Livin' it up

One week left and then my summer is dunzo! I have been doing as much as I can lately.

Last week we celebrated Syd's B-day at Trio. Mmmm....flatbread.


Syd and I also hiked up to Dog Lake again. But this dumb dog wouldn't get into the lake.


We went up to Park City for the anniv. and had dinner at Purple Sage. They have the same bread pudding as Cafe Terigo which, let me put it this way: if they sold it in liquid form I would probably be injecting it as we speak.


It has been so much fun to have Melissa here. I'm sad that she is headed back to the Big Apple this week. This afternoon we went on a sweet hike to three different lakes. You start at Albion Basin at the top of Alta. Here is Lake Catherine.


I think this is Lake Martha. It was so beautiful!

Believe it or not...

This is pretty much how it all started. My friend Matt (far right) was serving a mission in Italy and sent me this pic of him and his roomies in a letter, which his friends had written on. One of his friends was Peter Harrison (far left). This picture was more than enough to spark my interest and curiosity. I looked Peter up in the Viewmont yearbook, asked my Viewmont friends about him, and other crazy things (of which I will spare you the details). I even went so far as to flippantly say "I'm going to marry the boy in that picture." Little did I know that far away in Italy, Peter had seen pictures of me and asked Matt about me.

Flash forward to August 2000, where we ran into each other at a concert at the U and were introduced in person by a mutual friend. We were basically inseparable from that point on. I know this story is pretty cheesy, and the only reason I am relaying it is because 6 years ago today we tied the knot. Not only is it unbelievable how fast time flies, but it really is crazy how your life ends up working itself out. Happy Anniversary Peter!

In Honor Of...

JASON BOURNE!! Moby is here to get you pumped...

We have been having a major Bourne marathon. Bourne Identity last night, Bourne Supremacy tonight and Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. The car chase scenes are always so intense and make me a little queasy, but it is totally worth it. Matt Damon is pretty hot in all of these movies. And I like him in real life because he seems so...what's the word...normal??

Holla

As I was browsing my daily trashy websites, I came across a photo of Adam Sandler's new movie. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but my uncle is a director/producer and he was in this pic. He's working on this movie and you can see him in the bottom on the far right. So here's a shout out to my uncle Aldric. Pretty funny!

Star Valley

Every summer, we take many a trip up to Star Valley with Peter's fam. This weekend was the first time we've made it up all summer. It was beautiful and fun, as always. Here's the cabin.


On Friday, we rented duckies and went down the Snake. Here's Annie, Pinkie, Melissa and me.


Annie made a batch of those delicious marshmallow brownie things. Olivia couldn't wait to dig in.


Here's Ellie getting ready for our walk.


Our daily walk down the lane is always so refreshing. It feels so good to be in wide open spaces with no one else in close proximity.


James, Paul and Romey had fun chasing each other around in the field.


The rest of the weekend was spent playing Guitar Hero, reading Harry Potter (best one yet), and eating, of course.

Slacker...

I guess I'm finally ready to get back to the blogging world. Nothing exciting to report, other than I can feel the summer slowly slipping away and it is making me sad. 3 more weeks and then it is all over. I have been filling my days with fun activities in the meantime.

Last week, my favorite baby came to town and actually got his very first haircut at my house. Look at the little man, all grown up!


So, I know I look like a 6 foot baller in this pic, but I finally measured myself and I am only 5'9" and 3/4 of an inch.


We also went on a fun hike up Millcreek Canyon. The scenery was beautiful and we escaped the heat of the city.


Heidi and I at Dog Lake.


And more cute little boys...Andrew and Jack on the "naughty bench". Andrew was the only one that was supposed to be there, but Jack wanted to keep him company. It looks like they might be having a little too much fun.

Thanks to Giada

Due to the lack of quality tv programming available in the summer time, Peter and I have been watching a lot of Food Network lately. We both love Giada of Everyday Italian fame. My new favorite show is The Next Food Network Star. It's basically the Apprentice of the Food Network. If you're bored and have time, you should totally watch.

Anyways...Giada made these cupcakes last week and I've been thinking about them ever since. Turns out I was not disappointed. The texture is very light and fluffy, similar to angel food cake, but not as spongy. The glaze is a nice alternative to gobs of frosting. They are perfect for a summer treat!


Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze
8 oz. mascarpone cheese (softened at room temperature)
2 egg whites
1/4 C. vegetable oil
Mix together.

Add: 1 Super moist white cake mix
1 C. water
Mix together, batter is thick.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes (or until tops have light brown edges)

Strawberry Glaze:
1/3 C. thawed frozen strawberries pureed in blender
Pour strawberry sauce over about 1 1/2 - 2 C. powdered sugar
Mix together with a wire wisk.

After cupcakes have cooled, drop a dollop of glaze onto each one.

Beckham + Spandex = HOT

This pic is for Syd.

Sparkle and Fade

We pretty much took it easy on the 4th. No parades, no carnivals, no camping out for good fireworks seats. I figure there's only so much more time before we have kids and we're actually required to participate in all of the festivities. Nevertheless, we still had a good time.

Here's Olivia striking a pose on the diving board. Notice the one straight leg, one bent. I say future swim team captain.


J boy was a little trepidatious about getting in the water.


Have you ever seen eyes like this?


This was funnier in person. Something about this picture brings to mind a scene from Tommy Boy where he is trying to put on a jacket...or "little coat" as they say.


Just because we didn't camp out to see fireworks doesn't mean we didn't get a good show. I had the bright idea of going next door and sitting on top of the new house that is being built.


We lucked out and saw fireworks from...the Bees Game, Sugarhouse Park and Rice-Eccles. Not bad!

Wedded Bliss

This weekend we traveled to Florida for a visit with Mares & Steve combined with a fun wedding weekend for Nick & Taren. Mares was nice enough to take us to the gator park, but I didn't get a good enough pic of the 1 gator that we saw.

Mares & Steve


Rehearsal Dinner


Okay, speaking strictly length (as in height), Mares claims to be 5'8" and I have to disagree since I am 5'10". Let's not even compare width here.


Taren & Nick got married at a little Chapel by the Sea, after which we headed to the local yacht club for their reception. This is a view of the back bay from the patio.


She looked gorgeous and their wedding was amazing! Here is a pic of the happy couple.


The dinner tables


The only people who toasted with water...(read: party poopers)

Thumbs Down

I love Claire and had high hopes for EVENING, but was thoroughly disappointed. Even though Hugh Dancy is pretty cute, I still wouldn't waste the money to see it in the theater.

Super funny!

My little sis Syd just showed this to me and it is pretty good. If you are a sports fan or even if you're not, I think you will enjoy.

Summer Fun

Besides having my head stuck in a book all last week, I did manage to do some other things. My cute niece Olivia slept over and she graciously decorated my bike (with flowers.)


Last night, Sarah, Dave, Owen & Eli came over. Owen got all decked out with one of Babe's laser guns and a ninja sword.


I had to fish out a little visitor in the pool before we could get in.



Here's the wuss who wouldn't go near the snake.

Junkie

It doesn't take much to make me a total addict. Thanks to Em for creating a monster. (No pun intended, ha, ha.) I am now totally obsessed with those blasted vampire books. I read Twilight and New Moon in 2 days. And have since re-read most of both of them. Peter thinks I am a total nerd. I have scouted out the whole website and am anxiously awaiting book #3. Here's who the author would want to play Edward in the movie. NOW do you want to read it??

Tagged

I don't usually do these kind of things, but my cute friend Em tagged me and, in case you haven't read previous posts, I am extremely bored. So, here it is:

4 JOBS I'VE HAD:
1. Subway sandwich artist
2. Telemarketer
3. Personal Assistant
4. Elementary Teacher

4 MOVIES I CAN ALWAYS WATCH:
1. Blue Crush
2. Much Ado About Nothing
3. Notebook
4. Lord of the Rings

4 PLACES I'VE LIVED:
1. New Mexico
2. Arizona
3. Utah
4. Oregon

TV SHOWS I ENJOY:
1. The Office
2. Arrested Development
3. Heroes
4. Friday Night Lights

FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Rice Pudding
2. Fro-Yo
3. Flatbread from Trio
4. Marshmallow Brownies

WEBSITES I VISIT (ALMOST DAILY):
1. Blogs
2. Pop Sugar
3. Wikipedia
4. Google

PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Europe
2. the beach
3. visiting a National Park
4. out to dinner

4 BLOGGER BUDDIES TO TAG:
1. Brianne
2. Heidi
3. Mandy
4. Em King

Tomorrow Night

Indigo Girls are playing tomorrow night at Red Butte and Brandi Carlile is opening for them. I'm super excited. Should be fun...I'm going with my friend Heidi so hopefully everyone will think that we're together and won't try to hit on us.

Home Life

So...it's been 2 weeks now and being home all day definitely has it's advantages. My house is clean and organized, I've reconnected with all of my long lost neighbors, Romey and I are BFF, and I've caught up on most of the last 20 episodes of Oprah that I had saved. There are also some drawbacks, one being that I am totally bored!

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. Syd slept over and we went to lunch at the best pizza place ever. Then, we decided to cruise State street to see if anything exciting was going on at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon. We ended up stopping at some stores I've always wanted to go to, but never have. The first was Decades clothing, which is a pretty big vintage clothing store with some really cool stuff. Old prom dresses, shoes, jewelry, hats, coats, you name it. I felt like we were playing dress up. I ended up walking out with a polyester jumper. (I never thought those words would come out of my mouth).


After that we went next door to Wasatch Furniture, which is all used furniture, some antiques, some junk, etc. I saw these chairs and couldn't resist.


Which now brings me to the main disadvantage of being home all day. I feel like there's not much to do that doesn't involve spending money. I mean, I walk my dog, I do yard work, I clean, and then anything that's fun costs money. I'm not a crazed shopaholic by any means, but I like to look around, go out to lunch, etc. Does anyone have any good ideas of how to pass the time without spending lots of money? Quick, before Peter kills me.

Let the games begin...

Although you would never guess it from looking at the pouring rain outside, my summer has officially begun. That's right...2 1/2 months of no work. So, what I am I going to do with all of this time? I have some ideas, some of which will most definitely happen and others which I may not get to. These include (but are not limited to):
1. The obvious boring stuff: cleaning, organizing, yard work
2. Going on hikes with Romey


3. Taking night bike rides with Peter here
4. Learning how to sew
5. Painting the upstairs
6. Running a 5K
7. Starting a book club (anyone interested?)
8. Getting all of my random recipes organized into one place
9. Going to Florida for Nick and Taren's wedding extravaganza


10. Re-watching all 4 seasons of my all time favorite show: Felicity
11. Going to some good concerts
12. Weekend trips up to Star Valley

Sin City

For my mom's 50th Birthday, we decided to surprise her with a girls trip to Vegas. It ended up working perfectly and we had a great time.

This fake blue man honestly looked so real we almost asked him if we could get our picture with him. I think it's the eyes.


And of course this is the main reason we went to Vegas. Can you guess whose legs those are? (p.s. Syd is now well aware that her dress is transparent)


I know this is the epitome of cheesy, but I couldn't resist. This is her last year AND this was practically a once in a lifetime opportunity. Is it that horrible that I wanted a memento to remember it by?


The Bellagio fountain show is always a fave.



Happy 50th Mom!


As a side note, this poster was in the front window of Dolce & Gabbana or some posh store like that. I'm sorry, but it's not exactly clear to me what this is selling. Whatever it is...I definitely want it...NOT....ew!