chick-fil-a melt

angie's restaurant in logan has this tasty southwest chicken melt that just mmmmm.
*insert drool face*

book review: The Gone Series

so ya, this was me this morning. six books later and i still am obsessing over The Gone Series by Michael Grant. i read most of them before my lds mission but the sixth and final book had not come out yet. 

when i saw that these titles were "always available" on OverDrive, i snatched them up. 

enter the FAYZ (fall-out alley youth zone) where everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared. parents, older siblings, adults, teachers, cops, firemen...and now Sam Temple and Astrid Ellis along with other loveable characters must fight to stay alive. 

for a complete synopsis of each book, visit http://www.michaelgrantbooks.co.uk/the-gone-series/

(also, fun side note, i just found out that there are THREE MORE BOOKS after the conclusion of the FAYZ...guess how i'll be spending my christmas vacation) 

anywho, let me tell you a little bit about why i love this book: 

1. the characters. man oh man are the characters believable. they have flaws, they make mistakes. the bad guys aren't always evil and the good guys sometimes have corrupt thoughts. it's not black and white. Grant does an excellent job at making you fall in love with every character for every reason (yes even drake...) 

2. the plot. each book is it's own mini novel but there is an overarching plot line that ties it all together. these kids go through so much over the course of the 6 books that Grant could have made the series 100 books longer. but the plot keeps you sucked in and interested to read. heck i have purposely driven an extra 10 minutes to finish a section of the book before. #noshame

3. the location. a dome where there are no adults. Grant really thinks up everything that these kids could realistically face + their added powers. i think that it's a good balance between fantasy/sci-fi and realistic fiction. of course the food would go bad. of course disease would spread. Grant answers all the hard questions about little kids, teenagers, coyotes, all living in a self-contained universe. it's believable, even my gun-loving, fantasy-disliking husband loved the books. 

ok so really there could be a lot more reasons. but what i loved the most was that this book made me laugh, cry, swear, and cheer. a good makes me feel part of this world and The Gone Series definitely made me do that. 

*warning* it can get violent but i wouldn't say it's worse than Harry Potter, Divergent, or Hunger Games. hello! these kids are just trying to survive. so no the violence wasn't unnecessary.

all in all, if you are looking for a hook-you-from-the-start collection to add to your christmas break binge list, consider adding Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Cain, Diana, Drake, Decca, and Brianna to your potential BFFs. (book friends forever). 

i'm not sorry to be thankful

ah november. 

everyone posting all of their gratitude lists, pumpkin spice still lingering in the air. it's the time between true fall and true winter when the world just waits for a season of giving. 

i love seeing what everyone is thankful for this time of year because it reminds me to be grateful for everything. but this year, i'm implementing a new practice into my daily habits: 

replacing my "sorry's" with "thank you's"

for instance: 

"i'm sorry i made a mistake." turns to "thank you for catching my error." 

when i am constantly apologizing, i tend to internally beat myself up about every little thing. i did "wrong." 

at work. at home. at school. in relationships. 

and you know what? it has become so relieving to not feel like i have to constantly apologize for all my behaviors. 

while it doesn't replace all the times you need to say sorry, i truly believe in sincere apologies,

 "thank you" can really change the way you view yourself. 

so here are some of the things i've replaced: 

"i'm sorry for being late." "thank you for waiting for me." 

"i'm sorry that i suck at this." "thank you for taking the time to help me learn." 

"sorry i don't make much sense." "thank you for clarifying my words." 

"sorry i can be a pain sometimes." "thank you for loving me unconditionally." 

"sorry i ramble on and on." "thank you for listening to everything i say." 

i love this from theawesomedaily.com - 

so the next time you start to apologize for something that needs no apology, try to replace it with 

thank you. 

you'll be surprised what you learn. 

every BODY is different

many of you know, i’ve been doing weight watchers for about 4 months now. first - it’s been the best weight loss program not only for my physically but for me mentally. my group leader and the other people help me so much. i love attending meetings and feel really lost without them. 

i haven’t been losing weight like i wanted to, so i stayed after to talk to my leader. she gave me some awesome advice and finished with

 “but you honestly look great. when you walked in i wondered, what is she doing here.” 

i accepted the compliment, but it got me thinking. 

those women see me as “ideal.” 

but i don’t see that. 

those women see me as “thin.” 

but i don’t see that. 

of course, we are our own worst critics. 

all. the. time. 

what matters is how YOU feel. 

if YOU feel unhealthy or overweight - change it. 

if YOU feel great - great! 

it all is relative to what you want in your life. 

at weight watchers, they speak of your “why.” 

WHY are you trying to lose weight? WHY do you want to be healthy? 

for me, it’s to feel good, confident, and strong. 

it’s to have a healthy relationship with food and eating.

so here's to loving my self enough to take care of my body.  

fall favorites

can you smell the fall? 

it almost seems like overnight things change. not gonna lie, i hate the cold so that makes me unhappy, but new fashion, sure that'll be awesome. for this new season, i wanted to highlight a few of my favorite products from my mary kay line-up.

there are just so many things to love about this season, i couldn't narrow it down. 

parte superior tacos

you guys,

i have done it

i have conquered the taco world and now have my top 5 tacos.

(in no apparent order)

winger's sticky finger taco

holy. cow. i love winger's as-is, but put their sticky finger's original in a tortilla, smother it in guacamole, pico, cheese, and you've got yourself a match made in heaven 

bubba gump shrimp tacos

i'm usually not a crunchy shrimp kind of person, but the fresh queso fresco and cilantro made these tacos TO DIE FOR. i wish utah had one of these closer. 

taqueira 27 shrimp tacos

i held onto this picture for months, just so i could look at it. the cilantro cream sauce is what dreams are made of. the only downside? 

it was a one time special ...

cafe sabor chicken el pastor tacos

pc: cafe sabor FB

if you don't like pineapple, please keep scrolling. but these chicken tacos are definitely worth trying at least once. i get these without the onions because onions are "ew" - jimmy fallon 

elements carne asada tacos 

pc: elements FB

when i went to taco night at elements, i wasn't expecting it to be this glorious of a taco. perfectly cooked carne asada, house made guacamole *hearteyes*

and just for kicks and giggles,  my father in law's battered halibut tacos definitely deserve a spot on this list

mmmmm tacos...

dinner time anyone?

my desert island products

we've all played desert island before right? goes something like this: 

"you are sent to a desert island where you can only bring 3 ___ (books, movies, music, friends, food)..." it's a great game to get to know people and learn what matters to them. 

a few of mine include...books (gone with the wind, my sister's keeper, guns germs and steel), movies (moulin rouge, legally blonde, ps i love you), and my favorite mary kay products...

you are never alone

every morning as i prepare for the day, i like to turn on LDS talks to get my day started off right. today was no different. this morning, i listened to a talk by sister carole stephens, a first counselor in the relief society general presidency. 

in it, she spoke of healing. one particular quote stood out to me: 

berries and cream

i'll make it real simple...
this is literally my favorite breakfast right now.
 and dessert.
and bedtime snack.
enjoy the last night of summer 💋💋💋

book review: the chemist

i used to be a MAJOR book worm when i was younger. almost everywhere i went i had a book in hand. in fact, i remember once i went camping and my grandma remarked that she was weirded out b/c she saw my face, not the spine of a book. 

i can't help it! there's just something inviting about diving into a new world, learning new things, and making new friends. this quote sums it up completely: 

human mistakes

let me tell you an embarrassing story.

yesterday, as we were traveling to idaho for the total eclipse, i posted on my instagram story the following picture:

can you see the typo? (hint: smooth is not spelled with an "e")

why I love the county fair

Tonight was the concluding night of the Cache County Fair and Rodeo. Man do I love this time of year. 

I love the Fair for a few reasons, many I can't seem to name, but here are my top 3. 

my insta eyes

I posted this selfie on Instagram today and received a lot of comments about my makeup (#youguysrock) 

Let me clue you in on a little secret to my eyes (and makeup) today.

my version of self love

Once upon a time, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. But most of you reading, already knew that. What I'm here to write about tonight, is how I take care of myself on those days when the storms outside don't even compare with the ones inside. (#dramaticmuch)

The "storms" I reference are the volley of words I throw at myself, about myself, and to myself. 

"Nobody likes you." 

"You're fat." 

"Why do you make so many mistakes?"                                                          "You suck at your job." 

"You are a failure." 

"Look at that double chin." 

"I can't believe you just watched Netflix for 8 hours straight." 

"You will never succeed at anything."

My therapist had me write down all the negative things I tell myself one day, and then said: 

"Would you say these things to someone you really loved?" 

NO. I wouldn't. 

B/c that would make he or she cry. And the last thing I E.V.E.R. want to do is make someone else feel sad. I feel like my goal in life, is to make everyone else happy and, for the most part, I really love my life calling! But sometimes, I forget....

hello gorgeous opportunity

As if I didn't have enough on my plate already, (can anybody say #crazylady?) I have decided to become an Independent Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. Now before you sign off thinking I'm going to be plastering your feed with my sales and products, please know that is NOT my style. 

tomato mozzarella paninis

Many of you know, I have started Weight Watchers and Mary Kay in the last month (MK for another post, another time). Today was my first weigh in after 1 week on WW and let's just say I was disappointed. I wasn't expecting huge change, but at least SOMETHING! You'd think right? After not eating anything for a week...

Oh well. 

I found this recipe on the Weight Watcher's recipe and it was AWESOME....

posts coming soon

i felt really ambitious this afternoon and then i ran out of energy - sooooooo stay tuned! 

while you wait, please enjoy this cute picture of me and one my favorite plants