date night/dream night

scotty and i are running out of excuses to drive our new car. we've gone grocery shopping more times in the past two weeks than we have in the past few months.

it's a bit ridiculous. 

friday night, we couldn't think of anywhere we needed to go, anything we needed to buy, or any other practical outing that would allow us to take a drive. even the smallest trip would fill our craving!

instead, we opted for a long drive up through draper and around the mountain into highland.

it was BEAUTIFUL! we had never done that drive before. 

and ever since katherine's wedding in the draper temple, we have been dying to get a closer look at those mansions right next door. we parked in the temple parking lot and walked in awe and amazement around the gorgeous houses. 

i take that last statement back. i don't feel comfortable calling them "houses," i mean really. they are more like castles or mansions.   this one below is scotty's favorite:

i just can't get over how beautiful they are! we laughed when i mentioned how different this is from vegas. my neighborhood in vegas has about three different house layouts and four different colors, and these are the boring rotation patterned throughout the streets. all stucco. all rock-themed landscape. nothing amazing. nothing unique. but look at these! every single one is so different and has its own personality and design. 

oh look, one for sale! 

this one is my favorite. look at that tower! and look at the little spires on top! can we call those spires? 

oh and here's the other half. how cool is that? let me just drive under my bridge to park in my garage. 

here is my unsuccessful attempt at getting the whole thing in a picture. 

there were motes, four-car garages, bridges, waterfalls, towers, balconies, pillars, huge windows, along with all things beautiful and romantic. 

these lucky biotches have the most amazing view. we could see the whole valley from up there. it was truly amazing. my jaw dropped as we watched the most beautiful sunset. 

i envy the people who live up there and get to see that display of colors on a nightly basis. 

fun, right? maybe one day (give or take 40 years) that will be us.

politics: as far as i know

as you may or may not have noticed, my blog topics are a compilation of all things important to me.  my blog is my personal escape to rave about new recipes, movies, celebrities, pieces of clothing, and other girly happenings.  it documents my personal life, newly-wed adventures, vacations, and milestones.  it is a place for me to record special pictures, sayings, or thoughts. i love my blog and i plan to continue blogging until my 90-year-old hands are creaking and showing off every vein.

so today i am trying to expand my blog topics and mention something that i don't particularly care for: politics.

i know, i know. i am a irresponsible citizen of this country, and the rest of you should be scared that this year's presidential election rests in the hands of other emotionless voters like me.

the whole thing just doesn't interest me.

sure, i have a few small opinions based off of things my husband hears on the news, things i hear on the ellen degeneres show, or little bits and pieces from talk shows that reach my ears before i quickly change the radio station.

however, i am slightly curious about this year's election.

after watching a bunch of youtube "documentaries," i think i have a pretty good idea of who i'll vote for.

CLICK HERE to see barack obama.

CLICK HERE to see herman cain.

with those two singing, jabbering fools out of the way, the answer is clear.

mitt for life. 

... in reality, what this post all boils down to is: 

i just wanted to share those two videos because they make scotty and me literally cry tears of laughter. also, i'm voting for mitt because i think he is the most suited candidate. 

... the hair & charming wife aren't hurting his cause, either. 

tis the season

the only thing weirder than having your little brother graduate from high school... 

... is realizing that this means you've been graduated for three years! 

ew. what the heck! i feel so old! 

it seems like just yesterday we were little punks boppin around. 

i am so happy that mitchell kept his grades up just enough to graduate in the normal 4-year time frame! 

haha... just kidding :)

but really.

and in all honesty, i am way excited for him. he will work the rest of the summer, and before we know it he'll be gone on a mission for the church. scotty and i often wonder where he will go, what language he will speak, and what kind of companions he will have. 

congrats, mitch! it only gets better from here haha!

i know this is true because my life has gotten significantly better since june 2009 when i graduated.

a lot has happened since then. 

i started attending my dream school

i broke some hearts and i met my dream man

we sealed our love for forever in the las vegas temple

i live in my own apartment (with a boy!)

i have changed jobs about 6 times

i am halfway done with my life-long goal of graduating in elementary education

i got a new car with XM radio

i had two of my wisdom teeth pulled

i got a michael kors watch

i've made a few new & very special friends

... but still stayed close to my old besties

and more events that i can't remember due to my severe memory loss issues.

i am so happy for my brother, cousins, and for everyone else who graduated this month. 

welcome to the real world, little ones :) 

here's why.

can you believe i haven't blogged in exactly 20 days? 

i know. 

i am so disappointed in myself. 

this morning, i reflected on the past 20 days in hopes to find a reason or excuse for this unintentional blogging boycott of mine. i've had perfect wifi connection. nothing is wrong with my computer nor my fingers. and i certainly haven't been slacking on picture taking!  in fact, i probably took over 100 pictures in the friday, saturday, and sunday that we were in vegas. 

then it hit me! our small "vacation" to vegas put us both in a soft-core state of depression. it's taken two weeks to mentally recoup. we had so much fun. about as much fun as you can have in the 53 hours that we were away. it was a big eye opener to us- we have always been open to moving anywhere after graduation. endless possibilities! but now we realize that we both long for that city of lights. 

i spent the whole week preparing for our 3-day adventure: packing for myself and my husband, buying & wrapping presents, stocking up on treats & dr pepper, buying new shoes for the wedding, etc. 

the drive was a bore. it always is.  

but the second we popped over that last hill and the whole valley was laid out in front of us, we couldn't stop smiling. 

 seriously. it was a little bit ridiculous.

friday/saturday morning were filled with some of our most favorite people. we had a fun temple/outback steakhouse session with the marx clan (can't believe we didn't take a picture!), and swimming/bbq party at the barnes'. 

the new graduate! 

saturday afternoon was WEDDING TIME! 

i am so happy for my sweet friend jen and her new husband! 

everything about their wedding was perfect. the flowers, the colors, the sealing, the weather, the reception, everything was beautiful! i'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. 

congrats jen and tony! 

as we were rolling into town, i started making a list of all the things i love about vegas. the list grew and grew and grew in a matter of minutes. i couldn't stop writing! so here it is. careful, it may bring a tear or two to the eye. 

we love our families, our wards, our friends, no construction, lanes clearly marked, nelly and 50 cent on the radio, we knew exactly what to pack because we knew exactly what the weather would be like, the radio simply bleeps out a swear word instead of rearranging the whole song, 

there are original/unique names for streets, we saw blacks and mexicans for the first time in 7 months, graffiti art, palm trees,

even the nevada license plate is better. i love seeing the limos and taxis, i love the bustling sound of the strip at any given hour of the day, i love how i drove for 20 minutes and i was still in the same city, 

 the shopping, the style, the people,

 this was the low of the weekend, 

i love swimming, laying out, and seeing the pure blue sky with not a single cloud in sight. 

so, yeah. we were a little bummed. a little depressed. a little anti-social.  but now we're alive and trying to find the positives about utah. while we do that, you should be preparing yourself for more consistent blog posts! 

the panacea

i have this reoccuring problem in my life. 

i love sugar. 

i want sugar. 

everywhere i go, i see sugar and i buy the sugar and then continue to consume the sugar. 

the sweet tooth i inherited from my dear mother is getting out of hand. 

so i decided i am going to start a sugar-prevention program for myself. 

problem: everything that doesn't include sugar as a top-three ingredient is gross. 

right? 

WRONG. 

check out this awesome recipe i found on pinterest. 

*drumroll, please* 

BANANA "ICE CREAM"

if my subpar photography skills aren't eye-appealing enough to persuade you, click here for the original recipe link. 

basically, all you do is slice up 3 bananas. freeze em. 

look, we're halfway done! 

i pulled out the food processor that i didn't even know i had. 

(every day is like christmas when you're a newly wed) 

spent literally 25 minutes trying to set it up. 

i had never touched one in my life before. 

in frustration, i summoned the husband to work his magic, because the machine obviously hated me. 

he rotated the lid so it wasn't on backwards, and after a few tears i was good to go. 

after the lid is secured the right way, push "on." it takes about a minute and a half for the bananas to become a ice-cream-replica bowlful of heaven. as i took the lid to the food processor off, i heard the hallelujah chorus. 

the bananas alone in this consistency are an excellent snack. but since i am easing my way into this whole "eat vegetables and fruits instead of candy and chocolate" thing, i added a spoonful of peanut butter and 2 tsps of cocoa. 

still healthy!

mix.  

viola. 

i was feeling like a culinary genius, so i added some strawberry slices on top to achieve a full-on gourmet presentation.  

i am so glad that you follow my blog so that you too can enjoy this amazing creation. 

aren't you lucky? 

from this week forward, i vow to stop buying the long stick of banana-flavored laffy taffy as a daily mid-afternoon snack, and instead i will replace my sugary sweets with healthier things i find on pinterest. 

amen. 

like the elderly

marriage: bringing out the grandma in me and the grandpa in scotty. 

last night we both got home from work, and said "it's friday night!" 

we had a quick discussion of what activities would follow for the rest of our carefree evening. so many options! nothing holding us back! no curfew! we could do whatever we wanted to! malls, wingers, movies, ice cream, anything imaginable was at the tip of our fingers! 

so i made some homemade alfredo. 

scotty watched half of the celtics game. 

i made 8 sugar cookies as a bedtime snack. 

and then for the grand finale, we crawled into bed around 9:30. 

asleep before 10. 

i found this cute picture on pinterest haha. isn't that precious? it melts my heart. every single day i am so happy that i married scotty. i love the guy! even when we sit at home on a friday night like we are 80 years old, i am perfectly content. i don't care what we do, or where we are, i love being with him and spending time with him. 

blink a few times and we will start looking like that old couple. 

time flies when you're having fun.