Feeling Artsy

My good friend Phil left on his mission yesterday :( Before he left, we asked him what he would like to do before his mission. He said that as crazy as it probably sounded, he wanted to do modern art. Fun huh? We got some canvases, paint, brushes, spray paint, and tape and found a very scenic knoll in the gully to create our masterpieces. Chad and Tiff worked as a team and me and Phil did our own. I'm pretty impressed with what everyone came up with. Basically, I love these guys!

Amanda Nordhagen (her birthday was on the 13th)

This is Amanda Nordhagen. We've known each other since 5th grade when I moved into her ward. I had no idea at the time, that she would turn out to be one of my heroes. She is truly the most caring, genuinely kind person you will ever meet. She is always the one to sit by someone who doesn't have friends, or comfort someone who is sad, or stop everyone from gossiping. I have been so blessed to have her as a friend so that I can watch the way she lives her life and try to become more like her. In addition to being perfect, she has about a million talents. Volleyball, basketball, croquet, violin, AMAZINGGGGGGG SINGER, dancing, peach picking, etc. etc. etc. Bottom line: She is amazing and if you don't already know her, you should get to know her soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Back to School

Let the countdown begin! I move back to BYU in 3 days! Hopefully I'll have time to take some cool first day of school pictures like these.

* I'm still trying to figure out why the children in the picture in the middle would be running full speed toward the oncoming bus. Maybe it was a "What not to do" picture from a Bus Safety website.

Some day...

Some day I'll have a home of my own that I can decorate however I'd like. Since that day is far far FAR away, I'll have to be content with dreaming of lazy afternoons spent cozied up in a floral armchair reading by the light of a vibrant yellow lamp. Something tells me I'm going to be a little let down when I move into my apartment in a week and see white walls, tan carpet, and neutral furnishings. I'm going to have to think of some clever ways of bringing some color and life into the apartment. Got any ideas?

Abby Robertson

My roommate Abby just had a birthday a little while ago so it's time for her birthday spotlight (just like in primary, except without the song and singing children). My first semester at BYU last fall I decided to room with someone random. I was super nervous how it would turn out until I started emailing Abby a few weeks before school. Even just from a few emails back and forth, I knew that I had really lucked out. We roomed together for two semesters and I learned so much from her! It's amazing what you can observe and pick up on when you live with a person that long. She is such a caring, selfless person. She has more self discipline than anyone I know (she went on LONG runs everyday without fail and was always doing ab workouts or going to the gym. AMAZING!). She is such a hardworking student, which pushed me to study harder. All her hard work paid off though, she just got accepted into the Nursing Program at BYU!! Pretty sure the odds of getting into that major is about 1 in 17382747892983471784894. She is a pro dancer. She is GORGEOUS. Oh, and did I mention she does Triathlons??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!!

California Trip

          I think it's finally time to give a recap of the long awaited surprise trip to California. Me and my two older brothers decided to drive out to California and surprise my sister Laura who lives in Huntington Beach. We talked the plans over with Josh, her husband, and made sure her schedule was clear before we drove down. We left super early in the morning (after 4 hours of sleep. Bad idea), picked up Jae in Provo and started on the scenic drive full of luscious forests, flowered meadows, gorgeous sunsets, and raging rivers. Actually, we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because all we saw was sand, cacti, weeds, and roadkill. Despite all this we had a very enjoyable ride. I was laughing basically the entire time. Jord and I spotted some dancing chili peppers and Jae entertained us with his falsetto singing. It was all fun and games until Jord spilled watermelon and mustard down my shirt because he tried to feed me while I was driving. We made it to Lar's apartment and crawled up to the door so she wouldn't see us. Lar answered the door and was SO surprised!! Bryn came running out from a back room, stopped at the sight of us, and said, "Mom, mom, mom, mom" while inching her way away from us. She warmed up quickly though, and was super cute and talkative the rest of the trip.

      Some of the things we did while down there are:

              1. Play at the beach

              2. Go to the Getty Art Museum. SO cool!

              3. Eat the best meal of my life at Lucille's BBQ

              4. Watch Bourne Identity 

            5. Play at the park

            6. Hang out with Uncle Mark (and stay at his house,THANK YOU!)

            7. Go to a look out point near Newport Beach(?) 

              8. Attend church and hear Laura give an AMAZING Relief Society lesson.

            9. Eat at Wahoo's

           10. Play frisbee golf 

       

Thanks Laura, Josh, Brynlee and Mark for the great trip!!

My Brothers

Yesterday I was able to spend some time with my family (everyone except Josh, Lar, and Brynlee). I laugh so hard at my brothers.  They are seriously the funniest people I know. We took a few pictures after dinner and I can't stop laughing at them. Here they are:

Huntin' Wabbits

Actually, we weren't really hunting rabbits. That's just the name of a cool Jazz Band song. This weekend the Tueller family went up in the mountains for a little get-together. My brothers had some wrist rockets and spent the majority of the time on the grounds hunting for all kinds of varmints. I joined in and finally managed to get one of my own. Hunting usually consists of big strong men prowling through the most dangerous corners of the forest wearing full body camouflage and Carhartt hats with a bulky gun clutched in their paws, I mean hands. In the Clarke family, things are a little different. We haven't killed anything over 8 inches long, we don't wear camouflage (although Jae did wear his special white "outdoorsy" bandanna), and wrist rockets are our weapon of choice. I've never been one for hunting, but I had a blast! Me and Logan are making a trip to Walmart to buy our own wrist rockets today. Can't wait.
We took a break from hunting to play a game of kickball with the fam. We took team pictures during half time (I just now realized that we shouldn't have had half time in the middle of a kickball game. Wrong sport. Oh well.) I loved watching Jordan slide into each base even when the ball was still bouncing around in the outfield. It was such a fun time together!

goodDESIGN

goodDESIGN by mclarke4 featuring Anthropologie clothing

Right now, I am really inspired by clean lines, bold colors and shapes, minimalism, and new takes on old classics. That is probably why the items above make me so happy. AND since my social life has hit an all-time low, I've had plenty of time to daydream about things like yellow floral wallpaper and Mr. and Mrs. salt and pepper shakers. Seriously though, I think a lot of people underestimate the impact good design can have. For instance, when I go to the store, I am much more prone to buy products that have colorful and creative packaging. When I'm driving on the freeway, my eyes automatically travel to the billboards with interesting typography or abnormal color combos. When I am at the library, I check out the books with cool covers. The next time you're in the store or driving around, take a look around you and see what grabs your attention.

Work Work Work

I currently have a job at DownEast Clothing in Draper as a Sales Associate. I am in charge of manning the dressing rooms, sorting new shipment, cleaning the store, organizing merchandise and just making sure everything is organized. It has really been cool to see sort of the "behind-the-scenes" action. I get to see how certain customer issues are handled, how the company guards against theft, and other interesting things. It has really made me want to change the way I shop. Here are just a few things that I have learned.

1. Never get mad at a store employees. As frustrating as the situation may be, most likely it is not entirely their fault. Remember that employees are just as human and prone to mistakes as anyone else. You'll just embarrass yourself if you get mad or yell.
2. If you can't find your size, ask if there are any in the back. It seems so simple, but I am always amazed by how many people I have overheard saying things like, "I wish they had my size in this", and never think to ask. At DownEast we keep a lot of our stock in the backroom to reduce clutter on the sales floor. I'm sure it is the same at other stores.
3. If you are shopping alone, resist the temptation to ask an employee for their opinion on how a clothing item looks on you. Asking if a swimsuit or a pair of jeans is too tight will most likely make the employee uncomfortable and create an awkward situation for everyone involved. Trust me on this one!

Because I have gotten to know the DownEast clothing line REALLY well, I have decided to highlight a few of my favorite items from the Spring line.

1. Samba Skirt (comes in blue and light gray), $26.99 *I bought this in light gray and LOVE IT! The elastic waistband makes it sooooo comfortable.

2. Watering Can Dress (coming soon), $34.99

3. Must Have Matchstick Jean, $44.99 (on sale now for $33.75)

Counting down the days!!!

A few months ago while I was still living in the dorms, I hung a paper chain from the ceiling that reached all the way down to the floor. It was showing the number of days until my brother Jordan comes home from his mission in Phoenix, Arizona. I realize now that it is not a good idea to make a chain when there are that many days left, I went into a deep depression every time I looked at it. Little by little, the chain finally left the floor and got shorter and shorter. I looked at it today and it only has 9 links left!!! The time has flown by and I can't even tell you how excited I am. I have loved reading his emails and hearing all the cool experiences he is having. I can't wait to have him down at BYU with me in the Fall. YAY!


The chain was also counting down the days until my sister Laura, her husband Josh and my niece Brynlee come to visit from California. I haven't seen them since December and I am DYING to wrastle with little Bryn. Laura made her flashcards with our pictures so she would get to know our names before she comes out here. I think it's helping because I've heard her say Rie Rie a few times on the phone :) I have also been dying to see my sissy Laura. She has always been such an amazing example to me. Starting from when I was little and I would try my hardest to be just like her. I would wear what she did and act like she did. This probably drove her crazy, but I just looked up to her so much. I still try to be like her because she has always made choices in her life that have led her to happiness. I have loved talking to her almost daily on the phone and hearing funny stories about Brynlee. She is such an amazing person. She also married an amazing person, Josh. As Laura's sister, I had determined that anyone who wanted to marry my sister would have to pass a series of tough physical, mental and spiritual tests that I had created. I had all these plans of what I would do when I first met Lar's husband-to-be. When Josh walked in the door and I got to know him, I forgot all about my plans. He was so impressive! I remember thinking it would be impossible for Laura to find any guy good enough for her. Josh proved me wrong. I love them all so much and can't wait to see them in a little over a week!! :D

Outfit of the Month: MAY

I can't wait for the snow to melt so I can go hiking. I feel so blessed to live minutes away from such BEAUTIFUL mountains. I am also blessed to have friends that like to hike and go on mountain adventures with me :)

Freshman Year

I don't think I can go any longer without writing at least something about my experience as a Freshman at BYU. I've been home now for a few days and have had a lot of time to think about all the memories, friends, funny experiences, tough classes, and amazing ward I have had these last two semesters. I think I should start at the very beginning...



After a lllooonnnggg summer after graduating from High School, I was counting down the days until I could move down to the dorms. I made the decision to room with someone that I didn't know in order to make new friends. We had exchanged a few emails and pictures over the summer, but I really didn't know how it was going to be living with someone I hardly knew. Move-in day finally arrived and I met Abby Robertson for the first time. After spending a few hours with her, I knew that I had nothing to worry about. Abby is hilarious, brilliant, hard working, spiritual, gorgeous, and the most dedicated person I know! She was and is such an example to me.
In addition to meeting Abby, I was able to become friends with some other AMAZING people. I really lucked out. You'd think that when you put 39 girls on the same floor with community bathrooms and showers, you'd have fights or cliques. I was amazed that the girls all bonded so well and loved doing stuff together.



Another memorable part of my Freshman experience was the sporting events. Although I did not attend as many games as I would have liked, the ones I was able to go to were so fun! I got my sport's pass with my high school friends, which turned out to be the best decision because I didn't get to see them a lot. I also attended a lot of basketball and soccer games with people from my ward. SO MUCH FUN!





The actual school part of the experience wasn't exactly the funnest aspect, but I did learn a lot about discipline and pushing myself. I learned (the hard way) that you can never be too prepared for a test and that there is always something you can be doing for school. I was lucky enough to be able to mix in some fun classes amongst a lot of generals. Fall semester I took Bookbinding, a class where you learn how to make books by hand. SO FUN! This semester I took a sewing class that was really busy, but I learned so much.

Having this time to look back on my Freshman Year has made me so grateful for the whole experience. I felt so blessed to be on a campus where I could feel the spirit and grow spiritually. I made so many lasting friendships and learned so much about myself. I can't wait for a whole new chapter of my life to begin this Fall when I start my Sophomore year.