My cup runneth over

I went looking for a "pot of gold" today, and realized along the way that my "cup runneth over." Sometimes it's best to just be grateful for what you already have :)

My lucky shirt wasn't very lucky today as I attempted to celebrate this wonderful holiday with a cake.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tyler and I volunteered at BYU's Hunger Banquet. Attendees all bought tickets for the same price, but there was no guarantee that they would get their money's worth. The majority of the people represented the lower class and got beans and rice, one bowl for every two people. The next portion represented the middle class and received hotdogs, chips, and pop. The final and smallest group by far represented the upper class, and they got a 3-course meal and waiters. All servers were volunteers, and those serving the lower and middle class could dress in "ethnic" clothes, while the upper-class waiters wore the traditional black/white.

There was a keynote speaker and 3 NGOs trying to get funding. Proceeds from the banquet went to fund a grant to at least one of the 3 groups. It was a great opportunity to hear about humanitarian projects and to be a part of that experience!

PS-Apparently taking pictures is a difficult concept. We only got one picture that wasn't blurry, out of 3 different people, and it didn't even show our whole selves! So this one will have to do...

Must. Resist. Muffins...Can't. Resist. Muffins!

Yesterday, I really wanted something sweet to eat, and we didn't have very much sugar left, so I thought I'd make some muffins (because for some reason, I thought they would have less sugar...). Anyway, we had most of an 8 oz. thing of cream cheese in the fridge that I didn't want to go bad, so I started scouring the 'net for cream cheese muffin recipes that I had enough sugar for. I came upon this recipe from Bake or Break Recipes. It sounded delicious, and even though I didn't have the pecans, I thought I'd give it a try.

I decided to half the recipe so that I would have enough sugar to make the muffins and the streudal stuff. So, I started measuring ingredients, la di da, until I accidentally forgot to half the baking powder. Now I was faced with making the full batch or having overflowing muffins that probably would taste gross. I proceeded to make a full batch, putting 1 c. (and the only cup I had) of sugar in the mix ...but I didn't see that the muffins need 2 cups of sugar, plus a 3rd cup for the streudal. Now I had to figure out what to do for the rest of the sugar. For the cream cheese mixture, I decided to use dark corn syrup. Honestly, I should have put the corn syrup in the batter and mixed the sugar with the cheese, but it was too late at that point. The corn syrup resulted in a liquid-y cream cheese mixture that didn't really work as "filling" like it should have. Oh well. The streudal idea had to go by the wayside...

I made a pan of mini-muffins and a pan of regular-sized muffins. The mini muffins had the cream cheese mixture on top, the regular ones have in in the middle-ish. Kind of a funky result, but as you can tell, they have managed to find their way into our (er..mostly my) stomach(s)!



PS-the brownish stuff you see on top of the muffin is the cream cheese/syrup mixture. If any of it leaked onto the pan, it caramelized :) mmmm!

Getting ready for V-day!

When the one holiday that is most dreaded by many, we must do all we can do to lift everyone's spirits. Which holiday? I speak of Valentine's Day--the day where single people are painfully aware they are such, dating people are painfully aware of their obligation to buy that perfect something that isn't too much or too little, and where married people finally have an excuse to actually go out for dinner (although for college students, it rests as a reminder of the slim figure of their piggy bank...). Here is my latest project that I made out of:

A wire hanger
Leftover material from my last skirt project
The fake rose my dad sent me for Valentine's Day my first year in college

Tear the strips, tire them around the wire, and voila! :)

Happy birthday to me!

When my cousin Danna turned 22, she bought herself a tutu for her two-two, and I wanted to steal the idea. Unfortunately, by the time I realized my birthday was nearly on my doorstep, it was too late to order one. I have been perusing Pinterest for a while now though, and I knew I wanted a ruffled skirt. So I went to DI, bought my materials, and sewed myself a new ruffle skirt. Happy birthday to me!

PS-please ignore my lack of photography skills and sewing errors. I'm pretty proud of myself considering this is my first wearable sewing project!

Reception pics round 2!

And a few more :)

A few reception pics :)

Ok, so here are the first few of some of my favorite pictures from our wedding reception held at my Aunt Ginny's house in Idaho. Hope you like them! I'll post some more later because I don't think I can put more than 5 at a time...or I don't know how to use the contraption called the internet...one of the two!