She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not.

It's official...I'm Back!! After traveling for the past six weeks, I am back in LA and ready to settle down for fall. I have tons of fabulous stories and adventures to share in the coming weeks so get excited! As for the close of this week, here are some things that have made the top and bottom of my list. I hope you all have a fabulous and fun {football-filled} weekend...I know I will. 

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1. Weddings Galore! This summer has been a season of weddings for all my cousins. It has been so fun to see them grow up and be a part of their special days. I also can't wait for the wedding of one of my best friends...just a few days away!

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2. Smoking Loafers. I think I'm in love with the classic mens-shoe-turned-feminine this fall. I was a bit hesitant at first to get on board the smoking loafer train, but now I must say, I'm dying to have a pair. My birthday is in t-minus two months, and these will most likely make the list.

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3. {Window} Shopping for new bedding. Someday {soon I hope!}, I will be in the market for new bedding. Once I figure out where I will be moving, I will be shopping for real. In the mean time, I am on the hunt for my new look. I'm really loving white bedding with a pop of color.

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4. Delicious scents of fall. Whenever September hits, I feel like it is officially time for fall to start. Autumn is my favorite season for about five million reasons, one of which is all the tasty, warm, and spicy scents that seem to fill the air. Bring on the cinnamon, sweaters, and warm drinks.

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1. Spider Bites. I'm not sure where I'm hanging out to encounter as many spiders as I have, but I'm on my third round of spider bites this summer and am not amused.

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2. Missing Paris. I had a simply divine time in Europe {more on that later!} and I find myself missing it.  Really, nothing here comes close to my love of spending an afternoon of people watching and sipping cappuccinos in Parisian cafes.

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3. Too-hot days. A few days...or what seems like an eternity ago...the air conditioner stopped working at my house...just in time for an LA heat wave. I. am. dying. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it's not. It's quite true. Bentley and I are both about three degrees away from melting. The repair men come tomorrow to fix it, and I am thrilled.

*Linked up at Michaela Noelle Designs

The Travel Bug.

It's official...la petite soeur and I are off to travel the world! Or at least a small, European part of it. We feel very grateful and excited to have the opportunity to take a two week vacation to Europe as a post bar exam and post graduation celebration. Our upcoming stops will include:

London | I am so thrilled to be in this great country for the 2012 Olympic Games. Ten years ago, my family had the chance to go to Salt Lake City for the winter games, so to have the opportunity to travel to London for the summer games is beyond exciting! It will also be the first time either of us have really traveled the city, so we are thrilled to see all the sights and sounds during this exciting time. 

Dublin | After London, we are off to Ireland. Lots of our relatives are originally from Ireland, so I am looking forward to exploring all the beauty I hear this country has to offer. 

Paris | J'adore Paris. Love, love, LOVE Paris. It is my favorite city in the world, and I can't wait to visit again. This will be my third time in the City of Lights, and I am so excited I can barely stand it. I can't wait to go running along the Seine, go shopping in the Triangle D'Or, taking day trips to Versailles, and spending many wonderful hours in cafes with cappuccinos galore. 

I can't wait to get back and share all my photos and adventures with you! 

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Done Studying...Gone Testing.

It's official! I am off to New York and Massachusetts to take the July 2012 Bar Exam. I'm nervous, but excited to get it over with. My friends and family have been so supportive and wonderful during my past two months of studying, I don't know what I would do without them. In the mean time, I hope you have a fabulous week. I will return post-bar with a lighter heart and relaxed mind!

*image via; text editing is my own

Friday's Letters.

Dear Friday...I am very happy that you are here. It is the last weekend before the bar, and I am actually relieved to say that I am excited to take the test. Dear Nordstrom Anniversary Sale...today officially marks my favorite day of the summer. Seriously, it is like Christmas in July. I have shopped the sale for as long as I can possibly remember, and wish I were actually going into the store today rather than shopping online. Alas, I guess that is the impact the bar will have. So, shopping must be done from afar today. Dear Petite Soeur...I am excited you are out of the hospital and feeling much better. I anxiously await your return home and seeing your smiling face next week. Dear midnight gluten free brownie baking spree...what tasty sustenance you provided for me while I memorized outline after outline and typed essay after essay. Dear Bar Exam...you better get ready because I am coming to conquer! My dearest Bentley...oh how I am grateful for your company while I study. Even when you are exhausted and can't stay awake, you are forever by my side.

*Linked up with Adventures of Newlyweds!

With Conviction.

I love this quote from Elizabeth Taylor. In fact, it is one of my top ten favorite quotes of all time. As I go into the bar exam next week, I am keeping her words close to my heart. I need guts and I need guile. More importantly, I must have faith in myself that I have guts and I have guile. Today is one of my last four days of studying, and now, more than ever, I must keep plunging forward. Come 8:00 on Sunday night, I am cutting myself off from studying to decompress before my flight on Monday and the exam on Tuesday. I plan on watching the Bachelorette finale with my mom {anyone else rooting for one "f" Jef & Emily?!}, enjoying a nice dinner, and going to bed early for a good night of rest.

Image via; editing is mine. 

She Love Me, She Loves Me Not.

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1. Old Movies. While I've been studying, I take a brief nightly break to do one of two things: watch the Bachelorette or 30 minute increments of old, classic movies. I have such fond memories of classic Disney movies, Doris Day movies, and Audrey Hepburn movies and I have rather enjoyed watching them over the past few weeks. Something about the classics soothes me.

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2. The London Olympics. I love the Olympics and am looking forward to the Summer Games! I am particularly fond of gymnastics, diving, swimming, beach volleyball, and basketball.

3. Inspiring Words. While I try to live every day with gratitude and appreciation, the past few months have presented some of the most difficult and heartbreaking challenges I've had to face in my life. It's also brought some really wonderful joys. However, in some ways, I think the best is yet to be.

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4. Kickboxing. Let's just say, I am obsessed. I love going to my kick boxing classes and look forward to them each time I go. I don't know how I've lived this long without doing them. 

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1. Studying. I am ready to be done! C'est tout. Fini!

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2. Too-Late Nights...which incidentally seem to accompany studying. Soon enough, this girl will be done and I can put myself and the books to bed.

3. Not Shopping. There are so many things I want, I can hardly stand it. I need some dresses for upcoming weddings, new work clothes, and some fun things. However, I think my practical side will take control of upcoming purchases and I will buy some new professional clothes in {hopeful} anticipation of gainful employment.

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4. Missing my Friends. Right now, every single one of my friends lives too far away from me :( I miss them all dearly and hope to live closer to them soon. 

Comfort Food.

With the bar exam exactly one week away {eeek!}, I am up to my eyeballs in outlines, practice essays, and multiple choice questions. The name of the game at this point is to memorize my little heart out until my mind cannot possibly hold any more law. To combat the mounting stress of this watershed event in this aspiring lawyers life, I call upon my greatest comfort and lunch time confidant...the grilled cheese sandwich. Ever since I was a little girl, grilled cheese has been my favorite food. When I got diagnosed with Celiac disease, my first thought was quite literally, how would I live my life without grilled cheese? For a long time now, I have searched every supermarket and health food store I knew of to find a satisfactory bread. And nothing...until now...when I found this glorious gluten free bread. It was mere happenstance that I found it {at local California market, Sprouts}, but I have fallen in love.

It's soft, fluffy, and makes a beautiful sandwich to accompany my other lunch-time favorite, red pepper tomato soup. In fact, I think this discovery marks the real watershed moment in my life {and not the bar exam} because grilled cheese have made their way back into my mouth, my heart, and my soul.

And I am one, very happy girl.