Dear Berkeley,

Katie and Grandma - sorry it took so long to post this, these were our Halloween costumes. Chris was Fidel Castro and I was Che Guevara. 

Ever since 1) the Woods got married and 2) Love at First Bite’s display fridge broke (and they stopped making my favorite banana pudding) I haven’t been out to see you as much as last year. But the Berkeley Halloween party reminded me of all the good times we had together. Thanks for everything (and please bring back the banana pudding).

- Che 

Hey Dad,

I saved this picture to my desktop before my computer crashed. It was the inspiration for my Halloween costume this year (Che + Fidel Castro). And when we plugged in the external hard drive and restarted my computer, my desktop came up and I knew things weren't so bad because this picture was still saved there. And then I was really pleased that a picture of Castro could be my computer's symbol to me saying, "yeah, we're still here. I know you thought you got rid of us... and you tried your best. But you can't. We're stil here."

First of all, AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysBackUpYourStuff. Always. And you should also invest in Apple Care if you can. Second of all, this week, like a cave person, I had to bust out a freaking stone tablet and chisel away my notes for Con Law, Wills and Trusts, and Evidence. I did this because my hard drive failed, and I didn’t have a computer for two days. Thank you for getting me that external hard drive for Christmas. Because of that, I still have my notes and outlines, my pictures and post-its, my songs and screenshots. Were this not the case, my only option would have been to drop out of law school and move back in with you guys. So thank you for saving my career.

 - lover of time machines.

To Hyperbole -

Joe, me, Paul, Kels. This night was basically a picnic flash mob in Golden Gate Park, everyone had to wear white and bring their own four course meal, table settings, chairs, etc. And then we ate/danced for a couple hours. It was freaking sweet. There are more pictures on facebook, but this is my favorite of the four of us. 

I often speak in extremes. Okay: always, I always speak in extremes. And I’ve been told that this can make it hard to know when I actually believe this is the best taco I’ve ever had, or the best movie I’ve ever seen, or the best night of my life. But listen, this weekend, seriously was the greatest weekend of my entire life. And on Friday, I had the most incredible meal I’ve ever had, the weather was absolute perfection, the French band was utterly charming, I could not have enjoyed the company any more than I did. The energy of the dance party was amazing, and I felt like every single one of those thousand-ish people were also having the best night of their lives. If I could add any other superlative to that summary, I would, but that might be going overboard. 

- Le Diner a San Francisco attendee

To the twinkly lights

You were the only thing I could see hanging under the trees tonight. But the heat from the day became gentle in the breeze. And we could smell lavender wafting from the baskets around our tables. And we heard laughter, and favorite Mackenzie-and-Jared stories, and “La Vie en Rose.” So yes, you were hanging there, but we could all feel the romance in the air, even if we couldn’t see it.

- the girl who "met Mackenzie in DC almost two years ago. Yes, I am the girl she lived with in San Francisco before she found a place in Berkeley." 

Whit -

Picture from Marin. Me and my roommates, Marin and Bree. I've been trying to write this post for like two hours and I can't make it work. I've been trying to write it to the wrong people and including too many things. But you're the person I want to tell this to anyway, so I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.

That invitation I sent you last week? It was for a party like a 90-minute drive out in the country, in this girl's huge, "I live on a Virginia estate" backyard. I have no idea how, but the guest list included like 200 people - and there were so many people I knew! home ward, Washington Seminar, BYU, new ward, it was great. I felt like I fit in. There were twinkly lights, picnic blankets, and cute folksy music playing. And incredible food: pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, potato salad, lemonade, watermelon, and like forty homemade pies. We were there for four hours, just sitting together, totally comfortable. Anyway, the best part, which would be hard to replicate, was out like a five minute walk from the party. They have all these super tall trees lining the property, and they were filled with hundreds of fireflies. When you got away from the light of the party, the trees looked like they were sparkling. Nik caught one of the fireflies, and I held it in my hands. Oh it was SO cool.

I really miss you. I miss seeing you all over my inbox. I miss meeting you for lunch. I miss planning stuff together. ugh. I really miss you.

britt

excellent party detail

For those of you throwing a Halloween party in the near future, if you're looking for a great little detail, look no further: hand soap