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.

Halloween Costumes?

The only part I really like about Halloween is the costumes--except I'm not a fan of the blood and gore. I do like the princesses and pumpkins and cowboys though! This is our first Halloween being married and we're trying to decide if we should dress up or not. We haven't been invited to any parties (its a little too early to know if we will be) and we're not entirely sure if we'll even get trick-or-treaters, but I'm still wondering what our costumes will be. My sister told me we should be Ron and Hermoine. I personally think it would be fun to be Peter Pan and Wendy (can you imagine Marc in green tights??). We may not dress up at all. It will probably be more fun to dress up once we have kids. Then we can have themed family costumes :) Here are a few of the most creative kids' costumes I've seen:

Earth...love the green spikey hair.

Hot air balloon rider...so clever!

Baby pasta! I love this one.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Today has been a hard day. It's the middle of the week, it's midterms and I'm tired. Marc and I have had pretty crazy weeks lately, and this one is no exception. I was feeling pretty down in the dumps when I decided to do some things to lift my spirits.

First I drove by the Provo Temple. It looked gorgeous with the overcast skies and the fall colors on the mountains behind it. It reminded me of the day we got married--overcast and rainy. Thinking of our wedding day made me smile.

When I got home, I couldn't help but notice the huge rose bush outside our four-plex, overloaded with roses. I've heard my mom call them "Peace." They definitely brought peace into my mind and joy to my heart. I decided to cut one off to put in my kitchen--that way I had something beautiful to look at amidst the dirty dishes (I can't wait till I have a dishwasher!). I had to take a picture of it. Doesn't it remind you of the song from the Sound of Music? Raindrops on roses...I can't think of that song and NOT be happy. I then started to think of other things that make me happy in my house. I immediately thought of these Banana Crumb Muffins. I made them for dinner. They always put me in a good mood. You can check out the recipe here. I guess today isn't as bad as I thought it was.

Feeling Lucky

We have had baskets of clean clothes in our apartment for days, and neither of us have had time to fold them and put them away--it seems like we only have time to eat, sleep, shower, and study. So, last weekend, Marc had to take a test at the testing center. He got all ready to go but couldn't find any socks (they were all hiding in the mountains of clean clothes). He didn't want to go digging for them, and neither did I, so I told him to wear some of my socks. All of my normal, unisex, black and white socks were also buried, so he had his choice of pink, purple, and rainbow socks. I pulled out my lucky rainbow socks for him to wear thinking that he might want a good luck charm for the test...but I didn't think he would actually wear them. To my surprise, he pulled them right on and then later asked me if I wanted to take a picture of them for the blog. He's such a cutie! Here he is as a fabulous foot model: And they really were lucky! He got an amazing grade on his OChem test! Maybe he'll wear them again! :)

Slice of Pie

Last week, my husband and I finished off the last piece of my first homemade peach pie. I made it as a surprise for him and was actually quite impressed with the way it turned out. Everything was from scratch (the only thing I didn't make from scratch were the peaches, of course). It was a nice to be and feel domestic. I had to add a picture just as documented proof. :)


Marc likes to tell me that I have never made anything that tasted bad..which was a surprising comment at first for a girl who never really liked to spend time in the kitchen. I guess that's what having a husband does to you. The funny thing is, when he isn't around, I don't make good things for just me to eat. And usually I don't eat at all, somehow I forget about mealtimes when I'm not making something for Marc.

Changing the subject a little, I have to rave about the book I am reading today (I am almost finished with it and I just checked it out this morning)--Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. It is about a 14 year old girl who takes a babysitting job, caring for the two kids of a 17 year old mother. As I read, I was reminded of how blessed I am and how relatively easy my life has been. I realized how fortunate I am to grow up in the family that I did with parents who loved and cared for me, supported me in my schooling, and always believed in my dreams. And I also am very grateful for a loving and supportive husband, who will always be there, in the thick and thin. I am grateful that we have enough money to eat wonderful things like peach pie.

Slice of Life 9/13/2011

This blog is a very good representation of my life...lots of unfinished and half-way done projects. My husband and I decided to make a blog...probably because all of the Allan women (which I am now a part of) have a blog. Theirs are much more cutesy than mine, but I have to remind myself that I am a full-time student who has little time to even finish homework because I have rehearsals into the late evenings. On Tuesdays I don't get home until 10 pm and I am basically dancing non-stop from 3-10.

But enough with the complaining. I don't like complainers, and now I'm doing it.

What I really wanted to write about today was just how wonderful my husband is. Today has been overwhelming for me and when I expressed to my husband that I just couldn't take it anymore, he looked down at his wedding ring and said, "Yep, we're still married. The world didn't end." He has said this to me many times over the past 6 months (I get stressed easily) and it always helps me to step back and realize that my life is good. My life is great. I'm married to a wonderful man who will always support me and always love me.

Just this past weekend, Marc went on a hunting trip and I had to stay home in Provo. He knows that it's hard for me to be alone, so you know what he did? Just to show me that he was thinking about me, he had red roses delivered on the day he would be gone. So sweet, and thoughtful. I even took a picture of them and set as the background for my phone as a reminder to remember what matters most--my family.

This is longer than I intended, but it has been therapeutic in a way to write about how blessed I am and to forget about the worries of the day for a few minutes.