since last time..

Ah.. it is amazing how busy life is. Incredibly busy. I so so so wish I posted more frequently like I used to.. but this semester is kicking my bum. All I know is that I am happy. Extremely happy. And I love my sweet adorable loving and perfect husband. We are perfect for each other and though we are stressed beyond measure most days - Life is good! 

Here is what we have been up to.. since October 16th when I last posted about our daily life.. 

-I baked for the first time in our tiny apartment. Yummy healthy breakfast muffins. 

-I got my name changed on my Drivers License.. Step 1 of that long process

-Gavin DeGraw's new CD came out... and it is AMAZING!! 

-Made my favorite tilapia dish for dinner

-Taylor flew out to NYC for networking and interviews for a few days. Our first 4 nights apart. And I got to use my new amazing iron!

-We met with this family in Florida for a mini vacation (extended post to come)

-Taco Tuesday at Rubio's

-Halloween and Grandpa's Birthday. Too busy to dress up or do anything. We went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party to make up for the lack of Halloween activities back home. 

-Spoke at the FCCLA Convention. My high school sewing teacher asked me to give a 50 minute presentation in Salt Lake City on the value of sewing. Due to my crazy schedule (work, school, vacation) I was left writing my entire presentation the night before and had a total of 30 minutes of sleep... Let's just say it was basically the first time since FIT that I stay up literally all night. It went extremely well though so I guess it was worth it in the end. (extended post to come)

-Taylor was one of 6 BYU students who got flown out to NYC for interviews with Credit Suisse!!!!!!!!!! (extended post to come)

-Cut down on my hours at Avenia Bridal

-Midterms. Taylor surprised me with yummy ice cream because I was taking two midterms on the same day. Friday. Late fee day for both tests... awesome. 

-Temple night 

-Calling to the nursery. If you know me, you know this was coming... and it's hilarious. Good thing is we have the calling together and it is every other Sunday.

-Seth's Birthday. He turned 26! I can't believe everyone is getting so old!!! Taylor and I are almost 24, Bain is a senior this year, AND Sy is turning 21 next month (and he comes home in 11 and a half weeks!!)

-Bain was awarded Dance Sterling Scholar!! I was given this award when I was a senior at Orem High School too so I was extremely happy to see Bain get it! Plus she is the most amazing dancer EVER!

-Kenzie's Bridal Shower (extended post to come)  

-Taylor was offered a Summer Analyst position with Credit Suisse for this summer!!! He accepted. We celebrated with Sushi and Thor. 

-Taylor went to NYC again for a week for more networking (again, extended post to come)

-Mom flew out to Atlanta to visit Seth and Jenn and wait for their sweet baby to come!

-Kenzie's wedding! It was so extremely beautiful and happy! Bain came with me to the ceremony and Daddy came to the reception.

-Girls night. Consisted of my besties (Talyn, Emily, Katie, Kiara), girl talk, soup and salad, and treats!

-I picked Taylor up from the airport after being gone for 6 days.. I seriously didn't think it was possible to miss him so much - and he brought back NYC treats for me! He's the best!!

-1 year since saying "yes" - full proposal story here

Some aBree Original news:

-My sequin maxi skirt has gone viral on Pinterest and I have received many many emails regarding it. I've started selling my first item of clothing!! I have had over 10 orders in the past couple weeks and I feel extremely blessed and grateful for this opportunity.

-A wedding store in Georgia contacted me about using the wedding dress I created for Cutting Fashion in their holiday window display!! So random and so exciting. I've been contacted by people all over the country regarding my designs and I am so amazed at all the support.

aBree Fashion Favorites this month:

And since Black Friday and Christmas is coming up - here are my top gift picks for women from J.Crew

And that is all for now - hopefully many more detailed posts to come between now and when the new semester starts in January!!

For daily photos of our lives follow me on instagram @breelena

Music Inspiration: John Allred

Came across these beautiful covers last night... Enjoy! 

Mirrors - Justin Timberlake

Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man

Rihanna - Stay

I really loved all these songs by their original artist but Allred just takes it to a whole new level, he makes them more my style. Chill and relaxed and BEAUTIFUL. I literally get shivers when I hear his covers. They are all so good!! 

random happenings... and everything in between.

So.. I've been trying to post the bridal session for awhile.. you see the problem is, I've only been able to cut down my pictures from 214 to 118... and that is A LOT of pictures still... It's a work in progress. Please be patient... they are coming SOON!

In other wedding news... my thank you cards FINALLY (the first package got lost... thanks to the UPS man who never left a notice) came in the mail - so now I will be able to start officially thanking all of my amazing friends/family/guests/vendors! (Asking for  your patience with this one as well, busy summer + lots of thank you cards = may take a while..) But we are SO grateful and cannot wait to remember each and every loving gift and sweet person who helped us celebrate our marriage! So a big thank you now, and a more intimate and official one to come!! There aren't words that we can express, or gestures we can give to show our sincere gratitude.

AND... I got my proofs back from Rebekah from the WEDDING DAY!! Waiting for the CD in the mail and... let's be honest, it'll (sadly) be a while before they get posted - since bridals aren't even posted yet. Nevertheless, I AM SO EXCITED and happy!!! Rebekah Westover is AMAZING. I was so lucky to have her photograph my amazingly perfect day. She is the best and I HIGHLY recommend her! I knew from day 1 that she was the ONLY photographer I'd want to shoot my wedding. Here's a sneak peak!

Lately...

JOB: I got a job, a not very glamorous (I was busy with other little things like... planning my wedding so I didn't have time to look for a design/fashion/wedding internship/job..and trying to save money while working retail at J.Crew seemed like a VERY bad idea (hello discount, which still means I just buy MORE things) and only being here for about 10 more weeks gave me not so many options..) one. But one that pays the bills and should be pretty interesting. And one that I am very grateful for, thanks to a sweet lady I met the first day in our Astoria ward who referred me and set me up with an interview. I am a temp, which basically means I fill in for secretaries/receptionists when they are sick/on vacation/etc. The company I'm with mostly places in financial offices such as Hedge Funds and Investment Banks. Which is perfect since that is what the Wilkins' household is all about! The jobs I've been offered so far have been 2-3 week positions. Then I'm off to somewhere new in the city. Why not add some secretary work to my resume that mostly consists of dancing/fashion/retail, right?!

WEEKEND GETAWAY: Taylor and I are heading to Washington DC this weekend!! So we have been busy planning for that pack-filled-fun weekend! If any of you have suggestions of must-see places or amazing restaurants I'd love to hear. We have about 20 hours (not including sleeping time) to see all DC has to offer!

FOOD and FRIENDS: I met up with some of my FIT dance girls at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for a much needed 'Shroom Burger! Miss those girls!! So fun to catch up.

 (Flashback to our Picnic in the Central Park from Spring 2011)

PLANNING: I spent this week planning out all of Taylor's and my adventures this summer. All of our must-see NYC places and favorite restaurants are scheduled into the next 9 and a half weeks! (Turned out to be a very time consuming task but I feel so refreshed now that it is all organized!) Again, any suggestions are welcome! We are going to the places I am familiar with but I obviously don't know all the best things to do - so if you know of a great place in the city please let me know!! AND I've been planning for the ten days that my mom and sister are in town!!! They arrive next Thursday. I'm so excited to see Bain compete here at NYCDA. It has been since 2007 since Bain and I have both been in the city together. It'll be fun!

Flashback to NYCDA 2007

More fun date nights to come!! Highline and Chelsea Market last weekend. Post here. 

FOOD: I tried a few more recipes, everything has been a succcess! Here was my dinner menu from last week!

Sunday Dinner: Southwest tilapia with frozen vegetables and brown rice. (notes: Very good, especially the sauce!)

Monday Dinner: Spaghetti with garlic, sweet potato, and salad. (Posted about this recipe here.)

Tuesday Dinner: Breaded coconut chicken pina colada salad. (Posted about this recipe here.)

Wednesday Dinner: Stir fry with brown rice, frozen vegetables, egg, and jalapeno chicken sausage. (notes: SO easy, and with the spicy chicken sausage from Trader Joe's it adds enough flavor that with no salt or soy sauce added it was still extremely flavorful and delicious.)

Thursday Dinner: Taco salad. (notes: this is one of my FAVORITE recipes that my mom use to make, so I made it like my mom did with regular tortilla chips rather than Doritos and chili beans rather than kidney beans. The rest of the recipe is pretty much the same. I don't add sour cream. And usually I add olives. ALSO - we buy the tostada shells in the big pack for $1.99 and crunch those up for chips - SO much cheaper and they taste good!)

Friday Dinner: Garlic lemon tilapia with frozen vegetables, brown rice, and fruit salad. 

(secret to best fruit salad ever: top with lemon, agave, and coconut! yum! I used mango, orange, banana, and blueberry in the salad)

Saturday Dinner: Date Night at Chelsea Market!
Dessert: Our favorite dessert/treat of the moment is mini crunchy oatmeal raisin cookies from Trader Joe's made into a sandwich with sunflower butter in the middle. Yummy!! And Trader Joe's mint ice cream sandwiches.

(via)

AND I know I talk about Trader Joe's WAY too much but guess what!!! I found spaghetti sauce with only 35mg of sodium!!! Most have about 300-700mg or so. AMAZING. And I'll just add some fresh garlic and chili pepper flakes for a little spicy kick. So happy.

GAVIN DeGRAW: Represented the other day running errands just to come home and find out he has a new single. Love. "Best I Ever Had."

via instagram

FATHER'S DAY: My daddy deserves a shout out! He is the most loving and supportive father there ever was. He always helped me fulfill all my dreams and goals. The first (out of two times) I cried at my wedding was dancing with this sweet man I hold so dear in my heart (the second being when I danced with my husband for the first time as his Mrs.). This picture is so beautiful and I am so grateful for Rebekah for capturing this moment with my amazing loving daddy!

MARRIAGE: Life has been so good since Taylor and I got married. I think dating each other for SO many years has left us with not many surprises. It has been so completely normal. Like no change even happened. There have been no real adjustments. It has just been easier, more convenient, and better! We are so happy and are so blessed to have had the opportunity for so many fun adventures this summer. Two week honeymoon to Florida, or first move and apartment together, NYC, weekend trips, etc. The timing was all perfect and everything about our relationship and life together makes so much sense. He is my best friend, my other half (cliche I know.. but so true), and my eternal soul mate. I am so lucky. He makes me laugh every single day, multiple times. By every act he does I can tell his main goal is to put a smile on my face whether it is swiffering the apartment, singing funny made up songs, helping with dishes, making silly faces to get my attention, or massaging my messed up calves and feet he always finds a way to be 100% amazing, sweet, and thoughtful. I am so incredibly blessed to have found him and to be blessed with his presence every day.

P.S. I miss Pilates. 

We Both Know.

While I was looking on YouTube for the song More Than Anyone (our first dance song), I came across the new music video for Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw's song - We Both Know. It was featured in the movie Safe Haven, which I loved. Love the song - cute video. Thought I'd share. Two of my favorite people, saw them twice this past summer on their tour. Love that they did a song together!

random updates

- I love Taylor Swift's style and you can't go wrong with Paris.
Begin Again.

- I came upon this blog post today. LOVE.

- My practically adopted brother Brandon entered the MTC on Wednesday! We are so happy for him and his accomplishment. He will be serving in Atlanta Georgia.

My family with Sarah, Brandon's sister