One HOT Date

This past weekend Bryan and I went on one HOT date. And I do mean literally! Recently we have been kind of boring and have spent our Friday nights at home watching episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica. Not that I don't love them, but there is something depressing about staying home on a Friday night, especially since Spring is here and it feels so good outside. I was determined to put a stop to our lazy days! I couldn't think of what to do until I remember being asked to go to a hot springs back in my single days and never actually doing it. Well, it was about time! So I asked Bryan if you would like to accompany me on a hike that coming Friday to a hot springs. Being uber in love with me, he just couldn't say no. 

So Friday after work we packed our backpack full of sandwiches and goodies for dinner, water, towels and flashlights (knowing that leaving after 5pm we'd be coming back in the dark) and head toward the trail. It was a 5 mile hike round trip, but that's just what we needed. It was beautiful--even if there still was snow on the ground--with a nice balmy 60-something degree weather.

We got there at the perfect time. We passed some people coming back down leaving only one other person at the springs when we arrived. We sat down and ate our dinner and met a new friend. Meet Koda. This dog was so nice and friendly. Or secretly just wanted to eat our food. I'm not for sure, but I'll take what I can get. I would totally have a dog if it was like Koda.

 We tried to take a picture, but Koda would NOT turn around. It was so funny. Still we had a great time playing as we tried to decide whether we would actually get into the springs or not. Bryan was concerned that I would get in and be all warm, then the sun would go down and I would freeze to death when I got out. I think he just didn't want me complaining all the way back to the car about how cold I was. Still, after much consideration, we decided we were going to risk it. I mean, we did just hike 2.5 (if not more) miles to get there.

 It was amazing!!!! I can't believe how warm it really was. Luckily the stream would drizzle into the springs and cool it down. In the back corner it was so hot we couldn't stand it. So we sat in the middle where it would mix together and see all the steam. We chatted with the one other guy there for awhile until another couple joined us. It was nice meeting complete strangers and just talking about randomness.

We probably stayed there for an hour and a half just soaking it all in--including the sulfur smell. I think that was the only downside. As I said before we came at just the right time. Once we were ready to go and got all packed up I think 25 people came to the springs. We were so glad to be getting out of there.

So, if any of you live around a hot springs, I suggest taking a dip. It's so relaxing! Plus it got us in the survivalist mood for Hunger Games!! YES!!

Bad Day

Wednesday was a bad day. I don't know why, but everything seemed to be going wrong. I told Bryan that I hadn't felt like I wanted to quit my job that much in a long time which is funny because my job isn't that bad and I actually enjoy it most of the time. Maybe it was just stress. Maybe I was just angry. Maybe it was just "one of those days." I don't know. But it was not a good day. I told Bryan, of course, and I'm sure the poor man felt like he couldn't do anything. What's he supposed to say? "Hey honey, it's okay. Quit your job." Yeah, I don't think so. But he did the next best thing! I got home from work and saw this.

Except without Bryan's feet. He was waiting in the kitchen. And please ignore the gross carpet. It's actually not too bad and that just happen to be the one spot with a big ugly stain.

 And he had the fire crackling.

 And he was standing right where I took this picture waiting with a big hug. I cried.

 Doesn't this meal look amazing!

I know that I am so lucky. I'm tearing up now just thinking about. I am so blessed to have my wonderful husband who obviously loves me a whole lot. And that day ended up being one of the best.

Jewelry Table

So the other day I was at work talking to my friend Samantha when I noticed her watch. It got me thinking that I don't wear my new watch as often as I would like. Then I thought about how I don't wear a lot of my jewelry because I can't see it. It's tucked away in a cabinet and somewhat hard to get at. That's when I decided I needed a jewelry table. Someplace where it could all be displayed. And hence my search began. 

I was first thinking of making a table from the Ana Whites website, but thought I would check the local thrift stores to see if there was anything to makeover that might have more character than anything I could make myself at this time. I drove to the Spanish Fork DI because the Provo one never has anything good. While there I found this:

It was the perfect size for what I wanted. So after long deliberation I decided to take it home. I took it apart and painted it with a primer that doesn't require sanding (thank goodness!).

I then painted it a latex black enamel with I think 5 coats. It felt like it took forever to dry! But I think it turned out really well. I'm very proud of myself. :)

 So here it is all finished!

It is perfect so that now I can see all my jewelry. And it's all gold and silver and shiny, just the way that I like it. Plus it has a glass top to make sure I don't scratch it up. And for once I did it all by myself! I'm sure Bryan is so proud of me too.

Christmas Adventures: Part II

I thought that I should finally sit down write about the rest of our Christmas adventures. Let's see....

First off, we listened to Brandon Sanderson's new book The Alloy of Law on audiobook on the way down. Soooo good, but I seriously thought it was supposed to be a stand alone novel, only to find out at the end of the story that it is obviously going to be a series. That's great because that means we get more, but it also means that I have to wait for each book to come out--that's the hard part. I highly recommend that everyone jump of the bandwagon and read everything by Brandon Sanderson and I suggest starting the the Mistborn trilogy.

The first couple of days in Henderson were pretty quiet. We just lazed around, did a little shopping and met up with some of Bryan's old friends. Can I just mention that furniture in Vegas is much cheaper than in Utah? We also spent some time going to see the newest films, a la Sherlock Holmes and Mission Impossible. Both really great entertaining movies. In no way disappointed. We also spent some time practicing the music to the cantata that the whole family sung in on Christmas Sunday. Literally, the whole family--even the in-laws. Dad Stiles was the conductor so you can see why we all joined. It was really amazing, probably one the best ward choir I've ever sung in.

On Wednesday we began our adventure inside an adventure. We went to California!! Bryan had this itch the week, or two or three, before Christmas to go to the beach and with only a 4 hour drive being the distance, we hoped back into the car and sped off. The day we got there we went straight to the beach, 1) because that was the whole point and 2) because we couldn't check into the hotel yet. Which, a little side note, we always wait to book until the day of on Priceline so that we get a 4-star hotel for $60--which is exactly what we did for this trip. Yee-haw! The ocean is so beautiful and settling in a way. Sadly the water was really cold (obviously being December and the west coast) so we didn't get in it.

It obviously did nothing for my hair either (which was perfectly straight that morning).

Some nice stranger offered to take our picture for us.

Notice that we rolled up our pants to walk in the sand and water.

It was wonderful! That night, after making it to the hotel where we had valet parking, we went for sushi. Yum!! I love sushi. I don't really get how people don't like it, but that's coming from the girl who won't eat oatmeal, so I'm going to start right there. But it is one thing that Bryan and I can always agree on. We also spent some time in the hot tub. Sadly it wasn't as warm as I thought it would be.....at least for a hot tub. Still,  we had fun until all the band nerds (which I feel perfectly justified in saying because I was one) came down. Apparently the Parade of Roses was going on.

The next day was probably the funnest of all (and I know that funnest isn't technically correct). We went to the happiest place on earth. Literally. The flier told me.

That's right people--Disneyland!!! It was so much fun even if it was crazy busy. And look at that street--spotless! Everything is so cool! And the animatronics were amazing!!! I almost thought they were real people acting. Plus everything is so kid-friendly--you don't have to worry about mean people.

Our parking receipt.

The shows and parade were great. And I love how their fast-pass system is really fair so that everyone gets to have some without paying more money. We were able to ride almost everything we wanted even with all the crowds. 

The one "roller coaster" they have. It's all about the other rides here.

Their haunted mansion was in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme for the holidays.

I just LOVED this picture of Bryan! He looks like he's having so much fun. I just look weird.

There was one of me and I just looked terrified. It was the Hollywood Tower Hotel/Twilight Zone ride. It's the kind that drops you a gazillion feet straight down. I really hate those rides. I basically just scream my head off. You can ask Bryan just how well I take those type of rides. Funny side note--I was wearing my stretch "Y" shirt (as pictured above) and Bryan was wearing his Woot shirt (their icon is a big exclamation point) so that when we stood next to one another it looked like....Y! Everyone kept saying Yahoo around us. 

That was a fun, long day. So worth it. Next time--Magic Mountain.

That night we dragged ourselves into bed and immediately fell asleep. We woke up late the next day and packed everything up. We were going to go get breakfast, but couldn't find the location (stupid GPS with non-existent Corner Bakery). We were going to give up until we remembered that the guy who parked our car mentioned a Cuban restaurant that everyone loves. Neither of us had ever had Cuban before....who has? Bryan and I know that we love food. But not just any food--good food. Good, exotic, usually expensive food. We'd rather spend $100 on a dinner than buying clothes or other random things. So we had to hit up this Habana place. It was in the craziest little shopping area. It was like a hipster, new age, grunge, storage units type of place. But don't get me wrong though. It was really cool and I felt very chic and Californian. I mean, we saw a woman selling hats for $200, but the art/water feature was of old oil drum (type things) pouring into a concrete pool with an old 50's trailer next to it. I hope you get the vibe I'm trying to describe here. I only store I recognized was an Urban Outfitters. We had about 10 minutes before the restaurant opened for lunch so we went window shopping. I wanted to get a hobo style maxi dress that everyone is wearing, but couldn't find one. However, Bryan let me get a shirt that was on clearance just so I could have something from Cali. Luckily it was actually 50% off all clearance so it was only $10--worth it to me. Anyway.....back to the food. It was AMAZING!! I will always thank that valet parking guy for suggesting it. I had a roast over beans and rice and it was so succulent and the flavor was wonderful! Bryan had some type of streak with pickled onions I think. It was all delicious and of course we forgot to take a picture until it was all eaten. However, we remembered with dessert. Behold.....

My chocolate cake surrounded in chocolate with chocolate mousse and chocolate syrup. 

Bryan's fried bananas with ice cream and a glaze that I can't remember.

I cannot tell you how great it was and I would love to go back just to eat here and now how I want to find all the little places like this so that I can always eat amazing food. After eating we hopped into the car and proceeded to drive back to Henderson. Sadly everyone and their dog was going to Vegas for the New Years celebrations so a normally 4 hour trip took 7 hours, but we had more audiobooks to keep us occupied.

I'm sure we did other things along the trip as well, but this is WAY too long anyway, so I will end the adventure here. Thanks for coming along.

Christmas 2011

 Oh, where to begin. I guess I'll start with a song. "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....." That was my theme this year. I got the idea from--Pinterest, of course. I actually did the 12 days leading up to Christmas instead of the days after, but you get the idea. So here we are:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...1 custom T-shirt. 

If you don't understand the shirt I will direct you to Bryan's blog.

Day 2...2 cherry chapsticks.

Bryan loves his chapstick. And only the cherry kind.

Day 3...3 skinny ties.

I'm really proud of these. I "skinny-ed" them myself. They are just some DI ties that I cut, ironed and hand-sewed to make them skinny. 

Day 4...4 kit kat fingers. 

Under that in tiny print it says "literally 'fingers'--I looked it up." Weird, but it's one of Bryan's favorite candies and it's perfect that it comes in fours.

Day 5...$5 Movie. 

I was lucky on this one, because I was just going to get a DVD, but then Bryan and I were talking about movies and he made the comment about "what-would-be-the-point-of-ever-buying-a-DVD-again-when-there-is-Blu-ray." Well, crap for me since Blu-rays aren't exactly as cheap as DVDs, but low and behold Wal-mart had a Blu-ray sale. Thank you Wal-mart for your cheapness.

Day 6...6 pack of rootbeer. 

Yes I know that the tag says IBC and that was what it was supposed to be, but I went to 3 groceries stores and they were all out, so I was left with Henry Weinhard's. It's not too bad.

Day 7...$7 Messy Look Hair.

I was going to do 7 ounces, but that's a lot of hair product and I didn't know if he'd like it. This is a hair wax type product and since Bryan is growing out his hair I thought what would be better than that sexy/messy hair look.

Day 8...8 cups of Chocolate milk.

And not just any chocolate milk--BYU Creamery chocolate milk. Yum. We both love chocolate milk. A testament is our wedding where we served it. 

Day 9...$9.99 cheese plane.

Bryan kinda picked this one out himself because he is picky about his cheese slicers--his words, not mine.

Day 10...$10 water bottle.

He had one just like this and then lost it at a frisbee tournament. He liked it so much I had to replace it.

Day 11...11 point Scrabble word.

I think this is by far my most ingenious one. 

 I knew we both wanted to see Sherlock Holmes, but I didn't know how to fit is into 1 through 12. Hence I was playing Larissa in Words with Friends and I thought, I wonder if I can work a Scrabble word. Holmes fit perfectly--11 points. I'm a genius.

 Day 12...12 reasons I love him.

No picture, but it was a letter and way to personal to let ya'll read it.

Yep. That's what I did for Christmas.....well, actually, leading up to Christmas. On Christmas day Bryan only got one gift from me. A Galaxy Tab 10.1. Yeah, I love that man. (And my parents who were so gracious to help me out since I couldn't afford a $500 tablet myself.) Let's just say that he was pretty darn excited. I don't think he actually registered it when he opened it.

As for me, Bryan loves me too. He bought me some euro pillow for our bed. We've had the pillow cases forever and he finally bought to pillows to fill them. I love it. We now have 11 pillows on our bed. I think he thinks it's a bit much, but I think it looks like a big, comfy, cozy bed now.

He also got me my OWN UnderArmor so that I don't have to steal his all the time when I'm cold and I know we are going some place where I know it will be ever colder. I got jean needles for my sewing machine so now I can turn all my ugly, frumpy jeans into skinny ones. We got a picture frame with STILES in it. I'll have to take a picture so that everyone can see it. We got it from Craig and Sarah (Bryan's brother and sister-in-law for those who don't know.) I love that I was about to make one of them, but now I got it for free and didn't have to any of the work. :) We also got a journal book from Uncle Ken and Aunt Becky. It is really funny--it's a graph/statistical journal. Like a pie chart of what type of movies we watch and stuff like that, how much time we spend cooking, etc. We got a marble statue of Christ from Mom and Dad Stiles along with Amazing (a movie about Jimmer I think) and a Brian Regan CD. Man that guy is funny. And Jamie and Aaron (really just Jamie, I think) got us a Christmas quilt. It is beautiful!! She must have worked really hard on it. Other than that my big gift from Bryan was a Kindle!! Yay!!! Now I can read everywhere with a tiny, little, skinny electronic thing. I love it. I love him. I love Christmas. A lot more happened over Christmas, but I will have to post that later.

My New "Hobby"

I don't know if I'm at the point right now where I'd call it a hobby, especially since I never thought that I would be doing it. I had even been talking about how much I don't like doing it, but something in me just clicked. I blame Pinterest. I saw a "how-to" on something I've kinda been wanting for a while and I finally thought....."Well, I can do that." So I asked Bryan and found one I thought would be good for me--being a beginner and not really planning on doing too many crazy hard things. Plus it was on sale for a pretty good price. And a day later, I came home with this:

TA-DA!!!

That's right. I'm sewing. Literally, I had been talking 2 days earlier about how I would never do this. But I really want this pillow (which I haven't gotten to yet) and again, I keep seeing these cute, simple ideas on Pinterest and I know I have to be at least as talented as some of the people on there. Plus, there is just so many things to do with fabrics. Like make curtains--which I have some ideas on. Anyway, I had seen another pillow on Pinterest (not the above mentioned one) and it was a "no-sew" pillow and I was like "why not?" It didn't turn out the way I thought it would. So I had a yard of fabric on a pillow that didn't look so hot. But now I had a sewing machine. I found another pillow (guess where) and it was simple and cute--just what I needed to start my sewing adventures. And this was the finished product:

And it only took me like 2 hours--which includes ironing, cutting with some pretty crappy scissors and using safety pins in place of sewing pins because I forgot I needed them when buying everything at the store. Don't worry, all of them are now on a list to pick up sooner rather than later. Can I just mention I proud of myself I am? Bryan thinks it's a little weird, I'm sure. I can't stop telling myself how cute it is! Anyway, I will now move on to the first pillow I wanted--and maybe some curtains and a few skirts as well. Who knows what will come of this!!

On a further note we also found some AWESOME chairs this weekend for our dining table. I've been looking around for a while, but haven't ever found any that were what I (and Bryan--because sometimes he really has an opinion on things) wanted. Or they were, but they were a hundred bucks a pop. Anyway, great little place called the Liquidation Team in Orem. They post their stuff on KSL and have a huge storage place where they keep it all. These chairs were on there for $75 for a set of two. Brand new. We went with the notion that they only had one set. I thought if we had 2 or 3 sets of paired chairs it wouldn't look too weird. We went. When we got there I thought they didn't have them anymore. But when asked, they were in the back. I loved them at first glance. They are a "cosmopolitan creme" chair and really comfy. Plus, SURPRISE, they happened to have 2 sets, aka 4 chairs, if we wanted them. HECK YES!!

Voila! Our new and improved dining table. I think it looks amazing! And now every time Bryan and I walk into the kitchen we are shocked by how classy it looks. It really changed the fill of the room. So really this weekend has been great! Full of stuff just for me. And a little for Bryan. I even told him the chairs could be my Christmas. But not the sewing machine. I told him it was my new hobby and since we have already spent LOTS of money on his hobby of Frisbee that it was only fair. Yep, I love my logic.

Matthew's Wedding

So.....the day that everyone has been waiting for!! Well, at least on my side of the family. Lots of you know that I was doing the wedding decorations for Bryan's brother's wedding and I'm sure you are all twitterpated to find out about it. Well.....here it is!!

I had "music" and "lights" to go on, not much input from the bride and groom, and a small budget. Still, I think it came out pretty darn good.

This is the sign in table and the first thing you pretty much see. Bryan was able to get old sheet music from the Music & Dance part of the library since he used to work there and has it in good with the bosses still. Since I got it for free you will see it everywhere. Also their colors were a navy blue and ivory. The apothecary jars are mine, but why not borrow for a good cause. The lights are IKEA from me also. I painted the frame and it has a piece of sheet music called Fantasia Dramatica. I thought it fit. Also, funny thing with the sign in book(s) as you can see. I had an idea of using this old book of music and having people write in it like they did for mine, but then Mom Stiles had a normal one she brought and Sarah had a picture book with their engagements in it and spaces to write why they are perfect for one another or date ideas. Since we already had two, I didn't put out mine, but funny how out of everything, this is the one thing that we had multiples of.

You'll notice a big canvas print in the back of the picture. I absolutely loved the one at my wedding, so Bryan and I thought we would pass it on, so that was our gift because those things are not cheap. Luckily I got a deal on it. Seriously, this wedding has made me one savvy, saving girl!!

Then you walk in and it looks like this. Again, sorry for the fuzziness, but my phone camera really doesn't focus that well. Luckily the photographer will have much better pictures. I publicly thank my husband, his brothers and Dad Stiles for putting this up. It was MUCH more difficult than previously imagined. But after hours and hours, they made it work. The muslin and tulle was the most expensive items I got. BUT, Joann's was having a 60% off on any one item, so heck yes I bought over 60 yards! All together I think the fabric was around $70. Thank you Joann's!! And the awesome lights were from Uncle Ken and Aunt Becky from Alex's wedding this past summer. So the whole false ceiling was just the fabric (and some hard work).

Next we come to the centerpieces. I think they turned out really well. We didn't have the funds to get flowers so I found this idea. I would take it for myself, but that would be lying. I found it while googling. But don't let that fool you. It was kinda hard to find and I would saw one picture this it, but rolled sheet music. Pretty ingenious, right? The big vases came from Mom Stiles along with the gold ribbon, which was actually used as Bryan and my's open house. I got the little vases at DI of course and painted them a metallic blue so that they sparkled. The yellowish flower was actually 90% off at Hobby Lobby the week of Thanksgiving because they were bringing in their Christmas stuff so I got a whole bouquet bunch for $1.20. I just cut it apart and viola! Then Bryan has been making and eating salsa out the wazoo so that we had lots of tin cans and I just bought some blue ribbon to make them cute. Of course using a 40% off coupon. The books were all hard back that we got for a buck a piece (which is a great deal because they are at least $4 at DI, but we found a second-hand store that was selling them for $1 a piece!) and obviously I spray painted them white. Lastly the white table clothes came from BYU (thank you Leone for getting me the MTC price so they were on $2 to rent), the blue ones Mom Stiles had again from another wedding and the gold ones were once again from my open house. Look at that! A whole table for about $5.50!! Woot!!!! Times that by 8 tables, about $45.

You may notice the chairs are not covered. Totally not in the budget, but lucky this stake center had the nicer plastic chairs (not the ugly folding ones) and the color matched the wedding, so I left them.

The gift table it next. Again, you have my IKEA lights, a wreath I made from blue tulle for $3.50 and a old torn up violin case that I found at that same second-hand store. How perfect! I was doing a music theme anyways right? $5. The little banner was make from sheet music, painted doilies and some cool old letters I printed off. It says Mr. & Mrs. Stiles. Total price, $2. Also notice the reusing of the tin can and some flowers I'll get to later. Table = $10.50.
The cake table. We used the glasses from my wedding and that is the trifle bowl we got as a gift from our wedding also. We used it to chill the Sparkling Cider. The mirror was a pack of 6 so it was $9, but they got to keep the rest and they were SUPPOSED to go on the doors that I was going to put up (again like my wedding) but the ceiling took SOOO long that we just didn't have time to transport them, so they were sacrificed. I still think it turned out okay though.
The food table. They had some little Hispanic woman make the tamales. I'm not sure about the beans, but it was all delicious!!! I found the two large jars at DI for $4. They just matched so well that I couldn't pass them up. And Larissa will notice the "S". Yep, that's mine too. Gosh I have a ton of stuff. I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

Instead of a large cake they had the little one they cut. That was because they had these babies. Homemade cream puffs. I don't even like cream puffs, but even I will say these were pretty darn good.

Now back to the flowers I had mentioned. I folded all of these little suckers! They are a five piece origami flower. I think I did over 20 of them. Mostly at work. Oops. Everyone loved them. Actually I don't even know what happened to them. They disappeared because people wanted them. And that was fine by me. I was just going to throw them away anyway. I just needed filler stuff, you know. That little embellishment. And these were perfect. And the cost.....free!!!

There were big ones, little ones and medium ones. It just depends on the sheet music size.
Well, there you have it. We were just a little bit over our budget, but Rachael's mother was generous and overpaid us. I'd like to think it was because it was more than anyone expected. Maybe I can make a business out of thrift weddings? Oh, and of course the sealing was beautiful. Don't worry, I didn't forget the important part of this whole thing.