The Madness of March

As the title of this post would suggest, March was a mad month for us. I am not referring to basketball in any way. I'm thinking more mad like this: 

Did you see this movie?? We loved it!!! I love Tim Burton. And Johnny Depp. He's so talented (but no, I do not find him attractive... yuck. Yes captain Jack is cool, but he's gross.)

It was more like that kind of mad. Crazy, twisted, out of control mad. As Alice said in the 1951 classic, "Nothing [was] what it [was] because everything [was] what it [wasn't]. And contrary-wise; what it [was] wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" 

Now do you get it? ... Ok so maybe March wasn't quite that mad. Mainly it was just super busy. But that was how it felt at times.

So because of all this madness, I have not had much time to update this blog. But because March was so busy, I have many things that need to be put on this blog. So I will start now and see how far I get. The posts will go by topic because if I did it all at once, this post would go on forever. I'm going to try the short (haha... right. I never write anything short) and sweet approach.

One thing that got me through March was hanging out with friends. We try to have a game night every week with Seth's old missionary companion and roommate Brenton and his wife Sabrina. They had us over for Sunday dinner one week and they made amazing Japanese food. We were in charge of dessert so I made this cake:

I've never made a real homemade cake before, so it was an experience. It was called Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake and it was made with chocolate pudding so the cake was really moist and fudgey. The frosting was homemade too - basically just melted whipped cream and chocolate... for some reason it didn't really thicken like it was supposed to so it sort of dripped down the cake. But it was delicious nonetheless. 

Since getting married, I have realized that I really enjoy cooking and baking. It is such a stress reliever for me. 

* * *

In other news, we might be getting a table soon! Our apartment is so small that there isn't really room for a dining table. We have a drop leaf table in the kitchen that seats the two of us and that's it. We've been wanting a table for awhile so we can have people over for dinner, but so far it hasn't happened. It would have to be something that can fold down and be stored away when we're not using it. I found one that I think should work on craigslist for free! So now we just have to find a way to get up to Salt Lake before someone else takes it.

So friends and family, you may start expecting dinner invites any day now :) I hope. Fingers crossed.

* * *

I am also excited to get a table so we can have parties and have somewhere to put the food. When Alice came out, I wanted to have a Mad Hatter party where everyone would wear crazy hats and we'd celebrate our un-birthdays by eating cake and tea. Not real tea of course. As Elder Holland said this last conference, "You shouldn't be serving tea anyway." Hahaha, I couldn't stop laughing when he said that.

And of course, I would have the tea (herbal and other delicious beverages) all over the table in a random assortment of miniature tea sets. Which, conveniently, I collect! I have a bit of an obsession with tea sets. Which may explain these pictures: 

They are some of my favorite bridal shots. Which I had taken, guess where... at the Beehive Tearoom in Salt Lake!

* * *

I would like to take this time to apologize for the scatterbrainededness of this post. Now maybe you'll understand how mad I have become from this last month. My brain now travels a bajillion miles per hour. Hopefully writing everything out will act as a sort of therapy and get my mind straightened out. Hopefully.

*amber*

(Almost) April Showers

Wow, it has been over three weeks since I have written anything! I didn't even realize it because life has been so crazy lately. LOTS has happened since my last post... but I doubt I can even remember it all. So I will leave you all in suspense of what we have been up to for three long weeks.

Just kidding. Updates will come. Eventually. I have some recent adventures to tell you all about.

And, by the time I get around to updating on those, I'll probably have many more stories to tell. This weekend promises to have lots going on. It's Easter, General Conference, and my birthday... all on the same day! Whew! I'm tired already.


* * *


Today, you do not get the updates. Seth and I will be spending the rest of the evening starting our spring cleaning while watching a movie. I'm actually really excited... for deep cleaning??! Sh... don't tell Seth. He might start getting ideas ;)

Yay for Spring. That beautiful time when the world freshens up after a long stuffy Winter, and we can too.


* * *


Lately, the weather here in Utah has been beautiful. Lots of sunshine has been peeking its way into our little town. (And the weekend when it wasn't, we conveniently were in St. George! Haha!)

Today however was cold and grey. (ps, how do you spell grey? I think it's lame that some words have two different spellings. I personally prefer the e.) After all the sunshine and temperatures in the 70s, people were getting upset with Mother Nature today. But I loved it...

As I was walking to my Italian class, I noticed all the miserable, cold-looking faces. What a stark contrast to the faces I saw a couple days ago! Then, their faces were shining as bright as the sun! So I'm walking to class and I think to myself "This is a bummer day," and then I realize, "Wait, I'm actually in a really good mood. The weather isn't getting me down."

And thus, I had an epiphany. I don't hate the rain. I actually really love it. Besides the fact that it makes my (naturally curly) hair go crazy, and makes me cold, there is something really appealing to me about drizzly grey skies. Is that weird?

I find a rainy day really charming actually. Sun is great and beautiful, but a nice brisk day can be so refreshing. I think it's because all of the happy and bright things stand out more on a grey day.

I will demonstrate with a picture:

(Of course, I picked a photo of Zooey Deschanel. What can I say? I'm slightly obsessed with her as an actress.)

Now look at this picture. What is so appealing about it? Yes, she is dressed cute, but that's not the point. It's really her inner confidence and happiness shining through. She's not beaming at the camera, but her posture and the look in her eyes tell us that the drizzly day isn't getting her down. She's happy with who she is and it is able to shine through.

Rainy days make the warm warmer, a hug more comforting, and home cozier and more inviting.

Am I crazy? Probably. But hey, we already knew that right?

I do not, however, like the smell of rainy days. That is one thing I have never gotten about people. The rain (at least in Utah) smells like worms. Yuck!

*amber*

I have nothing to say...

In the meantime,
feel free to listen to this lovely song. Over and over. And over. That's what I've been doing for the past few months. It's the song I'm choreographing the group lyrical dance to and I still cant get enough of it.

We also went to Idaho this past weekend to see our new niece, Hailey Darlene and hang out with our other neices, brother and sister-in-law, and mother in law. We had so much fun and it was a much needed break. 

More on that later however. I took my camera but I'm getting into a bad habit of remembering to take my camera places but forgetting to take pictures. I'll post later when I get pictures from my mother-in-law.

And now, just relax and enjoy the song again. Really. Play it over and over. You will be soothed and rejuvenated.

*amber*

Inspiration- Dining Room

Dedicated to my sister-in-law Megan :) love you Megs.

I put this Inspiration Board together on Polyvore.com. Just so you all know, this is the (very rough draft) inspiration for our future dining room. Someday. When we have a dining room :)

 If you are like me and are slightly obsessed with decorating but don't have an outlet, I would suggest Polyvore. You can use it to put together inspiration boards for anything really. 

I used to want a yellow living room with a similar vibe to the dining room above. However, I realized I'd rather have a calmer color like blue for a living room. I then came to the ultimate conclusion that the perfect color for a dining room is yellow. At least for my dining room.   

I am the kind of person that loves to plan for things like this long in advance. I have had every room in my future house (including possible rooms that a house may randomly have... you never know) planned out for as long as I can remember. And though I tweak my ideas every once in awhile, I figure if I like them for that long, they'll hopefully stand the test of time. I also had my wedding basically planned out at 12 years old. 

Also, I'm calling dibbs on this inspiration. Seriously, if I come to your house and your dining room has yellow striped and damask walls, dark wood floors, a big black table with mismatched black chairs, big antique white buffet, vintage silver tea sets, rustic not-too-formal chandelier, and a vase of ivory roses on the table... I may be upset. But then, yellow is a happy color and I may just love it so much that I cant help but forgive you. Curse you.

:)

What colors/elements inspire you? What about colors that you would love in specific rooms in your house? Or am I just weird about stuff like this and normal people don't think like this... haha let me know what you think.

Now, I am excited to leave for Idaho in a few minutes. I hope I'm not still nauseous and dizzy when I meet baby Hailey... dumb antibiotics.

*amber*

This is Tight

Pun intended. I usually don't post about stuff like this but here's the deal.

Elaine from the blog Clothed Much is hosting a giveaway for a free pair of tights from We Love Colors. I usually don't enter giveaways either, but I really want to win this one. I was looking on the internet for some teal-ish green-ish tights to wear under black and white dresses and I happened to stumble across the We Love Colors sight. They have tons of colored tights options and I was tempted to order some. Then today, I found this giveaway on Elaine' blog. Convenient, no? :)

Now if I can win... oh yeah. 

So if any of you are on the lookout for new tights (or other things like socks, gloves, dancewear, etc.) I would recommend checking out We Love Colors. Truthfully, not my favorite place for tights, but they do have tons of colors to choose from which is nice.

So head over to Elaine's blog to enter this sweet giveaway for the pair of your choice. (I chose basic opaque tights in spruce green.)

Pretty, no? Yes, I'm obsessed with the color green.

So basically, this post is an entry in the contest. So if you're not interested in this, please ignore. I just want to win free tights :)

*amber*

Chipmunk Cheeks...

So I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday... and let me tell you, it was a party. 

Actually, everything went really well. Everything has gone smoothly so far and I woke up this morning with not much pain (there was pain, but not as bad as I expected.) I didn't swell yesterday but I woke up this morning  with puffier cheeks. Then Seth accidentally hit my cheek with his arm and now I have this...

Before:

After:

 

Lovely. And might I say that is a fantastic picture of me..... um...

no.

But really, the swelling isn't that bad. It just makes my face square shaped.

Now body, work your magic. And liquid diet, continue to be delicious. At least until I can eat real food again.

*amber*

Free Free Free!

So... I love free stuff. Doesn't everyone? Yes, I know there are times when there is a reason something is free... but usually I won't object. Free is free, cheap or not :)

Now I'll let you in on a little hint. Amazon has a page where you can download TONS of albums... for free! Yes, you heard (or rather, read) me correctly. Whole albums. And some random singles.

True, some of them are those "Greatest Hits of the 80s" and "Peaceful Sounds from the Ocean" type CD's that you can listen to by pushing the buttons on those boards at Target... but who doesn't love some good ocean sounds every once in awhile? Come on... it's free! And I think there are a few legitimate artists on there. Sorry, no Miley Cyrus or Jo Bros if that's what you're into... but a few of the artists are ones that Seth has heard of and likes.

I also think they may update it periodically and put new albums up. So I may have to start watching it every once in awhile. Let's face it, once I discovered Pandora, I'm too cheap to pay for new music. So this is the perfect option for me! 

Anyway, if you're interested and get all psyched about this stuff like I do... go here.

Go ahead, tell me you don't want to blast this and dance around your house. That's what I thought.

*amber*