it's 11:04 p.m. and..

I just love a good storm.

Pouring down rain.

Gigantic bolts of lightning followed by

Deep thunder.

And of course the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

Ah, heaven.

Henry is CRAZY.

having cats is preparing me for kids! people laugh at this, but it's true. about three nights ago henry woke me up every hour it seemed like. this is unusual because when we go to bed, lucy and henry know not to bother us until the morning. they hop down and lucy sleeps in her cage or her pillow and henry sleeps in his cage. sometimes they will hop up on the bed and sleep on our pillows because i sleep at the very edge of mine, but they still don't bother us. but this night was bad. henry was pawing me and meowing so loudly non stop and licking the back of my neck (i think he knows this is super annoying). i threw him off every time and then realized that something was probably wrong. at about 4 in the morning i got up, checked the food bowl and sure enough, it was empty. i filled up the bowl and wasn't bothered the rest of the night.

Tiburon...

South Carolina is where the majority of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees takes place. I finished reading this last night- at 7:45 to be exact.

The story was rich of Southern culture, summer romance, adventure, friendship, belonging, and hope- just enough to keep a gal entertained.

I especially enjoyed reading about the Southern culture- particularly on the food.

Smothered chicken, boiled peanuts, orangeade, corn fritters, butter beans, and for dessert, ice-cold Coca-Cola with salted peanuts- "We [Lily and I] like to pour our peanuts straight into the bottle. It's the perfect combination of salt and sweet in liquid." - August Boatwright.

Mmmm, sounds delightful.

I Heart NJ.

Change and I have a weird relationship. And most of the time, I don't like it.

The most recent change in our lives has been leaving Utah- permanently. We always knew that Utah would just be a temporary place, but I guess the saying it true "You never truly miss something until it's gone." (well, something like that).

Maybe I don't miss Utah itself but what I do miss is- family, friends, not having to use a GPS 24/7, familiarity, the mountains, J-Dawgs, Brick Oven, Guru's, Los Hermanos, BYU ice cream and pulled pork sandwiches, and of course Cafe Rio (because Moe's just doesn't cut it).

Towards the end, Devin was especially excited about leaving. All he kept saying was "I can't believe our time here is almost up. And the best part is we're never coming  back!" Even I found myself saying how much I can't wait to leave.

But now I miss it. Sigh. And the saddest part of all is not knowing if or when we will ever be back.

Ted Mosby on change (from the TV show How I Met Your Mother- I suggest watching this by the way)...."We're going to get older no matter what, so the question is whether we want to get on with our lives or desperately cling to the past..."

Well I choose to desperately cling to the past.

j/k :)

Oh, and Happy Pioneer Day!

today was a great day...

Devin came home with a flower pot and a bag full of blow pops. I was especially excited about the flower pot because of Devin's brilliant idea (and because it's something to paint).


We just love our guacamole.

i dislike Jabba the Hut.

While my husband watches Star Wars, I'm going to share with you a recent creation of mine. I encourage you to make this when you have some time because well, it's awesome, time efficient, easy to make, and pretty dang good.

Here's what you need:

1 Oreo or graham cracker crust (we used Oreo)
1 large box of vanilla pudding
1 8oz container of cool whip
2 squares of Baker's Semi-sweet chocolate
2.5 cups of milk
A handful or two of fresh blueberries

And here's what to do:

1. Prepare the pudding mix as directed on the box. Also, add about half the container of cool whip and whisk all of the ingredients together.
2. Use about 3/4 cup of the remaining cool whip and combine this with the chocolate squares. Microwave on high in 15 second intervals until creamy.
3. Mix the blueberries into the pudding mixture.
4. Pour the pudding mixture into the crust, and finally, drizzle the chocolate over the pie.

It's hard to drizzle. Enjoy :)

B is for birthdays.

Maybe this time around I won't have to make my own cake, wink :)

Well, I'm glad I share this special month with these guys:

then & now: All we know is that their birthday is sometime in July. For now, let's just say the 17th :) Happy 2 years!

and Parker, Christa's little man who'll be turning 1 on 7/28! Can't wait to see you guys at the end of this month!

Happy Birthday!

yes.

Project Two: Complete. I used the leftover fabric from the coffee table and added some lace for kicks.

I'm happy because this means no more pain!!!

So, if you have any project ideas that you'd be willing to share, then please do because like I've said, I have all the time in the world to do just about anything.

If I had all the money in the world..

Then yes, Mr. Israeli dude at the "It's All Natural" kiosk...I might consider spending $160 on facial cream and moisturizer.

But you see, I'm a college grad that's unemployed.

Yet some how you still manage to pester away.

When a gal says "No, thank you", she means "Leave me alone."

The end :)

I've got all the time in the world to do just about anything.

So, I've decided to re-read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I want to re-familiarize myself with her story before the movie comes out August 11!!- because it's been at least a year since I've read the book.

I told my mom about this book and she read it too. She said she loved it, and I'm sure you will too :)

Happy Wednesday!!

A is for awsome.

So, the next time you're down south, make sure to pick up some boiled peanuts.

We found them at a produce market on the side of the road in South Carolina. But I'm sure grocery stores sell them as well. (well, at least that's what I've been told!)

"Mmm, I love me some boiled peanuts."- Devin

One time..

(not to long ago 6/21) I lost my cat Lucy. Well, at least that's what I thought for a good forty-five minutes.

But then I found her.

She somehow managed to maneuver her way underneath our bedroom dresser.

Silly kitty.

Anywhos, here's a cool kitty fact: if a cat's head fits, then so will the rest of their body!

So that explains it!

crafty shmafty.

Now that I am completely done with school, I have plenty of time to work on my creative side.

Project Uno: The idea came from this book. It's a pretty rad book with all sorts of artsy fartsy ideas in them. (thanks Danna for letting me borrow it!)

I don't have a before picture to share, but just imagine a coffee table with scratch marks and nail polish stains that smudged into the finish, and that's basically what I was working with.

So here's what you do:

1. Find a table that needs a new look.
2. Pick out fabric of your choice.

Here's a picture of the fabric that I picked out all by myself!!!!

3. Purchase some Minwax Polycrylic Protective Clear Finish from your local Lowe's. (this will serve as the glue to intact the fabric onto the surface).

4. Cut the fabric to fit the table. 

5. Spread a thin amount of clear finish onto the surface, then lay down the fabric.

6. Spread a generous amount of clear finish on top of the fabric.

7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until the whole table is covered in fabric.

Now for the end result: A fabulous chic coffee table that everyone loves!!!

Next Project!!! Homemade Heating Pad!

Weird Times.

My husband is weird (I mean this in a good way) but then again so am I. The main purpose of this post is for our recollection; ya know, so one day when we're gray and old we can laugh at all the silly things we've said.

"We should kill Lucy (Lucy is one of our cats) and implant her eyes into our child, so that our child can have pretty blue eyes like Lucy." - Devin

Well, Lucy does have pretty eyes.

"I want to have sex with this cake. I want to sew my butt shut it's so good." - Devin (referring to the awesome cake I made for the potluck dinner last night. Seriously, if you have some time then make this cake!)

"Blah, blah, blah, something, something, something...I'm like 9 months pregnant."- Devin (I missed the first part of what he said).


And don't worry, this post will be continually updated :)

Ben!

We spent fourth of July weekend down in Columbia, South Carolina with Devin's family. And while I was down there I got to practice some photography. Thanks Lauren for letting me shoot some pictures of your sweet baby boy! (and for sharing some helpful photo tips! I promise to never use the flash again unless necessary!).


Enjoy the many facial expressions of baby Benjamin:
 

Oh to be young.

If I could travel back in time then I would probably be found here:




rocking out to Queen's oh so many hits.

Seriously Freddie Mercury (lead vocals), you amaze me.