sniff sniff.

we've been a sick little couple for the last week or so. I officially sound like a man, and we're both coughing and sniffling nonstop.

last night, my sweet Jared was up so very late doing homework. of course, I can't go to bed without him, so I stayed up watching him work.

I have a huge crush on my husband.. he's pretty wonderful.

now for a good, good song... today I've been recovering on the couch, listening to a little Jim Croce. enjoy.

mustachio!

So, I'll admit it, I miss the mustache. Here is a great little film that our friend David did with Jared. David and his wife, Catie, are in our ward, and they're pretty rad (their blog :::here:::)

Website Intro - Mustache from Life File Videos on Vimeo.

the judds.

So... I've mentioned in prior posts that I love music. I do. A lot. It was ingrained in me as a little child. And I have to say, that I think I was exposed to some pretty great musicians. As the youngest of six children, and wanting to be exactly like all of them, I listened to near everything I heard my siblings listening to. I even recall going into my brother's bedroom, and allowing them to transform my bum-length hair into what I saw on their Bob Marley poster on the wall (I don't think they got very far, thanks Mom). To say the least, music was a huge part of our home. I can say that I appreciate music from many genres, but I now rarely listen to country. I really only listen to country music from past generations, like, Johnny Cash, for example. But one country duo I LOVE, doesn't necessarily fall under the Johnny Cash umbrella, so I'm a little surprised that I'm still as in love with them as I once was as a child. The Judds continue to rock my world. My sisters and mother and I all love them, and I was raised on them. Naomi and Wynonna are making their final rounds this tour, and we're going!!! Unfortunately Trevlyn, my oldest sister, can't make it up to Utah for the concert, but the momma can, and I'm stoked, to say the least. Jared and I will be going with my momma and sister, Dori, can't wait! This song, She is his only need, is a favorite, for sure. And I am guaranteed to cry, every time I hear it.

autumn (heaven).

We decided to hit the road today after Jared finished his classes. I get very anxious when the leaves begin to change... I crave the colorful beauty and the crisp mountain air.

We drove up through Park City, then through Heber, then down Provo Canyon (love) and up toward Sundance. Continuing past Sundance is the Alpine Loop. I cannot count how many times I've driven the Alpine Loop, it is just breath taking with aspen trees everywhere. The Alpine Loop then connects with American Fork Canyon where we visited a quaint favorite of ours, Tibble Fork Reservoir, always pretty. Thank you for a wonderful drive, sweetheart.

hooray for weddings!

the happy (and darling) couple.

This is my cousin Ben, with his sweetheart, Amber. Ben is one of my best friends and we love him, a lot. I miss living close to him. We both lived in Provo at the same time and I was lucky to have him there to seek refuge at his place and tag along for some good times. Whether on a quick camping trip up Provo canyon, Colorado road trips (some photos), near death grizzly encounters, or adventures in South Africa (photos here and here), we always had good times.
Now for a new adventure, Ben is getting married! He and Amber, made a quick stop in Utah for some wedding plans and we were fortunate enough to have dinner with them last night. So stoked for them. They are both such wonderful people and we love them dearly.

I have no explanation for these two, however.

love these ladies.

gotta love sushi with some wonderful friends...

always good times.

melodies.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

I love music, and am very passionate about the quality music I come across. Just wanted to share what I am enjoying today...

sunday dinner.

Another beautiful SLC day... and a wonderful day at church (I cherish those days considering I work so many Sundays). I will admit, however, that while sitting in church, for a short while, I was trying to plan out what to make for Sunday dinner. We have very little groceries right now, so this is what I came up with.

2 grilled chicken breasts, diced

6-8 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled

16 oz pasta of choice, cooked

heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick saucepan and add:

1-2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon sage

3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup low fat sour cream

whisk in 2-3 tablespoons flour to thicken

Now mix cooked pasta, diced chicken, and bacon crumbles into the sauce. stir well. scarf.

Jared loved it, as did I. Let's be honest, anything with bacon and sour cream is good. Jared's out cold now... hence my immediate blog. Now I'm trying to entertain myself while listening to our upstairs neighbor play "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys, over, and over on the piano. I do love that song, a lot, actually. But... I kinda wish I could turn it off.

xoxoxo

cool night air and deliciousness.

Friday night, we both returned home from work, and decided to head out for a bite to eat. Only, we decided we wanted to walk where ever we were going. (Another perk of living downtown). So we got a little exercise and enjoyed the wonderful cool, crisp, night air... and found ourselves at Este Pizza. Delish. Clever little place with New York style pizza, lined with creative movie and band posters. We certainly recommend the White Pizza (ricotta cheese, olive oil, fresh garlic, oregano, topped with mozzarella cheese).

On the return home, we stopped at another favorite, Gourmandise. All I have to say, is it's a good thing we did a lot of walking tonight.

a huge group of well dressed guys and girls flew past us on skateboards. kinda threw me, I thought these things only happened in Provo. cute though.

excuse me...?

May we TALK about these wreaths?!

I need to recreate these, pronto.

previous three wreaths are my top faves

all of these wreaths are found ...

:::via:::

yellowstone video.

a little compilation of our weekend festivities...

yellowstone.

We took a little road trip for Labor Day weekend. Jared's dad, Jeff, had a powerlifting meet in Idaho Falls which inspired the trip. This was my first powerlifting meet, and it was awesome! Jeff set a bench press world record! I was way into it. We really enjoyed getting to hang out with Jared's family there, it was wonderful.

We had a camp site reserved for Yellowstone the following day, but weren't sure if we were going to really go until the night before. Weather reports said there would be snow and the low would be in the 20's. We ended up going and were eager and ready for the cold!

 

crocheted wool beanies a couple days before the trip, in preparation for the chilly weather.

the beautiful view from the hotel. Idaho Falls LDS temple.




baby elk.



elk and Canada geese.


great blue heron and canada goose. we loved watching the heron fish for dinner.



there was a big buck in the trees, but it wouldn't come out far enough for a decent photo. I filled in.

I found these wonderful cheeses in the Yellowstone General Store. When we got there, I went up to a store worker, a cute, white haired, older gentleman, and asked him where I could find the makings for s'mores. He looked at me with a puzzled face and asked, "what?" This confusion was exchanged a few times before he finally just showed me where the marshmallows were. He didn't know what s'mores were!! I so wanted to invite him back to our campsite later so we could share.

then... it started snowing...

dinner.

boiled water over the fire, then made hot cocoa in our nalgene bottles. really warmed us up! before bed, we heated more water to put in our nalgenes to sleep with. wonderful.

 

Lower Falls.

while we were enjoying Lower Falls, we could hear these ospreys feeding their babies. loved it!!!

the grand tetons.