Happy Easter!

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! 

Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! 

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! 

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! 
 

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! 

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! 

Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! 

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! 
 

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! 

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! 

Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia! 

Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia! 
 

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! 

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! 

Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! 

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! 
 

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! 

Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia! 

Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! 

Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! 
 

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! 

Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! 

Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! 

Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia! 


Happy Easter, Peeps!
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Silver

 Happy 25th Anniversary to my absolutely incredible parents!

I am so happy for them, and so blessed to have them as parents.  They are both so generous, hilarious, smart, and loving.  They give me great advice, support me, and make me want to be a better person.  They are each other's best friend, and I can only hope to find the kind of love that they have for each other.

My mom sent all of us (my siblings and my father) a beautiful love letter in honor of her anniversary.  Read it here.  It's lovely.

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Weekly Gratitude

• Thank you for my AMAZING family and friends, and everyone who made my 23rd birthday wonderful (and much less painful than I expected).  It was seriously awesome, and I am so, so grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life.
• Thank you for my bff Piper for doing my hair.  She is so good at what she does.
• Thank your for my new iPhone. I am already too addicted.
• Thank you for my boss for letting me have Tuesday (my birthday!) off and for buying me a manicure!
• Thank your for creme brulee. Oh man is it delish!
• Thank you for the past 23 blessed years that I am so fortunate to call my life.

birthday

Things you can do on your birthday.  'Cause it's your birthday!

Have ice cream for breakfast
Skip the gym and sleep in
Start the day with a manicure
Have champagne with lunch
Continuously some people that it is indeed your birthday yet blush when your friends shout it across the room
Feel oh-so-loved by all your long lost friends that post on your wall
Wear pleather leggings

Buy yourself some french macaroons

Getcha hair did
Give your number to the cute waiter
Dance on a bar

I may or may not have done some of these things.

I did.

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Weekly Gratitude

• Thank you for Benadryl, which is really a clutch little drug when I have my allergic reactions (the actual cause is still To Be Determined).  Those little pink pills do me wonders when I spontaneously break out in hives.
• Thank you for the Universal Athletic warehouse sale.  I got two new awesome pairs of shoes, (one being a pair of Asics that I've wanted for a while now), some cute hats, and some great work out gear, for real cheap. Heck yes.
• Thank you for my awesome car. I love it. She's nice, she never lets me down, and we've had a lot of miles together.
• Thank you for my mom, who drove to Helena with me for my job this week. Talk about selfless and kind.
• Thank you for free wing night at the Holiday Inn in Bozeman.  Seriously.  Everyone must check this out.
• Thank you for my brother and his safe trip to Turkey.  While I have yet to gather all the details, he had a great and safe time.  I'm so proud of him, and glad it was a success!
• Thank you for Sam, our intern, who is so good at all the graphic design and creative things she does, and for bringing me a white chocolate mocha yesterday.

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The Perfect Dress!

I want NEED this dress!  

It's just so pretty! 

And my birthday is coming up next week... :)

Eryn Dress Stripe by Lilly Pulitzer
{via}

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Inspirations

Happy Monday!  Here are some inspirations for this week!



Ummm, how delicious do these look?



Presh Pineapple coin purse from Kate Spade.
Pineapples+Kate Spade= 2 of my fave things



I'm pretty sure that if this was in my house, I would be much more inclined to grocery shop. 

And even cook.

It's almost wedding season!



Oh you fancy, huh?

Have a wonderful week!

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{via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Weekly Gratitude

• Thank you for letting the Bozeman Hawks win state.  It was awesome. (And I feel slightly redeemed from 5 years ago when we lost...is that sad?  haha)  GO HAWKS!
• Thank you for letting Rikka survive her 21st birthday.  I can't wait to take her out this summa'!
• Thank you for my parents friends: They take me out to lunch, always engage me in their interesting conversations, and give me bigs hugs, as if I was their own daughter.  So sweet.
• Thank you for fun, random Tuesday nights out with my friends. I like feeling like I just might be in college still.
• Thank you for Saint Patrick's Day. What a wonderful holiday to celebrate being Irish and awesome.
• Thank you for my boss, and the AMAZING cupcakes she brought us on St. Patrick's Day.  Devil's food cake with Guinness and Bailey's buttercream frosting.  Seriously.  I almost died.
• Thank you for March Madness.  I love everything about college basketball: the games, the fans, the nail-biting endings, the hype, the comentator's random, silly comments.  It's madness, baby!!
• Thank you for Tumblr, Pintrest, other blogs, and all the other places to find delightful little photographs.

{Images via 1 & 2, 3}

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Happy Birthday Frix!

My little sister, Rikka Louise, turns 21 today!  Happiest Birthday to her!

Love you, Frix!

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Weekly Gratitude

• Thank you for my lil' baby sista, Frix, whose birthday is tomorrow.  She turns 21 and I'm sure it's gonna get crazy.
• Thank your for prep basketball for entertaining me for the last week (and this coming weekend) and getting me even more excited for March Madness.  Go Hawks!  (Bozeman Hawks this weekend and Jay hawks this month!)
• Thank you for my BFF, Piper, who was such a friend last week.  So sweet and fun and she is just the best!!
• Thank you for my lil' brother Henry, and his safe travels to Istanbul, Turkey, where he is on a little mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ. I am so proud of him, and hope he has the time of his life!
• Thank you to La Chatelaine, a wonderful little chocolate shop here in Bozeman.  They now make french macaroons, so I could finally have experience them, instead of just drooling over all the pretty ones I see in photos.
• Thank you for this week, the first week on a new month, when all my magazines come!  Such little Happy's in the mail!

{images via}

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March

Why I love this month:

Rikka turns 21! {March 12} Finally!

Daylight savings {March 13}Not pumped about the losing of an hour, but the longer days and more sunlight makes up for it!

March Madness {Begins March 15th}

St. Patrick's Day {March 17th}

First day of Spring {March 21st}

Aaannnddd, last but not least, my Birthday!  {March 29th}

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Best Dressed

Ahh the Oscars.  This is the one red carpet where you seriously need to bring it.  And it was definitely brought.  Here are some of my faves.


Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa
Totally age appropriate, fun and fresh, the perfect color, and since I love all things tea length and 1950s-esque, I love it!

Penelope Cruz (with hottie hubby Javier Bardem)
As always, Penelope is smokin'.  And she just had a baby.  I really like the dress, but I also love the simplicity of her hair and make-up.

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab. I mean, how beautiful is Mila?  And in this soft lavender? Ooh la la.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein.  Love her. She looks stunning.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture. Different but a gorgeous color, and she looks so glamorous.

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{images Via}

Weekly Gratitude

This week was a long one, to say the least. However, I am glad that I have 'weekly gratitude' to remind me that there is so much in life for me to be grateful for.

• Thank you for my dad, who is incredibly patient with me, gives me great advice, and still edits my papers.
• Thank you to my mom, who makes me laugh, gives me great advice, and always comforts me no matter what.
• Thank you that I have a job. Even though it is at times stressful, I am blessed to be learning and doing what I have wanted to do since age 13.
• Thank you that I get a full day off tomorrow!
• Thank you for shellac gel manicures.  Mine has yet to chip and looks oh-so-pretty!
• Thank you for the Justin Beiber radio station on Pandora.  Dancing around to ridiculous hits made my Friday that much more fun. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Mostar, Bosnia

 

{via}

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Blind Your Ponies

I just finished Blind Your Ponies, a wonderful, wonderful book.  I haven't read a truly outstanding book lately, and it was so nice to finally have something that I could not put down.

Set in the small town of Willow Creek, Montana (which just happens to be about 40 miles from my house), this novel follows the losing and almost non-existent basketball team of Willow Creek High School.  While the story revolves around the team and their tortured coach, Sam Pickett, there are many other story lines about the townspeople of this tiny town, all who so desperately want and need a win.

An ultimate underdog story, the writing of this novel was truly a treat.  When reading about basketball games, you felt as if you were in the bleachers, cheering on the Willow Creek broncs.  The description of Montana in the winter was completely accurate, and the author paints the setting so perfectly, that you can totally imagine every event.  The character development was definitely the best part of Blind Your Ponies, as so much changes so many people in just one short basketball season.

Living in Montana, I definitely take the beauty for granted.  But this book helped me stop, and actually see the mountains, and the sky, and realize again that the valley that I live in really is one of the most gorgeous places on earth.  I really want to take a trip to go see all the tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-'em towns that are mentioned and play such an important part in the book.

The actual town of Willow Creek.  The school is the large brick building at the top on the right of Main Street.

Blind Your Ponies is a definite must read for 2011, and as soon as you are done, no matter where you are from, you will want to take a little trip to Willow Creek, MT.

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Colder Weather

New Song.  That I love.  The harmonies, the lyrics, love it.

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Happy 100th Birthday

To Mr. Ronald Reagan.

 

"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life."

-RR 

{via}

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Always a Bridesmaid

Actually, I have never been a bridesmaid.  But I was just asked to be one in my dear cousin's upcoming August wedding.  I work in the wedding industry and finally I get to be a real part of a wedding instead of just planning or helping run one. I. Am. Pumped.

I have yet to see someone actually wear a hideously pink poofy dress like Rachel did in Friends, or as were shown in the movie 27 Dresses.  Call me crazy, but I think bridesmaids dresses can actually be quite cute. And being as my cousin is one of the most stylish and fashion concious people I know, I'm sure she will pick out fabulous dresses for us.

Here are some of my current faves:




{Lela Rose}



{J. Crew}

{Melissa Sweet}



{Alfred Sung}

{Lela Rose}

{Lela Rose}
{I think this one is my favorite}

What did your bridesmaids/ you wear?

Do you suggest any fabulous dresses?

Happy Happenings

I am in a truly delightful mood.  Why you ask? Because in the last 72 hours, so many tiny, wonderful things have happened and even though it is a Monday, things are going right. Those things include:

1. Spending time with my besties on Friday night, with whom I spend hours giggling about rediculous topics over glasses of wine.

2. Making (and then devouring) chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

3. Going to church with my brother, who is easily becoming one of the BEST people I know.

4. Discovering  new yoga and pilates classes which I am going to attempt to attend every week with said besties.

5. Getting asked to be a bridesmaid in my gorgeous (and favorite :) cousin's wedding!!  The wedding is this summer and I have never been a bridesmaid before and I could not be more EXCITED!!!

6.  Knowing that I get to have my favorite dinner tonight with my parents, our dear family friends, and their daughter and son-in-law, who are leaving for Mali, Africa in a matter of days to join the Peace Corps.  I am so proud of them for taking on such a challenge and excited for the adventure they are about to embark on. They are truly kind and amazing people and I can't wait to see how they change the world.

Happy Monday!

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Home is whenever I'm with you...

I am obsessed with this song. And this video is precious.

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New Year

I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions.  I have never known one person to actually keep up with something the entire year, and I feel like in general, people usually just set themselves up for failure and end up forgetting about their resolutions somewhere around February 1st.  Also, I think that people should do little things to better themselves year round, not just during those first weeks in January.

That being said however, I do have a couple of things that I want to work on, goals to achieve, and little things to do that I think will make me a better person.

Of course there is the obvious:  Work out, eat better, learn to cook, start to run, read more books, watch less TV....but I'm shifting my focus to some other areas.

1.  Take time to do something once a month, by myself.  All alone.  I never do this, I need constant company (unless I am just hanging out at home alone) and because of this I feel very dependent on people.  So I want to go out to breakfast, hang out in a coffee shop, spend hours window shopping and go to a movie with the lovely company of me, myself, and I.

2.  I am terrible at keeping in touch with people.  Even with email and facebook and everything of those sorts, I am terrible.  I loathe talking on the phone, so if you don't live in the same town as me, you probably won't see or hear from me for a matter of months.  The problem with this (aside from the obvious) is that I have a lot of friends.  And a lot of people that I truly care about.  But have a talked to one of my sorority sisters since last October?  Nope.  Sure we post little snippets on each other's facebook walls, but I have yet to have a substantial phone conversation with any of my 'best friends.'  This obviously needs to change.  So I am going to make more of an effort.  To call. To write. To plan a trip back to Colorado to visit.

3.  I am a very blessed girl.  Incredibly blessed.  But far too often, instead of counting my blessings and thanking God, I complain.  That clearly needs to change.  I am going to be more grateful, more positive and happier!

Those are my top three goals to achieve for 2011.  Wish me luck!

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1.11.11

Happy Tuesday and 1.11.11 to you!

I hope you made/make a wish at 11:11! 

"May you have love that never ends, lots of money and lots of friends.

Health be yours, whatever you do and may God send many blessings to you."

-Irish Proverb

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Clearly

I fell off the blogging wagon for the month of December.  

I suppose I was busy.

And uninspired.

But I am feeling much better about this whole thing.

I am much, much more inspired.

And have lots to write about.

Don't worry.

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