Tis the Season

I can't believe Christmas is only 9 days away! This past weekend was filled with Christmas parties! We went to a friend's party on Friday, then Jared's work party on Saturday. It was lots of fun and very busy!

Doesn't my husband clean up nicely? He was definitely the best dressed in the room! 

We leave for California on Friday night and are SO excited. It is finally getting close enough where I can start making a packing list and organizing. If you know me, this is one of the many things I love. haha. We start off our trip spending the weekend at a beach house with my family. We miss the beach so much! It's been over 4 months since we have seen our families and are so excited to spend time with them. I will do my best to have lots of pictures to post!

Drake

I forgot to post about what we did last weekend. We went to the Drake concert! We bought these tickets in June days after we got married. It happened to get postponed a couple months and that is why we had to wait 6 months! 

We were so excited and it was a lot of fun. The fan base is a little wild… but entertaining. haha but thats not why we went. We both love Drake and he was so entertaining. This is the only picture we got! 

2013

I've been doing a little reflecting lately since 2013 is coming to an end very soon. This has been quite the year. So much has changed in my life and I feel like I have changed so much as a person. It's crazy how quickly you grow up because of certain experiences. This time last year I was getting ready to start my last semester of college as a student as an an athlete, both things which I do not remember life without. I have only every known myself as a student and as a swimmer. Now that both of those chapters have closed I have come to learn what I really enjoy in life and what makes me happy. 

Also, at this time last year I stumbled across a new job. I really had no idea what I was applying for or why I did, it all happened so quickly. I was hired at a local residential treatment facility for teenage girls with behavioral disabilities. I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect. These girls struggled with addictions, trauma, and/ or eating disorders, ect.  I ended up working that job for 6 months up until the very day I moved out of Utah. Quitting was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I know that if I worked at that exact place the rest of my life I would love going to work every day. I had no idea how much it would affect me. It was some of the hardest and best months of life because of my experiences working there. Those girls became my little sisters.    

That job not only made me a more successful employee, but I know that I am a better person because of it. I know that it has made me a better wife, and will someday make me a better mom. It has been tough out here in Missouri not finding a job that suits me, especially one as rewarding as my last. But I know now to never settle for anything less than how working there made me feel.

I finished swimming, got engaged, graduated college, got married, and moved across the country all in 2013!  

It has been quite the year, and am so grateful for all of my experiences. I am happily married and searching for a job I will love just as much as my last. 

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Since it has been so cold here, it is the perfect weather for soup! Jared loves olive garden and spicy sausage so I decided to give this recipe a try. If you love soup with a little kick in it this is for you.

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. package spicy Italian sausage, casings removed

6 slices bacon, cut in half inch pieces

2 medium yellow onions, diced

32 oz. chicken broth

3 large russet potatoes, halved then sliced in 1/4 inch slices

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 c. half & half

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat.

Add sausage and cook thoroughly.

Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to scoop sausage onto a paper towel to drain.

Pour out the sausage fat, and add bacon pieces to the pan.

Saute for about 5 minutes.

Add onion and saute another 5 minutes. Bacon should be cooked and onions softened.

Add chicken broth, potatoes, sugar, and seasonings. 

Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to simmer. Stir in sausage and half & half.

Cover and simmer 15-30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

Skim excess fat off the top with a large spoon.

Stir in kale about 5 minutes before serving.

Garnish each bowl with finely grated cheese when serving.

It was delicious! It was the perfect amount of spicy and so tasty! Jared is already begging me to cook it again next week! I hope you guys like it as much as we did!

Crafting and Freezing

It has gotten so much colder here in Missouri over the past week and we finally had our first snow! Niner is trying to get used to it. Here are a few recent pictures of him! He's getting so big.

I've been staying inside since it's been so freezing and I decided to get a little crafty. I found my inspiration from a new friend's blog. I have been wanting to do something just like this for awhile! So I finally got on it. You can check out Melissa's post on how to here .

I think it turned out pretty cute! And it was so easy. I have so much California pride so it makes a pretty cool edition to our living room.

Supplies:

-Scissors
-Modge Podge (Matte or Gloss will work)
-Gold Glitter
-White card stock and a piece of colored card stock that will fit in the frame
-Frame (we used an 11×14)
-Heart brackets (found in the scrapbooking section)
-Hot glue
-Mod Podge Brush
-Hair spray or clear gloss spray
-Google image search of outline of state

Steps:

1. Print out an outline of the state you want to use and the size that you want. If possible, flip the image vertically so that when you trace it onto the card stock, the tracing lines can’t be seen.

2. Cut out the state and trace it onto white card stock, then cut the card stock version out.

3. Next, completely cover the outline of the state in modge podge, but make sure it’s not too thick! Or else it will take forever to dry.

4. If you have a box or large tupperware container, it is nice to put the state inside of that before you use the glitter, then cover the modge podged state with glitter.

5. Wait for a few minutes and shake off all the excess glitter… if there is any spots that look a little bare you can dap a little more modge podge and add more glitter.

7. Next, take one of the heart brackets and cut off the little arms on the back. You will then use a very small dot of glue from a hot glue gun to put the heart on whichever city you want to emphasis.

8. Attach the glittered state to a piece of colored card stock with either double stick tape or hot small dots of hot glue.

9. Finally,  put the finished product into the frame! 

I promise you will not regret giving this a try! Craft away!

SIX MONTHS.

Yesterday, was our 6 month anniversary! Every month I try to make our anniversary the biggest deal and Jared probably gets so annoyed because each time I basically try to pretend like it's my birthday. Haha. Well this time it is actually kind of a big anniversary! Well not really, but kind of. Time really has gone by so fast, yet it feels like a different life when we think about memories from before we were married. We had a friend take some pictures for a project and if you know me… you know how picky I am with pictures. Ha But here are a few! We obviously need some more practice before we go home and are bombarded with all of the family pictures! Already stressing about all of the outfits I have to put together. 

We both have learned so much over the past six months about each other, marriage, and growing up and being far away on our own. I feel so lucky to have a husband that is always there to support me and make me feel so loved. Happy Anniversary to us! 

It's Christmas Time!

One of the things I love about Jared, is how passionate he is about the holidays! He LOVES Christmas! The minute Thanksgiving ended, he started playing Christmas music and it is on nonstop! And, he is quite the decorator! I was surprised myself. He's a pretty manly guy….. but he has an eye for decor haha. Being away at college the last four years, I haven't helped decorate a Christmas tree since high school! Check out this impressive work! And we even have a baby stocking for Niner! Yes we are now those people...

We will be going home to California in almost 2 weeks and we are SO EXCITED! We have been trying to get our Christmas shopping done but it is tough when you live in the middle of nowhere! We are going to Kansas City this weekend for the Drake concert

(so excited)so we will hopefully finish up our shopping while in the city. If you know me, you know that I am OBSESSED with good deals… Nordstrom Rack is my all time favorite place! I love TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and Ross as well! And now that I'm married, Home Goods has become my most recent obsession! Good thing we live an hour away from the closet one, or I would probably be there every day. I wanted to post a couple things I bought there for our house! 

I love this picture! It goes perfectly in our living room… and on sale for $20. SCORE!

This picture does not do this chalkboard justice… It is actually really big. We have a big blank wall in our dining room/ kitchen area and wanted to do something different. We stumbled across this at Home Goods. I love writing our weekly menu on there,  notes for Jared to read as he heads out the door, or reminders of errands I need to run! It's so fun! More pictures of our house very soon! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year was my first Thanksgiving away from my family in 22 years! So yeah my whole life. It was weird being away from all my siblings and away from my mom's yummy cooking! But thanks to my mom and Jared's mom we put together some family recipes to keep up the traditions. I cooked it all! It was a lot of food for just the two of us but we wanted to make it as traditional as possible. And nothing went wrong! I was so stressed the whole week that I would burn the turkey or something terrible, but everything went perfectly! I am pretty proud of myself actually! Here is a picture!
Lots of leftovers, YUM!

Jared's favorite dessert is apple pie, so i attempted my first homemade pie! It was AMAZING and pretty easy so I thought I would share the recipe. 

Pie

1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust

5 medium size apples - peeled, cored, sliced (3 Pink Ladies)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ginger

Lay out unbaked crust in your pie dish. Put all your apple slices in a bowl and toss them in the sugar/spice mixture util fully coated then put them in your pie crust.

Crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick of butter

Cut butter into sugar and flour mixture until crumbly then spread evenly over pie. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

It is delicious!

Let me know what you guys think!

It was fun creating our own traditions but also carrying on a few from our own families. Since we were away for Thanksgiving, going home to California for Christmas is going to be so special!