(not) like the movies

a while ago i met up with blogger friend sharlee for dinner. we had the best conversations about so many things. since that dinner i've thought a lot about some of things we talked about. one conversation has really been on my mind.

LIFE IS NOT LIKE THE MOVIES

obviously right?!? we all know the movies and reality aren't the same thing at all. my life is not hollywood so why do i sometimes expect life to be like the movies??? i'm not a big movie or tv watcher, but i do love a good reality show and romantic comedy. things always end the same. boy meets girl. sometimes some crazy and funny stuff happens. in the end, there's a fairytale. in real life, the end isn't always a fairytale. sometimes the guy doesn't get the girl. sometimes the ending isn't happy. sometimes bad things happen to good people. for a lot of years i expected the fairytale ending. i expected to meet a guy at a party or church or a race or a blind date. i somewhat ridiculously thought that after waiting so long, the dating game would end, and magically my life would be like the movies. saying that out loud in my conversation with sharlee/typing it out makes me realize how ridiculous that is. life is full of hard times and struggles and hard work and success and even happy endings, but it's not like what we see on the screen. so until i figure out what that happy ending is for me, i'll keep struggling through the dating game/lack of dating, and if you know any amazing single guys, send them my way.
i want to hear your thoughts? do you wish life was like the movies?

finding peace

this week got off to a bit of a rocky start with some stress at work-more than the average daily stress. in a lot of ways it set the tone for the week. i've felt stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious. i keep my life pretty busy, and i generally prefer it that way. i don't always give myself time for peace and quiet. sometimes i just need to escape the hustle and bustle of life and focus on more important things. 
for the past several years i've had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in the salt lake temple. last night was my last night. i'm so grateful for the forced moments of peace, for the friendships, and for the spiritual experiences.
i started this assignment at a crazy busy time. i had no idea how to fit it in my schedule, but i knew it was the right thing for me to do. i've been so tremendously blessed, and i left last night full of emotion. finding peace is a challenge for me but also something that makes such a difference. i still can and will find peace inside the temple, but it's now up to me to find the time for it. 
for more information on temples, visit lds.orghow do you find peace?

HBLL reunites

i started working at the library my sophomore year of college. it was a great place to work. i learned where everything was in the library. i learned how to use the library. i learned how to study at the library. the greatest thing about my college library job is i met the best friends.

we met for lunch last weekend and didn't skip a beat. it's like we see each other all the time. we could have stayed all day long. i love these girls and the college memories we share.

what was your college job? do you still keep in touch with the people you worked with?

WWYD...red, white, and blue

it's time for another round of  WHAT WOULD YOU DO...

this month kimberly and i want to know WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with red, white, and blue?
when we picked the theme, i initially planned to do a craft. all of my holiday decorations are packed in storage. making another craft to store didn't make sense. instead i decided to dress like the flag

nordstron cardi, old navy top and shorts, steve madden sandals

link up your red white and/or blue posts below

join us next month for WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with a summer drink? be creative. can't wait to see what you come up with.

An InLinkz Link-up

blogging the bach 11.4

this whole to be continued situation this season is driving me completely crazy. it needs to stop,right now!

who's watching: celsey, sister in law amanda and friend megan. celsey's husband shawn joined us towards the end. cocktail party/no rose ceremony what i saw jj and clint practically mouth to mouth while bleep bleep bleep to each other what i heard she always looks a little fake baked to me--megan the issue is you like men--cel about clint that's my goal to say too racy of comments so that you can't put it on the blog--megan after a racy comment so, how far into this show are you?--shawn when he realized we're only a few minutes in the fact that he has to clarify that..he's convincing himself--amanda about jj saying he's looking for a girlfriend what i thought she kept jj? is she serious?
date #1...jonathan, justin, ben z, corey, ryan, tanner, jj, shawn..let's keep our love fresh what i saw ashley i and nick in the audience what i heard i can't think of anything other than you taking a shower--cel after someone suggested taking a shower as a date she makes them do the most stressful things--megan i'm so upset about this--cel about nick he could have met her if he wanted. he just wanted to wait until the show--amanda about nick wow, he finished that drink--amanda about shawn downing his drink she's the princess. she gets what she wants--amanda eeeww he's the biggest d bag--cel woof, he's the worst--megan he looks like a combo of a chucky doll and a cherub--megan if he had red hair, that would be spot on--cel what i thought she wasted all her time on the group date with nick. he is a dirt bag, and if she wants him, that is just ridiculous. nick waiting to show up on week 4 is another dirt bag move.
date #2..jared..let's re-imagine the night we first met what i saw kaitlyn got caught in the rain. poor girl. jared looks better clean cut. what i heard is she channeling sharlene? all her dresses are low front low back--cel i hate the rhymers--cel what i thought it's kind of terrible that she wants to talk about nick while on a date with someone else they're bringing out the helicopters. this is serious. kaitlyn really likes jared.
date #3..ian, chris, joe, joshua, ben h..let's play what i saw so much awkwardness boys that have no idea what they're doing what i heard all the dates are performances--amanda he's not mocking it, he's terrible--megan about chris i would rather watch it than be on for 10 seconds--megan i had no idea she's into this. she's a hip hop dancer--amanda you were perfect. you stood like a log out there--cel starring his cheek bones--megan that's talent? he's banging on freaking buckets--shawn about the comments about NYC being full of talent what i thought not loving the dates this season i thought i was going to like chris, but this definitely changed my mind
word tally journey...2 love...11 lucky...1 amazing...7 husband/wife...4
no rose ceremonies at the end of the episode are killing me this season. there's no closure. i hope this doesn't continue for future seasons.
usually by this point i predict my final four. it feels like we haven't seen enough interactions with kaitlyn and the guys to really know for sure. my predictions are shawn ben z jared joshua
what are your thoughts this season? who is going to make it to hometowns?

An InLinkz Link-up

2015 goal update...FOCUS on...MOVING

this update should have happened last week, but i didn't even realize may was over. moving made me a little brain dead.

May was FOCUS on MOVING

MAY is FOCUS on MOVING

1. clean out all clothes...check-i went through all my clothes before moving

2. clean/organize all storage bins...check-i condensed a few bins and got rid of some things

3. do at least 1 things everyday to get ready to move...sort of check. i set this goal before knowing i would leave town for memorial weekend. i didn't end up doing something every day, but i did get it all done.

June is FOCUS on SETTLING IN

i had a hard time picking a word for june. i'm still in somewhat of a moving mess. i haven't followed up on some of my goals from earlier in the year. i'm trying to figure out some different things so this month felt like a good time to settle in with some of my previous goals as well as trying to get organized with my life.

1. unpack/store all my boxes

2. make a game plan 

3. make an appointment with retirement guy

my goals are purposely a little vague this month. i know that's so annoying, but it's what i need right now.

did you pick a word for 2015? how's it going?

churchy...prayer

mormon.org
regardless of your religious beliefs, many people believe in prayer. many people pray to God on a daily basis or even throughout the day. some set aside specific times to pray, and others pray when the need arises. i like to pray in the morning and night, to bless my food, and at other times throughout the day. with the advancement of social media and technology, word of tragedy spreads quickly. whether it is someone we know or a total stranger, we often feel helpless. there seems to be nothing we can do to help the situation except pray.  how often do we tell someone we will pray for them or they are in our thoughts and prayers? i say that often, but all too often we get caught up in what we are doing and forget that promise to pray.  a few months ago, one of my friends on facebook shared the idea that when she promises someone she will pray for them, she stops what she is doing right that minute and says a prayer. i love that. it is easy enough to stop what i am doing and pray. saying the prayer immediately helps me remember the person and to keep them in my prayers more consistently. i also keep a notebook beside my bed. i write down the names of people that i need to pray for. having that reminder also helps me to actually follow through with the promised prayers. i like to remember family and friends and even people i don't know in my prayers, and these simple strategies really happen. what about you? how do you remember to pray for people?

more about change

i know i already talked about change this week. change isn't always the easiest thing, but today i'm so excited about some changes to the blog. i've been planning a re-design/subtle re-brand for quite a long time. it took me forever and ever to make some decisions and figure exactly what i want.

for years i have talked about dreaming about someday being a stay at home something so when it came time to choose a blog name, that just made sense.

i really like that name, but i also want my blog name to match my URL (aubreyzaruba.com) so i decided to do a little of both.

i unofficially changed my blog name a few months ago, but it is now officially 

AUBREY ZARUBA with

dreaming about someday as my tag line.

with the new name comes a new design. i am so so so excited for this change. stick around to see more exciting changes.
huge shout out to brielle for all the design work.

unicorn/mermaid print

when we were in mexico, we had a funny conversation started by sage about being a unicorn or maybe a mermaid. it quite possibly is one of those you had to be there situations. since her birthday was soon after we got back from our trip, i decided to make a print for sage from that convo. i love the personal touch of homemade gifts, and i love them even more when they are easy. i had the idea to make this on sunday night before the birthday dinner.at 11:30pm. i promise it was super easy.
 1. create print in pic monkey or your favorite software 2. print 4x6 and cut to size 3. trace wooden frame ($1 at Michaels) on glitter paper and cut out 4. glue glitter paper to frame 5. frame the print

6. punch decorative circles and attach to frame with glue dots to embellish

i was so excited to give sage her birthday gift, and she loved it.

i will definitely be making this gift again soon.

blogging the bach 11.3

who's watching: celsey, her sister in law amanda, amanda's roommate alexis and friend megan we had a little issue with the DVR and missed the first hour so the blog is missing a little this week. what did we miss? one on one with ben z what i saw the DVR started recording in the middle of the scary part of the date lots of creepy/yucky stuff what i heard "i would have cried"--amanda why is this different than a haunted house?--alexis isn't this the date she planned?--megan lots of screaming girls-we were so grossed out he's definitely the guy i'm most attracted to, but he also looks like he might be... a little dumb--alexis and megan is the bachelor getting poor? not a built in?--cel about the hot tub what i thought such a weird date kaitlyn really likes ben z group date-let's learn to love what i saw super uncomfortable and awkward date what i heard they have to be child actors--megan this is so scripted it's ridiculous--alexis amanda is pretty much in love with ben h. most of her comments aren't appropriate for the blog i want to punch your eye not because it's hot but because i hate you--megan about jared he's wearing a cardigan from american eagle in 2009--amanda what i thought the day part of the date was so awful. the bachelor needs to come up with some new ideas or repeat old ideas of something. these days are no good. kaitlyn likes all the boys cocktail party/rose ceremony what i saw clint pretending like he wants to stay so he can spend more time with jj-this is so much crazy what i heard we're all so shocked about what's going on that no one says anything what i thought don't be a tattle tale. it never goes well. except this time maybe it's going to work.
WHY DO THEY KEEP ENDING BEFORE THE ROSE CEREMONY?!? we are all so mad about it. i'm not generally a fan of spoilers, but this is about to make me look them up. word tally didn't happen this week since i missed the first half. what happened in the first half? what do you think is really going on with clint and jj?

An InLinkz Link-up

random rambling...change

i'm not generally a big fan of change. i wrote about it a couple of years ago, and things aren't much different. even with all the exciting possibilities of change, i still dread it. i moved over the weekend. it really has been the biggest mess around my house for a few weeks. i can't wait to get settled, but i am also a bit sad about the change. i haven't even lived there that long, but i really liked it. i really like the girls i lived with. even though we all kept busy with our own lives, we all got along really well. the decision to move came quickly and unexpectedly which makes the change a little more difficult.

i moved into a new cute place with some great girls. i am quickly getting settled, and there are a lot of things to look forward to. like or not, change happens. although i'm a little sad about the change, i'm also excited to see what this new adventure brings.

what about you? do you like change

foodie friday...popsicles

the calendar says the weather should be warm and sunny. utah missed the memo, and we're having winter or fall or something, but i keep hoping summer will eventually show up. i LOVE popsicles especially when it's hot outside, but i don't love all the sugar. i finally bought some popsicles molds at ikea for way cheap and made them. i love the simplicity (banana, orange, pineapple. blend. pour. freeze) and the no additives. too bad the weather isn't acting like it's popsicle season . i will still probably make more anyway.

phone dump

when i upgraded to the iphone 6, i didn't really consider getting the 64 g. i could seriously kick myself. i am always out of storage and constantly deleting pictures for more space. there are just a few pictures i can't seem to get rid of even though they are backed up.
with my sister's kids in california

my sister and i went shopping and forgot the stroller so i put kyler in my purse. we still laugh about it

we probably took 50 pictures to get this shot

the finish line of my 10th marathon. it was so hard and such a huge accomplishment

one of my fave jumping pictures from times square

if i'm going to keep this picture from running last summer, i should at least edit to just the shoes

with my sisters

karlee expected me to come back from hawaii dressed in a grass skirt so i bought her a little hula outfit.

this speaks for itself

i also have pictures from a few trips that i just can't seem to delete. i probably need to just clear them all so i actually have some room on my phone.

how we wore it//summer pleats

the last wednesday is easily one of my fave blog days of the month. i love the how we wore it posts so much. we get the inspiration photo and then create our own look based on the photo. 

this month's inspiration

via Memorandum
the great thing about this is we can style the look with whatever fits us. i love the look, but a tucked in shirt with a pleated skirt is not a good look for me. i changed things a little while staying as close as possible to the inspiration photo

old navy top|bella bird skirt|jessica simpson heels|nordstrom bag|mexico bracelet|alex and ani bracelets|michael kors watch|target sunnies photo credit lauryn

check out how the others styled their looks

Brooke at Silver Lining

Deidre at Deidre Emme

Megan at And Here's to You, Mrs Robinson

Sierra at Sierra's View

Brooklyn at A Little Too Jolley

Laura at Sincerely, Laura

Aubrey at Dreaming About Someday

Kaycie at Redhead Memories 

Kyla at FordOlogy

Kallie at Life Through a Lens

Ashley at Absolutely Ashley

Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect

Danica at Danakin Skywalker 

Tayler at The Morrell Tale

Jessica at My Peanut Butter Problem

Paige at The Mrs and Momma Bird

Bonnie at Life of Bon