you can let the light in.

have i mentioned yet that everything is better in arizona? 

and that includes wearing your roommates' clothes and taking outfit pictures in the sun. 

thx to my kelli bb for the amazing pics.

sorry that i'm not quite over the zona hangover yet. it's slowly getting better, but i'm gonna ride this high right on in to my last zona post tomorrow. hopefully the sunlight in all these pictures (and the fact that i have a tan line right now) will be enough to convince you to visit that beautiful place.

p.s. i am meeting my blog besties this weekend and i am so ridiculously excited it's insane.
link up

fake it till you make it.

three new outfits that i photographed with my phone in classy bathrooms for y'all.
please don't judge me.







so there's a downright honest list happening right now. brace yourself:

1. getting broken up with suuuuuuucks. truly. i am not a fan

that was it. that was the list.
okay, here's another:

1. i have the best girl friends in the world. truly. like, you could try to compete with me on that, but i promise i'll win, so you should probably just accept it.
2. i'm wearing red lipstick today even though i don't feel confident enough for it.
3. i just started reading a new book. a novel! and that makes my heart feel comforted.
4. a few new items of clothing are making me feel pretty and (at least a tiny bit) more confident.
5. for the first time this semester, i have enough money in my bank account to start saving for my trip to see jaimei in seattle this summer.
6. i don't know what i'm doing this summer anymore, but i've gotten 4 job interviews in the last week, so at least i have options?
7. i get to move to a new apartment complex, new part of town, and new ward in just over a month.
8. i'm still planning on auditioning for noteworthy in the fall.
9. i'm really hoping and praying to get a job with efy this summer.
10. i know the lord loves me.

whew. that list was hard to make.
but i did it, right?

where our roots have grown so deep.

this post is my centennial birthday gift to my favorite state.

the kids i nanny wanted to go outside today and i had to say no, because at 9 in the morning it was already over 100 degrees.
then i went to the outdoor mall and discovered, regrettably, that i am not quite tall enough to really benefit from the misters.
then my dad came home after a 12 hour shift in the heat and fell asleep immediately, because that's just what the arizona heat will do to you.

so i guess the middle of the summer isn't exactly the best time to explain why i'm in love with gilbert, arizona, is it?
but after 19 summers here....i still can't get enough.

i love arizona because we make food with prickly pear cactus fruit.
and because we have an indigenous lizard called a gila monster that no one else knows about.

i love arizona because we have desert mountains with tall saguaros and bushy chollas.
and because we have sunsets that show every color of the rainbow.

i love arizona because we have food straight from mexico.
and because the more sketchy the restaurant looks, the better the food will taste.

i love arizona because we learn about our state geography in elementary school.
and because we grow up on country music.

i love arizona because we have cities, small towns, and my own little gilbert, which is right in between.
and because i rarely go to the store without seeing someone i know.

i love arizona because when people come here, they come back again and again.
and those born here love to stay.

i love arizona because it is my home.
and because it always will be.

[oh and don't worry, i only stepped on 5 pokey cactus sheddings
in the process of taking these pictures.]