Subways, sweet potatoes and an apartment that is way too nice

Since Wednesday, I have:

Spent a night at the International House of Columbia University

Hauled all my bags/luggage up and down subway stairs and finally moved into a new apartment

Walked all around Central Park, 5th Avenue, and Spanish Harlem

Eaten delicious southern cuisine at Amy Ruth's restaurant

Went grocery shopping and bought some pricey organic produce

Walked the High Line and explored Chelsea Market

Found my way home on the subway all by myself.

It's already been an adventure, and I love it! Sometime I'll try to post pictures (but that would involve me actually remembering to bring my camera with me, first).

Our apartment is so nice. I feel like we're being spoiled by this summer because if I end up moving here for good, there is no way I'll be able to afford a place like this.

I love seeing so many different people and walks of life, and exploring this huge island. There really is no place like New York, New York.

image via

Not just another last name

Love-to-be:

Someday, when we take a road trip to your hometown (whether it's 3 days driving or 45 minutes away) so I can meet your folks,

I want to see your high school and eat at the restaurant you bussed tables at before college.
I want to go to your little sister's dance recital, and watch your nephews play little league.
I want to visit with your mom while we clean up the dinner dishes and see all of those embarrassing pictures of you when you were awkward and brace-faced and thirteen.
I want to go out to dinner with your grandparents and listen to them tell all the stories you've heard every year since you were little.

I even want your Dad to tease me because I say "pop" instead of "soda" or the way I jump ten feet if someone sneaks up behind me.

And I hope you don't find it strange that I'll want to send your mother a card on her birthday, or remember to leave the pecans out of the brownies because your little brother is allergic.

You see, my family means everything to me. So if I'm going to become part of your family, too,

well, I'm all in.

Check out my Salvadoran life

Hey, kids. Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. I've been busy doing a myriad of projects in El Salvador, and if you want to hear about it, check this out.

one for the readers

I haven't been a very good blog friend lately.
I've written a few posts, but none that are worth sharing with the world. Some too personal, some just not inspired.

Either way, here's an update:
I leave for El Salvador in less than 24 hours. Read about my adventures here. I probably won't be posting much on this blog until I get back.

Anyway, what it really comes down to is this: I'm going to El Salvador!!!!!!!!

that time

so it's that time of year again.
when people graduate.
when people leave.
and this time, I'm leaving, too. (but i'm coming back.)

It's kind of weird to think that two weeks from today, I'll be on my way to (or maybe already in) El Salvador.
I finally get to put a stamp in my passport.
I've gotten my vaccinations (heavens, 3 in one day was a baaad idea)
I have a plane ticket.
I still need to pack.
I still need to buy a few things, like Chacos and cheap, quick-drying skirts and T shirts.

And, don't tell anyone, but: I'm a little.bit.scared.

It's unknown, but it's going to be exciting. And the unknownness is what is exciting.

This is a big step for me.
I committed to this a few months ago, and I'm following through with it, and that is an accomplishment all on its own.

And whatever this trip ends up being, it will be good for me. Because learning is never a bad thing.

image via vi.sualize.us

El salvador

Hey, remember this little poll?

Turns out the answer is none of the above.

Looks like I'll be working on #1 and #15 from this list this spring for 6 weeks.

I'm excited to get my hands dirty, to push my mental and physical limits, to experience true culture shock, and to learn more from the people I'm working with than I could possibly ever teach them.

It's going to be a real adventure,

and I can't wait.

take it slow

I have had a lot of really wonderful, completely ordinary everyday moments. And those moments have made my life an adventure.

What you're doing this Saturday:

This is what I spent a few hours on yesterday.

It was really fun to play around in Illustrator.*

Two more reasons to convince you to come:

-My semi-famous peanut butter brownies (actually, it's my mom's recipe, but I brought their fame to my corner of the world)

-I'll be singing a little song with my friend Clark.

So come stuff your belly and fill your ears with the feel good sounds of doing some good in the world.

*slowly checking off #3 on this list.

Would you believe me if I told you this was my homework?

Because it was.

For my advertising concepts class tomorrow, we are having a creative food potluck of sorts.

And this is what I'm bringing.

And if you were wondering, I did eat the bite out of the corner at 1am when I finished this baby.

Baking is my yoga.

*this photo, taken by myself (this is new...) proves several things:

1. I am a copywriter, not an art director, meaning the concept is great. The visual execution....well let's just say I'm not a perfectionist.

2. I actually do own a camera. And I just discovered that my laptop has a memory card slot thingy...well, look at that.

3. I make dang good brownies.

No one is too small to make a difference

Hey all you blog friends who bumped into my corner of the web. Let me tell you about what has been consuming my life lately. In a gets-me-going-in-the-morning, makes-me-want-to-change-the-world, feeling-like-I-actually-can kind of way. This is the kind of stuff that keeps my blood running and my feet moving even when I'm running on little to no sleep.

Tipping Bucket is an incredible organization that has been able to do so much in the short time they've been up and running. To date, they have restored eyesight to Ugandans, lit up rural African schools that didn't have electricity, and provided support and vocational training to victims of sex-trafficking in Southeast Asia.

Tipping Bucket helps passionately charged people with great ideas but limited resources make those ideas come to life. They do this through many small donations from people with big hearts.

All of this is building up to me telling you that Tipping Bucket is entered into the Pepsi Refresh competition for November. They are in the category to win a $250,000 grant that will help them expand their organization and increase their ability to fund more projects.

This is why I do advertising. This is why I sacrifice time, sleep, energy, and a lot of other things for the BYU Adlab.

Help us help them win!

It's easy:

1) Tell your friends. (Link to this post, to the Tipping Bucket website, blog/tweet/facebook it. Don't be shy, you social media mavens you)

2)VOTE: At www.tippingbucket.org, you can vote 3 times a day. Click the two links on the website and text "104182" to 73774(PEPSI) EACH day in November.**

Thank you in advance! Every vote counts!

*If you’re inspired and would like to join the “street team” helping to make this happen, just send your name and email address to pepsi@tippingbucket.org. That will get you on the list for a daily 2-minute-task email and update on our progress toward seizing this great opportunity!

**If you'd like to receive a reminder text each day throughout November send "22046" to 27138
.

cowboy take me away

Maybe I need to add one more thing to the poll on my sidebar: go spend the summer with my extended southern family in beautiful South Carolina. Oh and this little ad shop intrigues me.

Hmm..I wonder what interning in the South would be like. Do they down too many cups of sweet tea instead of coffee, and have big porches instead of basketball courts? Do they still wear suits and say "Yes, Ma'am"? Do they get late night bbq instead of Chinese?

I fell in love with the South when I was 8 years old.

And I wonder if I'd make a better southern belle or city girl.

I think I might like the pace of the South better than the hustle and bustle of the city.

But, then again, there is something magical about the city that never sleeps.

"I want to walk and not run.

I want to skip and not fall.

I want to look at the horizon

and not see a building standing tall."

-Dixie Chicks

image found from the lovely colby ranae on Pray Hard. Live Easy.

Check the sidebar ---->

So...I know that summer is about six months away.

But I'm trying to decide what I want to do, which is where I'll be placing my efforts for those next six months.

I'm just curious what the world wide web-sters think I should do.

So vote.

Please?

(images from google)

million

New York Department of Education - Million from Sebastian Garn on Vimeo.

This is why I believe in the power of creativity to do good in the world.

This is why I love advertising.

swimming

This week I get to play catch up on all the responsibilities I skipped out on last week. Which means taking a test, learning at least a minute of a Viennese Waltz routine, relearning the foxtrot, loads of reading, and thinking of ideas for a commercial.

Oh well.

My room is clean.

My bed is made.

And I'm ready to conquer the world.

{Last week at this time, I was walking around the financial district, eating pizza at Grimaldi's and feeling like a real advertiser. I feel like I understand just a tiny bit how people who come back from study abroad feel. I feel no shame in saying I lived in Harlem for six days, and I'm allowed to miss it just a bit.

Someday, NYC, I'll be back.}

twenty-two

I'm back from New York.

Back to my own bed.

Back to {trying} to eat normally and not spend all my money on hot dogs and bagels.

Back to school.

Back to real life.

Back to doing my hair {maybe} and not living out of a suitcase.

I'm happy to be back.

But I'm definitely going to miss my east coast almost home. Even if it was only for 6 days.

I'll miss street food.

I'll miss feeling like I can spend as much as I want.

I'll miss the subway.

Oh and today, well, it's my birthday. The big 22. Which really isn't as old as it sort of feels right now.

But 21 was a great year.

And I'm looking forward to discovering the 22 year old version of myself.

Here's to life.

image via deviantart

new york

I wish I could post the few pictures I took (never been much of a picture taker, more of a picture moocher), but I don't have a camera cord with me so no luck.

This trip has been incredible. So enlightening.

When I first got to the city, I expected to be overwhelmed. with excitement. just high on life.

And I was.

But mostly, I just felt right at home.

I felt like, yeah, I could live here.

It felt comfortable and almost familiar.

Not in the sense that I'd been here before, because I haven't.

More like I felt confident in my abilities to get around and survive in the crazy concrete jungle.

I'll definitely have to write a more detailed post of what we did each day, but this is just a smattering of thoughts and reflections about the trip.

For now though,

Three things I loved:

-yummy bagels

-Shake Shack (!!)

-oddly enough, the subway. (what can I say, I'm a sucker for efficient mass transit)

Three things I didn't love so much:

-sharing a bathroom with about 20 girls

-the elevators at subway stations. they smell like urine.

-the stress of coordinating 28 opinions. love the group. just not the stress.

I will say that when we visited Wieden + Kennedy, it confirmed my thoughts that working at Wieden in Portland is my dream job.

Their culture just seems so perfect for me.

I'll write more later.

But New York, it's been great. So thanks.

these lights will inspire you

I just got chills realizing that, this week, I'll be checking #6 off this list.

I've daydreamed about soaking up those big city lights since at least the first time I saw You've Got Mail.

But probably before that.

On the list of things I really want to do are, among other things:

Eating at least one hot dog every single day.

Eating legit New York pizza (my jersey girl roommate raves about it)

Finding a free concert.

Mets game.

Broadway!

Pretend like every night is my birthday.**

And, most importantly: live and breathe the world of advertising. visit big agencies, and little boutiques. take copious notes in the new journal I just bought, and soak up as much knowledge about this industry as my mind can contain.

And I just might buy myself a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

**Because, oh yeah, the day after we get back I turn 22. Madness.

I won't have a ton of extra time, apart from the business of Advertising Week, but if you only had one day to do whatever you wanted in NYC, how would you spend it?

image via google

Letters to Strangers

I have always loved sending and receiving mail.

Snail mail.

I love papers and cards and stamps and envelopes and wax seals and everything associated with the handwritten word.

For my creative concepts class assignment I was asked to do something I'd never done before.

So I wrote ten little letters.

And found ten addresses, courtesy of the Provo white pages.

For ten strangers.

I wrote a favorite quote on one side, and on the other, some kind of blurb that came out of my head.

A list.

A rambling of scattered thoughts.

A someday inspirational quote.

And maybe these people will hate what I wrote. Or throw it away without even reading it.

But I hope not. I hope that it's one less thing to vent about that day.

I learned that creativity doesn't have to be elaborate, or perfectly organized, or perfect at all. If you wait for it to be perfect, or to have all the right tools, you will never get anything done.

picture taken by my roommate

solitary soul

Things I love doing by myself*:

-watching movies

-shopping...because I can take my time

-getting lost in a used bookstore

-reading one of those used books, while drinking hot cocoa with a shot of hazelnut at a quaint little coffee shop.
-learning about the wonders (and not so pretty aspects) of mass transit

Next week I am going home for my friends' wedding (two friends from high school who are getting married to each other), and I get to explore the wonderful city of Portland.

I'm getting into the city in the morning, but I'm not meeting up with friends until afternoon or evening.

But, you see, I planned this.

I love exploring new places, and don't mind doing that by myself at all.
I fully plan on getting lost in Powell's City of Books for at least two hours.

After which, I will probably meander over to Mio Gelato for a bambino of donatella gelato.

I want to find a great place for lunch. I'm thinking maybe Indian food.

I'll probably spend some time at Oblation Papers & Press and Everyday Music.

But, most of all, I hope to find a new favorite place to visit when I go to Portland. A bakery, or restaurant, or record store.

And I hope to feel a bit more like a city girl, and a little bit more like a more grown up.

image via google

*this is not to say that I don't enjoy doing these things with other people.

Much Ado

I found out from one of my favorite New Yorkers, Miss Meg Fee, that Provo is doing Much Ado About Nothing.

June 11th and 12th.

Outside.

FREE.

My favorite kind of theatre.

Who'll go with me?