You know it's summer when...

You know it's summer when....

1. You lay on a blanket in the grass and take pictures of you and your cute husband.

2. You take pictures of you and your cute husband in the mirror before you go out for dinner with friends.

3. You go to the zoo with your cute pregnant friend and her sweet, sweet, boy and he wants you to get on the lion with him. 

4. You have friends over on Sunday's and culinary experiment with yummy foods. 

5. You run your first race..and are signed up for 2 more before the summer ends! {What am I thinking!?}

6. You go on walks on a weekday because you get home from work before the sun is down! {Miracles, people.}

7. You go to the batting cages to prep to play on a city softball league.

8. You leave your weights by the mirror to do your daily arm sculpt to get ready to hit the beach in August. {Cruise in the works.}

9. You spend time with your baby sister and get Sonic during happy hour. 

10. You can blog on a weekday. Whhaaa? 

Ice Cream Recipe

For our wedding, we got a ice cream maker. In fact, we got 2! We returned one and have yet to touch the other one until last weekend...

I was running errands and passed by a little piece of heaven called Reed's Dairy. (All you Idahoans know what I am talking about.) I was just going to grab a chocolate milk for Nephi and a scoop of ice cream for me (naughty, I know) but then I noticed they have "Ice Cream Milk". Whaaaa? I had to get it because Nephi recently commissioned me to use the ice cream maker--fine, if you make me!

It was delicious! I threw my ice cream bowl in the freezer for 1 day and then on Sunday we had friends over (had a Costa Vida type of dinner) and we took the bowl out, poured the milk in, and pressed "on" for 20 minutes and viola! Incredible ice cream.

My Mom (the best cook I know) makes fried ice cream and I had it when in AZ and have been craving it ever since! I made a modified version but I just wanted to share.

Easy Fried Ice Cream

2 Cups of Rice Krispie cereal 

2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons of butter

Melt the butter, then add the brown sugar and stir. Slowly add in the cereal and mix until it is evenly coated. Sprinkle on your ice cream and enjoy! 

We added some pecans, chocolate chips, and strawberries on the side (I basically grabbed whatever I had in our fridge that would go good with ice cream). Easy peezy! Here is a more detailed recipe if you are interested in taking more time. 

And EVENTful Weekend

This morning, we woke up at 7:45. 

We had quite the weekend. 

Thursday-Saturday we had an event for work. On Thursday we had a dinner at the company owner's home, Friday we had the leadership workshop, and Saturday we took a trip to Jackson, Wyoming. They all went so well! One of my favorite things about event planning is the intuition and adrenaline. My mind is usually more sharp and clear and if I planned well, I remember all the details. 

This event was more low key, compared to our convention, and I loved it. The weather was in our favor, we had plenty of food, and the people we happy. {Those are my criteria.}

Even though my feet killed on Friday....*note to self, don't wear heals for an event with a cement floor.* My heals would click the whole time as I ran around. I resorted to tippy-toeing in and out of the room and risked looking like a dummy. Oh well. 

Cute shoes, right? I got them for homecoming my sophomore year of high school and they still fit like a glove...unlike my dress. 

When I got home on Friday night, Nephi ran to work and I collapsed on the couch for a few hours wasting my time on Grey's Anatomy. (Thank you, Netflix). After a few episodes, I decided to give the place a once over knowing I wouldn't be able to clean on Saturday. Well, that turned into a deep clean/organize and me painting my nails in bed at 2 in the morning when Nephi got home from work. 

At least I got my closet done...I have too many shoes. I even gave away half of them before we moved. Oh man. 

Saturday I went to Jackson with the company. It was such a fun trip! I got a little car sick but other than that, it was very fun. I love the people we work with and enjoyed their company very much. 

We had Stake Conference Saturday night but I didn't get home until 7:30 and we had a hot date planned for 8:30 with the Henderson's...Second Chance Prom! 

For the past 13 years, this radio station has been hosting a Second Chance Prom. It was held at Nephi's old high school so we went with our good friends and had a blast! 

Nephi wore his bow tie and I curled my hair, put on lipstick and a floral maxi dress. That's as fancy as we got!

There was a wide age group and dress style present. From jeans to prom dresses, we saw it all. Old people dancing to the electric slide and young people getting a little too close to Ushers "Yeah". Don't worry, we recorded it. Vlog coming soon.

After the dance, Nephi and I went to Kohls. We LOVE shopping at Kohls late at night! No one is there and we get to take our time. I ended up getting decor for the bathroom and kitchen. Almost done with decorating the house! The house warming party will most likely be on June 2nd so if you are in town...COME!

Sunday morning we went to Stake Conference. Afterward, we came home and had brunch with Sheridan and then watched some Lost. Also, I suddenly got this urge to craft so I completed a few projects in a short amount of time...score! Crafting is appealing to me but I hate that it takes so long, so when I can get a project done quickly, it's right up my alley.

I bought these cute cloth napkins at Kohls and I really wanted to get napkin holders but I didn't see any I loved so I made these! Literally conceptualized and created them in 20 minutes or less. SO easy!

Cute huh? I bought burlap ribbon to cover a "G" that broken in half (which I did yesterday too) and used the leftovers to do this. I found my bag of spare buttons and used 4 of them to sew on the button. I just cut a slit and then slide it through to make it go together. Like I said, so so easy. I worry that the burlap may tare over time but it's fine because my financial and time investment was so small. I really like them! More pictures to come of the table settings...

I also started this project. This cutting board started growing mold because it wasn't dry enough when I put it under the sink a few months ago. I felt weird just throwing away a big chunk of wood so I thought I would make it work.

I stained it (2 coats), modpodged scrapbook paper in the middle section, put a vinyl "G" in the middle and then added a coat of that protective stuff (I forgot what it is called). It's currently drying but I will post pictures later.

It was so easy and again, conceptualized it very quickly. I have never seen anything like it but it just came to me a few months ago and I finally got it done.

Our night ended with a yummy dinner with the Henderson's. I used the left over bison prime rib, funeral potatoes, and rolls to make dinner. (Another reason I love event planning--I always get the leftovers from catering). I made mini-prime rib sandwiches. They were really good and I am glad that I was able to but it to good use!

For desert Sarah made yummy lemon bars and I made strawberry shortcake using this biscuit recipe. I  used Activia yogurt. It still turned out but had an interesting texture...you should still try it. You may like it and it was SO easy!

We LOVE having the Henderson's over! We literally live parallel lives and laugh a ton together. They have become some of our greatest friends.

Sunday night we set goals for the week, read scriptures, and went to bed. This morning we planned on going to the gym...yep, didn't happen. Dang goal setting at midnight made us sleep in. Tomorrow will be the day!

Here's to a great week!

Panini's

For our wedding we got a panini maker from a family friend. It's like a legit, fancy, panini maker--not just a sandwich maker. This family loves to make them so they passed the joy onto us and now we LOVE them!

I have only made them a few times but if it was my choice, I would make them every week. They are pretty time consuming if you home make everything but totally worth it in the end. They are great for any season--winter or summer--and can even be "healthy" if you want to. (We totally didn't make ours healthy. My bad.)

Yesterday we had Nephi's parents and his brother and sister-in-law over for lunch. Since it was going to be right after church, I made everything in the morning before church and I was so glad I did. Lunch was great so I thought I would post the recipe so you all can partake of the goodness.

Panini Recipe 


Bread: You can buy or make the bread. I make homemade foccacia bread. It's my mom's AMAZING recipe. I have got to give all the credit to her. Trust me, it's not that hard and totally worth the calories.

1 batch will fill a cookie sheet. It's hard to spread but I use "Turkey Flour" from Lehi Mills and it makes it 10x easier to roll out. Obviously it's not going to be feasible for you all to get Turkey Flour but if you are in Utah, take a trip to Lehi Mills and get some!! So, so, so, great to make bread with.

I made two batches yesterday and I topped one with garlic butter and italian seasonings and the other with a parmesan, asiago, mozzarella cheese mixture. Both were great but I am biased towards the garlic butter one.

After they cooled, I cut them into even slices. Each pan had 6 servings. I only had one for lunch, and then I ate one later for dinner. They are SO filling!

Filling:

You can put anything in a panini. They can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert! I plan to experiment more but here is what we usually put in ours:

• Pesto 
• Brei Cheese
• Ham, Turkey, or Chicken
• Onions
• Spinach
• Avocado 
• Strawberries
• Banana Peppers

Here is what they turn out to look like:

Angie made the dessert pizzas--YUM! They are also very addicting. 

Let me know if you have any questions or if you try out the recipe! 

Good Finds & Good Times

We had another great weekend and got to go to church for the first time in like a month. Maybe we shouldn't be admitting...But it feels like we haven't been in forever! With all the traveling, moving, general conference, etc, we have missed a few weeks...

We LOVE our new ward! We like right next door so we just walked on over at 11 am.

--> 10 points for the PERFECT time for church. <-- 

Anyway. We snuck in the back. It's a small ward with LOTS of kids. No exaggeration. Have you ever been in AZ at night and you hear the buzzing of bugs? You can hear them constantly but they aren't your main focus. That is what church reminded me of. A constant buzz of children. They were everywhere.  

There was this little boy (Blake, 7 mo.) in front of us. He starting flirting with me and then Nephi made him laugh and by the time the closing prayer came around, he was squealing at us! Such a sweet temperament. His parents were pretty great too and his Dad took us to Sunday school. Turns out they live right behind us and we share a backyard with them--I secretly whispered 'yesssss' knowing Blake would be within arms length. (Literally. Our yard is tiny.)

Before Sunday school ended, I got to hold Blake. He is kind of a snuggler and wanted to be held like a baby. I loved it! We already volunteered to babysit :) 

Anyway--Great weekend. The pics say it all!

Tried to go to the temple, forgot my recommend, realized I lot my recommend, so we went to Deseret Book. Being there is so nostalgic. I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I interned with DB! Time flies...but I got this CTR ring. This purple is my favorite color right now. In fact, I am designing a whole bathroom with this color because I love it so much.

Went to D.I after and got some great finds! Since our place is a lot bigger and the master bedroom especially is bigger, I knew we needed new lamps. The lamps we have are fine--just too small for our new high ceilings. My goal was to find 2 that had a clear base and ta daaaa--here it is! $5 a piece! So I got them and then got 2 lamp shades at Target. I just need to get some fabric to cover them. I am intimidated like crazy to do a craft so complex--but I am excited to accomplish it. 

Another score! My mom gave me these dishes and they are setting the tone for my new kitchen. They have a bunch of colors so I can really go any direction. I really do like the bright green for the kitchen but I am falling in one with purple so I had to get the $3 vase! 

On Friday my good friend Caitlin came over. She was one of my roommates from my very first semester! I haven't seen her since like 2007 but we have remained great friends. She just came back up to school this semester after transferring back and forth and I couldn't be happier! I made us this yummy wedge salad on Friday, she helped me unpack and organize, we went to get some frozen yogurt, shopped, and then saw The Lucky One. {Eh, it was okay}

She ended up sleeping over and then coming to see the Hunger Games with me and my friend Abbie on Saturday!
Yup--Hunger Games round 3. Third times the charm--I loved it.

So I just love Caitlin. I am so glad she lives here now and we plan on hanging out on Friday nights while Nephi works. 

Saturday night Nephi and I shopped--a lot. It's been since Christmas shopping...well, maybe longer, that we have shopped like this. It was SO fun! We just bought a ton of stuff for our new place--great deals. I only need a few more things to complete my list! We budgeted to spend our deposit from our last place on our new place and it's working out! Gotta love those good finds. 

Sunday after church we napped--for 3 hours. It was unexpected but suddenly I just woke up and it was 5?! So I snapped this photo because Nephi looked so content. Haha.  

Sunday dinner. YUM! "OMG" Chicken (used sour cream instead of mayo and added green onions), Asiago AuGratin, and biscuits. I was shocked but it only took about an hour to prepare and cook it all. It took longer to eat unfortunately. The relief society presidency came and visited with me and I ended up burning my second batch of biscuits :( Does anyone else count the worth of your burnt food? I do. It's dumb. I burnt like $3 worth of food---who cares, right? I do. I beat myself up pretty bad but Nephi always makes me feel better. I just HATE throwing food away. 

Okay--we have bikes. Someone left them at our place and so when we moved, we took them! We think it was the couple that lived there before us but no one claimed them for a while so we felt good. Here is my bike. Nephi pumped up the tires and lowered the seat for me. I need a new seat cover and to wash it down but other than that, it rides great! Nephi's has a dent in the back tire so it's a little crooked and needs more work but they are fun! We went on a bike ride around our neighborhood and it was bliss! So excited for summer. 

And, 2 of my purchases. I debated revealing these before the place was finished but I just love them. The "poppy" pillow is from Ross ($9) and the bee pillow is from Target "($7). Such great finds and they fit the couch perfectly! I felt like it pulled in part of the room that was missing. I can't wait to finish it off!

So, that's it! This week we don't have any major plans--Just work and school. The usual. Can't wait for the weekend to dive into some more DIY projects. I think we made the right decision to move and it feels so good to know that.

A Good Weekend & A New Fast

We had a good weekend relaxing and spent some good quality time as planned. On Sunday we had Nephi's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin over for dinner and had a blast! We love them and the only reason I don't say she is my Aunt is because we are like best friends. I hang out with her a lot and I love it! She is the sweetest. Nephi has such a great family.

I made this for dinner and it turned out really good. Next time I would put half the amount of milk and no butter on top. It would cut the calories a little and it wouldn't be as soggy. Oh, and I also made these and they were delicious! We were in heaven. I was craving something lemony and I saw it on Pinterest so of course I caved! They taste even better than they look and they were way easy to make.

Why we are discussing food, I am on a fast. Well, not the kind of fast you would think--a different kind. Last night, Nephi told me I wasn't allowed to listen to talk radio--aka, Glen Beck, this week.

Why am I being restricted? 

Well, last week I barely slept and kept Nephi awake past midnight a few nights talking [passionately] about politics. I also told Nephi we needed to go out and buy 72 hour kits at like midnight AND I had a dream that I got killed by a terrorist that flew a plane into a harbor. Hmmm....

Moral of the story...I need to eliminate excess stress.

                                                                                 Source: simplystacie.net via Mallory on Pinterest

Here's to my "talk-radio-fast".

The weekend low-down

Our weekend...

Got to come home to this hunk with his new cutie shirt on. 

Made turkey burger sliders for dinner. Yum. Drank 2 diet Dr. Peppers and ate a sugar cookie from my new favorite boutique and didn't even feel guilty about it. 

Cuddled with no make-up and watched an action movie where I was so nervous that I made Nephi tell me if something scary was going to happen, every time. During commercials I would read Hunger Games.

Had the laziest day on Saturday by myself while Nephi was at work and I loved it. The combo of Hunger Games, diet Dr. Pepper and the popcorn chips was addicting and I want to do it constantly. 

Went to Snake Bite with good friends and helped them fall in love with this amazing concoction.  I usually get the snake river burger (amazing burger with green chilies and blue cheese) but I got the same thing but with chicken. I was in heaven. 

Sunday we had VT and HT after church and so by the time  we got home we were starving...I crock-potted (word?) a pork loin with rosemary and steak seasoning, made a yummy salad, mashed potatoes and popovers (see below). Nephi was in heaven. I had one serving of meat and ate all the rolls and he polished off the potatoes and meat. Seriously he at 3/4 of the pork loin. I was impressed. 

Have you ever made popovers? Easiest quick break you will ever make. They taste gourmet and I even added herbs in mine (basil and rosemary). 

Sunday night I read Hunger Games between commercials while watching The Best Two Years (seriously that movie inspired me to serve a mission), Nephi did homework and I folded laundry as well. It was an eventful evening as you can tell. 

And, I did my nails. It's kind of my new Sunday tradition. Not because I like variety but because apparently I am really hard on my hands and I can't make it a week with a layer of nail polish. I added the glitter to one nail for variety and I loved it! You just put clear polish on, pour on the glitter, blow or wipe the rest off carefully and then add another clear coat on top. I just got the glitter from Sally's for like $1 last year. I have done my toes a few times and I still have a whole bottle left (it's about 1 in in diameter and 3 inches tall). It goes so far and the glitter is easy to remove. In fact, it's so easy that by the time I got to work this morning and I didn't have any glitter on the nail above. At least the other hand had some, ha!

So, there is our weekend! A lot of food and time together and that always makes me happy. 

PS-I take a lot of pictures of food because I don't take pictures of myself or my outfits. (Someone gave me a hard time about that the other day and it's been on my mind so I thought I would just vent it out and clarify. Bah.) 

Also, Nephi and I were talking about how we have almost been married a year in April! It's crazy and has gone by so fast. I can't wait to celebrate. 

*Fact: I don't blog for my family because they don't really read this and I tell them everything. I don't blog for random people to show off our mad skills or amazing life. I blog to make this eventually into a literal journal. I will be getting it printed every year. In April, we will print "Volume One" and I can't wait!

Weekend Update

We had a great weekend. On Friday, we came home from school and work, made some homemade mac and cheese and then went to Battle of the Dance event on campus. It sold out! There were so many people there and the event went very well. I was really proud of the event managers. (PS-We've been able to go to events every weekend because of my role in our Student Activities program here on campus. The last 2 semesters I have been the director of the program and it's been a great experience.) Then we came home and watched a movie in bed and ate popcorn. 

On Saturday, Nephi went to work and went to campus and did homework (aka-Did homework that was due Tuesday, not Monday because it was easier. I hate when I do that.) Then Nephi came home and we made BBQ Chicken salad. Yum. We mocked the recipe that Wingers uses. We love it.  Then, we went to A BYU-Idaho Christmas concert. It was amazing. An hour and a half full of Christmas music by the BYU-Idaho orchestra and chorus and even special guest Brian Stokes Mitchell. I love going to Christmas events and parties and seeing everyone dressed up and fall and winter coats and colors. It's my favorite! 

When we got home, we got DQ mini blizzards and we played Wii. It was so much fun! For some reason I didn't realize that we had Mario Kart? We played for a while and laughed so hard. 

On Sunday we went to church, of course, and it was great. I made chilli when we got home for the first time and we loved it! I even made some cornbread muffins and made some honey-cinnamon butter. We were in heaven. We had friends over later and had dessert and played Wii again.

I have been bugging Nephi for a while to get new glasses that were thicker frames and he finally got them! When he opened the package, I laughed so hard! They are a greenish-blue color with a tortoise print on the side of them...Well, turns out he looks great and super trendy in them and I love it! It's so not Nephi but they work really well for him. Every few minutes I would say, 'turtle, turtle'. Haha,--A little annoying but so funny.

So, on black Friday we went to Kohls and spent $50 so we got $15 in Khols bucks. It expired yesterday so I told Nephi he had to spend it! I told him that he should just get whatever he wants because I didn't need anything in particular. So, he came home with cute slippers for himself and this for me...

SO random. A breast cancer awareness ribbon necklace?! I told Nephi a long time ago when were having a discussion about how we think we will die that I believe I will die from breast cancer. Also, I feel sensitive to breast cancer not because anyone I know very well has passed because of it but just because I am sensitive to it. Anyway, very random and kind of funny. I laughed a lot but it was very sweet. 

Tender Mercies:

• I'm graduating next week and I am freaking out about finals but I am taking 2 this week and 3 next week. Just found out today that instead of a multiple choice test in my writing class, we are just going to write a timed paper. Whew! Amazing. 
• No job lined up yet but I met with a friend last week for lunch and got a great lead on a job. (PS-I apply for about 3 jobs a week. People are ridiculous and job sites are crazy. I wish every HR worked like BYU-Idaho HR.) 
• Found out yesterday that I can still work with HR till the end of the month even though I will be graduated! One of the secretaries had a baby so she will be gone for a few more weeks and so they need extra help. 
• Just got a message from a friend in my ward that her families magazine is looking for free-lance writers and I will be interviewed! 

We are in need of any prayers to help us find a job for me. It's a scary time but we are looking forward with faith and hope.