Stuck in L.A: A Long-winded Adventure Story

Well hello there fellow Internet stalkers, surfers and citizens of all kinds.

Today I am going to tell you a story.

Of a series of unfortunate events that have graced me with their presence on my way home.

'From where??' You ask

Different story. That's for later.

For now I'm allowing you to hopefully get some sort of comical relief from my pain. Consider yourself lucky Internet friends!!

As background to this story you must know that I took a two week trip to New Zealand with a group of friends. I'm not a huge traveller's, the opportunity just presented itself and I thought ah what the hey YOLO right? Except I hate that term... So I'm gonna say YOYO. You're only young once.

I had the money in my account and figured I would regret not going so I blew it all.

Alright enough background.

So the two weeks are coming to an end and everyone is leaving one at a time.

I had originally planned to sleep in the airport on the night of the 15th, but when I thought long and hard (solid hour) I realized it would be dumb of me when there's a spare bed in the room my final traveling buddy is staying in until early the next morning.

He would be leaving too early for me to notice him leave so it was just fine.

We went to bed early NZ time to help cushion the jet lag that would undoubtedly face us upon our arrival in a time zone 20 hrs ahead of the one we were currently staying in.

I quickly discovered however that I wasn't tired... And found myself trying so hard not to chuckle at the random noises coming from my pal in the other bed.

I was doing a great job at being quiet. The rustling of the sheets were pretty much the loudest noise I made.

And then.... my bladder...

I got the uncontrollable urge to pee

Darn...

So I lay there. Trying to evaluate the situation.

I tried to think back to the last time I had used the washroom... it wasn’t that long ago was it??

How loud was the flush? Loud enough to wake my peacefully sleeping roomie?

Nothing... maybe the flush wasn’t so loud? yeeea you’ll be fine!

So I compose myself, gathering what I can to accomplish my mission making as little noise as possible.

As I tiptoe out of bed and into the bathroom in the dark, visions of the Grinch stealing Christmas from the Whos in Whoville pop into my mind

Yea, as quiet as the Grinch who stole Christmas... good one *mental high-five*

*keeping in mind here it’s less than ten days till Christmas and I’ve just spent two weeks in summer weather. My Christmas fever is at an all-time high and it was really on my brain. Obviously...*

I close the door and turn the light on.

Phase one complete.

I get so caught up in my success that I go about my business and as a force of habit I flush without blinking...

WHAM!!!

CRAP!! I woke him up, I woke him up, I woke him up!!! Noooo!!

I wash my hands, head dipped

Defeat.

I walk out of the bathroom only to find him (from what I could gather, or rather I just hoped) still sleeping.

Sweet!! Back to bed with a clear conscience.

By this point it’s pretty late and I’m getting tired.

By the time I wake up he’s already gone.

I check the window and just by freaky coincidence I catch sight of him walking away.

BYE!!

I start to gather my things and then I get really bored...

TV it is.

After scrolling through what seemed endless news channels I settle for a kids cartoon broadcast

Pingu. Score. Loved that show as a kid.

Then I remembered Pingu only ever lasts a solid five minutes...

Beyblades....ugh.

I watch another solid couple hours of TV then decide I might go insane, grab my things and head for the lobby.

I checkout and hand the clerk my room keys, ready to waste what should have been ten hours

I stop by the grocery store, grab some snacks for the flight, bum around a clothing store, then head over to Carls Jr.

I’m not a big breakfast person so I kill about an hour and then order my food.

I tried to take my time eating it but it was way too tasty

It’s about noon when I toss the last hash brown into my trap and sink down into my seat, bracing myself for the potential food coma.

Then I realize I’m in a fast food restaurant will all my luggage, and a nap probably isn’t appropriate.

Back to the hotel.

I figured a nap in the lobby was better than a nap on a fast food restaurant bench.

Yea?

Yea. But I still had six hours to kill before I should even consider walking to the airport.

So…. Bored....

I’m nowhere near any beaches.

There’s rainfall in the forecast anyways.

No Wi-Fi.

My phone, iPod, and tablet are all below 20% battery life

I don’t even remember what the heck I did but I made it through, collecting a couple glances and funny looks from incoming and outgoing hotel guests

The clerk even came and asked me if I was waiting for a room key.

Thank you concerned citizen :)

You’re nice

But no I’m just alone in your country with nothing else to do.

Carry on.

The time comes for me to walk over and as I’m walking I come to the conclusion that my small carry on suitcase wasn’t engineered to handle bumps around sharp corners.

I found myself impatiently stopping, turning and re-adjusting my suitcase several times along the five minute walk.

Feeling like an impatient mother whose child doesn't want to walk, I finally arrive at the airport

(Five minutes, painful I know)

I fuss with the check-in bag tags and forms and make it upstairs, backpack and passport at the ready.

I browse the shops just because I feel like it, sipping from my water bottle every once in a while.

But not too much to spoil the doom that is my 12 hour flight out of NZ

I check my surroundings and people watch to evaluate the situation, and decide I may as well go through customs.

There’s a cute new family in front of me doing what appears to be some last minute re checking of the flight essentials.

I relax.

All is well with me and my backpack.

Memories of the trip run through my mind.

Beaches.

Caves.

Mountains.

Green EVERYWHERE.

Poor dehydrated friends.

*oh, getting thirsty*

Wait.... OOPS!! Gotta drink the water!!

So much for not spoiling the flight...

I get through customs and find a spot to sit

I want to sleep, so I give it my best shot and get nowhere.

Hmm... bookstore!

It’s been a while since I bought a good book, and they made it too easy with their big sign advertising a top 50 reccomended books list.

*yes I succumbed to the classic retail marketing trap.

What of it? at least I did it with my eyes completely open.*

So I wander through the aisles, reading the first couple paragraphs of every few books till I settle on one that draws me in.

*if you’re curious it was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Who also wrote The Da Vinci Code*

No more than a couple pages in I hear an announcement on the PA, and I brush it off like all the rest.

Then I realize it was for my flight.... oops...

I take a gander at the flight schedule board ahead of me, and right next to my flight number it said

RELAX

Ok. Cool. So I do the exact opposite.

I start second guessing what I heard, looking around frantically

Then I look at the board again, comparing it to my boarding pass.

Hmm... odd

The time on my pass said 20:30...

But the board said 22:45...

Hmm... I do some quick math and a slow panic starts to settle...

With my new flight time plugged in I would be scheduled to land in LA at 14:00

K... cool.

Except boarding for my connection is supposed to be at 13:45....

UUUUMMMMM

CRAP

I run over to the help desk and he’s looking at me like I have bright blue skin and a peacock on my noggin or something

You’re fine he says, you’ve still got 25 mins till boarding.

And I’m thinking, ok you clearly don’t understand my problem

So I go off to boarding in hopes of finding someone who can help.

There are lines everywhere...

I pick one at random. Hoping to goodness it’s the right one.

Nope. Change lines.

There we go

The two ladies in line in front of me seem to know each other and are going on about window seats

One of which seems really upset and the other seems to be attempting to calm her down

The mad one gets up to the counter and rips the lady a freshie...

I paid for a window seat and I KNOW B is not a window seat. You lied. You shouldn’t lie. Don’t lie.

Blah blah blah

And I’m thinking poor clerk

I feel your pain fellow retail associate, I feel your pain.

The lady behind her, much more cheerfuly walks up just kinda laughs and points back at her friend same problem

Then it’s my turn

She seems a tad flustered from her previous encounter but is hiding it well, so I do my best to be pleasant

She tells me my flight will be rescheduled but only after my current plane leaves so they can get a fair estimate of my arrival

Makes sense

All is well and I finally relax.

Then I see the line.. I walk back through the airport

In about a minutes time I’ve reached the end.

Keeping in mind I walk fast and I just want to get on that plane and out.

So long...

But luckily it moved fast

*this is getting really long.... sorry*

In flight I watched a couple movies to pass time.

But remember that bottle of water?

Yea.

So everyone is sleeping, seats reclined and all

And I have to pee.

I evaluate, and decide on a plan of attack.

Stepping on only the armrests, I walk over the two people next to me

Safe. Nobody stirred

NINJA

Then I peed.

Safely back in my seat I caught some shut eye.

Watched a couple movies after I woke up and we were finally in L.A.

About an hour and a half after planned landing time :/

I get through the grueling customs line

Grab my bag

Ask a couple people where to go to get redirected to my next flight.

Wait patiently and get tugged around a couple times.

Make friends with a nice older couple who helped the time go by.

And then it was my turn...

I walk up to the counter with a cheery demeanor

That starts to fade when I more clearly understand what she's saying to me.

"Your connecting flight was missed and there won't be another one flying out until tomorrow morning at seven."

I've been waiting to get home now for roughly a day and I'm too emotionally spent to care what everybody else thinks of me right now...

Tears start to well up in my eyes.

"Just go out the doors and look for the big red Hilton sign"

She had to repeat it to me a few times before I could bring myself to walk off.

If you've ever been in the L.A. Airport you know it's extremely overwhelming..

So after a couple tries at figuring out where the heck this big red sign is, I go to the customer service desk and ask politely for directions.

He looks at me like I've made some extremely uncommon mistake and rudely points it out to me.

Gee thanks. The tears in my eyes weren’t a big enough hint to you that im just having a bad day?

Rude.

I walk over and wait for the right shuttle to the Hilton Hotel.

By the time it arrives I'm pretty much composed, no more tears.

I get to the hotel and the clerk hands me my keys.

5th floor two bed room with a dinner and breakfast voucher.

I walk into my room and throw myself onto the bed.

Finally some room to breathe.

After a couple more emotional episodes I go to the lobby and Skype call my dad

He was unfortunately waiting for me at the Calgary airport...

I tried to reach him earlier but there was no way I could.

The Wi-Fi in the NZ airport is only good for an hour and I used it to email him before I realized I would be on a delayed flight home.

I go back upstairs to grab my meal vouchers.

At this point I’m not really that hungry cuz I’ve been snacking nervously on chocolate bars and crackers I had planned on bringing home... oops?

Looking through the menu I decide to order some wings, a pulled pork sandwich and a slice of apple pie.

I figured because I was in a fancy hotel restaurant the servings would be small... right?

I had $40 after all and I intended to use it.

So she brings me my wings.

Each wing was at least three inches long and an inch and a half wide at its meatiest section...

Uhoh...

I eat four and along comes my sandwich.

Solid eight inches long stuffed overflowing with pulled pork.

And the fries on the side?

About a serving and a half of Costco fries...

Crap...

I ate most of the sandwich.

Reaching frequently for my water to wash it down.

Then the pie.

Luckily the pie was the size I had hoped it would be.

That was gone in minutes.

I stayed in the restaurant for about another fifteen minutes until I was done most of my massive supper

Upstairs to shower.

Glorious....

Everything went smoothly from then on.

Other than once in the airplane having to go pee...

And having to wait like fifteen minutes in line for this older lady

I felt bad for her :(

I don’t ever want to have to pee on a plane pushing 60

So that’s my story.

Long

Drawn out

But oh well!!

I hope you guys all got a kick out of it!

Sorry it was so late. Life’s crazy these days!!

Perhaps one of these days ill catch you up a bit

Toodles!!

The Workshop

So this being a continuation of the previous post, I will begin with the quote that created the segway...

the most dangerous risk of all.

the risk of spending your life 

not doing what you want 

on the bet you can buy yourself 

the freedom to do it later

Can i get an amen??... AMEN!!

So. This past weekend the annual YSA Lethbridge Conference was held. One of the workshops on Saturday afternoon was simply fantastic, imma share with you my notes and thoughts.

So this man (who's name I forget :/) focused on these three things

1. Success

2. Relationships

3. Positivity

These three things are connected, and I'm going to explain to you, what he explained to me(us) through the help of the notes I quickly jotted down

1. SUCCESS

He started off with a formula, that is commonly known among business students and multiple others. The formula for success... commonly known as this:

But the one he showed us looked more like this....

(get chalk font here)

Now I bet most of you are thinking what the heck do these random letters mean?? No worries. I did too. But all will become clear in just a moment. Here is what those confusing letters stand for...

Passions

Talents

Associations

Actions

Faith

So. To clarify that equation and put it into more simple terms.

Instead of just being passionate, and having talents, mix your Passions and your Talents. Or in other words, make sure they are one and the same. Be passionate about your talents and vice versa. Take Action and make decisions. Don't just put it off till tomorrow (going back to the segway into this post). And last, but certainly not least, have Faith that there is a point B.

now i know, i missed associations, but if you look back to the beginning of this post you will find point 2.. Relationships. which is the same thing. so.. on to point 2.

2. RELATIONSHIPS

"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"

                                -Jim Rohn

That can be a blow to the chest.... here's a list of questions you can ask yourself to figure out if you surround yourself primarily with the right 5 people.

     Find And Cultivate "Growth Friends"

    -How many close friends do I have??

    -How well do they know me?

    -How much do they consistently encourage me to chase my dreams?

    -How much do they provide insight, inspiration and information that challenges me to be a better person??

Some pretty intense thoughts growing in your mind huh? Yea. My mind was racing at this point. Taking a step back and re evaluating your life and the relationships within it can really put things into perspective. It can really answer some of the questions you've been asking,. Why is life so hard? Why am I constantly goin in circles? Why are my efforts backfiring?? Well. He gave us another list to help us fix this simple problem. ***Keeping in mind that I'm not saying this is the only answer to those questions, but you'd be surprised how big of a difference changing your connections and strengthening your relationships might make in YOUR personal progress***

     Define Your Ideal Relationships

    -What type of friends do I want?

    -What kind of spouse do I want?

    -What do I want from my relationships?

    -How shall I attract, keep and deepen my relationships?

    -Define Happiness and design improvement.

which brings us to point 3...

3. POSITIVITY

You get what you're focused on. simple as that.

Good Job :)

Now dance. 

Because dancing is never a waste of your time. 

Ever.

And to close off the post on a good solid note. here are some wise words:

"If I really want to improve my situation, 

I can work on the one thing over which i have control

- myself"

                                -Steven R. Covey

ta ta :)

oreo

this commercial is just pure awesome.

i hope you enjoy as much as i did

ta ta

a post a post!!

Here's a link to my second diy post on the other blog in case you didnt know i had it :)

this is what i made :)

video overload

just enjoy. that is all.

love this song...

and here are a few more. just for fun. cuz im in the mood.

<3 another classic

and just a nice treat. in case you needed a laugh!!

and my fave song this week.

happy sunday!!! :)

ive become a lot less devoted to this blog... sad... and i also havent really been doing outfit posts anymore. truth is i dont really get dressed up as often... hah i stay at home in my sweats. dont get angry cuz you know you do too. but i figured i would sorta give you an update on my life at the current time. where to start.\

this one isnt really that big of a deal, but my phone busted on sunday, so a couple days ago and i havent had one, which kinda sucks.. this phone has been giving me problems, almost from the get go. idk what it was but yea, phones just dont like me all too much.

another update, i got a new job!! its only seasonal so that blows, but i mean its whatever, the staff is really nice, and ive been invited to the staff christmas party which is cool. never been to one of those! weird i know , but i guess i just never got word of any of them. oh well!! so yea, new job. so far, not a lot of shifts... hah i really hope someone else calls me back and hires me cuz these guys arent gonna hold me over. 10.00 an hour?? poop. but its money right? yep.

hmm what else... oh i went to see wreck it ralph a while back!! that was SO GOOD!!! hah way too cute. seriously, if you havent seen it, go see it.

i moved. cant remember if i wrote this in the blog, but here it is :) i moved into town, and am now in a new ward. its weird... but ill get used to it eventually. the great hing is now that im in town, its a lot easier to hang out with one of my most favorite people. thats a great big bonus.

hmm. what else. i lost a whole lot of my shoes? thats kinda a big thing to me. i had three boxes of shoes to be moved to the new house, and of those three boxes, the biggest one with all the heels in it somehow got lost in the move. and that sucks... to make matters worse, in that box was a pair of heels that i just barely bought on my trip down to utah, and i hadnt worn them yet! dangit... i really hope they're hidden somewhere in our storage unit.

i suppose thats all for updates. hah, life is good, and the future is bright :) im very excited to see how things unfold.

later all!!
ohj wait!!! christmas is almost here!!!!!! LESS THAN A MONTH..... wow. where did the time go? am i the only one who thinks it came way too fast?

another milestone

yesterday at about 9 pm i reached my second goal of 2000 names indexed!! how cool is that! i seriously love this stuff. it keeps my mind on important things, and i learn so many neat little storues about the people who's names im typing out. i wonder how many i will get done before the end of the month now that i have all the moving and packing to worry about. man oh man ha. well. thats all for today folks. later.

goal reached

Hello fellow bloggers and internet surfers :) i have some seemingly small.. but big news!! a few days ago (nine to be exact) i embarked on a brand new journey. my stake took on the challenge of indexing 1 000 000 names for the month of October. I've never done this before. heard of it, and it sparked an interest.. but never got to doing it.

then one day after an extremely frustrating night, i decided to give it a go.

i figured my time was being wasted worrying about things that were passed and unchangeable. i might as well be putting my brain to good use right??

so for those of you who don't know what indexing is, it's basically taking photos of paper records containing names and ages etc. of the deceased, and typing them out so they can be used by others trying to find their ancestors... pretty cool right??? well. i thought so!! hah and i got instantly addicted.

so our ward decided to make things a little more competitive. being a ward consisting of mostly men and women from an extremely competitive town; we divided ourselves into teams... well more or less we were divided into teams by the bishopric... but whatevs same diff!! :) so there turned out to be four teams i think..? i cant remember.. hah but what i DO remember is going up to the bulletin board and checking to see whose team i was on.. well turns out i discovered i was the leader of a team. dang. pressure? nah.... hah so naturally  i decide to get really into it and pull my own weight!

the rules and rewards or this competition were this. for the team that indexes the most names in the month of October, there will be a pizza party held. BUT for those of you who index 1000 names individually, an automatic invitation to said party will be granted.

**k pause.... who doesn't love a good pizza party?!?!**

SOOOOO big news is!! today i passed that 1000 name mark!! YAAAAAYYYY!!!! haha so addicted..... so i am now setting myself the new goal of 2000 names by the end of October!! and depending on if and when i reach that one, i might even push the bar up to 2500!! or 3000!! hah SO FUN!! and so rewarding too....
once i realized that the names i was indexing were real people, and they have been waiting for their names to be found for who knows how long.. i felt SUPER cool :) YAY!! :)

so YAY for not wasting my time worrying (on the outside... hah oops)!! and YAY for helping people find their relatives to do family history!!!

later days guys!!! :D

giveaway!!

we all love giveaways!! especially when its personalized, AND the lady doing the giveaway is FABULOUS! She's lds just like me and she is a genius with her sewing machine! one day ladies.. hah one day i will be just like her :)
to enter, follow this link! good luck everyone :) and if you dont get it then atleast i may have helped you to discover a blog 100x better than his one!! :)
later days :)

tell me something

looking through the blogs i follow i came across a survey... and decided to give her a whirl... hah enjoy!

NAME: Maddie.

AGE: 19 going on 20

BIRTH DATE: December 21st, 1992. 

WHAT WAS YOUR:

1. last beverage = ice water <3

2. last phone call = my boss

3. last text message = Roxanne!!

4. last song you listened to = Superman - Taylor Swift

5. last time you cried = yesterday night. happy tears :)

  

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. dated someone twice = nope.

7. been cheated on = yes.

8. kissed someone & regretted it? yup.

9. lost someone special = not really.

10. been depressed = It's possible.

11. been drunk and threw up = h no.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12. robin's egg blue

13. salmon

14. mint green

WITHIN THE LAST YEAR (2012), HAVE YOU:

15. Made a new friend = mhmm. :)

16. Fallen out of love = nope.

17. Laughed until you cried = haha yea, weekend camping with the fam <3

18. Met someone who changed you = yes... :)

19. Found out who your true friends were = no?

20. Found out someone was talking about you = no?

21. Kissed anyone on your FB friend's list = yes.

GENERAL:

22. How many people on your FB friends list do you know in real life = all if not most

24. Do you have any pets = not anymore :(

25. Do you want to change your name = nope.

26. What did you do for your last birthday = i went to work.

27. What time did you wake up today = 8:00

28. What were you doing at midnight last night = listening to music

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for = next week.

 30. Last time you saw your Mother = about an hour ago

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life = can't think of anything off the top of my head

32. What are you listening to right now = Time to Let Me Go - Gloriana

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? = most likely yes.

34. What's getting on your nerves right now = a flipping fly.... i swear they stalk me...

35. Most visited webpage = Facebook.

37. Nickname = goat cheese... hahahahahaha

38. Relationship Status = 

39. Zodiac sign = Sagittarius

40. He or She = SHE!

41. Elementary =  Mazo de la Roche, Corsair, Crossland, Bogart

42. High School = Newmarket, Raymond

43. College = U of Lethbridge

44. Hair color = blonde. 

45. Long or short = long :)

46. Height = 5"10.5?

47. Do you have a crush on someone? = yuuup

48. What do you like about yourself? =  my voice?

49. Piercings = ears.

50. Tattoos = none.

51. Righty or lefty = righty

FIRSTS :

52. First surgery = left arm. broke both bones rollerblading

53. First piercing = ears.

54. First best friend = Anna? or Faizah...

56. First vacation = Palmyra Pageant with the fam jam and g-parentals :)

58. First pair of trainers = iiii don't know what that is.....??

RIGHT NOW: 

59. Eating = dates.

60. Drinking = water.

61. I'm about to =  watch another episode of bones... attempting to speed up this next week's passing

62. Listening to = Holding Out For A Hero - Ella Mae Bowen

63. Waiting for = nothing.

YOUR FUTURE :

64. Want kids? = eventually :)

65. Get Married? = yes.

66. Career? = not sure... speculation in midwifery..?

WHICH IS BETTER :

67. Lips or eyes = eyes... <3

68. Hugs or kisses = kisses.

69. Shorter or taller = taller.

70. Older or Younger = older.

71. Romantic or spontaneous = A spontaneous romantic!

72. Nice stomach or nice arms = if i ask nicely for both can i have em?? please?? :D

73. Sensitive or loud = sensitive.

74. Hook-up or relationship = relationship.

75. Trouble maker or hesitant = ummmmm idk...

HAVE YOU EVER :

76. Kissed a stranger = ew no...

77. Drank hard liquor =  h no

78. Lost glasses/contacts = of course i have.

79. Sex on first date = gross.

80. Broke someone's heart = um... i hope not :(

81. Had your own heart broken = yes.

82. Been arrested = nope.

83. Turned someone down = not that i can remember..?

 84. Cried when someone died = no.. :/

85. Fallen for a friend = yes..

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself = yes :)

87. Miracles = yes.

88. Love at first sight = not exactly

90. Santa Claus =  always :)

91. Kiss on the first date = not really

92. Angels = YES

later all :)

roughians.

can i just say? I. LOVE. CAMPING!

k. glad i got that out of my system. but seriously. i just got back from four days of camping bliss. nothing is better than just saying goodbye to the technology for a few days and getting to know the people you know and love ALL OVER AGAIN.
hate camping you say?? shame on you. boo.....
k jokes i wont judge you, it is definitely something you gotta really LOVE to appreciate.
i mean yeah sure you've gotta plug your nose to pee. and yea you SHOULDN'T be wearing makeup. but ladies admit it, the feeling of being able to rub your eyes till your eyelashes fall out... FAN FREAKING TASTIC!!!!
anyways, i just figured i should post on my lovely blog since i know how much you all missed me this long weekend... (JOKES) and letcha know how perfect my weekend went. (seriously best weekend ever)

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

later :D

let yer hair down!!!

Just a shmoo of songs off iTunes for those hot summer days <3


Shake - Jesse Mcartney
Crazy Girl - Eli Young Band
About You Now - Miranda Cosgrove
Good Girl - Carrie Underwood
Baby It's You - Jojo
You Can't Hurry Love - Dixie Chicks
What Did I Do - Nikki
Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer
The Fighter - Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder
Last Friday Night - Katy Perry
Dance With Me Tonight - Olly Murrs
I'm Not One Of Them - Lauren Alaina
Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars
Good Time - Owl City ft Carly Rae Jepsen
123 - Craig Smart
I'll Be In The Sky - B.O.B
You're My Only Shorty - Demi Lovato
Together - Demi Lovato ft Jason Derulo
Want U Back - Cher Lloyd
Brokenhearted - Karmin
Gone Gone Gone - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Domino - Jessie J
Maybe - Plug In Stereo
Hey Sexy Lady - i SQUARE
The Golden age - Asteroids Galaxy
Heart Vacancy - The Wanted
Drive By - Train
Just A Step Away - Carly Rae Jepsen
Dancing Crazy - Miranda Cosgrove
Knee Deep - Zac Brown Band
I Like It Like That - Hot Chelle Rae ft. New Boys
All In My Head - Nick Lachey
I've Tried everything - Olly Murrs
I Miss You - Craig Smart

i put the value in value village.....

so i have wanted to do a post like this for a while. no its not a haul, its a tips and tricks post :) if you know me well enough you know that i LOVE shopping at value village, and most would say i have mastered the art of doing so. its not really all that easy. so i am going to share with you what goes on inside my head as i shop for bargains in vv boutique!! :)
TIP 1)
so first things first, unless you have to, i dont suggest you go in looking for something specific, 9 times outta 10 you wont find it. i go in with an open mind, sort of picturing the items i already have in my closet, and search for items that might pair well with what i have.
TIP 2) leave yourself a good chunk of time in the store if you want to get some good shopping done. i can spend two hours in that store, easy. but thats because i have learnt to be thorough and patient when i shop.
TIP 3)
so then there's exactly that, be thorough and give yourself time to find the good stuff. i have tricks for each item of clothing you shop for, so lets go into detail
3.1 casual tops- when shopping through the knit tees and blouses in your local value village there are two things you need to pay attention to when pulling back EVERY ITEM (yes, trust me if you do it right it really doesnt take that long) you need to pay attention to FABRIC and COLOR. why those two?? well when you are looking at a shirt on the rack, without even touching it yet, you can see the color, and whether or not it has been over worn and washed too many times. while you sift through the clothes you should pay attention to the way the fabric feels between your fingers. chances are if you dont like the way it feels between your fingers, you wont like the way it fits either. another thing i find useful is to pay attention to brand names. some names like gap, xxi, american eagle, you name it, just dont look good on the hanger, so if you love the brand name, try it on anyways, all you have to lose is a few seconds in the change room, and all you have to gain is a cute new top at a GREAT price.
3.2 jeans- ok so when i shop for jeans i always go from the end where i can see the but pocket first, if that makes sense. the but pocket is just about the most important thing you can gather from a hanging pair of jeans. the next important thing is the wash and then the stretchiness. if you have a smaller but, you dont necessarily want bigger pockets, but i do suggest you look for pockets with a bit more glam. if you have a pretty average sized but, youre safe going with pretty much whatever. if you have a larger but like me, try to stay away from pockets with too much glam, it can over emphasize the part of your body that speaks for itself. when looking for wash and stretchiness, its really just preference. i prefer darker washed jeans with just a TAD of stretch. (also word to the wise, DO NOT BUY POCKET-LESS JEANS... unless its for some destiny's child costume, those have absolutely no business being on ANYBODY's bum. no. just no.
3.3 hoodies/sweaters- ok so hoodies are really up to you, but personally i am really picky when it comes to hoodies, cuz if theyre not a good brand i find they twist and wash funny. so if i can, i go with a lulu lemon or american eagle hoodie. they do tend to be more expensive, but like i said this is really just personal, since hoodies are a little looser fitting, the fabric is less important. :)
3.4 shoes- when shopping in a thrift store like this, always shop your size, and a size above or below your size, because often times sizes are very wrong.
3.5 purses..?- hahathis isnt really a section, and its very rare one actually finds a good purse at a second hand store, but remember when looking at clutches or pleather purses, dont be afraid to get crafty. i found this nude clutch once in a thrift store for like a buck and thought "those ugly white stripes can be fixed with some spray paint and painters tape :) so i painted em gold!! and here's what i got :)

yay!!! so i guess now its on to the change room section of the tips. and these apply to all stores... haha
TIP 4) if it doesnt fit over your shoulders or hips, DONT FORCE IT.... you will get stuck..... hah not cool.
TIP 5) if you dont like it in the store, dont buy it, you will regret it. (unless its like one or two bucks and can easily be recycled, then youre safe.
TIP 6) if youre like me and tend to find lower cut pieces at value village, i suggest you bring a neutral under shirt and maybe some leggings or spandex or something for items that are a bit more sheer. and if you have found an item that would look better with a belt, then find a belt similar to one you have at home, or even look for a new belt, there can be some good finds in there!!!

and thats pretty much it for the tips!! hah if i think of something else i will update the post, but for now thats it!!

OOH and here are the nails i told you guys about before, except the reinforcements didnt work very well because the neon is a cheap nail polish and takes forever to dry so it was hard to peel off the sticker. i free handed it and they turned out SO GOOD! see for yourself :)

and yes it is just nail polish, no gel or acrylic :)

and thats it for today :) later guys!!!!

continued.

these are for you kristen!!! hah, it was a really short photoshoot because of weather conditions and it getting really dark outside. but we got some pretty good shots in!! the last two are the ones you guys have already seen, but i figured i would put them up again anyways!! :) do enjoy

full credit goes to Jeanette Shannon Photography :)

Hairbrush???

So we were all at the kitchen innocently making a father's day card when all of a sudden the painting turned into this.... haha we discovered an entirely new definition for the word hairbrush! (pardon the grease.. hah every girl has her days. i just happen to have many consecutively)

ready to pounce...

pined ya again!

that's a lot of brushes.

:) yep. i love them