While visions of lovely things danced in her head...

Wow, I'm blogging alot lately. That means my life is just very exciting right now! On Saturday, a friend invited me to the Bridal Fair with her. She got engaged a few weeks ago and isn't getting married til the Spring, but she wants to start getting ideas and figure out what she wants. Knowing how much I obsess over all things wedding, she graciously invited me to come with her :)

The fair was so much fun and I loved seeing all of this year's new dresses, sampling yummy cake, and checking out creative photography. Weddings are so fascinating to me. I love seeing people find their individual aesthetics as they meticulously pick each element of the biggest day of their lives so far. However, this was the first time I've ever been able to talk to a bride about what she wants, discuss details, and give suggestions on things I've seen in my years of wedding blog stalking. :) It was such a blast.

Now, I have lots of images like this floating around in my head...

Inspiration board made at Polyvore.com.

That's kind of the overall look that I picture at this point. Of course, it could be a very long shot from her vision, because so far, we haven't talked that much about it. But still... I have a feeling this will be one lovely garden tea-party inspired wedding. Congratulations my friend!

* * *

Tonight, I decided to be spontaneous and try making homemade donuts. I got home from work and felt like being a culinary genius... (ha) so I dug right in and promptly turned our kitchen into a disaster area. I used the Food Nanny's Spudnut (the dough is made with potatoes) recipe, and they turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe Liz! (This recipe isn't posted on her website yet. It will probably be in her next cookbook though.) 

The glaze is pretty good too, and I usually hate the glaze on donuts. Mmm... Tasty.

Happy Monday!

*amber*

Simple Summer Snack

I am so ready for Summer food. Fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the gardenr. No more heavy, thick comfort foods. Creative salads. Yes, my body is ready for it. I'm already craving Summer food.

Unfortunately, Spring hasn't quite his Provo. It's gotten close a few times and we can definitely sense it coming. And then Mother Nature will say "Just Kidding!" and plop us right back in the middle of winter. Come on Spring... I want to start growing our own tomatoes, green beans, and fresh basil.

Even though Summer's not here yet, and the days are still pretty chilly, (even when it's sunny) I was really craving Summery food yesterday, so I whipped up this simple little concoction with leftovers from our fridge. Mmmmm... totally hit the spot. 

Below are my easy step-by-step instructions. Follow carefully, this can be a complex recipe... (haha not at all. That's what I love about Summer food. So simple and so packed with flavor)

Here's what you do:

• Take out a tortilla (would also be really good with a whole wheat one, but we just had plain ol' flour ones)
• Spread fat-free cream cheese all over the tortilla
• Lay slices of turkey sandwich meat in a circle so they cover most of the tortilla (I used about 5-6 slices)
• Cut about 1/3 cucumber into paper-thin slices
• Lay the cucumbers on the turkey
• Sprinkle with feta cheese
• Roll tightly into a wrap
• If desired for an appetizer, cut into slices and seal closed with toothpicks
• Enjoy! 

 Random, but just thought I would share. Come on Summer! (or Spring would work too...)

*Sigh*

*amber*

Rasperry Cream Filled Valentines Cupcakes!

As I mentioned last time, I was super busy but took a break from studying to make some Valentines goodies. I probably spent more time making these than I should have, but I really like how they turned out.

They were filled with whipped cream and raspberries.

I cut the top off the cupcake, used a fork to make a hole in the middle, then filled it with cream.

Then I made hearts on the top!

I cut tons of hearts out of wax paper and put them on the cupcakes while I dusted them with sifted confectioners sugar. Then, very carefully, peeled off the papers and... Voala!

(I was thinking, wouldn't these be so good for a baby shower or bridal shower or something? You could cut different shapes out of the wax paper depending on the occasion. You could even dye white cake any color you wanted! Hm... might have to do that someday.)

I made vanilla, red velvet, and chocolate. I made a test batch last week and made lemon cupcakes. The lemon and raspberries together were SO good.

Seth loved them. He at a ton... literally. One ton of delicious cupcakes. But they were baked with love. I think that cancels out calories or something if I remember right...

A broken heart.

Seth told me he had a broken heart.

This may have been when he found out I was taking some to work the next morning. Look at that sad face!!! Makes me want to cry.

And now, Happy Valentines Day to you all. I hope you have a great one. Whether you have a sweetheart to share it with or not (trust me, I completely understand that situation) take this extra opportunity to express your love to everyone you love. Parents, siblings, friends, roommates, children, grandparents, pet hamsters; whoever it may be that holds that special place in your heart.


Now, I'm going to get ready for our date tonight. Seth is surprising me. The anticipation is killing me!!! I better get out of here.

Loves!

*amber*

2 Months! New Yummies! 1 Week! and Dancing!

Wednesday was our 2 month anniversary!!! Holy cow, it seems so crazy that we've been married for 2 months! In some ways it feels so much shorter, but in some ways it feels like we've been married for years. To celebrate, we headed up the canyon to see the leaves because it was a sunny day and we wanted to enjoy what was possibly one of the last nice days of the fall. However, by the time we got up there, the sun had sunk behind a cloud. But we still had fun driving through the canyon looking at leaves and waterfalls. Then we went out to dinner. Can you believe it? Seth had never been to Macaroni Grill! Tragic, I know. So we decided to remedy that problem right away. We had a good time and some yummy yummy food. After dinner we stood up and... BAM! You know how people always say they feel like they're gonna pop? Well, after dinner, I was literally SURE I was close to popping. I don't know how my stomach let me get away with eating that much (we had two loafs of bread, an appetizer, a pasta entree each, and a big piece of super rich chocolate cake. And several refills of water.) Oh my goodness, my stomach was filled to its maximum capacity. I couldn't even eat the mint I got at the end of the meal because I was sure it would send me over the edge. WOW. But hey, I'm just getting prepped. Thanksgiving, here I come :) Anyway, it was a great anniversary and it was so nice to just get out of the house and go on a nice date again. I love you so much sweetheart! Happy two months!

Second item on the agenda (the topics follow the title. And I AM limiting myself to 4 paragraphs. I always get carried away writing on this thing) is that last night, Seth and I had an absolutely WONDERFUL snack. Before he got home from work, I decided to whip up a little treat from a new recipe. Here's it is in case you want it. I would have posted pictures because they even LOOK yummy... but alas they were eaten too quickly... So here you go!

Raspberry Coconut Bars

3/4 c. Butter

3/4 c. Brown Sugar

1/4 c. Granulated Sugar

1 c. All Purpose Flour

2 c. Sweetened Coconut

1 1/2 c. Quick Oatmeal

3/4 c. Raspberry Preserves

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until fluffy. Add flour, 1 cup coconut, and oatmeal. Mix together. Set aside 1 cup of dough. Press remaining dough evenly over bottom of a 9x13" pan. Spread raspberry preserves over the dough. Crumble remaining dough over the preserves. Sprinkle 1 cup of coconut over the dough. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

You can eat them as bars or here is my suggestion: Once they are cooled and have been cut, reheat a square. Top with softened vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries. (We didn't have the raspberries but I was fantasising about them and I'm positive they would be amazing. It's good with just ice cream too.)

Third, and crucially important item: ONE WEEK TIL HALLOWEEN!!! Ok people, it's crunch time. Make sure your costumes are ready and your houses stocked with candy. I love Halloween, can you tell?? I LOVE dressing up and part of me wishes Halloween came more than once a year so I could use more of my awesome costume ideas. This year, Seth and I are being... oops! I can't tell you. I like to keep my costumes a surprise. However, here are some hints. It has to do with one of Seth's favorite games. And for part of my costume, I will be wearing my sister's dance costume from when she was 10. Here it is (Alyse is the one on the right.)

Ok ok, yes I am wearing a 10 year old's costume. So what?? Don't judge me! Haha but have you guessed it yet? I doubt it. Today we are going up to Sandy and I will have access to my mom's sewing machine so I can finish our costumes!

Speaking of dance costumes, but mostly dancing, the reason we're going to Sandy today is because I am practicing with my sister! Last year, I was able to choreograph her solo. It was such a fun experience and amazing to watch her grow as a dancer. Here is a video of her solo last year. It is to "The Call" by Regina Spektor.

(video coming soon. my computer likes be crazy sometimes.)

Anyway, I am SO excited to be able to choreograph again this year and I think our idea for this year will be awesome. Today should be a good indicator. I miss dancing a lot so choreography is SO much fun for me. I'm so excited! And tonight, Seth and I are going to Odyssey's Thriller up in Salt Lake. If you haven't heard of it, it's a Halloween show put on by Salt Lake's (arguably) best contemporary dance company. The show is AWESOME and I go every year. Exciting crazy day. Whoo! Happy Saturday everyone, I'm off to finish up a normal weekend's worth of stuff before we have to leave. Toodloo!

*amber*