a picture says a thousand words... or maybe i just have a thousand pictures

Welp it's that time of the year again... where my birthday and Valentine's day struggle to compete for the best holiday in February (sorry president's day). I also have a very exciting announcment I am making Thursday night so stay tuned! If you follow me on instagram or facebook, you will probably find out sooner than from the blog. Tongue ring here I come!!! Oops. Didn't mean to spill the beans! j/k j/k.

Enough about me... here are some pictures about me: 

I love February cause roses are on sale!

This was after the first coat of my ombre "LOVE." I got the idea from THIS pin on Pinterest, but I have done wrapped letters before and they take FOREVER! It's not for the faint of heart. This is easier and just as cute.  

Spencer even helped me cut out the hearts with out any lefty scissors. 

Got my nails done...

Then got them done again {to be festive}. 

I bought some amethyst quartz so I could put one under the antique dome I bought. 

I saw Kitty Magoo and missed her dearly.

Gave away some of my old friends {but also kept some}.

Bought the kids a new house. 

Left a scary movie to be greeted by the scary fog. 

Bought this cute little bench at a second hand store and plan on painting it white.

Also bought all these little trinkets from second hand stores as well.
The striped vase kills me every time!

Just got called to the nursery and I'm already dealing with cross-dressing issues. 

And here's an example of how much I love kids. Such a humbling calling I've been given.

Laying by the fire on my new Ikea skin throw. Where is Ron Burgundy when you need him?

My greatest find at the dollar store. 2 glass beer and wine glasses. 

My cute little Summer bear. She is now crawling and laughing like crazy! 

I think that commenting on celebrities instagram pictures is so stupid, but I did my first one this week just for fun. Miley deleted her caption so it's not as funny but her caption said "Should I buy this mint sweater?" I advised her that a mint bra would be a better choice for obvious reasons. I got a few "Haha's" in response so I'm pretty proud of myself.

Also, remember that fruit leather I said I was making. Well, it almost didn't happen: 

Needless to say he didn't throw it out, I finished baking it, and then I threw it out myself because it was grows. Teehee.

Made these delicious cookies with THIS simple chocolate chip cookie recipe, and then crushed up around 12 Oreos and added it to the batter. Delish! 

And this weeks favorite outfits go to:

Oversized Sweater: H&M, Collared Tunic: Thrifted, Bracelet/Leggings/Necklace: Forever21, Boots: Urbanog.com

Black Tunic Under-Tee: H&M, Black Cardigan: Gifted, Leopard Pants: Forever21, Arrow Necklace and Bracelet: Forever21 

counting my blessings

Ok so this week I have been a pinning maniac! Sorry fellow pinners. So I follow a lot of blogs, and none of them are food blogs. Weird I know since I post so many recipes but I like to stick to Pinterest to get those. BUT I found this food blog that I went cray cray on and pinned everything! Seriously the food looks amazing and her pictures are gorgeous {which helps make the food look even better}. The blog is called Not without Salt and it is amaz-balls! The second one I found is Cotton&Curls. Seriously go to her blog, or to my sewing folder on Pinterest and your mind will be blown. I may have been fooled by all the tutorials that she has done that throw around the word "easy" "simple" etc... but after finally starting sewing my pajama pants for my class yesterday, I have determined I have a long way to go before I am ready for any of these. Especially after I had a long battle with the "pseudo sewing machine" called a serger that ripped one part of my pants and sewed another two-pieces together that shouldn't have been together. The perfectionist/Martha Stewart in me was very disturbed by these events.

 Last but not least I would like to share another blog with you that I came across today through the blog LoveChugs. The BLOG belongs to a mother who tragically lost her son after he fell into their washing machine and drowned. I serisouly was brought to tears by her blog. She is so open and honest and not afraid to say the things that all mothers feel. It's ok to be mad sometimes at God. It's ok to be mad at yourself. It's ok to not get out of bed somedays when it's too hard. She addresses the issues that anyone who has lost a love one faces like, when do you clean out their bedroom? Throw away their clothes? Stop crying yourself to sleep? My heart can't even comprehend that pain. Years ago my sister experienced something similar. She gave birth to a beautiful baby named Jessica. She was perfect... on the outside. But on the inside her organs were not developed and she couldn't breath on her own. My sister is such an example to me of strength, as she chose to carry a baby to full term and deliver it knowing that she wouldn't be healthy enough to live. We got a whole day with her before they took her off the oxygen and watched as her breaths grew farther apart. No mother should ever have to bury their child, but sadly it is a reality many have to face. There is nothing sadder then seeing a shoe box sized coffin being lowered into the ground. I actually never intended this to be a debby-downer post. I just felt like counting my blessings today after reflecting on all this. I know Jessica is in heaven smiling down on us all. I know that God had a better plan for her. I'm so grateful that we got to spend a few precious hours with her before she went back home to our Father in heaven. And I cannot wait for the new niece my sister is about to deliver any day now. I'm sure Jessica will personally escort her down to earth.

1st world problems

I love my apartment. LOVE! So many married students live in the biggest dumps and I don't know how they do it (oh wait, the money they save is there motivation). There are just some things in life that I don't like to spend a lot of money on, and others that are investments to me. OK an apartment isn't exactly an investment. In fact it's the exact opposite when you are throwing away money every month on rent. BUT the investment is in the memories and the feelings that come with the apartment. I walk in to some of the student housing and I feel like I need to take a shower after I leave, or that someone's grandma died in this chair they have, or that if you had one more guest in this place we'd have to start standing on each other's shoulders. I had no intention of living somewhere where I had to keep a broom handy to bang on the ceiling so that our fat, greasy landlord Dale would get the hint to turn down his music. Paying an extra hundred dollars or so for our place is worth it because I LOVE being home. I can't wait to get there. And every time people come over they sing it's praises. I have wanted to give a little tour of my house for some time, BUT I just don't want to until it's mostly completed.

And I have another confession (Spencer stop reading this now), I am currently having apartment anxiety. I like the direction my bedroom is taking, but I don't think I like where my living room and vanity is headed. I just wish I had an interior designer to help me. I have the vision, but I'm just not sure about the execution. Maybe I just don't trust myself enough. I'm just really starting to doubt my choice of red in our living room. It's such a dominant color and usually used in very modern rooms such as these:

This is not the look I was going for. If we had a modern black sofa, then maybe. But we have a brown leather sectional. Plus I want it to have the same feel as our room. I probably just need to go to Ikea and thrift stores and walk around for an hour to calm my anxiety and regroup. 

On another note... I really want a new iPhone case. Don't hate me Spencer! Society6 has the cutest ones! I don't know which one to choose!

please don't interrupt me kanye, i'm about to say something important

 This is the face of a girl who just... paid off her credit card! HELLSS YEAH!!!!!!!!! Is there no better feeling in the world? Maybe it just feels this good because the world is trying to tell me I deserve a shopping spree on said credit card! Ha! Well I may or may not have kinda done that already(see image below). 

(I really don't think there is anyone who loves neutrals as much as me

Remember the time when I told you guys my goals/resolutions. Well I forgot two of them. One is to take my daily vitamins and drink lots of water. The other is to have fresh flowers in the house more often. Certain flowers last longer than other ones so get some that last a while so it will be more worth your money. Here are the two bouquets I'm currently sporting in our house!

 

As most of you know I started a sewing class. It's day 3 and look! I can already sew a straight line! I'm a natural... Waah waah... I wish. But tomorrow we start on Pajama pants. I chose the fabric below. I was in a rush (because Spencer took forever making up his mind at Forever21. Shopping with that boy gives me anxiety) so don't judge me. I really wanted silk PJ's but apparently that's not a fabric for beginners and was not allowed. 

Well I guess it's time for my cooking segments right? Jeesh I never knew I would {still} be so ambitious with last years resolution of actually acting on the Pinterest recipes and crafts I pin. As you know Sunday was Spence and I's 6 month mark of marriage. Few! Didn't think we'd make it there fore a while! {Hopefully that was an obvious joke}. Anywho, I decided to make a cake... and then I realized I didn't have a cake pan and I don't really like cake so I made cupcakes instead... which are pretty much the same as cake, but don't tell me that. If you know me well you know I'm not a sweets person. I don't care for cake and cookies and brownies. When I say that people assume I'm a super-freak health nut! I'm not... I would just gladly exchange a brownie for salty french fries. When I do have a sweet craving however, I'm a sucker for cookie dough, and therefore I made this recipe found here. Don't let the 3 part process (cupcake, cookie-dough, frosting) scare you! It's easy and I had almost all the ingredients already. Plus you can always buy the pre-made cookie-dough and save yourself a step. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

So I got another Bountiful Basket... I LOVE them! This is what I got this week. Get one now! Here.

So I am always determined to use the stuff in my basket for meals. I got two avocados  Now... mother nature has really never proven to me why I should eat them, but Spencer loves them so I gave them a 2nd chance by making THIS recipe. We didn't have balsamic vinegar so we just added a balsamic vinaigrette dressing we love. I was worried it would be soggy the next day, but I actually liked it better. It was amazing scooped onto tortilla chips! 

CUCUMBER AVOCADO CAPRESE SALAD

The mystery ingredient in my basket this week was Brussels sprouts. I've never had them, Spencer hates them, and kids all around the world are spitting them out of their mouths as we speak. I found THIS recipe though that looks good for those that like them... I will let you know if I get daring enough to try. 

 Last but not least I got some strawberries and decided I wanted to try my hand at fruit leather since it only takes 3 simple ingredients (recipe here). Little did I know the commitment I was making... Oh no worries, this only takes between 8-14 hours to cook in the oven on the lowest temperature. Well, I had already made  it so I'm starting the oven process tonight and continuing on tomorrow if it doesn't look done. But I can't wait for a fun snack!

Last but not least my two favorite outfits this week: 

Denim shirt: Thrifted, Orange Pants: H&M, Riding Boots: Urbanog.com, Leopard Belt: Forever21 

Blazer/Graphic Tee/Skirt: Cotton On, Black Bootie Wedges: Madden Girl

i've been married longer than kim kardashian. someone give me an award.

Happy 6 months to me and my Stink!

I've been meaning to write all week... but work has been crazy so I never had time. Last week while Spencer was snowboarding I decided to use a piece of plywood that I had left over from a Christmas present I made for my sister similar to this. I also made a babyshower present that was similar here. For this project I did some things differently. 

1. First I measure spaces and drew in lines with pencil where I wanted the letters

2. Stick the vynel letters on (oh and don't forget to sand down everything first) 

3. Paint over the letters with your choice of color (forgot to take a picture of this step)

4. Once paint is dry, peel off the letters

This next part is where I had to get a little creative. I'm sure there is "glitter paint" out there, but I wanted to use big specks of glitter so once I peeled off the letters, I painstakingly painted the inside of each letter cut out gold, and then sprinkled gold flakes over it (the wet paint acted as glue). To get a better hold I probably could have put a coat of Mod-Podge over the gold paint but instead after I was done I sprayed about 3 coats of Mod-Podge acrylic sealer over the glitter. This is to help the glitter from shaking loose. I'm sure there are better ways to do this (and faster) but it worked well and I love the result!              

This last week I also made some recipes form Pinterest that turned out really well. 

First up was Portobello Pizza. I didn't really use one recipe, but brushed the shrooms with a garlic/olive oil mixture, cooked them for about 20 minutes, then dressed them with pizza sauce, cheese, olives, and pepperonis. Then just stick it under the broiler until it looks done. For those of you who are scared of shrooms or don't like them that much, cook them on small mushrooms  I promise you wont even notice that thats what they are! 

 Next up was a Carrot Feta salad. It was really great and we even put some balsamic dressing on it to add some flavor. Recipe found here.

Crunchy Baked Chicken. Easy and delicious. Recipe here.

Welp it's freezing here and I don't like it one bit. Especially since in the surrounding states it's warming up this weekend. Come on Utah! Get it together! Here's to warmer days.

Hot chocolate to warm us body and soul.