I've had several of these decisions in my life--english or social work? Stay and finish school or drop out to get better? Logan or Salt Lake City? Law school or graphic design? Muesli or Apple Jacks? Just kidding on the last one. Although Muesli is delicious.

I recently came to another one of those pesky crossroads, and it was one I didn't want to deal with. At all. Mostly because it was scary but definitely because it would require an enormous leap of faith.

I quit my job.

Whaaaat? Crazy, I know. In fact, after quitting, I've been making that face a lot.

After working through an absurd amount of jobs, I finally had a full-time graphic design position for an Apple reseller. It was very exciting, I gained 2 years of exceptional design experience, and got to dabble in things I never thought I'd be able to--billboards, product packaging, social media--but I'm a firm believer that individuals are meant to be challenged, and after two years, I wasn't feeling creatively/socially/personally fulfilled.

So, here I am today. I've scooped ice cream, sold Vans shoes, hated life as a bank teller, cooked at a rest home, interned for a science journal,  made a breakthrough as an intern at the Vice President for Research office, wrote software manuals and hated it, wrote more at an information design company, almost shot myself working at a law firm, blogged for a radiant heating company, then found my calling as a designer at an Apple reseller.

But sometimes once you think you've found your calling, you realize that you really haven't found it at all and there's an entire journey ahead of you. At this point all of these jobs have showed me what I don't want to do, and now it's time to find out what I do want to do.

And thus this crazy journey begins. I'm now going to be a work-from-home champion working for Blowfish and loving life completely. I'll be filling in the cracks with freelance and some blog design. I cleaned out my office today ande made my new little workspace a home. All a bunch of little steps to hopefully get me one step closer to finding my calling in life, whatever that may be.

I quit my job on December 30, meaning 2012 started off as one enormous ball of optimism and enthusiasm. I couldn't be more excited to be working for such an awesome company and working from home. Of course, I'd be lying if I said the last two weeks at my design job haven't been bitter sweet--I'll miss all of the incredible opportunities I was a part of there along with my cooky coworkers. It was certainly a 2 years I will look back on fondly.

But--bottom line--this crossroads I've reached at age 24 required me to make this decision. Sometimes you have to grow up even if you really don't want to. Decisions can be scary, but from all the silly decisions I've made thus far in my life, I've found that each one brings a profound sense of confidence and self-meaning when all is said and done. No matter the ramifications of said decisions, good or bad, you always glean something meaningful about your life and learn something that helps you later in life--confidence, compassion, understanding, wisdom, all of the above.

Now onward to 2012 with joyful hearts filled to the brim with hope! Oh, and really the best part about this decision--being a full-time cat mom. I know one cat that's stoked about the sun in the new office...

Happy Wednesday!

Lately I've been loving a lot of things--mostly Christmas gifts I can't get enough of. And in an effort to seek out the small things that make my days great, here are a couple of things I'm loving this weekend.

Walking into my biohazard zone craft room and finding Royal completely wedged inside my new tablet box. He's crazy. There's not a box Royal met he hasn't liked.

My amaaaaaaaaaaazing fox gloves my friend Mel made for me! Mel is easily the most talented person I know. I asked her to make me some of these fox mittens, and I about died when she showed me the finished product. Mel, thank you! And be sure to stop by her shop! She's immensely talented!

These silly iPhone cases. I got the black cat one for Christmas and couldn't resist buying the white cat and the bear, too! They're so cheap!

And be still, my Star-Wars-loving heart. These two prints Mitchell got for me are my most beloved prints yet. Oh, Chewie! You scoundrel! You can get yours at this cute shop.

Lastly, I'm loving this unseasonably warm weather we're having. Usually Utah is being barraged with snow and face-melting cold, so these 50-degree temps are strange. Very strange INDEED! But I'll take it!

What are you loving today?

Until then, Mitchell and I go just about once a week. It's imperative to our survival. This week we hit up Ruth's Diner--a Utah local favorite. It's a sweet diner in an old trolley car straight out of 1949. The lady who started it was a cabaret singer in Salt Lake City from 1912-1916 basically meaning that Ruth's is the coolest place to eat breakfast in the valley.

These "mile-high biscuits" right here are the closest to heave you'll ever get as a mere breakfast-eating mortal. I guarantee it.

Well, 80-year-old self, I'll be there in a few, and we'll eat this asparagus/pepperjack omelette every day. Also, I really should write a post about working in that retirement home someday. Oh, the shenanigans!

What's your favorite breakfast joint?

It's true, and I'm sure you've noticed it. And after receiving two insanely thoughtful surprises from two incredibly talented blog friends the last two days, it hit me that I've been a real stinkpot lately about being a good blog friend in return.

Why is this? I don't know--I'd chalk it up to my extreme shyness or the fact that I'm forgetful 90% of the time, but either way I hate that I do it. I've met an inordinate amount of people via this blog that could be/probably are my long lost sistas from anotha motha. I've never really seen any other community that's so supportive and uplifting, and I would hope to always contribute to that feeling. You know--pay it forward and all that.

I guess I'm still learning about this whole blog business--including how to come out of my shell and connect with everyone despite the awesome social anxiety I inherited from my dad. (Thanks, Mike. Just kidding. It's all good.)

That being said, I wanted to extend the most enormous thank you possible to every single one of you who offered me congratulations on the new job. That meant the world to me, and I couldn't stop smiling all day. Thank you for supporting me and partying it up with me in my excitement.

And thank you to all of you for the increasingly kind comments I've received lately. I'm so sorry I didn't respond and let it be known that this crazy cat lady is working on it.

Thank you all for making and keeping the blogging world a positive and uplifting place. I promise to always do the same and interact with you on a personal level since that's what blogging is all about. It's not getting followers or sponsors or competition--it's about interacting with stellar people that you wouldn't otherwise meet. That's why I blog. Thank you for reminding me of that lately and for keeping it real with me.

Now get thee to the weekend! I hope you have lazy, lazy plans like I do!

Indeed. We spend most of our days at our condo's pool. Every day. After work. Find me here.

Today we will be celebrating the 4th with my favorite ladies--Jenny, Erin, and Laura from The Hungry Fashionista.

When it's 90+ degrees out for four months out of the year, you really have no other choice but to live in the pool.

Mmm hmmm.Happy 4th of July, everyone! Hope your day is full of parades, kicking back by the pool, and fireworks. Keep it real and wear your sunscreen!

PS--How are you surviving this summer? Is it ridiculously hot where you are like it is here? And do you love it or hate it? Because I'll be straight with you--I hate summer heat. Lots. But nothing a little pool time and limeade can't fix, right?

Anyway, they offer a free home try-on program where you can have 5 different sets of frames sent to your home for free for 5 days. Well, I jumped right on that and ordered my five. The only thing is, I need your help deciding! I know for a fact the pair I love, but I'm not going to say because I'm interested in your opinions. So...here they are!

All 5 pairs in all their magnificent glory. Let me know which one you like the best below!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Thanks for your help in advance. And sorry for the shoddy pics. I got too excited and took these on my lunchbreak. Can you say nerd? Hmm...I really want to order them tonight, so I just had to hurry and do it! Weee!!

Go check out Warby Parker if you're a glasses lover. Their frames are fantastic! So vintage-inspired and lovely.

Also, I seriously seriously regret posting this. Just throwing that out there. But I swore to Carly that I would do a vlog, and I did it, and I guess I need to just suck up the embarrassment and get it over with. The first one's always the worst, right?

Anyway, for my intro to vlogging I went with the dialect video that was popular a bit ago. I was too scared to talk back then, but now I'm busting out of my proverbial shell of blogging shyness and putting it all out there for my lovely readers.

(Do you like the face it pauses on here? Beautiful.)

My First Vlog: How I Speak and Stuff from Amy Morby on Vimeo.

If you want to play too here are the questions. And that list I skipped through because it was boring. But one time a guy yelled at me for saying coupon as "cyo-pawn" instead of "coo-pawn." He then asked if I was a high school graduate. You should have seen his reaction when I said I was not only a high school graduate, but a COLLEGE graduate with a degree in English. Old people are so snarky.

Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Now answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Thanks for watching! And if you decide to participate, link me! We'll share in our vlogging newness together.

Happy Fathers Day, dad. Thanks for

• raising me right with fantastic musical taste
• instilling a deep love for music at an early age by playing your 12-string guitar and listening to vinyl with me.
• taking me to violin lesson ever week without fail and attending all of my boring recitals and competitions
• buying me my first guitar
• coming to guitar lessons with me and letting me listen to The Who and Led Zeppelin at full blast in your car on the way

• Supporting me and encouraging me to excel in school and do whatever I wanted, whether it was art, violin, or writing.
• Letting me get that crazy chihuahua/schnauzer named Vinny, even though he always loved you more than me.
• Showing me that it's ok to be passionate about things, like your photography.
• Being pretty much the coolest dad ever.

Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend with your awesome dads/grandpas/husbands. Have a good one!

Laura is one of the most fashionable and gorgeous people I know, but the best part is she's an incredible cook. The Hungry Fashionista represents both of those passions, and let me tell you what--her recipes look amazing!

Laura is a blogging newbie, so be sure to head on over, show her some welcoming love, and follow her on GFC or bloglovin! I promise you won't regret it.

PS--You might know the designer behind her design--it was me!

I was talking with my co-worker the other day about the need to champion Salt Lake City--make it known how awesome it really is. Especially in the summer! So much free stuff to do.

This weekend, Mitchell and I took an early morning stroll around downtown SLC to get brunch. Our little walk turned out to be a big walk around the entire city where I snapped a bunch of photos in an effort to say, hey...SLC is pretty darn neat.

I used to work in the Kearns building. Very, very vintagey inside. The elevators were terrifying.

And Mitchell works in the Walker Center--that building on the left with the big tower up top.

Mitchell is also lucky enough to walk to work every day. One of the reasons we bought a condo in downtown SLC. We love our house. Muchly.

A peek at the MASSIVE City Creek development coming pretty soon. It's basically going to be a gigantic city center full of luxury condos and all kinds of shops and restaurants. We are all very, VERY excited about this development. Especially us since we're 3 or so blocks away from it.

We're all waiting anxiously to hear the lineup for this year's Twilight Concert Series. No, it has nothing to do with the literary abomination ruining our posterity's brains. It's a free concert series that runs all summer at one of the parks here. Some pretty stellar bands came out last year, including Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and the New Pornographers...and Beirut...and tons more. And yes...absolutely free. Best part of living in Salt Lake if you ask me!

Of course, the best part about Salt Lake is Slowtrain, our local record store. We luff them.

I promise. Utah isn't all Mormons and lameness. Right fellow SLC-ites?

PS--I'll be back later today with a silly little freebie featuring one of my all-time favorite fashion sages. Hmm...wonder who that could be?