pattinson.
favorite love quotes.

happy heart day.

is love alive?

they say that things just cannot grow

beneath the winter snow

or so i have been told

they say we're buried far

just like a distant star

i simply cannot hold

winter song by sara bareilles and ingrid michaelson

image via weheartit

might as well face it

you can't sleep, you can't eat

there's no doubt, you're in deep

your throat is tight, you can't breathe

another kiss is all you need

addicted to love by florence + the machine

image via weheartit

you're a part time lover and a full time friend

you are always trying to keep it real

i'm in love with how you feel

i don't see what anyone can see

in anyone else but you

anyone else but you by the moldy peaches

image via i am the crime

bf: the day

well, the wonderful day finally came when i got to see brandon.

and oh was it glorious.

let's start from the beginning.

of course the night before we had to figure out what i was going to wear.

after several unsuccessful outfits, this is what we came up with.

this is my yeah, i fly to los angeles for less than a day to see brandon flowers, don't you? getup.

flew out of salt lake. time: 1130.

i heart planes. and sitting in a chair in the sky. aka flying.

blake picked me up and we went to our grandma and grandpa griffith's house. then we walked to the pier for some yummmmy lunch. right there. by the ocean. don't worry about it.

my yummy yummy fish tacos. probably my favorite california treat.

there were super cool bike racks too.

after that we walked back to their house and blake and i took a nap. we were both pretty beat so it felt good to get a couple hours of recovery time. then we met up with dad for dinner at spires where i had some french toast. mmmm...

after that blake and i headed to la. of course there was a bit of traffic but it was definitely good bonding time :) and we arrived at the wiltern right before the opening act got onstage!

the first guy [fran healy of the band travis] was pretty good but i was just itching to hear brandon. finally, at 9, he took the stage.... and blew me away.

the opening song was on the floor. he walked out to the center of the stage and started to sing. the lighting only showed his silhouette at first. to hear this rich, deep sound coming from a mysterious shadowed figure was really powerful. and then they lit his face. and it took everything i had to remember to breathe.

he was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a vest. do you know what vests do to me? they make it impossible for me to focus on anything else besides the wearer of the vest. and in this case. i had no problem with that.

his voice was everything i had remembered and more. the clarity and strength of his voice is pure divinity. the power in each song he sings shows how he believes every word. his enthusiasm on stage is addicting. his signature move of jumping on the speakers and adding a fist pump makes your excitement triple.

please. if you are looking for an inspiringly good time, something different to throw into your schedule, something to get excited about, go to his concert. i promise you will not regret it. he is worth every penny. and not just because i've loved him for the past five years. he is a quality performer with a voice and presence that is unprecedented. here are the shows. if you are near any of the locations, please. just go. don't make excuses. that's not what life's about.

the videos turned out a lot better than the pictures. so please. partake and witness [full screen please] the wonderfulness that is brandon flowers.

for the encore, they came back out and brandon said,

"we have a little treat for you guys... actually, it's a treat for us too... the police are here!"

and out walked andy summers from the police. and then he played with the band while brandon sang roxanne.
holy crap. only in la.

when we were walking back to the car, we saw what we assumed was brandon's tour bus. excited face!

we made our way back to ggg's where we said our goodbyes and i went inside. i showed grandma my merch and made my way to bed. but not before i tried on my new shirt!

warning: i may wear this shirt everyday for the next three weeks. please do not judge. thank you.

and the poster.

the next morning grandma and i got up nice and early to head to breakfast before i had to be at the airport.

this is my grandparent's house, where they've lived for over fifty years and where my daddy-o grew up!

and where my dad [and all his siblings] went to high school.

please behold the beautiful crisp and clear california morning i woke up to. i think some would describe it as paradise.

we stopped at hof's hut for some breakfast [i got eggs and a pumpkin muffin. let's not discuss how pumpkin anything is a sever weakness of mine].

then grandma dropped me off at the airport where i made it perfectly in time for my flight.

and i kind of felt like fergie walking out to the plane. minus the glamour.

landed in salt lake. time: 1045.

yup. less than twenty four hours.