An Ally Adventure

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

Look at me blogging up a storm!

Who knows how long it'll last, but I'm glad I'm back in time to share my mother's fabulous Christmas decorations with you.

(see previous decorations here and here)

I am so in love with her theme this year.

She used all bright colors...

yellow, blue, pink, green, purple, orange.

Not your average Christmas colors, but our house still feels like a winter wonderland.

It's beautiful!

Gorgeous, right? Well done, Nancy.

Also, compare how my mother wraps presents:

To how my father wraps presents:

Yes, that is a box... in the middle of the living room... with a blanket over it.

Good job, Dad.

Merry Christmas!

A WBAMS Christmas.

2011-12-19T22:05:00.001-08:00

I have some incredible roommates.

We refer to ourselves as WBAMS (pronounced wa-bams!... Whitney, Brea, Ally, Marissa and Steff) for simplicity, just so you know.

We are just one big happy family, so naturally we had to have a family Christmas celebration before we took off for the holidays.

And naturally, we all had to get matching Christmas pajamas.

Cute, right?

(Top L-R: Whitney, Steffany; Bottom L-R: Me, Brea, Marissa)

We invited our boys over to join the celebration, too.

Naturally, we also made them wear matching Christmas pajamas.

Adorable. Such good sports.

Mike (Brea's boyfriend) and Nick (everyone else's boyfriend)

Our celebration started at midnight (because that's how we roll) and was full of lots of family fun, a gift exchange and me eating approximately 16 chocolate chip cookies (because that's how I roll).

My amazing friends gave me some pretty great presents:

Season 1 of Jem* (most thoughtful gift ever) and free Frostys for a year, to name a few.

I'm a lucky girl.

Not to sound all sappy and such... but I love these people so much and feel so blessed to have them in my life.

*Jem is a super cool 80's cartoon about the dual life of a girl who runs a foster home by day and turns into a pink haired rockstar by night using her earrings to project a holographic image over herself.

Naturally, it was a childhood favorite of mine.

Come watch it with me.

Come do yoga with me!

2011-12-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm a yoga teaching machine these days!

Have you heard that I am now officially a "Yoga Professor" at GWU?

Yup, I have to write a syllabus and everything... no big deal.

I also teach at a really fantastic studio called CycleStudio and it is currently offering the most INCREDIBLE Groupon deal.

For $19, you get any three classes (a $60 value)

or for $35, you get six classes (a $110 value).

DCers... you need to take advantage of this!

Run, don't walk!

I promise you will get the best workout of your life at this place and have so much fun.

Plus, you'll get to take classes from me! (I'd love to see some familiar faces in my classes!)

Get it... it'll be so worth it.

Namaste.

Welcome to Miami!

2011-12-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

So me and 3 of my best friends went to Miami this weekend because... seriously, why not?

We were craving sunshine, found an awesome hotel, got some cheap plane tickets and then we were off!

Best. Vacation. Ever.

Check out some of the "professional" photos we got taken on our parasailing adventure (yeah, we went parasailing)... We payed a pretty penny for these beauties to be added to our package:

Steff and I

Nick and Whitney

Maybe Nick and Whit?

No idea who this is.

Quality, right?

Calm down, I'll add more pictures of the fun once I get a hold of them.

Bienvenidos a Miami

2011-12-08T23:31:00.000-08:00

Party in the city where the heat is on all night on the beach till the break of dawn.

2011-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the MCAT tomorrow (finally!).

I'm probably going to rock it...

but prayers, happy thoughts and well wishes are appreciated nonetheless.

Thanks. :)

Twins - Part 2.

2011-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ashley has been visiting me in DC this past week for some sisterly fun.

Throughout the week my roommates have pointed out that we have a lot of the same mannerisms and have snapped pictures accordingly.

It's fun being a twin.

Peet Family

2011-07-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Not too shabby, huh?

Ouch.

2011-06-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm in Provo for the week doing some advanced yoga training... and it is intense.

I'm learning how to do and teach crazy poses like these:

(no, that's not me)

I'm having so much fun but am pretty much exhausted from doing five straight hours of yoga a day.

So exhausted that I had a little accident whilst doing this pose:

So this may look kind of hard, but it's actually one of the easiest arm balances in yoga.

(Seriously, anyone can do it.)

I've done it a million and it takes almost no effort for me to get into.

But when I did it at the end of class today it didn't feel easy and effortless like it normally does...

I immediately knew something was wrong but before I could do anything my arms collapsed and my chin crashed right into the mat.

Hard.

And now I have an awesome/gigantic bruise on my chin.

I would have posted a picture of it but apparently I'm not super attractive from that angle.

The end.

Dance Dance Revolution.

2011-06-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Did you know that it is illegal to dance at the DC Monuments?

Yeah, neither did I until my friend Mike took me out for a night of mischief.

He began by telling me about a bunch of people getting arrested last weekend for dancing at the Jefferson Memorial.

Watch this video and see for yourself.

Seriously, watch it.

(skip to 1:30ish for the good stuff)

Crazy, huh?

Feeling like this was completely un-American, Mike and I headed over to the Jefferson Memorial for our own little Dance Dance Revolution.

In the name of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we preceded to have a dance party with Thomas Jefferson.

Innocent bystanders took pictures.

We did not get arrested.

God bless America.

Mike and me awkwardly slow dancing at the Jefferson Memorial, eyes glowing with rebellion.

I also got pretty chummy with dear old George Mason that night.

That's legal, right?

Life is good.

2011-06-08T11:26:00.001-07:00

Haven't said that in awhile.

Duck Beach.

2011-06-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

So Duck Beach was pretty much amazing.

I ended up staying an extra day because I didn't want the partying to stop.

The awesomeness of my weekend cannot adequately be described in a blog post, but I managed to take 3 pictures over the weekend (FYI: sand + camera = camera doesn't work anymore) so I will share those with you.

Perhaps I will add captions later.

Classy lady.

2011-06-01T21:29:00.001-07:00

Maybe I wore the same dress three times this week and maybe I even slept in it one night.

I'm obviously struggling to get out of my lame blog rut.

2011-05-31T22:47:00.000-07:00

Someone pointed out to me that the amount of blog posts I have about former boyfriends is mildly obnoxious.

Be honest, how confused do you get when I start blogging about another guy without mentioning the last one is no longer in the picture?

The Mormon Spring Break.

2011-05-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Headed to Duck Beach for the weekend!

(aka "The Mormon Spring Break")

Every Memorial Day weekend nearly a thousand Mormon singles from all over the country flock to North Carolina and congregate in rental houses on Duck Beach for some good clean fun.

It will be quite an adventure.

Girl power.

2011-05-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

(Not sure if this story is true, but I love it so I'm posting it anyway.)

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn’t too luxurious. When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the president’s secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner.

Following this conversation, President Obama asked Michelle, “Why was he so interested in talking to you?” She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her.

President Obama then said, “So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant?” to which Michelle responded, “No. If I had married him, he would now be the President.”

Science nerd.

2011-04-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone know how I ended up with a subscription to Scientific American?

I'm not mad, just curious.

Happy "Cafe Rio Opens Today in Maryland" Day!

2011-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Cafe Rio opened it's first restaurant west of the Mississippi today, and it just so happens to be down the road from where I live!

(And by "down the road" I mean "an hour away" in Olney, MD.)

Naturally, the roomies and I (and half of my ward) decided to make a trip to Olney to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Now you might be asking yourself,

"is Cafe Rio really worth an hour long drive?"

Why yes, yes it is.

My pork burrito was what dreams are made of.

Guess I never need to go back to Utah now?

Me, Marissa and Whitney partying it up at Cafe Rio.

Text Message from Ashley:

2011-04-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

"You should probably blog. The last thing the world knows you did was eat a sandwich in the bathtub."

So true.

I have several half-finished blog entries that I

hope to complete in the near future.

Stay tuned.

Multitasking at it's finest.

2011-03-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Just took a bath while eating a sandwich and watching Pretty Little Liars.

Impressed?

Paradise.

2011-02-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

On my way to a week long yoga training in Tulum, Mexico.

(I'm going to learn how to use yoga to treat eating disorders. Pretty cool, huh?)

Boyfriend is tagging along for the beach.

Namaste.

One of these is not like the other...

2011-02-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

DC girls

How cute are we?

Love this:

2011-02-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

75 Ways To Stay Unhappy Forever

Numbers 2, 5, 27, 33 and 66 spoke to me.

02/05/11...

2011-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

My 23rd birthday!

But I'm sure all of you already had this day marked on your calendars and celebrated accordingly.

My expectations for my birthday were mildly low this year

since I'm so far away from my family, I couldn't party with my twin, and I didn't throw myself an my annual birthday bash.

But Boyfriend (aka Jared) said he'd take me out to a nice dinner so I was content.

I figured I'm growing up so I don't need to demand that the entire month of February be dedicated to celebrating Ally anymore?

(I've become so mature in my old age)

But to my pleasant surprise, Jared threw me a

surprise party!

(I got my birthday bash after all!)

And it was a complete suprise. I honestly had no clue.

I was so overwhelmed by it that for the first 15 minutes of the party I had a hard time talking to anyone.

He started planning it ages ago, I can't believe no one ever let it slip!

Not too many pictures were taken, but here's what I've got:

A very happy/surprised Ally.

With bffs Kurtis and Chan... So glad to have part of my Germany family in DC with me.

Check out the amazing cake Boyfriend had made for me...

So colorful. He knows me too well.

My wonderful roommates helped Jared pull the party together.

They also made me a wonderful birthday breakfast. Love these girls.

The 5 of us live together in a very tiny apartment but love each other very much.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before the party, Jared took me to one of those pottery painting places.

Don't judge, but I absolutely love these places.

I had a blast. Jared thought is was just aight.

Maybe you can't tell from this picture but my piece is amazing.

Jared created a symbol of his initials (JR)... He was pretty pleased with himself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall, a spectacular, fun-filled birthday.

My expectations were definitely exceeded.

And just for fun, here's another picture of my fancy cake.

Ally Defined:

2011-01-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

(according to UrbanDictionary.com)

1. The girl who knows how to party like a rockstar.

2. The perfect definition of an adorable being. Could also be used as referring to someone as a princess.

3. Someone who commonly misspells onomatopoeia because they incorrectly believe that logical spelling does not apply to words describing a sound.

Twins.

2010-12-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

As I am sure most of you know

I am an identical twin.

As you can see from the above picture my sister and I

don't look exactly identical.

But we do, in fact, have the same DNA... we just look a little different due to something called epigenetics (look it up).

Some people still don't believe that we're identical, but I'd like to see them try to tell us apart in these pictures.

Can you tell who's who?

1. Warning: my sister and I were perhaps the chubbiest babies ever.

2. My mom used to dress one of us in blue to help with telling us apart but then everyone thought we were boy-girl twins, so she stopped.

3. Angry twins.

4. We look so fluffy.

5. We won trophies for this dance performance. I still have mine.

Here are some easier ones:

6. We started to look different as we got older

7. Oh the things my mother let us wear...

8. Can you believe we're only in the 7th grade in this picture?

9. That's our brother. We don't really look like him.

You're dumb if you can't get these:

Answers will be posted under the comments section.

Let me know how you did!

Don't feel bad, I had to ask my mom for help on most of them.

Winter Wonderland.

2010-12-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

My mother has done it again with her fabulous Christmas decorations.

She has a strict red, silver and white theme this year and it looks incredible.

Pictures don't do it justice but here are some anyway:

The tree.

She handmade all those red and white birds. Amazing.

She went a little crazy with the hot glue gun and glued silver garlands to everything.

I hope she was planning on getting new lampshades anyway...

Am I supposed to wrap presents like this too?

Nancy was very pleased that the flowers sent from my certain someone matched her theme perfectly.

I love that my mom always puts so much time into decorating the house.

The decorations are always one of the highlights of the season.

(check out last year's decorations here)

Merry Christmas!

Too much time on my hands.

2010-12-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

I am strangely intrigued by Nicki Minaj.

Shout-out to the boyfriend.

2010-12-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

The Boyfriend had a birthday yesterday so everyone needs to tell him

Happy Birthday.

He doesn't like this picture of himself but I'm posting it anyway.

Sorry, Jared... gotta give the people what they want.

I'm pretty much obsessed with birthdays so of course I went all out.

Dinner, presents and lots of decorations including a blue Christmas tree... because who doesn't need a tree that matches their couch?

And of course cake was involved but, of course...

I accidentally dropped it.

Typical.

Despite the cake catastrophe I was feeling pretty pleased with the birthday celebration I planned, but then boyfriend had to go and show me up when he gave me my Christmas gifts.

Check out my new Tory Burch friends...

Well done Boyfriend, well done.

Halloween in NYC

2010-11-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yes I know Halloween was forever ago, but I haven't gotten the chance to tell you how fantastic mine was until now.

I went to New York City to visit my lovely friend Danni and got to stay with her in the swanky hotel she lives in.

We hit the town as soon as I got there and then proceeded to party

all weekend long...

It was Danni's birthday that weekend and we celebrated with dinner at Sea Thai in the Meatpacking District.

We then hit up a bunch of clubs (Kiss and Fly, Bagatelle, and RDV to name a few) where I got to experience the real New York nightlife.

After some last minute costume shopping, we went to some great Halloween parties.

Jamie Lynn Sigler was at one of the parties... that counts as a celebrity sighting, right?

(Try not to judge my mildly skanky Halloween costume... options are limited when you shop in NYC.)

We also visited some of the classic New York spots such as Rockefeller Center and Ground Zero.

New York has so many great places to eat at. I haven't stopped thinking about the amazing food we got at Max Brenner and Cafe Orlin.

Brunch is my new favorite thing.

Our friend Kayla was in New York that weekend, too. We all lived in Heritage Halls together many years ago. Small world.

Can your Halloween weekend top that?

I doubt it.

Personal Mantra:

2010-11-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

If I just belt this it'll look good.

2010-11-16T13:12:00.001-08:00

I apologize for the recent lack of updates.

I've been busy hanging out with a boy.

Pictures from DC

2010-10-24T19:28:00.001-07:00

Because who doesn't love pictures?

Mari-Michelle and I at the Washington Monument

Dinner at Vapiano's

Hanging out in China Town

Julia, Milan and I (and I have no idea who that dude is) at the Fall Soiree

National's Baseball Game

Brea's Birthday Dinner in Old Town Alexandria

Roommates (Whitney and Brea) celebrating Brea's birthday

At the National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day concert

My new life is crazy cool.

Questions I ask myself everyday.

2010-10-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Why isn't (fill in the blank) on Hulu yet?
Would this taste better with salsa?
Do I have time to stop by Nordstrom?
Why am I checking Facebook again?
How hard is it to fix an escalator?

It's true...

2010-10-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

I own every Tabitha two-in-one dress ever made.

(courtesy of Anthropologie)

Looks like a skirt/top combo, but it's actually a one piece dress.

Tricky, huh?

Some may say my wardrobe lacks creativity, but I say

you can never have too much of a good thing.

Fat Talk Free Week

2010-10-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

This week is Fat Talk Free Week.

Watch this video and participate with me.

All you have to do is change the conversation.

Such a simple way to change the world.

Special Delivery.

2010-10-18T11:03:00.001-07:00

My little Jetta arrived in DC today!

It's been hanging outside my brother's place in Provo this whole time but I finally got it shipped out here.

It feels so good to have a car again!

Ashley and I got the Jetta when we were 16.

(when you're a twin have to share stuff a lot)

But when Ashley got married it was decided that

"Ashley gets a husband, so Ally gets the car" and now I have full custody of it.

(sorry Ash)

We were kind of hard on this car and it's starting to show it's age, but it still gets the job done.

(but it's embarrassing how many dents and scratches are on it)

Please cross your fingers that it doesn't break town in the middle of the city, as it tends to do, because I don't have any ex-boyfriends out here to awkwardly call to come rescue me.

(but maybe that's a good thing?)

Thank you, Nancy

2010-10-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

(aka: Mom)

(is it weird that I call my mother by her first name?)

for always commenting on my blog.

Honorable mentions: Ashley and Michelle.

I have nothing to say to the rest of you.

NEDA in NY

2010-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Remember my affiliation with the National Eating Disorders Association?

Well their annual conference was last weekend in New York and I had the privilege of attending again.

(Last year's conference was in Minneapolis).

I decided to go at the last minute but luckily they still had room for me so I made arrangements to room with 2 other volunteers and then hopped on a bus to New York!

Fortunately, my random roommates turned out to be dolls and we had a great weekend together.

Kiersten, Me, Sarah

Sarah and I on the Brooklyn Bridge.

This was pretty much a "work-trip" so I unfortunately didn't get much time to explore the city.

(don't worry, I plan on going back very soon to sightsee and visit this girl).

But the conference was, of course, wonderful.

I learned a lot, met a lot of influential people, made some good connections and was very inspired.

NEDA feels like family to me and I feel so lucky to be a part of such an incredible organization.

Small World, part II.

2010-10-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

On the bus back to DC from NY, I randomly sat next to one of my best friends from middle school.

Seriously, what are the odds we'd be on the same bus?

Kurtis and I knew each other back when we lived in Germany and had so much fun reminiscing about going to the Kino, the Schwimbad, and trying to teach ourselves how to snowboard in Garmisch.

Good times in Germany.

I still can't get over what a small world it is.

(pictures were taken to document this event but will not be posted due to my disheveled-ness brought on by the long weekend)

Small World.

2010-10-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

In a city of 8,391,881 people (according to Wikipedia), I'm amazed that I randomly ran into the one New Yorker I know, Danni, while walking to my hotel today.

And on a random street in Brooklyn??

How is that possible?!

Chemist.

2010-10-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Just got a job tutoring chemistry for $30 an hour.

I'm definitely not angry about that.

Thoughts on 1/2 marathon training.

2010-10-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

running is hard
my calves are getting bigger which is making it increasingly difficult to wear skinny jeans
why would anyone run a full marathon?

Do I have to keep doing it?

Love.

2010-10-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I daydream about having a pet hedgehog.

Metro Misadventures.

2010-09-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

DC has a pretty great public transportation system.

To get to school I just take a quick and free shuttle from my apartment to the metro, then a 10 minute metro ride to GWU campus.

It's pretty simple and relatively convenient.

But sometimes you just have those days when the metro is smarter than you.

Like this morning, for example:

6:45 - wake-up, ready to take on the world, get dressed for 8:00 meeting

7:25 - arrive at bus stop early to catch 7:33 bus (I'm a punctual girl.)

7:40 - bus arrives... late

7:48 - arrive at metro, realize late bus made me miss desired train

7:54 - get on next train, come to terms with the fact that I will be 5 minutes late for meeting

7:56 - realize I am on the wrong train (How did that happen?!)

7:59 - get off at next stop

8:10 - wait forever, then get on train going back to original metro stop

8:15 - arrive at original metro stop, more waiting

8:21 - get on train (The right one!)

8:29 - arrive at GWU, walk across campus

8:39 - get to meeting 39 minutes late, realize it is over and everyone has left, turn around and walk back to metro

8:50 - run into cute, mildly older, doctoral student in my program

8:51 - flirt

8:56 - realize that flirting has caused me to miss desired train, must wait for next one

9:04 - get on train (The right one again! Go Ally!)

9:13 - realize I missed my stop (What?! Why am I an idiot??)

9:14 - get off at next stop, more waiting

9:20 - get on train going opposite direction

9:21 - notice I am in the same car as my bishop and random girl in my ward (In a city of 600,000, what are the odds?)

9:22 - decide not to talk to these people because am too embarrassed to explain morning events

9:23 - get off train (The right stop!)

9:24 - realize I just barely missed 9:21 bus home, must wait for 9:44 bus

9:30 - watch strange dude doing tricep dips off the bench I'm sitting on

9:50 - bus arrives... late

9:58 - forget to request stop so bus drives past my apartment (Seriously?!), immediately request stop for next drop off point

10:00 - get off bus, walk back to apartment

10:07 - arrive home

10:10 - eat 2 cupcakes from yesterday's visit to Old Town Alexandria

(I deserved it.)

138 minutes of traveling but nothing accomplished.

I swear I'm an intelligent human being, but sometimes it's just not easy...

Summer.

2010-09-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

I always find blogs without many pictures to be kind of boring so I'm annoyed at myself for not having more pictures.

So here is a random assortment of un-posted photos from the summer with the context of each only vaguely described:

End of the year bbq with my favorite o-chem students.

What am I doing?

Emory and Michelle at the Ricky Martin Party.

Ricky Martin attacking Enrique Iglesias.

Playing at Seven Peaks. (the sun was in my eyes)

Ashley's going away party at Color Me Mine.

Welcoming back my missionary.

Apartment hunting in DC.

Freedom Festival Gala.

You're welcome.

13.1

2010-09-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

I started training for a half marathon today!

November 13th is the day of the big race.

I actually hate running but I'm hoping I'll forget this little piece of information for the next 8 weeks...

And I've blogged about it so now I'm committed.

Yikes!

Fun Fact.

2010-09-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

What do Courtney Cox, Rachel Zoe and Elder Richard G. Scott

all have in common?

They all went to George Washington University!

Like me!

So pretty much this school is going to turn me into a star or a General Authority...

Right?

My New Home.

2010-09-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

A perfect description of Arlington, VA.

(aka Ally's new home)

I laughed so hard at this video. It's so true.

Don't you want to come visit?

Georgetown.

2010-09-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

I don't have classes on Friday's so yesterday I decided to spend my free time exploring Georgetown.

It's such a trendy neighborhood with shopping galore. I love it.

Here's what I did:

Took an incredible class at this fantastic yoga studio.

Bought myself lunch at this cute little restaurant.

And got a few delicious cupcakes from this famous cupcake shop.

(Luckily the line wasn't too long).

I highly recommend all of the above.

And I hope to return to all of these places very soon.

Come visit me and you can come, too. :)

2010-08-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today is my one week anniversary of living in

Washington, DC.

I'm still working on getting settled so don't have too much to report on yet, except that

my apartment is really cute and I love my roommates,

I started school yesterday and am enjoying it,

and today I figured out how to get to Nordstrom.

So far, so good.

Somebody likes me.

2010-08-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

These were delivered to me today...

More Fun in Sequim.

2010-08-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

The family and I climbed Mount Zion today.

Aren't we just so outdoorsy?

Erik and I performing the traditional summit pose.

My brother and I also did a lot of mountain biking this summer.

I had a pretty spectacular crash one day and before coming over to rescue me he took a picture.

Poor Ally...

It's been a fun summer.

Does it have to end?

Slacklining in Style.

2010-08-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

My brother and I have picked up slacklining this summer.

It's basically tightrope walking and it's way fun but WAY harder than it looks.

We're both hanging out at home in Sequim for the week so set up the slackline between 2 poles holding up our house. (that's safe, right?)

And turns out we both dress really well...

Ashley wasn't able to participate because she's off in Houston learning how to be a dentist/grown-up.

See what you're missing out on, Ashley?

Yeah, we're classy people.

Changes.

2010-08-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Leaving Provo on August 17th.
Spending a week in Washington State.
Moving to Washington DC on August 24th.

Please plan my going-away/welcoming parties accordingly.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-07-25T10:03:00.001-07:00

So I have a really, really great boyfriend.

(sorry, is that too sappy to say?)

His name his JR.

We always have lots of fun together.

And he always does wonderful things for me...

Like this weekend, when he surprised me with a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas!

(yeah, he's a winner)

It was a quick trip, but we had time to hit all the Vegas hot spots.

Like:

Seeing a show.

JR got us tickets to Cirque du Soleil "O" and it was incredible.

Cirque du Soleil never disappoints and "O" is definitely the best show they've got.

Eating fabulous/overpriced food.

We ate dinner at a swanky restaurant in the Bellagio called Todd English's Olives. It was so good that we actually went back there for lunch the next day.

Gambling.

And by gambling I mean we put $1 in a slot machine.

But we won!

If you zoom you'll see our voucher is for 8 cents.

Yeah, we were both pretty pleased with ourselves.

Eating more fabulous food.

We went to Serendipity for the famous frozen hot chocolate.

It was everything we could have hoped for and more.

Walking the strip.

You see a lot of interesting things on the strip... especially at night time.

Vegas is one of a kind, huh?

The trip was perfect. The boy is perfect.

And after the long road trip to and from Vegas we still like each other!

Good sign?

Brotherly Love.

2010-07-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

My older brother, Erik, is my most favorite yoga student.

Also, my most supportive.

He has come to every single one of my yoga classes and was even the one who got me my gig at The Quarry.

(Best brother ever?)

I just love that he shares my testimony of the wonders of yoga.

(My parents love yoga too, I'm still working on Ashley, though...)

Here's Erik performing Koundiyanasana on the top of a mountain he climbed.

I couldn't be more proud.

(If you haven't tried yoga yet, do it. It'll change your life.)

Golfing.

2010-06-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

I found myself a boy.

And he's a good one.

When I told him that I wanted him to teach me how to play golf, he got so excited that he went out and bought me some fancy golf shoes and pink golf balls.

How cute is that?

He was a good teacher... but turns out I'm not very good at golf.

We're going to work on it, though.

It's going to be a fun summer...

Accomplished.

2010-06-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

I parallel parked today.

Successfully.

On the first try.

That is all.

Summertime.

2010-05-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

I got my Seven Peaks season pass today.

Please get one too and come play with me.

Thanks.

2010-05-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

I had plans to lay out at the pool with a friend today, but when I looked outside this morning it was snowing.

It's May 24th and it's snowing.

Seriously?!!

2010-05-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

2010-05-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

Just signed up for an MCAT prep course.

Oh Life, you've done it again...

College Graduate

2010-04-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Where did the time go?

1 BS in Nutritional Science.

1 Minor in Chemistry.

3 years pre-med.

1 year not pre-med anymore.

7 semesters TAing chemistry.

21 classes with my twin sister.

1 class with my brother.

3 different apartments.

19 different roommates.

3 1/2 serious boyfriends.

1 major heartbreak.

2 amazing parents to get me through it all.

Countless wonderful friends.

Good times.

Bad times.

Happy times.

Sad times.

Fun times.

4 Memorable Years.

On to bigger and better things now...

H-Duff Premier Party

2010-04-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Don't you love those movies that are so-bad-that-they're-good?
You know what I'm talking about... movies like Bring It On 5 or anything with Amanda Bynes.
Aren't they great? Such guilty pleasures.
Michelle and I have developed a reputation for watching these terrible/amazing movies. Our movie nights have apparently become famous.
So when ABC Family was premiering Hilary Duff's "The Beauty and the Briefcase" last Sunday, you know we had a premier party!
Sarcastic friends and a movie with a weak plot always makes for a great party.
My friends are so good-looking. Even the boys came!

And Hilary definitely did not disappoint. She sparkled in this wonderful film and gave us many cheesy lines, awkward scenes and terrible outfits to mock.
You were perfect, H-Duff.

Found!

2010-04-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

I found my bike!

Turns out one of my roommates sold it at a garage sale for $15.
Seriously.

And after three days of talking about how devastated and upset I was about my stolen bike, she never once mentioned the fact that she had actually sold it (even when I specifically asked her if she knew anything about it).

I found out when I was leaving my apartment today right as a man pulled up, and in his car was my bike! I was so excited to see it and as the nice man gave me my bike I asked him where he had found it. A little shocked that I didn't know, he replied "she didn't tell you?", and then proceeded to fill me in.

I guess when my roommate realized how upset I was about my missing bike she got a hold of the guy and had him bring it back.
And instead of actually telling me what happened, she was just going put it back in its place and hope that I would be so happy to get it back that I wouldn't care about where it was.
But I just so happened to walk out of the apartment at the perfect time and catch her in the act.

I haven't even been able to confront her on it yet because she ran out the door as soon as she realized I knew, and hasn't been home since.

Can you believe that?
So happy to have my bike back, though!

(above mentioned roommate doesn't read my blog so I only feel a little guilty for bashing her on here)

DC Bound!

2010-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I got into George Washington University for the
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master's Program!

So excited!

Lost.

2010-04-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Whoever stole my bike, could you please bring it back?
I was planning on using it. Thanks.

Who wore it better?

2010-04-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ally Peet and High School Musical's Kaycee Stroh both looked super glam in this fiery red dress.

Ally rocked hers with black pumps while Kaycee paired hers with a dazzling necklace -- but both girls clearly loved their looks because they're smiling crazy wide about them!

The question is, who wore it better?

(better say me)

Why you shouldn't be in a boyfriend's family portrait...

2010-04-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

When you break-up they have to redraw it so that you're not in it...

Awkward.

2010-03-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm interviewing at my top grad school this week.

Wish me luck!

2010-03-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Is it impractical for me to get a puppy?

Dear Tory Burch,

2010-03-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

I had a terrible morning, but you made it all better.

Thank you.

LEPROM

2010-03-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

Isaac (my bff/former bf/former ochem TA/fill in the blank) is in medical school in Pennsylvania right now.

His med-school (LECOM) was having a big fancy formal (called LEPROM... so clever) and he was in need of some arm-candy for it and was nice enough to think of me. I love any excuse to wear a pretty dress, so I was happy to go!

And I'm so glad I did, I had a blast.

Look how good we looked:

I counted this as my spring break (since BYU doesn't have one) so did things like sleep in till 2, lounge around the house, go out to eat and go to a fun party.

And I got to do it with great company.

New Goal.

2010-03-04T23:51:00.000-08:00

My roommates and I each have our own cupboard in the kitchen to keep our food in.

Here's mine:

Unfortunately, this is what it looks like on a regular basis

(and I probably have even less food in the fridge).

For someone who is a nutritional science major, a yoga teacher and a huge advocate for eating disorder awareness/prevention and healthy living...

I'm a disgrace.

You've got to give me a little credit though, it takes a lot of skill to keep yourself fed without ever making a meal.

But I've been living on my own for almost 4 years now though, it's time to stop (or start?).

That's why I have made it a personal goal to cook at least

one meal a week.

(Don't scoff, this is huge for me!)

I don't plan on becoming a gourmet chef, but I think it'll be good for me to start cooking so I can

save some money, eat healthier and learn how to be a grown-up.

If anyone has an "Ally-friendly" (simple) recipes, please share!

2010-03-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Someone told me that they cited me as evidence in a debate on why blondes are not dumb.

Awesome.

Redecorating.

2010-02-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

We found this in our basement so naturally we hung it up in our kitchen.

The poster is so big it takes up the majority of the wall.

I love my roommates.

My Valentine...

2010-02-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

No, not that handsome guy... the girl with the gun.

Isn't she great?

I'm a lucky girl.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Run Don't Walk

2010-02-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

to the

The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe

My brother and I went last night and loved it.

We felt kind of pathetic, though:

brother and sister sharing cupcakes together on a Friday night amongst all the couples there for Valentine's Day festivities.

But then we saw two macho guys walk in together, sit down at one of the cozy tables and share a cupcake

and we decided we didn't look as pathetic as them...

I'm so excited for more cupcakes here in Provo!

This one just opened and is so cute and tasty.

(and apparently a great place for a "man date")

Go check it out!

Twenty-Two

2010-02-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Best Birthday Ever!

(thanks to everyone who made it that way!)

This was the first birthday I've had without my twin by my side to celebrate with me (she has a husband now to celebrate with, can you blame her?) and I was actually really nervous about it.

But my friends and family really pulled through and made me feel so loved and special.

Highlights:

Pre-Birthday gifts from Michelle the night before

Krispy Kreme, a gummy mustache and a "cats in hats" box of chocolates. What more could you ask for?

It's okay that I ate all those doughnuts in less than 24 hours because there's no calories on your birthday...

Waking up to this

Still don't know who did it. Thank you Birthday Fairy!

Being spoiled by my organic chemistry class

My students brought be an obnoxious bundle of balloons, sang Happy Birthday to me and had me ignite some butane filled balloons for a gigantic explosion (nerdy chemistry stuff).

They all get A's.

Birthday Party at Pizzeria 712

My first solo birthday!

We rented the place out for some amazing pizza and fun socializing.

Ashley actually ended up coming so we got to celebrate together a little.

Impromptu Nordstrom shopping spree with Michelle

Enough said.

After party at Spark

Everything about the day was the perfect way to say good-bye to 21 and hello to 22.

22 is going to be an incredible year!

Happy Birthday...

2010-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

To Me!

Today is my 22nd birthday.

I'm getting old.

2010-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

I was invited to party with the celebs in a huge mansion in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival...

but, I'm going to just stay home and chill with my roommate instead.

(and I couldn't be more excited about it)

What is wrong with me?

Tonight

2010-01-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I are having a premiere party for

Bring It On: Fight To The Finish.

Can you believe there are already 5 Bring It On movies?

This one is from the same director of Hon ey, plus it went straight to tv,

So you know its going to be good...

It's time to bring it!

(for the 5th time)

I hate...

2010-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Boys and grad-school applications.

They both stress me out.

Family Home Evening

2010-01-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

Went to Spark with the girls last night.

We counted it as FHE.

It's going to be a good semester...

Technologically Challenged

2010-01-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

I am currently phoneless and computerless.

Great.

I left my cellphone at the Seattle airport when I was headed back to Utah. Whoops. (Some may call that "pulling an Ally".)

The airport got a hold of me and said they're going to ship it to me.

When I asked them when I should be expecting it they said, "it'll get there eventually".

Great.

My computer cord is no longer working, so I can no longer charge my computer.

I'm getting a new one sent to me under warranty, but it's going to take a few days to get here.

Great.

(I'm borrowing someones computer right now).

Like I need more excuses to procrastinate getting my grad school applications in...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Year 2009 Recap

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I'll be honest, 2009 started out a little rocky for me...

But with time, 2009 brought so many great things!

I made a lot of great friends that I hope to keep for a very long time.

I had a lot of experiences that helped me to decide what I want my future to look like.

And I learned a lot of life lessons that I hope will teach me to be happy, no matter what.

So thanks to all of you who made 2009 such a great year for me!

Happy 2010!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2009-12-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

My mom is so creative and always has our house decorated so perfectly for Christmas. Look how festive it looks:

(don't mind my amateur photography skills...)

Our gigantic Christmas tree.

It's covered in German and Polish glass Christmas ornaments we collected while living in Europe.

Our own Santa.

This is Eddy. He actually doesn't like his Santa suit very much.

Our presents are all perfectly wrapped and coordinated.

Several of them are addressed to "The Peet Children" which is kind of confusing to me. I hope Santa realizes that none of the Peet children actually live together so it'll be hard to share whatever it is...

How cute is it that she decorated the Eiffel Tower? And she put red and green ornaments everywhere to match the ones on the gifts.

So pretty.

After being focused on finishing up the semester it's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit so coming homing home to this winter wonderland was such a treat.

Thanks Mom!

I'm Alive!

2009-12-19T17:19:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I'm not dead, just busy. Things have been a little hectic these last few weeks so I haven't had time to blog much. Here's a little update of what I've been up to:

1. Finals:

I only had 2 finals to take! The logical thing to do would have been to take both finals as soon as possible so I could start my Christmas break early. Yeah right. Even though I had an entire week I procrastinated and took them both on the very last day. I was in the testing center till 10 pm. It was miserable. Why do I do that to myself?

Finals week actually wasn't so bad, though. Although I lived in the library for an entire week I always found a friend to sit by which made it much more enjoyable. All the cool kids study on the fifth floor.

2. Moving:

I've lived in the same apartment for the last 4 years. This is huge considering everyone else at BYU seems to move every semester. But, I’m finally leaving. It was a difficult decision considering it has been my home for so long and I have so many good memories there, but I think its for the best. So, I'm moving... a few feet away to a different apartment in the same complex. (If you come visit me I'm in apartment 32 now, not 36.)

My BFF Michelle lives there so it's going to be a fun place to be for my last semester. (I'm also hoping my new roommates will not be as messy/slobs like the last.) Plus, I've heard rumors that one of my new roomies has TiVo! What more could you as for in a roommate? I've also heard she owns her own bunk beds... not really sure what that's all about...

3. Not Sleeping:

With so much stuff to do I haven't had much time to sleep. When I finally did get to bed I'd wake up in the middle of the night thinking about all the stuff I had to do. The only way I could get myself to fall back asleep was by doing something productive, like cleaning my room or shaving my legs. I warned my parents that I'd be doing nothing but sleeping for the next few days but they need not worry, I'm not sick or depressed, just sleep deprived. I've already slept 13 hours straight, followed by 2 naps. It’s been wonderful.

4. Home:

Christmas vacation has begun and I'm in Washington for 2 whole weeks for some much needed R&R. My cute mom has the whole house decorated head-to-toe. She already has tons of presents for us under the tree that are perfectly wrapped and color-coordinated. I plan on heading down to Seattle for a few days to visit the city and some friends. I love Seattle.

Here's some pictures from these last few weeks:

2009-12-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

I was briefly mentioned in this article, too.

Kind of fun, huh?

I'm just excited because now something actually comes up when I Google myself.

Wall Street Journal, no big deal...

2009-12-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I always thought my mom was the only one reading my blog.

I guess not.

Got a pretty awesome e-mail a few weeks ago...

It was from a reporter at the Wall Street Journal asking for an interview.

She was writing an article on resale shops and wanted to interview me on my Plato's Closet experience.

So we chatted for a bit, and now I'm in the paper!

Check it out here.

It's just a little blurb at the beginning, but I still think it's pretty awesome.

Don't worry, even though I'm famous now we can still be friends.

P.S. I'm pretty sure I didn't really say "really" that many times.

New Ink.

2009-11-24T23:51:00.000-08:00

Check out my new tattoo.

How hardcore am I?

Its pretty legit, huh?

Got it on a hot date last night.

Turns out my date was quite the artist.

I like it.

Totally wish I shaved my legs before the date though...

Help.

2009-11-23T04:15:00.001-08:00

I'm currently in the middle of my first (and last, hopefully) "all-nighter" of my entire college career.

I'm miserable.

Stupid English paper.

New Job

2009-11-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Since I have so much free time (note the sarcasm), I got another job.

I now teach yoga at The Quarry on Wednesday nights at 10.

Yoga jobs are super hard to find/get so I'm am very lucky to have landed one! (it was pretty much handed to me actually)

The Quarry is a rock-climbing gym here in Provo. My brother is a hardcore rock-climber and goes there pretty often and mentioned to the owner that I teach yoga.

They were looking for a new yoga teacher there and they asked me!

To be honest, I really don't have time for it, but I'm so glad I'm doing it anyway.

Rock-climbers are a really fun crowd so I know I'm going to have a blast.

If you ever want to come to one of my classes, or go rock-climbing, let me know and I can get you in for free!

Good enough?

2009-11-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

I took the GRE today.

I did good enough.

Not bad, not great.

My score is acceptable to get into grad school, but I'm still not very satisfied with it.

I guess I'm just feeling uncomfortable with being average.

So I'm contemplating retaking it.

I'm sure to do better if I retake it,

right?

To be honest, I didn't prepare very much for the GRE (see previous posts).

I wouldn't take it again till December so that would give me plenty of time to study.

Plus, I normally excel at the quantitative portion, but because of pacing issues I didn't do nearly as well on it as I did on practice tests. I can learn to pace myself better!

I should definitely retake it!

But if I do decide to retake the GRE,

What if I don't have the time or motivation to actually prepare for it better? (My schedule is pretty crazy already.)

What if my quantitative score improves as predicted, but I can't get as good of a verbal score?

What if I put in all this effort studying, taking time out of other important things, and I actually score lower?

It would be such a waste.

So maybe I should just be content with my average score?

Like I said, my score is good enough to get in.

But I guess I'm just worried it won't make me as competitive as I want to be.

I know that I am a great candidate for grad school and am qualified and prepared, but what if my score doesn't reflect that enough?

What if all the other applicants are just as qualified as me, plus they have a higher GRE score?

What if admissions doesn't take the time to look at the rest of my exceptional resume because of my unexceptional GRE score?

Obviously, I have a lot to think about.

And I don't know whether to listen to the perfectionist in me or the realist.

Any advice?

Halloween

2009-11-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

4 parties in 1 night:

I'd say it was a pretty successful Halloween.

Why did I sign up to take the GRE so close to Halloween?

2009-10-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

I'm scheduled to take the GRE on Monday.

Yikes! That snuck up on me fast.

So, I told myself I couldn't take part in any Halloween festivities this year because I needed to stay home and study.

Yeah, right.

There's just so many fabulous parties going on and I'm really good at convincing myself that a "study break" will actually help my studying be more efficient, so I have a hard time resisting.

At the last minute, I always decide to go and have to scramble to put a costume together.

Here's the latest:

Quick run to a beauty supply store + a glamor girl as a roommate= fairy costume.

(Thanks for helping me get ready Kiersten!)

Hard to tell from this picture, but the wings were obnoxiosuly huge. I probably caused so many injuries with them and had to turn sideways to walk through the door.

Fairy, Tornado, Mariah Carey, Disco Ball, Cave Woman, Sailor

Look at these girls. So foxy. I'm so proud to call them my friends.

Another great party at the O'Reilly place! You girls never disappoint.

I've forbidden myself from going out this weekend... we'll see what happens...

Who knows, maybe all these "helpful study breaks" really will pay off.

Third times the charm...

2009-10-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

I started Accutane today...

again.

I've got a good feeling about it this time, though. (crossing-fingers)

I can actually already feel it sucking the moisture out of me.

But no worries, I've done this before.

I've stocked up on plenty of chapstick, lotion and eye-drops.

Bring it on...

BYU Football

2009-10-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

I confess, I don't really "Bleed Blue".

Over the last 3 years, I have only made it to 1 football game.

I know, I know, it's terrible!

Please don't think less of me!

I promise I have BYU pride! I guess I just haven't had the time. Don't judge.

(To be honest, I think I probably will regret not being a bigger part of the football scene when I look back at my college experience)

But yesterday... I managed to make it to my 2nd BYU game!

And considering my yoga teaching schedule, probably my last.

I went to the Homecoming game with the cutest girls ever and had such a good time.

Unfortunately, BYU lost.

Still, it was such a good night. I'm so glad my last BYU game was such a fun experience (almost as memorable as the first).

And after the game, we ordered pizza from Brick Oven, had a little girl talk and spontaneously dressed up as vampires.

Perfect night!

More Cupcakes

2009-10-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have a new cupcake obsession.

Dippidee in American Fork is probably my favorite cupcake bakery.

They're cupcakes are to die for:

Gigantic, mousse-filled and topped with tons of the most incredible frosting ever.

Plus, they have the most amazing flavors (orange creamsicle, pumpkin, white chocolate caramel...)

Seriously, they're fantastic.

I've been craving them for weeks but, with my busy schedule this semester, I haven't been able to justify driving to AF just for cupcakes.

Luckily, I found out my brother was going to be in the area and he was nice enough to pick some up for me! (Thanks, Erik!)

Cupcakes make me so happy and I love to share them with everyone I know so I had him get a bunch so I could give them away.

Unfortunately, everyone I wanted to give them to were either sick, out of town or pretending to be vegan for a week (no joke) so I have a lot of leftover cupcakes.

Lucky me! :)