Loving this new shop and website Red Velvet Art. Prints by Elsie Flannigan and Frank Chimero and such adorable accessories! Their blog is just as cute. Anyone want to drive to Missouri to check out the shop in person?! :)

Have you heard of the music blog Lovely Dancing Lights? You are surely missing out if you haven't. My wonderful and amazing Brandon is the author and creator of LDL and it is THE hottest music blog on the block. So go check it out, download a few amazing albums and tell a friend (and if you want to clicky click on an ad or two, I wouldn't mind!) :) Music ranging from rock, indie, hardcore, emo, electronic, and pop AND so much more. He even has a request bar so if you want something just ask him on the widget on his sidebar and he for sure will deliver. Anyways, I am so proud of him and all the hard work he puts into it. So what are you waiting for, stop looking at this lame blog and go check out Lovely Dancing Lights. And just for a little comparison and to emphasize how huge LDL is, I get over 30-40 page views a day which is alright since I am a pretty inconsistent blogger. LDL gets 600+ page views a day! That is huge!!

What I *heart*: new (to me at least) blogs



1. Cake Wrecks: Seriously so funny! I laugh out loud every morning at work when I check this blog. Sometimes you will think "This can't be real, no cake maker is that dumb to misspell girl or birthday." But trust me, it is real and it is hilarious!



2. 365: From the profile. "A New Years Resolution made by 2 sisters and a sister-in-law. A photo a day, subject matter open-ended. The rules are simple: take a photo, post it by midnight. This is our year in photographs." I had the opportunity to meet 1 of the contributing sisters when I was up in Utah. She was one of Rachael's roommates and is just as charming in person. Really is such a pretty blog and I love checking it everyday to see how the photos connect to one another. Oh and I belive only 1 of the sisters is an actual photographer and got her degree in it. They really are just that amazing.



3. Rockstar Diaries: I have actually been reading Rockstar Diaries for a while now but think everyone should check out this goodness. Naomi and Josh are officially the cutest couple I have ever seen. I love reading about being their young love and being married in NYC.



4. Inkmark: Pretty much want to be her when I am finally a mom. Most of her projects are simple but so so pretty and creative. I can't wait to one day throw a Polka Dot birthday party for my little girl (or maybe a green and blue one for a little boy!) after seeing it on her blog. A real inspiration.

Why Hello! It certainly has been a while hasn't it. Well things here at the IWILLSAVEYOURDAY house has been quite busy. But I am excited to get back to regularly blogging and sharing with you my craziness. First here are the highlights from the last three weeks:

*Photography has officially taken over my life and I am in LOVE with all of it. I had the opportunity to do some amazing sessions with lots of awesome local photographers. Plus I had my first wedding of the year (which was unique). All my spare time is going into building my business with the marketing and networking.

*Went to Utah with Rachael and my mom for one of Rachaels bridal showers. It was A LOT of driving for 4 days but I had a good time relaxing, hanging out with my fam, and meeting Rae's friends from BYU. Plus on the way back from Provo we went the Las Vegas way since there was a big storm the other way. I hadn't been to Las Vegas for a long long time and thanks to my mom we stayed at a pretty swanky hotel on the strip. It was all good times but I was definitely looking forward to getting home to B and G.

*We finally got word that the offer on our house got approved!!!! Oh you didn't know we were selling our house huh. Man I am awesome at keeping secrets. :) A week after the whole MC dealio, Brandon and I made the hard decision to put the house up for sale. The failing economy hit Brandon's commission only job and we were struggling to stay a float in our current situation. So selling the house was the only real option that we had. After lots of prayers and fasting, a couple decided to take a chance and put an offer on our house right before Christmas. We got the approval from the bank at the end of January and the day we got the approval we signed papers to an amazing rental just down the street. We were definitely ready to move on even though I loved our house. We know it wasn't exactly what we had planned when we bought it in March of 2007 but we had to put our trust in God that He knows what is right for us. So we spent Valentines Day moving and unpacking. Real romantic huh! :)

*Gidget is still adorable and her knew thing is sitting on my head in the middle of the night waking me up. Brandon thinks it is cute, me on the other hand find it not so cute.

*Rachaels Wedding! Wedding! Wedding! Bridal shower this weekend, then her and Gregg's groomals, then the wedding. I am seeing the light at the end of this wedding tunnel. :)

Ok I promise not to wait three weeks to blog again. I have a lot of things I am excited to show you! So get back into the habit of checking this little space of mine out.

I am not going to lie, these are pretty adorible. I am in LOVE with the Birkenstock ones! Becky and Angela, hopefully you like these! :)

*from The Baby Habit

My new favorite, Poladroid the Polaroid maker! Kind of cheating but this program is a nice alternative for when the Polaroid film is finally extinct (*tear*).















*all pics taken by me! :)

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that Orla Kiely is having a collection at Target. Orla Kiely is my all time favorite designer. Especially the bags and home accessories. I love the mixture of vintage and modern details. Plus if you have seen the inside of my house, you can see now where I got a lot of my inspiration from. That's right Orla Kiely! So you better believe I will be waiting outside my local Target like that crazy Mervyns lady yelling "OPEN!, OPEN!, OPEN!". See more of the collection on Apartment Therapy

*found via Capree

23. Take the Studio Lighting class at Snapfactory

I actually took their On Camera Flash Class. I never liked using my external flash because I always thought that it made all of my pictures look washed out. Little did I know I was using my flash all wrong. Now I am in love with my flash and can use not only in dark situations but to inhance my pics. I would recommend this class to everyone!

51. Visit my Grandpa F. & Geoffrey graves.





I am happy I put this on my goal list and was able to accomplish it. My Grandpa died before I had the chance to meet him and Geoffrey, my brother, was still born. I had never had the chance to go to their graves even though I have lived in AZ most of my life. It was a humbling experience that I will always cherish.

What I *heart*: Urban Outfitters furniture edition



I am totally crushin on Urban Outfitters new (to me) furniture line. I love the feminine details that are mixed with a more masculine shape. As usual I am a huge fan of the mid century modern looking furniture but it is usually pretty expensive (I am looking at you Copenhagen/Denmarket). It is nice to have another option besides Ikea.

1. Tufted Chaise: Oh how perfect would this be in my bedroom!

2. Jet Set Storage Bench - Sea Glass: I am really loving this "Sea Glass" color.

3. Mid-Century Sofa - Pistachio: When I see this sofa, I totally want to take a nap on it. I also love the dark wood mixed with the "Pistachio" color of the cushions.

4. Midcentury Chair: Perfect! The lines, the color, the dark wood.

5. L7 Low Bookcase: I love this solely because I think it would be perfect to display some of out favorite records on and then put the record player on top. I have been looking for a while for something like this. Also would look awesome as a sofa table.

6. Haruki Slat Bench: When I saw this I immediately thought of my brother Mike. It has a Japanese influence (my bro went to Japan on his mission, he is not Japanese :) ) that I think my brother would like. I also love that you can put cushions on top and it can be used as extra seating.

RE:2008

One of my favorite memories that I have of my sister in law Liz was in December of 2005. At the time, I was going through a transition in my life (kind of like right now). Brandon would be home in 6 months, I was hanging out with all the wrong people, and had recently walked away (slash got fired) from my job at Vans. I needed a break and I was excited to get to hang out with Mike, Liz, and lil Zanners in New York City. Liz and I had been walking around Washington Square Park taking pictures. I taking a picture of that famous arch, when I had noticed that Liz was taking pictures of this one brick building. Her body was up against the building and she was taking a picture looking up towards the sky. These two men walked past us, stopped right next to Liz and looked up to see what she was taking a picture of. No words were said and the men quickly went on their way. But as they walked away from us, I watched them continuing to look up. Liz and I laughed and continued on with our adventure in the city.

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I know I have been a Debbie Downer when it comes to talking about 2008. It just wasn't my(our)year. But something happened about a week before Christmas and my attitude about 2008 changed. I started to remember all the things that made this year special to me and my family.

1. Nick and Lisa got married in the Mesa Temple. I have never seen my brother look so happy. It brought tears to my eyes watching him kneel in front of Lisa to be sealed for eternity.

2. Had the amazing opportunity to take photography classes at the Snapfactory. And my obsession with photography started.

3. Brandon and I got to travel to Irvine, CA to go to the festival Bamboozled Left. It was such a rad experience to see some of my most favorite bands all in one day. Plus I loved being able to participate in something that Brandon is so passionate about.

4. Brandon and I also got the chance to stay in the Hotel Valley Ho Memorial Day weekend. This is a local icon for Modern Architecture and was always on my list of wanting to stay at in AZ. I was so super excited when Brandon surprised me with our own little staycation.

5. Over the summer I celebrated 23 years of life and Brandon and I celebrated 2 years of marriage.

6. Went on a road trip to the San Fransisco bay with Liz, Zane, and Evan. I has such a fun time and have so many great memories/stories from that trip.

7. Finding out that I was pregnant for the first time will always be the biggest highlight of 2008. Even though it didn't end up with a baby in my arms, I at least know that I am capable of getting pregnant.

8. Rachael and Gregg getting engaged!!! Have I talked about them being my all time favorite people. I am so beyond excited to have Gregg officially in our family. Who knew when they met at that Stake Dance in 2003 that they would one day be married. Can't wait until March 13th to see them sealed in the Mesa Temple.

As excited I am to see 2008 go far away, I will forever cherish these moments that I have experienced. I know for a fact that 2008 has prepared me for that is to become.

"...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." Doctrine and Covenants 122:7

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So bring it on 2009! I am beyond ready for you. And like that day in New York City I am going to be looking up. Looking up towards the future and what is to become.

I also love these two videos that sum up 2008 in the pop culture world and the music industry. Both are worth a watch.

This video is a mash up of the Top 25 Pop songs of 2008



This video is a animation of all things Pop culture that happened in 2008.