Finally February

Words cannot express how happy I am that it is finally the second month of the year. It's only been three days, but the weather's already been better than all of January (or as my friend Kelly calls it - "the Monday of the year") combined.

I just wanted to give a quick update on what's been going on (which is admittedly not much, because again, January) but I did get to have some fun:

I finally got to attend a game in the Marriott Center again. I loved watching the games with my dad over break, but nothing beats hanging out in the ROC with these lovely ladies. 

Sundance 2013! I didn't make it up to Park City this year (sorry, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. We'll meet someday, I promise), but I got to ride the train up to Ogden to see Austenland! It was my first time on the Frontrunner, and I have to say I'm a big fan. It's pretty cheap and gets you there just as fast as driving. I'll definitely be utilizing it in the future - City Creek trip, anyone?

Up in Ogden, we only had three tickets and went through the most stressful/complicated process to get an extra ticket for the fourth member of our party. (It involved me getting cozy with the sound director and making deals with middle-aged ladies and Weber State students. A story for another time, but let me just say that I am getting very good at learning to not take no for an answer!) BUT it was all worth it, because Austenland was a great movie - super funny and charming - and we got a picture with author/producer Shannon Hale at the after party! She's just adorable and I absolutely love her books, so I was pretty excited to meet her!

I also went up to SLC with Whitney to see The Spectacular Now, an incredible movie about teenage love and addiction that depicts adolescence in a real and honest way. I'll definitely be seeing it again when it comes out in theater. But let me just say that after this and The Descendants, I take back every negative thing I ever said about Shailene Woodley. Girl's amazing - she just needs to get off that horrible TV show.

Yesterday I embraced my domestic side and hosted a Groundhog Day party. Mostly I just wanted an excuse to watch one of my favorite movies with friends, but I found these recipes on Pinterest and thought I'd try them out. They were really simple and I thought they turned out super cute!

No-bake cookies and Almond Joys. Easy peasy. 

Of course, there was also the series finale of 30 Rock. I could write a whole eulogy about this show, but I think the show itself puts it best:

Thank you, 30 Rock, for making me laugh for seven wonderful years. Especially you, Liz Lemon. Someday I hope to have a great relationship like the one between you and Jack. You taught me that I should never settle for less than the best, that I should never give up on my dreams, and that all humanity is united by the sandwich. You made me want to go to there, wherever "there" happens to be. I will never forget you, Rural Juror. Goodbye.

Things I'm looking forward to in February:

• Ed Sheeran concert!
• The Oscars
• Celebrating Valentine's Day with Netflix and sushi
• Vegas for President's Day weekend

Also, I just wanted to include a quick plug about the BYU Fashion Show coming up this Saturday. My good friends Kailee, Monika, and Melanie are all designing for it, and their stuff is AMAZING. These girls are so talented; it honestly makes me a little jealous! You'll definitely want to check out their designs; they're pretty incredible. And there'll be a real runway and everything!

Best of 2012

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - I've definitely enjoyed my break by spending time with family, holing up like a hobbit watching Netflix and reading from my new Kindle Fire, and attending awkward, impromptu high school reunions, where I have to explain what I've been doing for the past year to people I didn't think I'd ever see again.

I always love the end of another year because it's a time to reflect on everything that's happened and it gives me an excuse to do one of my favorite things - make "Best Of" lists! I love making lists in general, and "Best Of" lists are the best kind. So without further ado...

Chelsey's Top 10 Moments of 2012

10. Learned to surf. 

(Just to warn you, a lot of these will come from my time spent in warm, beautiful California this summer.) I was terrified at first because I'm the least coordinated person known to man, but I managed to stay up for a few seconds!! Hahaha. Definitely one of the cooler things I've gotten to do.

Also one of the last times I got to see this girl before she left me for the Lord in Pennsylvania.

 

9. Attended the Sundance Film Festival for the first time. 

As a movie buff, this is something I'd been wanting to do for a while but didn't get a chance to until this year. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any celebrities (I realllly wanted to see Aubrey Plaza and Jake Johnson, but alas) due to the Nightmarish Blizzard the first weekend, but I got to see some cool exhibits in Park City and of course, watch some great films. Check out Safety Not Guaranteed and The Queen of Versailles as soon as you can. Trust me.

8. Went to a bajillion theme parks.

Ok, only four. But I went to a couple of those more than once, so it pretty much adds up to a bajillion. I LOVE roller coasters, so Six Flags Magic Mountain was probably my favorite of the bunch. Knotts Berry Farm was great because there were practically no lines, and Disneyland was of course magical and twee. And it's always a source of nostalgia to come back to Kings Island, the place where I experienced my first case of ride-induced nausea. Even if that ride is no longer in operation (RIP Son of Beast).

7. Road tripped to Las Vegas for the WCC Basketball Tournament. 

Ok, so BYU didn't end up winning, but I had a great time nonetheless. I went with Jessica and Kristen (miss you both!), and we had a great time in Vegas. Although I still can't believe I paid like 10 bucks to ride a roller coaster at midnight. Definitely fun, but was money that could have been spent at Thunder Down Under. (I kid, I kid...)

6. Lot and lots of awesome concerts.

Foster the People. Imagine Dragons. Ingrid Michaelson. Lonestar. Neon Trees. Fictionist. AWOLNATION. Young the Giant. And of course, The Killers. I forgot I went to so many good concerts this year. I even got paid to go to one of them! And all with fabulous people. 

Lonestar at the State Fair

Rooftop Concert with Fictionist

Imagine Dragons

The Killers

5. Chelsey takes on Hollywood. Or rather, Burbank. 

This summer my entertainment geek flag got to fly free as I unashamedly became part of the studio audience on The Price is Right and Conan. That high five from Coco himself just might be the highlight of the year. And who can forget the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, where I basically shelled out $50 to touch the Bat Mobile, and it was totally worth it. Other Hollywood highlights include comedy shows at the UCB and movies in the El Capitan Theatre.

4. Adventures in San Francisco/PRSSA National Conference

I had the pleasure of visiting The City by the Bay not once, but twice, this year. For my internship we got to spend a weekend there and check out the sites, including a boat tour around Alcatraz. I also got to attend the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference there, which was a blast and a half. I got to hang with my BYU PR family and eat lots of delicious clam chowder. And see the Tanner family house, a definite highlight. There was also a big bridge someone told me was pretty important. I don't know, all I remember was all the running to catch transportation.

A major award!

3. A coupla job promotions

2012 was a good year for my bank account. I became a supervisor in the ticket office and an account director in the Bradley PR Agency. A great honor, but of course, that also meant more responsibility, and I'm not sure I stayed completely sane throughout the semester. Jury's still out on that one.

 

2. West Coast buddies

The people in my L.A. ward were surprisingly more friendly than I expected (let's be real, I was expecting 90210) and I met some really awesome people during my summer there. I miss them lots and lots but I'll always have great memories of dance parties, movie premieres, beach get-togethers, hikes, Dodgers games, and delicious chicken-and-waffles to remember them by. And who can forget those West Hollywood nights with my best tour guide.

1. Summer and internship in Los Angeles

I got to intern with an awesome agency, Edelman. I got to work with some pretty rad people. I lived in L.A. for basically free. And I learned a lot. It was a pretty swell summer.

These guys were ok.

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Check out my pop culture Best Of Lists here.

The Return of the Laptop

Hey, (mom), sorry it's been so long since I updated. In my defense, I haven't really had a computer until now. I finally picked my laptop up from BYU Computer Repair. They had to repair the motherboard and lost my hard drive in the process. I was pretty angry, especially because all my pictures from the past 3 years are essentially gone. It is my fault I didn't back them up, but it's still irritating. But on the positive side, I essentially got a brand new computer. Just in my old laptop's body.

A lot has happened in the last month and a half, though! If you care to read... (I apologize about the picture quality. They're all pulled from Facebook.)

• The last weekend of Sundance Film Festival was a success! I didn't really see any celebrities since they leave after the first weekend, but Park City was beautiful and the movies were good. Safety Not Guaranteed (Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson) was my favorite by far. PLEASE check it out when it hits theaters. It's funny and heartwarming, with just a hint of time travel.





Beautiful Park City with Leah, Kristen and Steph



Props from Napoleon Dynamite






Director and screenwriters from Safety Not Guaranteed






With Shirley, Whitney and Kailee in front of the Egyptian Theater










• Enough Is Enough's "Power in Prevention" conference was a success. Donna Rice Hughes came down and gave several great presentations on Internet Safety. The presentations actually scared me a little. There's a story of this 12-year-old boy who would secretly videotape his mother on the computer so he could find out the password and look at porn. Not to mention all the stories of predators and cyberbullies. My kids definitely won't get on any social networking sites until high school. At least.  Check out some stories of the event at KSL and the Deseret News.
• In addition to the conference, I also helped put together a booth for Enough Is Enough at the Safe Kids Fair. We talked to thousands of concerned parents and helped spread the word about the cause. We enticed them to come to the booth with candy, which I felt was pretty ironic.
  

  

  Come to me, children.

  
  

  • Vegas! Jess, Kristen, some of Kristen's friends, and I went to Vegas a couple weekends ago for the WCC Tournament. We watched the men's and women's games, which were really fun until the Gonzaga game. I love our team, but man that was a hard game to sit through. We also walked around The Strip, went shopping at Fashion Show Mall, and rode the New York roller coaster at midnight. It was fun to get away from everything for a weekend and enjoy the city of sin. Mormon style. 

  

  Cheering on our shooting-addled boys

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Eating some Terrible food. For only $9.

  
  

  

  Bellagio Gardens.

  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  • Our event in my event planning class went off without a hitch! Our group had to come up with a family event, so we threw a Surprise "Sweet 16" for our professor. Our colors were black, white and mint, we had a surprise appearance by Justin Beiber, some amazing food, and adorable decorations. Check out Hayley's blog for some great pictures, courtesy of our photographer Ali Kirk. 
  • Kailee threw an AMAZING Hunger Games party last night. We had to put our names up for reaping according to what district (our birth month) we were in. And if we took food, we had to put our name in again. I got chosen but was killed in the first round. Still so much fun. And then Hayley and Ali threw a great St. Patrick's Day party. I love being a Comms major. No one else would understand my blog and Twitter jokes. And laugh when #courtmann says that he needs to stop being so mainstream. Or laugh at anything concerning Joel C. Campbell. Good times.
  
  Some upcoming events:
  
  • Adobe Summit. This week is going to be crazy. I'm working around 30 hours at the Adobe Digital Marketing Summit this week for my event planning class. I get paid and they give us free hotel rooms. For class credit. I freaking love this class. And some high profile execs are coming to this event (like Ariana Huffington and the founder of Twitter). Maybe I'll get to see some of them and network. You never know!
  • Ward Service Auction. We're donating canned goods instead of money in exchange for various services people in the ward are auctioning off. I'm auctioning off my editing skills. And amazing event planning skills. (just kidding about that last one. slightly).
  •  One month until I go to LA! 
  
  On another note, my bracket is completely dead. I had Missouri going all the way...