farewell ...

family, don't have any fun without me.

bed, i'll miss the idea of you, but you give me headaches so ...

pillow, i'll see you in four weeks.

avery, don't get too much cuter while i'm away.

toy story 3, i'll see you when you come to dvd.

shannen, give lee carter a kiss goodbye for me.

annie, watch glee in my stead.

polka-dot toms, i wish i was taking you with me.

sarah, see you there?

hires, no burger joint in washington dc {or anywhere for that matter} will ever replace you.

brittney, see you there!

left-over cookies from yesterday's party, i'm probably most sad about leaving you. i loved you.

youarewhatyoulove, see you in 18 months.

cartwheels to car wheels.

paige {my sweet sweet sister and the love of my life} has a new blog {cartwheels to car wheels}. read it because i love it and she's funny.

i'm getting nervous ... actually more than nervous.

oh my!

only 7 days, 1 week! until i leave my little family for the mtc. i don't remember a time in my life where i have been so fearful of the unknown. however, i find comfort in the following scripture:

2 timothy 1:7.for god hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8.be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our lord ... but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of god;
9.who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in christ jesus before the world began.

summer loves.

Byu started today, without me!!!

miss annie gave me the great idea to make a "fave list" to close out the summer.


.......


my summer loves {the very best moments of summer 2009}:

-my new short do
-graduating with my bachelors
-becoming brave enough to wear russain red lipstick
-seeing "up"
-planting my lavender plant {and reaping the benefits ever since}
-seeing "vertigo", "rear window", and "dial m for murder" at the gallivan
-going to st george twice, and even swimming in the algae infested pool
-fort wightman
-the ville days, and playing ticket to ride in the park while listening to the orchestra play "the 1812 overture"
-raccoon hunting {we have yet to see the little rascal}
-making bracelets, meeting hickens, boating, and listening to eddie money while eating popcorn and watching fireworks in roosevelt, ut {aka the middle of nowhere}
-making oodles and oodles of delectable crepes
-getting my mission call!!!
-seeing jakeambermicael
-going through the temple
-getting this headband for my birthday, in which i feel like daisy from the great gatsby {or something}
-being with PAIGE every minute of every day.



oh, it was good.

i'm mad about this dress.

mad like, overcome by desire and enthusiasm, excessively or uncontrollably fond, infatuated {thank you webster}. like, i want to buy it right now and wear it every day until i go to the mtc.

i love it.

i wish i was marie antoinette.

i took a little trip over to les madeleines today. i figure my life could use more petit four eating and lavender lemonade sipping. i could stand living more like marie antoinette.

there's more where that came from.

my dear dear friend's lynsey and josh just told me they're pregnant!!!

i already can't get enough of {not so little anymore} avery ...

congrats!!!

i can't wait to see the cutie that comes next.

oh my goodness, oh my goodness!

my most favoritest person and bestest friend and dearest sister just moved to orem for school.


i miss her so so so so much already.

...i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me{i carry it in
my heart}i am never without it{anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling}
i fear no fate{for you are my fate,my sweet}
i want no world{for beautiful you are my world, my true}
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart{i carry it in my heart}

...ee cummings

*i love you.

look out boys.

i got a letter from my mission president today {wahoo!}. the following picture was enclosed as an example:

look out boys, cause this is what imma be wearin' for the next 18 months.

please try to keep your salivating to a minimum.

when one becomes four.

omg.

remember when i told you that a little bird told me that my neighboor was feeding a raccoon ... well that same little bird just came over and informed us that "one became four."
silly neighboors are feeding a little family of raccoons now {daddy, mommy, and two babies}. i am really frightened now. and you know what will happen when the cold weather comes around, the family will move into my chimney!!!

i may or may not live to write another post ...

oh and ps, they also have a wasp farm!

what the?

what i'm looking forward to the most.

did i sound terribly depressing and pessimistic when i blogged about my future missings? i fear i did, so i’m evening the playing field by listing my can’t waits:

•actually seeing washington dc
•learning the gospel inside and out.
•wearing all the sister missionary clothes i bought.
•using my luggage {i'm seriously in love with my london fog three piece set. i visit it every morning in the basement and pretend i'm mary poppins.}
•living on the east coast, and in the big city.
•meeting so many wonderful people from all different parts of the world.
•sharing the gospel.
•seeing the fireworks on the fourth of july in our nation’s capital.
•seeing the lights on temple square {word on the street are these babies are BEAUTIFUL}.
•converting barack obama, yeah that’s right.

{see you soon little dear.}

the loves i'll miss the very most.

i’ll be leaving for mission madness one month from today.

ka - ray - zee.

i’m quite excited for my new adventure, but i'll sorely miss a few of my greatest loves. i figure my little blog will be a good outlet for my missings...

•paige.
•castle … this is a great show, watch it in my stead.
•shannen crane {also the unofficial shannenjosh wedding}.
•lee carter.
•regina, mr gibbard, explosions in the sky, etc, etc, etc.
•movies {this missing includes toy story 3, the lovely bones, alice in wonderland, 2012, new moon, etc}.
•hires {the krusty krab of land}.

i’m proud to say that, although i’ll miss these beautiful parts of my life, i’m happy to sacrifice them for my church. my good friend breanne {who is serving in the taiwan taipei mission as we speak} said this about her sacrifice:

“this mission, as a tithing on the first 21 years of my life, will be HIS.”

i’m more than happy to give these 18 months of my life to him. he is, after all, the one who gave me the loves i'll miss most.

have i told you?

how much i love this quote right here?

{perhaps via le love, just kidding it's from here}

mmmhmm ...

i got it. i love it.

i had a birthday shout hooray.

i'm lounging about in st george, celebrating turning one year older and wiser too.

oh. and my cake was delish.

dear birthday.

i hope you bring me this, and something from this girl. i really wouldn't mind this. but mostly i just want this.

burlington coat factory.

paige and i think the following is pretty much the best thing ever.
















but wait, it's reversible.


















cool.

mr and mrs meyer.

i just found this picture from my dear dear lyndsey's wedding and i think it is amazing.


that's all.

"i love to see the temple . . ."

"... i went there last week."

on the road again.

i'm off to roosevelt for some cow tipping {cue twangy hick music} and mischievousness with the sweeties above.

have a lovely weekend.

dreams of my sister {the yarn}.

youarewhatyoulove is proud to announce it's newest feature {ba ba ba ba!}, today is the first installment of dreams of my sister. these little gems will come to you straight from the mouth of paige and will be detailed accounts of the erratic dreams that she experiences on a nightly basis. seriously these are crazy!
enjoy {cause i know i do}.


dreams of my sister {the yarn}.

sometimes, in real life, my knee makes a creeking noise, like an oil thirsty door hinge. my knee was especially noisy one day, so naturally the noise followed me to my dreams. the dream took place in a doctor's office, most likely a knee specialist. i waited on the tissue papered examination table as the doctor pondered my predicament. finally he broke the news, "you have some sort of ring worm twisted around your kneecap," he said somberly, "i'll have to make and incision to grab it and then pull the little guy outta there." he went right into the procedure. oddly enough, the incision was barely noticed but as he began to pull on what looked like yellowed yarn and smelled like the clay in the game cranium, the pain set in. my kneecap was twisting like a dj's turn table when suddenly the lemon-scented-knee-yarn came to a stop. the doctor tugged then came to a conclusion, "i can't pull this out and cutting it off would result in a re-growth. you'll just have to wait till it falls off." i stared at the monster thinking, how am i supposed to live with this three foot long tail trailing behind me?
and then i woke up.

"you know, stamps, envelopes."

i don't like the feeling that anyone could reach me anywhere at anytime. needless to say i completely agreed with roger aylworth when he said this:

"i'm not at all sure i like the kind of instant communication that leaves us all at the end of an electronic leash. the idea that a cell phone in my pocket can ring while i'm in the restroom is just as unattractive as it sounds."

so i'm adding living sans cell phone to my list of things i want to do but probably won't.

read this then go write a love letter to someone.

swak.

{image from paper tissue}

there is a tear in the fabric ...

i heart summery sun dress pictures.

white lies.

just the other evening i decided to try on my mom's wedding dress. i do this from time to time to see if i could wear it for my wedding dress {if that day indeed comes}. this time we had a bit of trouble zipping the ol'girl up.

my mother has always said, "i was never as skinny as you courtney."
it looks like she's been telling a little white lie all these years.
thanks for that mom.

raccoon hunting.

paige and i have started an agency devoted to hunting and bringing to justice raccoons that stalk our homes and families. a little bird told us that our next door neighboor has been feeding a raccoon every night. apparently it comes and taps on their door between 10:30 and 11:30pm and they feed it a home-cooked meal! we set very few goals for ourselves this summer, but seeing the raccoon is at the top of the list. plus, we're hesitant to sleep out in the backyard {a summer MUST!} in fear we might be eaten by said raccoon.

help wanted!

sytycd.

i love it!
but last night some of my favorite dancers went home ...
randi {from utah} was lovely in this.
and
kupono was radiant in this and this.
watch and love.

happy birthday you are what you love!

"you had a birthday shout hooray.
we want to sing to you today.
one year older and wiser too.
happy birthday, to you!"

this little gem has been around for a year today. such good times.
remember how we started out? remember these girls? remember when we brought home this little looker? remember these dancing dice? remember this great invention? remember when we went through this together? remember how exciting this was? can't wait for this!

loves!

letters to my future husband, part three.

and so it continues ...

dear future mr. courtney,
be my identity.
thanks,
courtney.
ps. “marriage is one of the lord’s primary institutions for perfecting us individually, because taking upon ourselves the unlimited commitments of marriage and parenthood will develop our core personality and character to levels that are otherwise almost impossible to find.”
-bruce c. hafen

dear future mr. courtney,
please jump on hotel beds with me.
thanks,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
please make me something pretty.
thanks,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
some things about me, just so you’ll know:
•i drink diet coke with just about everything, except pancakes … only milk compliments pancakes.
•have you tried clementine izze, because it’s good.
•i have a goal to spend an entire day at the movies before i die.
•i watch ratatouille pretty much every night so i can sleep.
•i love looking at in style and creating my own version of the clothes … it’s one of my favorite hobbies.
•i keep a diary on my computer to keep secrets from my paper diary.
•paige claims my true personality comes out while swimming.
•she also claims that you can tell when i’m in a good mood cause i narrate what i’m doing.
ok bye,
courtney.

now i just need a future mr. courtney to give them to.
and in closing i leave you with another love from le love {which reminds me of when this girl said "we love things for their reality and not for their perfection." oh you.}.

the field is white and already to harvest.

in the ...

WASHINGTON DC
NORTH
MISSION!!!


hooray!!!

it was the hottest day of the week.

holly took some lovely photos of sister and i a couple of weeks ago ...



isn't she spectacular? see more here.

from sea to shining sea.

happy fourth of july!

i'll be boating with the fam, watching delightful fireworks, and eating delicious meals.

i hope your weekend is filled with frequent festive festivities.

love,
courtney

summer series.

paige and i have begun our 2nd annual summer series {consists of watching an entire series in the summer}. i secretly call it "summer smut" because the series we choose often end up being some gratuitous teen-aged soap opera ... but hey, we love it.

last year it was the o.c. {marry me seth cohen!}.
this year, it's gossip girl. in this delightful series you've got:


blair {aka b}: this girl is seriously beasty, really i'm so frightened by this character. that being said, her style is superb.
serena {aka s}: played by blake lively, who is surprisingly a great little actress.
nathan {aka nate}: who is taking zac efron's place in the remake of footloose. lets just say i'm not completely sold on him playing the role of disgruntled teen ren mccormack {who other than troy bolton could pull off that angry dance?}.
charles {aka chuck}: the nastiest thing on televison ... and i hate that scarf.
dan {aka lonely boy}: pyt. and oddly similar to seth cohen.
jenny {aka little j}: cindy lou who is that you?

however, there's only room for one smutty series in our hearts, and for right now, that's the o.c.

"i hope they call me on a mission ..."

to paris! new york would be fine too.

i turned in my papers in on sunday to serve a mission for my church.

i'll be getting my call on tuesday {my mom gets to go pick it up!}.

cross your fingers for me!

letters to my future husband, part two.

dear future mr. courtney,
can we name one of our children monroe and call him/her roe for short?
let me know.
thanks,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
in addition to one of our children being named monroe, can we also name one of our children ‘gigi’. admit it, it’s cute.
thanks,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
i hope i compliment you in your life. please compliment me in mine.
thanks,
courtney.


you know you love it.

this just happened.

paige: is it friday?
courtney: yeah.
paige: oh.

we need to get jobs.

my new life motto.

this weekend, paige and i decided to come up with our very own life mottoes. paige's is no one said it would be easy. and mine is you won't always be young, but you can be immature forever.
so great.
i'm leaving you with a few ways to accomplish said immaturity {taken from the book "eat dessert first and other ways to take a recess from being a grown-up"}:
~run through the sprinkler with all your clothes on.
~buy yourself a helium balloon.
~squish some mud between your toes.
~help your salt-and-pepper shakers talk to each other in high, squeaky voices.
~take a running jump over a big puddle.
~make cool screeching noises every time you turn a corner.
~do a cartwheel.
~make graham-cracker-and-frosting sandwiches.
~read the funnies. throw away the rest of the paper.
~grow a milk mustache.

letters to my future husband.

this last semester, while being very bored in a certain class about marriage, i decided to start writing letters to the future mr. courtney. because i think they're so funny, i'll share:

dear future mr. courtney,
please be awesome.
thank you,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
i think you are my soul-mate. i don't care what everyone else says. but ... i'm a bit of a perfectionist so i wrote you a list of things you must be. i'll be flexible for you though:
•hilarious.
•can tolerate my favorite things {movies and music wise}.
•musical.
•smart.
•kind.
•respects mom and dad.
•wants some kids.
•artistic, creative, and unique.
•enjoys travel.
•has a strong testimony.
•set goals and meet them.
•make sacrifices for our relationship.
•love my family and friends.
also, please think that i am the most beautiful person on the planet.
thanks. love,
courtney.

dear future mr. courtney,
please call me tangerine.
thanks,
courtney.

stay tuned for more.

{thank you paper tissue for the lovely image}

this summer.

i'm starting a bike gang.

who's in?

keys.

i saw these from tiffany and co. a few weeks ago and fell in love. too bad i'm not rich.

because of that fact i decided to make my own. i bought 3 vintage skeleton keys at an antique shop for $12 and a vintage, brass, jail key for $7 {because its just so cute}. i think they look pretty good for like 10% of the cost.

oh how i love diys.

conGRADulations.

to all my loves graduating this week:


















{lib}

















{paigey}


"great has been our past,
wonderful is our present,
glorious can be our future."
{gordon b. hinckley}

at the movies.

1. i saw "up" on friday ... simply marvelous. and just what i needed; life is it's own adventure. and i have to say that ellie reminded me and others of little courtney. definitely see this. definitely.

2. i also saw "the brother's bloom" this weekend. very delightful. very woody alleny. see it too.
3. this brings me to my next subject ... the broadway theaters on 3rd. i'm an avid movie lover and i quite enjoy seeing copious movies in the theaters, however, so many people today are completely disconcerned with respect that watching a movie in the theaters becomes like watching a movie in their own living room. all that texting and talking makes me crazy.
here's where the broadway comes in. its in the heart of salt lake {what's better than that?}, they show the "artsy" movies that don't come to big theaters {usually the better films}, and only movie lovers {people that don't talk or text during the film} go to this theater. its great.
so if you can't find a good movie to go to in the big theaters go to the broadway and be satisfied.
that's all.

i planted flowers all day.

and now my feet hurt.

sunday in the city.

a few sundays ago, the fam went to salt lake's secret garden {aka gilgal gardens}. it is a delightful little place and i am now enticing you to go ... go.

presies.

i had surgery last week ...

the good thing about having surgery is getting presents to help you cope. katie brought me some delectable cupcakes from so cupcake, my grandma gave me some mangoes and nuts, and my parents gave me a lovely lavender plant.

lavender plants = the best plant.
it needs full sun and not a ton of attention or water, but it smells and looks so marvelous. i can't wait for this.
that's all.

it feels like ny.

i'm missing this place today.

i guess i shouldn't have left my heart there.