Friday, March 16, 2012

Things I have made from Pinterest

I decided to take a little break from blogging for awhile because I was feeling too much pressure to come up with clever things to post about. It is much more fun to just live life and post when you are inspired to do so. 

There is a funny joke concerning Pinterest that we spend all our time posting about things we want to make and do instead of actually doing them Well I thought about it and I have actually done and made a lot of things from Pinterest! Of course I haven't taken any of my own pictures of those things.....really need to work on my picture taking....but here are some of the things I have done from Pinterest!

This cake was sooo yummy and I am still dreaming about it!

This soup was so good that I made it two nights in a row! It is just your basic chicken noodle soup but with cheese tortellini instead of egg noodles! YUM!

This was super easy and the toilet stayed clean for a lot longer than when I clean with normal toilet boil cleaner!

Made this for Valentines Day decorations! I used red, white, and pink paper. It was super easy and fun.

Sent these to some of our family members for Christmas!

Super easy and really pretty!

This was a very simple recipe and it was also very yummy!

I made one of these for my sister for Christmas and one for me! You can hang it on the wall or you can prop it up on a dresser or table. It looks really cute, especially with dangly earrings!

I make these every once and awhile. They make a great quick breakfast and last all week if kept in a closed container in the fridge!

Did this for Steven's birthday! I put them in our bedroom doorway so when he woke up and opened the door he would run into them! I like this because you don't have to worry about getting helium balloons!

I made one of these for me and one for Steven. I plan on doing it for each of our children as well. I like it because everything is in one spot if you ever need it and it also serves as a scrapbook of sorts.

As you can tell I love simple recipes! I have always been afraid of making lasagna but this was so easy and super good. It makes a ton and you can freeze the leftovers! I used italian flavored ground turkey instead of italian sausage.

I made this for Christmas morning and it was super easy and delicious!

I made these back in the Fall. They were good but I wished they had more pumpkin flavor

I think I did something wrong when I made this because it didn't really have much flavor at all! It got a little better as time when on but I was disappointed overall.

These enchiladas were super yummy but a little too creamy which = fattening! Next time I would lighten them up a bit!

I made this in the Summer and it was pretty good but I wished it had more lime flavor. Still good and refreshing though!

These were good and very easy, however, mine did not turn out as neat, they sort of fell apart.

Source: food.com via Alison on Pinterest
This caramel had a really great flavor and was very easy, but they did not set very well so I couldn't really package them and give them out as caramels like I planned. I ended up melting it down again and making caramel popcorn which was irresistible!

This was fun to make but pretty time consuming! I ended up needing a lot more circles than I thought I would.  I used it for Christmas and then left it up for Valentines Day.

I made these but I did three. One with green, one with a deep red, and one with gold ribbon. They were all different sizes too. The styrofoam cones are way too expensive so I made the cones out of poster board with Steven's help :) It was a little difficult to keep the yarn from sliding around on the poster board cone so I put some double sided tape on the cone to hold the yarn in place as I wrapped it.

I did this for our bedroom with some left over fabric from the quilt that my mother-in-law made us. I didn't put as many on the wall and I also put a cardboard C that I got from Hobby Lobby.

Source: etsy.com via Alison on Pinterest
I made this wreath but with Halloween fabric. Very easy and fun to make! I love how you can do it for any Holiday! I can see myself making a lot more of these in the future!

Here's to many more great finds from Pinterest!



































Saturday, November 12, 2011

One Year

Today I am VERY grateful for my husband Steven.

Right now Steven and I are cuddling on our cozy couch watching the BYU football game. A year ago at this exact time we were in California at our wedding reception. Can you believe it has been one year?! I sure can't. It has been so fun today to reflect on the past year and everything we have gone through. We have definitely had some tough times but of course I am grateful for those too because they have gotten us that much closer to where we want to be. Sometimes it is hard to remember that "this too shall pass" and that of course we are not going to be perfect. I see all these older people in our ward who talk about how loving and considerate their spouse is and how great their marriage is. Then I remember that they have had 30, 40, even 50 years to work on it!

I am so thankful for marriage and the opportunities it gives us to grow as individuals and as couples. What a wonderful blessing!

Steven is so sweet. My most favorites thing about him is that I know he loves me. He knows how to show it and I am so thankful for that! He is also the funniest guy I know and really knows how to make me laugh. He does some of the funniest things that I have ever seen/heard.

I found this amazing quote about marriage from a talk called "Eternal Marriage" by F Burton Howard. I really want to print this out and display it in our home to remind us daily of how important marriage is. Read the talk too, it is awesome. Enjoy!




Happy one-year anniversary honey!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Happy 11/11/11!

Cool day, huh?

Naturally, today I am very thankful  for our veterans. It is my personal opinion and hope that we can remember our veterans more often than just on Veteran's Day. The sacrifice that our veterans and their families make to fight for our country is truly amazing and not enough thanks could ever be given to repay them. Back home in Rancho Cucamonga, my Dad has held and event for the past few years where people can come to honor veterans that they know. Each person would get a colored lighted balloon to represent a veteran. These balloons would all be let off at the same time in a beautiful display of love and remembrance for our veterans. I never had the opportunity to actually attend one of these events because I lived in Idaho or Provo but I know they were a great tribute to our veterans and I am so grateful that my Dad has always taught us about the sacrifice of these amazing men and women. Here is a picture from one of the events ( Great shirt, Dad!)

I also want to pay tribute to a soldier from Rancho Cucamonga who was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. His name was Sgt. Carlo Francisco Eugenio. His body was returned to California last night. Hearing about a story so close to home and thinking about how this young man was just a few years older than I am really makes me recognize the huge sacrifice.

I want to say thank you to Sgt. Eugenio and all of the other servicemen and women who have boldly served our country and for all of the families who support their loved ones in their service.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Oops Again

Wow, I am not doing so well at this daily writing thing this time around! Not sure how I let almost 3 days pass without writing!

Today I am thankful for health! I have been a little under the weather the past few days and whenever that happens it always make me thankful for the times that I actually feel good and have energy! The body is an amazing thing that I take for granted way too often. I am going to make a better effort to be grateful for my body and my health and to strive to take care of it!

 I will start after the holidays..... :)

Sunday, November 6, 2011

My ward!

Today I am thankful for my ward! Steven and I live in a great neighborhood full of some really amazing people. Some of the older people in our ward have lived here since the homes were built in the early 1950's! I love learning from these great ward members and hearing their stories from the early days of the neighborhood. It is so cool to see them and to hear them talk about how they raised their families in this area and to think that one day that will be me. There is not a fast and testimony meeting that goes by without at least one person standing up and talking about how wonderful this ward is. I am so thankful that Steven and I were able to move here and that things happened so smoothly. There are some other newly wed couples who have moved in since we did and I am so thankful for them and I hope that we can develop some really strong friendships while we are here!

I am not sure how long we will be here, but I want to take advantage of the wonderful ward while we can!

Oh, also...it only takes us about 45 seconds to walk from our front door to the door to the ward building..so awesome! And yet we still get there 2-5 minutes late every week! I think it is because it is so close that we don't ever feel rushed to get there....anyways I didn't mean for this to turn into a confessional! So thankful for our ward!

:)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Snow

Today I am thankful for the beautiful snow that fell last night and this morning. Please notice that I specifically mentioned the snow that fell last night and this morning and not snow in general. The snow that fell last night and this morning has my love and thankful feelings because it did what I wish all snow would do...it didn't stick on the roads or sidewalks!! You see, because it is only November 5 and the ground is still warm so the snow didn't stick or freeze. I wish all snow falls could be like this! Having to drive on slushy or icy roads is the ONLY reason I don't like when it snows! This morning we slept in (favorite) and then woke up to a winter wonderland! So beautiful! I love how peaceful the world looks when it snows. It looks like nothing bad could be going on; that everyone is making a warm breakfast and spending time with their family. That all the kids are playing the snow-sledding and making snowmen, etc. I know this is not the case, but I can pretend, right?

Friday, November 4, 2011

Oops, I skipped a day....

I forgot to write yesterday due to my new goal of not getting on the computer after work. I am online all day at work and then I would go home and spend at least 1-2 hrs online at home?! Come on! So I made a goal and last night I didn't go on and therefore I forgot to blog. Wait- I did get online....but it was on our Ipad and only to watch Modern Family and Up All Night on nbc.com.. Dang it.

Anyways, today and yesterday I am thankful for our car. I have complained about it recently because I really miss my old car (it got totaled in the summer by a careless neighbor who we have forgiven :) My old car was cute and could hold a lot of stuff and all the scratches and scrapes on it could be attributed to a great story! Our new (used of course) car is not as cute and it makes funny noises in the dash board. But at least we have a car! At least our neighbor's insurance paid us enough to buy a new one! What would we do without it?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

United Way of Salt Lake

Today I am grateful for my job! (1) that I even have a job and (2) that I have the job that I do. I somehow got really lucky and got hired by United Way of Salt Lake very soon after I graduated last August. It was a struggle at first to transition from being a student to working full time but it has been very rewarding. I love the people I work with and the opportunities that working at United Way has provided for me! AND they even announced today that we are moving to a new office building with WINDOWS!! (we are currently located in the basement of a building). So awesome! I am so thankful that I am employed and can earn money for my husband and I to live off of! Such a blessing!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy November!

Can we officially call it The Holiday Season now?! Just 24 days till Thanksgiving! I absolutely love this time of year and this year has been especially fun being married and all! Last night was my first Halloween being married and having our own place to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters! We carved pumpkins and decorated our front porch with cobwebs, a black light, and a cute Halloween wreath made by yours truly! (I actually made something from Pinterest!) I also bought a HUGE bag of candy and only like 10 kids came to our house! Come on! I literally have a whole bowl full of candy left! That was the only let down of the night. Steven and I had soup in those cute little pumpkin shaped bread bowls and I roasted the pumpkin seeds (yum!) We caught up with the Halloween episodes of our favorite TV shows and then told scary stories in our cozy bed :) Tonight I will take down the Halloween decorations and put up my Thanksgiving ones (thank you Hobby Lobby!)

In addition, I have made a goal to write about something I am thankful for on my blog every day in November. I did this two years ago and it was really fun.

Today, I am very thankful for lds.org. On Sunday for our combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting, we had the director of lds.org come and speak to us about the website and all of its amazing features. I was already someone who visited lds.org at least 5 times a week but his presentation made me even more excited about everything it has to offer! The Church has given us access to so many wonderful things. We could even read the General Conference talks just a few days later! Lds.org has made it so easy for church members to prepare lessons, talks, Family Home Evenings, etc. It has also made it super easy to share the gospel! We have access to thousands of talks, articles, videos, etc. that we can link to blogs, Facebook, and Pinterest. We can also read the scriptures online from our computers, tablets, or phones! So amazing when you really sit and think about it!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

I LOVE Fall!!!

Steven and I went on our first annual Fall Colors hike yesterday! These pictures definitely do not do the colors justice! I HIGHLY recommend getting out there and checking it out for yourself! This was the Dog Lake hike about 9 miles up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We are definitely making this an annual tradition! Enjoy these pictures!

P.S. I am LOVING Conference and especially the announcement of the new Provo Temple! So exciting! Enjoy this beautiful weekend!











We did not carve that, but since it was already there, I decided to take a picture!


I just LOVE the yellow against the blue!

Dog Lake


Thursday, June 16, 2011

I am in love with this video...



How refreshing! I want this video to be the theme for the rest of my life! I never want to forget to live in every moment and never take anything for granted. Any suggestions on how to remember this important message daily?

Happy Day!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

6-year Old Girl Gathers Storm Victim Donations!

What a cute little girl! I can only imagine all the great things she will do for her community as she gets older! Hats off to her!



Happy day!

Friday, April 29, 2011

I just couldn't help myself!

I admit, I was a royal skeptic at first. I mean come on, was the royal wedding seriously such a big deal? I mean yeah, it is exciting and historical and everything but did all the news anchors of the major TV stations REALLY need to be in London covering the wedding a WEEK before??!!  Were people seriously getting this caught up in it??!! I could understand the excitement from people actually in Great Britain, but why were we talking about it so much here in America??!!

I now retract all such thoughts and feelings regarding the Royal Wedding.

Steven (another major skeptic) asked me the other day if I was going to watch the wedding live. I told him NO WAY I was going to wake up that early (or stay up that late) to watch it, but that I would probably turn on the TV in the morning while getting ready for work to see her dress, after all, I do admire Princess Kate's fashion.

My alarm went off at 6 am. I found myself excitedly getting out of bed and walking straight to the TV to turn it on. As soon as I saw Kate's dress, the beauty and excitement of the whole scene literally brought me to tears! TEARS??!! Seriously? Yep. I was hooked at that moment. I have been watching clips and replays all day. What happened? I finally gave in and let my inner princess wannabe girl come out! I have never been one of "those girls" who sits around and dreams of the prefect prince and the perfect wedding and the perfect marriage, but I think that is what made this whole Royal Wedding thing so fun! We all got a glimpse into a modern day prince and princess story! Of course their marriage will not be perfect and they will likely have problems just like the rest of us, but I think it was exceptionally exciting to be a part of the beginning of what I hope will be a "happily ever after"!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Graduations

This time of year always makes me nostalgic. I am not sure why, but it does. I can't believe that it has been a whole year since I graduated! I think it has taken me this whole year to process that I even graduated! So much has happened in the past year. In fact, all of the biggest most life-changing things have all happened in the past year! Whew. Last year at this time my whole family was in town to watch me receive my Master's degree. I said "goodbye" to some of the best friends I have ever had. I was excited to leave for Paraguay in 3 days, but nervous to leave my boyfriend for 3 weeks. What if he didn't  like me still when I came back? (It was actually quite the opposite because about a month after I got home is when we first talked about getting married)! I was feeling weird about not being able to call myself a student for the first time since I started kindergarten 19 years before. ( I still miss school a lot...so weird).

 April 2010

Yesterday, Steven graduated from BYU with a Mandarin speaking major and a business minor. This guy is a trooper. During the whole past school year, he commuted from Salt Lake to Provo everyday to go to school. I can't imagine adding almost 3 hours to an already long and exhausting day. And he did it all on public transportation! It might take him a whole month of sleeping in till noon to recover. And I wouldn't mind at all if he did, because he truly deserves it. He has sacrificed so much of himself for us which is so admirable. I love him.
  April 2011
April 2011

It's been 7 years since I graduated from high school. In one month, my cute little brother will graduate from high school. I can't believe that  kid will be 18 in 3 months. Where does the time go? One of the things that makes me most sad is that I have not lived at home since he was 10. He still had a chubby face that I could squeeze! I have missed most of his growing up years and I wish I would have cherished those moments I had with him while I could. But ya know, I was just a dumb teenager with an annoying little brother.

 June 2004


 April 2010

3 years ago, I got my bachelor's degree from BYU-Idaho In a little over one year from now, my little sister will be getting hers. She is so smart. She is so strong! She got straight A's last semester! I never got straight A's in college! She
has pushed through so many obstacles and has emerged a champion!

 April 2008


Friday, April 15, 2011

Happy Birthday: Charlie Chaplin! (tomorrow!)

He made lots of people smile :).

Happy day!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sunny Side!

I am not a fan of runny eggs, but this is super cute! Talk about spreading sunshine!

Happy day!


Friday, April 8, 2011

Be a Hero

This is a great story about a woman who is doing what she can, in her little corner of the world, to make it a better place. I love how she says to go outside and be a part of your community.When we actually know each other, it is a lot easier to love each other. Enjoy! Happy Friday! WOOP WOOP!




Here is the link to the story on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/04/07/cnnheroes.latiker.roseland.youth/index.html?hpt=T2

Happy day!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Dear.....

Dear Spring,

Please come to Utah.

 K thanks, bye.
Alison

OR

Dear Utah,

Please have a non-snowy/rainy/ windy Spring NOW!

 K thanks, bye
Alison

OR

Dear Utah,

Please be a little more like California, only weather wise, and in no other way.

Kthanksbye!
Alison

**Please note: I am not complaining, simply wishing**

globe lights

Happy day!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Sarah Jane Studios

These illustrations are super adorable and really bring a smile to my face. Sarah Jane "Illustrates Childhood" and I am so glad! I really want some of these prints for all of my children's rooms (when I have children that is :) A lot of them remind me of my mom for some reason, especially this one:

Curl in the middle of her forehead

It looks like my Mom when she was a little girl!

Thanks, Sarah Jane, for "illustrating childhood" and creating a little sunshine!

Visit the Sarah Jane Studios blog at http://www.sarahjanestudios.com/blog/ or her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/people/sarahjanestudios?ref=ls_profile

HAPPY DAY!!