There is good

{Image c/o this article....mentioned later in my post}

Sometimes I get  bit weighed down and downright sick of dealing with angry, bitter, cynical people. I've started thinking that there is little good left because those who are angry tend to be louder than those who are happy and just plain nice. It seems that everyone is dealing with something difficult and because of that they seem to have no pity or compassion for someone else going through their own something difficult. It seems to me lately that everyone thinks that their case is the worst and that no one else should complain or be upset. I see teenagers and adults alike thinking that the world owes them something, acting entitled in every way, and that because they haven't been handed an easy pass they're going to take it by any means necessary. People are suing others left and right for things that are unethical, or perhaps are just but do not need to be turned into a bigger deal. I see an attitude of less forgiveness and more "you owe me." It just seems that everyone, everywhere is angry about something and it seems like the mentality is common to think that everyone is idiots. I see this especially when people talk about politics. No matter who is in office, there is always a long list of what they're doing wrong, how corrupt they are and how the person giving the opinion could easily do their job ten times better. And dealing with all of this, on almost a daily basis, whether it be because of school, the news (which I hate to read/listen to because of all this), or just driving down the road and dealing with road rage, has started turning me into the angry, bitter, cynical person too. Well, I know it's a rough world out there and there is a reason everyone is turning so angry, but this little article showcasing 40 of the most powerful photos every taken that my friend shared on FB really reminded me that there is good out there. There is SO much good. And I am going to choose from here on out to give people the benefit of the doubt. I am going to choose to not be so affected (effected?) by their judgmental stares, by their middle fingers raised in protest of how I changed lanes, or by their own venomous opinions on how everyone is doing everything wrong. It's going to be hard, but I am going to start worrying more about my life and my family than what others think of me or what they think about the world. And I am going to choose to be happy, nonjudgmental and optimistic instead of the three former adjectives that are of lesser value. Warning: the photos in the article will most likely make you cry...I basically bawled like a baby.

Something Blue

I had some errands to run so I threw on something fast and easy. Okay, fine. I switched to some flat sandals for the actual errand running part, but the wedges just looked so much better for the pics. Don't judge me. And you can't tell but I have some killer blue eyeliner on too. Sometimes matchy-matchy isn't such a bad idea.

{Shirt & Bracelets: H&M; Leggings & Shoes: Target}

Memorial Day Weekend Pt. 1

Gosh I love holidays. Especially since lately I've been trapped in the house with only my "to do" list and the pups to keep me company. And the pups don't really count since they sleep the entire day. Needless to say I've been going a bit crazy. So when I actually have human contact it's a pretty good day. Especially when said human contact is a cute man you call your hubby. Or...I call my hubby. I hope you don't call him your hubby, that would be weird. Anyway, Saturday we decided to go up to the air show at Hill Air Force Base. Top Gun style. We even played "The Danger Zone" while getting ready. In another life my husband would have been Maverick and I would be a prima ballerina, or a sober Brittany Spears. But I'm getting off topic...I told you I go crazy alone. So the day started off great....and then Utah decided to dump big fat wet rain drops with thunder and super cold wind. Thanks, Utah. They put the show on hold and we made the trek back to our car with the other thousands of people who decided it wasn't worth it to be cold and miserable waiting for the show to start again. On the bright side, the stuff we saw before the rain came was pretty rad and we're excited to go to another air show with little Orange Seed.

{We decided we could easily fit ten elephants in here. Just in case you ever needed to move ten elephants. Or one...like in Operation Dumbo Drop.}

{Trying to be optimistic despite the clouds and wind....also you can't tell but my outfit was pretty rad which always helps me be in a good mood.}

{The aftermath....we were soaked from head to toe and let me tell you - I HATE being wet in my clothes unless it's intentional and even then it's a strong dislike.}

{Also, my awesome boat shoes got dirty. I'm still trying to figure out how to clean them properly.}

If you give a hubby a cookie.

Do you guys remember this book? It was one of my all time favs as a kid. Well, I just so happened to make some pretty scrumptious cookies last week and since they were scrumptious and all, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I found the recipe here (she's a baking genius btw, I always check out her blog if I want something super yummy to make), and then I did a bit of tweaking. I used chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks and I added a ton more toffee chips because I love that stuff. Oh and the hubby doesn't like white chocolate so I took that out for his batch.

Quick & Dirty

Okay, well maybe not dirty, but it sounded like a much better title. Just wanted to quickly share the deliciousness that was last Saturday night at the England residence. We rang in the summer properly by making our first bacon swiss avocado burgers and {baked} sweet potato fries. If we haven't made these for you yet, you must immediately request an invite because they're the kind of good that make you stop talking as soon as you begin eating. Oh and, I do mine with a Boca burger, so don't let the whole meat thing stop you if that's not your thing. We topped the meal off with a Mexican Pepsi, which sadly is nowhere near as good as Mexican Cokes.

An outfit post just because I like you.

{Jean Capris: F21, Gry Cardigan & Striped Tank: Target; Shoes: Steve Madden; Necklace: Thrifted}

So, last week the pups and I decided to enjoy some time on the balcony. Are you guys getting sick of seeing that as my backdrop already? Maybe one day I'll have the courage to go take pics of myself in public, but with the timer incessantly beeping on the camera, that just sounds awkward. Anyway, this little getup reminded me of the nautical trend going around, right down to my boat shoes, which I'm pretty sure they go with everything. I thought my Toms were awesome, but these puppies take the cake. They caught me off guard during my last excursion to Nordstrom Rack when I thought for sure I'd walk away with some killer heels. But I tried on about 5 different variations of these, including the real Sperry Top Siders, but these came out the victors. Prepare yourselves now to see these in just about every outfit post following on this little blog.

Weekly Pinterest Picks

So I'm pretty excited to finally get back to posting about pinning. Because the last few weeks when my Pinterest account thought I lost interest was hard on both of us. Now I'm back, pinning like a mad woman and all is right in the world. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on if this is your thing or not), I've been pinning lots of fashion-y awesomeness that I've got to share with you before I explode.

This dress made me gasp when I saw it. And then I realized it was quite similar to my wedding dress which I designed...and that made me very, very happy.

{Pinned here}

If I was on Gossip Girl, I would politely demand that I wear this for part of an episode. The back is to die for. Sometimes those ads on the side of Pandora really do pay off.

{Pinned here}

Kate Middleton. Of COURSE its elegant and gorgeous and perfect. I'm starting to think I would wear every single thing in her closet. Crazy hats included.

{More pics, including her amazing updo found here}

Seriously, whoever came up with this lace detailing is a genius.

{Pinned here}

Is this not the cutest little swimsuit ever?

{Pinned here}

Okay, this is how you do tulle. 

{Pinned here}

It's a..........

Boy!!!!! I'm pretty stoked because, well, little boys love their mamas. And I'm so relieved I was right, because if I had been wrong about THIS then my credibility for always been right would have gone out the window and life as I know it would have been over. But I AM a bit nervous that this little boy is going to be fearless like his dad, who my hubby's Grandma says has used up 8 of his 9 lives. He's told me stories about things he did growing up that still haunt me. But other than that, I'd be pretty content if he was just like his dad in every other way. Because that guy is pretty rad.

Simple

{Sweater: Old Navy; Jeans: F21; Boots: Ross}

We find out the gender in t-minus 1 hour!! I can't wait to finally start buying itty bitty clothes. Because that's basically the best part of having a baby. Well I guess the whole miracle of life thing is pretty rad too, but it narrowly beats out the clothes. Oh and the SHOES. Totally impractical and totally necessary. So since Utah decided to rain today (which isn't too bad since it's been very cooperative lately with the sun), I got to whip out my winter boots and new maternity sweater I bought for when I'm an elephant in the fall. I love that I can wear it even without the massive bump and I what I love even more is that it was only $8. I don't care who you are, you CANNOT beat that. I kept the rest of the outfit simple because it seemed like the right thing to do and sometimes nothing beats just throwing on jeans and a white tee (.....oh, and a sweater).

PS - Please don't send social services after me. I promise I know that baby clothes are the least amazing part about having a baby :)

One Month

Dear Blog,

It has been exactly ONE month since my last post. I let you in on a big secret and then left you hanging. That. Is. Terrible. Will you ever forgive me? I promise I thought about you every single day that I was missing. It's just that between the dance showcase and other dance performances, finals, prepping for TWO trips (one without my hubby's knowledge...but more on that later), planning Girls Camp (I was called as the Camp Director at my church for this Girl's Camp program...did I ever tell you that? I can't even remember), and just generally being pooped because of the whole being prego thing I was a serious blog slacker. The past three days I haven't even stepped foot outside my apartment. I've just been playing catch-up with my to-do list with semi-productive motivation. So here's a little list of what's happened the past month, some random thoughts ('cuz I know we both LOVE those) and hopefully I can get back on the blogging bandwagon and enter into your good graces again.

Love,

Me.

PS - I'm still kinda ticked about that one post that I wrote last Sunday and you erased without saving, so shall we call it even? Thought so.

 - Took a road trip to LA for my co-Maid of Honor's wedding! It was amazing...especially the ring ceremony at the coolest Baptist church ever.
 - Surprised my hubby as a late bday present by kidnapping him during the work day and flying him to Mexico for a surf trip....full story yet to come :)
 - Read an awesome article that made me realize that I don't need to be perfect and compare myself to the blog next door or the person in Target that looks like a model with three perfect kids. It's gonna take some time, but I've decided the most important thing to me is my family and being a good wife/mother, but not trying to be a perfect one because that's when I feel pretty lousy about myself for falling short. I can't tell you how many times I've cried to the hubby saying "I'm sorry I'm not perfect".  And that's ridiculous, no one is, so I need to be happy for doing the best I can and being content with just being good or even great at times. (I had lots to say about this article until Blogger rudely decided to erase it without any warning, but that's the Reader's Digest version).
 - Experiencing dance withdrawals.....give me one year and I'll be back there shaking my post baby booty again.
 - Stoked for this, this, this. I mean this and this were awesome so it's gonna be a good summer.
 - Seeing The Avengers at a preview screening the Tuesday before it came out. Yeah. It was freaking rad. (Thanks Katie!)
 - Just heard this song on Pandora and was reminded of how in one pivotal point in my life this described exactly what I had to go through and I am SO glad I made that choice so I can be with hubby and Orange Seed now. (And one day with Apple Seed, Pomegranate Seed, Lemon Seed and Cherry Seed too).
 - Reading 4 books in 6 days on vacation.
 - Trying to get over this stage of pregnancy where I feel more fat than pregnant and can't wear enough loose shirts.
 - Loving this version of Gotye's song "Somebody That I Used To Know". In my opinion, the chick has a way cooler voice.
 - The season finale of a show that shall not be named because it is WAYY too embarrassing but was possibly the best season finale I've ever seen. Didn't even see that twist coming and it was RAD. I cried, laughed and gasped the whole way through. Thank you guilty pleasure.
 - Trying to contain my excitement for finding out if Orange Seed is a little mr or miss tomorrow afternoon!! (I'm still betting on it to be a boy).
 - Making life changing decisions about school once again. Turns out I won't be going back after Orange Seed is born, but will be working full time for a bit instead. It was a crazy hard decision to make since I was pretty stoked to be a full time mom, but it's needed at the moment and I feel at peace about our decision.
 - Going to the LA zoo with the two of the cutest nieces around and seeing an armadillo up close. They are super creepy, btw.
 - Yogurtland. Enough said. GASP - JUST found out there's two in Utah. FINALLY my life is complete. Going immediately....