une petite soiree

My lovely friend Kristen Brown is getting married in November. Therefore my friend Candace (who was the real mastermind behind it all) and I decided to throw a dinner party bridal shower.
The theme- "The South of France meets Southern Romance".
Menu:
Starters- bread and butter, and a delicious summer salad of spinach, peaches and Gouda (compliments of Taryn!)
Entree- Butternut squash and parsnip soup and petite chicken pot pies
Dessert- Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding (amazing!)

It was so fun to put everything together and I think everyone had a really great time (including me!)

the table

i made caramel apples!
Candace put love quotes on the table.
the gift table- complete with an embroidered sign for Kristen and Will (done by Candace!)
the awesome crown Candace made Kristen
both future brides- Taryn and Kristen
the AMAZING dessert!

Congratulation Kristen! I love you girl!

British Beatle Mania

My first memory of anything Beatles related is a poster that my cousin Chris (or maybe David?) had hanging in his room. During the summers my family would take vacations to Utah and stay with relatives. One summer we were staying at my Aunt Heather's and in the basement was a black poster with the words "The Beatles" on it (or at least if my memory serves me correctly). My cousin Alexis informed me that they were a band her brother was really into. Flash forward to my Freshman year in college. I am fortunate enough to room with Candace Mercer- a Beatles aficionado. She got me hooked. I had a negative opinion after hearing "Piggies" but she showed me the light and thus began my love affair with George, Paul, John and Ringo. I heard that Paul McCartney was coming to Utah and I knew that there was no way I could pass up this opportunity. I immediately called Candace and told her the news (of course she already knew) and told her we had to go. Her and her hubby Dan just celebrated their one year wedding anniversary and were going to celebrate but were kind enough to let me third-wheel it with them. Thanks guys! And for Candace's reminiscence of the evening go here. I've been counting down for a while now, and Tuesday the day had finally arrived and I, Jennifer Lynn Dunn saw Sir Paul McCartney live in concert at the Rio Tinto stadium in Sandy. Honestly, Candace's post sums things up pretty well- I love her highlight list and fully concur. But... I do have a few things to say.
-It was amazing! I saw 1/4 of the Beatles! Paul was there- in person. I saw him! And it wasn't on a movie, television or computer screen. It was with my own eyes. How awesome is that? I feel like I can't really describe my emotions besides pure excitement. I just loved it. It feels kind of like a dream now that I look back on it, like I can't believe it was real. It's weird. But I'm quite looking forward to telling my children about this. Hopefully they'll think I'm cool and not just old (because let's face it- by the time I have kids it's doubtful Paul and Ringo will still be around).
-My personal highlights: Blackbird- Paul on stage alone with an acoustic guitar and a spotlight. Beautiful. Live and Let Die- fireworks went off! It was insane. The crowd was so loud. Give Peace a Chance- everyone was on their feet repeating the phrase "All we are saying is, is give peace a chance." It was crazy to see so many people swaying back and forth repeating this powerful phrase. Hey Jude- one of my all time favorite Beatles songs. The whole crowd was singing along and it was epic.
If you want to know more, just ask. I have a huge journal entry I wrote the day after and I don't quite feel like typing it all again. But just know it was one of the greatest experiences ever and I am so glad I went and I'm happy I'll have this to look back on for the rest of my life.

the buzz

isn't this just the cutest picture ever?! I love it.

I love BYU basketball. Just in case you didn't know. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the greatest days of my life. No joke. Yesterday the buzz all over campus was "did you see the game?" and no one needed to question which "game" people were referring to. Ah! 99-92 win in DOUBLE overtime. I thought I was going to have a heart-attack. I couldn't breathe, I was shaking- seriously intense. But with a wonderful, wonderful result. I love Jimmer! GO COUGARS! (Now if we can only beat Kansas St. tomorrow ...)

smile like you mean it

Best concert ever. The Killers are amazing live, and Brandon Flowers is quite a showman- very entertaining. The lighting and effects were great. So, so good.

They opened with Joyride, followed by Human- stellar

The new love of my life- Brandon Flowers
Finale- When We Were Youngthanks to Melanie for the pictures via fb.

a good good night

Saturday night- 7:30 pm MST I will be rockin' my pants off to the Killers. So excited. I bought my ticket back in May- that's how long I've been waiting for this. And the weekend has finally arrived (well, almost- tomorrow will be the weekend).

i heart ny

Lately, I've really been missing my home state of New York. Despite my family living in Utah I still claim Ithaca, NY as home. It's where the majority of my childhood took place and where many of my best memories are. I loved Ithaca. I love the east coast. I loved living near a lake and I loved the falls with the beautiful leaves. I LOVED our ward, and miss it constantly. I had the realization hit me that this past week was the Hill Cumorah Pageant which our family went to every year. It broke my heart to realize that I missed it. My goal is the summer after I graduate to go back to NY and be in the pagent. I think that'd be lovely. I think in my mind I've slightly idealized Ithaca and what it was and is. I know my parents don't hold quite the same fondness for it that I do. But I'm ok with that. I think that when I go (notice it's a when, not an if) I may be slightly disenchanted, or I may fall in love with it even more, it could do either way. I'm hoping for the latter.