We have a new home!

I've been working on and meaning to get the new blog up and running for a while now (okay. 5 months. whoops) and it's FINALLY up and running. 

So. Go there. Not here. Mkay? 

An Ordinary Fairy Tale

Friday Letters

Dear headache: You've been around all day. Please kindly go bug someone else. I'd appreciate it. Thanks. 

Dear Home Depot delivery guys: I'm going to have to resist the urge to tackle-hug you tomorrow when you deliver our new washer and dryer. Seriously, not having to pay 2 bucks a load anymore gives me the warm and fuzzies. 

Dear PetsMart: Why the heck did you think it was okay to make my dog's tail resemble a lion's tail? He looks ridic.

Dear Husband: I have the perfect idea for our Friday night date night tonight: you, me, a movie and the couch. How does that sound? 

Dear apartment: Please pack yourself. Thanks. 

4th of July & a B.I.G. purchase

It's been really hot around here lately. Like, I get that we live in a desert and all but can mother nature kindly cut it out?! 

It's been busy around here too. We celebrated the 4th of July last week with an indoor picnic because it was so darn hot. 

and we finished off the day with fireworks in Sugarhouse 

And I can FINALLY share our big news officially. It took a while and there were a few (okay, there were a lot) of tense moments, but on Friday we officially became home owners! 

Thank goodness for mothers who are aces at interior design because without her, there would be a lot of white walls and pathetic attempts at decorating in this cute little house. I can't wait to move in and start turning it into a home. It's one of those houses where it's far too big for us now, but we'll be able to grow into it for many years to come. Which is good. Because I will never ever ever purchase another home ever again. Talk about stressful. ;) 

Sunday Night Photographs

Here's just a little peak of what we've been up to this week. 

Sunday Night Pictures

I was editing some photos tonight and realized I never shared some from our nightmare road trip. Despite the fact that I will never ever drive from Utah to Michigan and back again, it did produce some really pretty pictures. 

summer bucket list

Happy Tuesday! 

A few weeks ago Todd & I started a 'summer bucket list' of sorts on my phone. We kept seeing advertisements of festivals and things we wanted to do and were afraid of forgetting them! The list kept getting longer and longer and I finally decided I had to share! So, here it is...our 2012 Summer Bucket List. 

* Pleasant Grove's Strawberry Days - June 17th-23rd

* Re-read the entire Harry Potter series (I'm on book three already!)

* Utah Arts Festival - June 21st-24th 

* Go camping (ok, you can all stop laughing now)

* Midway's Swiss Days - August 31st - September1st 

* Lehi Round Up - June 23rd-30th 

*Llama Fest (we went last year. It was the best time ever.) - July 14th 

* Watch fireworks and a parade on Pioneer Day. 

* Watch the Summer Olympics (Gymnastics are my fav)

* Go fishing 

I think we'll be adding to this as the summer progresses. But for now, we've got a lot of things to do before the fall. What's on your summer bucket list?

June 10 on 10

  

It's been a while so I thought I'd join in again! 

For more awesome ten on ten's go here

life according to my iPhone

 1. Three words: Huckleberry Ice Cream. aka Delicious with a capital D. 

2. My summer goal? Read the entire Harry Potter series. All seven books, start to finish, by Labor Day. I'm half way through the second book. I really need to pick up the reading speed. 

3. My mom and sister Kelly bought Charlie a gift. Now Charlie thinks he's actually Justin Bieber. He's a diva. 

4. Now that the weather is warmer, we're taking advantage of it and going on more walks. My favorite place is Temple Square downtown. I love that statue. 

5. Baby ducks EVERYWHERE! love love love. 

6. We got the bread maker we registered for. The first loaf was a total success. 

7. I've been attempting to eat healthier lately. (I write this while munching on some toffee fudge. It's obvs going over VEEERY well.) 

8. My boys are getting along swimmingly. I love our little family. 

duck, duck, goose

Tonight while we were taking the dog for a walk, Todd made a goose attack me. 

It looked something like this (Todd being the people laughing in the video and me being the poor man outside)

Okay, not really. I wasn't attacked but I was hissed at. After Todd said we'd be okay. See, I have an irrational fear of geese and other large water fowl. I was (legit) attacked by a swan once and it traumatizing. 

We were walking past a family of geese and Todd walked ahead to shoo them into the pond and while the babies were in the pond, the mom had stayed behind. Todd said it was safe. It wasn't. I got hissed at. We were one hiss away from being the next 'Agressive Goose Attacks Man' viral video on youtube. 

I'm still traumatized. 

I hate geese. 

A lot. 

A Little Bit of Home

Oh my. 

Can someone please stuff me in a basement someplace next time I get the bright idea to drive 1,600 miles alone with a dog? Because I should be committed for attempting it. 

I left on Saturday and was delighted that my allergies decided to make the trip with me. By Sunday I was so sick I couldn't drive. So I spent Mother's day curled up in bed alternating between blowing my nose and sleeping and letting the dog out (who, by the way, was a complete angel the entire trip). 

Monday I made it to Omaha and had to stop. I hit a wall and called my mom crying. She called Todd and in an hour, he had a plane ticket to come and rescue me. My knight in shining armor and my fairy godmother (in the form of my own mother) saved the day and saved my sanity.

I was a day late getting to Michigan and I missed something hilarious (which is getting it's own post, by the way) but I was so happy to be home. 

And Saturday we got to party. Wanna see? 

I got to wear my dress again (score) 

I got to see friends and family that I haven't seen since leaving Michigan (double score) 

And the food that we had at the reception was to. die. for. (triple score)

Next time, though, I'll be flying to Michigan. 

Road Trip!

So what am I doing this weekend? Driving from Utah to Michigan. That's what. 

Just me, the pup, and the open road. 

Next Saturday we're having our wedding reception in Michigan and since I have about 10,000 things to pack and I decided that I could do this silly drive by myself, that's what I'm doing. We were originally going to turn my car in and that's why I was driving back, but that's not happening anymore. But with my wedding dress, the favors, all of the decorations that we're reusing, and the dog, I decided that driving was still the cheapest option. 

I can't seem to decide if this is complete insanity or if this is going to be the best road trip ever. I'm leaning towards the best road trip ever. Charlie is pretty excited. My biggest fear? That the hubs will starve because I won't be there to cook him dinner. I still have to go grocery shopping tomorrow to make sure the pantry and freezer are all stocked up before I leave. Sigh.  

You'd better believe that I will be documenting this entire thing though. I'll be tweeting all along the road. I'm sure it will be entertaining, so if you want you can hop on over and follow me here. 

And when we get back, some exciting things will be going on in the Smith household so stay tuned! 

What are you guys doing this weekend?! 

Happy (almost) May!

Tomorrow! 

Some highlights of May: 

~ A 1,600 mile road trip with just me and the pup

~A week long vacation in Michigan (!!) 

~ Our wedding reception in Michigan (!!!)

~ Another 1,600 mile road trip BACK to Utah with the pup and the hubs

~ Kelly turns 19 (uhm. excuse me, but when did 19 years pass?)

~One more attempt to get our budget under control (we're trying Mint. Again)

~ Better fresh fruits and veggies available (yesss)  

I think May is going to be one busy busy month. 

:)

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

This is one of my all time favorite things my mom used to make us when we were younger. The Betty Crocker version (here) is called 'impossibly easy cheeseburger pie' but my mom always said it was impossible because there was no way something that easy could taste that good. 

I made it tonight for dinner and Todd was a happy camper. So was I. 

Here's the recipe.  

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C Original Bisquick mix

1 C milk

2 Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 400*. Spray 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray. (You'll notice that I made ours in a cake pan. I was a. too lazy and b. too cheap to go out and buy a pie pan and my mom said this would work just as well.) 

2. In a skillet, cook ground beef & onion over medium heat until meat is brown. Drain. Add salt. 

3. Put ground beef and onion in the bottom of the pie plate (or cake pan if you're so inclined) and sprinkle with cheese. 

4. In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients with a wire wisk until blended. Pour into pie plate. 

5. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

(hey mom, those are in fact veggies on my plate. Broccoli,  cauliflower, and carrots!!! 

"Impossible Cheeseburger Pie is my favorite mom!"

Perfect Timing

This weekend couldn't have come at a better time. 

After a stressful week at work, I was ready to say 'buh-bye' to the office and spend some QT with the hubs and pup.

I needed my sparkly flats just to get through Friday. 

 Thank heavens for Saturday and Sunday. And Friday night dates. And mini-golf. And gorgeous 75* spring weather in Utah (I've seriously been spoiled with all of this gorgeous weather since I've moved here)

Yep. I beat him. :D 

Yesterday we drove down the Temple where we got married. It brought back a whole bunch of wonderful memories.  Happy happy day. 

And now I have 2 sleepy boys waiting for the pot roast to finish cooking in the crock pot. 

Seriously it was a perfect weekend to recharge me for the week ahead. I'm ready to take on my inbox in the morning. And my inbox is quite scary on Monday mornings. *shudder* 

:)

Ahoy!

Ever since we brought this cute couch cover into the apartment last weekend:

I've gone a little nautical crazy. And Pinterest is so totally not helping this obsession. I'm usually not one for 'themes' (that word was a dirty word when I was planning the wedding), but for some reason all of the clean lines, navy walls, and stripes just get under my skin.


 Or maybe it's the sea calling my name...my grandparents did own a sailboat for a good portion of my childhood! . . . or maybe not. 


Either way, I think there is some redecorating in our very near future. :)

Source: Uploaded by user via Jacky on Pinterest

Source: coastalliving.com via Jacky on Pinterest

Source: amazon.com via Jacky on Pinterest

Source: freshinterior.me via Jacky on Pinterest

Source: cool-home-decor.com via Jacky on Pinterest

Source: ashleighnoel.tumblr.com via Jacky on Pinterest

I'm usually not one for 'themes' (that word was a dirty word when I was planning the wedding), but for some reason all of the clean lines, navy walls, and stripes just get under my skin.

 Or maybe it's the sea calling my name...my grandparents did own a sailboat for a good portion of my childhood! Maybe I'm half mermaid!

 . . . or maybe not.