happy wednesday, y'all.

it's up.

my photo website is up. see it here.


gulp.

moments that matter most

this video still gets me teary eyed.. every time. but in a good way. it's so true!

maybe i spent a little too long today re-reading my mission journals and the blog my mom kept up for me while i was gone of my e-mails. but i really miss it today. that's allowed though, right?

but for reals, life has been really great recently.
happy sunday to you all.
everybody read 2 Corinthians 5. it's the bomb.


love,
me

it's thursday

this is my friend allie. she modeled for me and my studio buddy.

updates:
-i've been going to yoga at 3B almost daily. i love it.
-i'm going to be in costa rica in less than 40 days. and new york even sooner to see tempestt.
-found out a couple i taught on my mission is getting sealed in the temple on March 3.. companion and i will be taking a trip to san antonio to be there.
-its still cold in utah.

hi.

this is my friend amy.

i am currently working on a website. it is the bomb.

occupy

sometimes you wake up in the morning and this is what you see.


good ol' instagram.


should i join the occupy provo movement? i have been seriously considering it.

life is good right now. i feel like i'm at a really good place.

things i enjoyed today:
-the smell of rain.. i can't remember the last time it rained.
-the MLK commemoration events i went to
-my cute art history teacher courtney davis
-my yoga class at 3B. i bought a year pass.
-daydreaming about my trip to costa rica in march
-my dinner.. a quinoa stirfry and roasted potatoes, butternut and acorn squash, onions, apples, and carrots from my boss' garden.
-listening to the same songs i have been obsessing over this week

round two

my mom wants me to start blogging again.

here's what has been going on the past million days:
-successfully finished my first semester back at school
-have been traveling a lot thanks to my BFF amy jo being my domestic partner flight attendant
-love my new roommates
-just got an internship. y'all should check out a13.org
-been breaking lots of hearts (jk)
-survived my first christmas back without being too depressed that i wasn't a missionary any more
-have fallen back in love with cooking again after a long hiatus
-h8 this cold weather
-i've learned to play the ukulele
-spilled milk on my computer in a very stupid way and had a non-functioning keyboard for about three months until my awesome stepdad pulled through and fixed it for me
-amy jo came back to my life. here is a photo of her that i took today:




maybe.. just maybe i will be a regular blogger once again. actually i think i have to be for my photo class.
i've missed you all.

as of late:

was a bridesmaid at this beautiful girl's wedding


been hanging out with this girl and her mom (a.k.a. my awesome sister rachel)


ordered this journal from etsy.

and getting ready for my trips to CA, VA, and NY starting tomorrow.
off to see some of my favorite people.. my dad, lindsey, bonnie, kaitlyn, tempestt, and hopefully a day long layover in MN to see my amy jo. looking forward to becoming reacquainted with my long lost friend, my camera.

xoxo
brittany

my niece is cuter than yours.

that's right. i said it..

guess who's back?

Since I've been home I start to get little mini anxiety attacks. But then something always comes just in time to give me a wake up call. The past couple of days I was feeling stressed. All of the classes that I need are full, living situation in Provo isn't going to be what I had planned a few months ago, need to find a job, need to do meaningful things with my time... etc.

I was reading one of my old journals from April of 2009. It says: "...i feel like i am really learning a lot about life these days. do you ever just get the strong sense that you are being prepared for something great?" Mind you, this was about three months before I decided to make a life changing decision and serve a mission for a year and a half. How neat that my subconscious sensed that there was something more in store for me in the near future.

So.. today. I read that. I felt that little tingle that everything is going to be okay. I thought about this talk that I had read called, "I will prepare the way before you." ... you can read it here! It's all about how different things prepare us in our lives. Whether they be obstacles, people, diversions, or pains. Each little detail in our life can make for something huge. And I realized that it's going to all be okay. Maybe all of my art classes are full and I'm going to have to start a Spanish minor to have a full load of classes this semester. It could make me stay in school a little longer, but I could also find new hobbies and interests from things I would have otherwise never looked into. Maybe BFF is moving somewhere indefinitely and I have to live with new people, but maybe I'll make friends I wouldn't have otherwise made or looked for. Maybe I don't have a job and it stinks feeling like a lowlife sucking money from mom and dad, but maybe I could enjoy the little break and try to learn as much as i can about balancing my life and relationships. Just like in April of 2009, I think I am realizing again that maybe there is something bigger in store. And that I don't have to fear change or obstacles. I can embrace them and let the good come from them.

A person i really look up told me before I left my mission, "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

here's to change, and to the rebirth of my blog.

missed y'all, cyber peeps.
xoxo
brittany

please watch my favorite part of benjamin button that also has to do with choices and obstacles:

a poem

my good friend jack mallard shared this with me and i just love it to pieces.

"Sauerkraut"

Sometimes the slightest thing
leaves you defenseless
with compassion:
your father's belt,
which has missed a loop,
shampoo bottles
in the windows of condos,
the heavy teen
checking her compact
at the post office. . . .
What prevented me today
from throwing my arms
around the man who sold me
my hotdog? I loved him
without limit, was clubbed
by the absolute preciousness
of his being here, when he gave me
a dollop of sauerkraut on the house
saying, Never forget your veggies, kid.

also, i love this photo that i did not take:

xoxo

brittany

park city

happy mistakes

forever young

i swear i have two rolls of film being developed right now+one being shot. pictures soon. 

i still really love this commercial from the superbowl:

hi.

ok, so i haven't really started on my photo assignment. but here is a photo i took a long time ago that i just found. its from two summers ago when marni and i put my little point and shoot in a ziplock bag and took some underwater pictures. 

don't try this at home, kids.

xoxo

brittany

i signed in today to notice that i have one less follower. i'm sorry. i've been a bad blog to follow lately. mission preparations are going well though, and I have about 9.5 weeks until I'm outta here. i've been brushing up on my espanol, buying very fashionable missionary clothes (ha), studying, and trying to socialize so that my friends don't forget me when i'm gone. 

anyway, i've been a feeling a void in my life of photography related things. not being in school this semester sucks a little bit, because i love learning. i am using this blog post to announce that i have given myself a photography assignment. i think mostly so you guys will hold me to it if i start to slack on it. 

my family just moved to draper, utah. we moved out of our house in west jordan that we lived in for about six years. that happens to be the longest I have ever lived in one house, or one city for that matter, and I feel like I got pretty attached. Now I'm in this new place, with no familiar people, or places, or streets. i've been feeling a little out of place here. SO. i decided the best way to get to know a place is to photograph it. which i why for the next 9.5 weeks or so, I am going to get out and explore and document the people, places, and things that I see in this lovely city. i want it to feel like home before i leave. i will be traveling by foot, bicycle or by scooter, as I recently sold the love of my life, Beulah, my 1989 nissan maxima. RIP, beulah.

thanks for stopping in!

xoxo

brittany

ever wonder what your wedding photographers do when they are killing time in the bride dressing room during the reception?

miss you, amy jo!

xoxo 

brittany

the results

"Dear Sister Morrill:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Texas McAllen Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. 

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday December 9, 2009. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language."

I am so happy. McAllen is practically Mexico. Very southern tip of Texas. I love Spanish! And Mexicans! And America! 

--Unfortunately, nobody guessed the location correctly in the last post. So nobody wins any ice cream. Feel free to buy ME some though if you want. My mom posted a video of me opening the call. See it here.

Thanks for checking in!

xoxo

britt

...

well, cyber people, my mission papers are officially in. i should be receiving my call in the next 2-3 weeks. you may now take guesses as to where i will be sent. i will buy you an ice cream if you guess the correct country or u.s. state.

.

(not my image.. found at the google dot com)

i'm hoping for peru, thailand, or north dakota. (can you guess which one i was just kidding about?)

until next time..

xoxo

britt

beth+marshall=made for each other.

here are just a few pictures from the beth+marshall reception i was lucky enough to be able to shoot in hawaii.

such lovely people, a lovely place, and a lovely celebration.

wisdom

well, everyone.. tomorrow is a day i have been dreading my entire life. i'm having a major surgery done. that's right, i'm getting my wisdom teeth out. i expect to spend most of the weekend laying in bed with a pot of mashed potatoes and watching all of the seasons of seinfield on DVD. if you feel it in your heart, i give you permission to come visit me and bring ice cream, yogurt, or other mushy foods appropriate for people whose teeth of wisdom have been extracted. thanks, y'all. 

xoxo 

britt

give a little love

have you ever woken up, dancing out of your bed? it has happened to me twice, and today was one of those two times. i'm not sure why it happened.. life is just good right now, plus my alarm played a good song.  other random things i feel like telling you all:

-i bought a blackberry pearl. why would i buy a new, expensive phone which i will never use half of the features on, when i am going to be on a mission in the next 3-4 months? good question. i have a problem with impulse buying. get over it.

-i am realizing i'm a lot more brave and my pain tolerance is much higher than it was in 1993, which happens to be the last time i had any shots or needles of any type in my body.

-i drove to cedar city on sunday and listened to nothing but noah and the whale the whole way down. my favorite lines from one of their songs is, "what you share with the world is what it keeps of you." man i love that. if you would like to listen to that song, click here.

-i start school tomorrow.

here is a picture that i like from my holga camera. 

xoxo

brittany

Birch House

Well, readers.. I have a very exciting announcement. Or at least it is exciting to me. You may even notice that I'm actually typing with capital letters at the beginning of my sentences. That's how excited I am. I am proud to present:

Birch House (this is a link, mom)

Amy Jo Nelson, Brittany Hill, Trent Bates, and I have started a business. Birch House is it's name. It is so much more than a business though. Hopefully it will be a driving force for creativity and do-gooding. Our blog is supporting both photographers that we love, and people in the community who are doing great things.. starting recycling programs, spreading awareness of being active, serving each other, etc.. We want to promote strengthening the community and strengthening ourselves as human beings-- through art and photography. We also do photography for non-profit organizations and help them fundraise and market. We have our first CLIENT. This is the real deal. Be excited too, please!

I will love you forever if you subscribe to our blog, leave us comments, and get out there and create and serve! We live in a beautiful world. Let's be part of the reason that it's so beautiful. Let's get out and see why it's so beautiful. Let's be grateful to live in it. Go forth!

love y'all
xoxo
britt

creature from the black lagoon

 exhibit A:

for some reason this little guy decided it was a good idea to nestle up in my suitcase on top of all my clothes. after a delirious 15 minutes of half-wittedly (is that a word?) trying to come up with tricks to lure the creature out, i ended up throwing my entire suitcase out the front door hoping that it would be gone when i got up the nerve to check and see. i thought for five minutes about if i really wanted to lift the suitcase or not. what if the thing was waiting for the moment it would be free and could jump on my face and seek revenge? what if it tried to gallop away (yes, gallop. this thing was huge) but in a confused daze ran into my leg? was i really prepared for that monster to be writhing around, touching any part of my body?  i cautiously picked up the- at this point empty- suitcase and found the little guy still latching on with all his might to the bottom of the barren luggage recepticle. i picked up my few belongings which were once in my suitcase from the ground and left the suitcase out in the rain for the night. by the time morning rolled around, i had won the battle. i retrieved my only slightly damp suitcase and happily put my things back in it. i think we can all learn a valuable lesson from this situation: always keep your suitcase zipped. always.

i love hawaii, but i sure don't love all of the hawaiian bugs. nay, monsters.  

xoxo

brittany

holga's trip to italy

how many speedos can you spot in the beach picture?

holga's trip to mexico

the only camera i brought to mexico this time around was my trusty little plastic holga. turns out i feel much safer lugging around a 20 dollar camera than i do lugging around a much more expensive one. the pictures turn out wonderfully too. i got my italy film developed, so expect more posting. plus, i am going to hawaii tomorrow for 11 days. i imagine i will take photos. adios!

xoxo

brittany

oh, the places you'll go.

lil' bro graduated high school and is venturing to SUU for school this fall. we were going to take his motorcycle out to the salt flats, but then we got half way and realized it was still so far away, so we turned around and went back to the saltaire. then, when i was uploading the photos to my computer, my hard drive decided to suddenly be full. it's not like it's been warning me for weeks and weeks by having annoying pop ups pop up and say "not enough space on start up disk." no. so then half of my pictures from this day got deleted/ruined. what is the moral of the story? get an external hard drive sometime within the 8 weeks that your computer will warn you to. or just don't go to college.

my lil bro' is a stud though, right?

xoxo

brittany

sorry+an announcement

i have either been playing around with shooting film lately and haven't had money to get them developed, or just enjoying summer and taking slightly less pictures. so sorry for the lack of posting. i just got home from another mexico trip, so i was reminded that i never posted this project. it was my final in my color photography class. i wrote a story and everything. these aren't the final edits i used on the pictures, but i couldn't find them. so deal with the extremely bright reds and enjoy. i think if you are interested, you can click the images to enlarge them and read the story. 

an exciting announcement that has been yet unannounced in blogville: i, brittany morrill, am going on a mission for the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. i've been working on my papers and dentist/doctor appointments and should be getting everything submitted pretty soon. either within the next week or two, or the end of august when i'm back from my excursions. so. anyhoo. a lot of excitement lately. hope you're all having the loveliest of summers.

xoxo

brittany