Quarter of a Century

Well, friends, I am now 25 years old. And let me tell you, the prospect of this birthday was not happy for me. For some reason, 25 just felt old. Which is ridiculous, I know. When people tell me that they're 25, my first thought is never, "Holy cow, that is super old." My first thought is actually something along the lines of, "Sweet! Someone my age!" But when it came time for me to turn 25, it felt old.

But I have to say that the five days I have been 25 have been kind of awesome. I have incredible friends, an incredible family, and an incredible boyfriend who helped me forget that 25 felt old and mostly just made me feel loved.

Brittany heart attacked my mirror. Someone heart attacked our apartment door. My boss decorated my desk and gave me banana bread. While I was at work, Brittany decorated our living room. (Did I mention that Brittany is probably the sweetest person I know? No? Well, she is.) Andrew took me out to a wonderful dinner.

And that was just my birthday itself. Can I brag a little bit about how amazing my boyfriend is? Let me chronicle everything Andrew did for me last week. Monday: Took me mini golfing and bought me ice cream. Tuesday: Gave me Batman Begins and The Dark Knight on blu-ray because he couldn't wait one more day to give me my present. Wednesday: Took me out to a nice restaurant and then gave me ice cream while we watched The Dark Knight. Thursday: Took me to see The Dark Knight Rises and bought me a bunch of movie snacks. Friday: Made me dinner (which is a regular occurrence). Saturday: Bought me a smoothie and took me shooting (though admittedly, I was a little tired, ornery, and whiney and didn't shoot much). And he can't stop talking about the other birthday present that he's going to make me (yes, make) that will be a little late because he doesn't have all the supplies yet. Does anyone else think I'm a little bit spoiled? Andrew treats me far better than I deserve. He's basically the best boyfriend ever.

In addition to all of that, my family had a little party for me on Saturday. Everyone but one sick nephew and his mom were there, including Cora, Jamie, and Andrew. I got presents and food, and we had fun talking and simply enjoying one another's company.

The whole week of my birthday was pretty awesome. My life is so good right now. It's such a nice change of pace after expending so much energy complaining about the things that I didn't have before. It wasn't that I wasn't happy; I was just frustrated about things. But as of right now, this very second, I am happy. So happy. I'm so incredibly blessed.

Good friends help you move. Best friends help you move bodies.

Day Twenty-One: What you think of your friends.

I feel like this is kind of a weird question. If I didn't like my friends, they wouldn't be my friends, would they? But I guess I'll play along and elaborate a little bit.

I'll start with my girlfriends. I have some incredible girls in my life. I honestly do. They are always seeing what they can do for others, and I love having that example. They are incredible to talk to. We can have random, goofy discussions about really trivial things, and we can switch to a different mode and have really in-depth, valuable conversations about things that are meaningful to us. I get incredible advice when I talk to these girls, and I always feel better after discussing things with them.

I also have some incredible guy friends. They are worthy priesthood holders, and I see them at church every Sunday, which is such a cool thing when I sit down and think about it. I have a list of guys I could contact if I ever needed a blessing. I know that I can count on these guys to help me out if I am ever in need. I love that I have a contingent of guys I can talk to about sports, since my girlfriends don't really care. It's always fun to go to church on Sunday and have a guy come up to me specifically to ask what I thought of the game last night. I love that these are good, solid guys who are trying to do what's right.

However, I do get annoyed with a lot of these guys. Mostly because they're not asking girls on dates. Or because they're not asking the girls they hang out with on dates (including me). That gets frustrating. I'm not saying that every guy I hang out with has to be interested in me; that's not the case at all. But once in a while, it would be nice if they noticed the girls they spend most of their time with and changed things up a bit. It's fun to get to know someone one-on-one instead of always being in a group.

I really do have amazing people in my life right now. The other day I was talking to Cora about the evolution of my group of friends over the years. There were some people that I hung out with a couple of years ago that weren't the greatest of examples. Don't get me wrong—there was nothing wrong with them. They just didn't take the Honor Code terribly seriously, and that attitude permeated a lot of other things. I loved hanging out with them, for the most part, but I realized that I didn't particularly like who I was when I hung out with them. That isn't the case with the people I hang out with right now. I love who I am when I'm with them, and I love the things they bring out of me. I want to be better and do better when I'm around them. And I love that I have those kinds of influences in my life.

Photog

Day Thirteen: Another picture of yourself.

New Year's Eve, 2011. Brittany, Heather, and I were partying with some friends, and we had the best ratio ever: the three of us and seven guys. It was pretty sweet. We played charades, ate tons of food, and watched a movie. It was a super fun night. I love these girls. I love them so much, in fact, that I'm going to be living with them this fall. I can't wait. Our apartment is going to be the bomb dot com. Seriously. We're not going to get any sleep ever. It'll be awesome.

My friends are the best.

Day Two: A picture of you and your friends.

Honest to goodness, I have so many incredible friends that one picture wouldn't suffice. Heck, these three pictures don't suffice. So many awesome people are left out because I am horrible at taking pictures at social events.

My roommates are incredible and have become some of my very best friends. My other girlfriends in the ward (of which there are pretty much only two) have become such good friends that I'm hoping to live with them next year. And the guys in my life never cease to entertain me. If any combination of my guy friends are around, whatever is going on is almost guaranteed to be exciting.

Honestly, I am so grateful that I have met such amazing people the past few months. Here's hoping that in the next few months, I can meet even more amazing people and grow even closer with the people I've already integrated into my life.

Giving Thanks Day 22: Cora

So I know this really cool girl. She's freaking adorable (unfairly so), and she has the sharpest wit of almost anyone I know. She is kind and loving and legitimately cares about people. She comes off as shy and unassuming, and then she'll come out with the funniest thing you've ever heard seemingly out of the blue. She is clever and charming and everyone who knows her loves her. She has dealt with a lot in her life, which makes her seem much older than her 21 years. She is an amazing friend who will do anything to help those she loves.

This girl's name is Cora. Cora is my roommate. She's my best friend. She's my cousin. She's my pseudo-sister.

I am the youngest in my family, so I never grew up with that innate desire to protect a younger sibling. But in the year and a half that I have lived with Cora, I have come to know what it's like to be protective of someone. To want to make everything bad go away. To want to beat the crap out of anyone that treats that person unfairly.

I love Cora more than I can possibly say. I have grown almost as close to her as I am to my own sister. Cora and I have countless inside jokes, and we frequently have conversations that make no sense to anyone else in the room. Someone will say something that triggers a funny memory, and all Cora and I have to do is look at each other before we're rolling on the floor laughing. We play off each other. We have fake arguments. We get annoyed with each other, stop talking for a night, then apologize the next day and things go back to normal.

Cora deals with me barging into her room to ask her how my outfit looks or to whine to her about something that's been bugging me. She endures my frequent complaints about boys. She goes with me to random things (like work parties) simply because I don't want to go alone.

I am so thankful that I have been able to live with Cora the past couple of years. I am so thankful that she came out to Provo for school so that I could have the opportunity to grow so close to her. I am so thankful that she enjoys spending time with me just as much as I enjoy spending time with her. I don't know what I would do without her. I love her so much and I can't adequately express how thankful I am that she is in my life.

This is kind of an old picture, but it's still one of my very favorites

Giving Thanks Day 20: Friends Part 2

I feel like I've talked over and over about friends and guys and my ward on this blog, but the past couple of weeks have been such a huge example of the importance of good friends. They have all been such a strength to me the past little while.

I always think about the people in my ward on Sundays because in a singles ward, Sunday is one of the most social days of the week, if not the most social. Not only do I see my friends at church, but I see them at choir, at break the fast, at ward prayer, at firesides, and at each other's apartments. I always have something going on, and it's awesome.

I've said this before, but I'm going to repeat myself. I tried very hard to find an opportunity to get out of Provo this past summer. I was frustrated and fed up. I only knew a few people in my ward, and I didn't feel like I knew any of them well enough to call on them if I needed something or even if I was just bored. Boys weren't asking me out. I just didn't like how things were going.

But all of my efforts were in vain, and I ended up staying at Carriage Cove for another year. I figured that at the very least, I would have Cora to hang out with and we would make our own fun (which we are pretty good at, by the way). Instead, Cora and I decided to make an effort, starting with our BYU football party. Brittany and Alison became our new roommates and jumped right in, helping us make food and decorate. Ever since then, things have taken a 180-degree turn. (Well, boys still aren't asking me out, but that is another blog post for another day.)

Basically what I'm saying is that I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord had other plans for me. I am so thankful that I couldn't make moving out of Provo work when I wanted it to. I'm still not 100 percent sure why I was supposed to stay in Carriage Cove, but I know that meeting all these amazing people has to be part of it.

Giving Thanks Day 16: Laughter

Tonight I went out to Zupas with Cora, Kira, and Heather. I think it was a much-needed release of some pent-up emotions (at least for me and Cora) because we basically just laughed at everything, all night long. And it felt SO GOOD. It felt like it had been ages since I had laughed that hard. It was fabulous. The laughter continued when we watched Meet the Robinsons and then went over to Zach and Jon's apartment to watch Psych. I don't really watch Psych, and I honestly didn't pay too much attention to it, but Zach and Jon make me laugh all the time, which is why I like hanging out with them so much.

I'm so thankful for laughter. I know that sounds a little odd, but what kind of life would it be if there weren't things to be laughed at? I get so much enjoyment out of laughing, and I always feel so fulfilled after I've had a good guffaw. I love having to catch my breath after laughing so hard it hurts. It's such a release. I always feel infinitely better after I've had a good laugh.

Giving Thanks Day 14: The Priesthood

That issue I mentioned yesterday hasn't gone away. And it probably isn't going to go away for a little while yet. Tonight I became extremely concerned for the well being of a couple of people. (I'm sorry if this starts sounding super cryptic. It's not intended—it's just not a situation that everyone needs to know about.) I was very stressed, and there was nothing I could do to fix that, so all I wanted to do was get out of my apartment. Throughout FHE, my friend Jordan simply noticed that I was having a rough time. After FHE, he said, "I'm going to go get a Mountain Dew. You wanna come?" I said yes gladly. Any excuse to get out was a good excuse.

I had a good chat with Jordan, and as I was coming home, Kira, Heather, Alison, and Kira's friend Clint were leaving my apartment to get some food. Kira invited me to go with, and I, again, gladly accepted. We drove around for half an hour, just talking. Then I went to Kira and Heather's and talked some more. I was so anxious about things that I was freaking out a little bit.

While it would have been just fine if Kira and Heather had simply talked to me and let me air out my feelings, they did so much more than that. Kira called people who needed to know what was going on so that something could actually be done about the situation. Then Heather asked me if I needed a blessing. I wasn't sure if I did or not, but Kira basically said, "It can't hurt," and called my friend Adam to come over.

This was the first time I had ever gotten a blessing from someone other than my dad or my brothers. Since I live so close to home, I've never really called on the elders in my wards to help me out when I've been in trouble. The truth is, I've never been entirely comfortable with that. But after Adam came over, talked to me about the issue, gave me a priesthood blessing, and gave me a hug, I knew that everything was going to be okay. My panic abated and I could feel the Spirit comforting me.

I am so incredibly thankful for the power of the priesthood and for the men who are worthy to hold that power. I am so thankful that there are such amazing men in my ward that I can call on in times of need. The best part about tonight was that I knew Adam wasn't the only one on the list of brethren who would have come over to give me a blessing. I can think of seven or eight other guys that would have helped me out. The priesthood is such an amazing blessing in my life, and I'm so thankful that I have such easy access to its power anytime I need it.

Giving Thanks Day 13: Tender Mercies

Late last night, some crap hit the fan. I'm not going to go into detail, but a couple of us in our apartment (and one of us in particular [not me]) went into crisis mode. It was (is) a very scary and difficult situation. And while it wasn't my personal problem, it was a problem for someone I loved, so I was stressing about someone who was stressing about someone else.

All day today at church, I was a little preoccupied because I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't know how things were going to shake out. But throughout the day, I noticed small things that helped me recognize that I am still loved despite what was going on around me. At break the fast, a friend asked me how I was doing. When I responded, "I've been better," he didn't ask me what was going on. He simply gave me a hug and told me to let him know if I needed anything.

Later tonight, I was watching a show with some friends, and they just let me talk to them about what was going on. They were simply there for me and for my roommates and also offered their services in case we needed anything.

Then I went to ward prayer, where I had a good friend sit me down and ask me sincerely how I was doing. He truly wanted to know, which was so nice and so needed. It was comforting to know that someone was paying enough attention to go out of his way to make sure I was okay.

This doesn't even count the numerous random compliments that I got from multiple people today. I'm nearly positive that none of those people had any idea how much I needed their kind words, but they were said at just the time that I needed to hear them.

I'm so thankful for those tender mercies from the Lord. Even when I am going through something very difficult, I am reminded of the amazing people in my life and of the many incredible blessings that I do have.

Giving Thanks Day 1: Friends

Hello, friends! It's that time of year again. November is here, which means another 30 days of thankful posts. I've loved doing this the past couple of years, so I want to continue it. Besides, I don't think it's possible to be too thankful for the good things in my life.

Today was Cora's birthday. To celebrate, we threw Cora a surprise party. It was kind of awesome. There were quite a few people hanging out in my apartment, and as usual, I thoroughly enjoyed the company. So my first thankful post is a little general, but I am really grateful for the amazing people I've met in this ward. I have made some wonderful friends and have been incredibly busy doing fun things, which has been fantastic. I'm so grateful to have such amazing people in my life right now. It's been just what I've needed.

These are just a few of the awesome people in my life. I love these girls so much. If I had more pictures of the guys, I would post those too, but maybe I'll take some pictures later and they'll make their way into another post this month.

The Joys of Living in a Provo Singles Ward

This semester has been rather awesome so far. Let me expound upon why.

First of all, I have seriously amazing roommates. The four of us get along great. We started the bonding process by going to Awful Waffle the first week Brittany and Alison moved in. Roommate dinner was a fabulous idea, let me tell you. The bonding further solidified when we threw a massive party for the BYU football season opener. It included this awesome banner:

Yes, that is our balcony, inviting all of Carriage Cove to our party. We had a pretty awesome turnout, too—a good 20 or 25 people showed up, some of which weren't even in our ward. I would say it was a success.

Since that party, we have held Dessert Club, game nights, and dinners. Because the 309ers are just that awesome. A Sunday dinner of the best lasagna ever (my lasagna, naturally) is in the works, as is a trip to the Haunted Forest in American Fork and a waffle party. We go to every ward function (which is a definite improvement for me) and we get invited to all sorts of fun things like movies and bowling parties. I know more guys in the ward than girls, which is the way it should be, right?

So why am I sitting here detailing how social I've been for the past month? Because, as lame as this is going to make me seem, this isn't normal for me. Especially not in this apartment complex. But we had a huge turnover this past fall, and it made all the difference in the world. The ward is incredible. People go to activities and get to know each other. It's awesome.

The whole point of this super socialness is to meet guys. That should be no surprise. And it has worked. I've even managed to develop a few crushes, some more intense than others.

Guy 1 is the main crush. He's super cute and incredibly nice. I met him at some ward events the beginning of the semester, but I didn't really take notice until the football party. He knew my name when I couldn't remember his, which is not usual for me. He sings (super bonus points!) and is just an all-around awesome guy. He goes to all the ward activities and generally comes to the things we invite him to. I spent an awesome amount of time talking to him at Break the Fast on Sunday. I'm pretty sure it was the first time we actually sat down and had a legitimate one-on-one conversation, and I quite enjoyed myself. In the course of this conversation, I discovered that HE SPEAKS GERMAN! Despite the fact that he completely flustered me and I could barely carry on even the remotest conversation with him in German, it meant that we have something in common, and he said he wants to get together and practice sometime. Which is awesome because a) I really do want to get my German skills back and b) I just want to spend more time with him.

Guy 2 is awesome and very attractive, but he's a terrible friend. He never comes to things I invite him to, and when he says he will let me know about things that are going on, he promptly forgets to tell me about them. He didn't come to my football party. He didn't let me know when he bought tickets to the Jimmer's All Stars game. Like I said, terrible friend. But he's hilarious, and we have a great time whenever we do hang out. I make fun of him constantly, and he knows how to take it. I don't have a full-blown crush on him, but it could develop quickly if given the chance.

Guy 3 isn't really a crush at all; he's become that guy friend that I could probably talk to about the guys I'm actually interested in. He's surprising and unexpected. Every time I think I have him figured out, he throws something else at me. He's a lot deeper than he seems at first glance. And while he is a dang cute guy who could probably have his pick of just about any girl in the ward, he seems a little lonely. There's just so much to him, and I'm completely intrigued. I spent most of the day with him on Saturday because I gave him my dad's ticket to the BYU vs. SJSU game. It was an odd combination to be at the game with this guy from my ward and my two brothers, but it was pretty fun. I learned all sorts of things about this guy that I never thought I'd learn, and I'm really glad that we've become such good friends lately. It's really nice to have guys around that I'm completely comfortable with. I would say that a crush could potentially emerge here, but I really do like just being friends.

And this is really just the beginning. There are quite a few other guys in the ward that I would gladly go on dates with because they're all really cool and really nice. There are some amazing people in this ward, and I'm so glad that my efforts to leave were all in vain. I don't know why exactly I was supposed to stay in Carriage Cove for another year, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it has something to do with the people here.

There's only one catch with this plethora of guys: They're not asking me out. And they're not asking my roommates out. I don't understand that. Do they think we're constantly hanging out with them and inviting them over just to be nice? If so, they are sorely mistaken. Here's hoping they get with the program really soon.

Besties

Day 4: Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

So the whole best friend thing has often been an issue for me. I tend to think I have a best friend, then come to realize that my best friend doesn't think of me as a best friend. It's happened on multiple occasions, actually. It seems like I often like people way more than they like me.

That used to bug me a lot, and then I got over it. I have friends, and I'm happy with that. I feel like I have lots of best friends, so it's hard to choose just one person to write about. But for this post, I'll choose the person I spend the most time with. I live with her, so naturally I see her everyday. We've never had an argument. (Well, not a real one, at least.) And to make it even better, we're cousins, which gives us license to make fun of family without feeling bad.

Choosing a picture was difficult; there are just so many good photos of Cora. She is probably the randomest person I know, which always makes life with her exciting. She lives to hear me say, "Shut up" or "You're a dork." Which happens frequently, so her life is fulfilled. 

Cora is basically the best roommate I've ever had—which is saying something, because I've had some seriously awesome roommates.

Being Thankful: Day Twenty-Two

Laura came over tonight to visit teach Amanda and ended up talking to me for a couple of hours. I think she ended up helping me more than she helped Amanda. Though I didn't know it, I apparently needed a good talk. Laura and I ended up discovering that we have uncannily similar experiences, which led us to have similar ideas and perceptions. It was kind of fun to figure out that we have much more in common than at least I expected.

I'm so thankful for the good people in my life, like Laura, Cora, Faith, and Kate. (There are lots more good people in my life, but I see these girls the most.) I love having those people around whom I can talk to about most everything. I haven't known Laura for as long as I have known the other three, but after last night, she's working her way up there. I love it when I find good friends. It's fantastic.

I am aware that I mentioned a lot of these girls in last Friday's post, but they deserve another mention.

Being Thankful: Day Nineteen

Tonight I got to go to Faith and Jake's wee little apartment for dinner, which was a lot of fun. I hadn't seen them since their wedding reception, so it was great to hang out with them some more. I love those guys. They're one of those few and far between couples where I know each of them separately and individually. I didn't meet Jake through Faith or vice versa.

I've known them both for years. Jake and I grew up in the same stake, and Faith and I have been best friends since tenth grade. They didn't even start dating until our senior year of high school. This whole situation is great because it means I can hang out with them even after they're married and not end up cracking inside jokes with Faith that Jake doesn't get. We can talk about things that happened in high school and chances are that we were all there. It's great.

I'm super thankful for friends like Faith and Jake, and friends like Marla, Cami, Traci, Kate, and Eliza. I'm so thankful that I made good choices about the people I spent time with in high school because most of us have stayed close throughout college. It's great to know that I have people in my life who care about me like these guys do.

 

I figured high school photos would be the best option here. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Kate from high school. I still love her though!

Being Thankful: Day One

This past year has simply flown by. It's ridiculous how much faster time goes when you're not living your life in four-month chunks. And now it's November (already), which means it's time for more thankful posts. I did this last year, and I really liked it. I found myself looking for something every day that I could write about in my thankful post, and it felt really good to constantly be looking for the good things in my life. So today I start my month of daily thankful posts, which I hope I can make an annual tradition.

Today, I'm grateful that Cora lives with me. Don't get me wrong, my other roommates are also awesome, but Cora and I just understand each other. We have the same sense of humor. Plus, we understand each others' families, which is also a huge thing. The amount of inside jokes we have that stem from our families is rather astounding. People often look at us funny when we burst into laughter about something that no one else understands. It's fantastic. Plus, today's her birthday, and I figured no longer being a teenager deserved a blog post.

Thanks, Cora, for being the awesomest roommate/cousin ever.

How did that happen?

There was a time when I was ridiculously anti-social in my current ward. When I would spend every evening in my apartment reading, or watching movies, or watching TV, completely by myself. Occasionally I would do something with my roommates, but for the most part, I kept to myself.

I wanted to make friends, but I didn't know how. I'm not the kind of person who can just walk up to people and start talking and make friends in the blink of an eye, like some people seem to do. So I kept to myself. I made a few acquaintances and talked to a few people at church, but that was about it.

Then my apartment had dessert club, where we had to provide dessert for the ward. People came in, ate, and left, while others came in, left, and mingled. We started a game of Signs with those who stayed behind, and after that, a lot of things changed for me.

I have had something to do nearly every night the past couple of weeks. My roommates and I have been invited to and have invited others to do all sorts of things, like watching movies, playing an assortment of games, going off the rope swing in Mona, going swimming, going to the hot pots in Midway, throwing a birthday party for Harry Potter, and going camping.

I haven't been this tired and sleep deprived in a very long time. But I also haven't had quite this much fun in a long time, either.

These pictures are ridiculously inadequate, but I really didn't feel like looking through a bunch of Facebook albums to find more.

An Excuse to Be Loud and Obnoxious

That's really all karaoke is. The music blares, and the audience sings over the people who kind of suck. But there aren't many places where you can sing at the top of your lungs without people looking at you like you're crazy. And tonight I needed some time to be obnoxious. To let loose. To have some fun without worrying about how what I said affected someone else or whether or not so-and-so is interested in me.

I tore it up with "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree," my all-time favorite karaoke song. Why is it my favorite? Because I'm good at it. (Nope, that's not very humble, but this is one of the only situations in which you'll hear me sound so confident, so I'm taking it.) I love any song that gives me an excuse to put some gravel in my voice.

Ahh, karaoke, my dear friend. I forgot just how much fun you are.

They say it's your birthday

Olive Garden + Paul McCartney + family + kabobs + presents + friends + cupcakes + cheesecake + crepes + signs + a date = the best birthday EVER. Thanks to everyone who helped make it so awesome.

23 is going to be a good year—I can feel it.

Blues Dancing = Awesome

Wednesday night, I was online when Laura started chatting with me and asked me if I wanted to go blues dancing with her and some other people on Thursday night. My first inclination was to say no. I've never gone blues dancing before, or really any dancing, except an occasional institute dance. I was positive I'd be bad at it, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself.

But as I was about to say that I didn't want to go, I thought about all of the nights I spend doing nothing in my apartment. Sure, reading and watching TV and movies is cool, but it gets boring when you do it night after night. I also thought about how I've wanted to meet new people and get out of myself and be more outgoing. So instead of doing what is natural for me and being introverted, I said yes.

And boy am I glad I did.

Turns out, I'm not too shabby at blues dancing. Don't get me wrong—I'm not amazing or anything. But I can follow decently enough (though when guys started throwing in a lot of turns and spins I got rather confused) to have a good time. There were times when I felt a little dumb, and when I wished I had let go a little bit more than I did, but there is blues dancing at Ozz every Thursday night, so I've got plenty of time to get better.

I also met quite a few really cool people. I went to Denny's after the dancing ended with the regulars, I guess you could call them, and simply enjoyed myself. Which is something I don't do enough. I even let myself stop worrying about the fact that I had work in the morning—though when I was trying to get out of bed after only five hours of sleep, I did second guess myself a little bit.

Basically, last night was awesome for me for multiple reasons: 1) Like I told Laura, I did something new, which is something I don't do enough. 2) I forced myself out of my comfort zone—dancing is not something I do very often, especially not dancing really close like I did last night (nobody on the floor would have passed the triple combination test). 3) I was social and talked to a ton of new people—also something I'm not always comfortable with.

I think I just might have found something to do to fill my usually empty Thursday nights. You better believe I'm going back next week.

Café Hopping Round Two

My posts are completely out of order lately, but oh well. This one is definitely worth posting about.

A couple of weeks ago, Faith, Jake, and I decided to go café hopping again. Jake was apparently really jealous of the first trip that Faith and I went on, so we decided to let him tag along this time.

Our first stop was the Cocoa Bean. It's a cute little place that sells cupcakes, cocoa (obviously), Italian sodas, and frozen lemonades. We all tried different cupcakes. My lemon blueberry cupcake was divine. Seriously. So freaking good. My passion peach lemonade wasn't half bad either. Faith and Jake liked their cupcakes, too.

Our next stop was Eliane's French Bakery. This was a tip from my boss, and though they didn't have macarons like I wanted, my piece of peach cake was super yummy. It was a good thing Faith and Jake both speak French, though—the man who helped us barely spoke any English. I had no idea what was going on. But I got my cake, and it was good, so that's all that really matters, right?

Jake was having so much fun, can you tell? (He really was, I promise.)

Our third and final stop was the Chocolate. Jake really wanted to go, so Faith and I condescended to go again. Because it was such a difficult choice, you know. It was just as cute as the first time, and my lemon bar was delicious. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it what with all of the other yummy things I had eaten that day.

I think they were going into a sugar coma.

 

It was a really fun trip. I think the next time we go café hopping, we're going to see what West Valley/Magna has to offer, since Faith is leaving me this summer, and I'll probably have to go up north to see her.