Not too shabby!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Slipcovers...
So, instead of buying four new pillows for Spring, I found a great little tutorial on how to make slipcovers for my sofa pillows! Talk about WAY less expensive, WAY easy, and WAY cute. And they take up a lot less room. I definitely can't take credit for the idea. If you want to make your own (great for changing seasons, holidays, wedding gifts) go here.
Not too shabby!
Not too shabby!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Playing catch up...
So, I figured I better catch up with our life over the last few months before I get so far behind that I get overwhelmed! Let's start with Christmas. I wrote out a TON of Christmas cards this last year...so many that I went into autopilot and this is what came out...(BAHAHA! I totally cracked up when I stopped to read it!)
Our friends in our apartment complex invited us to do a session at the Salt Lake Temple and check out the lights. So pretty. It was totally worth dealing with the cold!
Our Christmas tree.
We did Christmas all by ourselves this year. It was a lot of fun just the two of us. We slept in. When we finally rolled out of bed I told Randy to meet me downstairs because Santa Clause left his gift under the bed. He said, "Well, Santa left yours in the closet..." We totally busted up and pulled out our hidden gifts and opened them at the top of the stairs. It was a really sweet moment. Randy got a new gun ("You'll shoot your eye out!")
Me...looking awesome in my mumu (It's a Harris thing...they rock)
And our tree surrounded by our spoils...
My sweet sister, Jacquelyn, came for a visit in January. She was a welcome sight. We fell apart when we saw eachother at the airport. Sisters weren't meant to be apart for extended periods of time. We had a blast. Temple Square, shopping, eating, crafting, movies...it was lovely.
I'm so grateful she is my sister. She is the best. We have gotten eachother through some very hard times and I know I would've crumbled without her. She's beautiful, smart, funny, and speaks her mind. I love you sissy!
In February, we made our first trip back "home" to Snowflake for my mom's wedding. I'm still waiting for her pictures so I can post them. It was SO GOOD to go home. We met up with our best friends, the Normans, in Flagstaff for lunch. We miss them. Someday we will live next to eachother again. Randy loves Josh. Josh loves Randy.
Little Pace. Josh and Camryn's youngest. What a stud.
I hate that I'm missing out on these two growing up.
Cam and I. This girl is my best friend. We can be apart for months and it feels like no time has passed when we get back together. I think she was meant to be my sister.
I went to see Grandma Fay when we were home. She is 96!!! She is ridiculously sweet. She's a real spitfire too. Want her opinion? She'll totally give it to you. With a smile, of course. Ha! I love her. I never want her to leave us.
A candid shot. She can't see so I snapped a few of her everyday life.
Love her.
I made a solo trip back to Snowflake two weeks after the wedding. We laid my sweet stepmother to rest after she succumbed to her long battle with Leukemia. It was a humbling weekend.
We celebrated Grandpa Jimmy's birthday that weekend as well. These pictures are so fun. It was priceless to watch his bust up reading his cards.
I sent Randy a picture text of this birthday card of Grandpa's. Pretty cute. Reminded me of Randy...I love my gearhead!
While this picture doesn't do it justice, the sunset was absolutely stunning the evening we drove back to Snowflake from Della's funeral. It was a very special ride back. Dad, Jac, and I rode back together and I will treasure the conversations held in that truck forever. Family is what it's all about.
And finally, we celebrated our 4th anniversary March 17th! Thanks to our work schedule we didn't even see eachother's faces on our anniversary. We left eachother "Happy Anniversary" notes in passing. I thought this was awfully sweet. Randy has been the best thing to happen to me. He keeps me grounded. I'm a much more laid back person thanks to him. He's hilarious, so hardworking, and totally hot!
Our friends in our apartment complex invited us to do a session at the Salt Lake Temple and check out the lights. So pretty. It was totally worth dealing with the cold!
Our Christmas tree.
We did Christmas all by ourselves this year. It was a lot of fun just the two of us. We slept in. When we finally rolled out of bed I told Randy to meet me downstairs because Santa Clause left his gift under the bed. He said, "Well, Santa left yours in the closet..." We totally busted up and pulled out our hidden gifts and opened them at the top of the stairs. It was a really sweet moment. Randy got a new gun ("You'll shoot your eye out!")
Me...looking awesome in my mumu (It's a Harris thing...they rock)
And our tree surrounded by our spoils...
My sweet sister, Jacquelyn, came for a visit in January. She was a welcome sight. We fell apart when we saw eachother at the airport. Sisters weren't meant to be apart for extended periods of time. We had a blast. Temple Square, shopping, eating, crafting, movies...it was lovely.
I'm so grateful she is my sister. She is the best. We have gotten eachother through some very hard times and I know I would've crumbled without her. She's beautiful, smart, funny, and speaks her mind. I love you sissy!
In February, we made our first trip back "home" to Snowflake for my mom's wedding. I'm still waiting for her pictures so I can post them. It was SO GOOD to go home. We met up with our best friends, the Normans, in Flagstaff for lunch. We miss them. Someday we will live next to eachother again. Randy loves Josh. Josh loves Randy.
Little Pace. Josh and Camryn's youngest. What a stud.
I hate that I'm missing out on these two growing up.
Cam and I. This girl is my best friend. We can be apart for months and it feels like no time has passed when we get back together. I think she was meant to be my sister.
I went to see Grandma Fay when we were home. She is 96!!! She is ridiculously sweet. She's a real spitfire too. Want her opinion? She'll totally give it to you. With a smile, of course. Ha! I love her. I never want her to leave us.
A candid shot. She can't see so I snapped a few of her everyday life.
Love her.
I made a solo trip back to Snowflake two weeks after the wedding. We laid my sweet stepmother to rest after she succumbed to her long battle with Leukemia. It was a humbling weekend.
We celebrated Grandpa Jimmy's birthday that weekend as well. These pictures are so fun. It was priceless to watch his bust up reading his cards.
I sent Randy a picture text of this birthday card of Grandpa's. Pretty cute. Reminded me of Randy...I love my gearhead!
While this picture doesn't do it justice, the sunset was absolutely stunning the evening we drove back to Snowflake from Della's funeral. It was a very special ride back. Dad, Jac, and I rode back together and I will treasure the conversations held in that truck forever. Family is what it's all about.
And finally, we celebrated our 4th anniversary March 17th! Thanks to our work schedule we didn't even see eachother's faces on our anniversary. We left eachother "Happy Anniversary" notes in passing. I thought this was awfully sweet. Randy has been the best thing to happen to me. He keeps me grounded. I'm a much more laid back person thanks to him. He's hilarious, so hardworking, and totally hot!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!
I shouldn't go four months without blogging. Imagine all the pictures I need to post! I thought I would do this post on the crafts I did over the holidays. I'm awfully proud of them. And better yet...they were pretty inexpensive and anyone can do them! Here's to creativity!
For our "neighbor gifts" for Christmas this year I decided to go homemade. These are a classic ginger cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. Interested?
GIANT GINGER COOKIES (though mine weren't giant)
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
3/4 c. sugar
1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
2. Shape dough into 2-inch balls using a 1/2-cup measure or scoop. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 350 degree over for 11 to 13 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (I did mine on paper towels...I think they stay softer.)
Pretty awesome, eh? I also did homemade hot chocolate. The recipe started from allrecipes.com...see below :)
1-1/2 C Hershey's Cocoa Powder (next time I will use a little less)
3 C Powdered Sugar
5 C Powdered Milk (blend until fine in blender or food processor)
1 C Powdered Creamer (I used french vanilla flavored...)
I have also REALLY gotten into making wreaths. Randy hates them. I think he's proud that I have the talent to put them together...he just hates having so many. I'll admit, the obsession is getting a little out of hand!
This first one is super simple to make. It's a wire hanger shaped into a circle with ornament strung on. Eeeeasy. Next time I will undo the balls from the hanging piece and hot glue them back together. Several of them fell off thanks to my lack of preparation (and overexcitment to just finish it!). Thanks to my friend Ashley for teaching me to make the bow :)
Here's another wreath I made. I will not make another one for a LONG time. My fingers were sure beat up afterwards. I gathered the pinecones from a nearby park and basically wired them onto a wire frame. It took forever and was dirty but looked dang good when I finished. Some pinecones were wobbly, so they got a bead of hot glue to hold them steady. Then just a little colorful decoration for the season. Very fun. Martha Stewart has the idea on her website.
And, last of all, my chalkboard. Just finished it today. I had this big bare wall in our kitchen that needed some TLC...so I decided on a chalkboard. There are several blogs which give instructions but I basically bought a big, ugly piece of framed art at D.I., spray painted it white, had a piece of sheet metal cut to size (I wanted it magnetic), primed the sheet metal, painted the sheet metal with chalkboard spray paint (get it at Home Depot), liquid nail-ed down the metal to the awesome artwork, and VOILA! A SUPER CUTE magnetic chalkboard! This would cost me an arm and a leg at a boutique. Since I like my arms and legs...I made it on my own...for under probably $25. Cheaper if you already have the paint (or ugly artwork/frame) hanging around! I know...Martha would be proud!
Making crafts like these is my creative outlet. Hopefully you too can make something that makes you feel proud and makes your home that much more enjoyable! One of these days I'll get around to Christmas...Jac's visit to Utah...Mom's wedding...
Until then!
For our "neighbor gifts" for Christmas this year I decided to go homemade. These are a classic ginger cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. Interested?
GIANT GINGER COOKIES (though mine weren't giant)
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
3/4 c. sugar
1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
2. Shape dough into 2-inch balls using a 1/2-cup measure or scoop. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 350 degree over for 11 to 13 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (I did mine on paper towels...I think they stay softer.)
Pretty awesome, eh? I also did homemade hot chocolate. The recipe started from allrecipes.com...see below :)
1-1/2 C Hershey's Cocoa Powder (next time I will use a little less)
3 C Powdered Sugar
5 C Powdered Milk (blend until fine in blender or food processor)
1 C Powdered Creamer (I used french vanilla flavored...)
I have also REALLY gotten into making wreaths. Randy hates them. I think he's proud that I have the talent to put them together...he just hates having so many. I'll admit, the obsession is getting a little out of hand!
This first one is super simple to make. It's a wire hanger shaped into a circle with ornament strung on. Eeeeasy. Next time I will undo the balls from the hanging piece and hot glue them back together. Several of them fell off thanks to my lack of preparation (and overexcitment to just finish it!). Thanks to my friend Ashley for teaching me to make the bow :)
Here's another wreath I made. I will not make another one for a LONG time. My fingers were sure beat up afterwards. I gathered the pinecones from a nearby park and basically wired them onto a wire frame. It took forever and was dirty but looked dang good when I finished. Some pinecones were wobbly, so they got a bead of hot glue to hold them steady. Then just a little colorful decoration for the season. Very fun. Martha Stewart has the idea on her website.
And, last of all, my chalkboard. Just finished it today. I had this big bare wall in our kitchen that needed some TLC...so I decided on a chalkboard. There are several blogs which give instructions but I basically bought a big, ugly piece of framed art at D.I., spray painted it white, had a piece of sheet metal cut to size (I wanted it magnetic), primed the sheet metal, painted the sheet metal with chalkboard spray paint (get it at Home Depot), liquid nail-ed down the metal to the awesome artwork, and VOILA! A SUPER CUTE magnetic chalkboard! This would cost me an arm and a leg at a boutique. Since I like my arms and legs...I made it on my own...for under probably $25. Cheaper if you already have the paint (or ugly artwork/frame) hanging around! I know...Martha would be proud!
Making crafts like these is my creative outlet. Hopefully you too can make something that makes you feel proud and makes your home that much more enjoyable! One of these days I'll get around to Christmas...Jac's visit to Utah...Mom's wedding...
Until then!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Utah or Bust!
Well, we have arrived in beautiful North Ogden, UT! It has been a long time coming and we are happy to finally be here! I've posted some pictures of the last few weeks adventures and hope you all enjoy them.
I got the pleasure of packing our WHOLE HOUSE in Snowflake, while Randy was here in Utah searching for a job. It was no fun at all, but it made loading the Uhaul way easier having everything boxed up and ready to go. We left Snowflake on Saturday, Sept. 25th at 5:00 a.m. and I bawled all the way to Holbrook. My heart still aches for home somedays, but each day it gets a little easier. We putted along in the big ol' Uhaul for 12 hours and made it to our destination!
This is North Ogden, UT! These are the Wasatch Mountains that are to the east of the valley. This was taken on my way home. Super pretty!
We live in a really cute, very green neighborhood. This is the view from upstairs in our apartment. I am really looking forward to going to church and meeting some nice new people. I've been brave and met my neighbor...thankfully she is very nice!
I've had 2 weeks to get the apartment in order but worked my tail off and got it done in three days. I'm awfully proud of how cute it is. The nice thing about this apartment is it's much less open than our last house and therefore, feels a lot more cozy (since we don't have a ton of stuff to fill big spaces with!!!)
I'm in love with orange nowadays...I think it makes things feel comfy-cozy.
Until next time...
I got the pleasure of packing our WHOLE HOUSE in Snowflake, while Randy was here in Utah searching for a job. It was no fun at all, but it made loading the Uhaul way easier having everything boxed up and ready to go. We left Snowflake on Saturday, Sept. 25th at 5:00 a.m. and I bawled all the way to Holbrook. My heart still aches for home somedays, but each day it gets a little easier. We putted along in the big ol' Uhaul for 12 hours and made it to our destination!
This is North Ogden, UT! These are the Wasatch Mountains that are to the east of the valley. This was taken on my way home. Super pretty!
We live in a really cute, very green neighborhood. This is the view from upstairs in our apartment. I am really looking forward to going to church and meeting some nice new people. I've been brave and met my neighbor...thankfully she is very nice!
I've had 2 weeks to get the apartment in order but worked my tail off and got it done in three days. I'm awfully proud of how cute it is. The nice thing about this apartment is it's much less open than our last house and therefore, feels a lot more cozy (since we don't have a ton of stuff to fill big spaces with!!!)
I'm in love with orange nowadays...I think it makes things feel comfy-cozy.
So, the house is together and I've met one person AND can sorta get around the city. I am making progress. I really am looking forward to meeting some new people. We need friends to have over for dinner! I have a job interview on Monday, Oct. 11th...I really hope I get it! It's been nice being home but I am very much ready to get back to work.
Until next time...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One very sweet sister...
Well, Jac did it! She officially graduated from high school! We had a fun weekend celebrating the occasion and had the whole family up (which is rare these days). Sure love you Jac! You will do great at college!
This is the fun quilt I made for her. It turned out SO cute and SO big. I told her it's for her to cuddle in if she feels lonely at college :)
This is the "original" family. Doesn't sister look cute?
We are a little teary eyed. Jacquelyn is such a great sister. We've really gotten eachother through some difficult times.
Me and my cute mama. She had a rough weekend too! Lots of tears.
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