my birthday is in less than a month. i wish for a puppy.

**brief summary: i am no longer employed. it felt great to work, earn money, interact with people and be busy, but in the end it was NOT worth the pay, the time, the demands of the position, etc (lots of other cons, but like i said, brief summary...)

 since leaving that job, our home has returned to its lovely state of cleanliness and yummy smells. there is fresh produce in the refrigerator, dinner is being cooked and we have clean clothes.  in the month that i was working, things took a bit of a tumble around here.  jared has been fairly vocal about how much better life has been since i quit (aka- less tired, less grumpy, less high strung beckie).  

and it's not like we need the extra money. 

we only live in one of the countries most expensive zip codes, with a 9.5% sales tax, $5 a gallon gas, two older cars, and a billion other bills we kinda didn't realize we'd have...and...i like nice things... but who needs money. ok. we do. so yes, i am eagerly seeking a better fit for my employment and excited to help contribute more.

no job means i am back to an aimless and boring existence.  and worse- jared is out of town for an entire week on his annual "gentleman's pheasant hunt".  in his absence, i have reconnected with my former love/hate relationship with jillian.

i love this yoga dvd.  i have loved yoga for years and my dedication to the lifestyle has been spotty but i love how quickly my body gets back in the mode. this video is traditional yoga/pilates with cardio.  so yes, it is definitely a more westernized version of the practice, but it gets the job done and my spine is already feeling fluid again.

it is also a good idea that i incorporate a bit more exercise into my daily routine.  because i think that i am getting fat. this past weekend was one of the best since we have lived here and we ate a lot.  two of jared's old roommates and best friends, zac and shane, came to LA for a few days and it was everything we hoped it would be.  when i was dating jared, i was also somewhat dating his whole apartment. when those boys get together there is more joy amongst them than a pack of unicorns.  jared had been working SO hard to get everything in order at work, church and home before leaving on his hunting trip.  having the boys stay with us was another reward for his diligence.  friends in town is also a good time for us to explore more things in the city.  but we do have our favorites...where we take EVERYONE.  

(sorry, most of you are on my fbook or instagram too, so these pictures are repeats...)

there was 800 degrees pizza, diddy riese, hollywood, the temple, rodeo drive, celeb houses, croquet, the beach, and late nights of sharing giggles and feelings.

(i thought that was a cute outfit, until i saw this picture and realized i look like a 7 year old. and zac stole jared's glasses...his eyes aren't naturally more squinty than mine.  shane and zac matched on purpose.)

and when we go to the pier, we must get our bacon cheese dogs. grilled, buttery bun, fake cheddar cheese, a giant hotdog wrapped in bacon. AMAZING. how did i ever do that vegetarian life?  thanks to spud and katie for actually being the ones to introduce us to the glorious caloric monstrosity. 

we also had a little history lesson when we went and saw Argo.

ben affleck has yet to let me down as a movie director.  it was outstanding and from what i read, pretty accurate.  we had seen Looper a couple of weeks ago and i assumed that it would be my favorite film until the holidays (when les mis and great gatsby premiere!) but Argo is now on my list. i happen to love alan arkin and john goodman, especially together.  that duo combined with gritty historical controversy, a strong sense of patriotism and mr. affleck make for a completely enjoyable and justifiable reason to sit for 2 hours.

one of our last adventures was going to lunch at a russian restaurant in hollywood.  it was AUTHENTIC russian food.  luckily, jared was able to speak with impressive fluency. one reason that i liked him when we first met was that he wasn't one of those guys who was constantly referring to his mission.  he was so humble about the whole experience. he loved his mission, he served faithfully, and would love to go back, but he has never felt the need to broadcast it.  the food at this restaurant was amazing, jared was able to enjoy his some of his favorites, speak russian with ease, and teach all of us more about the culture and share some his experiences.

but all good things must come to an end.  within 36 hours, all three boys were gone.  and now i am home, watching way too many episodes of vampire diaries and laughing/crying my eyes out to this book:

which reminds me that i really need a dog. these "mr. husband outta town" days wouldn't be so bad if i had a puppy to run around and cuddle with. 

is it only 10:30 in the morning? i am already starving.

as you know, the past couple of months, i have been trying to expand my culinary skills. true to beckiestyle, i do not like to follow recipes. i like to be guided by recipes and then add my own flair, tweaks, and love. sometimes it works out marvelously, other times...we would be better off fasting.

yesterday i tried a new crockpot soup. i rarely use my slow cooker, even though there are so many great recipes for it, i just never need to make that much food at a time. this time it was a victory. a few people wanted the recipe and stuff, so here it is:

32 oz frozen hashbrowns

42 oz chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

pepper

1 package cream cheese (cannot be the low-fat kind because it will not melt correctly)

6-8 hours on high

i originally got the recipe from here. it seemed simple enough and we had red potatoes left over from earlier in the week and i had an 8lb ham to use up.  (mama always put ham or bacon in her potato soup and it made it sooooo much more yummy!!!).  

i put the hashbrowns, chicken broth, pepper, chopped red potatoes and cream of chicken soup into the crockpot. at about 3 hours in, i added the chunks of ham. and an hour before you are ready to serve, add the cream cheese. so it was pretty much the same but i did not add the onions (original recipe calls for 1/2 c), i added a little garlic, the potatoes (definitely recommend you add some...it just makes it better) and ham and it was some of the best potato soup that i have ever had. i cannot wait until it is 11:30 and i can go heat some up for lunchtime. 

i am not trying to be one of those braggy cooking people, i just was so excited about how easy, inexpensive and surprisingly delicious this was, that i had to share.

besides eating yummy soup, it was a fairly relaxing weekend. watched some friends in their intramural team games, went to dinner, made breakfast with the ward, watched some movies, snuggled and just hung out. it was really nice.

oh we also went to the matt costa concert.  now i know that i already said this to some people...but i felt bad for him. it was probably his worst audience ever. they set him up in the wilk with a $10 sound system and 300 zoobies. as jared said, it literally felt like EFY. it was like matt costa had been assigned community service and had to come to byu. it was real bad. felt awful for him. but it was still fun to go and his music is really good. but it is amazing how much the crowd affects the entire show...

ps i filed my taxes and i get.... wait for it.. $35 back! shopping spree???? :/

i have small dreams.

at first i thought that i had a rather boring weekend. but looking back, i realize that it was actually a pretty good one. friday night i had a couple social obligations... well i came home from work at 5 and fell asleep until 9. oops. but it did feel really good to catch up on sleep. i cannot remember the last time that i wasn't just a little bit tired. jared was understanding and let me have my nap and then we went to the gym. i have never been one to work out with other people.  but it was actually pretty enjoyable.  saturday morning we met up and went to yoga, then made a healthy breakfast and took care of our errands, homework, cleaning, etc. later that night, i accompanied the boys to the car show. 

i loved seeing the old cars. and they were pristine. but i have to admit, the new cars were pretty darn nice. some were pretty interesting... and some (the bottom right) cost more than the average american home. why not, right? motivation for higher education. but the truth was...out of all those cars ranging from the ford focus to the maserati, my dream car was still,

that sweedish beauty. safe and pretty. powerful and understated. i loved it.

[segue here]

once upon a time i used to work out a lot. and i mean a lot. at least 2 hours a day and sometimes twice or three times or day. or i would just wear gym clothes constantly and run or use weights around my house, pilates bands, yoga balls, you name it. i loved it. but it was a little ridiculous. i wasn't trying to attain anything. i wasn't training for anything. yet i would blow off socializing to go the gym. i would end dates early so i could get to the gym. i would show up to dinner in gym clothes (...ok i still do that) i would watch the basketball games the gym instead of on the big screen with my friends. once...i even watched general conference on a treadmill.

but then i just kinda stopped. i don't know why. but out of nowhere, i just completely dropped it. i continued to run and do yoga of  course but i became totally complacent about all of it, yet complained about my body.

sooo... i have started going back to the gym, running regularly, practicing yoga daily and eating healthier. and i have felt so much better. i sleep so hard. i wake up well rested and happier. i can feel my muscles getting stronger and my plushies less plushy.  plus it has been good bonding time for me and the guy.  

but there is one problem.

i am trying to eat healthier and he continues to eat like a 17 year old boy. and let's just say there are 2 pies there for a reason... i tend to give in.  i am all about snacks and treats. i don't believe in depriving myself of things. just moderation and balancing out calories with exercise.  vale sent this picture to me the other day

that is me in a 18 oz water bottle right there.

but anyway, jared is trying to eat healthier, i am trying to buy and cook better. in the meantime, when we aren't flirtatiously bickering over our treat binges or attempting to work those off at the gym,  lookie what came in the mail:

keeping it old school and simple.

i hate malls.

bet that you never thought i would say that.
i live for my weekends. usually by friday, i am so burned out from everything earlier in the week, that all i want to do is eat a real meal and go to bed. it also means that j and i get to spend all day together. this weekend was super busy. friday night we went to the byu hockey game and it was a lot of fun. i will admit, the first hour or so i spent my time focusing on this:

having a smart phone is a blast. yesterday while j and i were waiting for interviews, we sat out in the foyer playing games together. when i was waiting in a long line at the store, i played solitaire. it is just great.

after the game we (the boys and me, what's new) went to the cocoa bean. the cocoa bean is actually a really great idea. this little place has all the yummy coffee/tea drinks, sans coffee/tea! and they are super yummy and appropriately priced. i tried out their pumpkin drink and it was chai tea (christmas in a cup) without anything questionable. just yumminess.

saturday after a very productive morning of cleaning, reading and homework, j and i went up to murray to go to the fashion place mall.  the new H&M , Crate and Barrel and this place,

had all just opened. a whole North Face store. even j who thinks that it is boring and overpriced was impressed and found things that he liked. the rest of the experience was a bit overwhelming. i have never been in a busier mall in my life. it was rude, pushy, loudness everywhere. we walked into j.crew which was significantly more open and lacking crowds and we both just let out a sigh of relief. but we were able to find two suits for j, so overall, it was a productive trip.

last night we made a really good dinner together again. i highly recommend 

gold'n plump chicken. they are prepackaged in their marinades and ready to be cooked or frozen right away. the 4 packs go on sale all the time at target. and they have a lot of different flavors. plus they are quality meats and have hardly any calories. 

we leave for vegas tomorrow and i can hardly concentrate. i want to get out of provo so badly. i would like to get out of utah permanently, but i will take a 5 day break for now. i have already downloaded the first 13 hours of Atlas Shrugged for us to listen to on the way down. we cannot wait to get out of here, be someplace warm, play with the kiddos and eat like fat people. mmmm. 

i am generally against

participating in anything for christmas (besides shopping) until after thanksgiving. i was thrilled when i saw this:

but i have officially caved and given into the holiday treats. it started with a bag of 

but last night it escalated to

i wanted a mirror so that i could get ready for the day in my own room. sharing the bathroom with one outlet, limited space and cranky morning people is just no bueno. jared was so sweet and jetted us off to target to get a mirror. when we walked by the christmas tree cakes we both got so excited at the exact same time. they are so gross but so wonderful. we may have bought more than one box.

we are sort of obsessed with this too

archer farms blueberry granola with flax.  i have been trying to get j in the habit of eating breakfast. he is a stubborn little stinker sometimes but this seems to be helping. 

but i am still holding off on the christmas music. for those that choose to participate in the festivities early, i say go for it. if it makes you happier and treat the people around you better- how bad can it be?

just remember to be thankful first. i love thanksgiving. i love eating until i cannot eat anymore. i love the autumness and family get togetherness of it. this year i will be celebrating in vegas... i am skeptical as to how autumny it will feel without any trees... boooo.

birthday weekend.

thank you to everyone that reached out to wish a happy birthday to me this weekend. it was a great birthday. here comes the sappy stuff.

i woke up to find little notes all over my bathroom mirror from j and then a bag full of all of my favorite snacks. including a nice big pack of these

i love these to go packs of peanut butter. i could just eat them with a spoon...but as that is generally found odd in public, i use crackers or apples. j was so sweet to think of all my favorite things.later at work we had a mini birthday treat time and they ordered the BEST pumpkin pie cake. it is soooo good. and then these beauts were delivered to me. i blushed, i giggled, i was awkward, i pretended like i get flowers all the time, secretly-i was elated.

i came home to a few more lovey presents and surprises and then we hit the road and went to a cabin in pine valley with j's family. sure we had to drive through an arctic blizzard and the crowds of ignorant drivers, but once we arrived in one piece (always say a prayer before you go on a road trip),  it was so much fun just hanging out, eating yummy meals, playing games, 4 wheeling, playing with the kiddos, and getting to know more of his family better. i was surprisingly comfortable around all of the strangers and was happily eased into the walker style family game nights. i have a feeling that thanksgiving and new year's will be very interesting...

unfortunately my phone had no service up there and so i didn't see any of my birthday messages until sunday night, but they were appreciate nonetheless.

but i also received a couple other perfect presents. 

i love working out with kettleballs. but i did not own one. so now i have one to add to our "workout center", also known as the family room. 

and then j, being the generous man that he is, surprised me with one more gift.

a brand new, hardbound copy of atlas shrugged. i am repeatedly referencing this book and telling him that he must partake of this gem.  but my first copy i turned into a wreath... the second copy has been lent out to a friend and appears to have gone the way of the earth (i am betting that when he realized it was over 1500 pages, he gave up on the idea and just never returned the book...stinker).  so this was the perfect present. i cannot wait to read it again. 

it was a good birthday. it was a great weekend. and mama and dad are coming this weekend to play some more and to meet j. luckily they have spoken before...but this is still...kinda...huge.

oh speaking of mama, she is also now on pinterest. and when i asked her what she would like for christmas- she replied with an email containing links to online stores with the wii games and accessories she would like....this would equal out to me having the coolest mama ever.

.

things are starting to fall into place for this upcoming year. anna and alexa both moved in this past weekend and school starts today. luckily, i only go tuesday and thursdays, but it will still be time consuming. but at least it is progress. 

saturday was a fun filled day... it was, after all, the last saturday of the summer. dan and i had been wanting to go for a hike, so we rounded up a couple others and hit the trails. squaw peak trail, actually. it was a good hike. we had fun...but it has been determined that dan and i planning hikes is just bad news bears. last time was the jeep fiasco and this time it was two flat tires. luckily the manly men were able to collaborate efforts with les (les schwab mechanic, fondly now known as les) to get this fixed right up. 

we came down off the mountain dirty, itchy, tanned and sore. but guess what (or should i say who) was waiting when i got back?

joely.

i KNEW he was coming. he had not told me that he was coming, in fact, we had been talking the day before and he never mentioned it. he made it sound like we wouldn't be seeing each other for a while. oh that jokester. sadly, he did not bring:

newman. joely's new puppy. i was so sad that he got a dog without me, but then when i saw how cute he was, i totally understood. but it turned into a night flurry of activity when justin and ethan showed up too. it is official, the boys are back in town and i am so happy. i always miss joel but i am so glad that he came for a 24 hour visit and that the others are here to stay.

church was a bit...overwhelming?  i am used to having about 40 people there at the most. but there were about 120 this week. everyone was hopped up on that nervous energy of meeting and impressing new people. there was this constant buzz of hyperness around me. i came home exhausted from all of it. but i am sure it will be....great...

and now, i would like to introduce my friend, the doctor.

good looking man, right? yes i swoon just a little (i blame it on the cardigan). but really, he is one of my favorite people to talk to. sucky part is that he goes to med school in ohio... so our interaction is pretty limited to cyberspace and our 10 page emails. one reason i mention him, he has recently started a book collection. and by collection, i mean that he has amazoned everything that i have recommended to him. this is the picture that he sent to me last night.

this was in comparison to the picture i posted last week:

he is a minimalist. but well on his way. i find myself very excited over the literary achievements of others.
and um, he is cute. and nice. and smart. and funny. and stuff.

katie's birthday.

the original boys and girls got together for that pink haired girl's birthday. 

katie's husband so lovingly prepared an evening of bowling, games and sushi in celebration of her birth.

my run that morning and the upcoming timp hike (at 1 AM...yeah don't run 10 miles that morning...) was a little too much for me and so i sat out the bowling. but i would like to toot my own horn and announce that the one time that i did go in b's turn- i got a spare. hell yeah. don't worry, he thanked me. 

the roberts sisters, husbands and babies combined with beckie, carrie, brandon and spud- make for a pretty good birthday night dacia- we missed you more than you know. feel better and stop being married people busy all the time.).  we also made a quick stop to kk's favorite place,

as if she needs to get any sweeter. the place is downright adorable. it seems to be ut county's way of providing a dc cupcakes. not quite as good, but we'll take it.

oh and did you know that you can become a VIP member to happy sumo and get half off every friday and saturday night?? best/worst news ever. hello edmame and wasabi.

and being 25 only makes riding a carousal that much better. especially when your ride looks like maximus. 

it was so much fun to hang out with this group. there is always so much love and laughter in our moments together. i love my best friend, katie. we have celebrated many birthdays together now and i happily anticipate many more to come as we continue to add spouses and babies.

and... i am becoming more and more nested into my new apartment. sure the stacks of boxes are strewn everywhere... and with a lot of deep ujayii breathing, i am getting through it. our landlord agreed to have it professionally cleaned this week and my room is almost completely beckiefied.

and lookie what i did today.

1. used a coupon and price matching to get this bad boy for $8 (courtesy of katie's tactics and prompting)

2. built it all by myself.

3. only 2 screws leftover which i am SURE were just spares.

4. it is still standing.

5. it may be a plain, mass produced, particle board, bookshelf in a box, but i am still so proud.

j'aime toujours l'été.

il est vrai.

again with all the fun, outdoorsy, freebie fun- how can you not love summer.

i go back to work next monday and school starts the monday after that. so this hiatus is just an overload of summer activities again.  the nature of the events tends to remain pretty linear- just different bands at the concerts, different trails, different places, etc.

tuesday was our ward closing social. we had jet skis, wake boarding, foods, games and some great swimming. it is hard to believe that summer is really coming to an end already. i have not been all that active in the ward this summer (just the ward- not church) but i have come to know some great people thoroughly enjoyed my time there. and this would include getting to know my summer tennis friend. i would just like to say that our domination this week was probably hardly deserved, but such a pleasure nonetheless.

bright eyes was fantastic. i met up with arthur and company to enjoy of evening of second hand mary jane (wanted to throw up) and conor oberst in his all of his ecentric, talented beauty.  the donwside of these concerts is that they bring out all sorts of trash. that is a very harsh and judgmental declaration but it is true. we saw so many teenagers bent over their bongs and just acting like idiots. so young and stupid. and worse- there were parents there doing the same thing with their little children (we literally saw toddlers). the smell and the thought of those poor kids' circumstances was nauseating.  luckily, i was with a great group of clean cut, fun and responsible people. none of us ever have or ever would have anything to do with that, so we did our best to just watch the show.

friday, i played sidekick on a one day st. george excursion with b. nothing like the last minute to get those little things like classes and housing situated.  we sang along to the world's most random playlists, talked about everything such a playlist could stir up, and laughed ourselves exhausted to the red rocks and back.

it is so pretty down there. i will always prefer my greenery and it was hotter than hades' armpit down there, but it is a beautiful area. we were just sad that we missed anna and t dawg. no worries kiddos- we will be seeing each other SOON!

i guess that planning on running a half marathon with people the weekend before graduation, spouse's birthdays and the last week of the semester is not the best idea...because no one was doing it anymore. so today i went for an epic trail run and then counteracted all of the calorie burning with another summer favorite:

and now i have to get back to packing and cleaning. so though it looks like all i am doing is having fun- it is busy. it is busyness that i create but it keeps me happy.

ps: i hate moving. i have done it quite a bit in the past few years and i really detest it.

summer freedom.

and i really do mean free.

one of the biggest perks about utah summers: there are adventures aplenty that won't cost a dime. 

for example:

movies in the park. every monday, at rock canyon park- grab a cuddle buddy, some snacks and blankets and enjoy a new flick on a giant screen with a few hundred of your closest, thrifty friends.

trail runs: now that all the snow is melted, there are endless trails to choose from. weather you want to pound it out on foot or grab your bike- lot's of options.

then there is camping: if you already have own or have access to camping equipment, you can have a free night under the stars. this last weekend some friends and i did just that. grabbed some climbing and camping gear and headed for the mountains. my friend fuzzy and i threw on our matching shirts (we bond over a love of north face-literally, it is how we became friends) and scrambled up a mountain. i have approximately 14 cuts and scratches as a result of this decision but i would never take it back. i am glad that i have friends that go into adventure mode with me... i don't know if i am fearless or just stupid when it comes to this sort of thing. but no worries, having fuzzy as a wingman was much safer than the free climbing i barely survived beforehand. i know. i sound so hardcore. but i'm not. 

i could barely move by the time we got back to the valley but there was no time for rest and lollygagging, because i had big saturday night plans with the boys....

i had no idea this man was so sexy. and we touched. i never get starstruck and i definitely was not freaking out but i WAS having the time of my life. it turned out to be the perfect evening for some tim, luke bryan and the band perry (ang and z- i thought about you guys the whole time- esp when l.bryan was busting out his "rain makes corn song).

and believe it or not, this was actually free too. gary had VIP suite tickets to the concert and i was one of the lucky ladies that was able to go. luckily, i also have pretty friends- so while walking around, a random man offered us pit passes. hence how i got right up to the stage. country music brings out all sorts of interesting types. i was groped, spilled on, and shoved around - but again, it was worth it. 

last week we went to see thurston moore in concert and then this week...wait for it...bright eyes! salt lake has some surprisingly cool summer events open to the public and i cannot wait.

i am moving into my new apartment next week (cannot wait to live with anna and alexa) so the rest of this week will be consumed by working, running, yoga'ing, music, packing, boating, climbing, and hopefully some sleep here or there. i am a creature of habit- the packing activity aside- it will be a fairly normal, jam packed week in the blunderous life of beckie.

but PS: i have had a lot of people asking about where i have been and why i have been unresponsive to their friendly attempts of communication and i apologize. this is why. i am sucking the life out of my summer before school starts...in 20 days. and with one of my best friends being here this summer (for the first time in years), i have been taking advantage of that too. sorryyyyy.

we came, we did.

or we saw, we conquered. however that phrase goes.

this morning my friend and i hiked up to silver lake. it was an absolutely perfect day for the occasion.  we knew where the trail head was, but since there are several lakes and trails, we thought that we would explore a little and see how far we could get. 

poor ruby got herself very intricately wedged between several aspens and dry dirt...bad combo (sorry papa randy).

well...

we made some friends (literally...they asked us to come jeeping with them sometime. digits exchanged and everything.).   i was so pleasantly surprised at the readiness of strangers to come help us. mind you, this was no short task. we had gotten ourselves pretty far up there and caught in the tightest possible spot on that road. whoops. but 5 men, 1 beckie, 2 jeeps, 1 truck, 1 tow rope,1 wench and 1 hour later... we were ready for our hike.

holy gorgeous. it was a decently difficult hike (only priming us for timpanogas next month) and well worth it in the end.

when we arrived at the top, we were greeted by this lovely lake scene. and of course there is only thing to do when you reach the peak of a hike- jump in. but please note all the snow that surrounded that lovely body of water. let's just say that once i got under water and started to swim to shore- i didn't almost drown because i cannot swim- but because i could not feel anything from the extremely cold temperatures of the water. dan jumped in a bit a after me and when he came out he exclaimed "i feel so alive! well... that was either death or alive- i am not sure which!" and right he was. it was refreshing, but frigid.

we hiked around the lake a bit and i cannot wait to get the pictures that he took with his super cool camera. it was breathtaking being up there. i could see for miles and it was all landscape brushed by the hands of god and untouched by "human intrusion" (para daniel). 

how does beckie survive a hike? nothing like sweedish fish to get those glucose levels up. we pretty much ran down the rest of the way and it felt great (my knees have only been throbbing the last 4 hours, nbd).

pictures just do not serve the view justice. we found a pretty cool rock ledge to climb out onto (only slightly, totally stupid and scary since our legs were jell-o) and just sat out there in our soaking wetness and overlooked all of this. it is moments like these that i just cannot understand how people don't believe in a god. our bodies were capable of getting there and to see that view: simply stunning.

we got home around 7 pm and as we were grabbing things out of the jeep some girls were also just getting home and so we chatted for a moment. i looked at them- in their adorable little dresses, hats and shoes and they told me that they had just returned home from a tea party. there was a stark contrast between their ladylike attire and my own...i looked down at my tie-dyed t-shirt, muddy legs, and shoes (not to mention the hair, no make up, need i really go on??) and just sort of laughed to myself. what is worse is that only a part of me was horribly embarrassed for my messy, boyish, disheveled look- but the larger part of me didn't care at all. i was explaining this to my friend's husband tonight and just laughing about it and said,

"and that is why those girls will get married someday, unlike myself." 

and his perfect reply, 

"no. that just means that you and your husband will be kick ass together!" 

so my resolution to become more feminine--> short lived. i may love cute clothes, but muddy hikes and lakes will always win out in my book.