its official

i've finally created a new blog for our mr. and mrs. life together.

brookeandjakecook.blogspot.com

enjoy xo.

i'm going to miss this little blog, but no point in blogging about just my own adventures anymore!

thank you's

thank you: –adjective

1.

expressing one's gratitude or thanks: a thank-you note.

i'm so grateful for everyone in my life who has been so gracious towards jake and i getting married. BUT, i'm already dying from writing thank you cards. i know i sound terribly whiney but that is not the case, i just wish i had a more efficient way of expressing my gratitude then in a letter where my hand is cramped after writing the name because i've written too many. well it is what it is and i am truly grateful!

.engaged.

i know it seems odd that i haven't posted about getting engaged. it's partially because i haven't even had 2 seconds to think about that, and partially because i don't really want to. this isn't because i don't want to share it, i just don't want to publicly post something that is so sentimental and personal to me. but i can't wait to spend forever with him and he sure did a perfect job with the ring, proposal, and more. but i would tell any one of you in person anytime!

we've been showered with love, congratulations, wishes, and gifts since we shared the news and we've been overwhelmed. thank you all of you who have been such wonderful support and sharing the time with us!

on another note...being engaged is a FULL time job, with overtime hehe. while it is so fun it is also exhausting and overwhelming. luckily i'm marrying someone who never fails to have fun, make the most of anything, calm, really not so into the small details such as napkins, and reminding me how important it is to remember what a happy time of life we are in.

here are some things we've learned and experienced about being engaged:

dressing the wedding party is not easy

you can create a to do list of 5 million in 5 minutes

moms and daughters don't always agree, it is what it is!

the more the merrier? i say this because cutting anything out or down is our biggest downfall

between the two of us. we each have about 12 people in our line

budget...what is that word? oh i remember, that thing that makes me shoot many of my ideas down. who created budgets? i have a bone to pick with them.

the words school and engaged do not like each other. at. all.

no one understands my bird obsession or my colors so i hate telling people what i am doing but i do it anyways!

gift registering is a task, don't hesitate to take a lunch break and drink break (we sure did!)

oh and one BIG thing i've already come to terms with, is nothing is ever going to go as planned or run flawless. we've already experienced this when we got a phone call from los angeles telling us that the $300 we spent for custom tablecloths went down the drain because they were lost and damaged whaaatt??!?!? isn't that great news!?

dear little worries

a friend of mine sent the little quote above a while back. during all of this wedding planning (more on that later) i stumbled across it while looking through my pictures. and i was thrilled because it's true.

dear wedding: you are arriving oh so soon. is it humanly possible to make eight hundred decisions in one day and feel satisfied. is it normal to feel like this day has a little too much fuss? and yes that is coming from me, the girl who wanted to be an event coordinator and looked forward to this moment in time for years on end.

dear marriage: you are too far away. life would be so much easier if you were here already. i'm excited for you and can't wait to make the most of each day.

dear jake: thank you for asking me to marry you, thank you for being patient while waiting to marry me, an thank you for pretending that you love the wedding planning. i can't wait to go to oklahoma or was it ohio? hehe wherever we go on the hm i will love it. i love you.

dear dg: i will mis you, i will miss spending time with you and my friends that you introduced me to. i will miss my social life but i'm already excited to go to bed before 10 pm, is that normal?

dear dg president: you taught me SO much, too much about myself. i loved you while i had the opportunity, but you are in the best hands and big things are coming your way.

dear deeg: i will miss your unpredictable days and laughing until my stomach hurt. i'll miss the 4 am mornings when we have to be up at 6:30 however, i will not miss your scolding/freezing shower, my booring room (100% my fault), too much good food, and parking.

dear future home: i can NOT wait to move into you! i want to move in tomorrow, and you and I are going to get along great. get ready for some bbq's and summer nights.

dear homemaking skills: where are you? you better show up soon, and i mean SOON

dear friends: thank you for loving me even though i never answer any calls. i am the worst, i won't even argue against it. i promise when finals are over and dg is completed we will spend q.t. together.

dear family: i love you, i wouldn't be here with out you, and i will be moved home in a week...so get ready!

dear finals: be over already, thanks.

dear future: you should tell me how you are going to fold out. this guessing game makes my tummy role at night and makes me really tired in the morning, and i think jake is getting really sick of me which is not so good.

"oh is it because he loves you brookie?"

aisley jane is a sweetheart and every time i get to spend the day with her i am happier, even though she is a three year old. this was one of the little conversations we had yesterday:

me: uh oh ais, we better not hit jakes car when we back up

(pulling out of the driveway with jakes car in the back)

aisley: yeah that would be very bad brookie. but i know he would be nice.

me: i don't know how nice he would be about that...but you're right he is very nice to me

aisley: is it because he loves you brookie?

me: yes something like that ais.

aisley: and i know its because he is soooo handsome!!

i almost did hit his car because i was dying of laughter. but she is right, he does love me and i am the luckiest. there are so many big decisions we are having to make, but the best part is that we get to make them together and i love that. and honestly i'm not even worried about it because of him. oh and he is soooo handsome :)

this:

i have lots to blog about. i have had too many people request me to update this, i am honored hehe ok like 4 but still. just returned home from hawaii (took the red eye) and i'm terribly happy. stories to tell about this place. and this boy. lets just say i.loved.it and its safe to say i.love.him. but you already knew that!

i.am.terrible.

i can't believe its been THREE months since i've blogged! to say the least, i've been busy and haven't had a second to even think about blogging. but i wish i would've. that just means i have LOTS to catch up on. i'm promising to blog at least twice before this week is over. xo

time:

time: continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past

5 weeks:5days

40 days

966 hours

58005 minutes

time please pass by sweetly.

family

i am grateful for my family this holiday season. they mean so much to me and they don't get recognized enough for what they do for me nor do i tell them how much i adore and love them. especially sam. i love my family, words do not express how thankful i am for them.

i love my dads ability to comfort me and to fix all my problems. i love him for loving my mom and being a rock in my life.

i love my moms way of teaching me about life and myself, both by example and by words, even when i don't want to hear it. i love her knack for turning anything into something beautiful even when it seems impossible.

i love courtney for being my best friend, for making me happy and being my sister and better half the majority of the time. she makes me a better person and strive to become my best self.

i love sam for being himself and completely honest with me. he is the funniest brother i know and always up to something. he is so talented and i love him.

coco

another fabulous look.book. by chanel, so lovely.

home

home: an interesting word in my world. i have many "homes."

what makes a home: feelings, people, memories, surroundings, smells.

since i've moved out from family "home" and made way into my own "little home" with friends i've thought a lot about this concept.

then: i also love my home because of what the memories it holds for me and my friends, high school friends, we spent many nights and had some interesting moments and it always makes me smile when i think of them. i also love it when friends decide to come back for a visit!

i love home, i love feeling at home. when i was in london (study abroad) after a long weekends of being away from 27 palace court-usually out of the country. when i returned i gave that sigh of relief that said "i'm home." but i also missed my other home thousand of miles away.

now: i love the moments when i come home to my family after a week of friends, but am always ready to come home to my friends. i'm odd, i know it, and i think very interesting things.

As i get ready to move into the DG house, that will technically be my "home" but i feel as though i have many homes in every place i've lived.

harvard yale, 1267 starlit LB, Ca, 27 Palace Court, and soon to be 100 south. i love my homes, all of them. i even love all of my friends and families homes that i have grown up in, they bring back that same sense of "home."

here is a list of what i love about home:

mom, dad, sam, and court

smells of the kitchen and familiar candles

moms cooking and dads favorite snacks

diet cokes in my fridge

my bed

sister in my bed

memories

family albums and pictures on the wall

feeling of safety and acceptance

selfless parents and entertaining brother

best friend, sister court

and since i've moved out i realize how much i love: heat, internet, t.v., food, cooking, carpet, dish soap, laundry, bathroom space, mirrors, proper lighting, you know all the things you think you CAN live with out until you HAVE to live without them :) its great being home...

i really hate painting

i really don't like painting. i thought that having a home to paint whatever colors you'd like would be lovely, and it was. it was the first room, the second still a little fun, then you get to the kitchen and all of the joy is simply taken away. i have one room left to paint in our little home and its the bathroom. the. smallest. room. and i can't get around to doing it. why you ask? because it is going to take a lot of effort, time, and energy that i don't not have and do not want to give, that is all.

this is only a symbol of my life right now, like painting there are many things that i need to do but don't really want to do them. i've found that i'm too tired, or sick of it, or just don't want to do it! do you ever feel this way or is it just me? probably just me. i'm going to get that bathroom done, i will. i promise it will be done...soon.

.xo.

i have much to blog about, but no time whatsoever. i've been working my head off and anxiously awaiting important news this entire week, love from a missionary (if waiting for him doesn't kill me i don't know what will), and a wonderful little sissy who makes me oh.so.proud. can i please be you? as for now just know that i have many exciting stories and information to blog about! xo

Z is for Zara

this is the new zaralookbook. can i just say that i.love.zara. so much. it is this great little store that is everywhere but utah, typ.i.cal. but really it just screams london, and this new lookbook makes me want want to fly to london right now just to wear these clothes. anyways here is the preview:

sweet little memories

i love this photo. i've been organizing my photos that i finally was able to upload after months of not having a working computer. hallelujah for a wonderful dad who seems to know all, or at least i seem to think so. this is one of my favorites today. i am not a photographer by any means and neither is this a great photo. but i think i love it for the significance it brings in my life, for the memories i have and the moments i spent in a particular place. i love it, i love this boat. the wall behind it. the colors. all of it i l.o.v.e. it.

{how great thou art}

cliffs of mohar, Ireland taken this summer while i was traveling europe

today ended up being a somber sabbath for me, mostly because my heart is aching for some of those i love. nevertheless we had a wonderful sacrament meeting where i felt so strongly of the spirit and was reminded of my love for this gospel but more importantly the love i have for my heavenly father and the love he has for me. He is truly is great and i am "in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made." i am so blessed, and i realize it more and more as i get older and during this month of thanksgiving.

.mlh.

MLH: i'd be lying if i said i didn't miss you, didn't think of you every day, and didn't wish you were still here! i can't believe its been so long since we've been together but when i think of it, i remember it like it were yesterday. i went and visited your grave earlier this week, you give me extra strength on those days that i can't quite do it myself. i miss our talks, your example, and your infinite love. not only the love you gave me but to all of those lives you touched. you were an example to all of us and you are still in each of our hearts. i know its no coincidence that i've thought about you more then normal especially at this time when all of our friends are spread across the world, some coming home, and some just leaving. but no matter where we all go i know that we have a rare bond that has come from you and the person you were in our lives, and the experience of your passing away that you left with us. i'll never forget that week mads, it was life changing and of course the selfish part of me wishes that you were still here, i know you are too good to be down here and were needed for especial responsibilities where you are. i still look back on those good times, the notebook that we passed back and forth daily, ABE, new years, bedroom chats, love notes, nicknames, italian sodas, rice parties, and just the essence of you i miss terribly. i love when i catch glimpses of you and your example in our friends, and when i see their accomplishments i know much of them have to do with the person you were in each of our lives. it gives me comfort to know that no matter where we go around the world or who we meet and what we do, we have a deep rooted bond that comes from you. thank you for being you and for changing me in the amount of time that i knew you. you were always so mature in your actions and i aspire to be more like you each day. i hope that your big 21 was everything and more that you thought it would be! i love to think about what you would be doing in your life if you were here and try to mimic my life to parallel it. it has helped me through some of those tough days and the life changing decisions that have to made. mads we are getting so old! when did we grow up?? i can't wait to see what is to come in this crazy thing we call life, and will always keep you in my heart! i miss you and love you and wish you a happy happy birthday! x's and o's

thanks cc for inspiring me to do the same on my blog, i love you and you remind me so much of mads. i miss our times together, our "thursdays" and the crazy girls we were! xo

-

{good}

i have been flooded with emotions lately. i had a lovely weekend and got to spend some quality time with sister and an old friend. i loved all of it and it really was what i needed. i feel on track. i've already accomplished a few personal goals or am working towards them. slowly but surely things will be great.

one thing i have been pondering is the word "good." i hate using it because it sounds mediocre or just average, but i've realized that being good or doing good is much much more then average. a good person is aiming for perfection, they run deep with emotion, have good intentions, know what they want, and i believe that if you are a good person you will succeed. i want to be a good person. to do good things always and to want to be a good person in every aspect of my everyday life. i am surrounded by some of the loveliest and what i believe are the most talented and kind people right now. friends and family members who want to make a difference and who inspire me each day to dream bigger and to believe in myself.

overwhelmed

do you ever have those moment where you are so completely overwhelmed you don't even know where to begin? i do. especially right now.

i had a chat with a good friend and while we talked about how thrilling and exciting life can be at this age, there is no doubt that it is one of the hardest.

why didn't anyone tell me that i would be this young when i had to make such life changing decisions, face some of my biggest fears, overcome the hardest challenges, and want to give up so frequently. probably because i would've thrown a fit and chances are someone (my kind parents) did warn me but i decided that i was an exception or they were nagging a little too much.

school is going to be the death of me, my job/s seem like they are never going to run smoothly, my money goes in my hand for about 5 minutes and has to go to someone else...so not fair, i feel lazy and unproductive and therefore i've decided that rather then thinking of who i want to become i need to just become these things now, because "now is the time"

i want to be a better person, i want to get more done.

i want to be on top of things, follow the schedule i set for myself.

i want to conquer my fears and reach my goals.

i want to cook more, i want to be a gourmet cook so that one day i can prepare beautiful meals

i want to recover a chair

i want to sew my own clothes

i want to get good grades

i want to save money. and spend money unfortunately

i want to buy my own car

i really want to blog more

i want to study the scriptures more frequently

i want to make smart decisions and feel good about them

i want to serve more. especially those i'm closest too

thats enough for now, but really...i need to stop feeling overwhelmed and just be productive.

{fridays}

its been one of those weeks where all i can think of is a break. a break from school, work, stress, and life. i know that is unlikely and i also know it isn't going to happen but i heard a quote that kept me hanging on:

"even the worst weeks have fridays in them" and it is finally friday! luckily. i had those brief moments this week where i honestly thought i was going crazy, and if i was mean to anyone who reads this, i'm sorry. i will be better, promise. i also have been waiting for friday BECAUSE...drumroll.....Juddy gets home! Oh how i have missed that boy. I hope that it all goes well, he is the first of all the boys to get home and i'm literally dying to see him. i love fridays!

.happy friday.

{little tender moments}

yesterday i had a tender moment. a tender moment that was much needed, and even though that person expressed that i am an example to her, she is an example to me. i admire the integrity in my friends, the good people that they are, and the intentions of their heart. my night was better after this little tender moment and my attitude brighter, hopeful, and restored. i love those moments, how ever little they may be, they mean the most. after all its the little things that count right? i believe so. thank you good friend for the little tender moment that made me so happy, i love you.

oh so lovely.

this weekend was lovely. i got to sit at home, with my family and listen to the words of our modern day prophets. how lucky we are to have such profound examples in our lives who lead and guide us in these latter-days. i live for these 2 days. i look forward to them, they come so slow and go so fast!

i always sit up straighter and listen more attentively when President Monsen stands to speak at the pulpit. this year he taught me much that i needed to learn, and to apply and adapt in my life. if only i could remember to prioritize my life in the way that i know is so right, but i'm human and i make my fair share of silly decisions, really they are silly. he said so graciously, "we leave as better people then we came 2 days ago" and i hope for myself that this is the case, i intend to shape my life in the right way, the way that i know i need to. i want to make it my own personal challenge to do a good deed each day. so that i can ask myself, "what did you Brooke do for someone today?" and i will most definitely have an answer. how fulfilling that may be. i've been lucky to travel around the world and have found that those times when i have had the opportunity to serve others, i am my best and happiest self (more on that later!)

Enjoy all the conference talks here at lds.org

falling hard for fall

the first day of fall is one of my favorite days of the year. especially this year, i seem to be more then ready for it.

i love: crips air, changing leaves, fall fashion-the clothes are my favorite, halloween, thanksgiving, pumkin carving, spices, rain, crunching leaves, soup, friends coming home, i love it all.

i'm so excited to be living with friends this fall, we already got some cute halloween decorations and i know we will be making some fun fall treats!

happy first day of autumn!!

what do you love about fall?

{DREAM BIG}

i get discouraged, not easily, but lately its happened a lot. i tend to dream, and to dream REAL big...ask my dad, it kind of makes him crazy. i think i just believe that if you dream big you will still be left with something pretty great even if you wishes don't come true. at this point i am still dreaming, but my dreams are scattered. all over the place. and in no certain direction. and i don't really know what my dreams are!

{but i do love this little song}

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes,
cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile be sure to smile wide,
and don't let them know that they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride,
and don't show the hurt inside,
because the pain will soon be gone.

And when you dream, dream big,
As big as the ocean blue.
Cause when you dream it might come true.
So when you dream, dream big.

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty
all around and in yourself, it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength
to help to carry on when the troubles come your way.