The art of cooking for two

Before marriage I was able to live off of minimal amounts of food, take one pan to cook and dedicate a fraction of my pay check to food. Once I started cooking for two it seems that we are always out of food, there is always a pile of dirty dishes and every month it gets harder to stay in our food budget.

I've found that cooking for two on a budget requires a lot of skill this includes meals that have the same ingredients and leftovers that can be turned into something else. Thanks to many mom blogs and cooking for two cook books, I think I've got it. I believe the trick is to coordinate your meals for two weeks at a time. When I plan things out that work together we seem to have more food and it makes cooking easier. I am still working on why we continually have so many dishes though... good thing we have a dish washer.

Simple Pleasures in Life

Once in a while I tend to get overwhelmed and caught up in things that seem like they are taking over my life. Luckily I realize when they start to get out of control and I take a step back and relax. Recently I have been reflecting on the simple pleasures in life that give me the most amount of joy.

1. Lavender - I love the smell of lavender, it is very peaceful and calming. The color is a beautiful purple accompanied with a wonderful sent that helps to take all my cares away.
2. Sunrises - I have made it a goal to watch a sunrise at least once a year. During a sunrise I find that I am able to watch nature go by slowly. It is delightful to sit, reflect on life and watch the day begin.
3. Flowers - I find flowers absolutely beautiful, if my budget would allow it I would have fresh flowers in my home every week. I enjoy traveling and picking up flowers from around the country. They all have this simple beauty that intrigues me and reminds me that simplicity is a beautiful thing that should be encourporated into our lives more.
4. Lakes - Last summer I went the whole 4 months with out going to a lake, I hated it. Laying out, floating in water, feeling the sand, listening to giggling children, making memories and looking at all the beauty around me makes me feel more rejuvenated and peaceful than anywhere else I've ever been.
5. Architecture - I am continually impressed by functional art, recently I have been studying architecture and have been noticing it more and more. Seeing a beautifully structured building makes me inspired and thankful for the people that have taken the time to build an amazing piece of art.

Honeymoon - California

After finding out that we wouldn't be able to move into our apartment for a month, we decided to take an extra long honeymoon. We started out at Chris's cousin's cabin at Donner Lake California. We stayed there for a week, relaxing, hot tubing, playing axis & allies, watching movies, hiking and shopping. It was fantastic, if our honeymoon ended there we would have been extremely happy. Then we headed north to the redwoods we stayed in Humbolt State Park, home of Avenue of the Giants. The trees we amazing, I had never been there before, I was in awe for the whole drive. We camped, hiked and took a lot of pictures of the beautiful surroundings. After our two day adventure we headed down Highway 1 stopping frequently to take gorgeous pictures of the coast. We camped in Van Damm State Park in Mendocino County. While there we rode the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg which was ranked one of the ten most scenic train rides in North America, we ate at a funny little Chinese restaurant, shopped, went to art galleries, visited a light house, gathered glass at glass beach, ate at the wharf (yum : ), toured the city of Mendocino where we're thinking of living one day (it's adorable), watched the fog roll in and saw a beautiful sun set. Then we went to Sacramento and spent a few days with Chris's grandparents. We toured Old Sacramento, Sutters fort, watched home video's and enjoyed sleeping in a bed. After our four day visit we headed back to Utah looking forward to opening all of our presents. We spent a week and a half there catching up on paper work, presents and relaxed until our apartment was ready. This was the best road trip I've ever been on, we saw amazing sites, had some crazy good times and enjoyed every minute of it.

Wedding Day - May 6th

May 6th had finally come, the morning started off peaceful. I woke up and went to get my hair done. I came back and the house was in a hustle. My wonderful aunt was doing my sisters hair, my mom was running around making sure we had everything, my dad was following, attempting to help, my brothers were watching and waiting for the next errand that needed to be done. My lovely husband was downstairs sleeping and meditating. After we finally had everything - or so we hoped - Chris and I were headed to Salt Lake city. We finally got to the temple, a little rushed and flustered but the minute we walked in the adorable temple workers calmed us right down, gave us simple instructions and said don't worry we've got it all covered. Once everything was ready we were sealed in front of our family and friends by Elder Hinckley for time and all eternity. It was beautiful and the best day of my life, I couldn't of married a better man. Then we were whisked away to get dressed. I took much longer than Chris did, so he had the opportunity to sit and chat with an adorable old gentleman that told him about his life and gave him his advice. My mother and my mother in law had the wonderful opportunity of stuffing me into my dress and to lace up the back as best as possible. Then we did hair and makeup touch up's and we were good to go. Waiting outside was our adoring families and the pictures began. We took pictures for about two hours, towards the end we thought we were going to pass out, do to our lack of food and water all day. Never the less the pictures turned out amazing, then we relaxed for about an hour, ate and took a nap before the guests started arriving at our reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Over 250 people attended, we received many gifts and warm congratulations. We heard the food was delightful and everything looked perfect. We were getting ready to leave on our honeymoon to California, changed, said our last goodbyes and we were off. The day was wonderful, it was the day I had been dreaming of for the last five month and it turned out better than I could have hoped for.

Bridals

My wonderful friend Stacey Pointer knew Christopher and I since the beginning of our relationship, once she found out we were getting married she asked if she could take my bridals (for free). Coming from a great photographer and good friend I couldn't turn her down, here are a few of them that she took.