Farewell to Summer

I know this is a little late, but my new apartment and the wi-fi just were not getting along. But obviously it is working now so I am taking advantage of it to do a few of my favorite things. Blog stalking, pinterest, and of course Facebook.
School is officially in session. It feels great to be moved back in and have my routine again, but we'll worry about school later. For now it is all about summer!

This summer I:

• Went to so many farewells that I gained a million pounds, but seriously eating at three houses each Sunday had to do something to me.
• Discovered my love for rollerblading
• Tried new snowcone flavors, but made the ultimate decision that Tigers Blood is the best. I don't care what any of you have to say. It is. Just soak it in. It is.
• Had the best week in Lake Powell and learned that my fear of swimming with fish is an okay fear because they will touch you and most likely try to nibble at you.
• Made my own bedding and was actually pleased with the way it turned out. Can you say miracle? I can.
• Went river rafting and loved every minute of it.
• Was asked three times a day for money by homeless people, (some interrupted my conversations to ask me). I would be broke if I was a saint.
• Rode transportation in to work everyday, so as to be a super hip "green" person.
• Went to outdoor concerts and movies and soaked in the sun and warm night air.
• Went to a friends wedding. It is a weird feeling, but i'm so happy for her.
• Learned how hard it is to be a parent, especially a single-mother, as I was a nanny. Not easy work people. You finally get alone time at nine when the kids go to bed, but then you realize you are going to drop down right on the gross jelly smeared table and have a breakdown if you don't go to bed.
• Had SO MANY fires, because when in doubt of something to do in our small down we did that. But it ultimately led to the best smore ever possible. Are you guys ready for it.  Cinnamon grahm crackers + cookies and cream chocolate bar + marshmallow = a burst of flavor that will leave you creating a smore assembly line and eating 5. FIVE.

Goodbye Summer. Hello Fall 2011!

A hometown Fair

Can I just say I am a sucker for a local fair? Especially when it is my own county's fair. There is just something about the carmel apples, cotton candy, scones, sketchy carni rides, petting zoos, and giant bunnies that make me smile as wide as a the spitting lama I saw, (it was a big smile in case you were wondering).

We splurged on our calories a little, okay maybe A LOT, but it was a great way to end the carnival and a great summer!

(photos taken via Instagram)



Side note: Indecision works out in the end. While debationg over that intriguing swirly potatoe stick, the sweet girl offered it to us for free if we would walk around smiling while eating it. Free advertising? Sure why not. Sadly we snuck away and ate it under a tent, but it was delicious, so here is my shout out for the potatoe lady.

Right Now.

I've been all sorts of crafty lately. I've been meaning to buckle down and do some projects i've been planning on for a while. I love being crafty, but for me i MUST be in the mood to do it. Meaning I must be patient, happy, and have a free mind. So getting all of these together for me does not happen quite often. But it has happened this last week.

But first things first.

I got my wisdom teeth out this week.

No I don't have any extra drugs to sell, BECAUSE I used childrens motrin, and that is it folks. Childrens motrin. Works wonders, except on my cheeks, which look like i'm (trying) to hide a gobstopper or golfball in my right cheek. So apparently low blood sugar and bloody swollen checks get me in the crafty mood?

Alright.

Go ahead. Roll on the floor laughing at me. But you have all been there, or you will. I promise. Plus I only had 3. Beat that! Who knows where that missing wisdom tooth is...who knows.

Me and my friend went to Color Me Mine. It is such a fun place to go, on a date, or by yourself like the cute grandma next to us, or on a woman date like we did. You get to paint and paint and then come back and pick it up when it's all finished and ready to use in the dishwasher (that's the best part.)



I made this quilt for one of my best friends who go married recently. I'm so happy for her and her new life. We combined it with the cutest picnic basket, and the little flower girl pretty much had to pry it out of my death gripped hands because I wanted to keep it.

Happy picnic-ing!

And this gem is my new duvet comforter. My love/hate relationship with sewing was on the love side today. I love it, although the stripes make me feel dizzy, they're stripes, so you have to love it.

I finally figured out how to make the perfect fabric flowers to attach to my backpack!

It is going to be a good week.

Happy Monday!



My Wish List

Clockwise:

1. Holga 35 mm camera

2. Watch from revolveclothing.com

3. The cutest backpack that would make school so much better. I promise it would. From shopcarrot.com

4. Waterfall ruffled quilt from urbanoutfitters

Happy Monday!

Where have you been my whole life?

After living a very unpriveledged childhood (my parents would laugh at that) I was finally taken to Lake Powell. Although my dad DID stop by once when we were little kids, because we whined sooooo much and he let us touch the water so we could never say we had never been to lake powell. What a considerate father I have right? People travel from France to come here, apparently it is quite well known my people. And all I had to do was drive a measly four hours away. But don't fret my friends. I am now well acquainted with LP and all it had to offer.

There is nothing better than the relaxation station my friend. Nothing better

Lake Powell was full of tubing until we all had bloody elbows, hiking (or scaling and shimmying up and down 30 foot holes as some people in my family like to call "hiking") Tripoly, reading books, cliff jumping, coughskinnydippingcoughcough, eating and more eating until I told myself I just had to quit because I couldn't justify it anymore, no amount of swimming would make up for my ridiculous caloric intake, and taking in the scenery.

I will never wait 19 years to come back Lake Powell, I promise. Even the mice and carp can't keep me from coming.

My favorite holiday, in pictures

We thought our stripes were pretty cute.

My Favorite Holiday.

I don't know what it is, the late night fireworks, barbeque's, shopping at booths, and wearing matching Old Navy t-shirts. It is just a great time all around.

We started the weekend off by going to Stadium of Fire. It was hard for my family to endure Utah County AND country singers, but I think they would agree that the firework finale and BYU Old Spice Comedian man made up for the first two. It brought back so many memories of dancing down on that field years ago during Stadium of Fire. My terrible memory only brings to mind the bad parts- the blue man group and worrying about getting lost in the crowds of people. But, i'm sure it was fun to dance!

Kaysville.

The city goes crazy.

They started setting up signs threatening to take down blankets that were put up prior to midnight of the 3rd. So to stake out our spot my brother and some friends and me slept on the grass to get a prime parade location. That plan sounded good until six in the morning when cannons started going off every 3 minutes.  You heard me, six in the morning, EVERY three minutes.

So needless to say, we went home and slept for a few hours then went back for our breakfast.

Notice the picture above, it was a MANLY pancake that I enjoyed every bite of.

And then we topped off the morning with the classic water parade. People travel for this thing. I'm not joking it is well known. Little kids loved to spray me? Why? I have no idea, but it made my shirt a leetle see through. Whoops!

Hope your weekend was great!

A cooking competition

A certain friend of mine is in a bit of a baking competition to win over her boyfriends manly food-loving heart. So she called me, and used some serious flattery, telling me my cookies were always good (which is quite the exaggeration), but I am always up for some nice flattery, so I found her a winner recipe.

Just the name makes it a winner.

Million-dollar Caramel Cookies

1 C butter, softened

1 C sugar, plus 1 Tbl

1 C light-brown sugar

2 egs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 C flour, plus 1/4 C

3/4 C cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

2 Heath candy bars

1 bag Rolo chewy caramels

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugars until fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture a little bit at a time and blend well. If the dough feels too sticky, sprinkle in a little extra flour. Cover and chill dough in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Chop Heath bars into small pieces. Place in a small bowl and toss with 1 Tbl sugar.

Once dough has chilled, wrap a piece around each caramel, forming a 1-inch ball and covering the candy completely. Dip top of the dough ball into the candy topping and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cookies will look quite soft, but do not overbake. Cool in pan slightly, then move to a rack or the counter to finish cooling. Store in a covered container.

I bake mine around 8 or 9 minutes.

So yummy.

Good luck my friend!
(I couln't resist so I made them this morning)