what is love?

If you're anything like me, you probably had this running list when you were in middle school or high school of what traits your future husband needed to meet in order to be worthy of you. Even writing that sentence sends chills down my spine because it's such a silly concept, yet something that SO many of my friends did. I don't know who gave us that idea. Who was the first person to scrawl a list of fluffy personality traits, stash it in a hope chest or special drawer, and then share it with their friends? That person, whoever they are, is the worst.

As I get older and singler (not a real word but it works here), I realize how much of that stuff really is just fluff. I remember writing about someone who could play the guitar, led worship at church, was athletic, funny, had dark hair, and just knowing that those things, for me, were non-negotiables (at the time). I think every girl who grew up in a Christian community had a thing for worship band members at one point, if you didn't, you are foreign to me and then who did you even have a crush on?

I was talking to my gal pal Elyse a couple months ago about these silly lists we created and what our lists would look like now, if we were to create one. We started rapidly texting back and forth about things that are important when you're considering investing in someone as a 27 and 28 year old. The thing that tops our lists, still, is someone who is religious. It's not necessarily the person in front of the church, like the worship leader dream boat from our youth, but someone who is an active participant in a body of believers. It means someone who's life truly does revolve around Jesus, in the most genuine and true fashion. All I knew as a seventh grader was that I wanted it to be someone who was super involved at youth group and probably on SALT or LIGHT, which were the names of our 7th and 8th grade leadership teams. That was more for popularity's sake than anything genuine. I wanted a cool church kid- now I just want a real Jesus lover.

We also talked about finances. We don't want to date no scrubs. This doesn't mean we're looking for people with bank accounts that end in infinite zeros (it would obviously have a real number in the front so that it wasn't really just zero dollars). Do you know how to manage money? Can you stick to a budget? Can you balance your check book? Do you spend within your means? Do you maybe have a retirement account or a savings account? These are the traits that are sexy in your late twenties. You don't need to be rich nor do you even need to make a substantial amount of money- just don't be overdrawing all the time and spending money on take out 24/7 when you can't afford to buy more toothpaste. Not sexy.

Understand the importance of family. As I get older, I realize that not everyone grew up in a tight knit family unit like I did. My parents always loved each other, my siblings were mostly always good to me, and my extended family was relatively normal. I say relatively normal because there's some crazies that I share a blood relation with, but we all still love each other. You don't have to be super close to your family or even have the average 2.7 siblings and 1.9 parents, but have a desire to create a family connection.

These are pretty much the most important things- Jesus, responsibility, and family. Everything else, hair color to sense of humor, is all frosting. Sure, it would be great if the person loved all my favorite music and thought that Taylor Swift was the most incredible human, but that's not likely. Unless, of course, I marry myself which is a big no thank you. This may seem unromantic or boring, but it's actually quite exciting as I think about it. Relationships and romance is so much different than I ever could have imagined as a 7th grader, but I'm glad that we change and develop. Otherwise, I'd still be keeping my eyes peeled for a real life Landon Carter and we all know there's no truth to that Nicholas Sparks concept.

life lately

Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you've finally caught up on everything only to feel like you're in so far over your head the next moment? That's been my life lately. It's not a bad thing- it's just a busy thing. I'm learning how to prioritize, how to say no, and how to properly use my planner. If I didn't have those things, I would be in serious trouble. School is absolute bonkers right now, but only seven more months until I have three little letters to add behind my name! I've started spending about ten hours a week doing counseling and group therapy at a drug/alcohol rehabilitation facility. I am absolutely LOVING it. You guys, my first day was so intimidating, but I feel like this is such a good place for me. I have to complete a total of 500 hours and it's something I'm actually really excited about.

Life hasn't been all business lately, there's been some seriously fun moments- like Sundance! I realize that I never blogged about it, but better late than never, right? My 27th birthday was at the end of January and my best friend Summer invited me to come join her, her boyfriend, and some other friends at Sundance. Her boyfriend is a film maker and had a documentary debuting this year. I got to see a rough cut of the documentary last September, but it was such an incredible experience getting to see the film all finished & polished on the big screen at a major film festival. The film, Beaver Trilogy Part IV, is such a moving exploration into that little desire to be famous that we all have in us. I'm so proud of all Brad's handwork, and I'd encourage you to look into the story of the Beaver Kid, you won't regret it.

In addition to seeing Brad's film, we went to some fun parties, concerts, and saw several other movies. My favorite movie, by far, was "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." We saw that film the morning of my birthday and I simultaneously laughed out loud and cried like a baby. It was beautiful- the movie, not me. I am sure I left a lot to be desired in that moment. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl got picked up for $12 million dollars by Fox Searchlight, which is the most a Sundance film has ever been purchased for. It's going to be released in major theaters on July 1st of this year, so do yourself a favor and see it. I'm definitely seeing it at least once more, if not five thousand times.

We were guest listed by a friend at the Sundance TV lounge for the Allen Stone concert. I had never heard of Allen Stone before that evening but you best believe he's been in heavy rotation since that night. He is crazy talented. You couldn't help but move during the concert, it was such a fun environment. Plus, one of the sponsors of the lounge was Brookside so you know I had a ton of fancy chocolate covered berries. The same friend that guest listed us was actually the producer for this event and gave me a ton of chocolate for my birthday. Chocolate covered acai berries for daaaaays. 

My friend Laura, who is the baker at my favorite coffee shop, made me this delicious cake version of my favorite cupcake for a little get together that some girlfriends threw for me. We chatted, ate, and then played croquet. I came in dead last (which is rude of them to not let me win on my birthday, but oh well), but still enjoyed playing. Spring has arrived early this year and I am not taking it for granted. We're supposed to have weather upwards of 70 degrees tomorrow. Thank you global warming. 

My sweet, sweet Marm and little sister Sophia came to visit last week. We spent time visiting some local colleges and I got to show them my favorite places. It would be so much fun to have my little sister come up here to college. I'm trying to be super neutral and encourage her to make her own decisions, but inside, I'm totally rooting for Idaho. One of my favorite parts of my Marm coming to visit is exploring all of the local antique shops with her. She's a huge fan of antiquing and has filled our home with so many treasures from all over. I love it. In addition to finding treasures, you also ALWAYS find creepy things, like this baby. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Help. 

That's what's been happening in my neck of the woods recently. Lots of busy moments, but also finding the good and restful moments where I can. What have you been up to? Are you living in snow or has spring sprung early for you as well? Also- TONIGHT IS THE LAST NIGHT OF THE BACHELOR. SO many thoughts to be blogged later this week.