joan of arc and natalie hill

joan of arc and natalie hill both want this dress.
please don't buy it before we do.


so the shabby apple gals gave me a pretty sweet shout out in the-savy-woman.com

read the article { here }

my favorite paragraph:

On the subject of positive role models, both ladies remarked that they felt Susan Sarandon, Gwenth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Joan of Arc and Natalie Hill were good choices. Furthermore they noted that in addition to sending a positive message Broadway star Natalie Hill is also one of their customers.

hilarious. you KNOW everyone is wondering who in the world i am?!

buy shabby!
they like me.

sussy and mim sweat to the oldies

demonstrating our favorite routine... i'm the one in the most flattering byu boy shorts on the planet. don't be jealous.

sussy and i are bringing it back!

they (suss and bil) gave me "sweatin' to the oldies" for my bday because... well.... they think i look like richard simmons.

awesome.

so we did the workout today.
we might be obsessed with it.

it's hilarious and incredibly fun.

maybe a richard simmons weight-loss challenge is in the works.....

i'm a bit desperate to go to his live classes.
see the schedule { here }

oooh baby, baby!

blends,

i need your help.
i have the loveliest friends who are seeking to adopt a little tiny one.
my heart aches for them and for so many of my dear girlfriends
who are struggling to get pregnant.
i'm wondering if you may know someone in your family or friend circle
who is needing to find a good home for their baby?
i'm always so happy when we can use this wide cast net as a tool to help other people.

if you or anyone you know is interested in adoptive parents, please direct them to
doug and tamara's sites.
they're such brilliant and giving people who will make the most amazing parents to lucky children.

get to know doug and tamara by
reading their { blog }
visiting their { adoption webpage }
or
it's about love { profile }

thank you to the moon and back!

xo mim

reader engagement photos: laurie

the death stare.
always love when the happy newlyweds look like they're going to skin you alive.

does it look a little bit like laurie is standing up in a manhole behind her husb?

l, you're such a good sport
and i'm SO GRATEFUL you picked a more sensible pose to send out.

another beautiful couple falls victim to a mis-guided photog.

how much is that doggy in the window?

mom's portugese water dog
(yes, like bo obama--but we've had them forever)
had little nuggets.

4 males are for sale!
check them out on sussy's blog { here }

oh canada!

.canada day 2009. irish rogue . jen sese . mim . melissa van der schyff- token canadian .

i forced the gals to hit broadway's canada day party (specially melissa who was our "token")
with me.
what better way to break the ice with lines like,
"are you canadian? i'm not- but i like katchup chips and robaxacet."

my favorite quote of the night: I'M NOT GAY!!!!!( ij)

see more of linda lenzi's photos for broadwayworld.com { here }

too bad i don't have a jeep....

ksl link { here }

thanks to sharon for the link!

ok ok ok... good engagement poses

(sussy and bil's actual engagement shot)

ok lovies,
chillax. engagies aren't really THAT hard.
when in doubt, go tight headshot, and DON'T pose.

be careful to wear clothing that doesn't date the photo too much... you may think leggings and giant brain squeezers are cute now, but your kids will ridicule you to no end...
avoid wild prints and keep the neckline interesting.

wear SIMPLE makeup. no smokey eyes or crazy lipstick. less is more.

and PRACTICE your fiance's smile.... make him look in the mirror and practice his "real" smile. that sounds ridiculous, but you wouldn't believe how many guys don't know how to photograph well....

here are a few of my favorites....

the following are from sussy:

i recognize these are bridal/groomals but we're looking at poses, folks...

the rest are matt clayton:
i don't know this cat but i think he makes even the most average people look like rock stars.
be careful not to get to modely (he REALLY does make everyone people look like models)... they're great for your living room but a bit much to send out.

happy engaging!

bachelorette roundup 7

my random thoughts as we (the bonnie and clyde gals) and i tune into this weeks episode.
in sequential order, natch.

• kiptyn is completely adorable. i'd date him in a ny minute.
• if i had been on that ropes thing, i'd have completely wet my pants in fear.
• um... did they steal the tablecloth on kiptyn's date from the mirage hotel in 1990?
• since when did they start doing second chances "fantasy suites?"
  
• please tell reid that his hair is just THIS shy of too long to try the spiky hair thing this episode. maybe covering the budding bald spot?
• i am TURD tired (sorry.. that was the spaneesh fork coming out of me) of the freaking helicopter rides. over. 2 in one season? e.nuf.
  
• she called him cuddly, warm, and sweet. that's even too schmaltzy to even call my dog. (i call her a spicy lady)
• why the 20 questions DTR girl! sheesh jill, chillax!
• WHY are you so surprised that she's asking you to propose? isn't that the point of the show?
  
• he's (reid) so awkwardly uncomfortable.... NOT READY.
• bubble bubble toil and trouble!! those bubbles were on steroids!
• woooooooah , ed and the tank top and short shorts?! oooooooooh such a bad idea. made denny look fat, gay, and trashy at the same time.
  
• straddling in a mini jean skirt is never going to be easy, jill. carefee...
• i'm completely over her giant diamond stud earrings that point down.
• "the fact that ed flew his parents out here MELTERD my heart"
• those yellow chicken legs in the short shorts!!!
• sweet quintessential midwestern parents-WHY were you acting so shocked to be in hawaii? did they really bamboozle and fly you down without knowing?
• ed's dad's stash is stellar.
• wait.... lets remember again that ed is in the most unfortunate outfit of the season. i don't wanna see THAT!
  
• on the bed, did he smell his pit or wipe his sweat when jill got up to freshen up?
• i feel totally uncomfortable watching their awkie massage scene...
• hey jill, maybe the "romance" wasn't there because the green shorts stifled his manhood?what does that even mean? were they being cryptic about his prowess?
  
• nan pointed out j-dawg and kip kip need to tone down the winking.
• kip kip's PRIVATE video was a touch trite, no?
  
• honeybear?? whyyyyy do you have nicknames like that? gross.
• ed, you pastel clown! are you straight out of miami vice with that suit?
• and the "i love you"?! woah, mr. ed! slow down! lets make sure things work down there first?
• ok... i'm the teensiest bit surprised she gave reid the boot. coulda, woulda, shoulda, reid. he wasn't that into her.
  
• i think the big "confession" in the teasers is reids profession of love.
  too little too late? we'll see...
  

reader engagement photos: katie pease

"the serious" pose.

katie says:

Note: I think this is the first time in my life I was actually photographed (we never got fam photos as kids), so I had no idea what in the crap was going on. The photographer just positioned us. Here are some photos for you.

katie calls this the "fiance attack/show off the ring"

i call it the two-headed monster puts his siamese twin in a choke hold.

thanks katie! you two are beautiful people- and love the one you actually chose!
and..... we've seen MUCH worse.

GO OHS!

it was my orem high school ten year reunion tonight!

i was planning on going, then booked the bonnie and clyde reading....
so ... to honor my fellow tigers, i'll do my favorite cheer!

OHS we never linger!
all we do is shoot the finger!

ONE, yeah, we're number ONE!
(clap X clap X)

hope you all had a great time and loved showing how much cooler (or not...) you are now!

any OHS tiger blog readers out there?

how NOT to pose in your engagement pictures | part 1

wedding season is upon us!
being mormon (our people get married young!) with 4 sisters, we receive an abnormal amount of wedding invitations every year.

we love them.

see, for those of you who live on the east coast, it is customary for most mormon weddings to include a pic of the engaged couple (which is often helpful since guest lists are large and the names of the betrothed may escape you--for the record, if you are invited to my future wedding, you will know both bride and groom and we may even be in your fav 5, we'll be that tight).
to the mormon audience: many east coast invites are sans pics (tradition, i guess?).

anywhooo.... inspired by a "what not to do" list i composed for b's engagement photo shoot (which turned out to be lovely) , sussy and i have collected our favorite engagement poses over the years and re-created them for you (to avoid embarrassing our friends).

you're welcome.

note: models kara and jeff are NOT engaged. i think they're in "like." and because they're both so pretty, the photo may appear to be a good one.... but look closely....

sussy disclaimer: if she has or will ever put you in one of these poses, she is sorry. please forgive her.

the" fern/tree/strange object coming out of grooms head and bride doing a tentative knee-sit to avoid groom feeling full weight of his betrothed's bottom" pose.
awkward.

the "we're so FUN!" cheerleading pose just looks painful and strange.

the "we're trying to be different between the legs pose" just looks like he's checking out the upward view. inappropriate.

the "turn me vertical and you'd find us in a very compromising position/ lift and separate the booty" pose. yikes.

the " i checked his portfolio before i accepted the date/gratuitous showing of the rock" pose.
tacky.


again, "the gratuitous shot of the rock + hips without space for the holy bible" pose.

the "awkwardly sexual vampire" pose.
act out your edward fantasies at home. don't pay $1.00 to send it to me.


the "stalker" pose. creeeeeepy.


the "prone two-headed moster" pose.
one body. two heads.

the "salem witch death-by-pressing" pose.


the "we're so fun!" pose.
cheeseball!

oooh! a combo!
the "gratuitous rock show + inappropriate turn-it-on-your-side" pose.


the "stronghold wrestling" pose.
he's MINE!!!!

the "where is your hand?" pose.
hmmmm... he's just giving it a jaunty hang and it looks like he's cupping.

the "mid tackle" pose. note the clawed fingers. poor guy.

the upright "two headed monster" pose.
best when featured in the same color shirt.
bizarre.

the dual "is there a baby on board?/Heimlich maneuver" pose.
uncomfortable either way....takes me back to prom posing with dead eyes.

if you are brave enough to submit your own hilarious engagement photos or if you'd like us to re-create a real jewel (so as not to offend the clueless bride and groom), please email your submissions to
nataliekhill@aol.com.

shakespeare in the park once more

2009. central park delacorte theatre . 12th night . lala o. johnson, mim, ceek)
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour!
Twelfth Night, 1. 1

. thanks and ever thanks to z for this round of tickets. it was, again, magical.

. happy anniversary, mot and d .

. 1993 . provo . ali's birth . for the record, she nursed her babies- this girl had hiccups .
. 29 years .

marriage . zinha . unexpected first baby . duplex . new house . barnum . provo theatre company . 2 lost babies . long days establishing a new practice . nicole . swimming lessons . building the homestead you'd keep for 21 + years . yearly trips to disneyland, lake powell . nina . church callings, bishoprics, stake presidencies . dance recitals . kara . horseback riding . see you soon grandma + grandpa hill . ali . ceza . see you soon g. grandma and g. grandpa van . theatre theatre theatre + nyc trips . performances . fist baby driving . hawaii . libby . first baby goes to college . coe leaves the nest . stand by first baby during her biggest heartbreak . ya ya's . friend betrayal + rising above it . zippy . beauty school drop out no more . first grandchildren: stellie nugget and molly loudie . cancer . first hill missionary . new son, adam . nadam move to SF . last baby driving . bye bye cancer . hello 29 years .

can't wait for the next 29.

i love you both tooo much!

b's wedding...

one of my most favoritest woman in the world is getting married.
i'm over the moon about it.

this guy is SERIOUSLY lucky.

sadly, i'll be hanging with george and the birdies in rehearsal and i'll be missing the social event of the season......

so when i received my hand penned invite (letterpressed. fabulous. brilliantly designed, i might add), i was thrilled to note that she invited him as well....it was only fitting.....

hilarious.

bond street

e took me to bond street for sushi.

i had steak.

you should eat there. it's delish and very sexy.

lauren moffat maxi dress

maybe i picked up this little jewel in a more radical print (natch) on super sale + gift certificate from b (equals FREE!!!) at my fav, montmartre.

she's fabulous.
and with my tan.... we're fabulously domincan looking.

natural gas

if you have problems with flatulence, here's an idea:

when you're picking up a girl on a date, roll down ALL windows before she gets in the car.... sitting and stewing in your juices may be fun for you... but not for me.

i really don't want to embarrass you by

a) rolling down the windows and pretending i'm hot
b) holding my breath till i pass out

thank you.

lake powell: a travel tale in pictures

road tripping with utah glitter toes and chili cheese fritos
(that pic is for you holl & heid)

sussy, bil, and i were very impressed with the giant gumball machine and
dreyers soft serve ice cream in bfe, utah.

backgammon, easy cheese (over my mom's nearly dead body), spit, diet coke, wheat thins, rook, wackee 6, abs hurting from laughing too much, cranium.



gorgeousness.


maybe sussy picked out my fro. a good look for me, no?
look out BACHELOR!



big al bringing provisions (for herself) for our afternoon of gaming.





angry elves after our 2nd near death experience... not lake powell without at least one!

heaven.

did i mention my "perfect mom" insisted on watching us creepily @ 6 am till we woke up to ski with her on "good water"?

she did.
and i got maybe 4 hrs of sleep/night.

but it was wonderful.

thanks for making this "working vacation" happen, m & d!

utah valley magazine mom

my famous mot was featured in utah valley magazine for being a rockin' mom.
she's pretty remarkable, if i do say so myself.

read what she has to say about raising a whole gaggle of strong women { here }

so maybe......

i received a phone call from the bachelor casting office today.....
asking about my availability.....

i had to say no to this season.
(their shooting schedule conflicts with my prior commitment to george and the birdies)

ugh.
if next season's bach is kiptyn, ed, or reid, i'll cry.

bachelorette roundup 6

lovies!

so sorry i missed last week....
but let's face it,
i can sum up that debacle in a few sentences:

wes-obviously, jill is like every other woman. she's completely blind to the dirtbag.
(freaking LOVED that she asked his feelings about her and he made some nonsensical egotistical comment about his band "s#*@ting bricks")

ed-hate to say i told you so...... but i told you so. and i still love him.

perfect pilot- bless his faded jeans. hes a sweet heart... how terribly awkward was that triangle with wes? he's a tool.

kiptyn- they still can't kiss. and to all those who know his family, is his mom a little crazypants? or did she just translate strangely to tv?

reid- adorable. totally digging him.

jill- ok. 3 of 4 isn't so bad. the top three boys are delicious. WHY can't she conjugate verbs or use pronouns correctly? is that the canadian school system? ;)

THIS WEEK

the flamenco lesson- bhh. sister has ZERO rhythm which totally explains her awkward kissing.
she's brave and tiny in those little white skinny jeans HOWEVER, the belt off to the side is sooooo not happening for me. (sorry! you can't make "fetch" or the side belt happen!) totally digging jill's safari day date with ed outfit.... but did she fall in the fountain?? did anybody notice that her entire left side was covered with water?
and did anyone notice her HUMONGOUS hands? she's a dude!
don't you love how she's always strolling around random spaces?

y'all know i'm a fan of kiptyn, but i'm thinking he and jill are BO-RING together (not that she needed any more help with that). reid and jill are fun together but her desperate desire for him to be jealous of her making out with the other dudes is annoying.
ed is darling as usual but why won't he look at her during their DTR and why was the waiter in that strange "cinderella's guard" costume?

wes
(gets his own paragraph, natch)

2nd mention for the chichuaha mexico big #1 hit song? the "music scene" in spain?
tool.
did he get his outfits from the seven brides for seven brothers costume closet?
i'm ready for him to whip out a barrel turn.
did you notice that he speaks exclusively in idioms and cliches?
wes, you lost us at"that bird has not foot."
manipulative fool.
"my girlfriend........."
loser.

in short, i'm happy she didn't give it up to anybody. (bachelor first?)
i'm really digging her with reid... pretty sure she's not into kiptyn which means y'all can connect him with me......
hate to say all 3 are too charming for her.

what a smug SOB!!!! the girlfriend revelation with a strong whisky and band plugging?!
what a mess. that drunken tirade was brilliant tv.
i hope jillian is completely embarrased she kept him for so long.

happy trails, wes. (nan gave her a standing ovation for that choice.)
you stayed 7 episodes too long.

more korean birthday surprises....

candy including my personal favorite names: kit ker and crunky

and a bunch of amore pacific (my fav korean skin care line) samples....
only catch: the descriptions/instructions are all in korean.....

hope those are supposed to go on my eyes.....?

it doesn't hurt

ooh i wish would have had { this } record when i was going thru some of my messiest breakups.

katie thompson (well known to the utah crowd for her performances with michael mclean)
is such a beautiful songwriter and brilliant singer.

you're welcome.

oh beautiful for spacious skies...

happy independence day!

hope you have gorgeous weather, bbq, and people who crack you up!

anybody seeing the jonas brothers tonight @ stadium on fire?
(i sorta wish i had tix now....)

image found here