things i'm dreaming of {september}:

{source}

a his and hers birthstone ring.
this little candle warmer.
couch pillows that are basically fabulous.
the perfect fall outfit.
a muddy buddy recipe I'd go crazy over.
as silly as it sounds, a cheese slicer!
fingernail polish in a great color for fall.

i'm one of those people who doesn't mind being home alone.

The other night, Ben had to stay late at school to hold a test review for the undergrad course he's been TA-ing.  Naturally, I did what any female in her 20's would do and put on a chick flick.  And then proceeded to do the dishes, clean up the apartment, iron some clothes that had been laying around for far too long, sewed some table runners, and busted out some fall decor.  I'm most productive when I'm home alone.  :)

P.S.  Now I'm feeling an itch to set up the Christmas tree and get out the Christmas music!  Anyone else out there anxious to do the same??

i stole a hymn book.

I stole gifted myself this hymn book from church.

A few months ago when I was serving as the ward librarian, I decided to reorganize everything and get rid of stuff from the 70s, 80s, and 90s that had been collecting dust and taking up space.  Whilst doing so, I came across an old cardboard box filled to the brim with stuff.  Church books galore!  Projector slides galore!  Lesson manuals galore!  However, at the bottom of the box were the greatest treasures.  All different editions of the hymn book.

My favorite thing about this 1978 version of the hymns is that it's a nice shade of navy blue, and not that heinous green color.  ;)

Shout out to Ben for preparing a talk yesterday an hour before church started, and actually being able to fill the 15 minutes with worthwhile commentary and thoughts!

that one time we ended up in a magazine.

Yesterday my mom texted me a photo of mine and Ben's engagement photos...

in the Utah Valley Bride 2013 magazine.

It's our {very, very small} claim to fame. ;)

Our new names are Alexis Joy Andersen and Christopher Albert Larsen III.

I am dying!

Happy Thursday!

chicago.

"The Bean" in Millennium Park.  Love that couple in the background.  :)

The Tribune Tower has pieces of rocks from all over the U.S. and world on the outside of the building.  We each found the rock from our home state.

The Chicago River and Lake Michigan architecture river boat tour was hands down our favorite thing!  A little pricy, but so worth it.

Apparently there are pirates in Chicago...? :)

Fun.  That's what this trip was.  From being serenaded in the car by Ben for the last hour of the drive to Chicago, to sitting on a little bench at Navy Pier that overlooked the lake and sharing funnel cake, to laughing so hard at my cousin's joke while out and about that I had to stop walking to wipe away tears, it was just so enjoyable.  My favorite things we did/saw were: the boat architecture tour, "The Bean," walking around the Tribune Tower, the stained glass museum, trying new restaurants, and window shopping on The Magnificent Mile.

I think everyone should go visit Chicago at least once!

But make sure you take me with you. :)

Live a little and go do something this weekend that you've always wanted to do!

Ben and I are taking off for a little roadtrip. :)

craving something sweet and want it in 5 minutes?

A few weeks ago, we realized that you can make scones in a matter of minutes.

And here's how...

1.  Pour some oil into a pan and heat it up (it has to be HOT!), or plug in your fryer.

1.  Pull some Rhodes frozen rolls out of your freezer.

2.  Place a few on a plate and microwave in 30 second increments until they're thawed

(or leave out--covered--on your counter for a few hours).

3.  Flatten it with your hands.

4.  Place in the hot oil or in the fryer.

5.  Cook each side until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

6.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar/honey/cinnamon sugar/whatever floats your boat.

Note:  You can use this as fry bread for Navajo Tacos.  Or whatever else you can come up with.

Also note:  We've only done this once and it worked for us, so sorry if it doesn't always work! 

this post really makes zero sense.

Although our weekend was packed, we managed to squeak in a Sunday walk around the Arch grounds and along the riverfront.  Please notice that small white dot in the bottom left corner of the last picture.  That is a guy fishing.  I don't know why that's relevant or why I felt the need to share.

In other news...

My current job ends on Friday.

My new job starts on Monday!

We put another offer in on a house.

My friend made samoa brownies this weekend that were amazing.

BYU won the football game.  Soundly.

I finally got some BBQ from this famous place.

And lastly, the sky put on a pretty great show.

I'd say it was a pretty good weekend.

This was taken on the freeway (while Ben was driving!) at 60 mph, so don't judge the photo.  Just admire the sunbeams. :)

Congrats on almost making it through Monday!

4 products i love {part 1}.

1 // Nude 'tude Eyeshadow - Received this as a birthday gift and love the colors!  The eyeshadow definitely lasts all day and doesn't slowly rub off.  All of the colors blend and fade into one another well, which I really like.

2 // Basic HALFTEE Layering Shirt - Thanks to a friend's recommendation a few months ago, the Shade halftee is literally what got/is getting me through the summer here in St. Louis.  It's 100 degrees and humid, and the last thing I want to do is wear an undershirt in order to wear certain things.  However, this will save your life and seriously keeps things cooler.  (Note: I guess Shade went out of business, but this is similar.  And sorry for the bare stomach in the photo above.)

3 // Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara -  Need a new mascara?  This will change your life like it changed mine. ;)  It's a little more expensive than what I'm willing to spend on mascara, but you can definitely tell a difference between this and the stuff you can pick up at Walmart.

4 // Clarisonic Mia 2 Sonic Skin Cleansing System - My skin has broken out less since I've been using this, and I actually feel like my face is clean.  It's gentle on the skin, yet effective.  Highly recommend.

What's a favorite product of yours that you've recently discovered?

primary-isms.

Being in Primary sure provides some pretty funny moments...



Sister teaching sharing time:  "And now let's read Matthew 25:35-36."

*insert the cute voice of a 5-year old girl taking ten minutes to read the following two verses*

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came unto me.

Sister teaching sharing time:  "Thank you for reading that.  Okay, I have slips of paper with parts from the two verses that someone will come up to the front to act out.  Everyone else has to guess which part is being acted out.  Who wants to go first?"

7-year old boy:  "I hope the naked part isn't in there.  I like to keep my clothes on, thank you very much!"

- - - - -

Sister teaching sharing time:  "Who can tell me what is going on in this picture?"

5-year old girl waving her hand about wildly: "The girl is blind and Jesus is healing her!!!"

7-year old boy:  "She's obviously sick, not blind, stupid."

- - - - -

Me:  "I'm going to read you a story about a girl who loved Jesus so much, that she spent a whole Saturday cleaning up her church building after it was hit by a hurricane."

*reads story*

7-year old boy:  "Sucks to be her."