Random Thoughts From People Our Age

Right now, I'm in the Newark, NJ airport waiting on standby to get on a flight to Houston and then to Salt Lake. It might be a long day, but nevertheless, I've decided to make it a good one. So, considering the amount of time I may or may not be spending in this or another airport, this post may be one of many for the day. See if you can keep up! 

So I came across this random list awhile back, and I found it both ridiculously accurate and amusing. I hope I don't just have an odd sense of humor.

Enjoy!Random Thoughts from People Our Age

• I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
• More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
• Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
• Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
• That's enough, Nickelback.
• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
• Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
• Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
• There is a great need for sarcasm font.
• Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
• How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
• I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
• I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
• The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
• Was learning cursive really necessary?
• Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
• I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
• Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
• My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
• Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart.”
• How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent an idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
• Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
• What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
• While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
• Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
• I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
• Bad decisions make good stories.
• Whenever I'm Facebook-stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
• Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier and sluttier every year?
• If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
• Why is it that during an icebreaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
• There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
• I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
• "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
• I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
• When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
• Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
• As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
• Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
• It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
• I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
• Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
• Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey- but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
• My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?
• It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
• I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
• I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
• The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before dinner.

Myra Shoot Preview

I already put this pic up on facebook, but I thought I'd feature it here too--basically because my photographer is awesome! A couple months ago, my friend Myra asked me to be a model to do a shoot to enhance her portfolio. She and I both share the same affinity for vintage-inspired clothing, accept she's waaayyy more fashionable and creative than I could ever dream. She wants to go into fashion photography and I couldn't have been more enthusiastic to participate. 
Here's just a taste of what she did. I had so much fun with her. I seriously felt like I was hanging out with my bff while taking crazy pictures in our PJ's and jumping like lunatics on my bed. That kind of crazy fun. I want to do it again--so badly. 

Vacation Update

By the way, before I even start, I just want you to know that I am currently disliking (tremendously) my blog design/background. I need Adam to fix it because he used his computer savvy-ness to screw with almost everything. Until then, it'll be overly earthy. 
So, where to begin?
To recap:
Week 1: Week 1 was spent in upstate NY in the Adirondacks by Lake George. Gorgeous place. We go there every summer as kind of a family reunion for family on my dad's side. Basically the whole week is spent swimming, working out, hiking, boating, playing tennis and shuffle board, eating overpriced food, and scarfing down tons of late-night ice cream--all while staying in a super old/gorgeous cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. It's a great breath of fresh air. 

Week 2: Week 2 was crazy--so crazy that I don't even have pictures for everything that we did. Monday, we went to Dutch Springs, which is an aqua park situated on one of PA's many fresh water (are any of them not fresh?) quarries. The park consists of water trampolines, a blob, steep icebergs, slides, and anything else  used for flotation devices. Lots of fun and super tiring. 
The next day we went out with my brother and his girlfriend, Courtney to see "The Other Guys." Honestly, I thought I wouldn't be as disappointed as I was. You know when you're watching a movie and everything's going good and then all of a sudden they just have to include a crude, irrelevant scene that makes you feel so awkward that you almost feel compelled to leave? It was like that. Anyway, unless you like random spurts of crude humor, I wouldn't recommend it. The next day we went to visit my grandparents at the Jersey Shore and spend some time at the beach. Adam loves it there because the water is warm (not like the Oregon coast) and he can swim like a little fishy all day.

Thursday was our NYC day. Thank goodness this year it was a cloudy, cool day with little sprinkles of rain here and there. Last time it was so unbearably hot that we stayed in H&M basically the entire time. What was ridiculously coincidental was that the Judy's from our ward were spending the day in the city too while they've been visiting in Boston. We took them to get jumbo slice and showed them around to the temple and Central Park. It was way fun meeting up with them. After so much-needed shopping, stopping in St. Mark's for some cheap sunglasses and Japanese food, we headed back to PA. 

By Friday morning, I was exhausted. But was I surprised to hear my dad's pleas to take us to Camelbeach? Nope. So, Adam, Bryon and I went with dad to Camelbeach water park and had tons of more fun in the sun. 
Adam left for home on Saturday, leaving me to spend some chill time with my family. My bff Tara drove all the way down from West Point Military Academy with her man to come visit me for the day. We went to Carrabbas and then spent the rest of the night chilling with her and her family. I love the Brown's. All through high school I was found swimming in their pool, sleeping over at their house, baking cookies in their kitchen, and so on. Being with them again brought back a lot of good and embarrassing memories. 


So, obviously we're on week 3 right now, which I'm not going to inform you on the contents of because (a) it's not done yet and (b) nothing crazy/awesome has happened yet. 
Till next week!

Where Am I?

Where am I? 

I'm in my happy place. 

I  love this place. Once we got off the plane, I saw an Orthodox Jew and thought, "I'm home." When we stepped outside I looked around and sighed: "I love traffic and honking horns." My aunt and uncle picked us up and I couldn't get over my love for a good Jersey accent. I almost cried when she offered me raviolis (ITALIAN FOOD!). That next day I got my pizza fix (x3) and we started our vacation. 

Ahhhhh the east. Beach tomorrow. :)

Wear This, Not That

I think a lot of the time in our efforts to be fashionable we don't work up the courage to purchase stylish things until either everyone's already wearing them or they're from "last season." There's a couple of things that have been on my mind and would like to state my opinion about them. Now, before I rant about something you yourself have in your closet, just know that this is a fashion-rant, but I believe as long as someone feels good about themselves and that what they've put on their bodies represents their personality and personal style then that's great and should be encouraged to continue to do so. So maybe this is more of a push in the right direction for those who aren't sure about the following:
#1: Pink sweatsuits
Sweat attire is and never was fashionable. I know we all want to be comfortable, but why do it looking like Paris Hilton or Hannah Montana? No one believes that you just came from the gym in that bright pink, sparkling velvet material that says "PINK" or "PRINCESS" on the bum.
Try this instead:
Leggings with a long shirt. It's comfy, versatile, and if done right should prevent you from flagging down the next airplane. 

#2: Pointed faux-leather boots
These are very 2004. I see them a lot, and they remind me of something my middle school teacher or Hilary Clinton would wear. They're not suited for anyone in my opinion, but especially women with some youth. There are too many alternatives that are youthful and bring something to your outfit, not just add a dull finish. Try ankle boots or a simple pair of the perfect pumps. Aldo is my new favorite for the basics. 

Wear these black pumps from Aldo or these ankle boots from Macy's. 

#3: Uggs
They look like little gingerbread men. They have also been shown to destroy your feet. Plus, you're paying for cankles. Find a nice pair of flats or oxfords. 

#4: Cork-soled wedges
I wore these when I was 11. I know that fashion repeats itself, but when they're big, bold, and red polka-dotted, they're not for you. They especially don't go with long, frayed, or washed out jeans. Please stop wearing them.
Wear these Dolce Vita and Urban Outfitters wedges!:

A Little Warmth

This is what I wore yesterday. It was a warm day, no doubt, but I figured the church building would be ridiculously freezing so I threw on a blazer. It was definitely a smart choice--I've never been to a ward building in the world that wasn't frigid in summer and over-heated in the winter. 

He's so sexy. 


































blazer: urban outfitters. blouse: gap. skirt: kohls. brogue-inspired flats: aldo.
bangs: courtesy of Natalie Daniel. 


I LOVE blazers now. This is one of three that I got from Urban this season. What I love is that they are seriously all year pieces and they go with everything. But my all-time favorite right now are these flats I got from Aldo a couple months ago. I really wanted this pair of black leather brogues that were on sale online, but when I went to find them in store they were full price and I didn't want to pay shipping. But, I found these little cuties for $19.99 each and bought two pairs, one in black and one in bright blue. I LOVE them! They're super comfortable and I wear them all the time. 


Have a great week everyone! We can't wait to fly out and visit my family this Friday!

Our True Identity

I love Sundays. From the beginning, God blessed this day and hallowed it, making it a holy day. I know that whenever I wake up on a Sunday, the air feels different and I know this is a sacred day. Adam and I are back into our married ward during the 7-week break for school since the single ward doesn't meet. It was great to see our friends again and we always feel at home going back. 
I thought I'd share this message I came across from Elder Uchtdorf. I just love this man. He is a great example of how the gospel makes individuals more loving, giving, and humble individuals and that if we're not then we need to allow the good things we do daily to not makes us obedient, but to change us and convert us. 
It's called: Our True Identity, by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

  

Beginning Summer

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting something. I mean seriously--I don't have time to post something? These last couple weeks of the semester have been pretty busy and eventful, to say the least. Tomorrow I have my last final, for my marriage class, so I'm kind of procrastinating. It was a really good class though. I would recommend it to anyone, or any marriage class for that matter. Whether you're not married yet, about to or just gotten married, or been married for 25 years, anyone can learn something new. I thought our marriage was perfect, but I realized that there are things I need to work on in order to truly love Adam. One of the things I especially liked learning about is called being a "dream detective." According to marriage-expert John Gottman, most perpetual problems in marriage, or those that are rarely ever resolved, are so difficult to resolve because they are based on something deeper, and those things are usually dreams or other underlying factors. I realized that when I tell Adam his desire to purchase a 2 ton letter press and keep it in a storage unit until we get a bigger place is ridiculous, I am forgetting to acknowledge his wishes, desires and dreams in life. Adam loves doing design on the computer, but especially enjoys fine art, where he creates something with his own hands. Adam knows that buying this ridiculously huge and expensive-to-maintain hunk of metal is not going to happen just yet for him, but he's trying to get me to recognize his desires and dreams and for me to accept and validate them. Anyway, so the joke whenever he asks me if he can do something and I say no is that I'm a "dream crusher." 
Adam: I really want to go golfing this Saturday with my friends.
Britney: We can't afford it.
Adam: Dream crusher. 
Anyways, I was inspired by Mrs. Breezie Bitter to make a list of things I intend on getting done during the 7-week break (starting tomorrow!):
1. Running everyday to compensate for the amount of eating I'm planning on doing 
2. Go to Monkey Rock and bridge jump
3. Re-do our wall canvases--they need more purple, I'm kind of obsessed with purple right now.
4. Eat pizza at Grimmaldi's in Brooklyn
5. Get a Phili cheesesteak with my brother 
6. Go to Rita's for Italian Ice (my favorite is chocolate, is that weird?)
7. Go to the Jersey Shore and not see Snookie 
8. Jump into Lake George in the Adirondacks and sleep in--that usually gets grandpa mad because we sleep through tennis lessons every year
9. Go to West Point Military Academy and double with my friend Tara and her man..maid of honor and I haven't seen her in 2 years
10. Squeeze my parents' dogs
11. Bask in humidity and frizzy hair--Adam's gets curly
12. Go to Carlo's Bakery and get Italian Wedding Cake with Lobster tails (Karl's the guy from Cake Boss)
13. Do girls night with my sisters and Mom before Briana moves to LA
14. Take practice nursing tests so I don't fail the exit exam in December (I graduate in DECEMBER!)
15. Kiss Grandpa--my first love
16. Go to H&M
17. Go to consignment stores
18. Eat a cannoli and tomato pie
19. Bake with my Mom
20. Go to the Manhattan Temple again
21. Sit in Central Park with a pretzel the size of a wheel barrel
If I can do all of these things I think I'll feel satisfied with life, nostalgia, and year-long food cravings. I am my oldest sister's sister...of course. 

Allure of Trousers

This week's Covet Corner features a pair of trousers I purchased from Urban Outfitters a couple weeks ago. For you modest ladies, these bottoms are perfect for keeping cool, yet covered for the rest of the summer.
Take a look! 
HERE
Also, my super awesome creative photography friend Myra asked me to model for her to beef up her portfolio. The pictures are killer, all credit to her, and I wore the trousers in a couple of the shots, which I will feature here in a couple of days. 
Stay tuned!

Dear Jeffrey

Dear Jeffrey Campbell,
I have recently fallen in love with you. Fellow bloggers, I am in love with shoes by Jeffrey Campbell. His unique marriage of edge and trendiness is far too delicious for me, so-much-so that my heart races, my eyes widen and I can't get his designs out of my mind until I have found the perfect item for me. 
What do I want from you?:
Ever since I saw these on Tieka I have coveted their ridiculously trendy companionship and have been internet stalking them for months. (p.s. Isn't Tieka gorgeous?) I will be purchasing these beautiful boots. 


As well as these:
I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE.

Talk about my kind of wedges. I'm not going to lie--I hate those ridiculously girly white ones with a bow at the end and cork soled wedges. HATE them. I mean seriously--if you're going to wear a wedge, wear a real wedge. And thanks to my good friend Jeffrey, you all know what a real wedge is. 
Oh fashion, why do you have to be my one big weakness (besides chocolate)? You're a pricey weakness and I unfortunately have a despairingly expensive taste. If only I was 5 foot 10 in., 100 lbs., and Karl Lagerfeld loved me could I on a daily basis show off your awesomeness to the world. 
For some reason, getting a pair of new shoes makes the world seem like a better, happier place. And I'm OK with that.
What would you wear these shoes with?