Spring Giveaway! $300 to Apricot Lane

I've teamed up with Apricot Lane and a group of bloggers to bring something extra chic to your spring. One very lucky reader will have the chance to enjoy a $300 Spring Spree to Apricot Lane Boutique in Provo, Utah.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. Points will be earned for each item completed--the more you do, the closer you'll get to winning your very own shopping spree.

The $300 Spring Spree Giveaway will run until midnight of Friday, April 26th, and it is open to Utah local participants.  The winner will be announced and contacted via email the following Saturday, April 27th. 

Wishing you luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Terms & Conditions: The Spring Spree Giveaway is for one $300 gift card to Apricot Lane Boutique in Provo, Utah. The gift card must be spent in-store at the Apricot Lane Boutique location in Provo, Utah. The giveaway will run from Friday, April 19th to Friday, April 26th. The winner will be announced the following Saturday on this Rafflecopter widget. All mandatory entries must be completed in order to win, including the winning entry. All entries will be verified, so please be honest in completing the entries.  To claim your prize, please respond to the email within 24 hours. Failure to do so will result in another winner being chosen. Once the winner has been selected, the decision is final. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook, Bloglovin', Google, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or any other social media platform.

How to Interpret the Finals Week Posts In Your Feed

It's that time of year. The lovely, refreshing, rebirth of all the idiots who try to out-finals one another.

For your convenience, I put together a basic list of interpretations:

"I have 27 papers, 14 projects and 9 finals this week! Omg!" = I'm an idiot that can't read a course catalog.

"I slept 5 hours in the last 2 days! Soooooo TiReD!" = I'm an idiot that can't manage my time.

*Picture of $300 worth of junk food* "Must be finals week LOL" = I'm an idiot that needs constant sugar breaks to help my short attention span while "studying." BONUS - also an idiot that will act pissed about getting sick during/after finals while treating my body like crap before/during finals.

"Looks like I'll be cramming all night!" = I'm an idiot that was lazy all semester and did nothing to study or prepare for class.

"Here comes finals! I'm SCREWED! Wish me luck!" = I'm an idiot that is scared and desperately needs others to diminish their feelings of guilt and worthlessness.

"You know you're screwed when you don't even recognize some words on the review! #help" = I'm an idiot that never went to class because I slept through it even though it was at 11 am.

"My professor is INSANE! How can you assign this much for FINALS WEEK?!" = I'm an idiot who doesn't understand the rigor of a college education and has to blame mistakes on others.

"Just failed that final, and guess what? I don't even care! YOLO!" = I'm an idiot that is intensely concerned about that test score and feels like the idiot that I am.

"I handed in my papers late and 50% done, but whatever because I'M GRADUATEDDDDDD!!!!" = I'm an idiot that you will now have to deal with in the professional workforce. Congratulations.

Sometimes, Always, Never - Vegas the Mormon Way

I remember my first trip to Las Vegas - The lights! The color! The boobs! As a 6 year old I was particularly impressed with the enormous castle - Excalibur.

Even better I remember my single ladies trip to Las Vegas with my bestie Katie, who had never been.

"There is PORNOGRAPHY LINING THE STREETS!"


As a Mormon, Vegas can be a scary place with the boobs, butts and general grossness.  You can't go to clubs, you can't drink, you can't gamble, why even go? I'll tell you how and why YOU can do a Mormon Vegas Vacation.


The Beard and I decided to use an expiring voucher we had for 2 free nights at a Vegas hotel over Spring Break. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us since we've been married (over a year and a half! Thanks a lot Larry H Miller. We don't miss you), so we leaped at the chance.

My parents graciously agreed to watch Glen Coco, although after he marked EVERY territory in their house I doubt they'll have him back. And we were off! (Listening to Harry Potter audiobooks, obvs.)

This is how he likes to ride in the car - wedged between Ryan and the backrest

My Travel/Vacation uniform - black skinnies (Old Navy), gray v-neck (Gap), chambray top (F21), tortoise sunnies (Cotton On) and flipflops (Pac Sun)

Without further ado, here is my Sometimes-Always-Never for a Mormon trip to Las Vegas!

Sometimes

• Try out a piano bar! We went to Napoleon's in the Parisian and saw the dueling piano act. It's free, although they expect you to get drinks. A $3 can of Diet Coke was a bit ridiculous, but the dueling pianos were pretty awesome. They even take requests! Be prepared for a lot of Neil Diamond and people getting stupid drunk
• Walk through hotels/casinos. Even if you don't gamble or aren't staying there, those hotels are amazing! My favorites are the Parisian, New York New York, Caeser's Palace and now the Cosmopolitan! It's new and incredible.
• See a show, but make sure you read some reviews. I've always wanted to see a Cirque show, but I've heard a few of them can be a little racy. Many of the shows in Vegas are, so be selective. 
• Check out the LDS Temple! We didn't have time to drive out to it when we were there and I really wished we could have gone! Next time. :)

 Always

• Walk the Strip. There is no better people watching in the entire world. Pick a small section or marathon through the whole thing. Just walking with no real destination is hilarious, because you'll see yahoos like Bumblebee just chillin'. 

• While you're at it, see the free shows! The Bellagio Fountains, Atlantis inside Caeser's Palace and the pirate show outside Treasure Island.
• Also while you're at it, get some of the limitless candy at the Sugar Factory. That's all I should need to say. 

•  Plan for and try a fancy restaurant. The Beard saw Hash House a Go Go on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (one of our faves) and fell immediately in love with their enormous Chicken n' Waffles, Meatloaf sandwich and more. He's wanted to go ever since, so we planned it into our trip and budget. It made it way more fun than just grabbing a quick, cheap bite somewhere, because we looked forward to it and it was AMAZING. Really. 

• Wear something edgier than you can wear at home because - duh- its Vegas! I went with leather leggings and a skull tee since I can't ever wear those to school. Well, and maintain some degree of respect. :)

It was late. That's my only excuse for this washed out face. 

Did I do my hair at all this trip? It's a vacation. No. 

• Plan for everything to be overpriced. Vegas is where you go to splurge, not save. If you are budgeting, bring your own snacks and drinks for the hotel room.

Never

• Wear heels on the Strip, or when you have no idea what your night will be like. I even wore my trusty, comfy wedges, and I've worn flat boots before, and my dogs were barking before the night was up. 
• Take or look at the fliers and pamphlets being waved in your face. Trust me. Just pretend they don't exist.
• Get a smoking room. Vegas smoking rooms are worse than smoking rooms anywhere else. It's like secondhand-smoke nation up there.
• Stay on the Strip past 1 am. That's when the funny to crazy ratio on the Strip gets really scary.

Sometimes, Always, Never - PDA

I think we can safely say that it is actually spring, and LOVE IS IN THE AIR.

I have come to a horrifying conclusion: PDA is much more tolerable at the Junior High than at BYU. Why? Why is this the case? Young kids are supposed to be passionate and lack judgement. Adults are supposed to be mature and in control of their emotions. I have a few theories.

1. BYU kids have never had boyfriends/girlfriends before ("I DON'T DATE NONMEMBERS...") so this new and fun kissing thing is simply irresistable.
2. College kids treat campus like their home - sleeping everwhere, eating anywhere, walking around in sweats and Uggs with no shame, so why wouldn't they suck face in the SWKT quad?
3. In the frenzied married culture of BYU makes having a significant other an extreme social triumph. They feel so proud and also terrified that it may be temporary, so they try their hardest to prove it to themselves and others.
4. At the Junior High, the weird and nerdy kids are still afraid of the opposite sex, so they aren't the ones participating in PDA. Not the case at BYU. It tends to be ONLY the weird, unfortunate-looking kids. Shoot me in the face before I see two Engineering students clearly using tongue for the first time.

It makes me want to do this. Click it. It's the best PDA video I've ever seen.

Also, maybe we should issue some of these.

Let's lay down some groundrules, shall we?

SOMETIMES

I hate seeing people kiss in public. But now being married I guess I get it more. Smooching should only be used if you are saying goodbye for the day. It should be brief, hands-free and ONLY a peck. Also, you don't need to kiss goodbye before every class. You just don't.

Hand-holding. Only acceptable if you are walking around with your significant other. BYU students love to do this thing where they hold hands during class or while they're eating or across the table at the library. WTF? Really? Are they going to disappear the moment you stop touching them?

ALWAYS

I have never minded the hug. I hug. I'm not a "huggy" person, but I hug. Keep it short and sweet, and it's a great way to say hello and goodbye. Hug away my friends.

Cheek smooching. I've always thought this was incredibly classy.

Also, forehead smooching. It's so sweet.

NEVER

This is going to be a long list, so try to keep up.

Multiple kisses.

Making out.

Tongue.

For the love of all that is good, STOP MAKING GOOGLY EYES.

Bum-goosing. Also known as bum-cooching, spanking, squeezing. Sorry I just used all those words.

Winking. I think we can all agree we're crossing over into sex offender territory here.

Cuddling. Why are you spooning in Brigham Square? Whyyyyyyy?

Caressing in any form. This includes cheek stroking.

Did I miss any? What crazy PDA have you seen? Is UVU as bad as BYU? I sure hope not.

Big Girl Now

Week after next, I have BYU graduation. I'm excited about being officially "done," but really, I've been done with BYU for about a year. What I'm probably most excited about is a reason to buy a new dress and shoes. I mean, it's Easter/Graduation, so I have to clean up, right?

Anyway I'm basically drooling over these combos.

Old Navy & DSW

Shabby Apple & Valentino

Sosie & DSW



Ruche & Wanted

Humongous Chocolate Bunny or Bust

Someone finished all her schooling this week.

Someone is excited for this upcoming weekend (reception tonight, shopping with mom and sister tomorrow, coloring Easter eggs with my favorite girls, not doing homework, and of course, eating one of these bad boys.)


Someone can't stop reading fashion blogs to plan outfits days in advance. {Obsessed with The Daybook and What I Wore right now.}

Someone is spending too much time online shopping for Easter dresses and coveting new spring shoes.



Someone will be learning to play Starcraft soon.

Someone joined a coed slowpitch softball team. Yikes.

Someone can't stop smiling.