blah blah and 4 walls

I've noticed I've become a "blah" blogger lately.

You know what I'm talking about, they {we} are a dime a dozen. You may have fallen victim to it's dull ways yourself...

You can predict the posts before they pop up.

she's probably going to talk about "shoes" "boyfriend" "fashion" "finals" {fill in the blank}

{which by the way, none of these are bad blogging topics. In fact, they are some of my favs. But after the 3rd, 5th, TENTH post...they start to get old}

Lately, for me it's been the Sr. Photoshoots.

{any type of photo shoot really...}

I've never been busier with photography {a shoot every day this week?! Some days TWO!}

I really truly can't complain since it's what I love doing.

But I have to admit...I'm having a hard time with TIME MANAGEMENT.

Where are the weeks going?!

Doesn't "TIME" know I have:

a wedding to plan?!

seniors to shoot!? {don't freak...with my CAMERA...}

a new job to somehow fit in my hectic life!? {more on this excitement later}

and probably most {2nd} importantly: WALLS TO PAINT.

yes. you heard me. WALLS TO PAINT. but not just any walls.

the 4 walls that will encompass the 500 square foot {and I'm rounding up...} area B and I will call "home".

Our first home.

the place we begin our lives together the place we will fight over what color to paint the clawfoot tub the place we will kiss each other's faces off the place we will begin our traditionsthe place we will fall even more in love the place we will tell each other soul secrets the place we take care of each other the place where we will be so crammed we wont have any choice but to snuggle constantly the place we will laugh and cry the place we will make love {hehe} the place we will stare up at our popcorn ceiling and wonder why anyone ever thought it was a good ideathe place the stove and I will finally become friends (maybs)the place where Brandon will serenade me to sleep the place where I'll demand he tucks me in like a mermaid just like my mom used to do. the place we will have many an adventuresthe place we will be humbled by when we freeze our toes off in the winter the place we will forever refer to as our first home.

Wait till you see the wonderful color Brando invented.

{that's right....too cool for paint swatches!}

I'm trying to do some good "before and after"s cause believe me...it'll be drastic. So I'm saving those pics for later. SUSPENSE! {bwhahahah!}

hopefully these will suffice for now:

oh and p.s. the overload of senior photos isn't likely to stop any time soon. they just keep....graduating! there's nothing i can do to stop it....it's madness.

counting down

Sunday marked

two months of being engaged

&

two more months till we wed!

I couldn't sleep last night. I was just laying there thinking about how much Brandon has changed my life these past 8 months. And how much my life is going to change these next two. You want to know what? I'm STILL twitterpatted. I still get butterflies when he grabs my hand. I still get all dizzy with his kisses. I still get antsy and fidgety when I know I'll see him soon. I can't wait to be his wife. I can't wait to be Mrs. Brandon White. I can't wait to be all his. I can't wait to snuggle up to him every night and wake up to him every morning.

I love him.

so I made him a little countdown.

each link has some little sussy of sorts: a favorite memory, inside jokes, phrases we say, lots of "I love you" and "xoxoxo".

My Sweet Brandon

Most people would say something like this:

"I'd love you even if we were horribly poor and lived in a tiny basement apartment with a window so small and so low to the ground that light rarely found it's way in."

but not my sweet Brandon.

Nope.

He says:

"I'd love you even if we had lots and lots of money and lived in a big fancy house and had really nice things and drove ritzy cars."

My Brandon is something else.

I think he's one of the few people in the world who's got his head screwed on right.

He doesn't love fancy cars.

He loves me.

He doesn't like nice things.

He likes me.

He doesn't want money.

He wants me.

I'll be the first to admit that I can be rather petty at times.

But HE gets me back on track. NOT by calling me out. But by his example. He is happy in the most simplistic ways. He's rubbing off on me. And it's changing the way I view the world.

The world is so much prettier, happier, and hopeful with him by my side.

Dear Brandon,

I JUST love you. You've saved me from my self destructive ways :) You are my calm and my peace. You are my constant source of encouragement and happiness. I love your little isms! I love the silly faces you make and the Nicholas Cage impersonations (that I pretend to hate). I love our picnic dates on the living room floor. I love our wild sunflowers in soda bottles. I love our dancing to Big Band music. I love resting my head on your legs while you play around on the guitar. I love your sweet nothing whispers. I love you playing footsies with me during dinner and sneaking "i love yous" during the prayer. I love how you are so sweet to me even when I'm mean and bridezilla to you. And even when I over-react and get upset over silly things, you say "I love you anyway". I love how you love me even when I completely forget to take my advertising test and therefore fail it. I love how you have an opinion about this wedding of ours! And that you tell me what to do (when i give you permission) so that I don't have to make every-single-silly decision myself. Oh gee I am so excited to marry you! I'm so excited for this list to grow each new moment I spend with you.

I just love you.

xoxoxo

your Claire

living room picnics :) complete with bubbly, plastic champaign glasses, and cottage cheese.

we are super classy people.

B said, She said

{the proposal}

She knew it was coming.

She was kinda getting impatient.

She was madly in love with him.

B was madly in love with her.

It was only a matter of time.

She woke up Thursday morning with butterflies in her stomach.

"It's happening today." she thought to herself, "Today is The Day!"

She wished she had time to get all cute.

But she didn't.

So to school she went, with the same outfit she wore the night before and hair that hadn't been washed in an embarrassingly large number of days.

B texted her "Good morning beautiful".

She texted B "Good morning handsome".

It seemed like a normal day.

But she still had those butterflies.

And butterflies never lie.

{At least not her butterflies}

the day dragged on.

She was at a late night class.

Nothing significant had happened yet.

B hadn't asked to see her that night.

....

"hmmm..." she thought, "maybe my butterflies lied. Or maybe I forgot to take my Lactaid pills before eating all that string cheese...."

And then B called. {normal}

And asked to see her that night. {normal}

And said he'd come to HER apartment. {NOT normal}

Ya see, B

despises her apartment {provo parking...nuff said}

So she always goes home. {free food....nuff said}

They said "I love you"s and "see you soon"s.

"click"

"click"

that was it.

And she knew.

She knew that if she didn't hurry to her apartment to get ready, she'd be stinky and gross looking.

And this was not the night to be stinky and gross looking.

She got ready at super-speed

{even though she tried on a ba-zillion outfits}

She was just finishing her hair when B knocked on the door.

She had him wait outside the bathroom door while did the finishing touches on her hair.

She made small talk.

B did the same.

Everything was "normal".

But the butterflies were back...and they brought friends.

but...conversation continued:

She "blah blah blah, I hate Biology....blah blah"

B: "yack yack yack......"

{normal}

Then B said nothing. He didn't respond to anything she said.

It took her a minute to realize she was talking to herself.

"hello? you there?" {mind you, the bathroom door is closed.}

"hey!?"

She opens door.

{B is on his knee}

That's all it took for those thousands of butterflies to turn into a hundred tears.

B said some pretty significant stuff but she didn't hear him.

She just kissed him and cried and marveled at the ring and cried and kissed him.

And golly! That ring!

Apparently the significant things B said were

pretty significant....

"will you marry me?"

and she didn't hear it amongst her cries and marvels.

{and hello...the ring? How does he expect her to listen to him when he flashes such a beauty in her face?! ahem!}

So

she didn't respond.

For a very long time.

Until she caught her breath,

And he repeated the question, this time with a "silly".

And she said a word that never felt so right in her entire life.

YES!

and then she kept saying it.

and saying it.

and saying it.

{She didn't think He'd be able to surprise her. She is a planner. He is not. So any sign of a plan would give it all away. She knew it was coming that night but she had no idea it would be in her yucky dump apartment. And later found out B didn't think it would be either. {remember how he's NOT a planner?} He attempted to plan it for later. But out it came. }

and it was perfect that way.

And it just got better {as love always does}

first she had to change outfits {again} cause she just had to be in a skirt.

then B took her to her favorite restaurant {Carrabas} where she ordered her favorite meal {pollo rosa maria}.

and they laughed

and giggled

and she would not stop finding an excuse to use her left hand.

and found out that just because her left hand looks really pretty now, doesn't mean she should always use it.

cause it's kinda a clutzy hand.

So now she just lets it sit pretty on her lap.

and loves it when all her girl friends scream when they see her.

and she can't stop smiling.

and she can't stop telling people.

even people she doesn't know.

and even people who don't care.

she just can't stop talking about it.

ha.

and crying.

smiley cries.

even as she types this up now.

"I love you"

she said.

"I love you"

he said.

"we're in love"

they said.

and that's what they'll keep saying for forever.

which is an extremely long time.

In fact it never ends.

{and they couldn't be more excited about that}

!

the rumors are true...

I'm Engaged!

to my Best Friend,

the Love of my Life,

my Constant Calm.

To my Sweet Brandon

*details to come.

*photo credit: Matt Clayton {black & white by me)

Valentines 2010

(my valentines card to B, found at local antique shop. It expresses my feelings perfectly)

wink, wink, nudge, nudge

I'm finally getting around to posting photos from our little Vegas get-away. Really, it shouldn't have taken so long...since we only took maybe 5 pics?! And only 1 has us in it. I guess I just like looking at him even more than I like looking through a lens.

Anyway Vegas was just a blast! Although I have to admit, we weren't at all impressed with the strip. Maybe thats because we are who we are. And who we are is not partiers (atleast in Vegas' definition of partiers). The gambling...just plain stupid. The drinking scene...not our things. The glitz and the glam...just a bit much for us. The shopping...only fun when you have money.

So basically,

we walked around for a bit. looked completely out of place (matchy match plaid shirts and cowboy getup.) did do a little window shopping, but no buy. Laughed at all the billboards of lawyers and magic trick guys. People watched.

We got lost about a million and 1 times. no joke. (and we even had a GPS with a british accent)

The getting lost part might have been the best.

B is my favorite person to get lost with :)

We also....

watched tons of movies! (one with our least favorite actor in it...Nicolas Cage) Saw "Valentines Day" in theaters (ah...so so)Watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies Laid out (I actually got some sun!)hot tubbed till we turned to prunes lazed around got spoiled rotten by my Aunt Steph told funny stories of our lives before "us" laughed so hard I cried ate In n Out (twice!) said "I love you" every other sentence (or so it seemed) and it never got old. linked arms 24/7 (cause B said I'm a weird hand holder...which I totally don't get. I mean you hold the hand? That's it?! How could I be doing it wrong?!)

{photos}

wow

conservatory ceiling, Bellagio

loved the vegas style In N Out sign.

somehow we ended up in NY

and we're still confused at how we got to paris

favorite part of the Bellagio conservatory: the floor.)

the one pic of us. Isn't it glorious?!

It was a perfect valentines day

you aren't allowed to be healthy on holidays

{so much for my healthiness.}

Brandon just had to be a sweetheart and get me a box of chocolates.

The only other time I had a box of chocolates all to myself was in the 8th grade.

A boy filled my locker (who knows how he got in there) with all sorts of things:

• a teddy bear
• box of chocolates
• roses
• a love letter

I had no interest in this boy. I couldn't even keep the chocolates cause I felt so bad eating them.

not this time!

This time i hoarded them all to myself! and i refused to share until i had a bite out of every single one so i could keep the very best ones for myself. (valentines day....what a selfish holiday right?)

Ha i know I'm silly but ever since i saw legally blonde i've wanted to do that: take a bite out of every piece of chocolate.

And thanks to B, I finally had the chance!

{he's just making all my dreams, even the silliest ones, come true :)}

hope everyone had a fantastic valentines day full of yummy fatty foods, pretty pinks and reds, and everything heart-shaped!

xoxoxo,

kitty

p.s. musings on our vegas adventure coming soon!

p.p.s. two extremely important and very exciting things happened this past week! can't wait to share!

p.p.p.s. you should probably be prepared for a post-overload!!!

nothing says i love you like...

a trip to sin city right?!

B and I decided the combination of

school taking over our lives

+

valentines day

+

a long weekend

(thank goodness for presidents)

could only = one thing:

a much needed VACA

so...........of all places we decided Las Vegas would be the absolute most romantic place to have our little get-away!

{ha...so jk on the romantic perfectness of the place}

truth is, I have an amazing Aunt and Uncle who live in Vegas who spoil me rotten. We will be spending the weekend with them :)

I'm sooooooo excited! B and I are working extra hard to get all our HW, studies and tests out of the way so we can really enjoy the weekend. (smart thinking right? but for the time being it's killing me. I haven't seen him in what feels like forever (it's been 2 days...)

since the trip to vegas is kinda our "gift" to each other, we aren't really doing the "gift" thing this valentines day. Which is totally just fine with me (i've never been a fan of the over-sized plush animals). What I really want is TIME with the boy. And that's what i'll get! a whopping 4 days of him all to myself! what more could I want really?

but still...I have this itching inside of me to do a little something else for him....

I was thinking maybe a coupon book of love?!

Any ideas!?

Any fun plans for the long weekend/lovers day?

ah...I love: love...

*photo credit: Matt Clayton Photography

Hello World

Today was a good day.

This week has been a great week.

This month has been. . . fantastic.

now that I come to think of it,

my life has been, is, and always will be wonderful.

{I really truly believe that}

wonderful because I am so blessed.

I'll admit, sometimes I forget.

I forget how blessed I am and sum up the nerve to consider for a moment that life could be better.

I let myself think

If only I were:

smarter

prettier

richer

healthier

etc.

life would be better.

My Bishop shared with me some words for thought that really put things into perspective:

Learn from the past.

Look forward to the Future,

But live in the present.

no ifs of the future.

no buts from the past.

life is good right where I'm at.

Not everything is perfect.

Which is perfectly fine with me.

and now for some loves in the photobooth

{don't you just love the imperfections at the bottom?!}

{and B's look in 1,2,3, and 4 in the second strip}

{what a silly boy}