The Ercanbrack's

Valentine Kits

2012-02-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

New valentine kits I put together this week from The Idea Closet. :)

♥

Valentine Mailboxes

2012-02-17T10:04:00.002-07:00

I saw these cute mailboxes on Pinterest and couldn't resist making them. It took me a while to track down all the supplies I needed though. I finally found the mailboxes at Michaels and they were 2 of only 3 they had left! (Though now I've learned Target has mini mailboxes in their dollar section. Who knew!) I ended up finding the candlesticks at Dollar Tree of all places, but then they were only a dollar! ;) I sprayed painted the candlesticks black and Savannah cut out the vinyl for me with her Cricut. After I put the vinyl on the mailboxes, I glued the candlestick to the mailbox using E6000 glue and voila! Love them! Now Andrew and I can leave each other fun little love notes all month long. :)

*Now that I've found where I can get these candlesticks, I have so many more things I want to do with them! Can't wait!

♥

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-17T09:16:00.007-07:00

I started out Valentine's Day this year with my traditional pink pancakes with pink milk, but this year I did heart-shaped pink pancakes and served them on some cute valentine plates that I found at Walmart with matching valentine cups for the pink milk. :)

As I was walking through the kitchen that morning to get Andrew's gift ready, Andrew had this sitting on the counter waiting for me.

It's something Savannah saw on Pinterest and she knew I would love it, but it was originally a necklace. I had them make it into a bracelet because I knew I would wear it more and then I gave it to Andrew about a month ago to save for me for Valentine's Day. I actually had forgotten about it so that made it fun! Andrew found the card himself and said he liked what it said. I thought that was cute. :)

Love this quote!

Among other things (including cheese!), I surprised Andrew with bacon roses. They were something he saw on facebook a while ago, but Savannah found a blog that showed how to actually make them so I bought what I needed and secretly put them together that morning. :) He thought they were awesome! When I asked him if he liked the bacon roses, he said, "Whose wife does that?!" Apparently he was glad his wife did!

A few hours into my work day, this delivery came for me. I told Andrew he did good! Take a closer look at the vase the roses are in and you'll see why I thought they were the best flowers he's ever given me! I love the vintage look and fudge-dipped strawberries are always yummy. :D

At lunchtime, I met Andrew at home and his big valentine present was waiting on the doorstep.

An ice fishing sled that he's been wanting so he can pull all his gear across the ice instead of packing it. ;)

After work, I headed home to meet Savannah. She and I were making Valentine's Day dinner for our hubby's! For dinner, I made Lasagna and Garlic Bread and Savannah made Spinach Strawberry Salad and 7 Layer Jello. To drink, Savannah made Love Potion and for dessert, I made Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry Sauce. It was all so delicious and we were stuffed! I think our hubby's were happy too. ;)

We used my china, but I especially love my new Sweet Heart Plates from Crate&Barrel!

To make it even more special, we ate by candlelight.

Here are the cute treats that I made for all my friends and coworkers. I got the idea and free printable tags from Pinterest.

We also received a few Valentine's Day treats from our friends and family as well.

From Savannah

From Andrew's mom

From my mom

Happy Valentine's Day!

♥

February Swap Group

2012-02-08T11:32:00.009-07:00

Laura took charge this month and decided to do a cookie swap. She said she missed swapping things and thought this might be a fun idea and it was!

How it worked was we made and brought 6 cookies for each person in our group along with our cookie recipe. I chose to make Molasses Crinkles, which are cookies I've been making since I was probably like 8. I even entered them in the Millard County Fair one year and they won! I think they also went on to the Utah State Fair from there. They really are that good! (Check out the link to my cooking blog for the recipe by clicking on Molasses Crinkles above.)

Since it is February and Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I bought some Valentine's cellophane bags to package my cookies up in before I took them to swap last night. I thought it made them look festive. :)

Here are all the cookies I came away with. Yum! Also, Felicity decided to make her favorite bread instead of her favorite cookie so I'm excited to try that as well. :)

To top it all off, Lewaina to decided to spoil us and made us each a valentine. It was a heart-shaped, fabric-covered box with a heart ornie inside. So cute and thoughtful! Thanks, Lewaina!

♥

Super Bowl 2012

2012-02-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

For the big game this year we got together at Andrew's parents house again along with Josh & Savannah and Alicia.

I made my traditional Spinach & Artichoke Dip along with Parmesan Fondue and Cider Cheese Fondue all with french bread for dipping. :)

The highlight of the table however was our edible stadium. We all pitched in and made this fun idea from Pinterest appropriately titled "Eat the big game while watching the big game!". ;) The tortilla chips were from Bountiful Baskets. Every year they offer tortillas chips that you can either bake or fry in the colors of the teams playing in the Super Bowl. Josh made the homemade guacamole for the field and we also had cheese sauce and salsa to eat with the chips.

To top it all off, for dessert, Savannah made these adorable football-shaped Homemade Oreo Cookies.

As for the Super Bowl, I was cheering for the Giants as I may or may not have a small crush on Eli Manning ;) and they won! And since we all watch the Super Bowl for the commercials really anyway, here's my favorite one...

♥

February Book Club

2012-02-07T14:22:00.003-07:00

Last Thursday night we got together again for book club. Kim chose this month's book, "Frenchman's Creek" by Daphne du Maurier.

Jaded by the numbing politeness of Restoration London, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape.

But when chance leads her to meet a French pirate, hidden within Cornwall's shadowy forests, Dona discovers that her passions and thirst for adventure have never been more aroused. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him.

Frenchman's Creek is the breathtaking story of a woman searching for love and adventure who embraces the dangerous life of a fugitive on the seas.

We ended up getting together at Randi's house because she had a quilt she needed to finish tying. She fed us a yummy dinner first while we discussed the book and then while she worked on her quilt, we munched on Candied Popcorn and Rocky Road Brownies that Savannah brought for dessert. Delish!

♥

Nieces for the Weekend

2012-01-31T12:32:00.009-07:00

The weekend before last, my sister Heidi texted me and asked me if I would like to take her girls for the weekend. I've never been asked to take any of my nieces or nephews for even one night so I thought it sounded like fun!

As soon as I got off work last Friday, I headed to Duchesne to meet my sister and pick up the girls. We stopped at the grocery store on our way back home to pick up the girls' favorite foods and the weekend began. :)

They ate some yummy yogurt they picked out.
( I love how Mayci looks like a pirate in all of the pictures I have of her face!) ;)

Did a million stickers.

Made colored ice cubes for their bath (an idea I found on Pinterest).

Played the drums on the Wii.

We also read books, visited Grandpa and Grandma, played games, played with toys, bought presents at the store, watched cartoons and made princess cookies.

It was a fun weekend. I loved having them and realized even more how much I love being an aunt...even though Aunt Jessica is now exhausted! ;)

♥

Winter Subway Art

2012-01-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

New kit I put together tonight from The Idea Closet. :)

♥

Chinese New Year Party

2012-01-25T21:52:00.016-07:00

After our fun New Year's Eve party with all our friends, we were feeling the need to get together again and have some more fun so Andrew suggested having a Chinese New Year party. Mostly it was just our excuse to eat a delicious Chinese dinner and have our friends over. ;)

While I was in SLC this past Saturday, Andrew also suggested that I go to Zurchers and get some fun things for our party. Surprisingly to me, the Chinese New Year section was pretty picked over (I didn't realize how many people in Utah celebrated it!), but I still found some cute decorations and Savannah pitched in and bought 3 of the hats. :) Thanks, Savannah!

Monday was the Chinese New Year so Savannah came home with me after work so we could start cooking! We made Bulgogi, which is actually a Korean dish, Ham Fried Rice and 2 types of Wontons with either a sausage filling or a cream cheese filling. We even had chopsticks to eat everything with and fortune cookies at the end of the meal. :)

The boys had a red hat along with a Chinese finger trap.

The girls had either a purple or pink hat and a Chinese fan.

Taken right as we were sitting down to eat. Look at all that good food...Yum!

Brandon and Kim brought 3 bottles of different flavored apple ciders for everyone to drink during the meal and for dessert Savannah brought Raspberry Lemonade Bars. We were so stuffed!

Love these guys!

We finished the night by lighting off an aerial firework in the snow!

♥

Meeting Heather Justesen

2012-01-25T21:44:00.005-07:00

Heather Justensen is my new favorite author and not even because I have a personal connection to her. Her books are wonderful and I can't put them down once I pick them up! But I do have a personal connection to her as well. :) She was a neighbor of mine when I was growing up in Fillmore, UT. I was so excited when I got back in touch with her and discovered her books! She kindly sent me her first 2 books, personally autographed, free in the mail and has since written and released 2 more books so I just had to attend one of her book signings to get copies and have her autograph those as well. :)

Savannah loves Heather's books just as much as me so we both went out to her book signing this past Saturday in Orem and literally braved the weather to get there, but it was so worth it. Thanks, Heather! It was so good to see you again!

♥

Valentine Throw Pillow

2012-01-20T12:14:00.003-07:00

I saw this cute pillow on Pinterest and just couldn't resist making it for myself. I love how it turned out! Now I can't wait for February so I can have it out sitting on my couch. :)

♥

Just Because Flowers

2012-01-13T11:52:00.003-07:00

Last night when Andrew got home from work, he rang the doorbell. He does this from time to time so I wasn't expecting to open the door to a bouquet of flowers! He said that he hadn't bought me flowers "just because" in a long time and then he told me that he loves me. He also purposely got purple flowers, which is my favorite color. He's so good to me. :)

♥

Tooth Fairy Pillow Love

2012-01-05T10:32:00.005-07:00

Remember this post? Well, I mentioned in that post that I thought Jade and Lincoln seemed to like their tooth fairy pillows that I made them for Christmas. Well, now I know that they love them!

Last week I got an email from my SIL Misty that said, "Lincoln had a tooth pulled today and was SO excited to use his tooth fairy pillow!" and it included these pictures, which immediately made me smile. :)

Then yesterday, I got a thank you note in the mail from my sister Heidi with a very nice note from her inside. Some writing on the left side of the card caught my attention though and I realized it was a note from Jade. It's the first note that she's ever written me and since she's only in Kindergarten I was also very impressed! I immediately got teary-eyed though. It's hanging on my fridge now and is something I will cherish forever. :)

♥

January Swap Group

2012-01-05T09:50:00.003-07:00

Felicity took charge this month and came up with this darling idea! She had her husband cut everything out of wood for us and we got together Tuesday night to paint and assemble the snowmen.

I loved how different all the snowmen turned out even though we all started with the same pieces and directions. :)

This is why I love swap group. Everyone in the group gets to benefit from each of our individual talents and ideas. Thanks, Felicity!

♥

Snowman Blocks

2012-01-03T13:12:00.003-07:00

New kit I put together this week from The Idea Closet. :)

♥

New Year's Eve 2011

2012-01-03T12:56:00.006-07:00

This is what our second annual New Year's Eve fondue party looked like!

Bacon-wrapped Tater Tots

We added some new things to our yummy favorites from last year and it was all so delicious. :)

Also, Todd and Randi (and their cute little boy) were able to join us this year and we all played the 2 Wii's that were going until the early hours of the morning. At midnight we all went outside to light fireworks and since it has been so warm this winter, we were actually able to enjoy the fireworks we lit and the ones going off all around town. ;)

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and getting together with them on New Year's Eve is always a great way to start my new year. :)

Happy New Year!

♥

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T16:06:00.003-07:00

Christmas morning we woke up to see that Santa had once again spoiled us and our fur children too!

Emillio wearing her Christmas collar and giving me her "Will you please stop taking my picture?" look. ;) Isn't she just the cutest kitty ever? :)

We had a very blessed and wonderful Christmas. Here are our "loot" pictures as we like to call them. ;)

Andrew

Jessica

Merry Christmas!

♥

Christmas Kits

2011-12-28T16:02:00.003-07:00

New Christmas kits I put together this month from The Idea Closet. :)

♥

A Major Award

2011-12-28T15:51:00.005-07:00

One of our favorite Christmas movies ever is A Christmas Story so when we came home last Thursday night to find this stuck in our side door, we just had to call it our major award!

Now it might not be the same as winning a leg lamp, but we did get some fun gift certificates so I won't complain!

The funny thing is we didn't even do as many outside decorations this year as we have in the past! Guess it was good enough. ;)

♥

Heward Family Christmas Party

2011-12-28T14:40:00.012-07:00

The weekend before Christmas, my parents invited all of us to come out to SLC to get together for a Christmas party and exchange gifts. We all met at my brother's house Saturday afternoon and exchanged gifts first. Here are the nieces and nephews opening the gifts from Andrew and I.

Mayci

Kinley

Jade and Lincoln (with Mayci looking at hers closer ;))
Will was asleep, but he got a cute long-sleeve airplane t-shirt from us. :)

After the gift unwrapping was over, my parents had us all get in our cars and told us just to follow them for their present to us. We didn't know where we were going and so we didn't know how long we were going to be in the car. I figured it wouldn't be very far, but boy was I wrong! My brother lives in Herriman/Riverton and we ended up at Smith and Edwards in Ogden! (I was riding with little Will so actually being in the car for a while didn't bother this aunt because I got to feed him a time or two on the way up and on the way back. :))

Once we arrived, we all gathered in the parking lot to hear what my parents had in store for us.

Their present to us was $50 each to spend in the store and my parents wanted the fun of watching us spend it. :D It was such a fun thing! My parents also offered to watch the grandkids while we all shopped and so this is how they spent some of their time. :)

Andrew got a cool thermos that keeps drinks and soups hot up to 15 hours, which is something he's been wanting and then we combined the rest of his money with mine and put it toward an enamel-covered cast iron grill pan and panini press, which is something I've been wanting for a while now. Thanks, Dad and Mom!

On the way home, my parents also took us out for a little dinner all together and I really enjoyed getting to spend a day with my family for Christmas.

♥

Christmas Goodies 2011

2011-12-21T12:25:00.011-07:00

This year I decided to just make homemade caramels for the goodies we like to give away to our family, friends and co-workers. The reason why is I actually had a few people ask me if I was going to make my caramel again this year because they love it so much. :) That made my day as you can imagine! My favorite part was the cute candy tins I found to package the caramels in.

♥

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

2011-12-20T10:32:00.003-07:00

My parents invited all of us to come out to SLC this past weekend to get together for a Christmas party and exchange gifts. My mom asked me to bring cupcakes so I made these Christmas tree cupcakes that I found on Pinterest. I do love making cupcakes and it's fun that everyone enjoys them so much now they request them. :D

More about the Christmas party to come... :)

♥

Tooth Fairy Pillows

2011-12-20T10:24:00.004-07:00

For Christmas I decided to make tooth fairy pillows for my niece Jade and my nephew Lincoln who both started loosing teeth this year. I found the idea on Pinterest and made 1 girl monster and 1 boy monster respectively. Then in each monster's pocket I put a picture of a tooth and also a dollar.

Jade and Lincoln seemed to like their pillows (and especially the dollar ;)) when they opened them this past Saturday at my family's Christmas party.

It was fun making some of my Christmas presents this year. Maybe it will become a tradition. :)

♥

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

This year in our Christmas card we decided to include a picture of us from our San Francisco vacation taken in front of the Golden Gate Bridge this past April.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

♥

Christmas Tree 2011

2011-12-07T15:09:00.003-07:00

This year I wrapped my tree with some burlap that I got on clearance at Walmart for $0.67 a yard! I absolutely love what it added to my tree. :D

♥

Graham Cracker Houses 2011

2011-12-06T11:30:00.014-07:00

Last Friday night Brandon, Kim, Josh, Savannah, Andrew and I got together for our 2nd annual graham cracker house-building night. Kim made us all a delicious dinner first and then we got to work! This is how they all turned out...

Josh and Savannah did a hunting lodge. :)

Brandon and Kim did a house complete with a side yard for their dog Lizzy. :)

Remember to never eat yellow snow! ;)

Our house...I especially love the red and green roof tiles Andrew found. :)

I'm so glad that we got to do this again this year with our friends. We love getting together with them anytime though!

♥

Christmas Tree Blocks

2011-12-06T10:51:00.003-07:00

A new Christmas kit that I put together last week from The Idea Closet. Love the berries!

♥

Tile Coasters

2011-12-02T09:51:00.007-07:00

A few months ago Savannah found the idea for these tile coasters on Pinterest. She told me about them and how she had decided to make them for her co-worker gifts this year. Then one day while we were shopping together, she was buying the supplies to make hers and they were just too cute for me to resist so I asked if I could make some with her for my co-worker gifts this year also. We got together last night to put them together and they all turned out so cute! Though I loved all the coasters we both made, I made the damask one just for me at my desk. ;)

Thanks Savannah for letting me use all your supplies!

♥

Mini Pumpkin Harvest Update

2011-12-01T11:42:00.006-07:00

Remember this post?

Well I displayed mini pumpkins all around my house inside and out this year since I had so many. Andrew teased me that I would have to play hide-and-seek with them when it was time to find them all so I could throw them away! I just had to show my favorite mini pumpkin display this year though. :)

Mini pumpkins in my new hurricane vase!

♥

Transformers Cupcakes

2011-11-30T17:22:00.011-07:00

Saturday night we celebrated Lincoln's 5th birthday. He wanted a Transformers birthday party so I made him Transformers cupcakes with Transformers cupcake liners and Transformers rings to go on top. I think he really liked them. :)

He also had a Transformers pinata at his party!

Doesn't it look like the pinata is standing on the gym floor?
We were all getting a kick out of how the pictures made it look like that! ;)

♥

Cutting Christmas Trees

2011-11-30T16:42:00.008-07:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving my whole family headed up into the mountains to cut Christmas trees. We do this every year and like always we all had a lot of fun searching for the perfect tree and the kids loved sledding and playing in the snow. :)

More pictures to come once I get mine decorated!

♥

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T16:20:00.011-07:00

Missing Baby Will (who was taking a nap), Sam, Heidi, Jade & Mayci (who came the next day to stay for the rest of the weekend).

Andrew and I spent Thanksgiving this year with my family. All my siblings and their families came, my grandma was here from Washington and we spent the holiday all together at my parents house. It was wonderful. :)

When my mom asked me what I wanted to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, I offered to bring rolls, cinnamon rolls, apple pie and banana cream pie so I could put my bread and pie-making skills from my cooking classes to good use. ;) The night before Thanksgiving I started working on my pies and they turned out pretty well. The roll/cinnamon roll dough on the other hand did not turn out at all and that's about all I'm going to say about that! I was so sure I could do it, but apparently I still need many more hours of practice and I almost ended the night crying myself to sleep because of it. Thank goodness for a supportive husband and stores open late the night before Thanksgiving!

I also made some fun, edible place card holders for the Thanksgiving table that I saw on Pinterest. They were a hit especially with my niece Kinley and nephew Lincoln who both asked to eat their turkey's head right after the Thanksgiving blessing was over. :) That made my day!

My nephew Will and I with his turkey. :)

It was a great Thanksgiving!

♥

Pineapple Bag

2011-11-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

A while back, I found instructions to make this adorable pineapple bag on Pinterest, but I knew I would need my Grandma's help and expertise to pull it off. When I found out she was coming to visit for Thanksgiving, I was so excited! I asked her to pack some yellow and green fabrics from her personal stash and we set up an evening to get together and sew while she was here.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I went up to my mom's house to sew and I can actually say that I sewed the entire top of this bag thanks to everything my Grandma taught me. :D

Cutting out the top.

Finished top.

The back (that I think actually looks like a pineapple, don't you?)

The lining.

The top.

Grandma sewing it all together for me. :)

To finish it off, I bought some cute pineapple buttons on ebay. I love them and I absolutely love the way the bag turned out! Thank you, Grandma. I love you the most! ;)

♥

Thanksgiving Kits

2011-11-17T14:44:00.001-07:00

New Thanksgiving kits I put together Monday night from The Idea Closet. :)

I put this turkey together last year, but this year Tracy did an updated version of him and had him sitting on the Gobble Gobble block above so I just ordered the block to put underneath the turkey I already had. :)

♥

Thanksgiving Pies Cooking Class Night 2

2011-11-10T15:18:00.008-07:00

Last night was the second night of my Thanksgiving pies cooking class. We could choose to make a pumpkin pie, a berry pie, a coconut cream pie or a banana cream pie. I chose banana cream and I am so glad I chose to make a cream pie because we made the pudding filling from scratch and it is so amazingly delicious...hot or cold!

Blind baking my pie crust for the first 10 minutes it was in the oven.

Baking continues after the beans were taken out.

Pudding filling thickening on the stove top.

Thickened!

There you have it!
Just waiting to be cut into slices and topped with whipped cream. :D

Since the homemade apple pie filling we made the night before was too hot to take home then, our instructors brought it back and put it in baggies for us to take home last night. One baggie makes one pie so I put mine in the freezer to pull out for Thanksgiving!

This was the last night of the 2 classes I signed up to take and I had so much fun and learned a lot, but I'm especially glad that I got to take them with Savannah. We have so much fun together no matter what we do because we are so alike in so many ways, but I love having her to do stuff like this with especially. The classes just wouldn't have been quite as fun doing them on my own. :)

Our instructors are now talking about doing a candy making class in December and I hope they do!

♥

Thanksgiving Pies Cooking Class Night 1

2011-11-10T14:19:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night was the first night of my Thanksgiving pies cooking class. I have to give a lot of credit to my mom in this post because I learned I am actually already pretty skilled at making pie crust because of watching and helping her my whole life. :) I still really enjoyed this class though because it gave me a chance to learn a new pie crust recipe and also because I was able to get some good pie crust-making practice in!

For this class we made an apple pie using homemade apple pie filling. Our instructors had some filling pre-made for us to use in our pies and then we got a chance to make a batch of apple pie filling ourselves while our pies were baking.

My pie is the one in the right corner.

Class picture with our instructors on the back row.

♥

Yeast Breads/Rolls Cooking Class Night 2

2011-11-03T14:44:00.014-06:00

Last night we made a really versatile dough that can be made into dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. We split up into groups of 2 and mixed up a batch of the dough and then we cut the dough in half and used one half for dinner rolls and the other half for cinnamon rolls. We practiced the dinner rolls first because they took longer to rise. I liked the rolls made from this dough a lot more than the first night because these rolls had much more flavor.

Once the rolls came out of the oven, we rubbed butter on them so they would shine. :)

Then it was time to use the other half of the dough to make cinnamon rolls! First we used our hands to manipulate the dough into a rectangle.

Then we spread softened butter on the dough just using our fingers.

Next we sprinkled on brown sugar, cinnamon and white sugar.

Then we rolled the dough up into a roll and folded the ends over so the filling didn't fall out.

Next we cut the big roll into individual cinnamon rolls and set them aside to rise.

When they were done baking, we immediately spread homemade icing on them. YUM!

In the end we got 20 dinner rolls and 20 cinnamon rolls from the same batch of dough and they were both delicious!

Class picture with our instructors on the back row.

I had fun taking this class especially since I got to take it with Savannah. :) Can't wait until next week when we do Thanksgiving pies!

♥

Yeast Breads/Rolls Cooking Class Night 1

2011-11-02T14:15:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Andrew saw an ad in the Nickel Ads for a 2 week, 4 night cooking class at the UBATC in Roosevelt. The first 2 nights in the first week the class would be taught how to make yeast breads/rolls and the second 2 nights in the second week the class would be taught how to make Thanksgiving pies. He thought that Savannah and I would have fun taking them so he called me to tell me about it. I mentioned it to Savannah and we enrolled last week.

Last night was the first night of our yeast breads/rolls class and I was pretty excited! Savannah and I reminded each other to bring our aprons and though we were the only ones in the class who had aprons, we were glad we brought them because flour was flying. ;)

First we learned how to make bread and while our bread was rising, one of our instructors made some roll dough and we practiced pinching off the perfect-sized dinner roll.

We got to sample both the bread and rolls as they were coming out of the oven and we also got to take home 2 loaves of bread and some rolls to share with our families. Andrew was cutting a slice of bread and had one roll eaten almost as soon as I walked in the door! I do love that he absolutely devours anything I make. ;)

Stay tuned for the second night of yeast breads/rolls class. It's tonight and we're making cinnamon rolls and refrigerator dough!

♥

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T13:10:00.000-06:00

We had a fun Halloween night watching our favorite Monday night shows and their special Halloween episodes and eating Subway sandwiches that Andrew brought home after work.

We also had about 11 trick-or-treaters this year, which I was excited about since we didn't get any last year. :)

Happy Halloween!

♥

Halloween Party

2011-11-02T12:36:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we were invited to a Halloween party at Savannah's house. :D I was an 80's girl and Andrew was a 90's guy or more specifically Kurt Cobain from Nirvana. It was kind of funny re-buying all the accessories I used to own in the late 80's and early 90's for my costume. ;) Too bad I hadn't just kept everything I used to have!

Andrew, as always, was a hoot in his wig even pretending to smoke a fake cigarette to make his costume even more realistic. ;)

We had a great time playing some Halloween games and eating a Halloween-themed dinner. We had Cidar Cheese Fondue, Cheese Filled Eyeballs, Creepy Crawly Bugs, Frankenstein Jello Salad, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, The Great Pumpkin Brownie and Gummy Worm Punch among other things. I was asked to bring a veggie tray that included Ham Roll-Ups (a Haslem family treat ;)) and also this candy corn-inspired veggie tray from Pinterest to go along with the fondue.

Cute, right? :)

Being together with our friends all dressed up for Halloween made for a great evening!

♥

Halloween Pumpkins

2011-10-31T10:55:00.007-06:00

Last Thursday Andrew and I had a free night and decided that we should get our pumpkins carved for Halloween! Earlier in the week I saw an idea on Williams Sonoma's facebook wall for a pumpkin carved like a pineapple and I feel in love so that is what I decided to carve on my pumpkin this year. Andrew had a tough time deciding what to do on his, but in the end he carved the Toyota emblem on his pumpkin. :)

I love the way they turned out. Can't wait to get them lit on our porch tonight!

♥

Taste of Home Cooking School

2011-10-26T11:08:00.014-06:00

A few weeks ago at book club, Savannah asked us all if we wanted to go to the Taste of Home Cooking School together. I'm always up for a girls night so I said I would love to go. :)

Tickets for the show were on sale at a local grocery store and you could save $3 if you bought them there instead of at the door the night of the show so a few days after book club I was on my way to buy my ticket when Andrew called me and said that Nielsen's, the furniture store that he works for, was going to be a sponsor of the show and that he had 2 free tickets! I kept one ticket for myself and offered the other ticket to Savannah since going to the show was her idea ;) and last night we headed to Vernal to check it out.

We met up with our other friend Randi there and had a good time watching the cooking demonstrations and chatting with each other. Everyone got a goodie bag as they went in to the show and there were many other prizes that they drew for throughout the show, but unfortunately, I only came away with just my goodie bag at the end of the night. :( It was still a fun night hanging out with the girls though!

The Nielsen's booth showcasing some of their beautiful stainless steel KitchenAid appliances.
Can you tell I'm drooling? ;)

The Nielsen's banner on stage along with more appliances from Nielsen's that were actually being used for the cooking demonstration.

Our cooking instructor.

♥

Baby Blessing Cupcakes

2011-10-24T13:34:00.009-06:00

When my sister called to invite Andrew and I to my nephew Will's baby blessing, I asked what I could bring for the dinner she and her husband were having for the family afterward. When she asked if I could bring a dessert, I offered to bring cupcakes and the idea just kind of spiraled from there with she and I picking out some cute cupcake baking cups and some adorable baby-themed picks. I had so much fun making them for her and I think they turned out so cute!

Three dozen cupcakes boxed up and ready to go. ;)

Jade helped me put all the picks into the cupcakes right before we served them on my new cupcake stand. :)

It was also my SIL Misty's birthday on Sunday so my mom called and asked me to bring a special birthday cupcake just for her. I thought that was such a thoughtful idea so I came up with a last minute birthday cupcake idea using what I had in my cupboard. ;) Happy Birthday, Misty!

♥

Bountiful Basket Fall Pack

2011-10-17T09:23:00.004-06:00

I haven't ordered a Bountiful Basket in a while, but I still get their emails every week and I like to look and see what kind of add-ons they have. For the past few weeks, they have been offering a Fall Pack that included 3 pumpkins (2 small and 1 medium), 5 gourds and 7 Indian corn (5 mini and 2 large) for $15. I thought it would be a really fun fall decoration so I asked my friend Randi, who is a site coordinator, to order it for me. She did and I picked it up from her yesterday. I came straight home to get it displayed and I am especially loving the mini Indian corn. ;) So cute!

♥

Belated Birthday Present

2011-10-14T09:46:00.003-06:00

When I went to pick Kim up for book club last night, she handed me this very cutely wrapped gift and said it was a belated birthday present. She apologized since my birthday was in August, but secretly I'm glad she waited because I absolutely love what she made for me! Thank you again, Kim. I love it!

♥

October Book Club

2011-10-14T09:37:00.002-06:00

Last night we got together again for book club. Tina chose this month's book, "The Blog" by Carolyn Adams-Hanchett.

Investigative journalism student, Abigail Houston, knew taking a stand meant taking risks. What she didn’t know, was the liberal agenda imposed by her university was part of something sinister...something that threatened the very soul of America, as well as her very existence. Elijah Morningstar knew he was in love with Abigail Houston; he also know standing with her could jeopardize his political career. What he didn't know was that she would disintegrate his entire belief system.

Tina fed us dinner and we had a great time discussing the book and just talking and laughing about anything and everything. :) I love these girls and can't wait until next month!

♥

Halloween Kits

2011-10-13T10:16:00.000-06:00

New Halloween kits I put together Tuesday night from The Idea Closet. :)

♥

Homemade Raspberry Jam

2011-10-12T20:47:00.000-06:00

The same night we harvested all of our mini pumpkins, we also picked enough raspberries from our garden to make 2 half-pints of homemade raspberry jam. This was the first time I had ever made jam on my own, but I found the pectin at the store in this perfectly-sized portion and got to work. It was actually really easy and Andrew has absolutely loved the jam! I caught him eating it right out of the jar with a spoon. :D Guess it must be good!

All the raspberries that were left after the jam was made. ;)

♥

Bluebell Corn Maze 2011

2011-10-12T20:31:00.000-06:00

The corn maze is something I look forward to every year and this year we got to go with Josh and Savannah. We had to buy our traditional glow sticks and hot chocolates before we headed in and we made it through the first side of the maze pretty quickly, but the second side we got rather lost in! I guess that's the point, right?! We had a great time with them though and I especially love enjoying all the fun that fall brings!

Andrew being the "guide". ;) I would never make it through the maze without him!

On the bridge overlooking the corn.

♥

Mini Pumpkin Harvest

2011-10-07T10:14:00.005-06:00

We've been having rainy weather in my neck of the woods for the past few days, but yesterday afternoon it cleared up and I knew our first freeze of the season was coming soon so last night Andrew helped me pick all my mini pumpkins from the garden. I got 28 in all, which is awesome! I've only ever had 5 at the most. :D

Can't wait to get them displayed all around my house inside and out!

♥

October Swap Group

2011-10-05T11:01:00.008-06:00

This month it was my turn to host the swap group at my house! The project I chose for the group to make was a Fall Burlap Bunting. I made mine beforehand so I could help everyone else make theirs and also because I love to decorate for the fall and I wanted to be able to have mine done to display as long as possible. ;) I think everyone had a good time making theirs and hopefully they will love theirs just as much as I love mine!

I also love to entertain so I had made some fun treats for us to snack on while we crafted. :)

I had never thought about dipping raspberries in chocolate this way. Learned that little tidbit on Pinterest! ;)

Found this fun idea in one of the cupcake books Savannah gave me for my birthday! Aren't they cute? :)

♥

Monogram Jute-Wrapped Letter

2011-09-26T14:03:00.019-06:00

Recently I was introduced to a new website called Pinteres t and I am in love! I have found so many ideas from cooking to crafting and everywhere in between. I have tried many new recipes and yesterday, I tried my first Pinterest craft.

Now the picture of this project on Pinterest was just that - a picture, so knowing myself and how I like step-by-step instructions ;), I googled twine-wrapped letters and many how-to tutorials came up. Basically you buy the letter you want to wrap, I got mine at Roberts Crafts, and start wrapping!

The tutorials I saw used a cardboard letter, but I didn't want one that big so mine is wood that's painted white. Either way it works! I started by wrapping the jute horizontally across the entire letter securing with hot glue on the front and back each time I wrapped it around.

Once that was done, I started wrapping the jute vertically - again securing with hot glue on the front and back each time I wrapped it around.

Ta-da! There you have it. It did take a couple hours however, so it was a good Sunday project. ;)

To finish the letter, some of the tutorials I saw added ribbon and made it into a door hanger. I decided to google felt rosettes and learn how to make those. Again, several tutorials came up, but they were all basically the same and this is what I ended up with. Cute, huh?! I even used my favorite damask felt. Love it!

♥

Rascal Flatts Concert

2011-09-15T14:28:00.010-06:00

Several months ago, Savannah and I bought tickets to see Rascal Flatts and last Friday the day of concert was finally here. :D We were both so excited!

We left early in the afternoon and treated ourselves to a little mani/pedi. We also had dinner at the Olive Garden, which is our favorite restaurant. After that we headed to check in to our hotel before driving down to USANA Amphitheater where the concert was being held. This was my first concert at USANA and I loved this outdoor venue. The night was perfect!

First on the stage was Justin Moore. I had never heard any of his songs, but next on stage was Sara Evans and I had definitely heard of her! She was really fun and I realized how many of her songs I really like.

Finally it was time for who we had really come to see...Rascal Flatts!

Singing Dancing On The Ceiling with Lionel Richie.

They were so amazing and even better than the last time I saw them due to the amazing venue! It was a great show and I saw it with a great friend. :) Savannah and I had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.

My Wish

Easy (1st part)

Easy (2nd part with Sara Evans)

Easy (3rd part with Sara Evans)

Take Me There (1st part)

Take Me There (2nd part)

What Hurts The Most

I Won't Let Go (1st part)

I Won't Let Go (2nd part)

♥

September Swap Group

2011-09-13T12:25:00.020-06:00

Savannah took charge this month and came up with this darling idea...No-Sew Fabric Pumpkins. You can find the tutorial here. They are made using toilet paper, newspaper, fabric, a stick and whatever kind of leaves or bows you want. I made bows using raffia and jute and for the Halloween one, I used coffee-stained cheesecloth because I thought it made it look spookier! ;)

Some of us crafting away and concentrating hard!

Savannah also made us a pumpkin-themed dessert menu. We had Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, Frosted Pumpkin Cranberry Bars, Wiggly Pumpkins and Lemon Cider. It was all so good!

Last month at swap I won the giveaway so it was my turn to bring the giveaway for this month. I actually forgot to take a picture beforehand, but luckily Savannah had taken one of what I brought when I was at her house and saved me! I cross-stitched the little Home Is Best tuck and put it in a cute little holder I found along with a little prim shelf-sitter and a few putka pods. My giveaway went to Katie and I hope she enjoys it!

Next month I'm in charge so stay tuned!

♥

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-13T12:13:00.007-06:00

This year we invited Josh and Savannah to go to Swiss Days with us. They had never been and we thought it would be fun to have another couple to go with. I don't think the boys enjoyed it as much as Savannah and I did, but we did find some cute things! I ended up with some cute damask wrapping paper, a final seasonal outlet cover to complete my collection and a set of 3 apothecary jars. :)

After we left Swiss Days, we went to our hotel and spent a few hours in the pool and hot tubs just relaxing and then headed to a fun dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I have missed having nice restaurants to go out to with friends!

The next morning we tried out The Hub in Heber for breakfast before Andrew and I headed down to Provo to meet my new nephew Will! We spent the rest of the day with my sister and her family before heading home.

It was a great Labor Day weekend!

♥

September Book Club

2011-09-02T10:10:00.007-06:00

Last night we got together again for book club. Savannah chose this month's book, "Marley & Me" by John Grogan.

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wriggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, and stole women's undergarments. Obedience school did no good — Marley was expelled.

And yet his heart was pure. Just as Marley joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. A dog like no other, Marley remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

Savannah fed us a delicious dinner of Chunky Potato Chowder and Parmesan Rolls with Festive Cranberry Drink and for dessert we had German Chocolate Bars. Since this book has been made into a movie we decided to watch it as part of book club last night with Goblin's Orange Popcorn, which Savannah dyed purple instead. ;) Until next month!

♥

My New Nephew ~ William Wesley Smith ~

2011-09-01T11:53:00.000-06:00

William Wesley Smith
Born: August 31, 2011
Time: 3:06 p.m.
Weight: 8 lbs 5 oz
Length: 21 in

My new nephew arrived Wednesday afternoon and I was so excited!

Will with Lincoln and Kinley.

So I'm an aunt...again! Congratulations Dale and Leisa. I love you both and my new nephew Will!

Being an aunt is so much fun! I have 2 nephews and 4 nieces now and I love them all so much.

♥

Earrings from Apple Country Crafts

2011-08-30T10:38:00.007-06:00

Back in April I made a comment on facebook to win 5 pairs of earrings from one of my favorite stores to visit when I'm in Price...Apple Country Crafts.

Well I won!

I was so excited, but over the last few months I just haven't been able to connect up with the owner and good friend to my sister, Kari Richardson, to choose and have her create some cute earrings for me. This past Saturday, however, I was finally able to and I can't tell you how much I LOVE my new earrings!

If you're wondering what these are...Yep, that's right! Pineapples!
I told Kari that I thought the bottom bead looked like a pineapple so she can up with the top and I think they're perfect pineapples!

Thanks so much Apple Country Crafts and Kari! I've worn a pair every day since. :) Thank you too Heidi for helping choose the beads for such cute earrings!

Also while we were there, my sister Heidi and I saw these things called phone bling. I decided to couldn't leave without a pineapple one for my phone and my sister Heidi got a cute one with a flower bead and a pretty blue bead on either side of the flower for her phone. :) It's so fun when I get to shop with my sisters.

♥

Uncle Sam Blocks

2011-08-30T10:09:00.003-06:00

At the end of June I posted about the Freedom Subway Art I had just put together from the Idea Closet. Along with the Freedom Subway Art, the Idea Closet had a couple other Freedom Kits to choose from, but I had decided to behave myself and only order the 1 kit. ;) As our group of girls were putting together the Freedom Kits that night in June, I was watching Savannah do her Uncle Sam Blocks and I fell in love so I emailed Tracy and ordered one for me after all. I put it together last week and even though I won't get to display it until next year, I love it and had to share!

♥

August Swap Group

2011-08-24T10:59:00.000-06:00

Sarah took charge this month and taught us how to make picture frames out of pieces of trim. They were more time consuming then we planned though so we only had time to cut our pieces of trim to the lengths we needed and router out an edge for the picture to sit inside the frame once it was complete. Still it was great fun visiting with everyone outside in the cool summer air. :)

After we were done using the saws, we went back to Sarah's house where she fed us a yummy dessert and I won the giveaway put together by Savannah!

Later that week, Andrew helped me put my frame together using brackets and some really short screws. :)

I still have to either paint or stain my frame and then I'm going to get some beadboard to put in the center. I'm hoping it will turn out to be a really cute decoration for my house with a small wreath hanging on it. :D

♥

My Birthday!

2011-08-23T15:50:00.000-06:00

I previously posted about my Birthday Flowers from Andrew, but this past weekend he and I were finally able to take a trip to SLC for my birthday! Andrew let me choose where I wanted to eat and Saturday night he also took me to a movie of my choice. To spoil me even more, the next day we went to the Coach store in Park City and I got to choose a new bag! I love it!!

I have also been wanting to post this picture of what Savannah gave me for my birthday!

They are the funnest cupcake books with so many cute ideas and recipes. I've already chosen some pumpkin cupcakes that I want to make this fall! Thanks so much, Savannah. Love you!

♥

Mardi Gras Murder Mystery Dinner

2011-08-23T15:30:00.000-06:00

Last Friday we were invited to a Mardi Gras murder mystery dinner at our friend's Todd and Randi's house. I was pretty excited to go because I had never been to one before. :D

How it works is each person invited is assigned a character in their invitation. Andrew was Bourbon DuPre: A jazz musician from the French Quarter and I was Elise St. Gresch: The young and attractive live-in maid at DuPre Chateau. The invitation then gave suggestions for costumes. Andrew's suggestions were a tuxedo or simply slacks and a flashy button-down shirt. His also suggested wearing an outrageous Mardi Gras costume with gold, green and purple and to bring a trumpet or a saxophone. My costume suggestions were a French maid costume or a little black dress with a white apron. It also suggested I bring a feather duster.

The invitation also suggested everyone feel free to wear a Mardi Gras mask as well!

I had fun putting our costumes together. I bought my Mardi Gras mask on a stick online and we got Andrew's at Zurchers. We found Mardi Gras beads at both Savers and Zurchers. We got Andrew's jazz hat at Zurchers and I stuck a couple king playing cards in the brim. We found Andrew's horn at DI with an old silk flower decoration hot glued to it that I just pulled off. I wore a "little black dress" apron and put a white apron over it just around my waist. I also put my Swiffer duster in my apron pocket. ;)

Todd, Randi, Savannah, Josh, Andrew, Me, Kim and Brandon.

After we all had arrived, we were quite the group!

We were all invited to sit around the dinner table and the meal took place around the story while we were trying to figure out who the murderer was. We each had a booklet with our part and Andrew was quite the comedian (I should expect this by now...) improvising on his part. Everyone was loving him! We also ate food that you would expect to eat in New Orleans such as gumbo and beignets for dessert. YUM!

We always have so much fun with this group of friends. Andrew and I are now talking about buying a murder mystery game ourselves and having a Lethal Luau Murder Mystery Dinner.

♥

BYU Football - Meet the Players 2011

2011-08-23T15:08:00.000-06:00

Last week Andrew asked me if I wanted to go to Provo with him and meet the BYU football players for this season at an event being hosted for them. I agreed because I always love going to the city so last Tuesday we got off work around lunch time and headed to Provo. We stopped in Orem to do an errand for me and we went to both Fanzz stores in Orem and Provo to get a special autograph football for Andrew and a second smaller football for Andrew's dad.

We arrived at the event about 20 minutes before it was supposed to start and the line waiting to get in was already long! I let Andrew out to get in line while I went to park the car and then I walked back to stand with him. They opened the gates at about 6:10 pm and everyone rushed onto the practice field. They had white tents set up all over the perimeter of the field with players underneath. We stood in line at 2 different tent areas and then I told Andrew that before he got anymore autographs on his football that he should get Jake Heaps', BYU's quarterback and the autograph he had really come to get. ;)

McKay Jacobson signing Andrew's football. :)

We got in line for Jake Heaps and I told Andrew that I was confused. I didn't understand where Jake Heaps' tent was from where we were standing. Andrew pointed at a tent...the entire length of the field ahead! Since I could tell it was going to be a long wait, I told Andrew to go ahead and go to some other tents and get more autographs on some posters he got at the event. He checked in with me every now and again to show me his new autographs and after 2 HOURS of me waiting in line, Andrew had been to every tent and gotten every autograph except Jake Heaps!

By then I was really close to the front of the line so Andrew came and stood with me for the last few minutes and we got Jake's autograph on both footballs for Andrew and his dad and a quick picture.

The event was supposed to end at 8:30 pm and that was right when we were finally getting to Jake for an autograph and picture so I'm not sure what happened to all the people in line behind us because the line was still the entire length of the field!

As we were leaving the field, Andrew randomly spotted Chad Lewis, a former BYU player who played in the NFL and whom Andrew has met before, so he quickly ran up to him for an autograph as well. That was a fun surprise!

Even though we were there at lot longer than I expected, Andrew still took me to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Hermanos, for dinner before we headed home. It was a fun evening! I also enjoy being with and supporting Andrew...especially when it's something he loves as much as BYU Football. :)

♥

Birthday Flowers

2011-08-08T11:04:00.007-06:00

Andrew brought home flowers for me on Friday for my birthday. ♥ His flower creativity never disappoints either...this time the flowers are in this cute primitive sleigh with a star on each side. He also knows that my favorite color is purple so I absolutely love this arrangement!

He also gave me an iTunes gift card, but we decided to actually celebrate my birthday in a couple weekends with a trip to SLC and one of my favorite kitchen stores after our summer dutch oven activities fizzle out. Can't wait!

I was also spoiled with many facebook messages, texts, phone calls and visits from family and friends yesterday. I felt very loved. :)

As a side note...wait until you see what my mom gave me for my birthday! She hit it out of the park with this gift and it's something I get to put together myself so watch for more pictures to come!

♥

Summer Kits

2011-08-04T10:42:00.005-06:00

New summer kits I put together from The Idea Closet. Love the bright orange, pink and yellow. :) So summer!

♥

Flag Cupcakes

2011-07-26T13:44:00.004-06:00

Andrew's parents invited us over for a BBQ last night to celebrate the 24th of July and asked us to bring Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade and a dessert so I quickly googled flag desserts and it pulled these up. They were too cute to pass up so I ran to the store for pull 'n' peel licorice and got to work!

They were so easy and fun to assemble. I just frosted some white cupcakes, added the different lengths of pull 'n' peel and used the Wilton No. 5 Round Decorating Tip to make the blue dots. Yummy!

♥

Bountiful Basket - July 23, 2011

2011-07-26T11:25:00.015-06:00

I tried a new Bountiful Basket site again and went to Myton. One of my friends is the site coordinator at this site so I've been wanting to check it out! On Saturday I picked up my basket. Here's the list of this week's bounty:

1 head romaine lettuce
1 head celery
12 yams
1 cantaloupe
1 pint strawberries
1/2 pint baby heirloom tomatoes
1 English cucumber
3 mangoes
5 peaches
5 plums
7 bananas
string beans

I also got the tortilla add-on again. For an extra $10, I got 7 dozen tortillas consisting of 3 dozen 13 inch flour tortillas, 2 dozen 6 inch flour tortillas and 2 dozen 6 inch corn tortillas. I split the tortilla pack with Savannah so we each got plenty of tortillas for a really good price and they freeze really well too.

♥

The Crazy Quilt Club

2011-07-22T13:20:00.012-06:00

My SIL Kim was in a play called The Crazy Quilt Club last night so my best friend Savannah and I met up after work to go watch her performance. Though we didn't know until the end, the character Kim played, Lydia Thorndike, was one of the main characters and the murderer(!) and she did such a great job! I had no idea she was such a crazy good actress. ;)

The night started out with a pre-show involving some of my swap group friends!

Katie and Naomi are the 2 in the middle side-by-side.

Laura

Naomi again in the middle.

Now for some pictures of Kim's performance.

The set on stage.

Kim's first appearance as Lydia!

Lydia thinks she's dying every Thursday.
Since they performed the play on a Thursday, I thought that was a cute hidden joke.

Check out the awesome old lady handbag Kim (Lydia) has!

The curtain that went up for scene changes.
Very creative for an outdoor venue in my opinion. :)

Lydia sneaking though with a knife raised in her hand for "protection"...little did we know!

Tricking Lydia to make her blow her cover!

The whole cast with the director.

Great job, Kim! It was a really fun night. :)

♥

July Swap Group

2011-07-13T15:38:00.010-06:00

Our swap group started up again this month. :)

We finished swapping tucks in April and then we took a couple months off, but we're back and now I guess you could say what we're swapping is ideas!

Lewaina took charge this month and came up with this darling idea. We made star ornies and coffee-stained them, but the new things we learned were how to print on fabric and how to use cattails as stuffing. Andrew helped me gather cattails the day before swap night and I was impressed with how soft they were and what great stuffing they made...though I had to watch out for hidden bugs...yuck!

Laura found these awesome old, rusty springs to display our stars in and with an added coffee-stained tie and rusted bell & safety pin, it was complete! Can't wait for next month!

♥

Anniversary Flowers

2011-07-11T16:16:00.008-06:00

Andrew told me over the weekend that he hadn't had a chance to get me anything for our anniversary. I told him that it was fine because we had an amazing anniversary weekend, but today he surprised me at work with flowers. :) He said he couldn't let our anniversary go by without getting me flowers. ♥ He's always so good to me and he comes up with the most creative bouquets. Yes, he designs them all himself. Who wouldn't want that kind of husband? :D

Andrew likes to get me reusable containers when he buys me flowers.
This one has the cutest chalkboard on the front and you can just see the lid to the container perched there in the back. ;)

♥

Anniversary Weekend

2011-07-11T10:26:00.007-06:00

On Saturday Andrew and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary! We decided to splurge and booked at room at the Anniversary Inn. We decided on the Venice room, because we're hoping to go on a cruise of Europe for our 15 year anniversary and possibly see Venice!

When we arrived at the Anniversary Inn, we were offered warm chocolate chip cookies while we checked in and then we filled out a card choosing what we wanted for breakfast the next morning and when we wanted it served.

We had chosen to have rose petals scattered throughout our suite when we arrived. The feeling I got when I saw the room was amazing!

We spent the afternoon/evening relaxing in our room enjoying the complimentary sparkling apple cider and cheesecake and Andrew also took me out to dinner.

The next morning our breakfast arrived and it was delicious!

We were sad to leave the next day, but we were able to see some of the other themed rooms as they were being cleaned. They have some really fun rooms!

We really enjoyed our experience at the Anniversary Inn. :) Maybe we can go back one day and try another room!

To my sweet husband, I want to say that the last 12 years have been amazing. We've been through our share of ups and downs, but they have only made us stronger. You are my best friend and I wouldn't want to go through this life with anyone else. I love you more than words can say.

♥

July Book Club

2011-07-08T09:39:00.009-06:00

Last night we got together again for book club. I chose this month's book, "The Ball's In Her Court" by Heather Justesen.

Growing up in the foster care system was no picnic, but after being adopted into a loving LDS family, playing college basketball, and launching her career in the software industry, Denise Dewalt finally feels as though she's left her former life behind her. What she doesn't realize is that she must confront her past if she ever wants to move on to a brighter future. While her search for her biological family isn't an easy one, Denise's biggest fear is that even when she finds her family, she'll have nothing to give Rich, the only man who can see past the tragedies of her childhood. This emotional and inspirational story proves that life is full of unexpected twists and turns especially when it comes to facing your demons, fighting for love, and finding happiness for the future.

Growing up in Fillmore, UT, the author, Heather, was one of my neighbors. She was a couple years older than me, but we were involved in the same activities with our church group. When I found out she was writing books now, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them! I emailed Heather through her website about how I could get a copy of her books and literally 2 days later an autographed and numbered copy of each of her books showed up on my doorstep! I dove right into them and they were the kind of books I could NOT put down. :)

Heather's second book, which is the sequel to "The Ball's In Her Court" is called "Rebound" and it is equally as fabulous.

Also, Heather just recently released a third book, "Blank Slate". I don't have a copy of this book yet, but I have read a few chapters on Heather's blog and now I'm going crazy with anticipation! I'm hoping to go to a book signing sometime this summer so I can buy the book and have her autograph it for me. :)

Since I chose this month's book for book club, I also got to be the hostess. I made chocolate dipped strawberries and raspberry cups using both milk and white chocolate. The raspberry cups were fun to make because I had never done them before and they were also delicious, if I do say so myself. ;)

♥

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-07T09:24:00.000-06:00

This year my mom's family planned a reunion for Fourth of July weekend at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. I'm not big on camping, but I wanted to go to see family I don't get to see very often. We left Saturday morning, but decided to detour through Logan because Andrew wanted to stop at Gossner Foods, which is the cheese plant they have there. He spent $35.00 on cheese and was in heaven. ;)

From Logan we headed north to Preston, ID so we could check out some Napoleon Dynamite spots.

Napoleon Dynamite is a movie that Andrew and I like. One of those "It's so dumb that it's funny." types of movies so seeing some sites from the movie was actually pretty fun!

We peeked behind a school to see where Napoleon played tether ball.

Picture from http://www.dynamitemap.com/.

We saw Preston High School.

Picture from http://www.dynamitemap.com/.

Our last stop was Napoleon's house. Driving to Napoleon's house, I sort of felt like I was trespassing because the house was down a dirt road off by itself, but then there it was. Kinda cool!

Picture from http://www.dynamitemap.com/.

Lava Hot Springs is only about 40 minutes from Preston and after a dusty trek up the mountain, we arrived at our campsite. We had fun visiting with everyone and the next morning we took a big group picture.

Sunday night we were back home and then we went up to Andrew's parents house for an hour or so and did fireworks with them.

Monday was spent relaxing. Andrew and I went to the fireworks stand in the afternoon because he was excited about Utah's new law allowing aerial fireworks and wanted to get some of his own. :) That night we did our own fireworks show and it was pretty cool. Standing in our backyard we could also see fireworks going off all around town.

Shots around town...

In our own backyard. :)

Happy 4th of July!

♥

Freedom Subway Art

2011-06-29T11:04:00.002-06:00

New 4th of July kit I put together yesterday from The Idea Closet. :)

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Leisa's Baby Shower Invitations

2011-06-29T10:46:00.009-06:00

My youngest sister Leisa and her husband Dale are having a baby in August! Personally, I am so excited to have another nephew! (I only have 1 nephew right now, but I have 4 nieces so this baby will help balance it out a bit.) ;)

Last week my mom called and asked me if I wanted to make Leisa's baby shower invitations. I ended up having a lot of fun designing them and putting them together. Since her husband flies airplanes, I went with an airplane theme.

Along with the invitations, Leisa had pictures printed of her with her belly ;) that we'll attach to the invitation with the curly paper clip.

I hope she loves them. :)

♥

Bountiful Basket - June 18, 2011

2011-06-20T15:47:00.013-06:00

I haven't gotten a Bountiful Basket in a while, but Andrew and I decided we wanted to get one last week. By the time I got online though, they were all sold out in Roosevelt so I ended up getting one in Lapoint. On Saturday I picked it up. Here's the list of this week's bounty:

2 heads celery
1 head romaine lettuce
1 bunch spinach
1 head cabbage
3 cucumbers
2 half-pints blackberries
6 bananas
1 pineapple
1 cantaloupe
5 tomatoes on the vine
5 apples
12 plums
16 small peppers

I also got an add-on of 5 loaves of honey whole wheat bread. I shared 2 of the loaves with Savannah and whatever we don't eat of the remaining 3 loaves will freeze really well. We opened one of the loaves yesterday and it sure is delicious!

♥

Let Freedom Ring Kit

2011-06-17T17:59:00.000-06:00

New 4th of July kit I put together this week from The Idea Closet. :)

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Kim's Violin Recital

2011-06-17T17:38:00.000-06:00

On Monday Savannah and I attended Kim's first violin recital. I really enjoyed listening to Kim play her violin. The first song she played was Auld Lang Syne, which is a favorite of mine. The second song she played was Amazing Grace and for her third song she played a duet of Nearer My God to Thee. She did such a great job!

I feel very blessed that I have such great friends that are also family and that we have the opportunity to support each other like this. :)

♥

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

2011-06-16T22:30:00.002-06:00

I love you more than words can say. :)

♥

Crown Birthday Cake

2011-06-13T14:24:00.011-06:00

Over Memorial Day weekend my brother and SIL asked me to make my niece Kinley's 2nd birthday cake. She was having a princess party, but not Disney princesses, she just likes dressing up and pretending to be a princess. :) Her invitations and party paper goods were pink crowns so I checked out Wilton's website and actually found a crown pan! I was so excited and my SIL loved the pan as well so I ordered it.

Last Thursday night I baked the cake so it would be cool for Friday when I would be decorating it.

On Friday I mixed up my buttercream, tinted it and got to work. I think the cake turned out so cute!

Saturday we drove out to SLC for the party. Kinley loved the cake and tried to dig right in before we had a chance to take any pictures, but we got some anyway. :)

Trying to show us she's two, but only her first finger would go up.

Now they're both up. ;)

Blowing out her candles.

So excited when she did it!

Enjoying her cake.

She got lots of dress up clothes.

A crown and earrings.

High Heels

Gloves

The whole princess!

With her baby doll. ;)

♥

Pampered Chef Party

2011-06-06T09:51:00.007-06:00

For about a month now, I have been planning a Pampered Chef party and the date finally arrived last Saturday. :) I enjoy being the hostess for parties of any kind, but this one was particularly fun because most of my favorite girls were there and we had a good time discussing kitchen tools and eating Strawberry Amaretto Pastries. Thanks, Ladies!

Now I just can't wait for all our fun tools to arrive!

Strawberry Amaretto Pastries

1/2 pkg. frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed (1 sheet)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1-1/2 cups whipped cream
12 large strawberries, sliced
orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Unfold pastry dough onto baking pan. Finely chop half of the almonds and combine with granulated sugar. Sprinkle evenly over surface of dough. Lightly press almond mixture into dough.

Cut dough lengthwise into three strips; cut strips crosswise into four strips for a total of 12 squares. Gently separate squares evenly over surface of pan. Bake 16-18 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from pan onto cooling rack.

Meanwhile, place remaining almonds into a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool.

Whisk sour cream, powdered sugar and almond extract in a medium bowl. Fold in whipped cream. Slice strawberries. Split open each pastry square. Top with about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling, sliced strawberries and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Zest orange over strawberries. Place tops of pastry shells over filling. Serve immediately.

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