over the weekend...

Trevor finished his last final on Wednesday and we couldn't wait to spend as much time as we could together this weekend. I have shot a shot gun a few times in my life but have never really learned how to load and handle one. I decided with Trevor leaving for the summer that I wanted to know how to use a shot gun. 

We decided to go out for the afternoon on Friday and do some skeet shooting and have Trevor teach me how to use the gun. Well, let me just start by saying the day was almost a complete fail. I hate the kick that comes from a shot gun, it totally freaks me out. I mean, I can't even open a can of cinnamon rolls without screaming, thats how pathetic I am. So it took me awhile to get used to it. Thankfully Trevor was very patient with me. I still have a lot of work to do in regards to not wanting to close my eyes as I pull the trigger, haha, but thankfully that why using a shot gun as my home defense is probably the best choice... it is hard to miss with a shot gun. I also learned I can't throw a clay pigeon to save my life, so I felt bad that Trevor didn't really get to do any skeet shooting... oh well, next time?

The whole afternoon ended up being a killer work out though, the gun was so dang heavy and I held it up for so long etc. that I woke up the next morning and I could barley life my arms up! Who knew shooting shot guns was the best arm work out? I also had a nice bruise on my right shoulder from that dang kick. HATE that kick. All in all I feel much more comfortable handling a shot gun. I know how to load it and shoot it and all that good stuff, so any intruders while my husband is away won't stand a chance :)

After shooting guns eating BBQ just seemed like the next logical thing to do, I mean, we already smelled like smoke, so why not? Trevor had recently been introduced to this place called 5 Star BBQ, and had been raving about it. At first I was skeptical, the place is on the outskirts of Orem, and is a house turned into a restaurant with nothing else around it.

Well let me just tell you, BEST BBQ of my life! Oh my gosh the Brisket they have there is, just divine! DIVINE. They have this amazing sauce I had never tried before called Alabama Sauce, it is like a white BBQ sauce. Who knew what I had been missing out on?! We stuffed our faces with one pound of amazing Brisket and a rack of Ribs! If you plan on trying them out be aware that they don't serve dinner on the weeknights, only the weekends. Trevor says the best time to go is actually for lunch because the meat is fresh out of the smokers. Someday I want to hit the South and really try some authentic BBQ, but until, this is as close as I am going to get.

 stuffed and covered in sauce :)

On our way home we swung by Wendy's and got a frosty. I hadn't had a frosty in years and it made me think of my mother. At the end of shopping trips or a day out it was something we would do. Swing by Wendy's and get a frosty :) Don't you love when memories find their way into your thoughts when you randomly go about your life doing something. I love it.

Saturday night we had some dinner with friends. I love the simple joy that comes with good people, eating good food, and having good conversation :) 

Sunday was filled with Church and relaxing.

Not a bad weekend if you ask me.


check out the adorable chelsea at little lessons big city...

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half way party...

Technically Trevor was half way done with law school back in December. But his class didn't have their "half way party" until March, and of course I am blogging about it now that he is done his second year and very much over half way done! 

Trevor is more of a wall flower and he did not want to go to the half way party. Thankfully I caught wind of it because I am friends with some of his classmates :) I love me a good party, so like a good wife I decided to make him go. I promised him we would only stay half an hour. 

The party was held at the Underground in Provo. An amazing space that has a vintage, jazzy vibe. I totally want to throw a Great Gatsby Party down there! They had it catered by Station 22, which if you haven't tried that place yet you are crazy. Their chicken, waffles, and bacon dish is to die for, and if that wasn't good enough they had mini version of it at the party! LOVE.

And what is a party if they don't have a photo booth? They had one there and us girl's totally hammed it up. All these girls in these pictures with me are actually law students, not law school wives, well actually Amanda is a law student and a law school wife (don't get me started on all the amazingly ambitious women in Trevor's class!) The guy who did the photo booth cropped the pictures way weird and zoomed really close up and I don't know what kind of editing he did but my hair looked yellow, literally, yellow. I tried to edit over them a bit, so don't judge me on the quality of these photos, haha.

can you tell trevor was so excited to take a picture in the photo booth? :) that is trevor's classic "lazy smile face" oh and love the crop job? haha

It was nice to meet some of Trevor's classmates that he spends all day with in classes and the library. People were playing pool, darts, there was a DJ and people were dancing. One thing I love about Trevor is that even though he is shy, he isn't afraid to dance with me. We danced, ate great food, had root beer from the tap, and before Trevor knew it he had been at that party for an hour and a half. He didn't realize he was having so much fun ;)

I am so proud of that man. Not because he stayed at the party for an hour and a half, ha, but because he works so dang hard and it pays off. I look up to him in so many ways, and I think one of his strongest attributes is always pushing himself to do his best. That isn't something I have always tried to do, and because of him he has changed that. So thank you Trevor, thank you :)

distance & time...

some pretty flowers from one of our impromptu lunch dates this week that brightened my day.

I don't know about you, but things have been going turbo speed in the Crowley household these days. Trevor is studying all day everyday until next Wednesday, and I have been super busy with work lately because it is Earth Month. Since Aveda is all about the environment, Earth Month is the busiest time of year for us. We have a ton of different events going on all month at the Institute to try and raise $14,000. We have already raised over $11,000, so we are doing pretty great, but to say I have a lot going on is an understatement!

What makes it even worse is that Trevor and I are both so busy right now, and this is our last time living in the same city for awhile. You may remember last year Trevor got an internship in Arizona and was gone for an entire month. Well a month looks like nothing now compared to Trevor's Summer Associate Position this summer.

Last fall Trevor was offered a Summer Associate Position at a firm in Vegas. We are very excited, it is a great opportunity, but it means he will be living in Vegas for the majority of the summer, and I will be here. So we have known for awhile now that we will be apart for the summer, and it is funny when I tell people this because they instantly ask why I am not moving to Vegas with him. Well you see when Trevor comes back someone still has to have a job and pay the bills! haha

It will suck, but we are looking at the positives. I am going to try and visit every other weekend. We are going to plan lots of fun dates for each time I am down and really take advantage of the fact that we will be in Vegas!

In a way I think we will probably go on way more intentional and fun planned dates then normal because of the absence and the fact we will be in a new city :) But even looking on the bright side it doesn't make me feel better that our last few weeks together will be spent studying for finals and working. I guess I can find comfort in the fact that after this we will never have to be apart again because of schooling! We have one more year of Law School to get through! Can you believe that? One more year?!

We have been trying to squeeze in lunch dates between all the chaos lately, so it has been nice to randomly see my husband in the daylight as opposed to just before we go to bed :) In some weird way, all of this has seemed to make us closer then ever. I don't want to say goodbye when May rolls around... :(

one item, three ways...maximize your closet!

I love the simplicity of this sweater, yet the fun subtle touches of the polka dot heart print. Today I have put together three different ways to wear this one sweater.

♥ By adding a button up underneath the sweater I can add a pop of color to the outfit. I took it a step further and matched my boots to the button up to pull together the look and make it look even more complimentary!

♥ By pairing my sweater with a bright yellow pencil skirt, and some black heels, I instantly upgrade this outfit out of an "everyday" look to a more dressed up ensemble.

♥ By adding some black pants, black shoes, and a black gingham top, I have created a comfortable monochromatic look. There isn't much I love more then something monochromatic :)

I realized the other day that by posting my personal style posts, it doesn't necessarily HELP anyone. I mean, you might see I have a cute sweater and wonder where I got it. Or you might be inspired to try wearing something a different way. But for those of you who don't consider yourself fashion savvy, or feel like you have any clue how to put outfits together, it might be hard for you to recreate a look you like or understand why I wear something a certain way.

I feel like just posting pictures of me prancing around in outfits might just not be doing anything, so I have decided to take my personal style posts and guide them into a more informative direction. You know, a "How can I help YOU?"

Now before we start, I don't consider myself an expert or anything when it comes to fashion, but I do love clothes and I feel like I have a good eye when it comes to dressing the best for YOUR body type. When I put on weight, almost no one could even tell, why is that? Because I know how to dress my body. Or just the basics to dressing in a way that flatters women's bodies.

 

One thing I have found so helpful over the last several years of exploring my personal style on this blog is how I could maximize my closet. You don't have to go out and buy all new clothes, you could have all the staples you need to create a lot of great outfits in your own closet right now! I learned this mostly through participating in the ever popular 30 for 30.

I saw my clothes in a whole new light, "that" shirt I only with "that" skirt could be worn 10 more ways then I originally saw. So I hope to share with you what I have learned about my closet and clothes through my one item, three ways!

I will be taking one item, and remixing it into different outfits. By doing this with your clothes you are able to maximize the clothes you have in your closet. By doing the 30 for 30 I was forced to figure out how to mix and match items to create outfits. Sometimes looking at your closet can be daunting and you get the feeling that you "have nothing to wear" even though you are staring at a closet full of clothes!


So what is REMIXING?
"Remixing" is a coined term for taking an item of clothing and mixing and matching with all your other clothes to see how many different outfits and variety you can get from the piece.

For some it will be hard at first to really re-imagine the way they see a piece of clothing, but I hope my posts can help! I hope to help you see what you can do with the clothes you already have, help you learn to shop for future versatile pieces in the future, all to create the foundation you need to have a closet full of clothes that you can always wear.


I would love to address specific questions or style needs, so please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me so I can do a post on it :)

yes, another big group giveaway, but just wait, this is different...$450.00

So folks, by now you have all heard google is getting rid of google reader. Well I personally think that it is just a matter of time before they get rid of our google friend connect, because let's be honest, why wouldn't they? The two features go hand in hand.

Now Google hasn't actually come out and said anything about this, but if you haven't noticed the widget's website no longer works (google.com/friendconnect) and has been replaced by a Google Plus error page. They have also gone to some efforts to basically hide the friend connect widget from the main selections of your "add a gadget" page in Blogger. Dana knows all the details on this if you want to learn more!

So in an effort to start moving things over, I want to start using Bloglovin' more. As a little group we are doing a giveaway to kind of boost the efforts to a more reliabale blog specific reader, plus, $450.00 wouldn't hurt, right?

Classic & Bubbly // SOPHISTIFUNK

Style Elixir // i wore yoga pants to work. // The Daily Tay

 The Life of Bon // Messy.Dirty.Hair // XOXO, me

 A Night Owl Blog // henning love // Because of Jackie

fancy things // For Lauren & Lauren // Crowley Party

Gentri Lee // Living In Yellow // SideSmile Style

a Rafflecopter giveaway

life via instaLOVE♥

♥ With my new job, and law school finals around the corner, we have had to get creative when it comes to finding time for date nights around here. Normally we do something Friday or Saturday night, but we have both had a lot going on on our weekends. So after my workout last week I got the bright idea that we could do something even if it was a week night :) So I tore Trevor away from his books to get a quick bite at the new Pablano Tacos shop down the street from our apartment. It was pretty yummy, and a fun little impromptu date. Now I want to try the Tortilla Bar I hear so much about and pass all the time. Good job Provo for getting some great new local grub :)

♥ As you guys saw I did a little segment on The Daily Dish, as fun as that was, the true highlight of my day was meeting Jackson from the Biggest Loser. I am a HUGE fan of the show and he was there doing an interview for Good Things Utah. He was so stinkin' sweet and even indulged me in taking a picture with me :) Pretty sure that is as close to Jillian Michaels as I will ever get!

♥ Last Friday I attended Fashion Place Mall's Spring Fashion Show. Fashion Place Mall always outdoes themselves and the whole night was such a success! I have been to my fair share of blogger events, and this one had one of the largest turn outs of bloggers I have seen. There were so many bloggers there it was hard to get around and say hi to everyone! If I didn't get to say hi to you, HI! :) Thanks Fashion Place Mall for the great night!

♥ Ralph Lauren Polo No.2 has become my favorite scent right now. Such a great scent for spring! Can't get enough of it :) Go try it, you will thank me later.

♥ This past weekend was General Conference. It is a weekend where our Church leaders speak to us (televised) as a Church and it is always such an uplifting and spiritual time of reflection and learning. It also means pajamas and yummy breakfasts for a lot of us. I made some German Pancakes, or as I learned Trevor likes to call them hootenanny pancakes :) haha They are the best!

♥ For years I have hated yoga because it hurt my wrists. Since I have been really focusing on getting healthier and stronger I have noticed a huge jump in my strength! The other day I was at a spin class and the instructor announced she was going to be teaching a yoga class after and we were all invited. I figured, why not try it again, maybe this time I will like it. So I went. You guys, I am so excited to say that for the first time I was able to actually do all the moves and not be in pain at all! It was so great and I loved it! It is amazing to be able to see your body progress in strength like that. I think I am going to start making yoga apart of my work out routine. Oh and the cherry on top was that I had an ombre effect going on in yoga class, that probably helped me. Just sayin'

♥ I forgot how nice it is to just have dinner with some friends and walk around and shop. Everything I do is centered online, even my shopping! I want to make more of an effort to get outdoors and be apart of the real world :) Sad I even need the reminder but the other night with some good girlfriends and just some casual walking around with an ice cream cone browsing in an outdoor mall was just so nice.

♥ At the Aveda Institute in Provo the student's put together their hair and make up models for our circus inspired show! The night was a hit and it was so much fun to help plan and see the event unfold how you imagined and hoped it would. I had a little fun in the photo booth we had set up...

@alyciagrayce

BIJOU, it's that time of year again!

Ever since I moved to Utah I have gone to the Bijou Market! It is a fun handmade market where you get to see some really great unique local talent.

The Bijou Market is going to be here in Provo April 12&13 Friday 10:00-8:00 and Saturday 10:00-5:00, so come on out!

Bijou is holding an Instagram Giveaway right now @bijoumarket, as well as a giveaway here on my blog for you! Pretty nice if you don't live in the area and want to get in on the action!

So what do we have?!

1. A hoodie from hoodie love by Jann Marie: http://www.etsy.com/listing/111880725/hoodie-love-the-striped-hoodie-studio

2. $15 credit from Ardor: http://www.ardor.bigcartel.com/

3. $10 credit from MIA: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlemaughan?ref=seller_info

4. Luna Poster from Mineral and Matter: http://loveindependent.typepad.com/love_independent/mineral.html

We will make this quick and easy! Winner TAKES ALL.

HOW TO ENTER

MANDATORY (Leave a separate comment for each)

Like Bijou Market on Facebook 

Follow Crowley Party via Bloglovin'

Follow Crowley Party via GFC

GOOD LUCK! Winner announced 4/15

TRUTHS...

A few weeks ago I was totally inspired by miss Bonnie, from the Life of Bon. We have only met a few times, but we have done some fun blog things together - and she will probably never want to do anything blog related with me again because of how many times I send incoherent e-mails and for the fact that I can never seem to manage everything I have going on in my life! :)

Bonnie wrote about what makes her love a blog. For her, it was an honest blogger, and then she proceeded to express some different "truths." I absolutely loved it. And it totally has inspired me to write down some of my own truths... so here we go...

+ I went to school to be a teacher. I wrote all about the experience as to why I am not teaching right now. While I feel very blessed and love what I am doing right now, I sometimes fear finishing up my teaching credentials and getting a Masters degree wont happen. Getting my Masters is something I really want for myself, but waiting for the right time can sometimes feel daunting. The whole idea of putting off your goals and dreams for what is best for your family can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes. It will all work out and be worth it, right? It has so far, so I guess I just need to trust more.

+ I am terrified at the thought of becoming a mother. I fear I won't ever get that feeling that I am "ready." I am afraid of everything surrounding it. I am afraid that I won't be able to get pregnant like my sister. I mean, how would I handle those feelings that come with infertility? I am not sure I would hold up so well. But with that said I am also afraid to get pregnant, because I am afraid of the physical aspect of pregnancy. And to top it off I am afraid of raising a child and what that will do to who I think I am now. I am just point blank afraid of it all, in all honesty.

+I hate being put into some box because of my religion. I don't feel like my religion does this, I feel like people within my religion and outside of my religion do this. I consider myself a progressive thinker, and hate being judged on the masses opinions. For example with the hot topic issue these days with gay marriage. Yes, my religion supports traditional marriage, but they also support agency. With our country dealing with issues of gay marriage I feel just by saying I am Mormon people feel like they already "know" what my stance is on the issue. I like to think that I can think outside of that box that I feel people place me in. What is my stance? My stance is that everyone can choose to live their life the way they want to. What do I propose? I propose we throw out the idea and the word "marriage" in how it relates to the government. I am always for less government involvement in our lives, especially our personal lives.

I feel like you can have whatever union you desire under your own organization, because let's be honest, if gay marriage didn't exist, it isn't like all of a sudden gay people are going to stop living together and being together. That is crazy! I think that the government should only recognize partnerships, and that you can put whoever you want as your partner. What if you are a 50 year old woman with cancer who has never been married? Maybe you want to choose to have your best friend in the hospital with you as you die?! For me this isn't a "gay" issue, it is an issue of how far we let the government go in defining our lives. If marriage as a word to me means between a man and a woman, then let that be what it means to me. The government shouldn't be able to tell me what it means either way. Then people can go get "married" wherever they want and there wouldn't be a tax right off, or incentive to be married. I could go on forever about the details of my ideas, I actually LOVE to have conversations about sociology, politics,  and those things that really matter. However I tend to keep this blog for more of the fun loving fluff.

+My brain runs a mile a minute and there are so many different things I want to accomplish and do in this life, and it seems almost impossible at times that I will be able to do them all. This kind of joins into my fear of dying young. I do not fear death, but I do fear dying young. I experienced my first sense of loss when my Brother's best friend died in a mountain climbing accident at the age of 19. I realized when I was 16 that I wanted to have the opportunity to grow old. I don't want to miss out on anything life has to offer me, and I think that is where I developed this need to "do it all."

+ I am my own worst critic. I expect a lot from myself and there have been nights where I just cry because I feel like I am not meeting those expectations. Failing. It can be really hard for me to remember that life is about progression and not "already being there." Any mean thing someone has said to me or thought about me I have already said a million times to myself.

that time we blew up a fridge...

On Trevor's birthday we met up with a big group of his friends to blow up a fridge. This may sound like an odd Saturday activity to you, but over here, this is pretty common. Trevor and his friends have always pushed things to the extreme. Que the time Trevor lit his head on fire. So when Trevor told me that he wanted to blow the fridge up that had been sitting by the dumpster of our apartment complex, I wasn't surprised at all.

Once we got the OK from our landlord that we could "PLEASE, get rid of the fridge," we were set. Yet on Saturday before we were about to leave when Trevor informed me that "I" would be the one helping me get the fridge into the back of the Bronco, I was less then enthused. Trevor had spent the whole first half of the day studying at the law library, and was so excited for tonight, so what was a girl to do on her husband's birthday? I helped him. But yes, I complained the whole time. Just picture it, the two of us, trying to shove, literally shove, this fridge into our car. We thought we could fit it with just laying the back seat down, and it was *almost* there, but alas, no fit. So then, my already happy to be helping self, had to help him take it back out, take the seat out, and put it in again. This time it somehow magically fit, just perfectly. 

But where to put our backseat? Oh no worries, we just hauled the thing up three flights of stairs and left in front of our apartment door, HA! Our poor neighbors, I am pretty convinced they must hate us. Such a great start to this adventure no?

So we were off, in that clunky, loud, horrible piece of junk Bronco that my husband loves so dearly. I turn over to look at him and what is he wearing? Oh don't worry, just some hideous camo pants and some button tribal crazy print t-shirt! He seemed to be very proud of the ensemble he put together and I informed him I was embarrassed to be seen with him in public. Thing is, Trevor wears what he wants, and I don't believe in "dressing" my husband, so I guess I just have to deal with it :) His friends made comments about his outfit choice for the evening, so maybe after other people say things he will learn on his own! Bah.

After meeting up with everyone at a gas station, we caravaned our way out to the middle of nowhere in the mountains. That is one thing I do love about living in Utah, it is so easy to "get away" and play in the wilderness and the mountains. After some in depth driving around we found a good spot for a bon fire and area to "blow stuff up."

The boys had brought a bunch of their guns and targets and we started off just playing around with that. I actually really love target shooting. Such a great feeling when you hit your target! Lots of ear plugs were used during this part, and the girls mostly huddled together and talked about how crazy the boys are. Finally we decided it was time to blow up the fridge, what we had all been waiting for! 

Trevor has a big group of friends that he grew up with in St. George and they have all ended up in Northern Utah. They are now all married, so us wives hang out a lot as well. We are a pretty comfortable gang at this point. Trevor also invited some friends from the law school so  I was curious to see their reaction to the whole night. You see, we have done several "gun shooting, ginormous bonfire making, blowing up appliances" nights in the past, but to new comers it can be a very "interesting" night :) One of Trevor's friends from law school offered to be the one to shoot the fridge. You see, we use something called Tannerite to blow stuff up. Tannerite is intended to detonate when shot by a high-velocity firearm cartridge (firearms). So we all backed up (like, REALLY backed up!) and waited for him to hit the bottle full of tannerite that was sitting in the fridge, cameras ready to record. One shot - missed. Second shot - BAM!!!! The back of the fridge flew straight up in the air! Smoke was everywhere, and the boys rushed to go see the damage (oh boys *sigh*) 

Needless to say, there was fridge debris everywhere! The boys were very proud of themselves, and the hype lasted about five minutes before they were off to pull out the trailer full of wood pallets to start on fire. Us ladies let the boys be pyros while we built our own nice little fire to chat around. We would occasionally turn around to see their tower of fire get bigger and bigger. At the fire's largest point us girls got a tad concerned, but all was well. These guys, as crazy as they are, are very experienced with this stuff and they had it all managed and controlled. After a few sobe bombs, glass filled containers of gas that you set on a fire and watch make a mushroom explosion, the boys joined us.

the time we blew up the fridge from Alycia Crowley on Vimeo.

We ended the night chatting over the fire and making smores. You know, the typical catch your marshmallow on fire and hurry to blow it out kind of smore making. The stars were beautiful, and once the last of the embers faded away we called it a night and headed our separate ways.

Of course Trevor's tire had gone a little flat through all the driving in the mountains, and my stomach was aching from not really eating a proper dinner - so to the gas station we went to fill the tire up, and of course get cheese and jalapeno corn dogs. Why is it that late night, gross snacks taste the best?

Just when we thought the night was over and we were dragging our worn out selfs up the stairs, there in front of our door stood the back seat to our Bronco to welcome us home! Did we go and put it back in the Bronco? Of course not, we just gave it a pat, walked right on by and I plopped myself in bed. Gave that hardworking, crazy husband of mine a big kiss and told him Happy Birthday one more time before we went to sleep.

I am pretty sure that the evening that Trevor turned 28, was a play by play of the perfect night in his book.