Thankful Thursday

I am so Thankful! Life is awesome, and I am incredibly happy. I feel so blessed to have all the people in my life that I have, to have been to the places I have been, seen, done, learned, received all that I have. In the spirit of the holiday, I (like many of you) am going to post a small list of the things I am grateful for.

1. Family: I am a sucker for my family. My in-laws & my own immediate. I am SO lucky to have such a big & wonderful group of people to always rely on. I would do anything for them. Being the baby sister has been the best part (no, not because I get spoiled). I am PROUD to be a Carver. I am PROUD to be a Spiker. I love each & every one of them, and know they each help/bless/influence me for good in their own way--I would be lost without them. Plus I have the CUTEST nieces & nephews in the entire world!

2. Chris: what can I say? He's the man!

3. Church: So much good in my life is due to the gospel. It brings me peace & joy. I am always learning more & growing more in the church, and I am grateful for that. I love having a place to go that reminds me what it's all about & having strangers become friends because of this united thread that binds us.

4. Music: I'd die without it. I love all kinds. Love new. Love old. It completes me.

5. Change of Season: Okay, so maybe THIS completes me. I grew up with 4 seasons, so I am naturally a 4 season kind of gal. I appreciate when the weather changes, I find it beautiful & refreshing (yes, even with snow).

6. Sisters: I know I already mentioned family. But I am grateful for sister relationships. They are unique & nothing is like them. My cup is over full with sister relationships, with two sisters & six sister in laws. I LOVE SISTERS! They understand & accept you, no matter how off & strange you may be...like me!

**I am grateful for ALL of my friends, I just wanted to thank a few in particular for their extra support/love this year!

7. Brit: Talk about a person who will do anything & everything for you. She has blessed my life, ever since we were college roomies. This year is no different. I could go on & on & on about how Brit blesses my life. She is constant & always makes sure she is apart of my life, I know she cares because she shows it almost everyday. She has taught me so much & I actually want to be just like her when I grow up ;)

8. Ash: I am grateful for Ash because she has taught me a lot about friendship this past year through our friendship. I am also grateful for her because she is a good & genuine person, always positive & upbeat. Being my first CA friend, making me laugh ALL the time, always offering her time/energy etc whenever I need anything. I am also grateful she is a mommy, because I get to watch her learn & it's made me realize maybe I can do this!

9. Danny, Traci, & Mark: Chris' friends from college have become mine. I love them. They make us laugh & they are the most loyal people we know. I know we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

10. Forgiveness: I ain't perfect. I am thankful for the people who have forgiven me for my moments of idiocy, rudeness, or selfishness.

11. Orange County: No commuting! GORGEOUS weather! Chris is working! 2 bdrm apt! Great places to eat, shop, & hang out. (& it's only been 2 weeks..)

12. Valencia 2nd Friends: We have some amazing friends up in V2 that we will really miss. We've enjoyed many a sunday dinners with them, ran races with some, and laughed with all. We aren't sure we will find a ward as cool as V2 anywhere..

13. ALL my friends: Cami, Jeni, Benz, Jess, Jac, Rach, etc etc etc etc.

SO thankful for all of you!!!

14. Ti Vo: VERY thankful! ;)

15. Holidays: the music, the energy, the "spirit", the fun, the food, the people.

Best time of the year.

16. Work Experience: I am not lazy. I can at least say that much. I am who I am today because I can roll up my sleeves & work. I have learned & grown so much as a person because of it, and really value the experiences/knowledge I have gained from it.

17. Make Up: there are just some days when I need it & hallelujah I have it!

18.Blankets, Socks, & Heaters: I am ALWAYS cold, without these I'd be an ice sculpture.

19. Traveling: I'll do it anytime & go any place. I love it! Especially with Chris, he makes it fun.

20. Food/Sleep: I think these go hand in hand, because I want to do both ALL the time.

21. USA: We may have disagreements, economic struggles, etc. But Im still so thankful to live here and am still as patriotic as ever!

ETC. ETC. ETC.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I just love her

NieNie on the Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

..i cried.

im a material girl in a material world

Its Monday.

Material Monday.

Therefore, I can lust.

Oh Christian, I love thee.

Spiker news

a few highlights from the past two weeks

...we both had strep throat followed by an awful cough/cold that lasted 2weeks...

...I quit my job...

...we MOVED to O.C. (& love it!)...

...Chris bought a massive television...

...Chris started his job!...

...we signed up for a 5k...

...I started cooking again after a long absence...

...we watched Curb Your Enthusiasm for the first time & love it!...

AND CHRIS PASSED THE BAR!

Booya!!!!

we are so excited & I am so proud of him! Smooth sailing from here on out folks!

It must be the Holidays!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

For the past few years the Holiday season has been full of holiday boutiques/events for my accessories, this year is no different! Mari Elizabeth Couture will be in 3 shows & my new clothing line (post coming later) will also be in 3! To kick start the season I had a boutique the first weekend of November in UT called The Bijou Market, for MEC necklaces & my new shirts.

Because that was the weekend we were moving to Orange County, Britney handled it for me! All of you who have ever done a holiday boutique know just how much work it takes--you have to plan a display, set up the display & inventory, monitor it & sell it during the hours of the boutique and and and and... Brit did ALL of that for me! She even STEAMED my tops! Now that's love! I am so grateful for all her help, because guess what a horrible person I am? I am having her do ANOTHER one for me in a couple weeks! I am a lucky lady to have her, I'm telling you!

Here is Britney for those of you who don't know her, I have mentioned her OFTEN on this blog! She is a babe right?? Love her fab red hair too...

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The next event is THIS weekend at Valencia High School! I participated last year because Chris' cousin Lauren is a choir member, and the event is a fundraiser for them. This year she asked if I would do it again & of course I wanted to help out! So even if you aren't going to purchase any MEC merchandise, you should definitely come to support the cause! This year I will be selling a tiny small sampling of my new tops & focusing mainly on Mari Elizabeth Couture necklaces & headwear! Come visit me!

Valencia High School- Valencia, CA
Fri 20th 8am-1pm
Sat 21st 8am - 4pm

some of the things you'll find there this weekend:

Then the first weekend of December I have 3 boutiques! You may be thinking, how can she be in 3 places at once? I can't--LUCKY for me (again with this great luck!) I have Britney (again!), Claire, & Courtney.

Brit will be running my table at the Beehive Bazaar! I really wish I could be there for this one! It is my first year participating in this event & I have heard such great things about it. It's a 2.5 day event-more info coming soon!

Courtney is doing a boutique up in SLC (more info when it gets closer) for her fabulous accessories for women & children, Pearl & Pauper! She is going to be offering AMAZING prices so be sure to check back to my blog for further information! Court was sweet enough to invite me to split the booth with her, so MEC will be there as well! I am also very happy to have her, because she can create a beautiful display for us--she is a boutique pro!

Claire found a fantastic boutique called Hip Handmaids (where we will be doing a giveaway soon!). Located here is California!! It's in Burbank! (more details to come as it gets closer) Claire & I have been partnering up to create some fun tops--I will be there at least one of the two days, hopefully both!

dance, dance

I heart Paramore!

I went to see Paramore @ Hollywood Palladium
this past week--SO MUCH FUN!
We laughed.
We danced.
We sang.
We danced & sang a LOT & should be embarrassed of these photos..

Lindsay said "Wait! How do I make a funny face?!" haha.

She is amazing

Us crazy fans went into the crowd & went wild

I have a concert buzz now & am craving more! I have been wanting to see the Muse, Killers, & the Sounds for a long time now (consequently I missed all three shows in LA! ah! 'til next tour I suppose) But there are tons of girly concerts I would go to too! I highly recommend a concert in your near future if you can do it!
Some of my Paramore favorites, oldies but goodies:
Crushcrushcrush
Hallelujah
Fabs from the new album:
Looking Up
Brick By Boring Brick

Halloween Time!

I know this post is a bit late! We haven't had internet until now & it's time to play catch up!

This year Chris & I ended our travels in Utah, where we spent my 24th birthday & Halloween. It is always a blast in Utah, seeing family & friends, eating at our favorite Utah restaurants, & enjoying a change in weather. We love Utah!

BIRTHDAY!!

I was actually really dreading this birthday, I am feeling really old & the hardest part is I don't know how much I have to show for my 24 years! It's a weird feeling that hasn't quite gone away, but I am hoping it does soon! Anywho...we invited a bunch of our closest UT pals to join us for dinner & a haunted house up in Salt Lake City. It was so great to see everyone! We really do wish we could see them more often! Courtney, the doll she is, made a dinner reservation at one of my favorite SLC spots, the Dodo. After dinner we went to Nightmare on 13th, which was SO freaky! The boys all claim they weren't scared...bah! Utah always has wicked awesome haunted houses...if you ever get a chance to visit in October, you should definitely check them out!

some of the lovely ladies

from the left: Traci, Cami, Rachel, Me, Brit, & Court

after the haunted house

from left: Brit & her husband Keith, Danny & his wife Traci, Mark, Chris, & Me

Danny is one of Chris' closest friends from BYU, and his wife Traci is the nicest person I have ever met. They are expecting a son! We are so excited for them!

Brit & Cami were my college roomies when Chris & I met, it's always fun to get together with them & laugh about old times! I will always love these girls!

Brit, that savvy little lady & my twin (we basically agree on everything & think so much alike it's freaky) works at a fab store that carries fab goods...lucky for ME! Her & Cami surprised me with a little Marc Jacobs for my bday....Keith was taking pics, apparently I LOVE me some Marc!
(he is one of my very favorite designers)

Courtney Nicole & I.
I'm really glad we got to see them, they live about an hour north of my parents & even though that's close it always seems far! I am really grateful to have her for a sister in law & love her mucho!

Miss Rachel!
Rachel is Chris' cousin, and I ADORE her! You know how there are just people you click with? Chris' family is FULL of those kind of people! I am so happy we were able to see her while in UT.

Danny (aka Deluxxe) & Chris
All they do is make eachother laugh the entire time they hang out.
It's awesome.

Brit, Keith, Cami & her husband JR

During the week I was able to go to lunch with Cami & my friend Benz. Benz is hilarious & full of very good, intelligent conversation (haha, there is really no other way to describe it). It was so great to see him! He just received his mission call to Mongolia! I am really happy & excited for him, I think he is going to be a great missionary.

MORE BIRTHDAY!!!
My family had a small shin-dig for my bday as well, Katie (my sister in law) ROCKS! She made me this awesome cupcake tower of heavenly goodness.
Observe:

These fabulous cupcakes are topped with handmade (by Katie) chocolate butterflies! Whaaaaaat? Yes. I am spoiled. The end.

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE having older brothers? It's the best. Older brothers are so fun. Here are 2 of my 4 older brothers with Chris.
from left: Cim, Chris, PJ

Logan & his cupcake face, this kid is SUCH a character! He is constantly entertaining us.

Lorena (my sister in law) & her youngest, Dylan (who has the cutest cheeks!)

birfday girl & my sweet shades compliments of my father

birfday girl's hot husband

HALLOWEEN!

my dad gave me a pk of 20 vampire teeth for my birthday, the kids enjoyed them almost as much as we did..

we had some pre-Halloween dress up time...

Chris was cracking me up with the clown costume. He would be a cute clown if he didn't have the scruff & the scary stare!

Chris, my mama, & I decided instead of carving pumpkins we would glitter them! I normally cover or shimmer my pumpkins, but we found glitter glue pens so decided to draw on them this year! It was fun. Chris refused at first, but it only took about 10min of watching us before he said "hand me the blue"!

The only costume I could convince him to wear...

Trick or Treat!

my cute nephew Caleb aka Dr. Caleb

my mother in her Shakespearian costume

Katie & I were both Witches

Cim was an ACDC fan
(if you see his shirt he put tape over the 'LL' & made it "CK" haha what a nerd)

PJ's family were all Pirates!

Aubrie was a Princess!

Pirate Alex!

BumbleBee Justin!

Ellie was Tinkerbell!

Joshua was Spiderman!

Logan was BuzzLightyear, he received the royal treatment & didn't have to walk

Caitlyn was a cowgirl!

Danny & Traci joined us for the Trick or Treating, she was a gypsy & he was Sherlock Holmes

All the adults dressed up!

(you can barely see Chris because his mask is black, but he definitely IS choking me)

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!