Happy Valentine's Day!

I unfortunately had to work Valentine's day but Todd was wonderful enough to come up a little early, hang out with me at work while it was slow, and then went to my apartment to let the dog out for me. He went home with strict instructions to STAY OUT OF THE FRIDGE. I planned a dinner for a surprised and it was sitting in the fridge, so I didn't want him sneaking a peak. 

About an hour later I get a text saying 'Charlie looks hungry. Can I go in the fridge to feed him?' I laughed. Charlie may look hungry but if you've seen my dog, he could live off his fat forever. But, I felt bad and said yes, but stay out of the glass pan! 


For dinner, I surprised Todd with Creme Brulee French Toast (oh my heavens was it delicious), bacon, and hash browns. It was quite awesome. You can get the recipe for the french toast here. (I omitted the alcohol and in the end should have cut my slices of bread much thinner...but it was still good) 

My mom sent me chocolate covered strawberries and apples for Valentine's Day and Todd got me that cute little cake over there. And boy was it good. Valentine's Day is seriously a diabetic's worst nightmare. :( But it was totally worth it. Totally.  

Charlie enjoyed watching tv with us. He thinks that corner of the couch is his. In fact, he's there right this moment snoring away. 

 I didn't even have to ask him to do the dishes! I got up and he was already attacking them! What a good fiance. :) 

Valentine's Day was quite perfect around here. What did you guys do for the special day? 
:) 

Wedding Wednesday: Guest Book

I am seriously so excited about these! A few books picked up at the thrift store, some card stock, and a bird cage from Tai Pan Trading and I've got my guest book finished. Finally! 

Calling All Cookie Pros!

Ok. I have a confession to make. Every single time I make cookies they end up looking like this:

Not like this: 

I unfortunately have an oven that's about twice my age (it's yellow...) and at first I wanted to blame it all on the oven and it's inability to heat properly. But...the thing is...I'm ALWAYS burning cookies. Always. I burn the bottom and then insides are all gooey and not cooked. 

So, my question is...

What is your secret to the perfect cookie? Is it the pan? The recipe? The temperature? 

TELL ME YOUR COOKIE MAKING SECRETS! 

PLEASE? :)

Grammy Faves & Not So Faves

I've never been much of an award show watcher. I think it's because I have a severe lack of attention span when it comes to these things. But with the passing of Whitney Houston just hours before the Grammy's this year, I decided to tune in and watch. I made it about 3/4 of the way through but lost interest after the horrible train wreck that was the Niki Minaj performance. 

The show kicked off with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Uhm. Love. How can you not love these guys? They're like the definition of American. Love. 

LL Cool J hosted. Again, I adore him. He gave a touching prayer at the beginning. He was right...although she is gone far too soon, we remain blessed to have been touched by her spirit. 

Bruno Mars's retro gold tuxedo, bow tie and dance moves were pretty sweet. His hair? Not so much...

What was Lady Gaga wearing? (But, why was I surprised it was outrageous?) 

Fergie...I can see your undies. It was a cute dress though...I just wish I wouldn't have been subjected to a see through view. 

The Coldplay/Rihanna performance = flawless. FLAWLESS. 
The Beach Boys tribute? Love. Even better? THE BEACH BOYS THEMSELVES! They remind me of summer, driving around in my VW bug convertible I used to have (I miss that car), and listening to them. Lovely. 
Taylor Swift's dress...to die for. Is there anything that this girl looks bad in? Nope. 
Adele. Adele. Adele. That is all. 
Jennifer Hudson singing Whitney Houston brought me to tears and gave me goosebumps and was just...wonderful. 
Niki Minaj...what? What in the world? I mean...I'm really not offended easily but her performance was a little...uhm well...not to my liking. 
ADELE. ADELE. ADELE. six for six is quite impressive. (and her snot comment.) 


Now on to my favorite (and not so fav) fashions for the night. (ps. is it me or is everyone else suddenly dressing a la lady gaga? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I guess)


My favorites included Adele, Taylor Swift, shockingly enough Paris Hilton, and Carrie Underwood. 


My not so favorites? Bruno Mars (mainly because of that hair.) and Fergie. 

S

Blog Hop

Blog Hops are wonderful. What are blog hops you ask? Welllll...Cheri at Its So Very Cheri is hosting a linky follower party and did a really really good job of explaining what is is. Better than I could have. If you don't know what they are head over here to get in the know yo. 

Cheri hosts a few of these hops every week and this week I'm linking up with the 'spotlight yourself party'. Partly because I've gained followers and I wanted to do a post introducing myself. 

-I'm attached at the hip...or fingers...to my iPhone. I'm the poster child for smart phone addict. 

-My favorite app on my phone is the instagram app (jmarie13 for those of you who have the app too)

- I love taking pictures and editing them. There's something so soothing about spending a few hours hunting for the perfect light and the perfect shutter speed setting.

-I have the neediest dog in the entire world. 

-Next month I get to watch my best friend and soulmate get married. The good thing about that is that best friend and soulmate just happens to be getting married to yours truly! 

-I get entirely too much pleasure out of cooking a meal for my soon-to-be hubs. 

-I think being a mom is the hardest job in the world. I can't wait to be given that challenge!

-I have a weakness for trashy reality shows like Jersey Shore. 

-I can't wait to be a crafting stay at home mom that cooks dinner and takes care of her family. 

And true to blog hop form...here are the rest of the lovely bloggers that are linking up! 

I was driving with my windows down yesterday...

And this is what I woke up to this morning: 

sneaky peaky

Those things up there? Those are what I'm using to make our guest book. I finally found the missing piece when my mom was here so as soon as I get motivated (tomorrow probably) and can take some good pictures, I'll share. 

This is probably one of the things I'm most excited about. :D


**Update** The details & pictures will be posted on Wednesday for Wedding Wednesday! :)

February Ten on Ten

9am: I woke up to a wonderful, good, delightful news so I rewarded myself with some fruity pebbles. 

10am: Charles and I had some snuggle time. Puppy snuggle time is the best. 

11am: Tai Pan Trading time! This place is amazing. 

12pm: I've been looking for a bigger basket to fit all my shoes forever. This one was TWENTY SIX DOLLARS. We're going to have a problem when Todd moves in though...

1pm: Laundry time! 

2pm: My least favorite part of laundry day: folding the clothes. Sigh. 

3pm: It was so warm out today that I had my sliding door open. Charlie was enjoying the sunshine and warmth...and barking at the neighbors...

4pm: My favorite part of laundry day: clean clothes!!! 

5pm: This is by far my favorite part of the day. The lighting on the mountains is just gorgeous. 

6pm: Getting ready for celebratory date night! 

Check out more Ten on Ten posts here!

One Month!

One month and I go from a miss to a misses. 

This mister will give me the best present ever...

his last name! 

 I'm not entirely sure how I got so lucky. 

Forget Not

Tonight, as I was painting my nails prepping for a big (BIG!) day tomorrow, instead of switching on my iTunes, I switched on my Mormon Channel iPhone app. I don't really know why...but for some reason I felt like I needed a little spiritual lift before tomorrow. 

Before I knew it, I was listening to a talk that I've listend to about...oh...300 times. I love it that much. It's a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the October 2011 General Relief Society meeting. 

He uses the lowly Forget-Me-Not as a metaphor to teach us five things that we should never ever forget. I just wanted to share this talk so maybe it can brighten someone else's day or night like it always does mine. 

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. Why is is that we are endlessly patient with others but short with ourselves?

2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice. President Uchtdorf says that sacrificing sleep to stay up with a sick or scared child is a good sacrifice...staying up half the night making the perfect accessory for your daughter on Sunday...not so much. 

3. Forget not to be happy NOW. Don't wait for your 'golden ticket' to come along because you are going to miss so many golden opportunities because you're too busy looking to the future blindly. 

4. Forget not they 'why' of the Gospel. Sometimes we view the Gospel as something to add to our already impossibly long to-do list. We focus on the how and the what of the Gospel but not the why. The gospel is not an obligation its a pathway leading to happiness. 

5. Forget not that the Lord Loves you. Sometimes you feel look at the little forget-me-not...and feel small and insignificant. You are not forgotten. Ever. 

The little forget-me-not flower is a symbol of the little things that makes your life sweet. Don't get caught up in the rush and race of life. Take time to smell the forget-me-nots.