Well I Do Declare!

We had ourselves a little Southern Belle Bachelorette Party this past week. 

Rachel is from Texas, so it seemed appropriate :)

And let me tell you, conversations are way more fun when you're talking in a southern accent...

I might even start incorporating "ya'll" into my daily dialect. 

Can't wait for this girl's wedding, just one more month!

Hey Guys Check It Out!

I'm being featured today on the lovely Julie Blake's blog "Be Inspired" (!!!)

I was so honored (and also nervous) when she wanted to ask me a few questions about my style choices and wardrobe favorites, and you can check it out here if you want! 

Oh Christmas Tree

CHRISTMAS SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!

& here I am putting the last ornament on our Christmas tree!

Having ornaments on our tree is a pretty big deal, because last year we had a grand total of two ornaments. And now one year later we've upped the numbers a little! 

I love decorating for Christmas, I grew up with a mom who always made our home so wonderful during Christmas time, and I want to try to recreate it now that I've got my own home!

However, I live with a little bit of a Scrooge, who happens to think decorations are a little bit of a waste of time.

 BUT, even he can't resist the Christmas magic. There is nothing better than when I get the tree all put up with the lights and he comes home and sees it for the first time. 

A little bit of that Scrooge-ness melts away.  :)

Happy Christmas Season! Woohoo!

2nd Annual Pie Party

JP loves Thanksgiving. 

And he loves pie. 

So last year, he began the tradition of throwing a "Pie Party" the night before Thanksgiving. 

This year we had an even bigger turn out, which was great, including a few repeat attenders from last year! So much fun to see everyone, although it is a shame that so many people feel like they have to go home to be with their families for this holiday. Can't you all stay in Provo for the break? :)

Like last year, JP's wording for the invitation is really just one of a kind, and here is it for your enjoyment:

Dear family, friends, and associates,

It’s that time of year again – the time when we give thanks for our abundance by trying to consume as much of it as possible in one sitting.

So naturally it is also time for our second annual pie party. Last year we had great turnout with about a dozen different kinds of pie (I am proud to say I sampled every one of them and haven’t fit into the pants I wore to the party since).

For those of you who are not familiar with the concept this is how it works: The pie party is actually a pie competition. Every person or group of people attending is encouraged to bring a pie (if you don’t feel up to the challenge we won’t turn you away), and we will all vote on which pie is the tastiest. The winner, in addition to our praise, will receive a generous prize and will hold the title of pie master until next year. Last year there was a lot of pre-party boasting, but only one winner.

So once again research recipes, consult cooks, and page through pinterest to find the best recipes possible, and let’s have another successful pie party.

Jean Paul

 Couldn't be more thankful for that guy right there. 

 He made a "Kentucky Derby Pie," which I had never heard of, but is definitely a new favorite! JP followed this recipe here, and tweaked it a little. 

I truly hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, I find that I have more and more to be thankful for every year. 

(I suppose that's how it should be huh?)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Searching for Sugar Man

To kick off Thanksgiving Break JP and I along with Shayla and Nick decided to head up to Salt Lake City and try out Bruges Waffles and Frites followed by a movie at the Broadway Centre Theatre. 

But seriously, Bruges Waffles and Frites is UNREAL. Best waffles I've had since I spent Thanksgiving in Brussels two years ago. 

And we're already planning another trip specifically to try out their frites and sandwiches (which are apparently legendary, and they had unfortunately turned the grill off last night by the time we got there). 

Then we went and saw the movie "Searching for Sugar Man."

It's a documentary about an American musician who's records never really sold in the US, but his music became wildly popular in South Africa - like, on par with The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkle. Crazy right?

It was a great documentary, and has won all sorts of awards, including three at the Sundance Film Festival. 

I would highly recommend it!

 

The one & only thanksgiving decoration gracing our home...

aww... festive isn't it?

Okay not really. But hey, don't I deserve a few points for trying? These past few weeks have flown by and suddenly Thanksgiving is a mere two days away. And the motivation to decorate our tiny apartment that doesn't even have a fireplace mantle (oh! the injustice!) is seriously lacking. 

So three cheers for free printables off the internet!  

This particular beauty is from here.

And I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

I am in charge of baking the rolls for our feast, can you say stress? Crossing my fingers that they rise properly and I don't burn them...

Date Night

JP has been typing his fingers off for the past month writing a huge memo for his law school writing class (it's due today, so yay! I get my husband back!) but I decided he needed a break, so I took him on a little date last night!

It started off with attended the grand opening/christmas tree lighting/fireworks show at the Outlets at Traverse Mountain! Which are really nice, by the way. 

We sort of bought ourselves lots of early christmas presents from the J. Crew there... but everything was an additional 40% off so can you blame us?!

Then we stopped by Chipotle for some steak burritos and onto see Skyfall 007 at the IMax theater with a large diet coke and crepes (with gelato on JP's... yeah, he's heading straight for diabetes, it's fine).

Pretty good date if I do say so myself. 

:)

Hot Chocolate Party

This past weekend, in light of the freshly fallen snow, JP and I decided that we really needed to have a gourmet hot chocolate party. 

So we bought the fanciest chocolate we could find, whole milk, and combined this recipe and this recipe into our own high-calorie, incredibly rich, delicious hot chocolates. 

We had dark chocolate, white chocolate, and a milk chocolate option, just in case one kind didn't suit all tastes haha. 

Feelin' Crafty

Yesterday was a great day. 

I decided to abstain from doing anything school related and instead filled my time with french toast from kneaders, some much-needed time at the gym (its been months... literally), and a little crafting! I am determined to get better at this sort of thing, and I do think it is happening... slowly. Baby steps over here. 

My cousin always wears the cutest hair bows in her gorgeous long hair and come to find out, she makes them herself! So we decided to monopolize her saturday afternoon and have her teach us how to make some hair bows. It was hilarious, and so much fun. And fairly successful! I now know how to make my own hair bows, so I have something in the homemaking department to pass on to my future daughters haha. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

JP and I have officially began the christmas music battle. 

I say there are few things that make me happier than christmas music, so why on earth would i not listen to it in november when it snows? But he insists on a no-christmas-music-until-after-thanksgiving rule. 

We might need to start driving separate cars. 

A Wedding and A Reunion

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending my friend Jen's wedding reception!

Her dress was gorgeous -- I have never seen lace like that!

I loved her reception too. First of all, it was at the Zion's Bank Tower in Salt Lake City and the view up on the top floor there is unbelievable, and second of all, she had this fabulous pasta bar where you could build your own pasta dish, which I have never seen at a reception before, and it's not often I see something I haven't seen before... I thought it was such a good idea! 

She's a gem. I just love her. 

 

After the reception I convinced Mr JP to run over to City Creek for a couple minutes (haha) so I could check out the new Anthropologie store location! Which didn't disappoint, I am pleased to report. 

And THEN (we were all over the place that night) my London study abroad group had a reunion that I LOVED!! We reminisced about memories including this, this, this, and this, while the husbands were good sports and indulged us/took pictures for us for over two hours! 

And we missed everyone who couldn't make it! I love these people, I feel like we will always have a bond with one another, they're each really amazing individuals and I feel lucky to know them!

The best professor in the world right there!