What They See In You

Something I really want to achieve in my life is seeing in myself what God sees in me. The world promotes self hatred and criticism and it is draining trying to not succumb to these lies. I know some of you may not believe in God, but think of your higher power. I believe a higher power is something or someone who helps you keep going when the only thing you want to do is to stop. My friend's higher power is her daughter. Another's may be the earth or nature. Mine is God. I believe they are all wonderful because life is too hard to go at it alone without something or someone you can rely on no matter what. I'm going to talk about God because that is who I believe in, but feel free to insert your higher power into the next few sentences. I know that God loves me more than I can comprehend.  He sees me for the woman I truly am. He knows the intent of my heart. His love for me is unconditional. How incredible is that? His love for me is perfect, because He is perfect. Wouldn't it be cool if our self hatred (any level of it) could leave and we could see what God sees in us? I hope so bad to one day be able to view myself the way my Heavenly Father views me. Not viewing myself as the coolest thing that has ever walked on this planet, but viewing myself as someone who is ok just the way I am. I want to replace my self criticism for love and respect for myself.  And I believe that with God's help, someday I'll be able to see what He sees in me. Today look in the mirror and try and think what your higher power would think when seeing you- beautiful, perfectly imperfect, you.

 

P.S. “Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” Samuel Johson

Today Let's Love Ourselves

Today I can see the sun rising. I can touch my split ended hair as I straighten it for the day. I can feel the warmth of a pre-storm on my face as I go up to campus. I can walk. I can breath. I can hear the birds singing trying to tell spring it's time to come. I can feel the fuzz in my warm pockets.I can taste my breakfast.              
Today, let's stop thinking about what we can't do and think about all the wonderful simple, and not so simple, things we can do. Give yourself credit for waking up today to face yet another day.   Today, let's love ourselves for the things that we can do. Because if you think about it, it is a miracle we can do each of those things.

P.S. Happy birthday to my incredible roommate Emily!

Hey Guess What?

My New Room

I'm re-doing my room for the fall. I can't wait! The colors I'm using are black, white, and tiffany blue. My current roommate is extremely talented at sewing so she's going to help me make pillows, a blanket, and curtains (thank you Em!). Here is some of my inspiration:

 

I absolutely love these curtains. I would do pretty, tiffany blue ties for them.

 

I don't know what it is but I am obsessed with chandeliers lately. I'm hoping to find a cheap one for the room that I can re-finish and put my own crystals on. I think they are so elegant.

It's hard to find exactly tiffany blue in everything and I want a bit of variety so I want to incorporate little bits of other blues.

I'm thinking this pattern for a quilt for the bed.

I may incorporate a tiny bit of mustard yellow into the room as well.

P.S. I hope you guys made your weekend a happy and lovely one.

Define Me

I'm a romantic.
[roh-man-tik]Noun- a soulful or amorous idealist I'm not just a romantic about love, but about life. To me, not just today was a fairytale Taylor, life is a fairytale. I look at things and people so positively that sometimes I feel like a dog, yes a dog. You know the dog that loves you no matter what? The dog that forgives you in a second for yelling at it and once you call its name it comes running to your side and gives you a kiss? Yep, that's me. And sometimes (ok, lots of times) this comes to bite me in the behind. People end up taking advantage of me because of the way I look at people as if they have done no wrong to me. But most of the time this curse is a blessing because (not to toot my own horn or anything) I am able to look at people for who they are deep inside (sometimes it's REALLY deep inside of them). Life really can be your own fairytale. I know, I know, you're probably saying; "C'mon get real. We can't just be oblivious to how messed up our lives can get." But what fairytale doesn't have a wicked witch or an evil step mother? (I guess some of you may be them) Our fairytale ending will be exactly what we make it.  Challenge for this weekend for everyone: look at your weekend as positively as possible. Have a fabulous weekend!I don't have anything extravagant planned for my weekend but I'm going to take pictures of the little things that make my weekend happier and post them on Monday. xoxo.  Oh and by the way,

 

Things aren't really always the way they seem. But hey, guess what? L.i.f.e. g.o.e.s. o.n.

Dear Rude People

Dear rude people,

I do not like being around you, and neither does anyone else. I'm sure something happened that made you so grumpy but please get over it, or at least don't carry it around with you everywhere you go, so that you don't bring others down to your despair. Thanks.

Love,
An Annoyingly Sensitive Girl That Doesn't Appreciate Rude People

My Happy Place

Want to know some things that make me happy? Ok, I'll tell you. (Don't worry, I will post a picture for every one just in case you don't know what that something is..like Diet Coke (it's a very rare drink.) Ok, you called my bluff , I won't really.

You.

Strangers smiling at you in passing.

Hugs.

Meeting new friends.

Calls from this amazing little girl.

Voice messages from her too.

Seeing this little piece of heaven smile.

Being called Aunt Kiki.

Saying "I love you".

Diet Coke.

Dr. Pepper.

Seeing people repin' USU attire.

Yellow.

Seeing creepy men in trench coats.

Crazy Core Skittles.

Smart Water (bottles).

Duke.

Seeing people who can't stop smiling while they read their texts.

Old people. (Especially the grumpy ones.)

Being loud, rude and extremely sarcastic about how much I love Tai Wesley (Our star bball player up here who thinks he's the coolest thing that ever walked on this planet. I'm not rude, he deserves it.) then having him walk around the corner.

Staying up late talking about nothing with friends.

Laughing.

When people blush.

Watching my friend play video games for 3 hours.

Clean sheets.

Driving when you get into a trance.

Thinking about how funny Natalie Allen is. 

Going cross eyed.

Seeing the mountains.

New music from Jake.

Boring people with little things that make me happy, yet having people still read the list til now.

Just to Brighten Your Monday

My friend introduced me to this gal's blog. She posted these pictures and now I am posting them.


Hipster Disney Princesses:

Friday

Last night I went to the institute dance with some of my friends. I have never been to an institute or singles ward dance and it was one of the funniest experiences of my life! It was soo stereotypical of what a dance on the movie The Singles Ward. The air was stuffy, the RMs were on the prowl, Toto was playing, the cute nerdy boys were on the side of the "dance floor" and people were awkwardly talking and meeting new singles hoping they could get a first date. It was so funny I couldn't help but laugh most of the time. It was awesome.

Want to see the coolest thing in the world??? Check it out here Asians are so much smarter than Americans.

I don't want this weekend to end if you were wondering..

For Japan With Love

Check this out.

For Ryan

Do you remember your first love? For some reason, mine was on my mind all day yesterday. (thanks a lot Ryan ;) The person who you can't help but smile (or cry) when you think about them?  They are special to you and will always be because they taught you what I believe is the single most important feeling, love. When I thought about my fist love yesterday and all the great times we had (because who really remembers the bad even if there were a lot?).. I missed him. It was weird..I thought I had moved on and was over him, I mean, I had seen and felt love again after him, but then I realized something; no matter how over him I am he'll always be special to me. My heart no longer  aches for him like it used to but I think it's ok to miss him sometimes.  Let's face it, when the love ends your heart breaks a little -I don't care what you say, it's true. Sometimes it takes a few days to repair and sometimes a year..or two..or twenty. But eventually the hole will get smaller and smaller until it is fully healed. Sometimes that hole is "healed" by having someone else fill it for you (rebound?) but the only thing that really heals your heart is time. So be patient. When your heart is healed I don't think that means that your lovers name will not bring you some sort of emotion, I think when your heart is healed it means your heart will not completely ache when you hear their name."Is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?" Heck yes it is! I learned a lot from my first love and am grateful for him. I'm also so grateful for the one I love now.

Speaking of love, I loved last night. After a rough day I had the most relaxing night. First, I got to go to dinner with my best friend that I hadn't seen in way to long. Then when I came home I took a hot shower, painted my nails, plucked my eyebrows, and lit a yummy smelling candle. All while listening to this wonderful singer:

I love Iron & Wine. If you need some relaxing music check him out. One of his songs was featured in "Twilight", just in case you were wondering.:-)

Check out this website. It is awesome.

How Cool Is This?

Have you seen the adorable Disney-Pixar movie "Up"? Ever since seeing that I always wondered if it could really happen. I daydreamed like a kid about being in a floating house suspended in the air by balloons. Guess what?  The National Geographic Channel did an "Up" inspired house. They used 300 8' weather balloons and a 16' X 16' house was lifted into the sky floating at an altitude of over 10,000 feet at one point. It flew for about an hour. If I am rich someday I am doing this! 

 

 

Isn't the house adorable?

A Post for You

Dear you,

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”

Change is scary, but change is innevitable and helps us grow into the person we were born to be.

Things are a changing and it is scary and it is great at the same time. The world awaits you. And let me just say "Oh the places you will go." The change that is about to come opens up endless opportunities for you. This change will be what you make of it. If you want it to be miserable, it will be. If you want it to be great and change your life for the good forever, It will. My wish for you is that you make this change the best thing that has ever happened to you-believe in yourself and put your faith in the Lord and I know it will be. You are amazing and your future is bright. Change gives you the opportunity to grow and "anything that's not growing is dead" -Lauryn Hill

Love, me

"Change is inevitable, except from vending machines."
-Author Unknown

The Last Day In NY

Saturday was my last day in NY. Some of the things we did included:

Central Park in the morning. 

Where we found this band:

They're "The Dirty Urchins". Check them out on facebook. They honestly are amazing! (One of my favorite things in the world is happening upon "no-name" bands.)

Where I was a subject in a group of street performers' show:

Where one of the guys was going to "jump flip and land" over the four of us. I was a little scared. But then they...

..had us bend over (after they went around and collected people's money for this "huge stunt", of course) so it wasn't scary anymore. (See the guy's eyes wandering in the last pic? When I bent over he was like "Ohhh girl that's another story-call me tonight baby." It was funny. I got a little embarrassed-and let's just say it's usually really hard to embarrass me. But then, being the gentlemen they were, they covered mine and the other girls bums with some sweatshirts.) The jump was a piece of cake for the guy that did it. On another note can I just say I think black men are so attractive. I wouldn't mind marrying one. Should I change my blog name to lovemesomechocolate? 

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Later that day we went and got in touch with our heritage by going to Little Italy (one of my favorite places in NY). We went to the Italian American Museum and ate yummy Italian food. I got a shirt that says "Kiss Me I'm 1/2 Italian" that I was pretty excited about. Then later that night we went to Grom and got some fabulous gelato. It all reminded me how proud I am to be Italian. Oh and guess what? Italy right now will let you become a citizen if you have Italian blood and are closely related to someone who immigrated from there so we think we're going to get dual citizenship. How cool is that? There's a lot of paper work you have to do but it'd be so worth it. Getting Italian citizenship would make it so we could work anywhere in Europe without getting a work permit so that's a neat thing.

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A little fun fact, because I know you were dying to know, I craved pickles the whole time we were in NY and searched every deli I saw to find one of those fresh, yummy, garlicy, whole pickles (like at Disneyland) with no luck except for finding a jar of them at the market (not the same) that were way gross. My dad and I went to lunch one day and guess what the place we went to served as their free appetizer? Pickles! Yummy, fresh, beautiful pickles! I was so excited! The search for the perfect pickle in NY was finally over. I thought it was so random and so happy for me because really who serves pickles as their signature appetizer instead of bread or something? Well this wonderful place did-hurray! 

 

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New York, I miss you and I love you. See you again as soon as possible.