little snippets // june

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just a little catch up from june :
jeff is currently mostly unemployed + taking online classes + i shoot engagements in the evening/weddings on the weekend so we have had l o t s of time together this summer. we are very aware that our situation right now is totally unrealistic but when else will we get to be bums together? riiiiiiight?
right. sure. who's hiring?
onwards!

we have been living at the spanish fork reservoir this summer. it's this teensy man-made lake? pond? pool? up spanish fork canyon + we have made it there at least twice a week this summer. bonus points : there is a sonic on the way(!!!). 

paige moved here! she is going to byu for summer term then transferring to byu idaho so i am soaking up all the time i can get with her. also my mama came to town + we shopped + ikea'd + had the inaugural hokulia of the summer. extra li hing mui, please! with mama time comes lots of grandma time which is my favorite time. i love that spunky lady! i also love that her apartment is fifteen minutes from the SLC temple so i can pop in on a wedding break + watch hgtv/eat all her food/wear her muumuu/nap. hehehe.

NIKKI WENT THROUGH THE TEMPLE!! it was such an awesome experience. 

i am so proud of this lifelong buddy of mine + am continually impressed by how she just. keeps. progressing. mushy gushy. the end. 

we also got a little more lake time in idaho! if you know me, you know the lake is my happiest place so i was in heaven. also i can't stop buying hats...particularly hats from walmart with dumb sayings. sue me.

bye, june! 

idaho + me in a cheetah dress (FOR MY POSTERITY) /

that's about it. 

p.s. i leave for georgia tomorrow! praying for a run-in with nene leakes. 

p.p.s. CAITLYN JENNER. blew my mind this morning! i was eating breakfast with jeff + scrolling through instagram, like a truly engaged wife, + my jaw DROPPED. TO. THE. FLOOR. also screen shotted it because i want her hair color. it's fine.

WHAT UP MAY!!!! // the past month.

HI GUYS! it's brooke here, remember me? i'm reporting live from moscow, idaho where i'm currently sitting under three blankets downing my third diet coke of the morning + debating whether or not to move today. you know, tough stuff.

this past month has been GOOD. or maybe it was just that april was so bad? have i said that before? well let me tell you again : april was so bad. but may! may was so good! may is the month where i am reminded that i am a sane + functioning person most usually...sometimes + that i actually do like my life. oh. okay.

ANYWAYS MAY!

i started the month running a half marathon with my nikki-friend. it was very spur-of-the-moment + we were remarkably untrained but it was so fun. seriously. at one point nikki peed on the sidewalk + that will forever by a favorite memory, hahaha. we kept a pace. was it a good one? meh. but it was a pace! and we finished! and we got a giant medal that i keep in my carry-on suitcase. in fact, i pulled it out a few days ago at our hotel just to show it off to morgan. it's whatever.

we went to morgan's restaurant in park city, zoom, and shut. the. place. down. i think i'm still full (just kidding. i'm not. i just ate like, thirty five pretzel thins -- bring on the gluten headache, y'all!). i'm talking three appetizers, entrees, and four desserts. that's what's up. morgan gave us a tour of the kitchen + we watched some mild kitchen drama unfold + i felt like i was on some reality tv show. so basically : all my wildest dreams came true.

avery has been living in my basement (hahah) while she is in transition from student housing to married housing. hi roommate! it has been fun having her + I AM SO PUMPED FOR GEORGIA! watch out ATL (horrible snapchat as proof. you're welcome.)

tandem biking! it's hard! morgan + i (WOW MORGAN! we hung out a LOT this month!) rented a tandem bike one afternoon + MOBBED down the canyon. haha. i felt like i was in a parade/a human centipede. highly suggest it.

i have decided i want to start wearing higher shoes + skirts. so there is that. my first attempt : seven inch clogs. i hardly survived one hour of church before complaining. HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS ALL DAY? beauty is pain...but do clogs cancel out any attempt at femininity anyways? LET ME KNOW. exciting times, i know.

i had a wedding in washington last weekend (it was so pretty + the couple was the best ever ever) + jeff + morgan tagged along for the ride. side note : jeff sat in the backseat the whole time? it's fine. we're fine. it's fine. anways. washington! weddings! jeff in the backseat!

NOW! we are in idaho. well, actually we are back in washington for another wedding BUT our home base in idaho right now. i just bought a five dollar fishing hat at walmart today so yeah, you could say things are going well. ha. i have reverted back to 'high school brooke' so i have stopped doing laundry + wearing pants + am basically useless. unfortunately my 'high school brooke' legs have not returned but i'll keep you updated.

THE END. for now. that was photo heavy, I AM AWARE.

a visit home + ex-boyfriend contracts

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i went up to idaho for a few days last week to stock up on anklets (if you ever are in the moscow area, go to 'tye dye everything' in the back of mikey's gyros. $1 anklets in all sorts of colors plus the opportunity to scratch your head + think, 'how is this place still in business?') + good cooking. it was a SHORT visit but i left refueled, refocused + 30 pounds heavier.

ANYWAYS. thanks fam for having me! thanks idaho for the good weather! thanks random high school acquaintances for delightfully ignoring me!

warning :  this is where a rant begins...
...truly delightfully. i feel like there should be contracts handed out to people after high school graduation where you decide if you are going to be wavers or stop-and-catch-uppers or ignorers when you bump into each other in public. YOU KNOW?!

nothing is worse than not knowing. for instance : i hugged my friend's ex-boyfriend at the AT&T store because we had not established what we were!!!! WHAT ARE WE?!!?!?

also nothing is worse than becoming a waver to someone who you don't want to be a waver with. THESE CONTRACTS ARE IRREVERSIBLE. i stupidly waved to my high school gym teacher one day + now we are forever on waving terms +, let me tell you, it. is. exhausting. and stressful!

WAIT! on to something : in addition to handing out these contracts/agreements at the end of high school graduation, you should also hand them out after break-ups to your ex-lover AS WELL AS all of their family members and friends. am i right or what?!

THE END.

HEY! Family pictures on a Thursday.

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Hey! It's my family!

Look and scroll and scroll and look.

Without further adieu : family pictures. Taken in under thirty minutes. In seven degree weather.

Woop, there it is!

Also scrolling through these pictures makes me wonder what I should do with my hair? Grow it out? Chop it off? Color it darker? Lighter? ...also these pictures make me miss my family. Because I do have a heart. Ha.

Chin up!

I adore my sweet and safe and sleepy hometown + was shocked to hear the news.

My dad said it best : 

Wise words regarding the impact of this tragedy on this small, interconnected town. One victim spoke kind words to my son when he was a young teen; another always offered a smile and friendly words when I saw her at work; another was the father of schoolmates. I could walk from my office to the scenes of these horrific crimes in minutes. The connection are at once chilling, and a reminder of why I love this place. Chin up, Moscow. People we all know are rocked to the core and need our help. 

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Thoughts and prayers to Moscow!

Yurt-ing || WINCHESTER, ID

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For no real reason, we went glamping/yurt-ing(?) in the teensy town of Winchester, Idaho 

on Tuesday. Random fact : my great-grandma was born + raised here + met my great grandpa at a dance near the lake! History! Family! Ancestry.com! 

Anyways, the yurt was right near a frozen lake + all the trees were covered in snow. Not to be corny, but it looked so magical! We made a steak dinner followed by a record-breaking amount of s'mores then tucked away for the night to be serenaded by the sweet, sweet sounds of Seinfeld. Ha. As you can see, this has been the theme of our winter break : sugar, sleep, Seinfeld. Ain't complaining!

Now, look! So pretty, right? :

THE END.

Life in Idaho according to my iPhone ||

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I am currently watching the Where Are They Now? final episode of 90 Day Fiance while lying in bed and poof! a commercial comes on announcing Stacy London's new show, Love Lust or Run. This PLEASES me. I love Stacy London like I love Bethenny Frankel -- in fact, I used to sort of think they were the same person + thought of them interchangeably. After typing out this whole paragraph, I am realizing it is pointless...much like the second 'n' in Bethenny. How superfluous.

Where am I going with this? 

...

...

Anyways? Life. Christmas break. 

I saw this tweet today that said, "We are at the point of Christmas break where you just feel like you are unemployed + living with your mom." AMEN. This is the life. Sort of.

Here are some of the highs of break thus far :

Family Bunko tournament (heated) || Shooting guns with a sort of stranger
 (...random. But so fun.) || Catching Jeff spooning my dog (hahahahahaha) ||
Acai bowls for breakfast || Having my grandma here from San Diego -- she is. a. hoot.
I love that woman + her thick Brooklyn accent || Long drives to Sonic to get my dirty
 Diet Coke fix || Breakfast Club bacon || Walking my dog in sub zero weather with
 only the sounds of old school Usher + T.I. to keep me warm ||
 A pantry of FOOD! Is this adulthood?! || Having everyone home ||
 Attempting (and failing) to win the favorite aunt award || CABLE! ||

WOOT! 

Jeff + I are going camping in a yurt tomorrow in seriously 7 degree weather. This should be interesting.

GOODNIGHT to you, and you, and you. 

TUBBS HILL, CDA IDAHO + pictures of my face

FIRST : Merry Day After Christmas! We had such a good one with family/friends/Seinfeld (Jeff was gifted all the seasons...my family thinks I am a touch Kramer but I want to be full Elaine! Let me live!). More on this later.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING : No, I haven't changed my outfit since I have arrived in Idaho. Why change something that is c l e a r l y working? (...though my mom did hint lightly today that the washing machine is free upstairs so if you want to wash your clothes, feel free! Noted mama, noted)

Today we went to Coeur d' Alene (I will never not have to spellcheck that...) to go eagle watching (...no, I'm serious. How cool, right?!) + hike/walk Tubb's Hill. It was SO COLD but Jeff spotted like, fifteen eagles that mysteriously disappeared every time I looked. I spotted seven seagulls + thought they were eagles every. single. time. I brought my camera + THUS : PICTURES!

...Jeff was supposed to be in this.

...and there he is. 

Where is my neck? I look like a giant thumb.

Also hi tonsils.

Jeff. Loves. Nature.

How pretty, right? We listened to Serial on the drive + I AM HOOKED. Who did it?!?!

And that's it.

I know.

So many pictures of my face.