January & February, according to instagram

It's been a while since I've done an update about the two of us. We're still alive... barely.

 Stephen has been swamped with school and church callings and I've been working 24/7 and fighting off one thing after another. Currently it's a sinus infection that's been keeping me in bed and out of the kitchen. Sad, I know! Thankfully I was still able to attend the Build Your Blog Conference with my sister-in-law Emily. We had such a fun time meeting new people and learning some great tips for our blogs. The highlight of the conference (at least for me) was getting to meet Maria from Two Peas & Their Pod and Amanda from Kevin & Amanda- you can see our picture with them here. Anyway, I thought I'd share some snapshots of what we did during January and what we've been up to this February.

January started off with freezing temperatures and a lot of snow // It piled up in a matter of hours!

I made one of my favorite kinds of pot stickers- gyoza // I also rolled out some fresh tomato fettuccine 

The tree in our front yard was perfectly flocked with fresh powder // Piles of snow at the grocery store

Stephen's friends from Florida came to visit/ski and James brought everyone t-shirts of himself :)

Out playing in 10+ inches of snow // We had icicles growing outside of our kitchen window

Stephen found a friend at Scheels // We made a Krispy Kreme run... love those glazed blueberry ones!

Being crazy with Mandy at the My Recipe Magic launch party // Date night with Stephen

Baking with Blondie // Making French macarons with Mandy at work (Sur La Table)

I just wanted to thank you for being so patient when things have been slow. Hopefully within the next few days I will start feeling better and things will get back on track- fingers crossed!

Fall break according to instagram

Last week was Stephen's fall break, which meant we got to sleep in, hang out and explore the valley a little more. Oh, and did I mention that his mom came out to visit us?! We got to show her around and take her to a few of our favorite places. Here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to lately:

Making raspberry clafoutis- which was surprisingly easy and super delicious // Hiking in the canyons

Watching Mandy on KSL (aka Baking With Blondie) // Nearly freezing up at Lake Catherine

Discovering the damage that the beavers have made up at Silver Lake // Buying paella supplies from work

Shopping with Jo & finding awesome cougar beanies- go BYU! // Taking glamour shots of Stephen ;)

Riding the ferris wheel at Scheels and freaking out at the top // Watching Jo and Adam go up

Posing in all of the photo booths at Scheels // Yep, another one- did you think we flew back to Florida? :)

Taking pictures with Honest Abe, or just a nice statue of him // Walking around Silver Lake with Jo & Adam

Enjoying nature and getting out before it gets too cold and the snow starts to fall.

Life according to instagram

A week or so ago we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and got a huge slice of Oreo cheesecake for dessert. The Oreo on top was the size of a hockey puck... I was one happy camper! // I've finally started a semi-normal work schedule doing classes at Sur La Table. // This usually means my apron looks like a Jackson Pollock by the time we're through. // It ends up in that lovely pile of laundry that seems to be never ending. Seriously, how do we always have so much? // This past Thursday was my birthday and Stephen surprised me with a lot of really fun stuff including a giant Julius ({Paul Frank)! I case you don't know, I'm kind of obsessed with sock monkeys. // Saturday we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Alta Ski Resort. The canyon is just starting to turn red and orange... it's absolutely beautiful this time of year! We decided to hike up to Cecret Lake- what a view! I love being outdoors and now that the weather is starting to cool off, hiking will most definitely become our new weekend thing! 

Life lately, according to instagram

Last week we were extremely busy. On the 4th I was tired and didn't feel like making dinner so we headed to Cafe Rio. We didn't want to get a late start on our hike up Y mountain (where we watched the fireworks from) so we scarfed down our food. Boy was it good // We've really missed their sweet pork, and I've missed their giant salads!

On Thursday I headed to Rhode Island to be with family. Strangers love to make comments about how bright my luggage is and how it will never get mistaken for another suitcase. The bright pink isn't really me, but it's always nice to be able to spot your bag within a matter of seconds. // I wore my new LBD- $15 from Target, such a steal!

Blessed Sacrament Church where we attended Mass in honor of my uncle. // Eating dinner with family in the house that my dad lived in when he first came to the United States. It was my first time being in that house.

 They only sell brown eggs where my family lives, kind of cool! // Pile of Biscoff cookies from all of my flights. I will definitely be using those in something! Maybe cookies, cupcakes, bars or cheesecake? Hmmm...

 Have you ever seen a red mushroom? We spotted one on our walk around a mansion in Bristol, RI. // We came to the end of the road and it went straight into the water. There was a man fishing just off the shore and while his back was turned the seagulls were eating the fish he had caught. It was so funny!

There were butterflies on the ground at the Blithewold Mansion. // Sail boats from the America's Cup.

Lighthouse turned into private residence // Waterfire (night festival) on the river in downtown Providence.

All in all it was a long and tiring week. Hopefully this week will be a little more relaxing!

Life lately, according to instagram

This past week was sort of slow for the two of us. We had family in town, went to Salt Lake City and walked around parts of Provo, but mainly we've been relaxing/watching a lot of our favorite shows. Here are a few pics of our week:

Buddies at the duck pond south of campus... lots of cute baby chicks and turtles // The view from our new place

In Salt Lake at City Creek, there was a nice view of the temple // A pale pink carnation at The Chocolate

 Our tiny kitchen with a 1/2 size dishwasher and a sketchy stove // The best guacamole ever, better than Chipotle

 Flatbread pizza at Malawi's // Date night + Stephen's crazy hair

 They had the prettiest/coolest flowers at the Riverwoods // This guy sat outside our door for days

Orange blossom honey given to us by Stephen's parents // The 10 Commandments & the Provo Temple

Florida → Utah

Did you know we moved? Stephen has a legal internship this summer at a law firm in Utah. So last Thursday we packed up the Prius, said goodbye to Florida for two months, and headed west. The first day of the trip was my favorite. I loved driving on bridges over the swamps in Mississippi and Louisiana- it was absolutely beautiful. 

 While in Louisiana, Stephen kept driving past Raising Cane's. Every time he saw one he made sure I was aware of it. He really wanted to eat there so we stopped in Alexandria and got ourselves some chicken and fries. When we got to Texas we stopped in Dallas to visit Stephen's sister. We went to the park with our nephew Marcus and found a mama duck and her two tiny little chicks. We also found a baby turtle and a whole lot of tadpoles.

We couldn't believe how grown up Marcus was. He was pretty excited to see his uncle Stephen. They played all day.

 On our way out of Texas we saw a bunch of giant windmills. Unfortunately you can't really see them in the picture I took, but they were there, I promise. Crossing the Texas-New Mexico border was interesting. It got really stormy, I mean 60mph winds. Then it started raining. Cars were getting blown all over the road... not my idea of a good time. I felt sorry for the poor people on motorcycles, that must have been terrifying. Thankfully the storm blew over.

 Heading north in New Mexico we drove past several rock formations. Most of them were eroding, but there were a few big ones left. Just shy of Moab we spotted some arches. I love southern Utah, it's such an fascinating place.

Finally we made it to Price canyon. It was gorgeous, very green and lush. On our way out of the canyon we passed more windmills (a sign that we had made it to the valley). We drove for a few more minutes and reached Provo. We love those mountains and that Y... ah, memories. We're so happy to be back, even if it's only for a few months.

Our week, according to instagram

This past week Stephen helped my cut, glue, sand and paint some photography backgrounds. On Wednesday night we had Scouts and I helped him set up an orienteering course. It was a lot more complex than we imagined, we ended up running around the church jamming flags into the ground. We were sweaty, thirsty and incredibly tired, but the kids really enjoyed it, and that is all that matters, right? On Thursday we babysat the Rudder kids, they were silly and full of energy, as always. This past weekend our friend Eric flew down to visit us. We spent a lot of time outside which was probably not the best idea since it was 90+ degrees. Thursday evening we headed to Mojo's for some late night BBQ and tried Cheerwine for the first time. I'm not going to lie, I kind of like it. It's sort of a mix between Dr. Pepper and black cherry cola. On Friday we headed to the beach and spent the afternoon playing frisbee, soccer and riding the waves. Later that afternoon we went to the stadium and watched the US Men's Soccer Team practice for their game against Scotland. Saturday morning we drove to St. Augustine and walked around for a few hours, toured the Castillo de San Marcos, found a really cool flower, ate some cuban food, stopped by Kilwins (a really good ice cream shop) and then came home to rest before the big soccer game. More on the game tomorrow.

Our week, according to instagram

Happy Friday! Here are a few things we've been up to this week:

wednesday night at Scouts ● soda bottle rockets

favorite sandals ever ● so not happy about the gum on our shoes

stormy sky ● free bloomin' onion

stocked up on oliver + s patterns ● sewing companion

first hair cut since donating in september ● old school GPS

love that color and that guy ● more hair

avengers in 3D ● theater

he always makes the perfect cone @ Jason's Deli ● 1st year done

Yes. That's right. Stephen is out for the summer!