Eleven Things

One of my blogger friends, Nicole from Writes Like a Girl, posted these questions on her blog and they seemed like some fun questions for you guys to get to know me a little better. So here goes nothin! :)

1. What is your favorite thing to do when you're feeling stressed?
// I make sure to swing by the grocery store on my way home to grab a magazine {Instyle or Glamour}, then I draw up a flaming hot bubble bath, drop in my Lush bath bombs, and soak my worries away.

2. It's 2014. What invention are you still waiting for them to come out with?
// Gas-less cars and teleportation.

3. You're in control of the thermostat-what temperature do you set it?
// In the winter time, I love to feel warm...so I'll set the heater to 80 degrees and it drives Ryan up a wall because his body temp runs 10 degrees hotter than any normal person should. We are in constant debate over whether the heater or fan gets to be on. It's just as exciting as it sounds.

4. If you could go back and say something to yourself, what would you say and what age would you say it to? 
// I would tell my 16 year old self that "saving" someone isn't worth it when you get sucked down the drain with them. Being someone's sole reason for happiness isn't endearing, it's scary. And to listen to my parents, because in all your infinite teenage knowledge {HA!}, they really do want you to  succeed in life and be happy.

5. What toppings are on your perfect pizza?
// I am SO boring when it comes to pizza, I love a plain 'ole pepperoni. Although, I'll compromise and get a supreme with cheese stuffed crust to placate you-know-who.

6. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?
// My mom told me that if she had a second girl she would have named her Aubrey Noelle...and then I was instantly irked wondering why that wasn't MY name. I would have loved to be nicknamed Nollie! So now I'm going to steal that name for my future baby girl...Aubrey Noelle Rios. How cute is that?!

7. What actor/actress would play you in the movie of your life?
// Reese Witherspoon...DUH. And Ryan could be played by young Antonio Banderas, love that accent ;)

8. List three things you want to accomplish in the next five years:
// Get out of debt. Have at least one little one. Be settled, always progressing & happy

9.What's the last show you binge-watched?
// FRIENDS! I had only ever seen a re-run here and there growing up and wanted to watch the whole series straight through. So Ryan and I watched all 10 seasons in about a month. Not gonna lie, I was kind of depressed when it was over. Mourning over the loss of my fictional friends!

10. What drink or food item is your go-to guilty pleasure?
// Lately it's been the Sodalicious drive-thru...a "Your Mom" extra dirty {Dr. Pepper, half & half, lime, and coconut} and a sugar cookie make me happy right quick!

11. Do you feel that your current age fits you?
// I always have people mistaking me for being around 25, and I'm told it's because I "act so mature" or "am confident and hold myself well in conversation." But, I have a lot to learn and experience...so I'm ok with being the ripe age of 22.

Embarrassing Moment(s)

Challenge Day 10: "Most embarrassing moment(s). Spill."

Oh my gosh, where in the world do I even start? My whole life is a series of embarrassing moments!!
How about when I had to pee on the side of the 91 freeway because there was a car accident that kept us in gridlock traffic for hours? Oh, and I was with my boyfriends family {from high school}, we were driving back home after they picked up their pet kitten from the the cat store. They were all chillin', with the new cat, in the car while I took care of business behind a bush. That's class right there.

Or when Ryan first EVER met my family and they all couldn't help but make Mexican jokes the entire weekend? {They were just nervous & obviously had some horrific word vomit and when they are told to not bring something up...they inevitably do}. My dad decided to tell a joke on the way home from church, in trying to bond with Ryan, he said: "Why hasn't Mexico won any Olympic medals?"....."Cause everyone who can run, jump, or swim is already across the border!" Ya, total cringe-worthy moment...Ryan thankfully took it graciously but my mom on the other hand, did not. She had a total hissy-cow fit once she heard what my dad said. We still joke about it!

Finally, how about when Ryan asked me to draw the United States last year and I realized that I only know the west coast? I know absolutely NO geography. Ryan was laughing for HOURS. "Crap" is apparently the stuff I don't need to know cause I've never been and probably will never go? Haha!
Enjoy & happy Friday! :)

What I'm Afraid Of

{Families are forever, woot woot!}

I finally gave in and am doing the "Blog Every Day in May" challenge...but let's be real. I'll probably only end up doing it on days when I'm not working on my internship or soaking up sun by the pool. I tried keeping up with the Outfit Of the Day Every Day May and totally failed yesterday when I wore sweats all day. Oops!! Anywho, today is Day 7 of the blogging challenge and we are supposed to write about what we are most afraid of.

Plain and simple, I'm afraid of losing someone close to me.
It's miserable having those nightmares where someone close to me dies in a car accident/surgery/shooting. I wake up breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and reaching for Ryan to make sure he is alright. Then for the phone to double check that there are no phone messages filled with horrible news. I have not lost anyone close to me as of yet, and I'm afraid that I have it "too good to be true". A little pessimistic, huh?? I'll admit that I'm a little neurotic, but could you blame me? I would like to keep my family close to me and will do so for as long as humanly possible. And thank the stars that I believe that families are forever or else my anxiety would definitely be getting the best of me! :)

Warm Fuzzies

I don't know what it is with growing up, but I seriously can cry at the drop of a hat.

Cute pomsky memes or pictures?

Pomeranian videos on YouTube?

A touching moment on "My Fair Wedding" with David Tutera?

Little Mexican kids at the supermarket?

Heart warming inspirational sports videos?

Yes, I have teared up or even flat out cried when seeing all of the above.

Not even a sad/I'm stressed cry, more of a ridiculous cuteness/heart warming fuzzies kind of cry.

Sometimes happy things even make me cry. 

Like the picture above, I look at it and think about the life Ryan & I will live together and am just so happy that I cry! I'm even tearing up now...

Ryan just laughs & holds me tight when I cry over stuff like that.

He thinks it's adorable. I, on the other hand, think that it ruins my mascara.

Now he just sends me cute puppy memes to send me off the deep end.

I've also realized that I am slowly becoming my mother because I used to make fun of her for crying over everything and now I'm the mess!

Am I considered a "cry baby" now? 

Or am I just overly sentimental?
Also, am I the only one experiencing this?

What does it all mean?!

P.S. I'm going to the Fashion Place Mall Fashion Show this Friday (6-8pm) and you should too!

They are doing an Instagram giveaway & here are the rules:

1.       Follow Fashion Place on Instagram and Facebook.

2.       Snap a photo on Instagram (photos must be taken at the Fashion Place Spring Fashion event featuring you, fashion, art, or a mix of these).

3.       Tag both @fashionplacemall and #fashionplacemall so we can find your photos.

4.       The more photos you take, the more entries you get (one entry per photo).

5.       FP will host a drawing of all entrants and one lucky winner will receive a $250 gift card to shop your favorite stores at Fashion Place!

6.       Winner will be announced Monday, Apr. 9, on Fashion Place’s Instagram and Facebook.

5 Things...

{Me and my youngest brother Jesse. Circa 1997?}

This was inspired by my friend Courtney who wrote a 'lil post like this on her blog!

5 Things...

..you'll find in my purse

1. Tide-to-go, because I'm messy & am always staining everything

2. At least 5 things of lip gloss or lipstick {VS lip gloss & Revlon lipstick}

3. Lots and lots of receipts, I just stuff them in there and forget to throw them away

4. Advil & band-aids, yet again I'm always prepared. I swear it's a Mary Poppins purse.

5. Chewy bars or other snacks, just in case I get hungry on the go

...you'll find in my bedroom

1. A bunch of different cups of water on my nightstand, I'm like the little girl in the movie "Signs" who can't drink the same water twice because it tastes "funny"

2. A book or two on my nightstand, I love reading

3. Outfits on the floor that didn't make the cut that morning

4. Ryan's socks that he likes to leave hiding in the sheets or under the bed

5. Candles, lots of different scents of candles. Love em!

...I've always wanted to do 

1. Eat gelato in Rome, Italy while being dressed like Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"

2. Visit all museums & beautiful architecture in Europe that I've only seen in textbooks

3. Speak Spanish fluently & talk to my future children only in Spanish

4. Visit New York and watch a truckload of musicals/plays and eat all the delish food that I see all you New Yorkers post on Instagram

5. Work in the fashion industry where I get to talk to people and dress cute all the time

...I'm currently loving

1. My polka dot jeans from Target that look like the ones from Nordstrom or Anthro...SCORE

2. My "Question a Day" Journal I got at Francescas, it makes journaling so fun!

3. The idea of spending the summer in So-Cal...so excited for Disneyland & the beach

4. Where Ryan & I are in our relationship. We've gotten past the rocky 1st year of marriage and we are heading towards our 2 year anniversary with a vacation in mind!

5. My Zumba Kinect game, it's kickin' my tush.

...quirks I have

1. I won't eat or drink anything that's expired, even if it is one day after the expiration date.

It drives my family nuts.

2. I always have to brush my teeth with cold water, I tried it once with hot water & hated it.

3. When I get overwhelmed, little things like the carpet needing to be vacuumed or the wiper fluid on low in my car seems like a big deal and I need to get it done rrrright about NOW.

4. I read a text and in my mind I respond but don't actually text back.
Sooo if you get a text a day or two later, don't be too surprised.

5. I still run from room to room on occasion when turning on and off lights. Not a huge fan of the dark!

sunday was a good day

To be honest with all of you, I've been having a difficult week.

I don't know why but I've been constantly tired, exhausted, and overwhelmed.

I'm snippy and start to cry over the stupidest of things.

Maybe it's just a lack of sleep? 

Or my anxiety creeping in?

Do you girls just have those weeks where you are just off?

After a good talk with my best friend, we decided to do better.

Be better about exercising, be better about going to all of our classes, be better about not procrastinating, and work on spending more quality time with each other.

We went to church yesterday.

Hung up some more fun stuff in our bedroom that we are currently redecorating.

Organized the kitchen & made a grocery list.

Gave each other lots much needed hugs & kisses.

Went on an awesome bike ride to deliver some Halloween cookies to friends.

I turned off my phone and finished reading a book.

Took a nice bubble bath.

We also planned some Halloween activities (pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, Halloween Provo River boat ride, putting up the last of our Halloween decorations, etc)

Yesterday was a nice 're-boot' for my life battery.

Welp, now I'm off to reality again, but I'm just a 'lil more ready this time :)

Sleeping Beauty's Meds

{A pic I set as Ryan's computer background when we were dating. Soon I'll have that perfect smile again!}

This morning I slept in, and woke up to Ryan being gone from his side of the bed.

I was thinking: "What the heck does he have to do this early in the morning??"

{Ahem...it was noon}

I walk out into the living room and then hear someone coming down the stairs.

First thought was: "Oh crap, I don't have pants on."

Then I see Ryan walk in with a drink and some bags.

*Insert sigh of relief*

I was poking around and asked what was in the bags...

I found tennis balls and a visor.

I've been talking about tennis for the past few days and lamenting on how I miss playing so much.

He looked at me and said: "Well, you ready for tennis? Cause I sure am. Oh, and by the way I picked up some meds for my Sleeping Beauty."

Diet coke.

Gosh. I love him.

Just hopped on here to remind you that you have till MIDNIGHT TONIGHT to enter the Shabby Apple gift card giveaway.

Check out the "Current Giveaway" tab for more info!! 

<3 Bri 

4am

I'm sitting here at 4 in the morning with my kind and dear husband sleeping so soundly next to me, while I am not able to fall asleep. 

Tonight it has all hit me, that I haven't been my best self, and I am now starting to feel the overwhelming guilt seep into my heart because of it.

I have not only let outside forces but also guilt from mistakes long since buried influence my marriage and also my personal well-being.

And that is ending now.

After many prayers, tears, and hugs...I need to forgive myself.

Forgive myself for not being the best wife I should have been.

For not taking care of my body by exercising and feeding it well.

For not being the best church member that I have the potential to be.

For making excuses.

For not being the best friend/sister/daughter at times.

For the little white lies I thought wouldn't hurt anyone.

For not stepping up to defend not only myself, but my husband from other's hurtful words.

I can forgive others so easily?

Why not myself?

Everyone has their own personal trials that are so specific to them, only they can overcome it.

It is essential for growing into the person you some day want to become. 

A new beginning of sorts.

This process can only happen if I leave those mud-covered habits in the past..and keep them there.

There is no point in reliving the past, and reliving the sadness.

The only way to move on is to accept my past for what it is, gather up all the scattered lessons from those mistakes, and to move on to greener pastures.

So this is my new start.

Ryan and I are moving from Orem to Provo in a week, all in hopes to start afresh.

A new home that fits "us" as a couple.

A new ward in which I'm excited to receive a calling, and to serve & teach others.

A new area in where we can connect with other couples in similar situations to ours.

A place closer to our family & friends.

A home closer to school and work, as to prevent some driving stress.

A fresh new start for us.

Cause that is all that matters in the end, right?

Ryan and myself. Our own little family.

It will be our one year anniversary in less than a month.

And I think it's about time that we made this marriage about us.

We need to focus on our own physical & mental health.

Screw everyone else.

I'm excited, shaking, optimistic, pit in my stomach nervous, curious, anticipating and anxious for this new beginning.

It's about time.

<3 Bri