ryan stuart gets married - salt lake city temple style

the after party with mom and her sister...

NCAA bracket.

c o s m e t o l o g y

when it rains it pours. and i say that in the most positive manner possible. on top of fun foam furnishings ball rolling, i will soon officially begin my apprenticeship to obtain my cosmetology license.
since the sixth grade, i have been dreaming of "doing hair". i use to get held in at recess because i refused to put my brush away during class. and when i did make it out to the play ground i was putting my friends hair in fancy up-dos. all through-out high school i colored and cut my sisters hair and all of her friends. never charging a dime for product or my time. i enjoyed it that much. i loved seeing the outcome of my creations and more-so i loved making my "clients" happy and feelin' good. in HIGH SCHOOL! upon graduating i made the decision to live on my own and by doing so i had to keep a full-time job, if not two. never being able to commit to school. so here i am. 12 years later, halfway to an associates degree and finally working towards doing what i love. i have been given the opportunity to apprentice in the cutest salon i have ever seen, and under one of the most amazing stylists i have ever met. every day i am in that salon, i am grateful for the opportunity i have been given. if it weren't for darins sister denise, i might not have ever even thought this was an option for me here in utah. i did consider cosmetology school once work picked up for darin. but THIS is even better.

the little one

my darling niece, adrianna, has the craziest effect on me. i would do anything in the world for her. she has me wrapped around her little finger. she lives in california with her parents and i in utah. i've never felt such pain in missing someone before. except for the few months darin and i tried living apart from each other. the only difference is i knew i was going to be reunited with him shortly and more importantly he wasn't changing much in those few months apart. adrianna is growing up so fast and i feel like i am missing some of the best parts of her life. she'll be 4 in june this year. we talk on the phone now. which to this day is a trip to me. i still feel like when i see her i'm going to put a bottle in her mouth and sing her lullabys in my arms trying to get her to sleep. but nope. now she sings with me and teaches me songs she learned in school. i can't handle it. it causes me literal physical pain to my heart. i miss her so much some days. today my mom told me that she stayed the night there last night. my mom told adrianna that desiree (my younger sister) was coming by to visit. the first words out of adriannas mouth were "is brandi coming?!?!" with excitement. my mom had to tell her i wasn't. as soon as desiree arrived she picked her up and swung her around and squeezed her tight, then adrianna says "can we call brandi and say hi?!". uuggh it hurts so bad not being able to see her.  this weekend we are taking a trip to california for my little brothers wedding. as excited as i am for him, i am so unbelievably anxious to hold my sweet adrianna. i have already dedicated two of my evenings there: thursday night to jordan [the 21 year old baby brother who will wed on saturday] & friday night to adrianna.  she brought me home from washington state, will she take me away from utah before it's my time?

i love everything turquoise.
i don't like throwing the word 'obsessed' around loosly but i will use it with this color.

i am obsessed with turquoise, and it's many different shades.

i want to paint the furniture in my home all of it's different shades. i want to plan my wedding around it. i want to dress my body in it. it makes me happy. i love you, turquoise.

my living room is all different shades of brown right now and it's starting to really get to me, in a not so good way. i purchased my first wall art the other day [FINALLY] and painted it [martha stewart - beach glass] to add a small splash of color. i need more though! i need lamps and paintings and a rug.

 

here are a few things i have come across on pinterest that i need to make a part of my life, asap. you can see where to get some of these items on my pinterest board - MyHome.

notable oscar attendees

absolutely loved cameron diaz's gucci dress paired with her tiffany & co. jewels [left]. would have def picked this for myself. didn't love emma stone's giambattista valli haute couture dress [right] but i did enjoy her presentation. she is so delightful!

travel

so i just discovered a really cool site.

Uencounter.me 

i came across it while reading a world travel website that i regularly follow. basically, in your travels when you encounter someone or something that is worth remembering, making note of, or showing appreciation for you can pin it on your map and leave a little [or big] comment about your encounter. it's an incredible idea! AND if someone has an encounter with you and finds it noteworthy, there is a possibility of you coming across it in a search on the site. i wish i would have known about this during my travels to washington state and up through canada. i made quite a few connections with strangers that i won't forget. i will def be using it when i set out again. thanks world travel website for the find!