Blog resuscitation. Stat.

Oh. My. Word.
Remember that one time my blog stats full-on flatlined because I didn't blog for a month?
Heavens to Betsy. Sorry 'bout that, friendlies.
Life these days is a little bit on the chicken-with-its-head-cut-off-could-use-a-gallon-of-Xanax side. Nonetheless, still fantastic.

So I'm just stopping by to liven things up with the fact that I'm pinning all of the Fashion Week photos from elle.com. Here and here and here.

My favorites for Spring brought to you by Alice+Olivia:
(You know, Spring? That time where there's not so much snow, but also not so much deaduglyness?)

Oh, and if you're dying to follow me when I'm not here, I write lots for Salt Lake Magazine. Sometimes even about fashion stuff like florals and aztecs.

Utah 101 | A tidbit about my little ol' home state

Are you participating in the instagram January photo-a-day challenge? Obviously, as per above, I am. It's kind of fun.
Day One: Me (or rather the blue shadow on my blue eyes)
Day Two: My breakfast from the gas station on my way to work. The maple bar was from Banbury Cross. I could eat a whole dozen of those things. Seriously.
Day Three: Something I adore: The lavender I bought on our trip to Friday Harbor, WA
Day Four: My boring, boxy letterbox.

It was the letterbox that got me thinking. When I read the challenge for the day I thought, "Gee, I really hope that's the same thing as a mailbox." See, here in Utah we have special names for things. We call letterboxes "mailboxes." Letter carriers or postmen (politically correct, post people) are known as "mailmen."
We also have special accents.

So, for those of you unfamiliar with the Utah way of life, I thought I'd provide little lesson.
EnJOY. And you're welcome.

Utah 101

The things surrounding the Salt Lake Valley on all sides? Those are moun-ins. Not MounTains. We also have a city called Lay-uhn (not LayTon). At the Gateway mall there are foun-ins (not founTains).

Test number one. Translate the following sentence: "I colored with my crens. Then I had a nice warm glass of melk before I went to sleep on my comfy pellow."
Stumped? The answer is, "I colored with my crayons. Then I had a nice warm glass of milk before I went to sleep on my comfortable pillow."
I've also heard of crayons referred to as crowns.
Perhaps I should post a vlog of some sort, in order to assure you that this is not the way I speak and, in fact, it is one of my biggest pet peeves. Ever.

Next. SAHMs. That's an occupational abbreviation for Stay At Home Moms. These people are pretty freaking cool. They build playhouses for their kids out of cardboard boxes and they make dinner from scratch. From scratch, I tell you! And often, that scratch is organic.
It is not uncommon to witness a gaggle of SAHMs gleefully pushing their strollers down the street. 66 percent of the gaggle is usually pregnant. I witnessed this myself just this afternoon, as a matter of fact. Three SAHMs, two of them preggo, three strollers.

You may have heard that the majority of Utah's population is Mormon. Well, that's true.
Mormons don't have horns, but they do fancy jello with carrots and/or mandarin oranges suspended inside. Oh, and funeral potatoes. They fancy those as well.

Utah has a few Universities. The best one is the University of Utah. I've heard they have the brightest, most awesome students. I know for a fact that they have the awesomest professors.

Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was a party. It was pretty much impossible to get anywhere downtown with a car during that time so it was like living in NYC or something.
Salt Lake City is arguably one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities I ever have seen that isn't near a large body of water (great salt lake doesn't count.) It's smaller than most and it has a pretty much non-existant night life, but like I care about that when I lose energy at 9:00.

Southern Utah is breathtakingly beautiful. If you've never been to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon or Arches... you should.

I've lived in Utah all of my 26 years and I've been skiing once. Utah has lots of great skiing. I need to ski more.
The mountains here are gorgeous. You can travel 50 miles in any given direction from the center of downtown and see and do tons of awesome things. You could probably even take a sail on the Great Salt Lake. I've never done that, though because it smells out there and the beaches honestly give me the heebie jeebies.

The Sundance Film Festival is held in Park City. Park City is also where this year's HGTV Dream Home is located. Park City is the shiz.

Utah is a good place to visit, so look me up where you get here.

More things to love: Our Paper Shop

Once when I was about 7 or 8, my best friend and I found some old, faded construction paper in my mom's sewing room. Being the budding young entrepreneur that I was, (I also tried selling popcorn from a bowl, and I always used a muffin tin as my cash register) I put the paper in a fancy little crate and convinced my friend that we could make a killing by selling the stuff door-to-door.
So, out we went. But for some reason, each neighbor claimed to have no need for the paper, and our profit turned out to be a collection of puzzled looks and high-pitched remarks of "Aw, aren't you just the cutest things!?" And all I thought was, "Whatever, lady! To heck with being cute! Buy my paper! I know for a fact that my mom buys your kid's disgusting lemonade and crap! Buy my paper!"

I also loved going to the stationery store with my mom. After a while, I developed a moderate collection of pens and paper that weren't used for much more than looking pretty. I've always loved paper shops - the smell, the feel of the different textures, the colors and patterns, the innumerable options of things you can create.

Today, via twitter (love you, twitter!) I found a new paper shop. I can't smell it or touch it, but I can browse through it, and oh is it beautiful. Bre and Emma sure do know how to sell the stuff, because I want it all and it has nothing to do with their level of cuteness.

See for yourselves.

I also started following their blog and downloaded this desktop wallpaper. I love it.

The happiest new year

Yesterday, I got to do my favorite thing in the world. I spent the entire day with my best friend. Even better, we spent it in the company of some of our other best friends.
We ate Chinese takeout and chocolate licorice, we laughed until our heads and bellies hurt, and we braved heavy eyelids until the midnight hour came. And when it did, I kissed my best friend and we said goodbye to 2011. Then, I took him home, I put him to bed and I let him cuddle me until we fell asleep to the sound of nothing more than fireworks welcoming in the new year.

It was a night of auld lang syne. One that won't soon be forgotten.

when you live in SLC, you can't have too many winter survival guides

Winter has technically only just begun, so this may not be the last survival guide of the season. It surely isn't the first.

1. EOS lip balm in sweet mint -- a new favorite. I love that I don't have to reapply it every 10 minutes.
2. H&M Slouchy beanie -- Only $6 and super soft and comfy.
3. Tech-friendly gloves -- Necessary for people like me who use their phone for everything.
4. La Mer Moisturizing Cream -- Pricey, but - in my opinion - worth every penny. Especially if you live in a harsh, dry winter climate and have sensitive skin. (Upside: a tiny bit goes a very long way.)
5. Crate&Barrel Latte Mug -- Perfect size for any warm drink, only $5, and it is simply gorgeous.
6. Thick, warm socks -- I've made a habit out of borrowing my husband's. Extra thick and extra warm.
7. H&M Leggings for layering -- I even layer them over tights and under dress pants (I get that cold.)
8. Clarisonic Mia skin cleansing system -- A Christmas gift from My Love. After only 3 uses, I can already feel a difference in my skin.

Do you have any favorite things/tips to help you survive the winter?
I'd love to hear about them!

Committing an old fashion faux pas

shirt, leggings: Target | sweater: Banana.Republic | necklace: mom's | boots: Bulward(auction retailer)

Somewhere in the world, a middle-aged woman is clicking her tongue and shaking her head at the fashion crime I have just committed.
Yes. Yes, in fact those are brown boots with black leggings.
Thank you for noticing.

I'm going to eat a ton of sweets today, what are you going to do?

Merry and, um, Bright

beanie, shirt: Anthropologie | earrings: H&M | vest, watch, skinnies: Nordstrom.Rack | socks: Justin's | shoes: Famous

Merry Christmas!

(And suddenly, there is an overwhelming amount of yellow on this blog. Whoa.)

Loving | Pure Green Magazine

For your viewing pleasure.
I don't think my commentary is necessary because, yes, it is that spectacular.

A preview of the current holiday issue:

Open publication - Free publishing

Another of my favorite issues:
(The feature on the bookbinder is WOW.)

Open publication - Free publishing

Visit the Pure Green Blog
Buy an issue in print!

Red and Green are a little cliche, don't you think?

I wore: sweater: TJ Maxx, skirt: J.Crew, tights, scarf: H&M, heels: Nordstrom.Rack

(Actually shown: sweater: H&M, tights: ModCloth)

Photoshop and I just recreated today's outfit for you.
Sometimes I like to pretend it's not winter by wearing primary colors instead of neutrals. People look at me with questioning expressions when I do this, but it's OK. Sometimes my hair purposely looks like I stuck a fork in an electrical socket, so I'm used to it. You can only imagine the looks I receive when I wear both bright colors and electrical socket hair. Whew.
Once, a professor commented to our class that, "if Jessica represented the caucasian race, outsiders would think we were all skinny, excessively white and had crazy hair." But that's just a side note. The truth, nonetheless. Needless to say, that professor and I became fast friends. (Also the truth.)

I know it's been a bit, so let me give an update:

• For the next two weeks I will enjoy myself a holiday break, in which I won't do much more than indulge in Audrey Hepburn classics and warm drinks will probably go insane with boredom because I don't know how to function on an open agenda for one day, let alone a couple weeks.
• Immediately following the new year holiday, I will start as an editorial intern for Salt Lake Magazine. This is a huge deal for me. One reason is because when I told my department advisor I would be applying, he said in a discouraging tone, "Well, make sure you have lots of other options because that is a very competitive internship." To which I now say: booyah, department advisor. Boo. Yah. Anyway, I am ridiculously excited to start in a field that I've dreamt about working in for a really long time.
• I took the advisors "multiple options" advice and committed myself to writing for two other campus magazines before I got the SL Mag internship. So Internship + magazine writer + magazine writer + full-time student + part time employee = me from January to May. It is, no doubt, going to fly.
• I've been thinking lately, how do people with children do it all? Actually, how do people with children do any of it??? Y'all are my heroes. (I say y'all because I'm practicing dialect for a future life in the South.)
• On track to graduate May 4. It's exciting and saddening at the same time. School has become one of my biggest passions.
• Really, though, I'm going to watch Audrey Hepburn movies. So feel free to offer suggestions on must-sees. I'm Audrey illiterate. (I watched Roman Holiday this weekend. Loved it.)

Homemade gifts | Kids

Martha Stewart has the greatest (and seriously, the cutest) ideas for homemade gifts for kids.
Check it out.

Annnd... that's kind of all I have to tell you right now, other than Thanksgiving was wonderful and went by far too quickly.
And I'm approaching finals, which means that for a week or two I will be holed up somewhere or other with my nose in... well I was going to say books, but that's not true. Computers is more like it.
Happy almost-December!

Oh!
Did you win the scrapbooking software giveaway?
Click here to find out!