felt dahlia's

Last night at work I saw a woman wearing the CUTEST felt flower pinned on her coat. While I was helping her I couldn't help asking her where she got it. But she actually made it! Duh. She was at Ben Franklin...

She gave me the link for the tutorial: http://news.holidash.com//2010/04/23/mothers-day-corsage/ It's so easy! I went home last night and I couldn't help myself to make a few:

They're a bit messy (with a little bit of dry glue), but with practice, I think they'll be perfect.

I glued a pin on the back and put it on my shirt. Goes well right? I think this would be perfect on a shirt, jacket, purse, maybe even on sandals? The possibilities are endless!

Make one. Or two. Or three. I dare you!

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The Burning House Project

A few months ago I came across a blog called "the Burning House Project". It's a blog where you can post pictures of what you would take with you if your house was burning. What their blog says couldn't be more true: "It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable, and sentimental. what you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question".

I forgot about this blog for a while. But yesterday I decided to really think about what I'd bring if my house was really burning:

(note: I'd bring my two bunnies, oliver and pepper, which are not included in the picture)

Name: Allison Taylor

Age: 18

Location: Redmond, WA & Rexburg, ID

Occupation: full time student

List:

• My typewriter, Charlotte
• Worn out boots
• Smash book with journaling, Polaroids, photos, ideas
• Jewelry I've inherited from my grandmother and mother. And a turquoise ring I wear almost everyday
• Birkenstocks from tenth grade
• Messenger bag with patches of the places I've been to
• Travel journal
• Glasses and sunglasses
• My first pair of climbing shoes
• Pendleton blanket

Maybe some of these things aren't practical; like Charlotte or my sunglasses. But my first pair of climbing shoes have a huge sentimental value to me so I'd definitely bring them. I actually lost them for about a year and I was really bummed. But they showed up somewhere and we've reunited.

These are other pictures from the blog:

Anyways. It's a really pretty day! I'm going to read outside after I finish this post. And sign up for classes later and pay for tuition and rent. Life isn't cheap. I should be grateful though. Life in Rexburg is actually very inexpensive compared to life in Redmond. But here's what I wore today:

Have a happy Sunday!

3

folkin around

Today was b.e.a.utiful! I went to work this morning still feeling a little cough-y, but my plan was to drive to this little local farm after work to read in the grass and take pictures of the pigs and horses. But. I ended up doing something way different and way fun. I ended up hanging out with a few close friends at Beaver Lake.

We decided to create a band. Which, we'll probably never play again, but it was fun for the day. And we aren't just a normal band. We play on barges. You know, those docks that float around on lakes.

Hence, we're called: The Barge Band. Folky right? I played the mandolin, Kenz played the tambourine and lemon shaker, tucker played the guitar, Dakota drums, and Carlin piano. I'm positive we were ridiculously obnoxious and loud and the sound traveled across the lake, but after about 15 minutes, I realized, who cares if I'm annoying people? I'm having fun. So then I started strumming my mandolin really loud.

The Barge Band almost departing the dock.

Kenzie. Being prettttty.

Tucker on the drums while Dakota was taking a break.

Carlin on the guitar while Tucker was taking a break. Wait what? Why don't I have any pictures of them playing their own instruments??

I found a bunch of feathers around the dock and went with the folk theme... so I put them in my hair.

I had a boat load of fun. Ha. Get it? BOAT load! Stupid joke I know. We're not even on a boat but that gave me a little giggle.

Note to self: I am SO grateful for my friends. They are hilarious, sarcastic, witty, spiritual, pure, and they just make me feel good. And that's what friends are for right? We were all talking about the many places and things we want to do this summer in the little time we have and I'm just really excited to be with my freyyeennds. But I like meeting new people too!

Dear Summer,

I like you. Don't go soon? You're a little unpredictable in Seattle. Stay. We want you here! I want you here. Be here.

Love,

Allison

4

shoes and hair

It's official. I'm addicted to Pinterest, thanks to my sister. I'm actually finding myself looking for things to pin instead of just pinning it when I randomly see it. Anyways, I'm really sick today and skipped church so I've been lounging and pinning all morning.

Random fact about me: I love shoes. End of story. And I need all of these shoes (ASAP):

Imagine how cute these red cowboy boots would be with a patterned dress or white tee with jeans.

Next purchase= Doc Martens. See, I always thought these shoes were way too chunky and punky but I think with the right outfit it would be oh so cute. And this picture makes me want my bangs back. sniff sniff.

I want red ones too. Just for good measure.

Don't even get me started on wood wedges. I just wish I could learn how to make them. Is that possible?

More woodies.

These are cute. But what I really want are white converse and replace the laces with rainbow ones. How awesome would that be for the summer? A little too awesome...

Second random fact about me: I secretly wish I could dye my hair a ton of different colors. The problem is, I'm not sure if I could pull it off, my work would not allow it, and BYUI would definitely prohibit it. But a girl can dream right?

You kill me Pinterest! I think we have a love/hate relationship. I have a feeling I'm going to be stuck to the computer for a while today...

2

graduation 2011

I did it! Fourteen years of school, and it's finally done. It was a little strange being in a room full of people that I hadn't seen in two years (because I did Running Start), but I think we were all so happy to be graduating that it didn't matter I felt a little out of place.

During the ceremony, I was a little (actually very) nervous that I'd trip and fall on the stage while receiving my diploma. I'm pretty sure this was going through all of the girls' minds. But luckily, it went smooth. Throwing the hat was something I was really looking forward to, but I couldn't really throw it that high because it was so light weight. I thought that the minute my hand would slip off the end of my fingers that I'd suddenly feel... I don't know... older or it'd feel euphoric. Television shows always set the bars way too high. But don't get me wrong, the whole experience was exciting.

And last but not least:

Haha siblings. Eric and I don't take normal pictures together. So this was the "best" of the few that were taken.

Basically, I'm just really excited for what's going to happen next. I don't even know how many times people have told me that the first year of college is the best. I've been feeling so many different emotions lately it's almost overwhelming. I'm nervous, scared, excited, gitty, happy to start this new adventure and I know that I'm the only person who can control the outcome.

With that, I'm going to go to campus with the best attitude ever, ready to have fun, and just be me!

4

Cle Elum

I had a pretty freaking awesome weekend. At 3 o' clock all my friends and I packed our bags and headed to Cle Elum to stay at this radical house. (word of the day: radical). It took about an hour to get there and by the time we arrived, the weather cleared up and it was blue skies.

What we did:

-road four wheelers (this scared me. I guess I don't like riding fast along really bumpy/sketchy trails)

-played pool (Bianca and I destroyed. Not once, but three times.)

-ate really fresh pizza from town

-played sardines (this house we stayed at was huge. and for some reason, there are doors that lead into mini-hallways with more doors and it's just freaky. hence the "sixth sense" room we discovered)

-shared scary stories

-and basically talked until 4 in the morning

Our original plan was to watch a scary movie and then play sardines. But because of a way too complicated tv system, we ended up playing sardines then sitting on this massive couch and told scary stories. And trust me, I have good scary stories. Somehow we ended up contemplating the meaning of life, discussing stem cell research, talking about supermassive volcanoes, eternity, air pressure, evil spirits.... we covered it all.

A few pictures from Cle Elum:

This picture is SO ugly. But it's SO funny. I feel like if I had to choose a picture that summed up me and my friends, this would be it.

I kind of like this picture of me... is that... weird?

There's really no words for this one. But it makes me smile.

Summer 2011= lot's of trips like this. Cle Elum was the perfect start to the perfect summer. I just know it!

4

i like...

Believe it or not, I've been using my typewriter, Charlotte, a lot. I've discovered that it doesn't just type on printer paper, but cardstock, envelopes, and cupcake liners. I haven't experimented with fabric yet. Haha just kidding. I wouldn't dare putting Charlotte through that.

But a couple of weeks ago I wanted to make a layout of my current "likes" using my typewriter. To be honest, I stole this idea from another blogger, but I can't remember who... it was about a year ago when I didn't have a typewriter. So let's just say I made this idea up myself:

Funny story about this. I wanted to use a cupcake liner for the center instead of a doily, but I couldn't find a cute one on-hand. Anyways, I couldn't find a glue stick anywhere, which is crazy, so I resorted to mod-podge. It was late at night so I didn't bother finding a brush either. And I attempted to carefully poor mod-podge to the center of the page, but a huuuge glob came out. I had to use a spoon to pick it all up. So that's why the center appears semi-glossy and wrinkly. The situation wasn't funny at the time, but I feel like something like this WOULD happen to me after spending almost two hours typing a long list of "likes".

On that note, I went climbing today and came home wanting a nice healthy lunch:

So I made myself a turkey burger with avocado, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes. With steamed cauliflower and broccoli on the side. Along with a lettuce topped with tomatoes, cucumbers, and marcona almonds with rosemary.

It was oh. so. good.

2

smashing isn't it?

Holy crap. I just did a really awesome post and it all deleted. And I'm pretty sure my face is red right now because I just got hot because I'm mad it deleted. So here it goes again.....

K&Company just came out with a new line called SMASH. In this line, they have a few different journals like the "mod style" and "eco style" or "pretty style". I went with the "mod style" because I liked the pages in it and the cover was cool.

The SMASH line finally came in at work a couple of days ago and it's eye candy. I keep finding my body gravitating towards this line to touch and look and all of the products instead of doing work. This line doesn't just have journals. You can buy stickies, pockets, paper clips, you want it... they have it. I had to go back to work yesterday on my day OFF because I just couldn't wait until my next shift to buy it all.

I haven't purchased all of the accessories with the SMASH journal (yet), but here's what I've bought so far:

The "doodle style" journal. With a really cool design embossed on a super thick kraft cover.

One of the many pages with designs on it. I think it's quite inspiring. And I just noticed the "A" on the top left corner. How perfect....

Washi tape. I couldn't resist. I actually bought 34 more dollars worth on tape on Etsy this morning. Can't you imagine a clear glass cookie jar filled with colorful tape? I can. And it looks like a crafter's heaven to me.

A paper clip shaped like a bird. Who designs this stuff? Make more please!

More cute paper clips.

And SMASH stickies.

I started decorating the cover of the journal last night. I like the way it looks so far. I think I'm going to add more tape to it once my package comes in the mail.

This is my first journaling. I'm going to try to take this journal with me everywhere this summer. I want to record what I'm doing, my thoughts, and what I'm feeling. You know, all that stuff. Hopefully by the end of August this journal will be filled with creativity.

Have a SMASHING day!

3

its the little things

Last week, Bianca and I drove to Carnation and rode bikes on the Snoqualmie trail because the weather was b-e-a-utiful. A few thousand feet down the trail, there was a detour because construction was taking place. Which by the way, will be going on until November. What the heck is going on? The detour ended up being way prettier than I thought (though it never really detoured back onto the Snoqualmie trail). I really wish I had a smaller camera. Don't get me wrong, I love my Nikon D3000, but it's just so big. I've been taking pictures with a film fish eye camera a co-worker lent me (which I have yet to give back), so I'll probably do a post with all the random pictures from the roll, which will hopefully have good pictures of Bianc and I riding bikes.

This morning I woke up and I was on a mission. I wanted to go back and read a book along the river for while and enjoy the sound of my tires along the gravel and feel the wind against my face while riding my bike. And it felt oh so good. I really just needed to forget about what's going on in my life right now. Not that anything is going wrong at all, I just wanted to think about what was going on right at that moment. Sometimes I take Washington for granted, and it was nice to see the birds flying around me, the super green trees, and the twigs floating down the river. It's the little things... right?

This is the suspension bridge along the Tolt River. After you cross it, there are these tents that are not quite houses and not quite teepees. I can't figure them out. But it'd be cool to use them this summer. All I know is you can rent them out.

Before I made my little spot. I kind of have a sore spot for rivers. They're just so. dang. pretty.

And after I settled in. I just love my bike, my birkenstocks, my timbuktu bag, and my pendleton blanket. I went to Half Price books the other day and picked up another Ann Rule book. This one's called "Every Breath You Take". It's a true story of obsession, revenge, and murder. Peaceful right? No really though, it was. I was the only person along the little beach. Just me and the birds. And I did see one monarch butterfly.

I was there for about an hour and a half (I think), reading and eating my sandwich from whole foods that I picked up this morning. And when I came home, my back was so burned. Wearing a t-shirt to work was a little painful. When I got home from work I took off my shirt and saw a red lobster on my back, I mean a really bad burn. Am I that pale? I was in the sun for such a little time. I'm hoping this burn will turn into a tan.

p.s. I found out today that hanging out by myself is really fun. I'm not half bad if I say so myself. Ha! just kidding. But really, I enjoyed it. Now that I've done this bike ride by myself and I didn't get kidnapped (I'm kind of paranoid after reading murder stories), I think I'll do some more.

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