School, Work, and EASTER!

Steven started school again today.  He is taking a few online classes and just one class on campus.  He wasn't too excited to get back into school but we are on the downhill slope now! WOO!!!  And I'll be honest… I am MORE than GRATEFUL that I am off-track this semester.  Boy, did I need a break!!!

My man is back to school!

For Easter we really didn't do anything special… We just had a nice dinner (Steven cooked… which made it even NICER!) and I made some fun cupcakes to celebrate.  Steven's family doesn't really have any Easter traditions and my family really only did a few of the ones for us when we were small, so we didn't do much.  

Easter dinner

A couple weeks ago I threw a few maxi skirts together really quick--mostly because I needed something to wear to Sam and Kayla's wedding and I had lots of fabric from L.A. Here's the one I wore to the wedding.

I have started waiting on tables at work now and I think it's way fun!  Especially the earning tips part!!! It's fun to get to take home a handful of cash after work!  

Today the weather has been so nice!!! I am so excited for warmer weather! Steven even pointed out that he thought it was warmer outside than in our house today! WOO!! Time to open all the windows and let the sun pour in!!!  I can't wait to get out and play in the warm weather and get some of our yard work done!

Until next time!

Recovery Time!

Wow… These last few weeks have been INSANE!!!  I just finished up finals last week and then we spent the weekend in Utah for our friend's Sam & Kayla's wedding.  I feel like it's taken me almost 2 full days just to recover from it all!!

Since my last post lots has changed actually.  I went on my trip to LA and had a blast!  I bought so much fabric from the fabric district (SOOOO CHEAP!!!!) and would have lots of pictures to share from that trip, but unfortunately my camera was stolen the last night we were there… So alas, I don't have very many pictures, just the ones I did take on my phone. But I met some great people that have been successful in my field and I got to learn a lot from them! 

So since the camera incident I bought a new camera from a girl here that was graduating and didn't want to move it.  I love it and am grateful for Steven for encouraging me to get it.  Especially because I was the photographer for this wedding we went to this weekend.  That was a fun experience as well and I am excited to add that to my portfolio!

Also, the day I left for LA I had a job interview at The Hickory (one of our favorite local restaurants) and I got a new job!!! YAY!!! I am on the serving staff so occasionally I work on the cash register/hostess and sometimes back in the kitchen on, what they call, Expo (Basically I do whatever needs to be done that the servers don't have time to do during their busier nights).  So far I love it!  The people I work with are great and it is probably the busiest job I have had so far.  I am actually going to start training to be a waitress this week!

Steven still works a lot and hopefully will be able to balance work with school next week when he starts Spring semester.  Thankfully I am off track so I can help him more with school this time around.  I will however have an internship starting on Monday as well working with alterations and designing my own clothes.  It will be lots of fun!

Here are some pictures I thought I'd share.  Enjoy!

My plants poking through back in March!

The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising fashion show!!

Outside the museum in LA

Diane Von Furstenburg exhibit at the museum

Trolly at The Grove mall 

Our fabric we fit in our van!

Fashion District downtown LA

My final design for Pattern Making

Finished product for my final design (on the right is me at the fashion show)

Still have no clue what to do with all this fabric… :)

The rest are just some pictures from the wedding.  Enjoy!!

Until next time!

Out with the old…

Steven and I have been sleeping on his old bed he had since high school while we saved up to buy our own.  Well, thanks to our diligent saving AND our tax return… WE FINALLY HAVE A NEW BED!!  Thank goodness!  While I was super grateful we had a bed in the first place (and it was free) it is so nice to get a little bit bigger, and WAY more comfortable bed of our own!  It's also a monumental occasion for us because it's the first big purchase we have made together!!

Here it is in all it's glory!!!! 

My handsome model!

I guess I needed a turn modeling it too. Like my outfit? :P

We got a memory foam hybrid bed (meaning instead of being 100% foam it has a layer of springs amongst the bottom-most layer of foam that is supposed to help increase the life of the memory foam).  And Oh. My. Gosh. Is it comfy!! I haven't slept this good in quite a while!  It's also a queen size rather than the full we had which didn't seem too much bigger but those few extra inches REALLY make a difference!  We aren't constantly bumping into each other as we sleep now and thanks to the memory foam--we hardly move or turn over throughout the night!  And if you do the bed doesn't move much at all so we don't disturb each other's sleep anymore! Yay!!!  We also opted for this bed frame that basically replaced the need for a box spring so it gives us around 14-17 inches of storage UNDER the bed which is nice and is SUPER easy to fold and unfold and becomes quite compact which will be great for moving especially since we only will have the mattress to move and no box spring! Win-win!

This week they have finally displayed our designs in the library here on campus! Here is my little dress I posted last time in it's display glory!

I think it's cuter on the mannequin… But here it is!

That's all for now! Until next time!

Early Signs of Spring Fever

February and March are always the worst around here because the weather teases us so badly!! The sun will come out and shine for a few days, then we get days like today that are super windy and have been rainy.  At least the snow is pretty much gone and there hasn't been any more recently.  *crosses fingers*

Since the weather hadn't been so bad we went with some friends to go shooting this last weekend.  It was fun to get out in the sunshine even though it was still pretty cold.

Here's a fun little video of us blowing up some stuff… Please ignore my terrible laughter at the end of this clip…

Other than that our life has been pretty normal/boring.  I am gearing up to go on a trip to L.A. in a couple weeks for a school field trip.  It's a senior trip for those in my major.  I think only 4 or 5 of us are going so it'll be lots of fun!  We are hitting up a bunch of famous fashion museums as well as attending a real fashion show!  Super stoked for that!  I promise to take as many pictures as I can and share!  In the meantime, enjoy my latest design!

My original design! (it's a half scale version)

Steven and I have been trying to eat healthier lately as well.  Steven's family is doing a little weight loss competition which they started back in January, but after a few weeks of eating not-so-healthy on a regular basis, I figured it's time for us to jump on board.  Steven has been losing weight regardless because of his job but I am either at school or sitting at my office job so it's been a different story on my end.  Thankfully Steven is super supportive of my desire to be healthier and to slim back down to wedding weight (maybe even then some).  I have even signed up to meet with a personal fitness consultant here at BYU-Idaho to keep me accountable for getting to the gym.

Salmon with broccoli and salad! Delicious AND super healthy!

On another note, I saw this sticker on the back of a car in front of me yesterday.  It may not seem like much but it brightened my day and reminded me that I decide what mood I am in.

Until next time!

Valentine's Day

This year we kept Valentine's Day pretty chill.  We couldn't really top last year--seeing that Steven and I got engaged last Valentine's Day.  We just went out to our favorite restaurant here in town and then went home and made brownies and had those with ice cream for dessert.  

The next day we spent most of our time at the temple since we hadn't been in a few weeks.  It was nice to spend time together there.  After our session we had the opportunity to go perform sealings and that was super fun to do together and reminded me of all the promises I made to Steven the day we were married.  After we were done at the temple we had the privilege to listen to Elder D. Todd Christoffersen at a fireside for the married students.  We sat fairly close to the front and we had the chance to go meet him and shake his hand!  

Waiting for Elder Christoffersen's fireside to start!

Thankfully these past couple of days have been warm enough that the snow is beginning to melt!  We are both so ready for it to be warm outside (bad case of cabin fever anyone?)!!  However, the snow plows decided our front yard was a good place to pile the snow up from our caul-de-sac so I am not exactly ready to deal with all the debris that brought with it when it all melts… Lots of yard work to be done. 

Yup… Lots of leaves and branches to clean up when that happens… 

Surviving Winter

Thankfully the last couple of days have been warmer than some.  Earlier last week it was well into the negative degree temperatures with much worse wind chills.  We enjoyed the last couple of days where the sun would poke through and provide some warmth.

Last week I made some homemade laundry soap (my mom's recipe).  She gave me a small bucket right before we got married but it has finally been used up.  So I made more of my own!  I imagine it will last us probably over the next year (easily).

There's still about 1/3 of the big bucket and both of the smaller ones are completely full.

Steven is such a good man.  He made dinner yesterday so that I could work on some homework.  He's a keeper!

Steven making yummy breaded ranch chicken!

Not much else has been going on with us.  Steven still works a lot and even got a RAISE! (Woohoo!) We were pretty stoked about that.  I am just really busy with my schoolwork but excited for a few of my classes still this semester.  My pattern making class is a big part of the fashion show that takes place at the end of each semester.  I am really excited to get to designing and making my own clothes.  I also think I have an internship lined up for the spring (which I am pretty excited for as well!)

Until next time!

The Long Haul

I think every year I am subject to getting the January blues.  I am already so over school this semester (at least with a few of my classes… A couple are actually pretty fun!)  But I am DEFINITELY so over this weather.  I am ready for warmth and summer and sunshine and tanned skin and going for walks and picnics in the park.  All of it… 

Not only has the weather been keeping us down but January is apparently the slowest month of the year for Steven's work, so he has just been working every other day rather than full time.  While it's still O.K. and he sure doesn't mind the time off, it's still kind of a bummer especially since he has just received a raise and we are excited to see what that does to a normal paycheck.

So here's to the long haul… Let's just make it through the rest of winter…