Currently Craving

Man, if this weather doesn't change soon, I might never want to leave Utah...
Just checked the forecast and it's supposed to rain all weekend...phew! Except wait...I like rain.

But seriously, nothing makes me more happy than having my blinds open at my grey cubicle, and see the beautiful blue sky!! It also helps that I'm wearing a bright yellow sweater, a bright blue necklace, very bright orange lipstick, and probably too much bronzer. But I DON'T CARE! It feels awesome. And I'll probably go home and give myself a bright orange gel manicure!

Maybe start listening to the Pharell station on Pandora, and you'll hear all of the Despicable Me 2 songs from the soundtrack, mixed with JT, and it will just make you want to get on a beach cruiser in some 80's exercise clothes, and make a dance routine. Wait that's just me? Oh..

Also, awkward, I felt like I was going to go deaf in my left ear because I always have my headphone in that ear, so I did two. And I can hear the song too well, and forget I'm in a chair, and start dancing a little. Then, I didn't realize the guy came back in my office, and got caught snap chatting to Shelley-which always means huge kissy lips, or ugly faces. So, that was awesome!

A few things I'm craving on this beautiful day:
-Jergens natural glow lotion-gotta go home and rub that on quickly!
- I'm dying to make a picnic table for our backyard!
-Carlsbad with my family and friends. Enough said.
-Sodalicious, because people who don't like soda get addicted.
-This swimsuit....gotta think of a way to convince Tanner that this price is bearable! I loveee the boyleg.
-Cafe Rio, because when do I ever not crave it?
-Tulips!! My fav. And, it looks like we have some bulbs on our front planters...crossing my fingers they are indeed tulips! How beautiful would that be?
-This jumpsuit. They've been floating around the blog world lately, and this is my favorite I've seen. It looks so chic, yet, I'd love wearing pajamas everyday. Again, gotta convince the hubs..ha in my dreams.
-Any wedges. I got some at LC (Last Chance-trying to make it sound really elaborate and expensive) when we were home at Thanksgiving, and they're the perfect grey with a pop of neon, and I've been itching to wear them!
-Gap's new Spring line is KILLING me! Love it all. But this wash of chambray makes me think I need it.
-Some Montana lakes, or any lake in particular. I really would love laying on a boat right now...good thing we go to AZ in 2 weeks!!
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bites. My sister, Brooke has made these multiple times for me, and I've been wanting to mix them up lately! So delish.
-And, Cessy's, because obviously I'm craving Mexican food-no i'm not pregnant. If you visit C-bad, you have to go, its a rule.

Now listen to this song, and get in the mood for some 80's exercise/dancing. Hah! Why did I say that?

Weekend

This weekend was filled to the brim with fun. 

Friday night, the boys had their intramural basketball game, and it's always fun cheering with your best friends, for your significant others, who also are best friends. Nothin better, right? After the game, I was informed Tanner's friend was coming over to help him with his take-home test due at midnight. I figured that was fine, and that we would stay have a nice cooked dinner, and spend the night together. Little did I know that it would take the WHOLE night. I literally fell asleep on the opposite couch right in front of them, and when Tanner was done and woke me up, he asked if I wanted to go get a treat, and I actually said No. That's a first. Luckily I got a lot done that night-dishes, floors, laundry, bathroom, etc. It was a very productive night, I just wish it wasn't on my only night "off"! It's ok, because he made up for it by taking me to breakfast the next morning at Guru's. I've been wanting to make Saturday breakfast a weekly thing instead of going out once during the week for dinner. But alas, Tanner has his DAT prep every Saturday morning. So, I was very surprised to hear that it was cancelled, and that we were going out for breakfast! Our favorite thing. 

Don't mind the sweepy eyes. And, look how cute we are sitting next to each other at the table? Gag. I made him, because the hockey game was on and he would have had a perfect view. :)

Ok, that looks seriously sick, but it was absolutely delicious, and I actually wish I would've gotten this "man" breakfast. I call those man breakfasts, because they have meat, etc, and sometimes I feel like I should get something petite? Except mine was anything close to petite. And, we always share anyways! 

When we were dating, one day I woke up to an early breakfast. Literally, I think it was like 7am, and it was on my late day of school. After football, Tanner ran to Guru's and got me these delicious Banana Foster pancakes to have before class as a surprise. What. A. Sweetheart! 

It's a mound of 3 pancakes, with huge banana chunks, with drizzled caramel, and all that whipped cream! This was only our second time having breakfast at Guru's, so because I like to reminisce, I got those same pancakes! Guru's is seriously top notch, and one of our favorite places to eat...although we don't go there a ton. 

I can't wait to walk down Center Street for date night in the spring, and eat some Guru's for dinner. This beautiful weather is making UT a little easier to live in. I actually really love living in Provo, and it will make me extremely sad to have to leave our adorable house, in the Dixon historic neighborhood. sigh

I then met up with the gals to go WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING with Morg! The whole day was a blast, and I loved having a girls day! We walked around Gateway, and City Creek, got a few treats at Whole Foods, gaze at gorgeous dressed, and had lots of laughs. 

I had a huge top knot, so the hat looked a littleee silly. 

Then, I came home to my huzband, and we had fun chillaxin. And it's always fun when Morg and Mckay come join us!

Sunday was SO beautiful. We drove back from church with the windows down, and I wanted to take a nap outside! I know it's going to curse us all when we have a huge snow storm, but for right now, I'm going to enjoy being "hot" in my jean jacket! :)

**PS, check out this video, where I saw to make some "Un-sloppy Joes" for dinner on Friday. Because I was a little bugged to be deep cleaning the house, I wasn't in the mood to make anything too fancy. Tanner actually said this was one of his favorite meals ever? So...I guess I no longer need to take 2 hours to prepare dinner? I loved how quick and easy these were to make, when you're on the run, or just... in a bad mood. :)

Another Delicious Dinner

On Tuesday night I made a recipe I have been wanting to make for a while now. Baked Chicken Parmesan, mmmmm. The aroma that was in our house was seriously divine. I found the recipe here, and I will be going back for more recipes, that's for sure! And because I like her blog title :)

The ONLY thing I would change, literally the only, is that I would heat up my marinara sauce in a pot beforehand, and spoon some onto the pasta, before I lay on the chicken. It was soooo delicious, we just added some more sauce because the pasta seemed like it was well, just noodles. And, in her picture it looks like she did that, so I must not have followed along too well!

I wish I would have brought a Tupperware with some sauce to work the next day, because unfortunately, I fell into that problem, and was left with some dry pasta dish, that tasted amazing, and was SO flavorful, but was dry. This recipe was super easy, and didn't take long at all. It's a perfect weekday meal, and I know I will be making it again VERY soon!

picture via Damn Delicious

and all i can say was, it was ^^

BAKED CHICKEN PARMESAN

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Total Time45 minutes

Yield4 servings

A lighter version of the traditional chicken parmesan that's baked to absolute crisp perfection!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise in half
• 3/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup marinara sauce, homemade or storebought

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
• In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Working one at a time, brush butter on each chicken breast and dredge in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat.
• Place onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Gently flip and bake until the crust is golden and the chicken is completely cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
• Remove from oven; spoon 1 tablespoon marinara on each chicken breast and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons mozzarella. Place into oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
• Serve immediately with spaghetti and additional marinara, if desired.

^^^ See, more sauce desired. Silly me, I didn't read well! I didn't have a picture of how mine turned out, because it smelled so incredibly good, and Tanner had already popped some sparkling cider, so I just wanted to sit down and devour it!

Chicken was tough for me to bake at our old condo, because I could never figure out the correct temperature settings. The chicken, and my cookies for that matter, never seemed to turn out. So, this is my second or third baked chicken in the new house, and I get so happy when it turns out to be like butta! So delish. Make it now!

Valentines Day and a 3 Day Weekend

Friday, Valentines Day, was a good one. I jumped out of bed, ready to make a yummy breakfast, sneak a couple chocolates and a card into Tanner's car, and made him lunch! He had a test he had to take that night, and wouldn't be done until 10pm! The day before I had to be at The Little America hotel in SLC at 730, and I hadn't been getting much sleep... that's been the case lately. So, when I got home, I took full advantage of having nothing to do, rested my head on the couch, and was OUT! I woke up to our back door knob jiggling, and there's nothing worse than waking up scared. Am I right? I looked out our window, and saw Shelley's car (remember I woke up in a fright and was sort of dazed) I was so confused. She was supposed to be in AZ by now!? Little did I know her flight ended up getting straight up cancelled after a three hour delay from the Provo airport. Long story short, I took her to the SLC airport so she could get home. I got home with 30 more minutes to spare, and started watching the Olympics. By the time Tanner got home, all I wanted to go to was In N Out. That's what I had told him before. I wasn't wanting a fancy dinner! The second we stepped into In N Out, he suggested going to Outback across the street. So, we had a nice little stroll together, and were seated right away! If you're ever wanting to get seated immediately, and never make a reservation on Valentines Day, just go to dinner after 10:30. :)

In the end, we should have just gotten our burger and fries, because Outback was a little more expensive, and wasn't as awesome as it usually is. But, it wasn't disappointing!

Saturday morning we slept in just a teeny bit, and then off to the DAT practice he went. I headed over to the church and started setting up for our ward Valentines party that night. After setting up all of the tables, changing out all of the tablecloths when I realized I had access to the stakes' (ours were so dirty and wrinkled), it was time to pick Tanner back up. He then helped me set up the backdrop for the photobooth, and I love how it turned out! We played a newlywed game, had pizza, salad, and our own heart shaped cookies to decorate!

After the party was over, we met up with Scott and Brim, and we went to a ward party. It was seriously sooo fun! It was Brimley's study abroad instructor's band, and they played at this very interesting choice of ward. But, it's always a good time dancing along with them! Then, we did some floating lanterns with Morg and Mckay (who are engaged, holla!) and Logan and Chelsea, at Utah Lake. Only two of them made it into the sky....

Then we came back to our house to finish off the extra sugar cookies, play some games, and watch the olympics. Scott and Tanner fell asleep, and Brim and i were up until 1:30 chatting! I've missed that, serious good times.

***I just backed up my new phone, and lost all of my new pictures and EVERYTHING. I seriously want to cry. I had a step-by-step of what I did for my backdrop, I had tons of pictures from this weekend, my V day flowers, and recipes I needed! Gosh dang it. And to top it all off, I just banged my forehead on the wall while reaching for the computer charger. UHHHH. Don't you hate those stupid moments were your eyes get a little teary for no real reason?

Instead of me whining, I'll share some of my favorite photobooth pics! I bought 4 different colors of streamers, and... sewed them together. Then, because one layer wasn't enough, I did two! And then, I got gold glittery scrapbook paper, and used a Cricut to cut out the XOXO, and hung them with fishing line. I thought it ended up super fun, and I was a little sad when I didn't know what else to do with it but throw it away.

our cute Bishop who we love dearly

On Sunday we went to sweet baby Charley's blessing. This is Adam and Vianca Ashby's daughter, and she is such a strong, beautiful little thing! Sarah and Vianca's mom make the baby girls' dresses out of their own mom's wedding dresses, and this one didn't dissapoint. So so beautiful!

We had a little luncheon in her honor, then off to Deer Valley we went! We stayed at Stephanie's parents cabin and it was so beautiful. Perfect weather! We stayed up late playing games, eating lots of food, and then Tanner and I made delicious french toast the next morning. We followed that with some flag football in the snow, and I'm still sore in places I've never been before! It was sure fun. We had a great weekend! Hoping I can get my old pictures back to share.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Happy lovers day! And especially, Happy Birthday to the best, and my most favorite state: Arizona! Wishing we could be in Mesa with my whole family on this three-day weekend visiting the new Gilbert temple! Right now, it is the open house, and anyone is welcome to visit. If you're interested in visiting, follow the link above, or let me know if you have any questions!

On Wednesday night, I made delicious soup in the crock pot! I've already ranted about crock pots before, but they're seriously my favorite thing ever. I love being able to come home at 6, 6:30, knowing that dinner is already ready, and so delicious! I love the way it makes your house smell too! I got the recipe from this blog, and I think I will go back for her recipes more often! This soup was delicious topped with some avocado, and pepper jack cheese. I wish I could have gotten some tortilla strips, but it didn't work in to the budget this week. So we used Ritz instead :)

Chicken Enchilada Soup- In the Crockpot

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with sweet onion in it)
• 1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper (I used red, which is my favorite pepper)
• 1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild)
• 1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1½ cups milk (I used skim)
• 1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese (4 ounces)
• 2 chicken breasts {I only had frozen tenders available, so I used about 4 or 5!}

Instructions

1. In a 3½ to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup.
3. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.

{I hate cooking with onion...which is bad because I know it brings so much flavor. I hate cutting them because I cry, and my hands smell disgusting for a week after. Lately, I have been buying frozen diced onion, and it does the trick. I didn't have any in my freezer that day, so unfortunately we didn't have the flavor. I ended up throwing in some other spices, and it was still delicious! That was the only thing I changed.}

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones you love! Tanner will be taking a test until 10, so if anyone wants to sit on the couch with me...come over! :) Tomorrow we have our wards Valentine's Day party which I'm in charge of, and I can't wait to show the photo booth backdrop I made!

xoxo!

.............

Happy lovers day to my favorite bud. Thanks for finally taking me out 2 years and five days ago. I've never wanted to spend a day without you since! You're my best friend, and I love you forever.

weekends are always too short

This weekend was a good one, but it wasn't quite long enough. They never are! Friday afternoon Shelley surprised me at my office, and we ran over to Fashion Place to get her new phone. We then enjoyed a little Sprouts sandwich, along with some mango lemonade, followed by great conversation. It was JUST what I needed. It was seriously so fun, and so nice of her to think of me on her way up north! 

That evening we went to sushi with our friends from the ward, Seth and Stephanie, and that was great times too. Sushi never disappoints, especially when it's followed by homemade pazookies, and the Olympics. Now that's seriously my kind of night!

Saturday morning Brim and I hung out for a little while Scott was taking a test, and Tanner was at his DAT practice. I dragged her around for errands, and it was great to have her company. I also love that we live literally 2 minutes from each other. It's so so fun! We always laugh at how we married those two freaks. Who would've known we would be stuck together forever, but I'm sure glad it's with Brim!

Once Tanner got home, we ran up to City Creek to grab an alteration, then I got my new phone (yay!), and we made dinner at home. We love America, and LOVE the Olympics, so we watched that together. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get a new tv! :/ I then ran to Smith's real quick (literally. I love how close we live now!) And then headed to bed.

Oh! And we realized it was two years ago that we went on our first date! Yay!!

Sunday I ran to a meeting, and then we enjoyed a great 3 hours of church! We love getting to know other couples in our ward. It's such a change from a married ward! We then had Tanner's siblings come over for dinner, and then we headed to Shelley's for dessert, in honor of our favorite birthday girl, Morgy! Shell made a delicious pink cake, and we all had fun chatting away!

It was a great weekend, to say the least!

Merry Christmas?

During Christmas break we took an extreme amount of videos and pictures, because I was going to make it into a movie. Because life has been so crazy, I'm not even half way through it, and who knows when it will get done. So, I'm deciding to post Christmas pictures in February.

This year was our year in LaVerne with the Zylstra family. Everyone on his side is on the same track, so everyone was together. It was a blast! We arrived on a Friday afternoon, went home, and instantly went to a Lakers game. That's how his family rolls! :) It was sad to have Kobe out, but it was still fun, and I even wore a jersey!... I really can't believe I just said that sentence.

^^This picture is just extremely funny because it looks like Kobe is eating my boob? Tanner would be so proud...I just used the word jersey, Lakers, and Kobe twice within the matter of seconds.

Saturday I think was a day full of golf, and Logan's game? There were so many of those high school basketball games, I kinda lost track. I think this was the day we got our "secret Santa" gifts for another family. That sure was fun, and we delivered them in elf hats! We watched the Sound of Music with everyone, and made s'mores in the fire!

Sunday we went to "Christmas" church (meaning the Sunday before Christmas), and it was fun to see everyone in his ward again!

Instagram picture, of course.

Monday (Christmas Adam...the day before Christmas Eve) we got up early, and headed tooooo DISNEYLAND! I used to go every year for dance, and I haven't been since High School. So to say I was excited was an understatement. (I act like I haven't been in High School for so long...)

Before Matterhorn..

After. I swear they made it more bumpy.

Cars land was seriously my fav. It felt like we were in a different world!

We had a sister that was 7 months pregnant, and a brother that had surgery, so this electric wheel chair got us endless family passes. It was the way to go!

Disneyland workers are the best.

I honestly don't think you can go to D Land without riding Splash mountain...no matter how scared of the water you will be. Well, the rest of the girls didn't want to, so I thought I would be fine with all the "men". The worker started laughing at me telling me I was going to get soaked because it would be a heavy boat. Luckily Carson and I tucked our arms in our shirts, and we ended up being ok! :)

Christmas Eve we went to one of those Chinese food places where they make the food in front of you, and those are alwaysss delish. We then went home and got pajamas, and watched a Christmas movie!

Christmas morning we slept in, made breakfast, and waited until Ryan and Lindsay's family were done with their own Christmas, to come over. It was a wonderful day, and I felt so blessed to be apart of another wonderful family!

We look so good.

Tanner finally got rid of his "Spiderman App" and got the 5S. Woop!

It's tradition to have my mother in-law's whole family over for dinner and games Christmas Day, and boy was that fun! It is still hard for me to remember everyone's name though!

If you haven't played "Left, Right, Center", you need to. It's so fun, and we play it a lot! It involves money :)

The next couple of days are a blur, but we had plenty of high school games, great food, pedicures, we went shooting, shopped, and took lots of naps.

Logan's team won their tournament!

This was the next week at church.

New Years Eve we spent the day in Hollywood, and went to the old El Capitan Theater, to see Frozen! It was an awesome theater, and they had people carving ice sculptures beforehand. It was quite the experience! I wish I would have gotten better pictures of the inside architecture.

We walked around a bit, and then grabbed some CPK for a late lunch (big mistake).

Later that evening we met some family and friends for dinner at Lucille's BBQ, and no one could finish their food. Since we walked around a lot and had a long day, a couple people, not naming names (Tanner), ate a lot at CPK, and then couldn't finish their dinner! :)

We love Brody

And Soph!

We came home and actually fell asleep, woke up at 11:45, watched the ball drop, grabbed some cider, and called it a night! 

The next morning we drove to Mesa for the McGrath wedding. Luckily we drove with our Friends Jeff, Kristen, and Jio, because when Tanners parents got on the freeway, the car broke down. We all made it right before the dinner, and it was so great to see their glowing faces! I still can't believe they're married. It's the best!

They got married in the Mesa LDS temple, and looked happy as ever. And Brim made such a beautiful bride!

And, we really love these two, too.

Our pretty corsages.

I mean, look at her! For more pictures of the beautiful wedding, head over to her blog.

It was the cutest backyard wedding you ever did see!

Loved her donut cake! This was before it was all made up and prettied.

Can't wait for Jio and Kristen to get hitched in November!

I'd say our Christmas break was a success!!