YouTube gems.

Some of these are old and some are newer, but they're all YouTube gems that needed to be shared over and over.  Enjoy!


if animals ate fast food:

dad & daughter cover:

missionary sees mom after 2 years:

Taylor Swift & a goat:

mouse trap cheese commercial:

things i'm dreaming of {february}:


this cream & gold polka dot shirt.
striped & polka dot straws found here.
this fabulous color-blocked 3/4 sleeve cardigan.
the super cute house right here.
the cutest baby on Pinterest.
the funniest blog.
this lovely blanket in mink.
Target's collection of dinner plates right now.
this striped gold rug.
leave-in conditioner that smells great.
a sweet and classic Jack Johnson song.
this lovely printable that would look great in my living room.
this pave ring.

they say ice storms are no joke.


Smoothies:  a daily occurrence.
Quilt:  halfway done.
Flowers:  from my Valentine.

After living in Utah for 20 years, you'd think I'd have had a snow day before, riiiight?  Wrong.  I am proud to say that today I experienced/am experiencing my first snow day--in Missouri.  Ice day, actually.  I don't really mind being sent home from work. :) So it's a yummy dinner in the crockpot, catching up on books, snuggling under blankets, making cookies kind of day over here.  

I'm not complaining.

10 apps for you chaps!

As I'm sure you could tell by the title of this post, my poetry skills kind of hit a growth stunt in the 3rd grade.  I don't even blame my writing professor my freshman year of college for being super disappointed with my poetry.  Normally, I'd have felt really bad that her eyes even saw the dang stuff, but she was evil and deserved to read terribly written poetry.  Moral of the story is:  I'm really good at rhyming the end of words and that's it.  It's whatever.  Carrying on...

10 Free Apps You Need

1.  Mint.com - I cannot stress how great this app is.  Plug in your bank accounts, set your budget for the month, and watch it track how much you're spending.  Ben and I have been using this app for the past 10 months and have zero complaints.  It helps us track where our money is going and how much we can spend without going over our budget.  It will change your life for the better.  I'd probably even sell my firstborn for this app.  But, you know, I don't have to since it's free.



2.  Instagram -  Everyone and their dog has this app already, but that doesn't change how much I love it.  Facebook gets old with all of the clutter (read: statuses, game requests, etc.) and Instagram is so simple.  Plus, emoticons. 



3.  Gospel Library - Forget your scriptures at home while trying to rush out the door to church?  Gospel Library app.  Don't want to carry the Ensign to your Visiting Teaching appointment?  Gospel Library app.  Want to read your scriptures while riding the metro to work but don't have room in your purse?  Gospel Library app.  The lazy man's go-to tool.  :)  Kidding.   But it's still really great.


4.  allrecipes.com - Plan your meals on the go!  I love using this app to find new recipes, plan out our dinners for the month, and put together grocery lists.  The best thing, for me, is being able to pull up recipes while out grocery shopping to make sure you have everything you'll need.  Sometimes during my lunch break at work I'll pull up this app and find a new recipe to make for dinner that day.  Life saver.

5.  Chase - Okay, you need your bank's app.  Since there aren't any Chase banks out here in Missouri, we use this app to transfer funds between different accounts, deposit checks, and do all those other little things.  You can schedule payments and receive notifications when it pays your bills for you.  You can even use it to find locations near you and get directions.

6.  Candy Crush -  This is one of those games that looks lame at first but turns out to be pretty fun.  Think of it as a mix between Bejeweled and Candyland.  Perfect for waiting at the dentist's office, long car rides, and school periods of time when you're just sitting for an hour or so.  What do you have to lose?  Download it, try it, love it.


7.  Couch to 10k -  For those of you who had a crazy idea one day that you wanted to run a 10k and don't know where to start.  I downloaded this and have been working my way through the weeks. IT-IS-AWESOME.  The best part of this app is how you can listen to your iTunes songs, have it tell you when to walk/jog/run/cool down, and then pick up the song right where it cut in.  This app makes running fun for me.



8.  Pinterest -  Another great app for when you're sitting around waiting for someone or have a few minutes to spare.  Scroll, pin, collect, browse, pin, scroll, pin, browse, scroll, repeat.  Get those creative juices flowing and be inspired.  (Also really great for finding dinner ideas when you don't have access to your computer.)




9.  Remote - For you Apple TV users... I love using this app to play Pandora or iTunes through our tv speakers.  Come home from church, push play on phone, and you have instant Sunday music streaming through the speakers. It's also nice to control Netflix from your phone.  Another great lazy man's app.  :)



10.  Find Friends - Not going to lie, Ben and I mostly use this app whenever I go grocery shopping.  I call him once I've left the store and he'll check this app 10 minutes later to see if I'm close.  Once I am, he'll meet me in the parking garage to help carry up groceries.  It's also great if you lose your phone somewhere - have your friend jump on their app and tell you where it is.



What are some of your favorite apps?

things we believe in.


In our home, we believe in buying movies off of iTunes, eating dinner together at the table every night, saving more than we spend, Cafe Rio pork, date nights, and now we also believe in homemade bread.


1.  Does anyone else think my arms look like stumps?
2.  Or maybe the oven mitt looks like a big fish/whale/shark?  :)

you know you love mail treasures too.

Ben is always the one who checks the mail.  It's, like, his job, you know?  Once we park and walk to the lobby floor, I go and hit the elevator button and Ben checks the mail.  Usually he'll walk over to me with grocery ads, credit card applications, bills, and the occasional mail treasure.

mail trea·sure:  noun  \ˈmāl ˈtre-zhər\
Something snazzy sent to you from someone who obviously adores the crap out of you.  Could be, but is not limited to:  candy, a letter, birthday presents, fuzzy socks, a good book, fingernail polish, holiday decorations, doodles drawn during a class, a good book, funny cards, a check, homemade items, old family photos, dvds/cds, edible fruit bouquets, blankets, clothes, flowers, souvenirs from trips, etc.

Friday was a lucky mail day.  Ben walked over with a mail treasure and I was over the moon.  A Valentine's Day themed message in a bottle.


Thanks, family!  I especially love the note from my youngest brother... Dear Lex & Ben, (mostly Ben) ... ;)

he put a ring on it...a year ago today!

mountains + cute boy + 100 tea light candles + snow + guitar + the biggest surprise ever + a ring + calls and texts to family and friends.

February 8th is written on my heart.

my favorite e-cards.


I can't tell you how hard I laughed at these.
The bacon one killed me.

a project & peanut butter cookies.

I don't know much about sewing, but this fabric is cute.  And it was only $6 with a coupon, so naturally, I had to buy it.  Calling all sewers out there...help.


After looking around the internet for a treat to take to a Super Bowl party, we discovered the best peanut butter cookie recipe.  I can't believe how easy these cookies are to make and how many the recipe makes!  We're up to our eyeballs in cookies.


Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
   1 c. salted butter, softened
   1 c. creamy peanut butter
   1 c. brown sugar
   1 c. sugar
   2 eggs (at room temp)
   1 1/2 tsp vanilla
   2 3/4 c. flour
   2 tsp. baking soda
   48 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
   1/2 c. sugar for rolling the dough into before baking

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.  Combine butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a large mixing bowl.  Blend until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Next, add flour and baking soda.  Mix just until combined.  Place 1/2 c. sugar into a small bowl.  Roll cookie dough into one inch balls and then roll into sugar.  Place balls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool on pan for one minute and then place Reese's Peanut Butter Cups lightly on top of each cookie.  Remove cookies from pan and allow to cool.  Store cookies in Tupperware to keep soft.