Short Update

Taylor and I are back from our honeymoon in Mexico, we had a wonderful Christmas in Canada. A lot has happened in my life these past two weeks some happy some sad.

We are currently moving to go back to school and have no internet (yay for smart phones!)

So be prepared for a plethora of posts and pictures coming in the new year!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday

Monogrammed Cranberry Ornament

You will need:

- Some "Cranberries" I used little red foam vase fillers

- Glue Gun

- A Letter

- Burlap

- Wire

1. Glue the Cranberries around the boarder of you letter. 

2. Continue to fill in the rest of the letter. 

3. Make your burlap bow - above is how I made mine

4. Glue your bow right on top!

5. Take your wire making a little hook and glue it to the back as close to the centre as possible

6. Hang it on your tree!

I didn't have a Christmas tree so I display it on - so my lovely barren tree outside our apartment will have to do!

Out of Service

Hi Everyone, we are off to Mexico this morning and then off to Canada straight after that so we will be out of the country for 2 weeks. So if you have emailed me or want to purchase something I will be unavailable for most of this time :) Thanks everyone!

Were so excited to finally be on our honeymoon

This Sneak Peak Melted My Heart

Sharon gave us a sneak peak of our photo shoot we did over thanksgiving break. She did our engagments  and when I found out she was coming to Colorado I had to snatch at the opportunity. We did a casual yet intimate family shoot and boy was it freezing cold. But these two images made me sqeal in joy {yeah Taylor gave me a funny look until he realized why} I cannot wait to see the rest of them!

Check out the rest of her work here

Art on Fire

For those of you who are married you know how hard it is to find a good set of couple friends - And how important date night is!!

We met our new friends Nicole and Eric at "Art on Fire" which is just like "Color Me Mine" but a lot less fee's. We all picked out our pottery to paint and started the fun. Then afterwards we went back to our place and had cream cheese stuffed strawberries drizzled with chocolate - So yummy - and watched a movie

Taylor made a bowl to keep our keys in by the front door

I made a Ring Holder - which I have been wanting for the last year. Glad to finally have a safe place to keep our rings at night

The Smiths made a mug - they were very intense about it!

"Eternity est. September 4th 2010"

Taylor, Myself, Nicole and Eric - were a pretty fun bunch if I may say so myself

American Thanksgiving

This was my first thanksgiving with the in-laws and probably my first "real" thanksgiving since I moved here. Its been three seasons since I'v been without my family and I cannot wait to go back to Canada for thanksgiving again someday (not because I didn't have a blast with everyone here!).

We had a huge dinner with all the family and it was really fun to see all the Phillips again. Then later that day we played some rock band in Rex's new home theatre! And of course some black friday shopping I have never been and it wasn't that scary we found some good deals and the outlets were empty we found some great designer finds for cheap!

I also learned a new family game called Hand and Foot which I can't wait to play again it was so much fun :) Phillips clan thanks for making my thanksgiving awesome I really felt like I fit in with all you crazy loons!

We played some headbands and Taylor was a Hippo and I was a Shoe which everyone said was very fitting!

We deep fried some turkeys. Yes, we deep fried them I'm serious! It was yummy too :)

We had some purple cauliflower?

And Family Photos - Funny we all ended up wearing blue how convenient

Greek Pafait

So Simple we forget about them.

You'll Need:

Fresh sliced strawberries

Low Fat Natural Granola

Fat-Free Greek Yougurt

(I cheat and I buy my new favourite strawberry honey greek yogurt from Greek Gods it is so creamy and delicious)

Braided Fabric Bracelet - $0

I had an adorable pink shirt that got black wax spilt all over it, making it almost useless even for crafts because of the distasteful stains.

I cut three thick long pieces out of my shirt and pinned them all together and secured them onto a pillow and braided them together. Then I used fabric glue to secure the two ends together, just simple fun way to use old fabric to make a new bring addition to your outfit.

Pork Stir-Fry with Garlic Broccoli

Our pork turned out mouth watering, which I surprised by because I had never really made pork like this. A very yummy stir fry minus all the thick sauces but still has lots of flavour!

You'll Need:

3 Cups Broc

3/4 Cup Chicken Broth (No Fat/Low Sodium)

2 Tbls Garlic

Dash of Ginger

2 Tbls Olive Oil

1 Cup Onion (Or like me, use onion powder)

1 Lb Boneless Pork Tenderloin cut into slices

1 Tbls Soy Sauce (Low Sodium)

1 Tbls Sesame Seeds

Red Pepper Diced

1. Steam Broc for two minutes

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large skillet. Add Onions and red peppers and cook for 5 min. Set Aside.

3. Add the rest of the oil and add 1/4 cup broth, ginger, garlic and stir together then add pork. Then a minute later add soy sauce. Once pork is nearly done at the remaining broth and bring to a boil.

4. Add the Broc and cook for 3 min, then add the veggies set aside.

Omelet of Champions

My new all time favourite Omelet that doesn't leave you filled with grease from too much cheese and meat!

You will Need:

Diced Carrots

Sliced Mushrooms

Egg Whites

1 Whole Egg

Low Fat Cheese

Warm Fat-Free Refried Beans (Yes, I'm serious)

Olive Oil

I didn't really measure while making this so just use the right amount for how big you want your omelet.

1. Add a little bit of Olive oil to your pan and toss in your mushrooms and carrots. Cook until you carrots are tender.

2. Wisk together your egg and egg whites and then add to pan. Once your Omelet is cooked sprinkle a tiny bit of cheese on top (remember this is supposed to be healthy so easy on the cheese trust me it won't need a lot!)

3. Remove from pan and spread your warmed Refried Beans on top and fold in half to keep all the yummy stuff on top warm. Then Enjoy!

Also if you need a little meat, fry up some Jenny-O turkey bacon, it is so much yummier then real bacon and a lot less fat.

Our Marriage So Far

Click here to view this photo book larger

Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Quick Side Dishes

These can be a great compliment to so many different dishes.

Almond Wild Rice

You will Need:

Almonds

90 sec Bag of Wild Rice (Or you can make your own, but I love the quick microwave bags)

Make your wild rice, slice up some almonds and stir. This seams so short and simple why even blog about it? Well it takes blah wild rice and makes me want to eat plates full of it. The hardest part of eating healthy is finding ways to make new foods desirable. So go ahead try it!!

Sesame Seed Asparagus

(My all time favourite veggie!)

You will Need:

Asparagus

A Lemon or Lime

Olive Oil

Sesame Seeds

1. In your fry pan put a little bit of Olive Oil and put your asparagus in there and let is cook. I never time it so to be honest I have no clue for how long but you want it to still be crunchy!

2. Once you feel it is done squeeze 1/2 of your lemon or lime over top then sprinkle some sesame seeds stir it around and serve, so simple and mouth watering you'll think to yourself it could be from a restaurant.

"Kick Off Your Sunday Shoes!"

After watching the new foot loose (if you have not yet, hurry, common go!) I begged Taylor to take my out country dancing. They movie just had me itching for some country rhythms! So he surprised me by taking me to Grizzly Rose Saloon where they teach dance lessons. Last week we did line dancing and this week we did a couples triple step. Next week were going line dancing again! New weekly date, so much fun and we break a sweat while doing it. I was very impressed with how well my little honey dances too!

These Boots were Made for Dancin

Laughed so loud when this happen. Double flash and the first one was a tad to bright for him ahah 

The Dancing floor - Where all the fun happens :)

Arn't his blue eyes so handsome!

One Hundred

One Hundred is a big number, so I just wanted to say thanks for to all my followers. I know my blog transforms every four months just like my life. But thats why I write about it - to keep myself sane! I enjoy  having a blog so much and it just makes me even happier that their are a couple people out there in the world who care to read about it as well.

Thank You!

If your going on vacation this winter, you might like this Sale!

After over a year of marriage we are going on our honey moon to Mexico, then Taylors work in sending us on a cruise in January! So... I am a very modest women and still plan to be, but. I decide it was time to get a sexy swimsuit. I looked everywhere and they were all so expensive, finally I found that victoria secret has them 50-60% off. I got cover up for $20 and tops for $9-$20 (I got a super cute tankini that is long enough to cover all my stomach!). Best deal ever and they are supposed to be really good quality.

If you're going on a trip this winter and want a new swimsuit but not willing to pay full price like me! Check out Victoria Secrets Clearance.

Over the Knee Socks

This is a new fashion that I have just picked up this week, Over the knee socks under your boots and scrunched down a little. I know some of you are thinking I'm a year behind but thats Okay!! If you haven't tried this yet, you should - trust me it makes wearing boots that much more comfortable and not to mention super cute. I love it, with dresses, leggings, skinny jeans. 

Everyday! Love, love, loving it! Style meets function :)

You can pick up 2 pairs for $20 at Urban Outfitters, they also have them at Nordstrom and Forever 21

Date Night

Taylor has been wanting to go to Dave & Busters for while now, so I decided to plan a little date night. We jumped in the car and he didn't know where we were going. We drove to Denver and got to Dave & Busters. A boys dream, video games galore we played a ton of games together I lost every time. But I did help win a lot of tickets :) Which won us a nice cup haha

Livin for Livi

This is my cousins little girl, I had the honour of meeting her right after she was born when she was healthy. She was diagnosed with a rare liver disease, Biliary Atresia. Livi is getting dialysis all night long just to stay a float. She needs a liver transplant which is estimated to cost $360,000. In order to help make this happen our family has been donating to their fund.

We have put together a quilt raffle in efforts to help raise funds for Alivia's transplant Each ticket will be $5 each or 5 for $20 with no limit to the number you can purchase. The Raffle will be open number November 16th.

It will be a rag quilt around 52x64. It will be shipped to the winner. The quilt should be already around Christmas time.

To donate you can visit their blog here, or via paypal at mapshap@msn.com. Be sure to give her your name and contact info. Thank you so much for the help and support. Just think something as small as giving 5 bucks away could get this precious little girl a liver and a life with her family.\

View the Rexburg's Standard Journal Article on Livi
"9 Months old, fighting for her Life."

Livi with her Mother

Halloween 2011

Taylor and I are pretty boring Halloween people, one day we will be invited to a couple party, one day! But we did do something pretty fun this year, we went to Elich Gardens (which is an old six flags). I loved it!! It was so fun to run around and ride on all the roller coasters. 

It was such a beautiful day just a little breeze but the sun was still shining.

And lets be honest, by the end of night we started to get a little bit crazy! Which is my favourite because we always have more fun together when things get a little bit crazy and we get a little weird!

Bronco's Game. Our first time to a proffesional football game. Taylor loved it... I learned to love it by the end, sort of! 

Stuck in Traffic

Go Bronco's Go!!

We had a very yummy birthday with my very sad icing job on the cake!

Twenty Five

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!

You're such a romantic stud, I'm lucky to have you :)

Holiday Cheer

A week ago I got an email from Shutterfly saying they would “love to partner with” my “influential blog.” Yup they are talking about my blog :) I was pretty happy with that so I am helping them present their new holiday line. There is something exciting about Christmas cards; I love collecting them on my fridge. I got Shutterfly Christmas cards last year and loved them. They had so many different styles to pick from I couldn’t even choose so instead I just picked three different styles. They all were such great quality, ink, paper and all they looked great.

Taylor also used Shutterfly to order a photo book to propose to me, what a sweet memory! They are also always doing discounts and specials for photo books. I gave photo books to my parents for Christmas, we also made a photo book for ourselves of our wedding. They make great personal and sentimental gifts. So what are you waiting for go check it out! I know I am really excited to get my cards and start sending them out!

Below are the four I like best but I can't quite decide yet...