Twitter

I know I am probably just about the last person on this planet to hop on the twitter bandwagon, but I finally did it...Truthfully, I made an account about 3 years ago and it sat idly with one measly post until this month. I believe I have 21 tweets so far...why anyone would want to know the details of my day are beyond me. I get bored living them, for you to read them would be doubly boring! Haha, but anyways, my twitter is HERE. You should follow me, so I can follow you. Then I can entertain myself at work by reading about your day!

The COOLEST story ever told!!!

Okay, I don't want to let any of you down with the title of this post, so I assure you the story is pretty slick. When I was about 8 years old, my dad built this huge elaborate doll house for me and my sister. It was 3 stories tall, carpeted, wall paper, elevator, garage, etc. Seriously way cool, and I didn't even like barbies. Anyways, when I was around 13 years old, we moved out of my childhood home, and into a much smaller place. We didn't have room to store the giant doll house in our tiny home. Sadly without asking anyone for permission, my dad took the doll house to D.I.

11 years later...My family decides to go shopping at DI to help my little brother find a Halloween costume. To much of their dismay, DI was already closed for the evening and they thought they were out of luck. Driving through Salt Lake, they noticed a new Savers store on the road. My brother was successful in finding his incredibly awesome Doctor Who costume. While browsing around, Trevor noticed a gigantic doll house in the kids section. It was painted an ugly blue and pink color, but upon further inspection realized that it was in fact, our family's doll house!

$12 dollars later, my dad loaded our childhood dollhouse into the bed of his truck and took it home. It is now perched in our garage while it awaits a new paint job :)

Hows that for a story? What are the odds?

Survey

Ok that's it. I think that post first dates, the best way to determine how you did is to give the boy a survey. Just think about it, if every date was a learning experience and gave you an opportunity to improve for the next guy, us ladies would all be on top of the dating scene! Just a small slip of paper that asked on a scale of 1-10 how the date went, the likelihood of a second date, room for improvement, and additional comments. Umm genius much? I think this should have been required from the get go. Think of how much drama would be spared. If I ever run for President, I'm mentioning it in my campaign. It would be a huge contribution to world peace I think...

Why do we torture ourselves with the cruel game called dating?

Seriously, that's all it is! You meet someone, you go out with them, then you either like them or you don't...But what if you like them? And what if you're a girl? Then you have to patiently wait a normal amount of time before you contact the guy or wait for him to call...or in this day and age, text. It is excruciatingly painful! Cause I haven't dated a lot recently. And I just went out on a hot date...and I like him lots. But then I started thinking afterwords last night that maybe I'm a little too weird...maybe.

Searching for Armadillos

Harry Potter midnight Premier

Accessorizing with live lizards

Britney Spears Impersonator

Favorite Band

I've blogged about them before, but really guys if you have the opportunity to see these guys in concert, you should probably do it. I personally think it'll take less than a year before they are discovered and signed to a label. If you like good music and you like to dance, please give them a listen.

A Fall Must Have

Ok, I am a bit addicted to Starbucks Salted Chocolate Hot Chocolate. I was forced to try it last year after spending about 8 hours at a Barnes and Noble drinking several hot chocolates. The barista finally convinced me to try their Holiday drink. SOOOOO GOOOOOOD. I was hooked on the first cup. We have a starbucks next to my work so once a week the other assistants and I treat ourselves. This drink is seasonal and only here for the Holiday season, so make sure you try it before it's gone!!!

Dear Forest Gump

Dear Forest Gump,

I hate running. In fact, I don't think hate is a strong enough word for my feelings towards it. You see, I have a desk job. A very good one in fact where they feed me several times a day, take me to fancy restaurants, hold weekly events catered with delicious food. You see Forest, I love food. I don't care what kind of chocolate I pull from a box as long as it's chocolate. However, this has become a problem...I'm going on a cruise this weekend. A week long getaway to Jamaica where I will be wearing a swimsuit in front of possibly several cute boys.

So, last week upon my return from California, I decided to eat healthy for my two weeks home, while exercising frequently to lose a few pounds. Then I talked to my cousin on Saturday at my family reunion. She just had a baby...and she's tiny! I asked her, "how do you do it???" Her reply was an 8 mile run every morning?!?!?! That's fantastic? But what if I hate running? I don't mind the part of getting all ready to work out. I don't even mind the gym. However, whenever I approach running, I have this mentality every time that I will succeed in running the entire distance that I plan on covering. How hard could it be?

Let me tell you, it sucks. After about my first two minutes on the road, the only thing I can think about is how much I hate it, and want to stop. I keep trying to convince myself that if I do it every day, I will eventually like it. Well, it's been two weeks and I still hate it. I know that your way of coping with a break up results in you running across the country. Props to you for that. However, if it were me, I'd stick to a pint of ice cream and a chick flick.

Sincerely,

Jenica

Puppy in the Park

Every day I take Rufio to the park...he likes it very much.

A new love affair...

With cupcakes...I have never been much of a cake person...and sorry for those of you who do read my blog, but this week is like a Harry Potter special. I came across a butterbeer cupcake recipe (for those of you not familiar with Harry Potter, it basically consists of butter flavoring, cream soda, and lots of sugar). So while we are watching all seven movies before the last and final one this Thursday, we decided we needed an awesome refreshment to satisfy us while we watched our favorite silver screen hero. Also, here are the other pictures of us making our shirts...and Rufio while he sat neglected as we ate our cupcakes...

For those of you interested in the recipe, here it is:

Butterbeer Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Amy Bites

For the cupcakes:

2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

For the butterscotch ganache:
1 11-oz package butterscotch chips
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter flavoring
1/8 tsp salt
1 lb powdered sugar
Splash of cream (as needed)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffly, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each.
- Add in vanilla and butter flavoring.
- Combine buttermilk and cream soda in a small bowl and alternate adding that combination with the flour mixture with the mixer on low, starting and ending with the flour.
- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks.

- For the butterscotch ganache, melt butterscotch chips and heavy cream together using a double boiler until completely smooth. Cool to room temperature to allow the ganache to slightly thicken.
- Fill a plastic squeeze bottle with the ganache, and insert tip into each cupcake, filling until the ganache starts to slightly overflow.

- For the frosting, cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar and allow it to come together for about 2 minutes. Add cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Pipe frosting onto cupcakes with a large tip and drizzle leftover butterscotch ganache over each.

Recipe yields 18 cupcakes.

Preparing for the Premiere!

So instead of dressing up for this weeks movie, Cassidy, Whitney, Cierra and I decided to make shirts instead...I personally think they turned out amazingly...and they took forever! However, well worth the effort!

WHEN I SAY HARRY YOU SAY POTTER!

I am the biggest Harry Potter nerd in this country. I wont say world, because I'm pretty sure JK Rowling would trump me. She did after all create him. I have this not unusual, but crazy ritual that when any Harry Potter movie comes out, I re-read all seven books. That's right folks. Over 168 hours, I cover 3,407 blissful pages of magical goodness. So if you try and get a hold of me this next week, I'll either be doing this:

Or watching the awesome series. Some of you may wonder, who would win in a fight. Harry Potter, or Edward Cullen. Or, maybe you don't care. Either way, I don't have the answer to this question, but I have the answer to who would win in a fight against Ginny and Bella.

Baked Goods

Today I sat in a really important, highly top secret adult meeting about the new upcoming City Creek project in Salt Lake City, Downtown. I don't particularly like meetings. They make me sleepy. Then after I get sleepy I have to stiffle yawns for an hour and force my eyes to not only stay open, but to appear interested on the topic. Today was not necessarily different, however occasionally we will order in lunch to eat while we listen to boring things.

We ordered from Jimmy Johns. It was truly remarkable. Just like the commercial in fact! We called them, and before we could hang up the phone, our sandwiches were being delivered! Chips and cookies were also involved (I like cookies). After eating my scrumptious sandwich, a handful of plastic wrapped chocolate-chippy goodness sat in the middle of the table while this important guy talked about buildings and stuff. Why was no one else reaching for one of these delectable delights to satisfy their sweet tooth cravings? I didn't want to be the first one to reach for a cookie, so I just sat there with my "interested" face listening to the meeting. However, while the meeting continued on, I was battling my thoughts that sounded a little bit like this:

"So next year exactly 322 days away, we will be opening..."

"COOKIES. I want one."

"What can we do for your company to best impliment..."

"I want a cookie. MMMM cookies."

"We will be expecting to focus on international sales..."

"Freakin cookie. I want a cookie. Cookies are soooo good."

For over 45 minutes, I stared at that taunting little baked, plastic wrapped cookie, dreaming of what it would taste like in my mouth. The moist, sweet dough filling my longing belly. I knew that I would not be able to concentrate on anything else that day until I had a taste. After an hour, I could no longer take it. I grabbed that mocking little wrapper and opened my cookie...And do you know what? It was disgusting. Biggest let down of my life.

MAKE IT WORK!!!

I don't know how many of you watch Project Runway, but I am an absolute fan. This weekend, the host of the show flew from (no joke) the Royal Wedding straight to good ol' Salt Lake. And what a better way to welcome him than the traditional Utah weather forecast. I woke up bright and early Saturday morning with the sun shining, the birds chirping, and pleasantly blue skies. By the time I arrived at gateway to meet Jocelyn, we were standing in the middle of a December snowstorm. Luckily for Tim, upon his arrival the sun shined again and continued to shine until his departure.

Lucky Brand Jeans put on a fashion show at the Gateway where Tim commentated on the event. Afterwards, we were able to meet him and he is now on my favorite people's list! If you have ever seen the show, he is just as animated and lovely in person as he is on TV. He also called Gretchen the villain...Awesome. Jocelyn is mad at herself for not networking her new talents as an interior designer, so is now determined to meet him again! Here is a picture. Tim Gunn is awesome. Make it work!

hmm...

I have come to the conclusion that little to no people read this blog, so it doesn't really matter what I post :P

Anywho, I went to this Mary Kay party a couple weeks ago because my aunt is a Mary Kay director. She called me up for this facial and makeover party. It was pretty fun. Free food, makeup, and there was also a really hot photographer...dang it, should have got his number...

Long story short, I signed up to be a consultant. I thought, what the heck. I was great at selling credit repair over the phone to a bunch of broke people...I can probably sell makeup to girls. So I paid like 45 bucks for a starter kit which got me this awesome bag filled with makeup. The day it came, I sat and played with it for hours. Even if I don't make another dime from the company, I at least got a cool bag filled with makeup. We'll see. But if any of you need mother's day gifts, we've got killer awesome girly bags with all your favorite things. Hit me up. (You see what I just did? I totally just promoted the company over my blog!)

Oh, and I give free facials and makeovers too. I am in desperate need of a girls night, so if any of you want to come to my house and use my make up goodies for fun, I can teach you the new tricks I've learned!

some of my favorite videos

these are a collection of favorites.

Please share your favorites!

things i love.

i love a lot of things. here are a few of them.

#1 family. this picture was obviously from jocey's wedding last year. i love these guys though :) they make me really happy :)

#2 friends. these girls know me pretty well. after living together for 2 years, we became really close. i miss these girls terribly...

#3 rufio. you should see how happy he is every day when i come home from work. it totally makes my day!

#4 music. i am always looking for new artists. youtube is amazing. locals are awesome. this week, imagine dragons are my favorite.

#5 reading. i can get away with ignoring crappy life drama when i read a book. reading is my happy place.

#6 traveling. there's a lot of the world, and a lot in it! i hope i get to see it all :) jamaica later this year!

#7 naps. i want one right now actually.

#8 pinterest. it is a collection of all of my favorite things. i'm seriously addicted. from yummy recipes, to happy thoughts, to fashion. pinterest is fun. if you want an invite to join, let me know!

#9 photography. i love to take pictures. there isn't a better way to remember your favorite moments.

#10 elephants. the baby kinds.

The Cone of Shame

I have been on a three month long waiting list to get Rufio neutered. On December 1, 2010, the first available appointment wasn't until March 8, 2011. Lucky for Rufio. So, I saved the date for his impending doom, and patiently waited to take him into the vet.

This last Monday, I figured it would be best to call ahead to make sure we were set for his surgery, and to finalize any details that I may need to know. I pulled out my brightly colored, printed appointment slip signed by the clinic with all the information and dialed the number.

"Salt Lake Clinic, this is Sharon, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Jenica Schulz and I was just calling to make sure my appointment for Rufio was all set for next week."

"What day were you scheduled to come in?"

"Tuesday, March 8. I made the appointment in December."

"And this is Jenica Schulz with Rufio? And you said next Tuesday the 8th?"

"Yep."

"Hmm....will you hold for just a minute?"

"Sure."
...
...
...
...

"Jenica, I'm looking at your file, and you were scheduled to come in on January 5th, not March the 8th."

"Well, that's strange because I'm holding my receipt that says 'Your scheduled appointment is March 8th. Please be at the clinic between 7 and 8:30 to drop off your pet.'"

"And your paper says you're scheduled to come on the 8th?"

(I don't understand at this point how I could be any clearer)

"Yes."

"Hold please."
...
...
...

"Jenica, would you be willing to come in tomorrow for surgery? Also bring the sheet that says your original schedule so we can see who made the error."

"Erm, ok that will work, see you then."

Seriously, if you make an appointment 3 months in advance, you still better call ahead cause they'll lose your reservation! Anyways, I dropped off poor Rufio before work yesterday and met with the doctor before I left. He gave me his pain meds and told me that he would try to "convince" me that he could NOT walk with the cone on his head, but that he was lying.

The doctor was right. As soon as you set Rufio on the ground, he becomes immobile and still. Completely petrified! He tried telling me his story yesterday when I picked him up, but as we all know, dogs don't speak English. He tried his best, but when he finished, this was the picture I took...

Things that are awkward

#1 First off, the word "awkward" is pretty awkward. I don't know about you, but I think it's spelled weird. The letters just don't look right.

#2 Recording your message for voice mail. You've heard the robot lady tell you exactly how to record your message like a zillion times, and you've left at least that many messages in your life. However, recording your own message is almost impossible to be satisfied with because your voice sounds unnatural when it is repeated back to you.

#3 The Double Door Dilemma. Have you ever been walking next to a guy when you are approaching an entryway and he politely opens the door for you? The problem you're faced with is another door because you are standing in a breezeway. You awkwardly open the second door and insist on the person walking before you, but the guy takes the door and waits on you. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't know how to solve this unanswered problem. Please help!

#4 First Dates. I don't care who you are or how awesome you think your life is, but you have never had a comfortable first date. Too many pleasantries are exchanged while you are educated with the person's pointless life achievements to which will bring you no knowledge on how awkward the person really is.

#5 You don't have a watch! Gladys asks for the time and you look at your wrist. To your dismay, there is no watch there and you end up looking like an idiot. If you still live in the '90s, you replay "time for you to get a watch!," or the ever so popular "it's tool time!"

#6 Attack of the watery eyes! It's 8:30am and you're still on the verge of falling back asleep. Unfortunately one of your co-workers assaults you with an early morning conversation in which they are deeply involved in. Your eyes make contact and lock. Crap. Now you're sitting there staring at them while your eyes start to water and it looks like you've just burst into tears. You can't just tell them "sorry my eyes just spontaneously decided to water," so you pretend like you've got something in there and proceed to dig out that imaginary piece of dust so you don't look like a retard.

#7 Farting in a public setting. You've done it because you're human. There is no need for an explanation. It's just awkward.

#8 The Shim. There are those poor unfortunate souls on this planet that do not have a distinct gender. It would be too rude to stare at them to try and figure it out, so you just guess with a 50/50 chance.

My Crib

After months and months of searching, I found an amazing apartment 3 minutes from work. It's located on Capitol hill and was remodeled literally minutes before I moved in...I will post better pictures as soon as I'm completely unpacked, but this is what I've got for starters :)

IHop needs a better bathroom contractor...

My blog posts don't seem to be very popular lately, so I thought I would try entertaining you all with an embarrassing little story...

Saturday night, I went to watch Jon's band play in Provo. Afterwards, we decided to grab something to eat at IHop. First of all, this was a bad decision for me already as I lived an hour away and it was already midnight. So here I am in Provo, sitting at a diner with 9 boys waiting for our food. I get up to go to the restroom and proceed to walk into the stalls.

Right as I'm about to sit down and do my business, Colin walks in with his charming British accent and says "Umm, Jenica you're in the mens room..."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Well, I wouldn't be in here if I were lying."

So I zip back up and run out as quickly as possible to find the other 8 guys standing by the door, camera ready to catch me in action. In my defense, the urinals were built behind the stalls, and the mens room sign was fallen sideways...Also lack of sleep. Whatever, it was late.

Addiction

I stumbled across this guy on youtube and now I can't stop playing his songs! Then I had to go to itunes and buy his album...Alexander Rybak is from Norway and has the freaking cutest songs I've ever heard with a slight '50's sound to it. Plus he plays a mean violin :) Seriously, if you're reading this and don't listen to the links below, we're not friends anymore...Seriously.

Please click here for my other favorite.

Happy listening!

Mamma I'm a Big Girl Now. Nananananaaaa...

So after a year of diligently searching for a new job, I finally have my own desk with a nameplate, business cards, and a higher pay. It's good to know that four years of college finally did something for me. I am the new Sales and Marketing Assistant at Visit Salt Lake. Basically any groups, conventions, associations that visit the Salt Lake area contact us to book their visit together. My job is to primarily prepare business proposals for Event Directors. So those bajillion campaign projects made in my PR classes finally paid off! Woohoo!

In other news, I am the new owner of a classy new pad on Capitol Hill. I will meet with the owners tomorrow to pick out my hardwood floors, the carpet, and the wall paint. The best news isn't even that it's on Capitol Hill, it's that I have a 5 minute walk to work! Pictures will soon be posted after the big move in. I will move in next weekend after the remodel.

Craft Frenzy

So I have been on this craft spree for a while now. If I see something I like in the store, my mindset is "I bet I can make it for cheaper..." A couple months ago, I found a quilt at Urban Outfitters for $100 and thought it would be a breeze to make...With the amount of time it took me to quilt it, I should have just bought the one at the store.

Mine

Urban Outfitters

They do look alike in color, mine is just a dark phone picture...

However, I have recently become a little obsessed with lace and ruffly things. I found this nifty little blog of all sorts of cool craft ideas with things you can use throughout your home. In the next few days, I think I'll be attempting to give some of my wardrobe a makeover. If you are snowed in this winter or need something to do, give this website a little visit. Warning, it's addictive...

The P.I.B.S. have arrived!

I love sundance. I love the crazy LA people with their giant fur coats. We call them the PIBs (People in Black). I love watching the coffee addicts flock to starbucks at 6am. I love spotting celebrities hanging out at my old high school as they pose for pictures and sign autographs. I love that when I get off work, I can walk to main street and everywhere is a party. BUT I HATE THE TRAFFIC!

If you live in Park City, or plan on taking part of the Sundance festivities, please allot yourself a couple hours of leeway time to sit in traffic...

For many years, I took pride in myself in knowing exactly where to find which celebrity and where they would be. I swear I'm not a creepy stalker. I must be pretty rusty because I haven't had a lot of luck the past couple years. Monday my luck changed a bit :) I did run into Tobey Maguire, Eva Green, Emile Hirsch, Kerry Washington, and Dominic Cooper this year.

Sunday, the festivities will end and the 40,000 people will return to Hollywood while leaving Park City as it was before. Perhaps leaving us a little more cultured, and more grateful that the ski traffic only lasts a half hour.

Soon I will be able to participate in Salt Lake's 5pm traffic...because I GOT A JOB! Working at the Salt Lake Visitor and Travel Bureau. It's a big girl job, so I'm pretty proud. Wish me luck!