things i'm dreaming of {may}:

image via

a very girly swimsuit.
this lace blouse.
an oversized tote bag.
a trip to here.
this combination of delicious flavors.
a tripod accessory kit.
this cute striped & floral outfit.
this book that looks interesting.
doTERRA's Breathe oil.
a froyo/ice cream/sorbet machine.

to the mountains!

I love going on vacations!  I relish getting away from all responsibilities and not having to worry about getting up at a specific time each morning.  I also really like taking a break from running errands and doing things around the house, and using that time to go play and explore.  We're headed to Utah for the next week to celebrate my sister's high school graduation and a few birthdays, and I'm so excited! :)

First stop, Cafe Rio.

we basically ate all weekend long.

Our Memorial Day weekend was gooood.  Like, you know when you find out you just got something you've really wanted?  Perhaps through opening a gift you've been dreaming of, getting an unexpected raise at work, finding out you won a giveaway, winning the lottery?  That feeling, folks, basically sums up our weekend.  I was excited going into it to have some extra time off work, and fun opportunities kept popping up left and right!

+ I was able to go and get a mani/pedi that I've had a gift certificate for for the past year and a half (So long, right?!).
+ Babysat some cute kids & ate chocolate doughnuts together.
+ Went to a "farewell" lunch at a fun Mediterranean place for some friends that are moving away.
+ Tried some amazingly delicious ribs at Rib Fest downtown.
+ Checked out a piano bar with some friends (I've never been so judged for drinking Sprite before, haha) and got fro-yo.  Things got crazyyyyy.  Only not like drunk and partying, more like running around downtown and racing through splashpads at 11pm.  It was a blast.
+ Survived Primary with an extra 10 kids in my class.
+ Made enough strawberry jam to feed us and the rest of St. Louis for 10 years.
+ Had some friends over for Sunday dinner & the homemade bread turned out better than ever.
+ Skyped family.
+ Got together with friends for a BBQ.

Hope your {extra long} weekend was fabulous!

quaint and picturesque.

Since moving to St. Louis, I've heard a lot of people from work and church gush about how cute historic St. Charles is and how it's the perfect little area to walk around.  So for the past 21 months it's been on my list of things I want to do here in the area, and yesterday I finally got a chance to check it out!  From the outdoor patio restaurants to the old fashioned candy stores, it was quaint and picturesque in every aspect.  My fresh raspberry ice cream wasn't too shabby either. ;)

neon workout gear is all the rage.

About a month and a half ago, Ben and I woke up to hundreds of runners right outside our window.  As you can see from the picture, most runners were wearing neon gear of one kind or another.  Not pictured is the middle-aged man wearing a wig and belly shirt dancing to music he was blasting out of his car, AND banging on a cowbell.  All day long, and all throughout General Conference.  That was awesome.

After much some contemplation, I have concluded that neon workout gear is great for three reasons:

1) You're less likely to get hit by a car because everyone can see you from three blocks away. 

2) Your bright outfit will distract from your sweaty face.

3) You can go straight from a run to an 80s dance party or perhaps a circus.

Neon workout gear forever! 

living room idea: neutral with a pop of pink.

 

couch // coffee table // lamp // pink pillow // chevron pillow // flowers // print // print // print // print // print 

Let me preface this by saying that I know nothing about design - I just discovered how fun it is to put together room ideas, and this is the result of messing around for a few minutes! My favorite thing about this set up is that you wouldn't walk into the room and think Wow! This living room sure is pink! but you'd still get that subtle feminine touch. I'm definitely into neutrals these days. :)

my life is really exciting.

The semester is officially over!  I'm feeling euphoric!  After turning in an essay last week, Ben and I celebrated the end of my semester with a treat and an episode of House.  Adios, literature class and public speaking class, and hola to social media and PR, photojournalism, and Spanish.

This degree will be the death of me.  ;)

unexpected places.

Last night I found myself sitting on a chair in the hallway of a broken down and grungy low-income apartment building.  A 4-year old lay on the floor next to me with a package of markers and a SpongeBob coloring book, all while kicking his feet together and softly humming to himself.  A young mother sat to my right holding her baby--a 4-month old who was alternating between complacency and distress, eventually giving way to her lethargy--soaking up all that was being taught and shared.  Across from the mother and I were two young men wearing suits, ties, and name tags.  They put their hearts into their message for this young mom and it was evident that they wanted to share all of their happiness with her.  It was there in that hallway in the rundown, low-income apartment building that I had one of the sweetest, most altruistic experiences to date.  I knew without a doubt that this young mother was being watched over and was loved so very, very much by her Heavely Father, and it was evident that she felt it too.

Want to know more about the message the two young men shared?  Read about it here.

20 ways to make money from home!

Note: this is a re-post from yesterday because I accidentally deleted the post.  Oops!

Regardless of whether you're a SAHM/D (stay-at-home mom or dad) or you work full-time at your dream job, everyone loves to have some extra cash in the bank account!  Or maybe for that great pair of shoes you saw last week... :)  Without further ado, here are 20 easy and fabulous ways to make money from home.

1)  Amazon Mechanical Turk - complete some simple tasks like tagging 5 words that come to mind when viewing a photo, looking at receipts companies have posted, checking online contact info to make sure it's correct, etc. and earn a few cents for each thing!  Note: there is a 48 hour waiting period after you apply.

2)  Go to your local Goodwill,  Salvation Army, Deseret Industries, etc. and find really awesome stuff to sell online through Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon, etc.!  I know someone who does this and she can easily cover her rent each month from the profits.  Granted, she does spend a good 3-5 hours each week hunting through stores, but it's something she enjoys.

3)  Do you sew super cute little baby shoes?  Make your own jewelry?  Take photos that you want to sell?  Open an Etsy shop and spread the word to all of your friends and family.

4)  Have a blog?  Throw some ads up on your blog using Google AdSense and make money off of your page views and from others clicking on the ads.

5)  Do your spring cleaning and sell your unwanted stuff on Ebay!  Don't forget to look through video games, movies, and cd's that you and your family never use.

6)  Find something you enjoy and are good at, and teach it to others.  (Music lessons, tutor students, teach cake decorating, start up a yoga class, etc.)

7)  Virtual Assistants - Become someone's assistant, and...work from home!  I think this would be great for someone who's super good at organizing, handling phone calls, emailing, etc.

8)  Start up a daycare or babysit.  Easy to do if you have the space in your house, or if you have young kids that like to play with other kids a lot.

9)  Write an e-book.  I know quite a few people who have done this and made a good amount of money from it.

10)  Have extra gift cards laying around that you know you'll never use?  Trade them for cash over at Cardpool.com.

11)  Do online surveys!  I've used Opinion Outpost, Survey Savvy, Zoom Pannel, and Survey Spot before, but my favorite is Toluna!  In the last week alone, I've made $20 from completing surveys on Toluna whenever I have a few extra minutes.  Their app and online site are both extremely user friendly and easy to understand.

12)  Sell old cell phones and electronics over at Gazelle.

13)  Interested in making a few dollars here and there simply for working out, tracking your food, and eating fruits and veggies?  Then check out Pact!  After downloading the app, you connect either a credit card or PayPal account to your Pact account, and you set personal goals for your week.  For example, I set my account to read that I would workout 4 times/week and eat 20 fruits and veggies/week.  Next, you set the amount you want the app to charge you for each missed workout or missed fruit/veggie.  20 fruits and veggies at $5 per missed one is quite a bit!  However, it's super motivating because no one wants to lose money.  Last week I made $4 for completing all of my goals.  It's not a ton, but it's been adding up over the past few weeks!

14)  Check out Zaarly and do random jobs for people whenever you have a spare hour or two.

15)   Find a company that will let you take calls and/or reservations from home.  I know JetBlue does this.

16)  Live in a city?  Download the Gigwalk app and complete tasks as you walk around your neighborhood.  For example, take a picture of a street sign, post a restaurant's hours, take a picture of a street corner,

17)  Teach English from your home through Italki.  I think this site allows you to set your own rate, but $15/hour seems to be the norm.

18)  Although it's highly unlikely you can complete this one from home, donate plasma and receive compensation for your efforts.  You could also sell your hair if you aren't too attached to it. ;)

19)  Download Shopkick and get rewards and offers for walking into stores or trying on clothes!  This is my kind of thing. :)

20)  Rent out a room, or even your entire basement, if you have the extra space!  Or list your place on Airbnb if you'll be gone for a week. 

Am I missing anything awesome out there?  Leave a comment with other great ways to make money from home! :)

because smiling babies are the best.

Recently, some friends asked me to help them snap a photo or two to use for graduation pictures, and this smile was captured as we finished taking the "serious" photos.  It makes me smile everytime I see it.

Happy Thursday!