Happy leap year! My mom texted me the other day saying that feb 29 is the only day that a girl can propose so I laughed when she suggested I propose to Kevin. I told her that's not gonna happen, although it would make a great story! it reminded me of the movie Leap Year, have you seen it?


Winter weather reminds me of when my mom would make us grilled cheese sandwiches and warm tomato soup. So for lunch I did just that. Using the George foreman grill (seriously the best thing ever for cooking) I made a pesto grilled cheese sandwhich. It was a-mazing. Especially with different kinds of cheese- medium cheddar, muenster, and provolone complete with some pesto inside. couldn't get a better grilled cheese than that! the tomato soup i have that i loooove is one i found in the organic section of the grocery store and i can't ever go back to campbells anymore. i guess i'm just a tomato soup snob now..

living in an older apartment complex at college, with hideous patterned couches, you have little amount of options to stylize your apartment. here are some little projects and ways that i added some personality to our front room and kitchen!
printed this quote and now its the motto of the apartment. "chin up buttercup. everythings going to be OK." somedays its nice to read that as you walk out the front door. its hanging in a cheap plastic photo frame from target.

i bought some cheap styrofoam boards from walmart and using paint and tape i made the chevron and stripes. the camera photo i printed out and pasted on there then painted a border. i found a couple frames to hang up along with them. the bike photo was printed as well and hung in the same type of frame as the "chin up buttercup" quote. all of these printed photos i found through pinterest. 

aren't these skirts adorable? i wanted the J.CREW catalog in my hands to drool over the super cute clothes for march, so as i was looking online today, i ordered the catalog. i cannot wait for it to come! pathetic huh?
i love the length of these skirts. it's hard to find stylish and modest skirts these days, which is frustrating, but i've noticed the past few years that modest clothing hasn't been as hard to find in some stores. especially summer clothes like shorts (the HARDEST to find longer shorts, i'm not the booty shorts kind of girl)
check out the pop of color too! when i shop, i'm drawn to earthy tones. it's hard for me to get out of that mind set, but i'm making an effort in finding pops of color to add to my wardrobe. can spring come sooner please? i just can't wait any longer for warm weather!

last night was seriously so fun! the four of us (me +kev, my sister and her friend) had a Disney monopoly night. we listened to pandora radio disney songs, singing each of them at the top of our lungs and having flashbacks of when we were kids. we made some delicious no bake cookies. holy heavens they are the best, but i had wayyy too much sugar for one night. going to bed i felt like i was in a food coma! it reminded me of the movie, cloudy with a chance of meatballs where the little boy goes into a "food coma" and they crack celery i front of him to wake him up. surprisingly, i woke up hungry this morning.
i love all of these disney characters! we were cracking up during the game about everyone being sent to jail. peter was the first to go with the creepy man behind the bars...

if you haven't read it already, i highly recommend this book. honestly, i'm not much of a bookworm, but i have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. it's inspirational and it is a book that you don't just read all the way through then never pick it up again. it motivates you to be better. to become a better person and to really think about how you treat others. it's a book that encourages change. change for the better and it works- but only if you want it to work and are willing and open to letting it change your life. it's a process and takes patience.

in my interpersonal communication class, we have to create our own "self project" for the semester. i chose to read this book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. i had heard about this book several times in my life, but never sought it out to read it for myself. when my teacher told us about this self project, instantly this book came to mind. everyone loves having friends right? everyone wants to influence those around them right? at least i know i want to have a positive impact in someone's life, which seems simple, but how can you do it?



i started reading the first chapter and couldn't stop reading! it amazed me. it inspired me. it opened up my mind for new learning and i loved every bit of it.

the first chapter was all about this principle. Principle 1- Don't criticize, condemn or complain. how often do we do that in our daily lives?  i can be very critical about myself and others and i know that; it's something that i strive to overcome everyday. after reading this chapter several times, i made the choice. i chose to be more aware of what i say about others and about myself. i told my friends that i made this goal and for them to help me out. it's been a couple weeks since making this goal and i can tell a difference in the way i think about others. i'm not perfect, but i try every day to say nice things about others, to not be so hard on myself, to not complain when times are hard and to sincerely compliment those around me. i am so much happier when i make others feel good about themselves.

i'm sharing with you my favorite chicken recipe. thank you george foreman grill for making this so easy. it's one of my favorite meals to eat, especially on chill days like today. on the grill i cook my chicken breast and halfway through cooking, i had the two secret ingredients: garlic salt + Mesquite seasoning. once the chicken is cooked through, i shredded some parmesan cheese and i personally love dipping chicken in ranch. my favorite ranch is Marie's creamy ranch. soo heavenly! this is a simple and very delicious way to cook chicken; i highly recommend it if you're needing a new flavor to spice up your chicken dinner. enjoy!

pinterest is seriously amazing and gives me SO much inspiration. i especially love pinterest for gathering ideas for graphic design and photography... and fashion and yummy dinners and well, basically everything!

it was such a gorgeous sunny day today! i took one of my best friend's engagement photos and from my limited time of editing right now, i saw this one and LOVE it! i love love and i find so much joy and happiness in photographing couples in love! i seriously cannot wait for her wedding in april!

i'm a bridesmaid {for 2 of my best friends' weddings this summer!} and they are both going for coral pink dresses.
i have found the most perfect dress and willing to pay the price. but the question is, is it coral pink enough or totally missing the coral pink boat? HELP!



i've been pinteresting it up for coral pink dresses, preferably with sleeves that is actually cute {which is sometimes hard to find.. eek!} so if you see any, please let me know! (:

the question for this week is:  

 hmm i've been to a lot of states..

> Washington (my hometown. holla at yo boy- SEATTLE!)
> Nebraska (born there!)
> Nevada (lived there for 3 1/2 yrs)
> Idaho (current resident for school)
> California
> Oregon
> New York
> Texas
> Louisiana
> Kansas
> Iowa
> Illinois
> New York (city)
> Wyoming
> Colorado
> Arizona

i want to go to..

> basically the east coast!
> Europe (:

i'm seriously obsessed with my infinity scarf. love it.

rexburg is finally getting the winter we've been waiting for- lots of snow! i actually like it better when it snows here so that its a little warmer, but i miss the freezing sunshine days we've been having around here. i just really like the sun (can summer come any sooner??) i'm excited to finally go sledding then drink hot chocolate afterwards. yumm.

i've had such a great weekend! despite being sick all weekend with a cold, i went shopping and out to dinner to red robin for my friends birthday. i actually bought a brighter colored shirt! its light grey with coral pink. i've been trying to expand my wardrobe with brighter colors, which is honestly a challenge. pathetic huh? i always am drawn to the earthy tones and greys. i finally found a really cute maxi skirt for sale at pacsun only 3.50! (first time ever buying anything there) i was so excited how cheap it was!! so i wore it to church on sunday with my favorite nude heels and a sweater. it was a perfect dressier comfy outfit for being sick.
today is a holiday so i'm going to make the most of this day off of school and have fun now that i'm feeling better.

this song is my current obsession. its a good go to song for blasting in the apartment and singing at the top of your lungs. thats what my roommate and i did while making french toast for breakfast (:



happy monday!

yesterday was just one of those days. in the mood for reading a good book, for listening to the soundtrack 500 Days of Summer, for walking aimlessly around Porter Park and taking photos, for wearing a million different comfy outfits at once, and for wearing messy-bun hair.


i did, however, discover some good finds at the nearest thrift store in town.they were exactly the right finds i was looking for.




  

Here is a really easy and quick recipe for a delicious Oreo cheesecake.

Oreo crust

- package of Oreos
- butter

Crush the Oreos in a bag then melt about 1/4 cup or more of butter and pour into crushed Oreos. Mix quickly then spread and pat it down in a pie pan as desired for the crust. Place in the freezer for at least an hour.
Any leftover crust can be saved to sprinkle on top!


Cheesecake filling

- 2 8oz cream cheese packages
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until fluffy and pour into pie pan.

                                                      Place in freezer to harden and enjoy!

my boyfriend and i decided to copy my parent's idea of doing abc dates. it's a great way to mix up going on dates and planning fun ideas to go along with a certain letter. kev and i decided to switch off planning each date going through the alphabet. so to catch you up on the dates and letters we've done so far..

A: Applebees dinner date! we actually hadn't started the abc dates when we went, but a few days later when i suggested we do it, we thought, well we already did A! so we went on from there.

B: banana milkshakes and back rubs. it was a long week of school work, so we decided to have a chill date. the banana milkshakes ended up being his protein banana shake... it was still good!

C: Cheesecake Factory. he came up to Seattle with me for thanksgiving break so i planned this seattle date night with my sister who we doubled with. we went to the cheesecake factory that night then to a laser show at the pacific science center and walked around downtown taking pictures around the space needle. 


D: D is for dessert! of course. so we went on a double with friends to the Cocoa Bean Cupcake place where they have delicious cupcakes! i hadn't been there before and it was a wise choice to try it.

E: "extreme" date. the boys (tom and kev) planned this one, and it was extreme i tell ya! we went to the local gymnasium place (not sure what it's called..) where they had rock climbing! they also had those huge sumo wrestling outfits to fight in and that was hilarious. i couldn't stop laughing watching as the boys dueled each other and occasionally couldn't get up..

F: Fancy dinner complete with a Fort. We did a double date with friends and got dressed all Fancy for dinner at the Olive Garden. Afterward we came back to my apartment and built an awesome fort in the living room where we watched a movie. You're never too old to create and have fun in a fort!

G:  Go on a cruise. We went on a 3 day weekend cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. He got free tickets through the company he works for. woo hoo!We had a lot of fun with his company and we made new friends! We also went ATVing around Ensenada, shopped, and rode around the dunes by the beach.



H: Hamburgers at Red Robin, yummm.

I: Ice cream at the delicious Gee's Dairy here in Rexburg and a movie night.

Now that those are documented and you're all caught up... here's the featured date we did yesterday >>

J: Jamba Juice date! Kev and I are sick with a cold, so we made some lunch together then hit up Jamba Juice to grab ourselves a Cold Buster smoothie. We also drew portraits of each other with the bucket of markers on the table. We couldn't show the other til the end, just for the fun of it. 




Why do I have black hair in my portrait? I don't know... he was going for a B+W look apparently. silly kev. I couldn't stop laughing about how my "portrait" is awkwardly looking at his smoothie in the photo. cracks me up!

check out this blog for those of you who are looking to find some dating advice, read funny, awkward dating stories, look at polls of girls vs. boys opinions, and everything having to do with what boys say and what girls say. anyone is invited to share their stories and advice (married or not!), so head on over to this site and spread the word to your friends! You can find He Said, She Said on facebook, of course (:

surprised me with a delicious breakfast in the morning. {choco chip waffles, "dippy" egg, toast, and bacon.}
he surprised with with these on the table...

i couldn't have asked for a better way to start my {valentine's} day

so in return, i surprised him with his favorite homemade dinner (chicken alfredo) with this


and his favorite dessert {oreo cheesecake}which turned out amazing!!


lastly, i surprised him with a little homemade gift. On a deck of cards, i wrote on the cover 52 Reasons Why I Love You and on each card wrote a reason. I thought it was special because we like to play cards together and at times we can both be competitive when it comes to Egyptian Rat Screw... and it's a gift we can always use!

to end the night, we did homework then watched a "valentine's movie" as he code-worded "chick flick" when another guy was around... (:

Did you have a fun Valentine's day?

on friday, i went on a field trip (haven't been on a field trip with a class since.. middle school?) with my digital imaging class to Bannack Ghost Town, Montana. it was such an amazing place for shooting portraits. i fell in love with indoor lighting and making use of it to capture beautiful portraits. i am normally a natural light photographer for Weddings and Portraits, but i am excited to learn more about indoor/studio lighting as well!  here's a few of my favorite portraits (indoor + outdoor lighting) from the trip.
to view more and to stay updated with my photography, please check out my website: Andrea Brionne Photography and the blog.

LIKE my photography on Facebook and spread the word to your friends! thank you!

i totally cried watching this movie. it is just so good! i suggest anyone to see it (: after all that crying, my roommates and i decided to make ourselves a deep dish cookie with ice cream. i forgot to document this moment! shame on me.. i hope everyone's weekend has been wonderful!

p.s. i adore her haircut in this part of the movie. she can pull off any hairstyle. really.

saw this today and it gave me the guilt trip...


yes, i should be running right now. but am i? nope, i'm at the library doing homework so i can have a fun weekend to blog about, duhhh (:
this winter has been killing me with the whole "new years resolution goal to work out at least 4 times a week". i even live right across the street from the university's gym and i've barely accomplished my goal the past couple weeks. pathetic. it's time for a change. but will i be running right now? nope, but i promise i will tonight. pinky promise.

dear rexburg,
12 degrees?! really? this is the weather i've been dreading and it's slowly creeping up on me. can i ask one favor? SNOW. so that the clouds roll in and insulate this freezer...

meanwhile, i wanted to share my favorite make up accessories with you. love all of these. i tend to not go all out on make up everyday. (which doesn't matter, no one to impress at school when you have an amazing bf right?) right.