hygge.

not a typo, i'm just learning some danish. 

via

i read a cool article on npr yesterday. it talked about the danes, and how despite living in one of the coldest climates ever with the least sunlight, they are among some of the happiest. according to the article, their happiness is derived from this sense of "hygge" (pronounced hYOOguh), the people tend to feel. hygge is described as "cozy", but the type of cozy that is"fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends and food, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of- coffee conversation, scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love."  sign me up. hygge embodies the danes lifestyle as they take things slow, make time for people, and don't get too caught up in the everyday living.  i read an article for my living prophets class last night by deiter f. uchtdorf that made me think a little more about the sense of "hygge" it is entitled, "of things that matter most", and when he says that,  "love is spelled T I M E", well, that struck a chord with me. making time for god, your family, your fellow man, and yourself. that is what matters most. 


this sounds like a research paper. bear with me.


i keep having this recurring dream that i take my family to spain. (except for last night. last night i dreamed that two of my friends were both dating justin beiber. that two-timer!) we stay with my host family. they look around bleary eyed as we chat in spanish. i have a helluva time getting to spain because i keep losing my passport, id, yadda yadda. anyway, every time i dream this dream i have this sense of "hygge". it rolls my favorite things, family, spain, quality time, all into one. these are the thoughts i like to dwell upon when life slows down, when it doesn't, and when it should. 


"There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions."- Deiter F. Uchtdorf


this week i am going to make a conscious effort to live in my hygge, even if that just means waking up 2 hours earlier  than i need to, simply to make breakfast, sit under a blanket in the quiet, and enjoy.

sunday morning.

the other day i got a phone call from a girl who currently lives in my old apartment. "hi... uh, alyssa? i'm just calling from liberty square because we got a package for you from china today...." at this point i got really excited and exclaimed, "MY LENSCAP!" right in her ear. she was probably confused. i told her i'd come get it. you see, about 2 months ago i lost my lens cap. i'm cheap, and those suckers are not! what is there to do, you might ask? ebay it! ebay solves all problems. there i found a nikon lens cap for .99 and hit "buy now" before the page had even finished loading (and obviously before checking my address...)  the last two months have been a waiting game. i seriously thought china had forgotten about me/ scammed me, but i wasn't too worried about getting gypped out of .99 cents, so when i got that call it was like christmas day.

getting my lens cap reminded me about this special camera i have. this morning i photographed breakfast because i have been eating it for a week straight. you really should make it. forget sunday dinner, caramelize some bananas!

caramelized banana toast
inspired by pinterest

2 pieces cinnamon raisin bread
1 T almond butter
1 banana, sliced
honey
cinnamon
raisins

preheat oven to 350. spread almond butter (or pb) on toast, top with banana slices, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cinnamon, and raisins. cook for 10 minutes, then turn on broil and cook 2 more minutes. cut. plate. count to 30 so you don't burn your mouth off.

have a great sabbath!

photo of the day(s) 22- 28

january is almost past. (thank you heaven above)

don't let the above picture fool you. if you follow me on twitter you'll know yesterday i was all stoked on getting up and skiing after work since class was cancelled. yeah, i went.... on two runs. and then i went home. the mountain was a straight up sheet of ice! i feel like i would have had better luck if i'd have brought a pair of ice skates rather than strapped on those skis of death. an hour later i was back in provo running 15 400 m sprints... because my obvious death of choice is by treadmill, not "falling off a mountain" as my mom would say. (mom, when i was [this] close to falling off the mountain all i could hear was your voice)

on to the pictures of the week!

22- your shoes. hey, best christmas gift of my life boots!

23- something old. okay, so there are a lot of "old" things here, ie my ancient 3 year old macbook with alzheimers aka no battery life, but what i want to direct your attention to is the fact that my table has no power so i have to drape my power cord aross the walkway to another table's plug. classy, byu!

24- guilty pleasure. i went to zuppas and bought tomato soup. i felt like i was cheating on my immersion blender.

25- something you made. a shload of copies at work!

26- something colorful. funny story here- a dentist office gave our office a "groundhog's day" basket. in it? stickers, pencils, groundhog figurines, and a six lb bag of gummybears. if getting presents is what groundhog's day brings i don't care if phil sees his shadow!

27- lunch. do not be fooled- this is no ordinary salad in no ordinary popcorn bowl sized dish. leftover salad from brick oven office meeting + raspberry vinaigrette (both words i can never spell on the first try)+  almonds = welcome to my lunchbreak life

28- light. or lack, thereof in my apartment. sometimes i dream of a huge kitchen with big bay windows and no winter lighting. if wishes were fishes!

monday

today i was sitting and thinking about granada and the alhambra. (pictured above) my spanish literature class makes me wanderlusty because my teacher is always showing us pictures of spain and then i get anxious because everyone in that class has flawless spanish and i usually feel like belong more in a spanish kindergarten than three credits away from a minor. (!!!!) i try to follow e. roosevelt's mantra of "do one thing every day that scares you"... but i am beginning to wonder what exactly that does to a person's blood pressure over time.

 its snowing/raining and my plant is dead. january! who do you think you are!!
this weekend was a weekend of dreaming. winter is always a catalyst for my a. stir-craziness and b. my pastime of hypothetical situation planning aka WHAT am i DOING with my LIFE.
 lately i'm really good at putting my brain into what i like to call "advance planning mode"... the daydreaming state i lock myself into during relief society (always) or dull moments of work where i decide on some far fetched but somewhat attainable goal, then painstakingly go through every single to-do that must be accomplished to get there. travel is always involved... how to finance that travel is always hanging overhead. the life of a student! it is both exhilarating and confusing.  (kind of like the brown boots i wore today with predominantly black everything else. or like changing into workout clothes while driving through the snow. this is my life.)
til then, i will just wait for the chips to fall and continually edit and re-edit pictures. and keep a watchful eye out for cheap plane tickets. :)

pizzeria 712.

provo has a lot of restaurants. this one is the best. last night one of my pals wanted to do something. he suggested rock climbing and food. i said i was lazy and i wanted cafe rio. we ended up here.

best decision of the weekend made early! the place was full to the brim.... but then again, it's in a little bitty place.

there is no back kitchen. there are only a few employees. they make all the pizzas in that little fire oven in the picture. i fell in love immediately. our waiter.... may i call him danny? that was his name. anyways, he was so proper and helpful and earned every penny of tip. he brought us our menus and used all kinds of fancy food lingo i'd never heard before. gasp! i need to eat fancy more often.

we settled on two pizzas... the menu is ever changing, so i am not 100 percent on what we got, but i am pretty sure one was fancy tomato sauce with "house ricotta" (fancy) and basil, oregano, and topped with arugula. the other was roasted butternut squash with caramelized onions, rosemary, and subtly laced with crack. favorite! we ate and savored and i tried to be girlish and not eat my entire pizza. (i finished it in the car on the way home. ha!)

then they brought the dessert menu. we split this crazy good amano chocolate mousse thing that tasted like straight up heaven.

i can't forget the bathrooms, either. even the bathroom was fancy! oh no, there were no paper towels, but real linens. sustainable! delicious! beat still, my heart.

so do you need any more reason? go eat here, already... but make a reservation if you don't want to sit in the cold for half an hour.  i really can't get over how good the experience it.... frankly, it makes malawi's look like mcdonald's.

fancy. did i say fancy enough, yet?

photo a day(s) 15-21

welcome to this week's addition of my life through photo. sit down and put your feet up!

15- happiness. have you seen shiz mormons say? it's definitely a happy moment.

16- morning. this is how life plays out at work for me. i eat hummus and make lists... of things i want to eat and names for my children. awesome.

17- water. water water everywhere at sundance ski!

18- something you bought. this pineapple came in my bountiful basket. did i mention the fact that it is impossible to cut a pineapple without eating about half of it? guilty.

19- sweet. in all senses of the word, this banana chocolate smoothie concoction was SWEET in all senses of the word.

20- someone you love. pizza, unfortunately, isn't a "someone"... but the creator of pizzeria 712 is. yep, love him!

21- reflection. we don't have many reflective surfaces around ye old apt.... so a tv reflection is gonna have to work

the things in my head on this friday.

via

sometimes you just need to wear a ponytail and not change it for 3ish days. 3rd day pony hair is where. it's. at.

i highly advise you to buy yourself some dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, then boil them for an hour and a half the next day. when the time is right, use this recipe for mindblowingly delicious hummus. forget vegetables, this stuff is good from spoon to mouth.

whenever i hear about SOPA i just want a steaming bowl of sopa.... like tomato sopa. and i wonder if the mexicans are really confused as to why the heck all the americas hate their sopa all of a sudden? (want in on the joke? sopa=soup in spanish. *lightbulb*)

wanderlust has hit me full force! MUST GO ON VACATION. this blog about packing doesn't help me one iota! nor coworkers telling me about their sixteen day florida vacations.

the homework just keeps coming, i tell you. so does the work! i am beginning to think i should just keep my sleeping back there for the days i work afterhours then the next morning too... saving on gas and an endless supply of hot chocolate in the breakroom? win win.

toasted cinnamon raisin bread topped with a slather of greek yogurt, drizzled honey, cinnamon, and banana slices. you're welcome.

snow in the mountains! i love it.... "in the mountains" being key words here, folks.

it is the weekend! the next two days are looking nice and empty. mmmmm freedom. oh, and did you notice the date? it's my 20 5/6 birthday today. i think that constitutes yogurtland or something. just 2 more months until 21. scary. you have a great one!

ah ski ski ski

yesterday was tuesday. you know what that means? ski class! two hours of unadulterated time away from provo up at sundance frolicking in manmade snow. it doesn't get much better! you see that? that's me per kelsey's sweet iphone in skiing garb and i can't believe i haven't written all about it yet. (the skiing, not the spiffy iphone, although that's pretty awe-inducing, too) i mean, granted i've only been twice and there are children 1/4 of my age doing a heckuva lot trickier stuff than i am, but nonetheless i am learning and it is exciting.
i've got a wicked snow plow.
sometimes i can turn.
my toes are habitually numb. forever.
anybody up for a little weekday shred? i can't promise that they won't have to slow down the lift so i can get on in one piece, but i promise not to intentionally knock you over when we're getting off (or at least i will put forth my best effort)
oh, and would you pray for some snow to fall? i think that might enhance the experience, although i can't exactly complain about the shining sun.

more pictures. no ski trip is complete without a photo shoot, obviously.

photo a day(s) 8-14

8. the sky. oh the grey january sky...

9. daily routine. i've been eating this chocolate every single day for a couple weeks- dark chocolate with sea salt... a heavenly combination. life altering!

10. childhood. look at me, just cheesing it up. life was good

11. where you sleep. i'm just real happy about those pillows!

12. close up. post workout sweaty bangs.

13. in your bag. you like that voodoo doll? it gets a lot of compliments. thanks, ma.

14. something you're reading. okay so i already finished it, but it was great.

i've been more or less MIA

this post is going to be short because, well, it's basically either slap something up on the internet this morning or comb your hair for work and i can't seem to find a brush. it's fine, life is still good.
i forgot about the inner student inside of me. the one who likes to learn and takes notes but forgets to bring anything to write with to aforementioned classes on the daily. the jerk who sits at the left handed desk and makes everybody else squeeze on by me down the row if they want to sit somewhere in my proximity. sorry! we lefties are bad news.

school life is good. draining. mostly pretty enlightening and i am happy to be back. my major is cool. in environmental health yesterday we spent 2.5 hours discussing food borne illnesses and can i just say that all that talk about crypto and e.coli is enough to make you go veg? wash your hands, people. oh, and don't eat at subway if you aren't feeling like chancing it.

take a look at my AMARYLLIS! can you even believe it? it's beautiful! and about two feet tall! i have never in my life had a green thumb.... does a freeze-dried plant you just have to add water to count as being gardener-ish? i sure hope so because this thing is kind of my pride and joy. i speak of it as it is my child in daily conversation oh you should come over and see how big my amaryllis is...  would you like to see a picture of my amaryllis? it just doesn't stop. i am thinking about putting some 3x5s in my wallet.

yesterday was kourtni's birthday. she is now 17. seventeen! birthday shout out to her. i love you, kourtni! girl's got a good smize, no?

speaking of love, last night for friend dinner i made this... and the heavens parted and the cherubs sang and spoonfed me. it was wonderful. i suggest this meal. i can hardly wait to eat the leftovers on my way to school from work today. tables? i never sit at them.

alright, been at this too long. looks like we won't be combing the hair or flossing this morning. it's aight! have a wonderful day.

picture a day 1-7

buckle up, blogging buds, the time has come to start a photo journey through 2012! i saw this idea floating around twitter and thought it'd be fun to join in. i encourage you to do the same, even if you're a week late! 


1- yours truly... in case you forgot what i look like with anime eyes.

2- breakfast! my favorite meal of the day. bagel thin, banana chocolate spread and bananas. mmm
3- i adore the boise river. and the greenbelt. and the beautiful weather.
4- letterbox. i promise i don't live in a haunted house?
5- i wear this every day thanks to linds and christmas presents! love it
6- lunch at chipotle and this friend are both things that make me smile. PERFECT DAY.
7- my new favorite... these shoes. drool
so school has started and blogging has definitely been put on the backburner. my days are crazy. i eat all my meals in cars or on my way across campus. i am already forgetting homework assignments and losing my mind a little, but life is good, and it snowed today so i am less worried about serious droughts come summer. oh my life. happy weekend!

the lorenzo's challege.

school starts tomorrow! i can't hardly believe it. somebody hand me a paper bag!
i'm blogging from the airport... my plane decided to take a nap in spokane or something, so we get to chill here til it comes. meh.

can i just talk for one moment about how much i like my boise friends? on the real. they are the best... mostly because we only congregate around food, and today a mere lunch date turned into us meeting at a shady-ish pizza place called lorenzo's and deciding to complete our own "challenge"- the lorenzo's challenge! you know, like eating the big jud's one pounder, but a heckuva lot different and excluding all meat.

 challenge: finish your piece of pizza.
challenge accepted and completed.
since we were more or less putting this plan into motion, we brought our own pictures to start lorenzo's very own wall of champions.

the owner was confused. we pulled out our scotch tape, scoped out a good wall spot, stuck those bad boys smack dab in the middle of it all (yep, that is definitely me at junior prom) and left. from the parking lot, we watched the owner go over to our table, check out our pictures, and just walk away. we fully expected here to rip them down and come running out the front door shaking her fists, but i think she dug the idea.

you're welcome, lorenzo's. we have started a revolution. so here is my spiel about lorenzo's- hit it up! it's delicious and the lady that owns it is nice and friendly and calls you by name... plus they have ice cream cones with names like "blue goo". sadly, i didn't indulge... but that doesn't mean skyler didn't. if for nothing else, go check and see if our pictures are still there! ... or better yet, take the challenge and add your own.

back to provo for the win!

**update. flight now delayed until 8. a five hour delay? my life rocks.

meet the cat.

have i ever posted about the animal that took my place when i moved out? oh wait... he got run over. so this is the animal that replaced the animal that replaced me when i moved out.

he's most likely a member of the gay feline community. we're not homophobic
he drinks out of toilets and leaves his muddy pawprints on the seat....
and he has got a serious staring problem.

leo fritze + my dad = best friends forever.