Grocery Store Victory & Recipe

Jacky doesn't like veggies. It's a known fact around my house. Ask anyone. I'm more of a carbohydrate girl. But in an effort to be more $$$ savvy (which by the way is going swimmingly), I sat down and planned my menu for the entire week on Monday. I got this great menu & shopping list forms for my Franklin Covey planner (full disclosure: I do work there. I love it, but I do work there. I love their products and my planner keeps me organized. But, my opinions on their products are 100% mine). So, I sat down and looked at when I would be home, when I would be working, when T would be up here for dinner and when I'd be in Provo. I planned out my menu (it includes me making a huge batch of something then eating it for the rest of the week) . 

After my menu was planned, I flipped the page over and wrote down my shopping list. Do you know how easy it is to go to the grocery store with a list, determined not to go over budget, and actually accomplish it. Easy. I think I only bought one thing that wasn't on my list and that was fabric softener because my entire box of 120 sheets has gone missing. Sigh. But when I got to the register I only ended up paying $48 and change for AN ENTIRE WEEK OF MEALS. Granted, I didn't buy any snacks anything but maybe that's for the better? I mean, I am trying to get into wedding shape. 

Anyway, back to the task at hand. Monday night was veggie soup night. Like I mentioned before, I don't do vegetables (why is it so hard to spell that word btw?). But I decided to give it a try. It's my moms recipe and she swears it's the best thing ever. So, why not? 

Ingredients:

2 32 oz cans (boxes) of chicken stock. 

10 large tomatoes (roma if you can find them.) OR 3 cans of diced tomatoes 

3 large carrots 

1 yellow or white onion 

1 green and 1 yellow zucchini 

Olive oil

1 10 oz can of sweet corn

1 can white northern beans

Any other veggies you want! Seriously, this recipe is so versatile. 

Directions: 

1. Dice all the veggies into bite sized pieces (beware, big giant carrots are a pain to cut. Or maybe it was my cheap Ikea knives) 
2. Sautee onion, zucchini in olive oil until tender 
3. Add diced tomatoes and let cook for 20 minutes (unless you're using the canned. Then cook for about 5 minutes or so) 
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. (I only used 1 3/4 of the 2 things of stock I bought. I ran out of room in my pot but you can add/subtract if you like a thicker or thinner soup) 
5. Reduce heat to medium 
6. Add the other veggies. Put raw ones in first for 15-20 minutes (This is when I put in the carrots) and then the caned (corn, beans, whatever) and cook for another 15-20 minutes. 
7. Add salt, pepper, seasoning to taste. 

These were my enemy. SO HARD TO CUT. Thanks Ikea.

Yummay

leftovers for DAYS. 

Notes:
I'd bet even the most anti-veggie in your family would still like this. It's that good. 

You can use veggie stock in place of chicken stock if you're a vegetarian. 

Fresh tomatoes are better than canned according to my mom, but I'm lazy and used the canned. 

Play around with the veggies in it! I used kidney beans instead of white beans and was planning on putting peas in but didn't. My mom loves spinach in hers.

If you want to switch it up, add already cooked chicken or pasta to it too. 

All I Want is 4 inch Pink Glitter Heels...

And apparently, that's too much to ask for! I've searched EVERYWHERE for the perfect pair of pink glitter heels that have the right height heel and aren't hideous. 

So, I'm making my own. 

Wish me luck?

Favors & Centerpieces!

I mentioned a few times that I've found my favors and centerpieces! Well...I mean...in all honesty it was my mom who found them, drove all around Utah with me to find what we needed, and came up with the ideas. I just agreed. 

These are the favors! We're going to have the mini mason jars for one reception and then the other little jars for the other. (I haven't decided which quite yet) And the ribbon is going to get wrapped around it. The little flowers are going to get hot glued onto the tops of the little jars and on the side near the little clasp on the mason jars (I think. They might go on the top but I think they're going to end up on the side) 

 The pitches below are going to the centerpieces. I'm going to buy flowers in bulk myself the day of and then arrange them myself (for both receptions. We'll be shipping these to Michigan. Double duty! Score!) Some of them will have the green ribbon wrapped around the top and some will have the pink (both are 2 of our 3 colors). The daisy lace ribbon will get added to all of them with the pink or green ribbon for an extra cute little shabby chic vintage touch. 

I can't wait to start working on these! :)

Mom's Impromptu Trip

Well, it wasn't really an impromptu trip. She was planning on coming out to Utah to help me with wedding stuff for the weekend. Then I got sick. And my wonderful mom hopped on a plane at like 730am on Saturday after deciding at 230am that same morning to come out and take care of me. I was that sick. 

So I got my mom for a little while longer than I planned! Yay! 

Once I was recovered, we had some fun adventures. I'm planning another post about the fab favors and centerpieces we bought but I wanted to share some pictures of our adventures! One day we went up to Salt Lake and I showed her around Temple Square. It was such a perfect day. 

(Photo cred. to mom)  

Then one day we drove into Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is right in my backyard. Seriously, it's 15 minutes away. I hadn't been up there yet, so it was my first time seeing the gorgeousness that is the place I am so blessed to live in. 

I was so happy to have her come and help me with wedding stuff and recover! Even at 23, there really isn't anything like having your mom take care of you while you're sick. 

:) Thanks mom!!! 

I Suck At Handeling Money

You'd think the girl with the accountant mother would be better at handeling her money. Yeah...not so much. I try, but I just...can't seem to do it. Now that I'm a full fledged adult and everything (you know, getting married has a way of catapulting you into responsible adultdom) I have to try to learn to live by a budget. Because apparently, money doesn't grow on trees. ;)   

I've tried to stick to one before, but for some reason it never sticks to me. I must not have a sticky personality. Or I just really suck at sticking to a budget. 

I was cruising around some blogs the other night while I was fretting about money and came across some about managing your money. A lot of them recommended using a cash-only wallet system. I was intrigued (and the wallets that the blogs had featured were way cute too). There was a link to Dave Ramsey's envelope system. It's actually quite genius. You figure out your budget for the month (I've yet to find a nice budgeting program that I like and can actually use. Darn) take out the money you've budgeted and thats what you have to spend for the month. And once it's gone, it's gone. No more going to the ATM. 

I don't know about you, but this really appeals to me. I'm the kind of person that swipes her debit card too often. I rarely have cash with me. And I fall into the mental trap that spending by using my card isn't spending because it's not actual money. Even though it is. (I told you I was bad at managing money.) The idea of plopping down $40 in bills for something that I don't need is a lot harder when you see 2 twenties go straight out of your wallet. I think it's the visual impact of it. So I've decided to try the system for a few months to see how it works. I think it will really help me and allow me to stay within my budget and when T and I do get married, managing our money will be a whole lot easier. 

I didn't like the idea of using boring plain envelopes and I didn't want to shell out a bunch of money for the already made cute ones I found on Etsy, so I found a really easy pattern for fabric envelopes. I haven't made them quite yet, but I have a few days off next week and I'm planning on getting them. I figure I could make like 5 or 6 of them from a yard of fabric, which is relatively inexpensive to being with. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

I can hear it already...

Uh, Jack...your birthday was a few months ago. You wrote about it on here, remember. Don't you think it's too early for you to be losing your mind?! 

I'm not talking about that birthday though! I'm talking about my other birthday! My baptism birthday is today. On this day one year ago (at 11am Detroit time I believe) I was able to begin my life again with a clean slate because I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

It's kind of crazy thinking about how much my life has changed in a year. I think this year was one of the most exciting, terrifying, fun, and intense years I've ever had. 

- I found my place in this world. 

- My relationship with Christ and my Heavenly Father is stronger than it has ever been. 

- I moved 1,600 miles away from the only home I've ever known. 

- I met the man I'm going to spend time and all eternity with. 

- I graduated from college. 

-I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

(I'm going to warn you now, this part is going to get all mushy and stuff. I won't be offended if you want to smack me because I'm being sentimental and I won't blame you if you stop reading :) ) 

I am so happy with where I am in life. I've been searching for this happiness my entire life and I can't really remember a time before this that I was this blissful. I really owe it all to Heavenly Father. I know that I'm where I need to be to fulfill my purpose and I only hope I can live up to His expectations. 

Getting married and starting a family is going to be so fun. And hard. And trying. We're going to struggle and we're going to probably fall on our butts a few (or a lot) of times but the funny thing is, I'm not scared. This is what my purpose on this earth is: to be a wife to a worthy priesthood holder and a mother to the children that Heavenly Father entrusts me with. 

I am so thankful for the missionaries that sacrificed two years of their lives in order to better mine. I couldn't have done any of this without them. Especially the first two missionaries I met. Both of them are home now and I'm so grateful I got the chance to meet them. The three Elders taught me so much and I miss them so dearly. 

I am so thankful for a supportive family who have been there for me no matter what. Especially my mom. Even though my baptism was something that she didn't understand, she still supported me and came. That meant more to me than I think she knows (although she will know, because I know she's reading this. HI MOM!) 

I am so thankful for my future husband. He makes me a better person and makes me want to live more like Christ. He's an amazing example to me and I couldn't do this without him. He makes me laugh when all I want to do is break down and cry. And when I do break down and cry, he's there. He's one of the few people in this world that can actually calm me down when I'm freaking out. And believe me, I'm a pretty emotional person so that can be a challenge. I'm so thankful he wants me to be able to stay at home with our kiddies when we do have some and I'm thankful that he's willing to work to support us when that time does come. 

I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon, the Bible, Joseph Smith, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. I am so thankful that I have finally found a religion that has everything right. The Gospel is a beautiful and perfect thing if you take the time to study and understand it. I'm still learning, but I'm on my way to being able to do it. 

Everything that I am thankful for is a direct blessing from God. I know it is. I couldn't have done it without the Gospel, Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the decision I made to devote my life to Christ exactly one year ago. It's made all the difference in the world. 

Please pretend I'm not wearing a hideous white jump suit ;) 

I'm a DIY Bride

'Tis true.

And I am totally okay with that. I've always been what I deem a wanna-be creative person. I have all these ideas bouncing around up there in my little noggin but due to sheer laziness, being intimidated, lack of funds, or a combination of all four, I rarely really craft like all the amazing blogs I follow on here (confession time real quick: I secretly want to 'bloggy famous'. I know. It's embarrassing, right? But, what can I say? I just really want to have one of those cute blogs that has bunches of tutorials and readers and know that someone likes what I write and create...Ok...back to non-embarrassing items.) 

Now that we have THAT awkward confession out of the way...let's move back to the task at hand. So, I have this awesome opportunity to be a DIY bride, right? I get to have a hand in everything that goes into my wedding. I've always been a the-knot.com stalker (okay. confession #2. I've been stalking that website for years. Okay. Stop laughing now.) but I've never really had a solid idea of exactly what I want. But now that I have a budget, a date, and that one important thing...a groom ;) I can finally dream!

We're going to be having a romantic, rustic vintagey themed wedding (I hate that word. Theme. Blech. It conjures up visions of hot pink zebra print or butterflies everywhere or crystals dripping from everything because it's a crystal themed wedding. Alright, I'm stopping before I loose anyone else who had a themed wedding) 

So, we're going with a rustic feel to the reception. And to accomplish that we're (hopefully) going here: 

(source) 

I say hopefully because they don't set their prices until Mid-November for the next year. Meaning, they don't actually start booking dates until they set their prices. Stressful, hey? But, I'm confident it'll work out. ;) 

The inside will be filled with twinkling lights 

(pinterest)

Said lights will be bought right after Christmas to save $$$. We all know that the day after Christmas, those suckers go on sale. The word 'Sale', by the way, is a DIY-Bride's favorite word. 

I'm also making my own centerpieces and will be arranging the flowers myself after buying them from a wholesale shop that's down the street from my house. This week (after I recovered from being on my death bead) my mom and I drove all over Utah to pick up these puppies: 

(actually, they're the white ones to the left, but you get the idea) 

And some cute ribbon to match our colors (honeydew green, tulip pink, and chocolate brown) to tie around them to add a pop of color.

I've got a few other ideas bouncing around in my head (thanks a lot to pinterest really) that I'm going to be working on in the next few months. I'm really excited to continue planning and to see this turn out to be a wonderful day. But, in all honesty, as long as I get married in the Temple to my best friend, the rest is just icing on the cake. Because let's face it...my future hubs is all kinds of adorbs isn't he?