Dear Provo,

It's not you, it's me.

Okay, it's a little bit you. You just can't give me what I want right now. I need a little bit more adventure, you know? The chance to really "find myself."  (I know that's cliche, but break-up letters are supposed to be.)

We've had some good times together.
Remember that freshman year prank war? That was great.
There was that one time a guy walked in and tried to steal our TV while we just sat there until Melanie yelled at him and he apologized and left. That was weird. Hey, we found out who it was and it turns out he's married now! There's hope for everyone.
You taught me how to run consistently, which was balanced out by me becoming really, really good at making cakes.
You brought me my first opera, my first love (and my first heartbreak, thanks...), my first really bad grade, my first roommates, my first emotional crisis, my first friend's wedding, my first cushy desk job, my first all-nighter, and my first below zero temperature experience.

I'm not going to lie to you, though, you had a lot of your own issues.
Snow in June? Just, why?
Don't even get me started on the dating scene.
Also, you're a ridiculous bubble. And while that kept me safe and protected and prevented my unlocked bike from being stolen, it also included prejudices and judginess. Oh, and a lot of tools and bro-bags.
I'll be fair, though, I know I'll find those things everywhere. Yours are just so...concentrated.

So, Provo, you've grown on me and I love you a lot more than I ever thought I would. I'm genuinely going to miss your foodtrucks and ice cream shops. The cocoa bean, Sammy's (oh, MAN, how I'm going to miss Sammy's), Sodalicious, the temples, cherry blossoms in spring, the first snowfall (and only the first one), strangers smiling at me on the sidewalk, friends across the hall, rent-a-puppy, wannabe hipsters...so many things that make giving you up hard. But, especially the people.


Speaking of people, I have to acknowledge the star players you gave me.

(Mostly in order of appearance)
Karoline: Karyine/Kardine/K-Fish, sorry about the one time I teased you about stomping up the stairs. You have grown so much and it's been a pleasure to watch it happen. You can do anything you want. A committed Karoline? Intimidating stuff. Don't be afraid of the big bad world after graduation. I could always count on you for a health crisis or embarrassing stories and it was the best. Please give me tall dancer babies, but not too soon.
Sorensen family: Thank you so much for taking me into your home and making my feel like a part of the family.

Melanie: M-cat, Kelanie, can we just appreciate that we have a couple name?  You're the scariest person I know, and I'm glad I got on your good side. Was it our disney duets or our mutual hatred for humans freshman year that did the trick? I'm not gonna question it. I could always count on you to bravely verbalize what I was thinking. Your hair in the morning is awesome. I'm going to let the world in on a secret, you're a big sweetie. It's all a facade. Some come on in, world, and knock down the Melanie walls. She secretly likes it. Melanie, you're just solid and you never back down to whatever challenge life throws at ya. I would never watch twilight sarcastically with anyone else.

Conner: My northwest kindred spirit. You took two homebody little freshmen and became their friends by sure willpower. People's defenses are useless against you because you're so hospitable and forward about it. Please make me another malt as soon as I see you.

Josh: To this day, the best guy I know. Even if you don't believe it or see it, other people do. You can do hard things, so stop being such a stress ball. It takes one to know one.

My 204 girls: No one knows how I became a pseudo-roommate, but I'm glad I did. Never ever a dull moment and more importantly, never a lonely moment. There's never a shortage of singing at 204, and there's always someone praying for you.
Stef: My heterosexual life partner. I don't know how you have your life so together, and I know you don't think you do, but trust me, you're light years ahead of me and most people. You're an old soul and the most genuine person I know. You care about every person you meet and you are truly inspiring.
Syd: I have had zero conversations with you sitting in a normal position. You always laugh at my jokes, and so I like having you around ;). No one is left out around you, because you can talk to anyone for hours. I think sometimes you don't see how brave you are, but that is one of your greatest strengths.
Alexa/Hannah: I'm grouping you as one because you are my little freshmen. Both of you have handled this year remarkably and I wish I was sticking around to see the next few. Trust the Spirit and do what feels right, even if your brain is running in circles. I've watched you make hard decisions already and I know you'll have more, but you two can handle it.
Ky: KITS. I have appreciated having a second closet all year, and I don't know what I'm going to do without it.  Kylie, you have an unprecedented ability to lead others and that is a gift and a curse. I know things haven't always gone the way you planned them and situations didn't turn out the way you pictured them. But you are strong enough to handle the changes. Have patience, because all the good in the world is coming your way for your fierce loyalty and unwavering support.
Britt: B-freshy fresh fresh, you are a joy. You make everyone around you laugh, not only because you're ridiculously hilarious, but also because you have a way of lightening any situation. And bringing people together; you're the queen of mixing friend groups. I've always admired your dedication to everything you take on from school to work to cooking without leftovers. You know how to prioritize and you don't get distracted. I'm sorry we never made our quilt this summer... haha.
Shlee: ash, bb. Talk about quiet strength. I am continually surprised by your life experiences and so impressed with the way you handle everything with grace. And you're really great at putting things into an eternal perspective. Yours is a life of commitment to God's will, and that has been a great example for me this year, and I'm sure everyone else would say the same.
Nan: Sometimes we're the same person, you're just a lot nicer and more extroverted than I am. You make me laugh until my abs hurt. You are so caring and empathetic. Stop being a dang chicken and go let everyone else love you like we love you! Sorry, about the tough love, but you can take it. Thanks for being sarcastic with me but never actually being a tiny bit mean. You sweet doe.
Alyssa: lyssie freaking lou. You are without a doubt the most generous person I know. And maybe in the entire world. You drop everything for your friends, and that is rare, my friend. You're a pusher even when you don't mean to. We all have to get out of our comfort zones just to keep up with you. I'm not sure you even have a comfort zone. If you do, you have no problem breaking out of it. Thanks for making us all a little braver.

Jared: Sometimes I want to strangle you. But I don't, because then I would have no one to complain to. And you are that person for all of your friends. Which, to me seems like a sucky role, but you enjoy being a safe place for others to say what they really think. Although you are very opinionated, you are also good at just listening.And you've gotten so much better at discerning when to do either haha.


There are so many other wonderful people I've met because of you, Provo. And they've taught me more about life than my schooling has.
So maybe I'm leaving you without knowing what I'll be doing in six months. And maybe I don't know what my career will be or what school I'll graduate from. But because of you Provo, I have a little bit better understanding of who I am.

So, it's nothing personal, Provo.
We can still be friends, right?

Kelli

Introductions

Blog, meet Arizona.

I know, I know, I should have introduced you 5 months ago when I first met AZ, but did you really expect anything else?

I have a lot more sunshiney goodness where these pictures came from, but for now I'll just leave it at some favorite snaps from my first journey there in February for the Gilbert temple open house.

My "roommates"+Matt+Mike+me road tripped down to Gilbert for Presidents' Day weekend.

Heads up: Sometimes 10-hour road trips turn into 13-hour road trips. 

But, it's bearable as long as you have shotgun, the entire Coldplay discography, and Matt in your car to say things like, "They should call the luggage things on top of cars 'nap centers.'" Dream on, Matt. DREAM ON.

Should you venture to Phoenix anytime soon, please go to LoLo's chicken and waffles.

They have Kool-Aid on tap and they play TLC.

Trust me, it's exactly as you're picturing it.

I know after the great longboard crash of 2012 I said I would never go longboarding again, but it was 85 degrees outside. IN FEBRUARY. I take it all back.

Shout out to this lake-rando.

Hi, yes, bonfires in the desert in February are cool. In case you had any doubts. Also, yeah this is where Tristan and I met, so I bet you feel so connected to me now, don't you?

Hellooooooooo, Citrus!

I couldn't get enough of the lemons and oranges and grapefruits people just had sprouting in their backyards. 

Some of it managed to make the trip home with us.

I've been back several times since February, so don't worry, many more oranges and cacti will make appearances around here real soon (ish).

Also, you can bet the trip was live-tweeted and instagrammed, so you can check that out at #204doesZona or #onecrAZyweekend. Although fair warning, I am not the only person in history to use the latter hashtag, if ya catch my drift. 

You don't need an excuse to eat ice cream.

Happy July, y'all!

In case you didn't already know, July is national ice cream month. It's a thing, I promise.

And a couple weeks ago I just so happened to whimsically buy an ice cream maker.

Hey, remember how I'm supposed to be lactose intolerant? (YOLO, can't be tamed, etc.)

Maybe I'm going through a 2/7 life crisis, but I've been making a loooooot of ice cream. And I'm really only being patriotic and showing appreciation for this blessed month, right?

First up:

Now, I'm not going to brag about how good this ice cream is. But Kylie did say she was going to dream about it, so there's that. And because I'm so generous, I'm going to share the recipe with you.

*This recipe is for a 1.5 quart ice cream maker.

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup sugar

8 oz. strawberry cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 tbsp. butter

1-2 cups strawberries

Directions:

Ice Cream Base:

Using a whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. (You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer.)Add condensed milk and sugar. Mix until combined.Add cream cheese and mix well until lumps are gone.Add vanilla and mix  until just combined.

Graham Cracker Crust:

In a separate bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix with a fork until combined.

Freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions. Once the ice cream has churned to desired consistency, fold in strawberries and graham cracker crust. You can either serve as soft-serve, or freeze for 1-2 hours to firm it up. I prefer my ice cream a little harder.

Final step: devour in one sitting.

Here, have an outfit post.

Nevermind that these pictures were taken almost two months ago. 

One time we were walking out of the Awful Waffle and I just saw this adorable yellow table down the sidewalk. And an outfit just popped into my head. An outfit that I didn't own. Totally normal, right? Leave it to me to purchase a new dress for the sake of a picture with a yellow table.

Shout out to Nan for indulging my ridiculous notions and taking these fun pictures for me! It's so awesome having a roommate that knows their way around a DSLR (and Nan knows her way well) who can take pictures for me so that I don't have 500 pictures of self-timer gone wrong at the end of an outfit shoot.

My hard drive thanks you, Hannah.

weekend haps.

IT'S OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL. I now live at #classic204. Really it hasn't been that much of a transition since I was only ever at my apartment to sleep anyway. Still exciting all the same.

Things that have happened this weekend:

Friday:

• 4 AM cleaning party! 
• 7 AM move everything to 204 party!
• Emotional breakdown number one of the weekend.
• I spent way too much money and bought myself tickets to Paul McCartney for my birthday. I'm not even sorry about it. Bad for the bank account, good for the soul? That's probably my life motto.
• New shoes!
• Chinese takeout and The Office rewatch.
• I finally played the game "2048." But only because this happened.
• skype times.
• Emotional breakdown number 2.

Saturday:

• My first official #classic204 morning: Brittney's alarm is "Winnie the Pooh." It was far too early for me to be awake on a Saturday. There was a lot of singing. And brownies for breakfast. Which almost made up for the earliness.
• The start of the back pain.
• Adventures as Kylie's roommate: There is a lot of baby talk for which I apologize. We're wondering how long it will take us to want to kill each other. Also, my closet was already half-full just from clothes Ky gave me and clothes I had left over there. I hadn't even touched my suitcases. We also discovered we can sit inside our sinks!
• ICE CREAM BREAK. I had been wanting ice cream from macey's for 3 weeks and everyone was sick of me whining about it. Not sorry.
• Unpacking boooooo.

Sunday:

• The back pain to end all back pain. I complained out loud that I never want to be pregnant because I'll be in constant pain. Kylie says from across the room, "..I think God will help you!" ...hashtag Sunday.
• Of course, every time I don't want to go to Church it ends up being really good when I stick it out.
• ...except for Michael P. Swindle the Third bringing my personal life into the Sunday school discussion. Swindle struggles.
• Generally overwhelmed by responsibility at Church since Ali is gone and I have no idea what I'm doing.
• Waffles for din din!
• 3 hours of people sitting in the living room playing 2048, saying weeeeeeird things, and lyssie lou giving massages.
• emotional breakdown number 3 from all the back pain in the world.

So... it was a rough weekend emotionally and physically for me. 

I really wish I were home for the summer and it's been hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm staying in Provo. I mean, I know I'm supposed to be here right now, but I just don't know why yet, and it doesn't change that I don't really want to be here. 

That being said, I love my apartment and I love my friends and I am so excited for all the fun things we're going to do this summer. I'm grateful that I've made such good friends this year that make my apartment feel like a home, because that makes it a lot easier to be away from mine all summer. So thank you to all my "schmoopsie poos" as Brittney would say.

Oh! 4 more sleeps until I roadtrip with Ky and Lyss to Arizona! Good things are on the horizon.

How to have a good weekend.

1. Invite an Arizonan to come visit you.
2. Obtain Thin Mints

3. Get some good news (coming soon!)
3. Watch Doctor Who
4. Go to Salt Lake
5. See your friend sing her little patootie off.
6. Go on a bike ride only to find that you can't reach your destination.

7. Enjoy your new destination.

8. Wear matching Sharknado shirts.

That's it. That's all you need. But I should probably tell you step 1 is pretty important.

General Conference

Last weekend was General Conference.

On Saturday we watched it 204. Maybe I ate an entire Totino's pizza. And maybe Kylie makes really good cinnamon rolls. And maybe we live-tweeted it. And maybe that distracted me a little bit. 

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

But Sunday Shlee (Ashley) hooked us up with tickets for the afternoon session. Which is still just as cool as it was the first time I got to go to conference. 

And yeah, maybe we outfit-coordinated. I can't be sure.