Oh what do you do in the summertime?

Oh what do you do in the summertime when all the world is green? I like to make crafty projects. During the school year I hardly have time to do anything than my homework and attend rehearsal after rehearsal. That means when summer rolls around I try to squeeze in as much fun stuff as I can (that usually means reading tons of books and making fun artsy-fartsy crafts). So here is the first batch of summer projects. Marc went fishing one day in the afternoon/evening/late evening last week (that's what he likes to do in the summertime), so I had lots of time on my hands to craft...and watch chick flicks :). I decided to make this wreath and some button earrings (stay tuned for those). The wreath is made from a grapevine wreath (only 5 bucks!), fabric rosettes from fabric scraps, pearl beads, wire, and ribbon. I've been wanting to have a wreath on my door ever since we had to take the Christmas wreath down that my mom bought me for my birthday, but I didn't have time till now. I love how this wreath turned out! This next project I finished just last night. I found the idea on pinterest (gotta love pinterest!) and decided to try it. You can find the original tutorial here. We've been wanting to put this quote from President Monson in our house for a while now and just couldn't figure out how to do it...vinyl lettering, cross stitch maybe, framed quote. When I saw this idea I immediately wanted to try it. We first needed some old wood which, luckily for us, comes in heaps and piles at my in-laws house. So we picked out a couple of boards we liked from the burn pile, sprayed the dirt off them, and carted them back home. We attached the boards with hinges (thanks to my handy-man husband) and put picture hangers on the back. Next we had to decide what font we wanted and how big to make it. That took a while, but we finally figured it out. Then we had to flip the text to mirror image so that we could transfer it to the wood. For my own future reference I'll tell you how that's done on a Macbook Pro: Select File, Print. Select your printer. Then select Layouts (from 3rd drop down box). An option will pop up that says "Flip Horizontal." Check that box. Print! Macs are wonderful...that would've been so much harder on my old PC. We'll be putting the sign up later today (it was too late last night--we have neighbors with babies), and I can't wait to see how it looks!

He's a Survivor

A couple of weeks ago, Marc took the MCAT. He has been preparing for this test all semester long, spending lots of quality time with Harold (Harold B. Lee Library). After long days at school and studying for his regular classes, he would go back to school and study with a buddy for a few hours late into the evening every weekday. Then on Saturdays he and his buddy would study from 8am-4pm. That's a lot of studying and I am so proud of him for putting so much work and effort into it. With all the hard work he put in, I wanted to make sure the day of his test went as smoothly as possible. I asked him if he wanted anything special for that day and his response was "chocolate cake" and "a really good breakfast...like sticky buns." I woke up early to make the sticky buns (yes, from scratch). They were really tasty but...let's just say they did not look like the picture in Betty Crocker so I'm not including a picture of them. His test started at one and it was in a town about 30 min away. He and his buddy left extra early to make sure they got there before it started. That left me plenty of time to make his chocolate cake before my mom-in-law picked me up for a baby shower. Usually I don't like chocolate cake, but the recipe I used is to die for! I should put it up on the blog sometime. We started devouring it before I could get a good picture but in case you can't tell it says  "You survived the MCAT!" And yes, I did put those green streamers up just for the after-test celebration. Since his test started at one in the afternoon and its a five hour test (I know, yuck!), he wouldn't be done till 6. Travel time meant he would be home even later than that.  We had a family wedding to attend that evening, so that meant I wouldn't be at our apartment to welcome him home and give him a big squeeze. So I decided to decorate with streamers and little signs. You can't see them very well but they say things like "You survived the MCAT" and "It's OVER! You made it!" and "Hooray!" Yep, he's a survivor. Now we're waiting for the scores. Stay tuned...   

Banana Cookies and Carrots

Sounds like a delicious combination right?? Ok, maybe not...but the combination made for a fun week :)

First, the banana cookies. These things are dang good. These are the second time I've made them and they get inhaled every time. I made about 4-5 dozen of them a few days ago and this is all that's left!

Maybe I should add that we shared them with some family...Marc and I didn't eat them all by ourselves, but that would have been pretty easy to do. Here's the recipe if you want to try them (you won't be disappointed!) Recipe is courtesy of my in-laws ward cookbook.

1 c. shortening

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

1 c. mashed bananas

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 c. flour

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. butter

powdered sugar

vanilla

Mix cookie ingredients together. Drop onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 min. Mix together frosting ingredients and frost cookies.

Now for the carrots part of the post. I enjoy eating carrots, but I enjoy this carrot just a little bit more...

Marc is a volunteer for the local hospital and went on an "obesity campaign" at a local elementary school. He passed out jump ropes and tried to convince all the kids that eating carrots is cool. He even had jump rope competitions with some of the students...he said he jumped rope for 2 hours straight! Needless to say, I was massaging his calves the next morning. This is him with the rest of the volunteers dressed as a bunch of fruits and veggies.

On the First Week of Christmas...

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Its not the presents that I get excited about though...its everything else--going home to visit family, making (and eating) delicious baked goods, caroling, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, and of course decorating Christmas trees. We got to decorate TWO trees these year. For Thanksgiving we went to my in laws and the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we all bundled up from head to toe, crammed into the truck, and voyaged out into the cold to find the best Christmas-y Christmas tree we could find. We ended up with a GINORMOUS tree (I'm telling you this thing was a monster) and Marc and my father-in-law had to cut off about 6 feet before it could come into the house...still leaving 12 feet of tree. 12 feet! (If you want to read an extended version of this story and see pictures click here.You'll also see me sporting some REALLY stylish camo...)We all pitched in to decorate this monster of a tree that evening. I felt like Clara in the Nutcracker with a tree of that size...never in my life have I ever decorated a tree so huge! Anyways...a week or so later, Marc and I decided that our apartment needed some holiday cheer. So we went off to the wonderful world of Walmart to purchase an artificial tree (we figured it would save us money in the end even though we both love real trees). After some adjusting, it was looking pretty good and it was prelit which I loved. Next we had to decorate it. Walmart had an assortment of inexpensive ornaments so we gave ourselves an ornament budget and picked out some of our favorites. But we didn't have an angel or a star to put on top! So this past Saturday, when I should have been doing homework, I made this. You can get the pattern here. I think it turned out really well and it's a lot easier to make than it looks. The other exciting thing that happened on this first week of Christmas was the First Presidency Devotional. Last year, Marc and I went up to Salt Lake to watch the devotional live. My brother-in-law, Collin, and a date were there too. After the devotional, walking around a glimmering Temple Square is where/when Marc popped the question. Luckily I was smart enough to say yes. It's been a whole year since he proposed, time sure flies when you're spending it with the love of your life.

Peter and Wendy

This was our first Halloween together..well I guess we were dating last Halloween but neither of us remember what we did...so this was the first time we celebrated it together. We wanted to dress up as a famous couple and with Marc's red hair, we opted for Peter Pan and Wendy. We found my costume in about 30 min at DI for 10 bucks. Marc's took a little more time...and money. But it turned out sweet! And it's already safely tucked away in our costume box so that we can use it again and again and it won't get ruined. Hooray! Ok...now the moment you've all been waiting for: picture time!At the party we went to that night, some of Marc's friends teased him about the costume being very appropriate for him--the boy who never grew up. And then Marc said that my costume was appropriate for me too since Wendy is all motherly to all the lost boys. Hopefully that means I'll be a good mother. I thought this picture showed the Peter Pan boyishness very well.

All in a Day's Work

This is what we did this weekend: made bread, cooked and pureed a pumpkin and made Marc's Peter Pan costume. We bought a regular shirt and gym shorts and then cut the zigzags out of the bottoms and sleeves. I made the hat from scratch. I'm pretty proud of it, it turned out great! He even wore green tights (more pictures later).

We've been making bread almost every week now (sometimes it just doesn't happen but we try to do it every week). I get so much satisfaction when those loaves come out of the oven. It feels good to know that if there was some natural disaster and we couldn't get to any stores, I could make bread for my family (assuming that I have all the ingredients in food storage). I never thought I would be the type to make bread all the time, but now that I do it I don't know why I didn't start sooner. It's very therapeutic somehow. Lots of other cooking stresses me out a little because I'm always afraid I will burn something, but bread is easy and relaxing. Especially since the yeast does most of the work anyways. :)

Later in the day we carved pumpkins. Actually it was more like Marc carved pumpkins. Mine was really thick and I couldn't cut into it very well. So I drew the face and then he carved it, showing off his manly muscles.

The View from the Kitchen

This is what I see outside my kitchen window. Gorgeous right? My camera can't really do it justice. It's more stunning in real life. When I look at these autumn trees I can't help but think how magnificent this earth is and how lucky we are to live on it. There is so much wickedness and confusion in the world today but when I'm in my cozy kitchen looking at these autumn-kissed trees, life seems simpler and more beautiful. And more do-able. These trees are a simple reminder to me to be still and remember that there is a God in Heaven who knows and loves me very much. I am also filled with gratitude that this wonderful fall weather has lasted so long. I like winter--mostly because that means it's Christmas time and I get to decorate and listen to Christmas music and visit my family--but I LOVE fall. Nothing can beat that crisp autumn air and crunching through fallen leaves.