June favorites

Clothing item: Merona chambray shorts
Accessory: All the snapbacks
Beauty product: Bare Minerals purely nourishing moisturizer for combination skin
Movie: Pitch Perfect
Netflix show: Full House
Game: Tetris Blitz
App: Vine
Book: Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Sweet snack: Washington hazelnut & chocolate ribbon ice cream from Cupcake Royale (Hit it up if you're in Seattle)
Salty snack: Sour cream and onion chips
Beverage: Baja Blast
Recipe: Homemade penne rosa
Restaurant: Black Bottle (If you're in Seattle, I highly recommend it)
Album: Fall Out Boy's American Beauty/American Psycho
Song: Electric Love by BORNS
YouTube video:  Ghost Fighting Corporation

Other notable moments

• Traveled to Seattle, which also meant going to Oregon and Washington for the first time
• Saw Grace, Hannah and Mamrie's #NOFILTERSHOW (Which my friends and I drove 13 hours specifically for)
• Reunited with my loves Ben and Ryan in Seattle
• Camped at Flaming Gorge

May favorites

Clothing item: Costco sweatshirt I stole from Becca
Accessory: Vera Bradley Little Hipster Crossbody in black
Beauty product: 
Movie: They Came Together, Pitch Perfect 2
TV show: @midnight
Netflix show: House Hunters
Game: Tetris Blitz
App: Google Keep
Book: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman
Sweet snack: Peach cobbler (made with Bisquick)
Salty snack: Chocolate-covered pretzels
Beverage: Mountain Dew Baja Blast
Recipe: Taco Bell baja sauce (clone version)
Restaurant: Rocco's
Album: Young by The National Parks
Song: Run by Delta Rae
Crowdfunding project: Send a child to Yellowstone
YouTube video: Hey USA (even though the full episodes aren't actually on YouTube)
YouTube channel: Samika
Twitter account: @kathryn_lindsey
Instagram account: @theshowcase
Vine:
Thing I made: Good Morning Sweet World
Photo I took: My birding outfit

Other notable moments

• Saw Becca for a last time before she moved to Alaska
• Traveled with Lorraine to see Becca in California
• Spent a whole day with Peter in Salt Lake City
• Went mini-golfing
• Started a new job
• Worked on a #secretproject related to Buffer

April favorites

Clothing item: Nike FS Lite running shoes
Accessory: Vera Bradley Little Hipster Crossbody
Beauty product: Burt's Bees beeswax lip balm 
Movie: N/A (I don't think I watched a single movie in all of April)
TV show: The Grace Helbig Show & iZombie
Netflix show: How I Met Your Mother
Game: Four Letters
App: Aviary
Book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Sweet snack: Cadbury mini eggs
Salty snack: Lays sour cream and onion chips
Beverage: #selfie from Sodalicious
Recipe: Pesto mac and cheese
Restaurant: Tucanos
Album: Jukebox the Ghost piano solo versions
Song: Matches by Letts
Crowdfunding project: Project Hyena Diorama (There's still a few days left to donate!)
YouTube video: Chester See covering This I Promise You
YouTube channel: Alli Speed
Twitter account: By Common Consent
Instagram account: Bowen the Lab
Vine: Frank the Tank

Thing I made: On Wisconsin
Photo I took: My shoes vs. Peter's shoes

Other notable moments:

• Peter came to visit
• I worked out hella hard
• My brother came to Utah to visit grad schools
• I sold my first poster from my etsy store
• I lost a bet over the NCAA Final
• I moved into a new apartment

March favorites

Clothing item: TekGear fleece sweater (zesty lemon heather)
Accessory: Milwaukee Brewers snapback
Beauty product: bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipgloss in Rule Breaker
Movie: Big Hero 6 (I also finally saw Maze Runner and Divergent)
TV show: 30 Rock
Netflix show: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
App: Duolingo
Book: Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
Sweet snack: Peanut butter chocolate cheesecakey pie dealio
Salty snack: Slab pizza
Beverage: Chick-fil-A's frosted lemonade
Recipe: Sweet and spicy pineapple salsa chicken
Restaurant: Oregano's (If you're ever in the Phoenix area, you need to check this place out)
Album: Beck's Morning Phase
Song: Polaroid from Imagine Dragons' new album Smoke + Mirrors
YouTube video: St. Paddy's Day Hair of the Dog
YouTube channel: Gunnarolla (He just finished up an Egypt travel series. A must-watch)
Twitter account: @meghantonjes
Thing I made: Arizona-themed thank you card
Instagram: Hiking in Arizona near the Phoenix Temple

Other notable things of March:

• Bowling high score: 140
• I bought a new computer
• I got my very first domain name
• I opened an Etsy shop
• Wisconsin made the Final Four (for the second year in a row!)
• I saw cacti for the first time IRL
• Community is back
• I saw the Brewers play baseball for the first time since 2011
• I went on my first trip (of hopefully many) of this year

February favorites

Clothing item: Vans Era gumsole
Accessory: WeWOOD date chocolate watch (My friends are hella awesome)
Beauty product: Tinsel smoothing oil
Movie: Camp Takota
TV show: Parks and Recreation (It's like saying farewell to an old friend)
Netflix show: Sherlock
TV show I finally caught up on: Suits 
Game(s): Game of Phones (Everyone needs to buy this game)
Book: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Sweet snack: Scotcheroos
Salty snack: On The Border Cantina Thins
Food: Corn and potato chowder (Add in bacon, carrots and celery, it's even better) 
Album: Smoke + Mirrors by Imagine Dragons
Song: Undone by Meghan Tonjes
YouTube video(s): The Corn Challenge
YouTube channel: KickThePJ
Twitter account: Laura Chernikoff
Kickstarter I backed: Julia Nunes + Feelings = New Album
YouTuber I recently re-discovered: Bo Burnham
Thing I made: Lorraine's birthday poster
Instagram: Birthday selfie

Other notable things of February:

• I scheduled repairs for my car all by myself (This really is a feat because, you know, anxiety and adultolesence are very real)
• I applied to multiple jobs in all different places
• I celebrated working at my full-time job for one whole year
• Ben came to visit
• I turned 24
• High bowling score: 146

January favorites

The first week of each month I'll be posting my "favorite things" of the previous month. I figure this is a simple and easy way to make sure I keep up blogging.

Clothing item: Magic dress from Kohl's (My friend Kelly and I call it the "magic dress" because it makes you look 100 percent more awesome and beautiful, guaranteed.)
Accessory: Tartan beige infinity scarf by Scarf& (They don't have the tartan beige anymore, but they have TONS of other awesome patterns to check out.
Movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Yes, I saw this for the first time in January)
TV show: Parks and Rec (It's finally back!)
Game(s): Crossy Road and Clumsy Ninja
Book: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Beauty product: Herbal Essences dry shampoo
Food: Chick-fil-A's peppermint hand-spun milkshake
New restaurant I tried: La Dolce Vita
Album: Jukebox the Ghost
Song: Hold On Tight by Greg Holden
YouTube video(s): No quitter fritters and Get Ready with Dan
YouTube channel: Danisnotonfire
Thing I made: We Are All Each Other's Consequences
Twitter account: @JeopardySports
Netflix show: Cutthroat Kitchen and White Collar
TV show I hadn't previously seen but watched in its entirety: Pushing Daisies

Other notable things of January:
Bowling high score: 149
I got bangs
My friends met Flula and filmed a video for me
I bought my first plane ticket of the year

2014: The Best Of

The last two years I've made a list of the best stuff of that year. It used to be stuff I "discovered" in that year, but it's just turned into stuff I loved.

Films
Guardians of the Galaxy
Camp Takota
X-Men
Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Lego Movie

YouTube channels/series
Grace Helbig
Hannah Hart
Mamrie Hart
Alli Speed
Gunnarolla
Flula
Samika Vlogs
Chester See
Sorted Food
Video Game High School
Emma Approved
NigaHiga
Good Mythical Morning
The Art Assignment
ApprenticeEh

Books
Maze Runner series by James Dashner
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Bossypants by Tina Fey
We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking and Going With Your Gut by Hannah Hart
Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-Up by Grace Helbig

Twitter pages
Grace Helbig
Hannah Hart
Mamrie Hart
Michael Davies
Roger Bennett
Men In Blazers
Paul Carr
Pete Busche
By Common Consent
@ProBirdRights
@sportswithjohn

Instagram accounts
Michael Davies
Grace Helbig
Hannah Hart
Spenser Heaps
U.S. Department of the Interior
Louis Cole
Andrew Gunadie
Harlow and Sage

Musical artists
Watsky
Peter Hollens
Bronze Radio Return
Ben Howard
Kodaline
Walk the Moon
Daft Punk
Coldplay
A Great Big World
Walk Off The Earth

Television shows
Marvel: Agents of Shield
Arrow
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Forever
A to Z
Selfie
Suits
Gilmore Girls
Teen Wolf

Trips and other events
Disneyland with Becca and Stacy
Moab/Arches trip with Taylor
California for Becca's birthday
2-day adventure with Peter
All the bowling
Lorraine coming home from Paris
Reuniting with Ben and Ryan over Thanksgiving
My VGHS-themed 23rd birthday party
Going to the temple with Peter
Weekend in St. George and visiting Zion
Getting a USA soccer jersey and discovering the Men In Blazers
#prankception of Peter, Kirk, Kyle, Jeanine and Erica
Provo Chick-fil-A opening with #VPLCT
SPACE TEAM. WE'RE ON A SPACE TEAM
All the dinners with Josh and Lydia
Boating with Stacy and her family
Slacklining with Ryan and Becca
Exchanging tender Christmas gifts with Kelly and Madeleine
Weekly Rita's runs with Kelly
Eating at so many new restaurants with Peter
Being unemployed for a month and having an amazing time
Beating Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4
Following Ben and Ryan during their IronMan

 

Always remember

My dad has taught me any number of things. But if there's one thing I seem to quote to my friends time and time again it's this...

It makes a lot of sense, right? You can credit good ol' Harold for that. I mean, my mom says it too but I feel like I heard it from my dad even more. And I still it hear from him. 

Fathers just have a lot of wisdom.

Happy Father's Day!