7.31.2015

My Food Blog!

Back when I was in high school I had a food blog. It was actually a pretty big hit. Well, according to me ha ha. This blog was more of a joke. I did reviews on simple foods and shared random recipes. Ex: How to make a ham and cheese sandwich. (Which I also reviewed.) Anyways, I decided that I was over the blog and I deleted it. Which actually makes me sad because it was a big part of my life and I have nothing to show for it ha ha. BUT, I have recently decided that I am going to bring my food blog back to life! Except this time it will be a little more serious. It will have recipes, reviews, tips and tricks. I am really excited about doing this again because I actually enjoy cooking and baking and all that stuff a lot. So the last month I have been coming up with recipes and taking pictures. I have also been trying to make my blog all pretty and well me. It is slowly coming along but will soon be up and running. I cant wait to share it all with you. But until then.. here is a tiny preview of what the blog will look like.

7.29.2015

Creamy Poppyseed Pasta Salad

What you need:
1 16oz Box of small shell pasta
 1 6oz Can of large black olives
 1 5oz Canned chicken
1 16oz Bottle of Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
1 Cup peas 
A handful of slivered almonds 

Servings: 4-6
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Boil pasta as normal 
Cook peas according to directions if they are frozen
Cut olives in half or as small as you would like them or leave them whole
In a large mixing bowl add canned chicken, olives and cooked peas
On top put about a half cup of Kraft Poppyseed Dressing on top and mix with ingredients
Once pasta is boiled drain and add to bowl adding the rest of the dressing (I use about half a bottle) 
mix all ingredients together making sure dressing is covering all pasta
Serve warm or put in refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes

7.28.2015

Shikira Visited!

For two weeks James and I had visitors. It was busy and fun filled that's for sure! The last week we had a visitor my friend Shikira came up. It was so good to see her and get to hang out with her. We had a week filled with a lot of fun activities.

On Tuesday (because that's cheap day!) we went and saw the new Minions movie. Oh my goodness it was HILARIOUS! I highly recommend it to everyone. I know that James and Shikira also felt the same way about the movie. It was very cute and had great humor in it. But James and I just LOVE the minions. ha ha. 

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I did photo shoots for Shikira. Which worked for me because I can use them as "senior" examples for up here. They all turned out very well if I do say so myself. We were able to explore some new places which were all very beautiful. I think I now have an idea for James and I's fall family pictures. 

On Friday we took Shikira down to Salt Lake to drop her off. But of course before we had to take some selfies.. and they couldn't look normal ha ha. It was a fun week and I am so glad she was able to come and visit. It's always good to have friends. 

Also on Friday after we dropped Shikira off we went to dinner with James parents, little sister and cousin. We went to the delicious Texas Roadhouse. If you haven't ate there before you should! They have the best rolls and very yummy steak, hamburgers and friend chicken and gravy. YUM! 

7.22.2015

All Swelled Up!

Well last week Monday was a very unexpected interesting day. But before I tell you why let me give you a little background story. I haven't been wearing my wedding rings for about a month due to them not being able to fit. But I would try every morning just to see if I could get them on.. because I missed wearing them. They are pretty and my husband gave them to me. On Sunday before I headed to church I tried to see if they would fit. And what do you know, they slid right on! I was so excited. I wore them all day and I wasn't worried on bit about them coming off. But before I went to bed I tried to take them off and they would not come off. I could twist them and get them to a certain point but they were stuck. I tried a few tricks but it just started to hurt so I decided to sleep with them on and try again in the morning. BAD IDEA! And this is where my story about Monday begins.

I woke up really early this morning due to some pain I was feeling on my ring finger. So I decided to get up and try and get my ring off. It still wouldn't come off but I could still wiggle it. So I waited a little longer but then my finger really started to hurt. So I went and got some butter and tried that to see if I could get it to slide off. No good. I tried sticking my hand in ice cold water. Once again no good. I also tried a few other things and nothing was helping. If anything it was making it worse. So I decided to stop trying for a little bit and go back to sleep. I laid in bed for about a half hour because I couldn't get back to sleep. My finger hurt so bad. Next thing I knew I was waking James up asking him if he could help me get it off. He tried some things and it still would not budge. So James decided to make a few phone calls to his mom and to his aunt to see if they had any ideas. A few of them we had already tried. But his aunt told us to come up and she would try something so we did. We were up there for about a half hour and she couldn't get my ring to budge. *Side note* (She's a nurse an has done this stuff before due to people coming in to get them off.) So she got her husband to come try and help. (He is also a nurse.) Everything they were trying was just making my finger/hand really hurt to the point that I wanted to cry and throw up. So finally I said lets leave it alone for awhile and we can try again. So James and I went home.

We got home and had been home for about five minutes when the pain got extremely bad. My finger had swelled up ten times worse than it was before and my finger was starting to turn a deep purple. I started crying because of the pain. I told James that we just needed to cut it off because I couldn't take it anymore. The pictures above I had taken right before my finger swelled up more and turned more purple. James and I didn't really know how to get it cut off or who to call. So we deiced to call the Bishop who is also a police officer to see if by chance he had a ring cutter or and idea. His wife said he had already left for work but she would give him a call and call us right back. In the meantime James decided to call his grandma to see what she would say. And both her and the Bishops wife said that we should use needle nose pliers. We couldn't find any so I was super bummed and in a lot of pain. But thankfully at the bottom of the tool bag was the pliers! 

So James was able to cut my rings off. Which immediately brought back the coloring in my finger and the pain was starting to settle down. I was so thankful but also very heartbroken because we had to ruin the rings in order to get them off. Of course I started crying for those two reasons and I kept apologizing to James. But he made a good point, it was either the rings or my finger.. and I kind of like my finger. We also found out what was causing my finger to swell. The little band was just a little too little and was making it so the blood wouldn't flow properly. So the moral of my story.. make sure your rings are big enough that if your fingers swell up you can still get them off, make sure your second band isn't too small.. or just don't wear your rings if your fingers swell. Ha ha! All in all, I am so thankful that my prayers worked and I was able to get them off thanks to my wonderful husband and the love that my heavenly father has for me!

7.19.2015

Halee's Visit!

On July 5th (Sunday) I came home from Utah and I was able to bring back James' sister with me Halee. She stayed for about three days. They were so much fun and I think we did a lot in the three days that she was here. I just hope she had fun. *Side note!* I got her addicted to the game, "The Sims 3" whoops. #beingagoodsisterinlaw 

On Monday we were going to go to the big pool in Lava but the weather didn't really want to work out in favor of us. So instead we stayed home and brought out the big kid pool and slip-n-slide. And hey.. all three of us CAN fit in that pool at the same time. 

As you can tell this pool is pretty deep.. ha ha! Hey when you don't have a ton of money and this is what you can afford you are grateful. (I've always wanted to use that phrase.) Ps. Halee's swimming suit is really cute! Does it come in my size? he he. 

Maggie didn't want to be left out of the fun so she stayed real close but far enough away from the water. Ha ha! But don't worry she made sure to eat herself a nice salad aka grass. You can't really tell in this picture but she does have some grass in her mouth. Such a silly dog.

For the rest of her visit I slacked and didn't take any pictures. I know, I know I'm a horrible terrible person. But I will still enlighten you on what we did.

Tuesday: We went to the swimming pool over at Lava Hot Springs. Go here: Lava Pool to check out how awesome it! It really is. We were there for about 4-5 hours but decided to leave because it got really cloudy and windy. So we headed up to the yummy ice cream shop that has square ice cream. (Which I believe I've blogged about before.) Halee got some ice cream on a delicious waffle cone, James got a root beer float and I got nothing ha ha. BUT, on the way home we stopped at the store to grab a few things and I got myself a treat there. 

Wednesday: James had to work so it was just Halee and I. So we played games, watched Disney Channel and she played The Sims 3. Basically that's what our day consisted of even when James got home from work. It was a lazy day but those are sometimes needed. Especially after two days of swimming! 

On Thursday we headed back down to Utah. All the way home well until Salt Lake Halee played on my computer.. bet you can't guess what she was playing! Ha ha. I'm so glad she was able to come and visit even if it wasn't for very long. It is always nice to have visitors. 

7.18.2015

Yard Sales Are A Girls Best Friend!

As many of you know I love yard sales. It is my happy place and where I find most of my deals and steals. Yard sales are one of my favorite ways to be able to decorate my houses and make it look super cute. So recently while down in Utah I went yardsale shopping with my mommy (one of our favorite things to do together!) and we well I found some pretty amazing things! And of course I'd love to share all my finds with you! So first thing I'd like to share with you is not pictured but that's because I'm using it for a craft so you will see pictures of it then. But I got an old window at one of the many yard sales that I went to. It was priced at $5.00 but I got them down to $3.00 on it because the glass was really broken and I will have to remove it. But I'm so excited to do my craft with it. Hopefully it turns out like I want it to ha ha.

These two things are from two different yard sales but they were easier to take a picture of together ha ha. The yoga mat is BRAND NEW! And I got it for only $2.00! I am so excited because I have wanted to start doing yoga. Now all I need is to actually start doing it ha ha. The colorful balls and all that other stuff I got for only $3.00! I was so excited because it is going to help bring some color into my home. Yippee! And I couldn't believe it was only $3.00!

As you might know I love decorating for holidays or just decorating in general and I also LOVE Mary Engelbriet. So when I went to this one yardsale and this lady had A TON of stuff because she was moving I was so excited. The two Christmas pictures were .50 cents a piece and they are Mary Engelbriet and the Mary Engelbriet tray was only $1.00! The Santa and reindeer pillow was .50 cents (I think.. might of been $1.00) and the pumpkin with the candle and leaves was only $2.00 and it looks practically brand new! (I will be using it all fall long as a table centerpiece!) I couldn't believe how cheap all of this stuff was.. I was in heaven. 

My absolute FAVORITE yard sale find was this beautiful yellow lamp that now sits comfortably in my living room. It was marked at $20.00 and my mom and I got it down to.. wait for it.. ONLY $8.00!! Now that is a STEAL! I was so excited it was just what I was looking for. It looks so cute in my living room and it has helped bring in a ton of happiness and beautiful bright colors! Yay!

7.17.2015

Crafts, Puppies & Mary Engelbreit!

Well I'm a little behind on my blogging lately but I have been super busy! Shocking... I know. So be expecting a bunch of posts that have happened awhile ago. Sorry. Also this blog post is just a mixture of things I forgot to add in previous blog posts. My bad.

Awhile ago James mom tagged me on Facebook of an awesome craft made out of pickle jars. (She knows me so well!! ha ha) Anyways, she had saved me some pickle jars so I could do this craft which was AWESOME! It was so easy to do also. I made three of these jars and they sit beautifully on my front porch! They also have candles in them and look awesome at night. I tried to take a picture.. as you can tell but it didn't really show it all pretty and glowy. Oh well. They were so easy to make and are way cute! Thanks to my wonderful mother in law for this awesome craft! If you'd like to make them here is the link: Keep Calm and Decorate

The last couple of weeks I have been back and fourth going down to Utah for family things and photo shoots. (Yes, I'm a photographer go here: Chelsey Lynne Photography *I am having a sale!!*) Anyways, for the 4th of July I went down as you already know but I left Miss Maggie home. Which she was not thrilled about one bit! So she was so clingy because I think she knew I was leaving her. The day that I left she was stuck to my side literately.. as you can tell from the picture up above. She had never cuddled my leg like that until that day. It was so funny. And when I got home from my trip she was mad at me and wouldn't really pay attention to me and started acting out again. Taught me a lesson. Ha ha, just kidding. 

As many of you know I love, love, LOVE Mary Engelbreit. One day I was looking on Amazon at her stuff and I found this Fairy Tales book that has been illustrated by her. I have wanted this book for awhile so I was SO excited when I saw that is was ONLY $4.00 shipped!! WHAT! So yeah, you bet this bad boy was in my cart so fast. When it arrived I was so excited. It is such a cute book. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Actually I just recommend all of her stuff. She is amazing. Follow her on Facebook to see all of her cute prints and things that she sells. Trust me you will not be disappointed. Go here: Mary Engelbreit to follow her on Facebook.

7.07.2015

Bath & Body Works Shopping Haul

It was that time of year again.. Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual sale! They have this sale twice a year and it is the best! This is where I stock up on all my hand soaps because they don't cost and arm and a leg and my first born. Okay yeah, that was a bit dramatic but they do cost a lot other than this sale but I love them so much! I also stock up on hand sanitizers and lotions and body washes. So I hope you enjoy this post and my haul!

This time around I got twelve hand soaps. I got all the fun summery ones and one winter scent but it is not pictured because I sort of forgot about it. Oops. Anyways, I got three of my FAVORITE scent of all times which is Island White Pineapple. It smells delicious.. and since I'm allergic to pineapple this gives me a way to smell it's delightful scent and wish I could taste it ha ha. I got two Georgia Peach scent, which is heavenly. I also got two Pink Grapefruit and two Maui Mango Maitai. Both of these scents are fantastic! I really love the smell of mango's and the grapefruit doesn't smell half bad either. I would highly recommend any of these scents if you're in the market for a delicious soap. 

I also got these two. Boardwalk Vanilla Cone and Watermelon Lemonade. I am currently using Watermelon Lemonade in my bathroom. It smells so good, I kind of wish that I would of bought more than one of it. It makes me want to make watermelon lemonade actually ha ha. The other scent I got which isn't pictured is Twisted Peppermint. I cannot wait until Christmas to use it! Smells very good and is perfect for Christmas! As you can tell I like to use the soap that has the little beads in it because it helps my skin not be so dry. Each of these soaps that I got only cost about $2.00 a piece. Which is a fantastic deal because normally they cost $5.50 a piece.

The next things I bought in this haul were five different hand sanitizers. I got them for $.75 cents a piece. They are normally $1.75 a piece so I got a killer deal on them. I got Coconut Cooler, Pure Paradise, Caribbean Escape, Vanilla Berry Sorbet and Safari Mango! These are so handy to have in your purse, car or just around the house. They are one of my favorite go to things. They also make the perfect stocking stuffers, Christmas presents or birthday presents. They are just AWESOME!

Another great item that Bath and Body Works sales is their aroma therapy items. They come in lotions, body wash/ bubble bath, hand sanitizers and candles. I personally really like the lotions and body wash/ bubbles baths (I use them as bubbles.) This time around I got three lotions, Energy-Lemon Zest scent, Sleep - Lavender Vanilla scent and Boost- Tangelo Woods scent. And I got two body wash/bubble bath. Stress Relief- Vanilla Verbara and Sensual- Jasmine and Vanilla. These all work really well and they smell so yummy! I got them for $4.00 a piece which is a stellar deal because they are normally $13.00 a piece! Wahoo!!

Well that is my haul for this time! Don't worry there will be another one coming in January! I just can't stay away when they have these amazing sales. I am obsessed with Bath and Body Works. 

7.06.2015

4th of July

 On Thursday I headed to Utah so I could spend the holiday with my family.  My aunts were throwing a family reunion. Which was awesome. On Thursday night my mom and I went swimming with my aunt and uncle. It was a blast! At the end of swimming we were going to go get Hawaiian Ice but unfortunately my uncles car broke down so we had to deal with all of that. Total bummer! 

On Friday I was able to get the nieces and nephew over to my moms so we could have a sleepover! Of course we went swimming. It was so fun. They impressed me so much with their awesome swimming skills. 

My mom had bought some new tubes so of course we needed to model them! They were so fun! She got them at Target if you're going to be looking for them ha ha. 

On Saturday (the 4th) we went to my aunts house to party! I was sad that the hubs wasn't there. It was still fun but it would of been so much better if he was there. But.. we did get a family picture with most of us. This picture was pre our awesome t-shirts that my cousin made for everyone a the reunion.

This is what our t-shirts looked like. They were pretty cute! Thank Seth for being a good model of them. 

Our aunt went all out for our 4th of July party. She even had delicious snow cones! I think Miss Nico had like five. ha ha! And nothing is better than having a yummy snow cone and a very fun swing.

And of course we can't miss Chloe being Chloe. She loves pictures and to pose and model. She is adorable. I love my nieces and nephew so much! They are some of my best friends. Don't know what I would do without them. They are the best!!

At the 4th of July party it was filled with yummy food, great company and amazing fireworks! It was so good to visit with the family and to meet some family I haven't ever met before. It was a total blast. I'm so grateful to be apart of such a wonderful family.  And there you have it, a summed up version of what my 4th was like. Hope you all had a fun time!