unBELIZEable.

i won't lie; this week has been a toughie. 

between phonetics exams and papers on worm diseases, 

i've pulled a few almost-all-nighters.

and with prospects of a scholastically-filled next few weeks straight,

i was feeling a little bleak. 

fortunately, my family came and saved the day...

(thank goodness for holiday weekends!)

but more about that later.

yesterday, as i sat in spanish class, 

i dreamt of all of the faraway places i've been...

and all of the places i want to go!

i thought about my short jaunt to belize this winter 

& about how much i love it.

we spent my mother's fiftieth birthday
(though she doesn't look a day over 42)
in the amazing country of belize. 

we packed on a bus and took a tour of the capital city and surrounding areas,

then hiked through the sticky belize jungle to a river and some caves.

we then proceeded to tube down the river, through the ancient mayan caves...

the coolest thing ever, no? 

a few tube malfunctions and a lot of laughs later, we made it back to the bus, 

where we shred a tire on the way home. 

though we were all a little bit food-and-sleep deprived,

i wouldn't have necessarily minded getting stranded in belize.

oh yeah, and all of those puns that conveniently fit with the word "belize" are oh, so real.

i can't tell you the number of times i heard "can you BELIZE it?" or "have an unBELIZEable day!" while in the country. 

if you ever have a chance to go to belize, please do. 

the country is scenic, the people are amazing, 

and tourism really helps them all.

also, you can go tubing through ancient caves while dodging bamboo shoots. 

need any more incentive? i sure hope not!

pink valentine's day popcorn.

it's not valentine's day without a little bit (or a lot) of sugar, 

so we decided to come up with some sugary concoctions here in north seven. 

my darling roommate, tess, whipped up a batch of this pink sugary popcorn last night to help us through our late-night study sesh. 

it was easy, festive, and delish... so try it for yourself! 

ingredients:

2/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup half and half

1 Tbsp light corn syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

6 drops red food coloring (or any other color you'd like)

directions:

pour popped popcorn into two very large mixing bowls, set aside.  in a large saucepan whisk together sugar, half and half, corn syrup and salt.  cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved.  heat mixture to 232 degrees, stirring occasionally.  immediately remove from heat and pour in vanilla and food coloring.  drizzle mixture over popped popcorn.  gently stir popcorn until mixture is evenly coated and coating begins to dry (you'll notice the popcorn kernels separating).  pour mixture onto waxed paper and allow to dry about twenty minutes.  store in an airtight container.

enjoy!

happy valentine's day!

though i'm quite valentine-less, my roommates and i decided that it was necessary to celebrate valentine's day with a week's worth of love!

on sunday evening, we concocted our very own heart-shaped pizzas and (sort of) watched a chick flick... homework always seems to work its way into our plans.

i whipped up the most delicious, gluten-free, onion, green pepper, and grilled chicken pizza

and was in absolute heaven. 

i used bob red mill's gf pizza crust mix and fresh ingredients and am still eating leftovers!

what's better than that? 

today was a decent little valentine's day.

after staying up most of the night finishing my phonetics exam, 

i spent the day in classes and finishing assignments.

kickboxing and a taco date with my roommate ensued, 

and then came a brief party visit and another valentine's treat (i know, i know...), 

and now it's back to the books.

i'm currently writing a paper on ascariasis (internal worms) to top off the night... how romantic!

and that's just the life of a public health major. 

how was your valentine's day?

orange-y days.

there is little that makes me happier than a little usps box from mesa, arizona. 

my grandparents are the sweetest humans on the planet. 

they know how much i love their home-grown oranges, 

so they send me a few boxes straight from their tree every winter. 

there's nothing that makes me feel more loved

or makes my winters brighter. 

valentine's day sale!

remember that bridal fair that kept me busy all last week? 

well, it went really well.

and as part of my booth, i offered a special rate for the next few weeks.

so naturally, i had to share it all with you here! 

happy valentine's day!

 hope you're all happy and in love with your lives.

www.annagleavephotography.com

{utah, destination wedding photography}

sundance.

we went sundancin' up in park city a few weekends ago during the film festival,
and it was awesome.
freeeezing, but awesome.

we devoured delicious bbq at bandit's,
window shopped & got free cider at roots,
searched for celebrities,
chatted by the fire,
and kept running into more and more and more friends.

the whole night was so charming...
walking around main street of this darling mountain-y town has always been a favorite past time of mine
(did you know i spent the first months of my life in park city?),
but it was especially fun with all of the excitement and clamor of the festival.
and i was a little obsessed with all of the lights strung all around.
it felt like christmas again!

though we came out of the experience celebrity-less and literally frozen,
we enjoyed an evening of ten-degree weather, tasty food, and good company.
and what's better than that?

choosing fear or faith.

i'm sorry i've been so absent as of late. 

it's really the same old excuses [work + school + a little bit of illness].

sometimes, i let the pressure get to me and really weigh me down. 

but i am grateful for a faith, friends, and a family that buoy me back up. 

i'm really relating to this right now

and love her story. 

i love when she mentions how it's not what we do that defines us...

i think this is something a lot of us should remember more often.

we are all children of god.
what we do and what we're successful at is just a teeny part of who we are.

come see me!

this (along with the ever-present stress of school) has been keeping me busy as of late:

so if you're in provo, stop on by!

i can promise you lots of treats (and business cards).

it'll be totally worth it.


anna gleave photography
{utah + destination wedding photography}

matt costa concert.

last weekend, mister matt costa came to provo to perform at the wilk. 

he played this and this and this and sounded great.
we braved a near blizzard to make it to the concert... and it was definitely worth it. 

after the show, we hit up in-n-out for burgers and fries 

and headed to an after party. 

it was so fun to listen to some live music and catch up with old friends...

yep. 

champs.

welp, i finally did it.

(okay, it's my first time playing intramurals, so the "finally" part was a bit dramatic...)
but i, along with my partner tyler, won a championship shirt!

we won our tennis bracket of mixed doubles this afternoon, 

thanks to the support of our amigos (and my first-ever slow clap!)

it almost makes those three state championship final losses not quite so painful...

a day at versailles.

i've spent the past five days literally in bed with a nasty sinus infection (okay, with a bit more mobility today),

and thus i have been thinking of happier, more europe-y times. 

when will & i were in paris this past summer, 

we spent a lovely morning in versailles. 

after an early morning wake-up call, we took the two-hour metro ride from our hotel and found ourselves in the loveliest of neighborhoods. 

we treated ourselves to a morning of royalty... strolls through the never-ending gardens, baked potatoes outside marie antoinette's chateau, and a stop in louis' hall of mirrors.
and speaking of potatoes... i ate the most delicious curry-topped potato (i know, sounds weird, but you can't judge it until you try it!).
it was easily the best meal i ate while in france.
and as i was eating it, the most precious little old french woman came up to me and exclaimed,
"bon appetit!"
i'm serious.
it was perfect and sweet and candid and made all of my little parisian dreams come true.

i thought versailles was really, really cool... i did.

but i must admit, i didn't fall in love with it. 

i'm sure i was a bit biased, due to my two-in-a-row tour of the palacio real in madrid, 

but i was a bit disappointed with the lack of upkeep at versailles. 

and the fountains weren't even working! 

but alas, if you asked me to go back tomorrow... i'd go.

plus, those macaroons are just oh so pretty to look at. 

am i right?

the donut man.

once upon a time, 

i traveled to the city of angels for a friend's wedding (you know, the one i've mentioned about a million times...)

anyway. 

after setting up for the reception for a few hours the night before the wedding,

we cruised the streets of glendora, looking for treats with the groomsmen (who were CA natives, mind you). 

so we stopped by the donut man, a popular socal venue,

for some midnight donuts. 

they were apparently delicious (but so, so full of gluten).

at least i have a great sense of smell & sight and a camera right? 

i love living vicariously through my friends. 

scripture sunday.

i love this little promise right now:

"nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my crise, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth."

-mosiah 23:10

i also love this. 

happpppy sunday!

jammin'.

the music scene in provo is blowing up this weekend.

first, we shared tacos on friday night with the one-and-only b money. 

then, we downloaded the "i am t-pain" app and turned our favorite asian into a rap star.
then, mr. matt costa came to sing at byu... i know, i know. to PROVO.

and then, i was reminded of this little gem by my dear friend mckay. 

this one's for you, homeboy...

really, though. doesn't this just make you want to come to provo?

nuevo.

this is the most fabulous "happy friday" present! 

new music from the shins, coming soooon! 

another reason why 2012 rules.

padre's birthday.

once upon a january, 

i flew home for  the weekend... to shoot a wedding reception.

and this wedding reception just happened to coincide with my father's january birthday.

so how did we celebrate?

with our favorite mountain pizza of course (also seen here & here).

i had flown home earlier that morning (hence the not-so-bright-eyed expression),

and bennett had was healing from a recent, nasty ankle sprain, 

but we enjoyed each other's company (and the pizza... gluten-free pizza in my case!) nonetheless. 

when your family members are your best friends... you know you've got it right.

youth.

sorry i'm being a bit wordy lately. 

words have just struck me lately... and i've been reminded why i used to be so fond of them.

when reading this earlier today, i came across the following: 

"how beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams with its illusions, aspirations, dreams!"

-henry wadsworth longfellow

and then i thought back to this weekend. 

to the two living-room forts i played inside,

to the raucous dance party held in a parking garage i boogied at,

to the frontyard bonfire i attended,

to the many, many tacos i consumed and the saturday night basketball game i cheered at,

to my impactful sunday at church.

and i realized that mister longfellow was spot on. 

amidst the stressful studies, feelings of being overworked, and post-teen angst, 

this time of life really is so bright. 

i have so much to be grateful for from my past and in my present... and i have so much to look forward to in the future.

really though,

these feet have been to some pretty cool places in recent years... can't wait to see where they take me in the next little while! 

so here's to a bright (sort of) senior year and 2012...