a day of thanks.

 I wasn't able to go home to Iowa for Thanksgiving.

So...I decided to host my own with my a few of my fellow co-workers.

We called it 'orphan friendsgiving'

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Blessed to have family that I miss and co-workers that serve as friends and family.

P.S. This was the first time I cooked a turkey...! It turned out well - a little dry, but nothing a little bit of gravy or cranberry sauce couldn't fix.

P.P.S.  It was a 20 lbs. turkey :)

Mumford & Sons at the Hollywood Bowl

Last Saturday, I went to Mumford and Sons with some of my girlfriends.

 It took two hours and twenty some minutes to get from mi casa to the Hollywood Bowl.

We sat in traffic on The 10 for about an hour barely moving...

Luckily, the sun was setting which gave me some sort of entertainment...so did the palm trees.

We packed a picnic dinner to eat, but it was so close to show time that we inhaled the food.

We knew it was going to be a chilly night so we prepared with heavy jackets and blankets.

(The Hollywood Bowl is all outside, you are surrounded by mountains and can see the "Hollywood" sign)

I sat with Katherine during the concert.

We curled up in the blanket and danced around to keep warm.

(Yes, it was only 50 some degrees - but it was cold!)

It was such a great concert!

The lights, music and mountains made for a perfect night.

hola!

hola! i am currently sitting in the Houston Airport ...

which means it is 6:06 AM Central Time...

4:06 AM Pacific Coast Time...

I am on the red-eye to Kansas City, Missouri to fulfill my bridesmaids duties.

Show-me-state, here I come!

I am/will be exhausted but the adrenaline is pumping.

--

On another note, I celebrated ONE MONTH at TOMS yesterday.

One Month!!!

Time flies when you're having fun and working with the most incredible people in the world.

Despite their faces...they truly do like me.

(I hope...)

I can honestly say I don't think I have been this happy in such a long time.

I am so stinkin blessed.

Life is just so good!

Aubrey & Kevin

My beautiful, smart, animal loving and sister-like friend, Aubrey, is getting married in less than two weeks!

When I was home before leaving for Cali, I took a few photos of her and her man.

I can't make it to the wedding because I am going to be in a different wedding the same day in Columbia, MO.  (sad face inserted rightttt here) 

I guess you could call this my gift to them.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this girl so much and I'm so happy she met the man of her dreams.

Now, if she could only find me one ;)

mariah's bachelorette partayy.

 In September, one of my best friends will get married.

As with any engagement, comes a bachelorette party.
...and a wedding shower.
...and a panty party.
We, the bridesmaids, decided to make it an all in one weekend.
We started the afternoon off with a wedding shower, followed by a panty party which morphed into her bachelorette party.

3 bars.
15 girls.

We started the evening out at a piano bar in Columbia, MO.
Followed by a country bar with a hugggge dance floor.
They had a Jason Aldean impersonator and he invited us all up on stage.

The last stop was a local bar.
Mariah has a beautiful voice and so they allowed her to come up on stage and sing.
I think she will be famous someday.

I loved being reunited with my two best friends from college.
Mariah was the first girl I met at NW.
She met Natalie.
We all became roommates.

These two girls know me better than I know myself.
I just love them.

Do you see all of those panties?
33 to be exact.
Oh, and Mariah has five bridesmaids, not 15.
The bachelorette party was a combination of friends, family and bridesmaids.

Can't wait until September 22nd when she ties the knot!

ithaca, new york -- it's gorges.

Jordan and I decided to take a weekend trip to Ithaca, New York to visit our friend Katie.

Katie, Jordan and I worked together in DC for National 4-H Council as program assistants.

She recently took a job at Cornell University as a coordinator for agriculture in the classroom.

Katie has a heart of gold and an upbeat demeanor that I envy.

She showed us around the beautiful - hipster - organic only city.

When we got into town, we watched the sun set over the lake.

This is going to sound really cheesy -- but as I sat on the rock and looked at the beautiful sunset, I got so emotional. Tears came down.

I had just left DC, life was a mess but I had this sense of peace looking at the Lord's beautiful creation.

Words can't describe how comforting it was.

 The next morning we went to a farmers market.

Uhhh look at these flowers!

Seriously.

Gorgeous.

I wanted to play in them.

 lots and lots of produce, including blueberries.

 Jordan and I tried the apple donuts and slushies.

Yum.

 few more photos from insta.

do you see how big those carrots are in the bottom right hand corner?

 The best part of the whole trip was probably the wine tour.

The Finger Lakes have a ton of wineries.

The wineries are located around the lake, so you find a DD, stop when you want and pay $3 each time to sample about six different kinds of wines.

The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the wine was tasty.

On our last day, we went and saw the gorges.

"Ithaca is gorges" is a little slogan they use in NY.

Clever, right?

It was a wonderful trip.

A bit stressful at times as I had my final interview for TOMS one day.

My dear friends were so patient and accommodating with my nervous tension.

Love those two and can't wait until we are reunited again.

"the feast" @ quarterdecks

all you can eat crab.

so good, yet so much work.

omaha outing

 After graduation, I went to Omaha with my roommate Natalie for a couple days.

We met up with Ashley at Jones Brothers Cupcakes for lunch and a sweet treat Monday afternoon.

 Jones Bros. had just won Cupcake Wars the night before so it was a happening little place.

I am a college graduate!

 

 On Saturday I graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in public relations, advertising, and interactive digital media.

I am proud to say that I worked hard all four years and graduated Cum Laude.

Before the ceremony took place, we took some photos at Big Blue and had lunch provided by Connie Hesse.

 Proud ma & pa.

 The whole day was bittersweet.

It was hard to say goodbye to friends that became family.

The ceremony was very 'Northwest style'

Laid back, full of chants, cheers and even a few tears.

Governor Nixon, President Jasinksi, and Student Senate President Andrew Maddox addressed the graduates.

 Public Relations graduates.

Can't you tell it is a popular major amongst girls...

 One last lesson from my advisor, Dr. Walker.

 My family.

 Empty case.

Diploma arriving within 5-6 weeks.

 My lovely friends supporting me.

 Chatting with Dr. Baker about the presentation given to the Board of Regents on Friday.

The presentation was the last thing I did as an undergrad.  It was about my experience with Alternative Spring Break.

I bawled talking about how much the organization meant to me and how Northwest has prepared me for success.

How many students can say they have cried in front of their President and Board of Regents, right...?!

One last photo with my beautiful friend, Melanie.

I love my Alma mater.

The past four years of my life have been the best four years.

I am proud to be Northwest Bearcat Alumni.