Thred Up //$20 Towards Free Clothes For You!

You guys. I am so excited to share today's post with you. Why? Because you can get $20 IN FREE CLOTHES JUST BY USING THIS LINK! 

For real. No tricks, no gimmicks. Why? Because ThredUp is awesome & they know that if they give you $20 to spend on them, you'll see how awesome they are and come back for more.

ThredUp is a website that sells Like New clothes from brands we all love! It's basically Plato's Closet, DI, Goodwill, Uptown Cheapskate, etc but all online. They are constantly getting new stuff and you can filter by brand, size, color, and many other options to help you find what you're looking for.

I just got my first package from them and I'm obsessed. As a preference, I mostly shopped from the "New With Tags" category (Find it at the bottom of the website under Boutiques).

I got this brand new floral tee shirt from Simply Vera Wang new with tags for $6.30. (retails at $30!)

I got this brand new Gap Pullover Sweater for $10.80. (retails at $60!)

& I also got this practically new LC Lauren Conrad Pullover Sweater for $5.08. (retails at $48!)

I definitely plan on shopping from ThredUp again. I keep my eye on it through their app every day to see if things I'm looking for come through their system. 

Make sure to USE MY REFERRAL LINK HERE to get your $20. If you just search their website you won't get the $20. Full disclosure: I also receive credit when you use your credit. So it's a total WIN-WIN! 

If you do order from them let me know! I'd love to see what treasures you find!

How We Wore It // August Edition

Another month, another How We Wore It! I saw the inspiration picture and thought, "I own absolutely nothing that looks like that..." Literally, nothing. I started pondering what I could wear, and I was inspired by the soft and neutral tones.

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Here was our inspiration: 

via Gal Meets Glam

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Here is my interpretation:

Top: Bohme //  Skirt: H&M // Tights: Target // Booties: Forever Young Shoes

Now go check out how all these other fabulous ladies re-created the same outfit!

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Brooke at Silver Lining

Deidre at Deidre Emme

Jana at Bouvardian

Alexa at He and I

Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba

Brooklyn at A Little Too Jolley

Ashley at Absolutely Ashley

Danica at Danakin Skywalker

Rachel at Rachel Sayumi

Sharlee at My New Lines

Emma at Ever Emma

Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect

Kyla at FordOlogy

Kalyn at Geez Louise

Kallie at Life Through a Lens

Tayler at The Morrell Tale

Jessica at My Peanut Butter Problem

Bonnie at Life of Bon

On Buying Our First Home //

Last November we bought a home. Our first home. At the respective ages of 21 & 23. Yeah, it kinda took me by surprise too. My husband had received a great raise in June, and one night we were looking over finances and thinking, "We probably have enough money to afford a mortgage. Why are we throwing away rent money each month??" 

So began our hunt for the perfect home in September. We didn't really have a lot of preferences. We didn't even really care too much what city it was in, as long as it was within reasonable distance from Colten's work, we were good with it. We looked at all kinds of houses, fixer uppers, brand new, in fancy neighborhoods, in run down sketchy neighborhoods. And each time I'd find a house I liked, Colten didn't like it. And each time Colten found a house he liked, I didn't like it. 

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I'll be honest. For me, house hunting was NOT fun. It was stressful. We bid on 2 houses that our offers were turned down. The first because someone else had bid just a few hours before us, and the second counter offered us higher than their list prices. Weirdos. I cried a lot. I had a lot of meltdowns. I just wanted something to work out for us! 

Colten wanted a fixer upper because he likes to build and do fixer upper type things. I wanted a finished home because I never knew anyone who finished their basement if they bought an unfinished one. Colten goes to school full time and works full time and I sure as heck don't know how to finish a basement. 

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I remember the day that we went to see about 6 different home. I was tired and somewhat cranky. We had a random house in a city I'd never been to on the list. We walked into the home and I said, "Colten, I want this house." The more I saw the more I wanted it. It was in our price range, plenty of rooms, updated carpet and paint (nice carpet was a real winner in my book!) and overall it was just so cute! Colten fell in love with it too. We knew from the moment we walked in that this was the house for us. It felt... right.

The neighborhood seemed quiet. The house had it quirks (aka a backyard of all cement and a huge sideyard of grass) but we BOTH wanted it. We made a full price offer that night, the next day it was accepted with only a change of the closing dates.

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Because an investor had bought the home to fix it up and re-sell it, he had not owned the property very long. In order to avoid additional inspections/appraisals, we had to wait until the investor had owned it for 90 days. The 90 days was up in November and we signed off on our home. There were a few other bumps in the road (aka my credit score dropping 1 point below what I needed for a certain loan during the 90 day period and adding $80/mo to our mortgage) but after the home was purchased and we moved in, it was all worth it. 

We have LOVED our home. We love the neighborhood, the neighbors, our church family and the quietness and peace we feel here. It was the first home that we both wanted. We wanted it so badly. And we feel so grateful to be living here in our little small town part of Salt Lake. 

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For our 2 year wedding anniversary, I got Colten this home drawing from Breezy and Co. Isn't it adorable?? You can get your own (or anything else in the shop) 15% off using code BROOKLYN15. Be sure to let me know if you decide to get one, I'd love to see how it turns out!

Distractions //

Last weekend I went to the Shania Twain concert with my mom and two sisters. It was a lot of fun! None of us are huge party animals, but it's fun to see my sisters laughing and doing a little bit of dancing! And my mom too! (yup, secrets out, she can shake it shake it!)

During the concert we had about five girls probably around age 17 sitting in front of us. At first we smiled because they all had matching Shania Twain shirts and were SO excited for the opening act Gavin DeGraw, and even more excited when Shania finally came out. They'd had their phones out during the opener, but none of us were 100% into Gavin DeGraw so it wasn't that big of a deal. I figured they'd put their phones away for the main concert. They didn't.

The spent SO MUCH TIME during the concert on their phones. Sending Snapchats, holding the sound up to their ears to see what it sounded like. Asking their friends if they looking ok in the picture and then sitting down to post it to Instagram. Then they'd stand back up, sing and cheer, get another good picture, and pull up Twitter and send a few tweets. Then more Snapchat. Then they'd go through all the Snapchats they'd been sent. And THEN they'd get back up and keep listening to the concert.

My heart was breaking for them. We paid $75/ticket for the concert. These girls had to have paid at least that much. And they spent at least HALF the concert worrying about their phones.

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I'm not judging them. I know that I too can be easily distracted by technology. By Twitter. By Facebook. By Instagram. If my phone vibrates with a new message after I've already laid down for bed, I can't fall asleep without checking it. And there are many times in my life that I wish I could go back and put my phone away.

Social media is NOT inherently bad. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogging and even Snapchat can be tools for good. You can be a force for good on social media! But when we worry more about getting the perfect Snapchat to send out than worrying about enjoying the concert we paid to come to, isn't that a problem?

Instead of communicating at family parties, we hole ourselves up in separate corners, and sit on our phones. We worry about posting our successes on Facebook so the whole world can see. We get distracted by things that aren't even reality!

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"Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction. He would have good people fill life with 'good things' so there is no room for the essential ones. Have you unconsciously been caught in that trap?" (Richard G Scott // First Things First // April 2001 General Conference)

I've been thinking about distraction a lot. What is keeping ME from the living the life I dream about? Are the things I say are my top priorities actually my top priorities? What are MY distractions? And how can I change them?

Don't let getting the perfect Snapchat deny you of an amazing concert experience. Kapeesh?

Roolee Boutique //

A few months ago I was tagged in an Instagram post for a giveaway with Roolee Boutique. Although I didn't win (boo hoo!) I did get to learn about a new boutique that carries the cutest stuff!

In this post I'm wearing the Sun Orange Poppy Top & the Linda Wedges. I really love dressing pretty feminine, and I usually lean more towards neutral tones for my wardrobe, but when I saw this Poppy Top I knew I needed to own it. Roolee sent me this top to review for my blog, so I wore it to a family party and go so many compliments on it! 

This top is perfect for summer and easy to transition into fall with some leggings + booties. How about them pasty white legs eh? LOL. Working a 8-5 desk job has not made it easy to get sunlight. Right now Roolee has some amazing New Arrivals for their fall line. This top, this top, these booties, this skirt and these joggers are all on my current want list. 

What's on your Fall want list??

STAYING AT THE DISNEYLAND HOTEL // DISNEYLAND RESORT

The Disneyland Hotel is iconic. With the name Disneyland in it's name you know it's got to be good! They've recently updated the pool area and many of the rooms so the hotel amenities are quite amazing! While the Disneyland Hotel is not my absolute favorite Disneyland Resort hotel, it's definitely one way to make your stay have a little more of that Disney magic that they are so famous for and I would stay there in a heartbeat if I could! I mean, just look how gorgeous it is!

Price: 

Of the 3 Disneyland Resort hotels, the Disneyland Hotel falls in the middle. It's more expensive than a fancier non-Disney property hotel, but cheaper than Disney's Grand Californian hotel. Starting around $350+ a night depending on whether it is peak or off season.

Rooms:

The rooms are fun and classic, the perfect blend of paying tribute to the early Disneyland years! The headboards of the bed have a light up Sleeping Beauty castle which is one of my favorite parts about the rooms! There is also timeless artwork framed on the walls.

Dining:

Goofy's Kitchen is a Character Dining located inside the hotel. This is my favorite dinnertime character dining. Character Dining is always pricey but Goofy's Kitchen is worth it! It's buffet style, all you can eat and the food is actually really good! You'll get a picture with Goofy in his chef hat before your dinner starts, and then the characters come around to your table as you eat for personalized meet and greets. Minnie is usually there along with Chip & Dale, and at least 1 princess usually too! Learn more about Goofy's Kitchen here. 

Steakhouse 55 is a fancier table service restaurant. Although not a character dining it is recommended that you make reservations ahead of time to ensure you can get in. It costs about the same as a character dining. They do offer breakfast and dinner, and although I've never eaten there, it looks divine.

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar offers specialty drinks, beer, wine and some yummy appetizers. It's located just outside the hotel.

Tanagroa Terrace offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and is a quick service restaurant if you're looking for cheaper and faster!

The Coffee House offers sandwiches, salads, pastries snacks as well as quite obviously coffees and iced coffees.

Activities: 

On select nights you can watch a movie under the stars at the Disneyland Hotel! They take place on the Magic Kingdom lawn, there are chairs or beach towels provided to sit on and you can bring your own snacks. How magical to watch a Disney movie at the happiest place on earth!

3 Pools- The E ticket, D ticket, and Monorail pools are a great way to cool off and relax. The Monorail pools contains two huge waterslides! And the E ticket & D ticket pools are more designed for the relaxing guest.

Get Up & Go Power Walk through California Adventure Park is an activity available to Disneyland hotel guests. It is a 15 minute, one mile walk that will get you a little bit of morning exercise, and a look at the park before it opens.

The Happiest Hotel on Earth tour is a journey through the history and design of the Disneyland hotel. It's a one hour walking tour, and while it is free you'll need to sign up in advance. 

Overall: 

The Disneyland hotel is a classic. Plus, who wouldn't want to stay at the Disneyland hotel for their Disneyland vacation. I love that this hotel is a middle option for staying at the Disney Resort hotels. It feels upscale, but not too fancy that it can't be family friendly. The rooms are magical, the service is magical and the pools are amazing!

Do you have a favorite hotel to stay at in Disneyland? 

Our Love Story // The Short Version

When I was little, (okay let's be honest, even today) my parents would say, "Brooklyn can you give us the short version of this story?" What can I say, I love words! So if you're long-winded like me, you can check out my 23 part love story by going here. If you want the short version, well, you've come to the right page today.

Colten and I met on a blind date set up by Brielle, a friend I only knew through blogging. Even though we had never met in real life, she asked me if I was single, told me she had a friend that just got home from his mission and wanted to set us up. He Facebook messaged me, we got each others number and we texted all weekend. The following Monday he drove from Logan to SLC (an hour and a half away) and took me on our first date, the next night he came up again. Those 2 dates were the best dates I'd ever been on and we knew we wanted to see where things would go.

We didn't see each other until the next Monday. On that day we shared our first kiss, and became "official" boyfriend and girlfriend. If you ask Colten, he knew on our first date that we would get married, I took a couple of weeks.

After about 3 weeks of dating we started to talk about marriage. Looking back, it's pretty crazy, but in the moment, I just knew I couldn't live my life without him. He told me that he knew he wanted to get married to me, but I needed to decide for myself if this was what I wanted too. I prayed, cried, worked out, prayed some more, pondered, prayed some more and more and more. After about 4 weeks I told him that we should do it, we should get married. I'll never ever forget the smile on his face when I told him.

We went ring shopping, started planning a date, a temple, the reception etc. And then after 8 weeks of knowing each other, he officially proposed. 2.5 months after the proposal we got married. Every day isn't peaches, rainbows, and sugar cookies, but life is pretty darn great. We are both romantics, we are both committed. We have a lot of different interests, and a lot of core values that really bring us together. I'm so grateful I didn't let anyone else's opinions keep me from marrying Colten. I'm glad I took a leap of faith, trusted my gut and trusted God. He's the love of my life, my biggest supporter, and the best husband I could've ever asked for.

Now if you want all the details about my decision, the proposal, the engagement, the wedding, etc. Go HERE and read the whole story!

Beginning to Meditate

A couple of weeks ago I went remote for my job, aka, I get to work from my basement at home. This meant no more commuting! (insert jazz hands here) I decided I wanted to be proactive about my old commuting time (which was about 25-30 minutes) and fill that time with something that would be beneficial to my health and wellness.

After pondering, praying, googling, pinteresting, tweeting, asking around and reading article after article I came up with a new morning routine that inspired me. I'm still working out specific timing on things and will share the whole routine with you after I've been doing it for awhile. But for now, I wanted to share with you that I have been meditating! Yes! Meditating every weekday morning. And it has been beautiful.

Meditation is something I kinda linked with weirdos. I've since repented and now that I understand it a little more I think EVERYONE should do it.

While researching meditation I came across Stop, Breathe, Think, an app designed to help you learn how to meditate. I tried a few of the free guided meditations and loved them so much I went through and bought all the extra ones. They have been super worth it. Sometimes I'll just set the self-meditation timer and focus on a mantra, or ponder a gospel truth, or ponder/pray about my purpose here in life.

Sometimes in the middle of the day I'll feel stressed and I'll whip out the app and listen to the guided "Dealing with Anxiety" meditation. It's been super helpful. You can do a daily check in, where you choose a few different emotions you are feeling at that moment and the app will suggest what meditation you could use most, but you can always choose whatever meditation seems right for you.


This is not a paid review! I just wanted to share with you all what's been working for me. There are lots of other free apps out there for meditation and I'm so glad I've started this habit. Watch this intro to SBT. Have you ever tried meditation? Do you have a favorite app you use? Tell me in the comments and let's chat meditation!

Summer VacYAYtion: Be an #UnderWarrior

It's crazy to me that summer is almost over already, I'm not the only one blown away that school starts up for everyone in a few weeks am I? Most of our summer vacations are planned for end of August/early September thanks to the fact that my husband's birthday is August 31 and mine is September 1. Not too mention that labor day weekend is the following Monday!

But don't you hate it when you get all excited for a trip and then realize you scheduled it right when Aunt Flo is scheduled to pay a visit? I think 8 of my last 10 Disneyland trips I've had Aunt Flo visiting the whole time. Thank heavens for 2015 feminine products! U by Kotex has created some revolutionary and amazing products to help you spend more time worrying about your summer vacyaytion plans and less time worrying about Aunt Flo.

U by Kotex offers a complete line of feminine care including new 3D Capture Core & Xpress Dri Products which are incredible! And the best part is, thanks to this sponsored post, you can request a free sample just by clicking here! 

So get your U by Kotex free sample today! They will mail them off to your house immediately so you can enjoy your last few weeks of summer worry free. Become an UnderWarrior and try U by Kotex today!

UNITE 7 Seconds Refresher // Dry Shampoo Review

A couple of months ago I received UNITE 7 Seconds Refresher from the UNITE company to review here on my blog. I've been trying a lot of different dry shampoos lately so it took me awhile before I got around to reviewing this one. I also made sure to use the entire bottle before making any claims!

What are the benefits?

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-Extremely fine clay removes excess oil

-Weightless silicones lightly condition the hair

-Maintains existing hair color

-Increases volume at the roots

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How's the Scent?

I'm pretty into things smelling really good and overall UNITE's products don't have much scent which can be good if you are sensitive to scents. However, this dry shampoo smells like alochol, straight rubbing alcohol yo. Even my husband was like, "What is in that stuff you're spraying? It does not smell like you should be putting that on your hair." He's right, it doesn't smell like it is good for your hair, however, it also works really well, which I'll get to in a minute.

How Do I Use It?

Shake can thoroughly. Whenever your roots are looking oily, spray on roots at least 6 inches away from hair. Use a generous amount around the crown and top of your head. I let the product sit for about a minute, and then I softly use my hands to rub the product in as if I were actually shampooing my hair. Then I brush through and style as usual. 

How Much Does It Cost?

Price: $32.00

Where Can I Buy It?

Online or in UNITE Carrying Salons. Go HERE! 

My Overall Opinion

Maybe my expectations for UNITE are too high because I've been so in love with the other products I was sent. I have honestly used other dry shampoos that I prefer to this one. With that being said, I've also used other dry shampoos that do not work at all! 7 Seconds Refresher does exactly what it says it will and has made it so I can go 3-4 days between hair washing, and we all know the natural oils on your hair are the best for helping your hair maintain it's healthiness. I hope they reformulate one day and give it a different scent, the scent is the main turn off for me. It DOES WORK. Which is why I think that if you're curious about it, you should try it! Finding your perfect dry shampoo is a personalized journey based on a lot of different factors, and I'm still searching for my favorite!

What Do You Love About You?

A couple of weeks ago, Ashley from The Power of One Girl came and spoke to my church youth group. She did a fantastic job, and I left there feeling so inspired. Her message transcended age and touched all of us there.

At one point she asked us all to write down some things we love about ourselves. We all kinda just sat there. Looking around. Why was it so hard? So I challenged myself to think of 10 things as quickly as I could, no judgement of myself wondering if they were true, just writing them down as they came to mind.

1. I am compassionate
2. I am loving
3. I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me!
4. I am a good wife
5. I am a hard worker
6. I take care of myself
7. I share my testimony often
8. I believe in the good in everyone!
9. I am a great writer
10. I strive to follow Christ

All of the sudden, I honestly didn't care if these things were true or not. My heart felt happy. I knew that even I wasn't all of these things yet, I would be. I caught a glimpse of eternity.

When you focus on the things you aren't good at, the negative, the things you hate about yourself... that's all you see. When you focus on the good things about yourself, you begin to see yourself more and more in the way the Lord sees you. As His precious daughter, for which he has great plans. If you haven't taking a few minutes to think about how great you are, do it tonight. Pull out your journal. Open a new blog post. Say a prayer. List 10 things you love about yourself, without judgement of whether or not they are true.

God will open your mind. He will teach you about yourself and all the gifts he has given you if you ask him to. I've begun a habit of meditating 5 minutes every morning before I begin my day. I've been trying to use that time to really be still, and listen. What does God want me to know today? And some days, I feel like he is teaching me, about me. And I know that if you spend time meditating on it, God will teach you, about you.