New Year video

Love this! Don't look behind you... only forward!

2011!?

Wass up 2011!?
What are we going to be doing this year?


1. Put away an already determined amount of money in savings? Okay.

2. Make homemade lunches at least four times a week to save money? Okay.

3. No chocolate? Oh geez. Okay.

4. No carbonation? Okay.

5. No white/ little wheat bread? Okay.

6. Be better friends with Mr. Gym? Okay. I really should be nicer to him.

7. Be more social? Fine. I'll try. [Grumble... grumble...]

8. Buy a Canon EOS 60D camera? Sweet! Okay!

9. Get my little sister back on May 13? OKAY!

10. Backpack Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Moscow? ALRIGHT!

PS- A HUGE thank you to all my new followers... I reached my goal BEFORE Jan 1! Yay! I'll announce the winners tomorrow...

My remake project

I have to admit that I'm kind of proud of myself for doing this.

Step 1: I never wore this shirt. It's darling; I totally love it, but I never wore it because it was too big. I'm a pretty practical person, so I made it into something I would use. I decided to make a necklace out of the flowery/ lacy part.

BEFORE:

The culprit. 

Closeup. 

Closeup x 2.

DURING:

I was trying to figure out how I was going to make it a necklace and tie the two ends together... I simply cut the hem of the shirt off, cut it in two pieces, hemmed the edges, and sewed those onto the lace part. Voila. A necklace. I may or may not have been kind of freaking out at this point wondering if what I was seeing in my head was really going to pan out.  

It did...

AFTER:

[I feel only slightly cheesy for using myself as a model... I'm not use to that yet.]

It adds a little bit of feminine fun to an outfit, doesn't it? 

[Sorry for the awkward close up shot of my chest. Yes, awkward.]

Yay! Kind of fun! Go find something you don't use, and turn it into something you can use!

Happy almost New Year... and don't forget to enter my giveaway by January 1!

Four more followers needed!

I just need 4 more followers before my giveaway closes on January 1! If you already follow, just get a friend to follow and leave a comment and you'll be entered.

Where am I?

Where in the world is AE Jones going to bring in the new year?

I'm escaping the 1 degree winter weather in Utah, and running for, oh wait, my flight got CANCELLED this morning. I was supposed to be going to sunny California to meet one of my best friends for the holiday weekend before going back to work, but no. No flights today. No flights tomorrow. Lame.

To make things worse, the average temperature right now is 60 degrees. And we were going to visit the happiest place on earth," ride bikes on the pier, and take naps. Take NAPS for goodness sake!

Well, freckles, you'll just have to wait until spring to show your faces, because I'm bringing in the new year in 1 degree weather.

Best moments of 2010

Here are some highlighted moments [photos] from my life in 2010...

Letting my sister [aka: best friend] go on a mission... for 18 long months. I had to learn how to live life [aka: flirt with boys and have a social life] without her.

My last semester of college, my group and I conquered our capstone class... the class you have to take in order to graduate. This was my last day of college. Sad day.

 I graduated from college with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations. This is my cheesy "what's next?" picture.



















Three days after graduation, I moved to
 Los Angeles. I went with five other students from my program to do an internship for a lobbying firm. We worked through the summer in districts from San Francisco to San Diego... and drove everywhere. I became a pretty bomb-diggity LA driver. [I took this picture... not too shabby!]

 I fell in love with the LA Art Walk [this picture is me freaking out in one of the art shows... I LOVE ART], and the LA life in general. I want to go back.

Two other interns and I taking a day in Santa Monica. I am in love with Santa Monica and 3rd Street. I even bought this hat on 3rd Street.

 This one is huge... my first Dodgers game! Ate my first Dodger dog here. Bless its delicious heart. I could totally go for one of those right now.

I spent the Fourth of July in San Francisco with two best friends... we ate at this amazing authentic German restaurant, then saw Wicked! Loved it.

Celebrated my 24th birthday by almost losing my bra [and my breakfast] riding "X2" at Six Flags. If you are into roller coasters, this one, in my opinion, is the mecca of all roller coasters. You. Must. Go. [And no, I didn't really almost lose my bra... my strap came unhooked...alright?]

Was it worth it? Best birthday I've ever had.

 Oh yes I did... I learned how to surf. And yes, I got up and STAYED up. I'm a Cali girl at heart. I was born and raised in northern CA, so it must be in my blood, right?








My best friend threesome was slightly disrupted when the young man in the tux stepped into our lives. [I say OUR lives, because he needed our approval before any major steps were made.] Approval was given, and we let our girl go. Sad [incredibly wonderful] day. [He really loves us... can't you tell by his face?]

And to wrap up the year, I got a full-time job and moved back to Salt Lake City. I've been here the past four and a half months... and will be here until... I have no idea.

And, for one last fun thing, this picture represents two great things: 1. I got my hair highlighted for the first time. I've made it 24 years without doing anything to my hair... I finally decided it was time. This was big for me. Kind of lame, right?! But at the same time SUPER fun. 2. I attended the Messiah Sing-In at Abravanel Hall in SLC with  this great friend. I can't sing, but this was a blast.


It's been great 2010... love ya!

Still in love

My dad loves my mom.



Example: this note he wrote to her a couple of days ago:



"You are the girl of my dreams. Always have been. Always will be."



[Insert big sigh here.]

Don't forget

Don't forget to enter my giveaway... it's my first. I'm learning. I only need eight more followers by January 1 to reach my goal of 80 followers for the year! If you already follow, just get a friend to follow, and you'll be entered.

Woot!

Christmas recap

Aren't the two days after Christmas kind of sad? It is always a little bit of a let-down after Christmas is over... all the work and celebrating, and then done in one day. And they stopped playing the 24/7 Christmas music the day after Christmas! Sheesh! It's like a bandaid... they just rip it right off. [Eww.]

Three highlights of AE Jones' Christmas:

1. I got to Skype with my little sis (the Russian Beauty) in Moscow. We thought we'd only get to talk to her on the phone, but we actually got to SEE her! Made my week. Bless Skype's heart.

2. My brother's basement flooded on Thursday. We rushed over there and helped suck out the unending water, and rip out carpet and baseboards. It was crazy. My heart hurt seeing my brother and his little family have to go through that. But, in the end, it was pretty amazing to see how family and friends gathered to help in a time of need. Really quite amazing, actually.

3. And... guess what I gave my parentals for Christmas? My last car payment! I borrowed some money from them last year to buy my car, and I made my last payment to them on Christmas day. It was in a box and wrapped up with a pretty bow on top. It was a hefty check... pretty much all I'm worth. But, I am now debt-free, and I completely own my car.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas as well! The celebrating isn't over, so keep enjoying this week!

Yay! Almost there!

Can you believe it is Christmas Eve?! It came so quickly! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Here is a picture from some of my Christmas celebrating... I worked at the book signing that took place after David Archuleta's Friday concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. What an amazing concert! Archie is ridiculously adorable - a total gem. I now understand how he steals little girls' hearts: his "aw-shucks" personality is darling.

A Social Media Christmas

Watch this...

Russian Beauty

This is my little sister. We'll call her, Little Sister. Little Sister is living in Moscow right now as an LDS Missionary.

She sent an email this morning with this picture and the caption below:

"We went souvenir shopping this morning and this random man put a hat on my head and offered to get a picture with me...and slipped his arm around me....not allowed..."

Is she not stinking beautiful!? A little Russian doll trying to stay warm over there. AND, today is her 22 birthday! [She kind of reminds me of someone who would be on the movie "Dr. Zhivago." If you haven't seen it, rent it, curl up with a blanket and tissue box, and preferably a boy, and watch it. It is incredible.]

Disruptive Retainers

I had braces when I was 12. Glamorous, I know. I think that was about 7th grade, if I'm not mistaken. [Shudder.] What a bad year. Or let's just say middle school in general was bad.

After I got my braces taken off, the orthodonist installed [that word makes me sound like I'm a computer] two permanent retainers - top and bottom. This past summer, my top permanent retainer broke and was poking me in the cheek - so I did what anyone else would do: I pulled it out. Wow.

My orthodontist kind of got mad at me - "It was ripping my cheek up. What else was I suppose to do?"

He made a new retainer for me - a removable one. Have I worn it in the last couple of months? No. Did I wear it last night? Yes.

I woke up a total of four times last night because I rolled over, felt something hard and pokey underneath my shoulder, fished around for it in the dark, and realized I had popped my retainer out of my mouth in my sleep. Wow.

Raw talent.

A little celebrating

A gathering of the Jones posterity at Christmas time...

Thank you, Sugar n' Spice, for fulfilling our sugar cravings.

Freezin' our tooshes off seeing the lights on Temple Square.

Which one doesn't match? 

Everyone takes a "couple's shot" in front of the Temple... I pulled my sister in for my couple's shot.

Admiring the Deseret Book window. 

The fam at The Roof for a special celebration.  

Look at the beautiful women in my family... just missing one sister. 

Aren't they handsome?  

This is my man for now... Papa Jones.

Merry Christmas from yours truly. [Yep, that's my Merry Christmas face.]

Happy paper garland

Loved this darling project from Brunch at Saks...

I love this paper, but you could really use any color or type of paper for any occasion. 

This would make such a fun decoration in a children's room or family room.

Thanks Brunch at Saks!

First Giveaway!

AE Jones' first giveaway!


What am I giving away? I'm giving away a DVD of sunshine. No, really. This DVD, called Mormon Messages, is a compilation of 20 short films, mostly from real-life experiences. It will bring a handful of huge smiles and maybe even a few tears. [Happy tears, that is.]

I'm not being preachy, I just think you'll really like this DVD.

If you're familiar with the Nie Nie Dialogues, she is one of the highlighted clips on this DVD. [See her video below.]


To win a DVD: let's get "AE Jones: The Blog" up to 80 followers by January 1 and on January 1 I'll announce one lucky winner of the above DVD. Leave a comment to let me know you're following, and you'll automatically be entered to win. If you are already following, just get one of your friends to follow and that will make you eligible to win... just leave a comment. If there are more than 80 followers on Jan 1, I'll announce two winners!

A wee bit o fashion

This, my darling friends, is the Drape-Front Knit Bubble Dress by Garnet Hill, and also the newest member of my wardrobe family.



"But AE Jones, it is too cold outside to wear just that knit dress!"


Fret not, fashion-friendly friends!






Pair it with your favorite blazer... I love this one from Zara:

[Note: the fun thing about color coding right now is that gray and brown work so fabulously well together... so you could definitely pull of a brown scrunch-sleeved blazer or a quiet plaid blazer with something like the dress above.]

Then, my favorite part: a wrap belt. Button up the jacket then throw this wrap belt around the skinniest part of your waist. My choice of color was pink. I'm not normally a "pink" kind of girl, but the splash of color is ridiculously fun. Yellow is great too.

[Note: watch Sydney's tutorial on a fantastically fun way to wear your skinny belt.]

Then, some classy, patterned gray tights...  this pictures looks more black. I would go with a lighter gray

And then throw on a pair of brown/ camel-colored riding boots to finish the outfit:

Voila! Bohemian with a touch of European class is what I like to call it.

Hey, It's Christmas!... with a treat

A new favorite Christmas mix of mine, thanks to endorsements by C Jane Enjoy It and Shabby Apple.

"Hey, It's Christmas!"

And, for a sweet treat while listening to the great new album, Our Best Bites has just the thing: S'mores Hot Chocolate. [Oh, yes they did!]

Books... books... books...

Hi friends...

Here is a fun offer for you. If you need anything from Deseret Book, use the following coupon to get 25% off one item. Pretty great deal. [It ends tomorrow... sorry to not give you more notice.]

Coupon here...

Need suggestions?

1. Divine Signatures, by Gerald N. Lund [This is an incredible book... really.]
2. Mormon Messages DVD [Keep an eye out on my blog... I may or may not be featuring this as my first give away!]
3. To the Rescue: Biography of Thomas S. Monson, by Heidi Swinton [Another incredible read.]
4. HOW? Essential Skills for Living the Gospel, by John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat [I absolutely love this book. Perfect for YW/YM lessons, FHE lessons, basic reading...]
5. Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen, by Sara Wells and Kate Jones [This book actually isn't available yet, but you can pre-order it. I got to look through this cookbook last week... all I can say is I can't wait to get my hands on it because there are some FABULOUS recipes.]

Quotation of the Christmas season

"Fraaaagileee..."

"Must be Italian..."

I'm assuming you all know which movie I'm quoting?

Who wants Christmas today?

My niece does!

I was babysitting Niece #2 this weekend. She is a little pixie four-year-old, and I'm not sure a cuter four-year-old niece exists. [I'm smiling right now because I'm sure someone out there has an objection to that statement. Leave a comment.]

After building a fort with her and her big brother, reading plenty of princess books and getting ready for bed, she and I walked into her room so I could put her to bed. I pulled down her covers and said, "Should we say prayers?" I got on my knees, she knelt on the mattress; head down to her knees.

This is her prayer:

"Deaw Hemly Fater, I'm gwateful we could build a fowt today. Please bwess me to sleep well. Please bwess that it will be Christmas tomorrow so I can open my pwesents. Please bwess that I can get mawwied in the temple to Jarret [her big brother]. Im name o' Jesus Cwist, amen."

Amen.

A New Yowker called me today

No one else may think this is cool [except my coworker Leigh... thanks Leigh], but I think it is cool.

I talked to a producer for the Glenn Beck [TV] show today.

Her name is ****. [I would tell you, but then I would have to kill you.]

Fun facts about ****:

1. She has a New "Yowk" accent.

2. She was very nice.

3. From the sound of her voice, I would guess she has dark hair and lives in a fantastic little flat in Manhattan. [But that's just me guessing.]

She requested some books for the show, and I was happy to oblige.

You should watch the Glenn Beck show on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 5 pm ET. You'll enjoy it; I promise.

The "White" House

So, at church, I work with young women ages 14-16. We call them "Mia Maids." Do you remember being a 14-16-year-old? That is a hilarious stage of life. [And by hilarious, I mean awkward. At least it was for me.] I absolutely adore these girls... and I get a huge kick out of them. Below is an example why:

Girl 1: "So, I use ta think there was a reason they called The White House, 'The White House.'"

Girl 2: "What'd ya mean?"

Girl 1: "Wull, I use ta think they called it The White House cause we always had white presidents. But now we have Obama as a president; I guess that doesn't really make sense now."

Girl 2: "Wait, why?"

Girl 1: "Cause he's black. Duh."

Girl 2: "Wull, are they gonna change the name of the house?"

Girl 1: "I don't know - if they did it would be the 'black house' or somethin'."

All I could do was bite my lip, look down, smile, shake my head, and keep spreading my red frosting on the gingerbread cookie... or else I "probly" would have "LOLed."

Nativity scene... kid style

I have to be clear about this - credit for this post goes to C Jane Enjoy It. I laughed so hard at this and had to share it.

"First, suspend your belief that only sheep and donkeys were present on that holy nativity night. Giraffes, aliens, dinosaurs...why not? And in that vein, Joseph could be an astronaut, and Mary, Mulan. See where this is going?" - C Jane Enjoy It

"Fourth, it would also be appropriate to use your Made in Japan toys to represent the wisemen because everyone knows they came from the Orient!"

Love it!

One of my favorite things

What is one of AEJs favorite things? Buying a new planner for the new year. *Insert delight-filled squeal!*

"Moleskine Red Large Weekly Notebook." There is black available as well, but red has a bit more kick to it.