my old roomie made the mormon tabernacle choir!!!

seriously good news. 

my old roomate al is now in the mormon tabernacle choir. 

we are so proud and thrilled for her. 

the girl has serious talent and perfect pitch. 

so happy for you al! 

25 days of Christmas

via

i know its already 2 weeks into the month but its never too late to find more ways to celebrate Christmas. maybe these will give you some ideas for the few days till Christmas!

01. play Christmas music as much as possible
02. tell the Christmas story from the scriptures
03. talk about family Christmas traditions
04. make gingerbread
05. make and send off Christmas greetings
06. make homemade chocolate fudge
07. Christmas tree picnic dinner
08. pick out Christmas gifts for each other
09. wrap the gifts
10. make a paper chain garland
11. make pumpkin puree
12. bake a pumpkin chocolate pie
13. learn about Hanukkah
14. prepare festive Christmas dinner
15. make tree skirt
16. hang up front door holiday wreath
17. celebrate Nochebuena with friends
18. go to the movies
19. hot chocolate and tim tam night
20. tour holiday lights
21. watch a Christmas movie
22. do acts of service
23. take photos of our first Christmas
24. decorate the house
25. make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning

happy thanksgiving

via martha stewart

today is thanksgiving for us which equals a busy day of cooking!

here is the menu:

brown sugar, mustard-glazed ham

green beans with hollandaise sauce

creamy garlic mashed potatoes with gravy 

stuffing with celery and onions

cranberry sauce (maybe if i have time...)

apple cider

no dessert this year! ill be whipping up pumpkin chocolate pie after our visit to ry's family for a non-traditional thanksgiving (indian food). im bummed that there will be no turkey to eat this year (turkeys are way to big for two people) so we decided to cook a ham instead with the traditional sides. ill be missing my mom's paella, turkey and cranberry salad. YUM. maybe she will freeze some leftovers for me :) a pregnant woman hopes. 

hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving weekend. enjoy your black friday too. will you be participating in some sales? i love cyber monday so much more than black friday- no crowds!

happy thanksgiving friends! hope you enjoy time with your loved ones. 

*and im sure most of you already know the gender of baby but im waiting to post pictures to "officially" reveal it here on ze blog ;) 

**check out martha stewart thanksgiving menus here (super helpful when planning!)

a simple gift to a friend (and leftovers for me)

glossy strawberries all lined up in a row

i used mainly dark chocolate but added some semi-sweet morsels to take the bitter edge off

and some butter to keep it shiny and smooth

im not very good at making the strawberries look "perfect"

but hey- its still yummy

tucked away neatly in a bakery box with some parchment paper

a gift tied up and ready for a friend

chocolate dipped strawberries are one of my most favorite gifts to receive and give

fall is here

butternut squash harvested from the garden 

made a fantastic soup!

the cutest goodie bag from craft night at my friend K's house

candy corn!

i dont want to open it because the shape of the purse is so cute

mini pumpkins with long stems

pumpkin sign is up

sweet cinnamon pumpkin handwash and lotion

i love it when the lotion matches

acorn centerpiece for living room

so petite and fun

i was tempted to go harvest some acorns in the woods but the morning sickness got the better of me and i decided fake was a great way to go for now

the glitter on the top of the acorns makes me happy too :)

happy autumn! 

have a great weekend

gifts from far away

don't you love getting gifts from far away?

packages in the mail with different languages sprawled all over them

okay i love gifts period.

doesn't matter if they come from far away

i recently received a gift from my friend Linda's mom

obviously she lives in Japan

one day i hope to visit Japan and meet her

wouldn't that be amazing?

thank you mrs. shimizu! 

you have made my day much brighter!

the Japanese language is so pretty 

even the postage was nice to look at

some things i love about japan:

01. sushi

02. their beautifully manicured gardens

03. their love of paper and crafts

04. their love of all pretty and cute things

05. walking everywhere

06. sanrio

07. harajuku 

cakepops

our neighbor dropped by to welcome us to the neighborhood 

and look what she brought us

yummy cakepops!

so cheery and thoughtful 

i have been a fan of bakerella for quite some time now

cakepops always make me think of her

the first delicious pop

yea for chocolate fillings!

my sister-in-law A made some cakeballs for the colorado wedding

a gluten-free version and a regular version

both were so good

ill need to ask for the recipe soon

have you tried making cakepops or cakeballs? 

any favorite recipes?

remember this disaster?

just got back from the extremely quick california visit

family  is coming this week

got to get ready!

springtime family photos

in celebration of springtime and our first home we decided to take some family photos

 M of lemonpeel studios is my choice photographer

M is ah-may-zing

she will make you laugh and set you at ease

its hard not to have a good time with M

seriously

take a look at their website

it will make you smile

see another photo shoot with me here 

our charming victorian home

complete with cherry blossoms

...swoon...

i love you japan

to all my Japanese friends

we are praying for you, your friends and families

valentines day decor

valentine card and hello kitty valentines from A & K 

corner decor

the twig tree is all pinked-out

a picture of me and my little sis by my friend M

mantle candy cones

closer view of the larger candy cone

matching wreath 

nellie's enchiladas

me, nellie, al, yousun, youna
we had way too much fun together
when you are in rexburg you get more creative
and creativity = fun

this recipe is one of my favorites
and my friend nellie is one of my favorites too
i absolutely adore her

hope you enjoy this recipe

 i have altered these ingredients to make the dish feel lighter without comprising the luscious creaminess
feel free to change up the recipe
you might have just found yourself a new favorite

Nellie's Enchiladas 

2 chicken breasts cooked, cooled, shredded
16 oz. sour cream
1 small can of diced chilies
1 can of cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
6-8 tortillas
1 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese

For the filing:
Mix the cooked chicken with the sour cream, diced chilies and half of the cheese.

For the sauce:
Mix the cream of chicken with the milk.

Put 1/2 to 1 cup filing in each tortilla and wrap (depending on how many tortillas you have or how full you want each tortilla).
Put the seam side of the tortilla face down into your casserole dish.
Repeat for as many tortillas you can fill and fit into the dish.
Pour the sauce on top of the wrapped up tortillas.
Sprinkle with leftover cheese.
Bake at 350 degree for 30 mins.

Enjoy!

via