The Best Day

It rained again today. And when I say "rained" I mean "poured."

Jenni, Audrey, and I decided to take a rainy day trip to Barnes and Noble. We got our hot chocolate and did some browsing. I could spend all day here if I could!

Who wants to buy me a Christmas gift?

Genius.

I still don't know if this book is serious.

My favorite childhood book

So Audrey. It's called "Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons"

Now onto the rain. On our way home, we got caught in a flash flood. So of course we drove through puddles as fast as we could. Sorry if you're the runner or biker we drenched on our way...

This is what the Santa Barbara parking lot looked like. So naturally I played in it. I love rainy days and bookstores.

Rainy Days

I love rainy days.

I love sitting on my couch next to my window with a book and watching the rain and listening to thunder.

School starts in 34 days. Only 34 more glorious days left of the best summer of my life. I'm going home in 18 days. I can't tell you how excited that makes me!

Brother Tyler graduated from BYU-I this weekend. I'm so proud of him! I cried the whole time. That Processional March sure gets to me, apparently. Or maybe it was knowing that that's going to be me in December. Boo-yah. He's moving to Provo in 14 days. Another Justesen in Provo...that can only mean one thing. There will be two Justesens in Provo.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to my book. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the Harry Potter premiere. I was a non-ginger Ginny Weasely. I cried during the end of the movie, too. I sound like I've been an emotional wreck this week!

Also, Instagram is the neatest thing on the iPhone app block.

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Today I want to dedicate a post to Harry Potter. I don't know if I would call myself obsessed...who are we kidding, I am. At the end of this week this phenomenal series will be over, and I will probably cry. And guess who finally jumped on the midnight premiere bandwagon? I'm still conflicted over who I should go as: Bellatrix or Kreacher. Being the villain is fun, but the Kreacher costume might be a bit easier. We'll see. All I can say is, I'm excited!

I think the reason I love this series so much is because of how it influenced my childhood. I still remember, as a 10-year old, buying the very first book at a Ralph's grocery store with my mom. I remember seeing the first film on Thanksgiving day with my family and grandparents. I remember anxiously waiting for each book to come out, and staying up all night to finish it. I remember spending every summer reading the whole series all over again (who am I kidding, I'm doing that this summer, too!). Seeing something that has had this much of an influence over my life end is a little bit sad! All I can say is,

Here are a few more images to let you know how I feel about HP:

Thank you, J.K. Rowling. As an English major, I've learned to appreciate the symbolism she used in each book, and I am constantly amazed at her genius. And I love the fact that I've been to eat at the place where it all started:

As J.K. Rowling said, "No story lives unless someone wants to listen. So thank you all of you...The stories we love best live with us forever, so whether you come back by page or the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."