can life get any better than this?

i am so excited for fall.

for sweaters.

for hot chocolate.

anatomy of a cup of perfect hot chocolate:

1. precise cocoa-to-milkiness ratio

2. just enough marshmellow to give you a little white mustache when you take a small sip

3. the cup keeps your fingers warm

4. it warms you all the way down to your toes

5. the most versatile of comfort foods. (you can drink it with someone, or it can be company itself when you just want to sit and ponder the deep mysteries of the universe...)

for leaves.

this is one of those pictures.

from the "dark ages".

(my hair would not cooperate with me)

bike rides.

and picnics.

can life really get any better?

today, i submit that it cannot.

adventures in powerwashing.

awkward moments in powerwashing:

• trying to figure out the mechanics of the brand-new powerwasher while sitting on my front porch... with an audience of retired neighbors, bikers, and pet-walkers all in attendance to watch me humiliate myself.
• forgetting my shoes inside.
• having to reach the spicket by traversing 5 feet of ornamental rock (barefoot) because i'm too stupid to go and get shoes on.
• the dance i do when i get the powerwasher hooked up. finally.
• getting honked at by an old guy driving by.
• hitting my big toe with a stream of water forceful enough to take off skin. don't ask how i know that.
• slinking inside to hide my shame after walking back over the stupid ornamental pokey-as-heck-rock to turn the faucet off in order to nurse my poor toe. 
• forgetting my shoes. again.
• trying to drag the powerwasher over to my car. figuring out that the cord doesn't quite reach... but continuing to try and aim the stream of water just right. then giving up, stomping back over to the plug and back into the garage, getting the cord stuck under the tire. tugging. wiggling. pullllling the stupid cord that refuses to budge. finally giving up and walking over to the tire. moving the cord an inch to the left. replugging. back out to the driveway. pulling the powerwasher over to the car. hose isn't long enough now. kink. undo the kink. back to powerwashing. random runner asks if i will wash his car next. big toe still throbbing. it'll snow in july in boise before i ever touch this thing again. 
• undoing the hose from the back of the powerwasher. apparently turning off the water does not mean there is no more pressure. walk back inside looking like i've had an accident. 
• finding out i only have 20 minutes before i meet with my new boss. (which went well. i get to do my favorite thing in the whole wide world and deal with baked goods all. day. long. best job ever? i think so.)

is this the real life? is this just fantasy?

can't you just tell today is going to be a beautiful day?

it's fall, there isn't any snow yet (knock of wood), i slept in, i'm going to ride my bike to d.i. today, and watch football, and make FALAFEL! i don't know if it really can get any better...

we started the weekend yesterday with a date. (yes, i actually did get a date... if it is only the one date that i get of the semester, i will consider my dating life a success!)

here's the crew:

and yes, it was a masquerade.

aren't those guys studly?

can you believe we got those at walmart?

they have reaffirmed my belief that they really do carry everything.

for dinner, we had fajitas - which we absolutely amazing. and that was followed by what we lovingly refer to as a "cookie monster"... which i have seen other places called a "pizookie." 

they were the cutest things that i've ever seen!

we each got out own individual cookie that was in a skillet that was about the size of the top of a mason jar. oh my lanta - i think i died and went to heaven!

(and it even came with the cute little hot pad for the handle!!!)

i want.

and when i do get some... cuz i shall!

this is what i'm going to be making. 

and then it is going to go for a very looooooong swim in an ice cream bath.

right before it all ends up in my tummy.

oh happy day!

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10″ cast iron skillet lightly with vegetable oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat about 2 minutes.

Add in the egg and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes longer.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well-combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Press the dough into the skillet as evenly as you can.

Bake about 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Transfer the skillet to a wire rack to cool. When ready to serve, cut into wedges. Add a scoop of your favorite ice cream on top while it’s still warm!

if i might quote my idol, rachel ray...

{YUM-O!}

do you ever feel like your cookie-cutters are under-utilized? 

i mean, the poor things get to shine only once a year when you decide to make sugar cookies!!! it is a sad, sad existence if you ask me. 

so i think it is time to let the cute little cookie cutters out of their stereotypical role as a "cookie" cutter (here and here) 

i think that would make an interesting movie plot...

"the cookie cutter that wouldn't cut cookies."

i mean, they've got to run out of ideas for movies eventually...

today i love:

sweats after wearing a dress all night long

showers - since i ran out of time yesterday... (and yet my hair doesn't look that bad!)

farmer's markets. i caved and bought a honey bear. (my last one suffered a very horrible death in the microwave.)

writing. stuff. (no you don't get to see it yet!)

food. i'm currently soaking chickpeas for falafel for a picnic this afternoon!

going to school. and not having to worry about real life. yet.

the (im)proper way to do things.

"life is pain highness!"
can you guess what movie that's from???


this last week was "one of those weeks" that i probably would care never to think of again. 
like ever.
after 6 tests, 2 projects, trying to find time to squeeze in donating at the plasma center (yeah. i do that.), going to the temple, and trying to stay dry (even though rexburg decides that it is funny to rain for 3 days straight. and then throw a little snow in there for kicks and giggles. i don't appreciate it thanks!) this week was... tough. but, you know what? i feel so good now that it's over! 
and i aced 3 of my tests. (we'll see how the other ones turn out next week...)
so not too shabby for taking every day not just a day at a time... sometimes it really was hour by hour. just to make sure that i would survive until the weekend. 
now enough of that! 


"you gotta put your behind in your past." 
or something like that. (said by a very wise meerkat)


as i was leaving the library late last night, finally being finished with the week-from-you-know-where, i saw a girl with a backpack. and i wanted it. luckily i restrained myself and she lives to wear it another day. 
you wanna know what it looks like?

super cute right?

but i'm too poor to buy them right now. 

maybe i'll get lucky at d.i. one of these days...

i'm one of those people that likes change. 
at home, the layout of my bedroom changes about every 6 months... i move my bed, the desk, and i have to go through and "de-junk". (that's a common term in our household... whether or not it is actually an effective practice has yet to be seen.)
but having a bed on cinderblocks doesn't leave a whole lot of room for change. 
so i have to change other things. 
i'm also a list person.
i have so many goal lists that i sometimes forget what goals i am actually trying to accomplish! then i find them like a year later and go oh yeahhhhhhhhhh. oops. 
so i am making a goal list. but this one has an end date. the end of the semester. 
which is like... december 17. 
this list might be considered a "de-junk-ing" of my life. because i can't move my bed. i guess i could move it into the closet (like harry potter!), but i don't know how roommate allison would take that...

da list:
train for a 10k. run 6.1 miles by the end of the semester.
go to a dance class
do something to my hair. maybe this?
spend less time on the computer. sorry there guys.
meet one new person every day.
read the entire book of mormon. (i'm in 2 nephi right now...)
try a new, healthy recipe every week (that i've never ever tried before!)
have an unbirthday tea party. and here. and here. and here. and here. 
go to bed earlier (so that i don't sleep through class...)
write more often. and share it with someone.
read a book a week. currently: a single voice
memorize the family: a proclamation to the world


ok. i think that's enough for now...
have an awesome (and hopefully less-rainy!) weekend

and just feel good. 

wishin' i could do this every day...

i've been very selfish. i've been showing you all of the fantastic things that i've been finding online... but i haven't told you anything of what i've actually been up to! (actually... i just haven't had any of the pictures on my computer to upload. but i love you soooo much that i actually braved the darkness underneath my bed to pull out my hard drive. you better believe i did!) 

so two weeks ago, my mom came up to play. 

and did we ever play!

(she also happens to love taking pictures... so what a better combination for us photogenic primadonnas?)

we heard about this hike from a guy at the fair.

talk about totally RANDOM.

i never believed that we would actually find this place.

you head out of rexburg, keep driving (and driving... and driving...) we actually made it all the way out to the highway on red road before we figured out that the "crater butte" we were looking for was back about 3 miles. and then off on some random dirt road.

poor baby car.

i promised him that i would give him a nice washing. (still hasn't happened...)

this was all you could see of the "crater"

you go from seeing tons of nice, sage-brush-y idaho landscape to a full-blown forest in a matter of seconds. 

pretty awesome.

me breaking in my brand-new hiking boots.

:)

boo-ya!

my sister and i ran in the temple-to-temple relay race.

domination!

(this was after i'd finished my 3.4 mile run)

ps - i hadn't run in like... 4 months?

probably not a smart move... but since when is that any fun?

finishing was sure fun though.

we had to pass on one of those slappy-wrist things... i know that they think that is supposed to be more convenient or something like that... but that takes a lot more coordination than i realized.

my heroic picture in front of the idaho falls temple.

funny (or maybe not-so-funny) story: 

the guy that was supposed to run the last leg got lost. so when my sister shows up (having sprinted to the end of her leg) with blue lips... i knew she wasn't going to be able to run the last 2.8 miles to the finish.

i'm standing there.

at the finish line.

i'm the only one in shorts.

with tennis shoes still on (i swear there was a little voice in my head that kept telling me not to change all day... little did i know...)

next thing i know, i've ripped her headphones out of her ears, and i'm jogging towards the corner.

sometimes i'm just too dang nice.

(bah.)

we're the studliest women i know.

the grand finish!

(my team was out looking for the "lost sheep")

and the weekend wasn't even close to being over!

i bet you wanna know where we would find 3 such adorable dresses.

we made them.

you heard me right.

well... mom made them... she just told me where to sew.

don't leave your attitude at home ladies!

cousins.

best friends.

sisters.

the photographer (aka mom)...

told me that this picture made my feet look too big.

but the converse are just so sweeeeet!

they caught me napping.

i like to pretend i'm a cat lying in the sun some days. 

(come on... you do it too... don't lie!)

skill.

or just weird.

i was NOT going to lose that hat.

{which i made by myself!}

best. shoes. ever!

{everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.}

                             steven wright

***

walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. thus it stretches time and prolongs life. 

life is already too short to waste on speed. 

edward abbey

***

chicken enchilada bake here

(psssst! i'm making this... if you want to come over for dinner...)

just keep swimming.

i am not the type of person that goes broadcasting when i have bad days. usually, only those people really close to me are "privileged" enough to see that side of me. everyone else just sees the happy, smiling, bubbly person.
(today was a not-so-fantastic day)
just one of those days that you muddle through. 
one of those days when nothing feels good.
one of those days when you feel stuck. and unproductive...
one of those days that your bed is the only place in the whole wide world that you want to go, and yet it is the last place that you can be. because you are running in about a gajillion other directions. (yup. that was me today.)


so, in honor of those no-so-stellar days: 
http://youtu.be/gH476CxJxfg

i have a new obsession.
now i just have to figure out how to make them. (and possibly learn how to knit in the process...)


i am super ready for fall baking!!!
i love the smells, the tastes, the colors... pretty much everything except for the wind. (i can actually handle the cold. even in a wasteland such as rexburg. it's just the cold. i swear it seeps into your very soul...)
here is a perfect (and potentially healthy) snack to get you into the fall mood:

{yum.}

{Pumpkin Pie Dip} (from skinnytaste.com via pinterest)

• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (Splenda would work too)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more to taste)
• 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt
• 8 oz cool whip free
• cut up apples to dip (extra points)

Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in cool whip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.
Makes about 6 cups.

tomorrow's gonna be a good one.
i can just feel it. :)

***
May you live all the days of your life.
Jonathan Swift