a year of adventure

I've just about lived in Montana for a year now. I graduated college, got a job, and moved to this snowy and beautiful state a year ago. It's crazy to me that we're already getting ready to leave. It has been such an amazing year, and so much has happened its hard to believe. One of my favorite parts about being in this state together is all of the travelling we've been able to do. Before we lived together, we got to explore Europe together. Which was amazing. But there's something special about spontaneous weekend trips together to places we've never been.
We day tripped to Missoula (go Griz)

Just got back from Missoula for a little day trip! It was so nice to go to a real mall and see new parts of Montana! Shout out to DJ for driving six hours so I could shop 😂 Days with him are always the best. Also I'm a griz fan now 🐻

A photo posted by Brianna (@brianna_clark_) on Mar 1, 2015 at 8:04pm PST

We went to Bozeman and got to see Yellowstone National Park

We got to travel Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park (with our selfie stick)

And we got to go to Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID for my 21st birthday!

The official start of the birthday trip spam 👸

A photo posted by Brianna (@brianna_clark_) on Aug 8, 2015 at 1:48pm PDT

The official start of the birthday trip spam 👸

A photo posted by Brianna (@brianna_clark_) on Aug 8, 2015 at 1:48pm PDT

Next up is Billings for a Chris Young concert, and then it'll be time for the long trip back to AZ! It's been such a fun year travelling around the Northwest! And I must say, I have the best travel partner ever! I cant wait for a lifetime of adventures with that guy. Where's your favorite place you've traveled to this year?

fall favorites for the basic white girl

It's officially the best time of the year! Fall has a special place in my heart. The scents, the lattes, the movies, the snuggles. It all makes me so happy! So I thought what a better way to express my love for the season than a favorites post, right? Lets get to it!

I feel like any basic white girl loves all things fall, right? One struggle of being basic is the obsession with bath and body works candles. They're irresistible and also expensive considering I already spend all of my money on Starbucks. But anyway, my favorite candles in the fall are pumpkin spice cheesecake and marshmallow fireside from Bath and Body. Talk about heaven in a candle.

  So here in Montana its basically too cold to leave the house already. So I figured if I'm going to be at home a lot, it needs to be pretty and festive, right? Aka I needed an excuse to go to Target and spend too much money. Not only did I spend too much money, I also decorated like a month too early, but I'm a little obsessed with the stuff I got.

drink up, witches! The obsession with my bar cart is a year round thing, but I love love love the cute Halloween-y things I found for it. Now I just need some good drink recipes, ladies! You can leave those below! Every other fall-obsessed blogger will tell you their favorite Halloween movie is Hocus Pocus. Because obviously, its the best. It's a classic. But dark side comes out this time of year, and I love The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. Anything Tim Burton this time of year makes my heart happy. Currently trying to find Nixon a Jack costume. Stay tuned. Last but not least, the last of the basic white girl favorites, dark lips and nail polish.

Excuse my bad nail job, that'll be taken care of soon, I promise. Also can we talk about the new Starbucks cups for fall? OBSESSED. But sadly here in The Middle of Nowhere, Montana, they keep running out before I can get my hands on one. But don't worry, I go every day so you can expect a basic white girl starbs selfie any day now.  What're your favorites this time of year?

what is happiness

What is your happiness?
Mine is my babies cuddling

It is standing by my man as he graduates ALS

It is waking up to our first snow

It is beautiful Montana skies

let's start fresh

Well hello, strangers! It's been oh so long since I've been around these parts of the interwebs and I feel like if I'm going to stick around for good this time, we might need a fresh start. That means stay tuned for a new design and maybe even a new name around here. How many times can I post saying I'm back for good and then lose all motivation and not blog again for months? Ugh, I suck. But hey I'm here now and that's what matters, right?
But anyway, about this fresh start- let me reintroduce myself. 
I'm Brianna. I'm a recent college graduate currently living in Montana. Oh, about that. Its October 4th and its snowing. Not okay. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona where it is currently 100 degrees and I feel that snow the first week of October should be illegal, who's with me? So, a year ago, I moved to Montana. Two years ago, I didn't really even know where Montana was on a map. And now I'm stuck inside because its snowing in October. Funny how that happens. Oh, the things we do for love. Yep, that's right1. I came here for love. But look at this face, how could you not move across the country for that?

That's the boyfriend, DJ. He's in the Air Force and he's also the best man in the world, but maybe I'm biased. If you read through the archives, you'll hear more about him than you really need to know. You're welcome. The good news? He gets out in January and we get to trade the snowy weather for swimming pools and sun tans. We're moving back to Arizona! D already has a job lined up and I'm applying for grad school, so wish us luck!
DJ and I have to little fur babies who are getting really big and almost aren't babies anymore. I'm literally obsessed with them so sorry if you follow me on Snapchat or Instagram.

Meet Miss Oakley and Mr. Nixon. They're the best dogs in the whole world and again, I may be biased, but I think anyone would agree. Oakley is full of sass and Nixon is such a cuddle bug. Oaks turns one next month so you better believe I'm throwing her a birthday party. Stay tuned ;)
That's enough about me for one post, eh? Comment below and tell me a little about yourself if you're new, and if you're an old friend let me know how you're doing!

blog, meet Oakley

Well hello again, Blogland. Long time no talk as usual. I finally have a minute to sit down and blog, so I'm taking advantage of it. I'm currently sitting at my dining room table using my computer. This is exciting for two reasons. 1) I finally have a dining room table and 2) I finally have my computer back. I've been here in Montana for three months now, and this is the first time I've been able to use my computer because, well, I left my charger in Arizona and I was too cheap to order a new one. So lucky for me, my best friend Carlin from Sunshine and Squats came to visit and brought my charger. She doesn't know that that's the only reason I invited her, but that can be our little secret. Kidding.

So, since the last time I came around here, lots of things have happened. Most importantly, we have two new additions to the family. One's a little more exciting (and a little more work) than the other, but I'll let you guess which one's which. So, blog, let me introduce you to.....

My new car. Yep, I bought my very first brand new car! My first big girl purchase. Look at me, being an adult and stuff. So I bought a 2015 Jeep Patriot. I like it, it's an affordable SUV with everything I wanted in it. Heated seats (a must in Montana), leather, a touch screen, and plenty of room for the second new member in the back seat.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know who I'm talking about. But if not, meet Oakley.

Yes, we have matching sweaters.

 Her boyfriend Conan

Whoops, sorry for the photo dump. But that's our sweet, crazy little girl Oakley. She's almost five months now, and we love her to death! Having a puppy is definitely a lot of work, but she's the sweetest little thing in the world. She loves to play fetch and chew on bones. She loooves the snow. She likes to eat socks and bras and shoes which is super fun. She was potty trained right from the beginning and is pretty well trained now as far as things like sit, lay, and come are concerned. She's basically the bomb.com. She's our little baby and our family is so perfect! I couldn't be happier.

Man, I'm glad you guys finally get to meet (and by meet I mean look at a bunch of cute pictures of) her! So anyway, things in Montana are going really well. DJ and I both work a lot, but when we're home together we have so much fun. It's finally starting to warm up so our days are consisting of taking Oakley to the park, going out shooting, hanging out with friends by the fire, and all that fun stuff. Next weekend we're going to find some hiking spots and I'm super excited about that! I really love life here in Montana. We have some great friends. I love my job. The weather is beautiful. I get to spend (almost) every day with the man of my dreams! We've waited so long for this and it feels so surreal to finally have it.

I've been super MIA, so leave me a comment letting me know what you've been up to!! Love you guys! XOXO

oh hey, it's been awhile..

Well hello friends! Long, long time no talk! I've been super MIA for like, ever, and sooo much has happened since the last time I blogged. I honestly didn't think I was going to come back to it. I didn't really have the slightest bit of motivation to log in here and post an update, but I think I've finally been away long enough that I miss Blogland. But let's get right to it, yeah? We have a lot of catching up to do!!
Last time I blogged, I wrote about the upcoming months and all of the changes that were nearing. I was full of emotions- anxious, excited, nervous. I'm so glad that all of the craziness is over with now, and I'm finally settled in my new life.
So, I graduated.

DJ was home on leave, so he was able to be there That meant the world to me. My family and friends were there, and we sat through the dreadfully long ceremony together. Oh and guess what? I didn't trip on the stage. So yeah, I'm pretty impressive. 
That same day, I moved out of my apartment. Driving away knowing I will not have to go back to Tucson was a pretty good feeling. I miss my friends, but Tucson itself is just not a place I want to be. So anyway, graduation calls for celebration, right? We had a little graduation party back home in Phoenix a few days later to celebrate. We had way too much food and not enough space for all of the people, but it was fun. I got to see all of my friends and family who I probably wouldn't see for awhile, and everyone finally got to meet DJ! Poor guy, he was being pulled in every direction because everyone was so excited to meet this guy. 

Then came the worst part of this whole moving away thing. The goodbyes. I cried a lot and it was no fun. I went to breakfast with Carlin Carissa and Kailey which was so fun, but those girls are my best friends and it was definitely hard walking away knowing that I might not see them for a whole year. We're working on getting them out here to visit!

Next was Christmas, which we got to spend with our families. It was DJ's first time being home in Arizona for Christmas in years, so it was really special for him to get to spend it with his family. We all went to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we went to his mom's house. My parents came too and we opened presents and had yummy food and all of that fun stuff! DJ got me a Fitbit and some other small stuff, and I got him his favorite cologne and a new jacket for the lovely winters in Montana! 

Then, two days after Christmas, we packed up and headed to the airport!

And now here we are! We've been back in Montana for almost a month, and so much has happened! I think I'll save the rest for the next blog post because . you know, I'm just getting back into this thing so I gotta take it slow. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and are starting the new year off as happy as I am! I'm loving every minute of my life here with DJ (and a new member of the family) but we'll get to that later in the week! I'd love to hear from you all and hear what you've been up to!