Telling the truth. It’s good for you.

Well, I have told many of you this story already, so feel free to skip this and go to the pictures.  For those of you who haven’t heard it…here it goes!

A couple of months ago Judson and I went to dinner with the woman who was to be my internship advisor.  She had found out that Judson was in advertising and just wanted to bounce some ideas off of him.  They were chatting for a bit and then she turned to me and said, “So Mikelle, after your internship, what do you want to do in Public Health? You’re planning to get your Master’s I imagine…”

DILEMMA! What do I say to her? My degree/internship is doing Public Health, but do I really want to do that? NO. Do I lie and say I’m thinking about getting my Master’s or a PH job? mmmmmm no…because then I would have to go along with that lie and feign interest when she gave me suggestions of people to talk to, or places to get my degree.  BUT SHE’S MY INTERNSHIP ADVISOR! She founded this non-profit organization that teaches people of all ages how to eat healthy,  develop recipes and farm in urban environments.  I don’t want to offend her by telling her what I honestly want to do.

My heart is pounding really fast, I can feel my face start to flush, slowly I reply with, “aaactually, I really just want to work in fashion”.  Panicked that I gave the wrong answer, my heart plummets when a look of disbelief/shock appears on her face.  OH NO. Backpedal! fast!

What she said next, I could have never seen coming.  ”Mikelle! My best friend’s husband RUNS FASHION WEEK! I always go, she can get tickets for us.  As soon as the schedule is posted in January, we can decide what we want to go to!”

I can’t even think of the right words to describe how I felt at that very moment. Elated, maybe? Realizing that a life-long dream was going to come true… I mean, really. Who gets that? I never thought I would be able to actually be invited to Fashion Week.

Alright! Moving on! This is getting too wordy/emotional/cheesy and no one wants to read that…so! here are my pictures from my morning.

FEB. 13, 2012

orange shoes, grandmother’s coat, harem pants, cream blouse,  purse and an arm full of bracelets. Ready to go.

I was so nervous all morning.. So much so that my whole body was quivering. On the train to Lincoln Center, I seriously almost started crying I was so happy.  Embarrassing, but true.

cue heavenly choirs…

Lynn and I walking in to see Jenny Packham! Kate Middleton. Be jealous.

The anticipation builds as the show is about to begin…

We were on the front row, at the end of the runway.  Perfect spot.

I found this picture online afterwards..that is me on the right side with the orange shoes, next to the girl in the green sweater.

I have some short videos I will try to post as well. If you want to see ALL of my pictures, come to my house and I will show them to you!

SNL was funny this week. Here’s why.

 

 

Christmas.

I’m sure everyone is dying to hear how our Christmas holiday was.  It was excellent. Thanks for asking! Here are some highlights from our trip. And by “highlights” I mean, the things I took pictures of with my phone.

Cade and Will.  Watching Colbert Report.

I met Sophie! Finally.

Will’s map that he drew.  It leads from the Candy Cane forest to Target to the squirrels and the aliens and ends up in N’york city.  He brought it everywhere and described the places in the exact same order every single time someone asked him about it.

I started rockin’ the middle part. Big day.

Hello. My name is Bruce. Hello Bruce.  This is Cade’s fish that we all bonded with.  I accidentally fed him 12 times his daily allotment in one morning. Not my fault. He looked hungry.

Got a little crafty.  Embroidered this pillow for Judson. It’s us, if you can’t tell. Judson thinks his hair looks like toothpaste. You know, like when they squeeze it so perfectly onto the brush in commercials. I agree, but I still think it is freakin awesome. My mom helped me draw the people. So, props to her.

Will and Judson.  Eating gummy lifesavers.

Definitely something I miss about Utah. My sunsets.

When Sophie falls asleep, we sneak attack and paint her fingernails.

The final result! Yes. She is still sleeping, even though her eyes are half open. She learned that from her mom. Tiiiiny bit creepy.

Ok, you can’t really tell what’s going on in this picture, but I took it so I wouldn’t forget.  My regular driver couldn’t pick me up at the airport, so he sent his friend to pick me up. His name was Hector and was about 50 years old.  He is from the Dominican Republic and LOVES Julia Roberts.  When I got in the car, he was about a quarter of the way through My Best Friend’s Wedding. There was a screen for him in the front and one for me in the back.  Of course I had to sing all the songs in the movie.  He loved that.  Best ride from the airport ever.

Saved the best for last!  My beard post had some weight! It inspired my Uncle Scott to grow a beard of his own. Salt and Pepper-hot.

Judson grew one too! Then he shaved it off. Still mourning that loss.

 

One last thing.  My mom, Will and I were on our way to my grandma’s house one night and, of course, drove through McDonald’s on the way.  I was in the very very very back seat of the “black escalator” with Will when out of no where he says, “I’m siiiinging. I’m in the store and I’m siiiiiiiinging.”  It took a minute to register that he was totally quoting Elf! I started laughing so hard and had to get it on video. Which I loaded, but I guess it didn’t work.  I’ll post it when I’m not so tired.

adios.

in no particular order…

Kristen came to visit!! So happy when friends come.  hint hint.

This was a sweet dish-thing at the Met.  It was a trip and a half.

The memorial fountains. Kristen and crew were supposed to meet us there but decided to be party poopers and just meet us at Shake Shack afterwards. It was pretty amazing.

Where I run…well, walk/jog. Riverside Park.

Judson on top of his old office building.

Not a bad view.

These were the offices on the top floor that we walked past to get to the roof.  Judson actually rode the elevator with Russell Simmons one day. We are just climbing that celebrity ladder. Look out.

I am a Cub Scout leader.  Laugh it up.

This is from when we marched in the Veteran’s Day Parade! No one was watching the parade, but it was pretty cool to walk up the middle of 5th avenue.

Macy’s. I think this was about the 3rd day after Halloween. Everytime I go there, I think of Elf and laugh hysterically when I try and do the splits up the elevator. Which, I obviously cannot do.  Never gets old.

Stumbled upon this house, which was done by the Novogratz’s. I had read about it in their book. LOVE.

I thought this was super funny for some reason. It took me about 5 minutes to take this picture because judson kept pushing me over and hitting my hand while i was trying to take it. that’s why it’s kind of blurry. just fyi.

This is what happens when I have too much time to get dressed. Not good.

My favorite person I’ve seen on the subway.  He totally had a little whispy ponytail AND his giant glasses (that were indeed prescription) had rhinestones on them. He made my entire day, which was good considering I took this at about 7 am. And yes, that is my tutu i was wearing in the bottom left corner.  The other passengers probably thought we were running away to join the circus.

 

This is Judson, preparing for one of his interviews.  He would pull up a picture of who he was going to be interviewing with and fake interview himself.  This guy’s name was Ole, pronounced Ooolah, not O-Lay. I was laughing pretty hard when I looked over and realized what he was doing. It was pretty awesome.  One of the good things about living in a studio, I don’t miss out on things like this!

My sister has a spray tan machine.  I totally want to try this the next time I’m in california.

 

One of the photoshoots I worked on.  VitaCoco, Coconut water. The girl in the commercial was super annoying and loud.  I had her lines memorized by the end of the day. “WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT VITA COCO?!! HI EVERYONE! I’M ERICA!” blah blah blah, “MADONNA’s ENDORSEMENT!” blah blah blah. Long day.

 

The lady at the movie who felt the need to bring her own egg salad sandwich to the movie. eeew gross.

 

Our Christmas decoration. We wanted a tree, but we weren’t going to be in NY for christmas, so we got this instead.  It was real and smelled divine.  It is still hanging on our fireplace.  I don’t have the heart to throw it away.  mmmmmmmmActually I just don’t have the motivation to carry it down two flights of stairs to the garbage can. The more dry it gets, the worse it’s going to be.  I realize that, but still can’t bring myself to do it.

A girl I saw on the subway…If Juno and Tina Fey had a baby, it would be this girl.

 

Wow. Ok, I’m getting bored, as I’m sure you are.  Annnd I need to watch Downton Abbey. Season 2 premiere starts in 5 minutes. Can’t wait!

 

 

My Halloween Job. If you can even call it that.

bear with me.  this will be an update of our lives since ooooohhhhh before Halloween-ish.

here we go.

This is Creative Costume.  I met the ladies who started/own/design the costumes while working on a styling job the last part of the summer.  I had to find some Saudi robes, which I did, in Brooklyn.  They just didn’t have the right collars on them, so the head stylist sent me here to have them add some shirt collars.  They liked me so much while I was there that they offered me a job during their Halloween season.  I emailed them the first week of October and took them up on the offer.  I had so much fun and met some cool people.

There were about 6 rows of these racks. All the sections were labeled.  I think I had memorized the inventory by the 3rd day.  I was pretty surprised with myself.

My absolute favorite costume in the store. Well, one of them.  A giant bug.  Cockroach, tick, bedbug. whatever you want! I chose bedbug.  I found that got the best, most disgusted response, from people looking for a costume. Yes, someone did eventually rent it. I was thrilled. It came with a full on head, like a mascot.  Aaaand brown furry sneakers.

Some of the autographed pictures from people they’ve done costumes for.  Yes, that’s david letterman down at the bottom. They’ve also made costumes for KISS, Rachel Ray and a few others.

Who wouldn’t love working somewhere they had Karl Lagerfeld costumes?

Gaga Meat Dress

An excellent section. One of my faves.

Found a bin one day labeled : MONSTER HANDS. spectacular.

They made me try this on. Yes, for those of you who watch trashy TV (myself included), this is the very dress that the one chica from Real Housewives of New York wore last year. Not going to lie. I felt super awkward. I think it was the shoes that did it.

This is Whitney, one of my co-worker’s daughter.  She would come in most days after school and was absolutely hilarious.  I was in tears a couple times.  I am wearing frankenstein boots.  I was about 6’8″.  with the hat, probably an even 8’5″.  monster.

It was slow one evening, so I dressed Whitney up as Michael Jackson.  She struck the pose. I was impressed.

Hands down, the best costume of the entire time I was there.  These guys were European, and from the looks of it, pretty athletic. Wish my legs looked like the dude with the beard’s.  Never thought I’d say that.

 

Yes.  Ok.  I tried on the bedbug costume. I really just wanted it so bad.

 

 

Downton Abbey. not DownTOWN Abbey.

As many of you may know, I am a sucker for anything half-resembling anything Jane Austin-ish. Judson pretends to like it, for my sake, but then ends up really loving it.  Bonus.  While I am waiting for pictures to load onto my computer, and for Judson to make spaghetti, I thought I might fill you all in on a little something called Downton Abbey.

We tried telling someone about it at church today.  Our banter went a little something like this:

M- It’s this awesome show that won a ton of Academy Awards last year…

J- No. Mikelle, those are for film. We saw it on the Grammy’s.

M- NO. The Grammy’s are for music.

J- The Emmy’s.

M-Yes. Yes. That one.

Anyways, Downton Abbey is a little gem we discovered only by watching the Emmy’s last year.  It was nominated for and won tons of awards.  So naturally, we found it on Netflix, watched the entire 1st season in 2 days (the second being today), were depressed when it ended and then discovered that Season 2 starts TONIGHT! Perfect timing!

Brief overview: (from Wikipedia): “The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country house of theEarl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the reign of King George V. The first series spans two years before the Great War, beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic, which sets the story in motion.”

It is witty, and the characters are extraordinary.  It highlights their adjustments to new inventions, like electricity, telephones and swivel chairs. Awesome.

If you don’t want to take my word for how awesome it is, check this out. (also Wikipedia):  ”It has subsequently become the most successful British costume drama since the 1981 television serial version of Brideshead Revisited, and in 2011 it entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the “most critically acclaimed television show” for the year, becoming the first British show to be so recognised”.  Now tell me you’re not intrigued. I dare you.

If you don’t have time to watch season 1, or you want to just start with season 2, here is something to bring you up to speed. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-09-17/who’s-who-at-downton-abbey—your-blagger’s-guide

Ok. Too many words. Time for some pictures. 

If you end up watching it, let me know what you think! I’d love to hear.

beard-hot

For some reason, I have been really into beards lately.  I’ve always been a fan of scruffy faces, but now I love full on man beards.  Luckily for me, Judson does too.  I’ve been trying to convince him to grow a beard and he agreed to do it, as soon as he got a job.

This week…Judson got a job! YAY, for so many reasons.  The one I’m most excited for? Facial hair.

 

Some of the men who inspired the beard growing:

 

ho-ho-ho-hot. obviously.

 

The notebook-hot.  we both love.

 

judson’s favorite show. Gold-Rush-Alaska-hot.

 

Mark Abernathy.  He is amazing.  Was in our ward this summer.  Spectacular musician. Awesome facial hair.

 

 

George-hot.

 

 

Funny-hot.

 

Anton Krupicka. From the New Balance Minimus commercial. Mountain-man-runner-hot.

 

 

Also, I want Judson to grow his hair out long. Like shoulder-length long.  We’ll see how that goes. Anyways! So thrilled about Judson getting a job.  He has been working so hard and interviewing a TON.  Finally found the perfect fit. Let the beard growing begin!

 

 

the wonders of barnes and noble

So one of my favorite things to do is wander aimlessly around Barnes & Noble.  Today I found this little gem.

 

Back Cover View:

I about peed my pants.

Wanted to share the joy.

hope you’re having a wonderful Thursday!

 

Honeymoooooon

To make up for my lack of posting, here are the pictures from our honeymoon that I just barely downloaded off of our big camera. Enjoy!

 

Our cold glasses of apple juice they gave us at the Male airport.  Our hotel had it’s own room to wait in until the sea planes were ready.  We got to relax on giant chairs and eat fruit.

 

 

My motion-sickness wristbands.

 

The captain of our sea plane….cargo shorts and bare feet.  spectacular.

 

Some of the islands we passed on the way to ours.

 

what 48 hours of traveling will do to a person.

the view from our bed.

 

walking to breakfast

LIZARD!

the sand was the texture of powdered sugar. deeeeelicious

Honeymoon baby!

 

This guy totally had a tramp-stamp! had to get a pic.

We kayaked around our entire island in 45 min.  that includes our breaks we had to take because I am so out of shape. My shoulders were burning like crazy.  We read a TON and played ping pong. Drank a lot of Sprite and spent hours picking up seashells.

for the love

Ok, I’m not a good blogger, I admit it! I am inconsistent and I apologize.  I think the problem is that I don’t have any pictures to put up, and let’s be honest, 99% of the reason to look at a blog is to see pictures.  I have decided to get the camera out from the top of the closet and begin taking more pictures so I have stuff to show all of the 3 people that read this blog.