I am a want to be foodie. Okay, I am not a full-out "cruncher", but I am pretty-close to a foodie.
I have a love for Gwyneth Paltrow, and Coldplay. Equally, I love Gwen and Chris Martin together. The odd love I have for Gwyn started when I went to London last year and my sister introduced me to Goop. Sophisticated, gorgeous and great taste, even for food. How can you not love Gwyn, Chris, and their cute little family {even though the names Moses and Apple aren't on the top of my list}?
Even better? Gwyn's {we are on first name basis} latest cookbook.
Over the last week, Robert and I were a able to relax and spend time with my aunt and uncle in Salt Lake City. While I was there, my Aunt Julie checked out this book from the library. I pretty much spent every moment at the house with my nose in the book. Obsessed.
This morning I woke up and, surprise! My sweet aunt bought it for me as a gift and sent it to the house. {Thanks A.J.!}
The book is full of amazing {mostly vegetarian and low-fat/low-sugar} recipes, and the first on my list is the home made Root Beer, and butter-nut squash ravioli {with fresh pasta}.
The past two weeks have been some of the craziest weeks of my life. First, we had finals. That is a story in and of itself. Needless to say, I survived with all A's, and a scholarship! Second, we moved. Ta-dum. We are back in Vegas for three months for Roberts internship. A broken dresser, some cut fingers and short tempers later, all of our belongings were moved into two storage units in Rexburg. Note to self, I am NEVER moving again. {Remind me to tell Rexburg they need a medical school, within the next twelve months.} Third, we had express Christmas. All of my married sisters and I are on the same holiday rotation (ex: This year we all had Thanksgiving with The Wixoms , and Christmas with our in-laws) and since the Sunday before Christmas was the only time we would be together, we celebrated express Christmas.
We had our traditional Christmas Mexican Fiesta, dad read the nativity and we played our chimes. It was a lot of fun, and I was glad we got to have a Wixom Christmas before my parents, Layne and Micah went off to Florida & the Bahamas, and the rest of us went to our respective homes to celebrate Christmas.
Lastly, real Christmas in Logan! Robert and I traveled up to SLC with my sister Collette, where she had Christmas with her in-laws. We met up with Roberts parents and headed up to Logan! We had a blast, but, I will have to wait to blog about this one until I have pictures. It deserves a post of it's own.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are younotto be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
First off: Saturday morning Robert and I were able to get our bountiful baskets! What was in it you may ask? A gajillion pounds of these little beauties:
Okay, it was really only like three pounds. But what was I supposed to with three pounds of persimmons? A girl can only eat so much fruit. I did a little googling. Who would have thought, persimmon jam! {okay, it isn't that unusual. fruit= jam} We whipped up a batch. mmm, it's good.
If any of you have 3 lbs of persimmons on hand, by all means, I would love to give you the recipe. But, I am assuming most of you have a more normal fruit on hand, so I'll save the blogging space.
Second:
WE ARE MOVING BACK TO VEGAS!
After possible internships in U of U, Boston, Rexburg, UCLA, and Nevada Medical School, Robert found an awesome internship in Las Vegas. He gets to do a part pediatric research internship, part occupational internship, and he is thrilled about it! We will be living back in Vegas for the Winter semester, and are both stoked. {big city and no cold, I'm a happy camper}
Third:
DIY Fabric Magnet Board. A few weeks ago I came across a cute fabric magnet board! {the one above is almost an exact replica} It was an Etsy shop, selling them for $60. Um, ridiculous. I made mine for a measly $5.
Materials:
- Sheet metal. You can get pre-cut sheet metal at a home store like Lowes, but it's a little pricey. I just ran to DI and got a cookie sheet for $1.
-Hot Glue Gun
-Drill/ Hammer & Nail: With the metal I was using Robert was able to just hammer a hole at the top for the ribbon. If you are using the pre-cut sheet metal, you will need a drill.
- Fabric: It depends on how big your metal is, but you can get away with a 1/2 yard of fabric, no matter what size you do.
-Ribbon
The process is rather simple, just time consuming.
Lay your metal over the fabric, and cut the fabric, leaving about 1" on each side.
I measured and marked for two holes at the top of the metal, then hammered the holes with a nail. {well,
Robert did that part}
Hot glue the fabric to the metal, making sure to NOT let the glue dry too quickly. We had to go about an inch at a time.
Use scissors to poke a hole through the fabric and pull the ribbon through, leaving enough at the top to hang!
This morning I woke up feeling like Cindy-Loo-Hoo here:
Why, you may ask? The latest "no-heat-curl" fad. For all of you Pinterest -ers, you know what I am talking about. Every time I log onto pinterest there is a new "no-heat-curl" solution. {which usually involve socks, if you haven't noticed} Last night I attempted my sixth no heat curl solution. Success rate: 1 of 6, or 16%. Today, I untied the four socks on the top of my head, to only look like this:
Really though.
For all of you who don't have the greatest success with hair fad's, this blog post for you. Let's just review the basics of hair that seem to have been lost in the commotion of new hair fads:
The original "no-heat-curl":
Believe it or not, it works! If you want a little volume with some curl/ wave. These little bad boys are just what you need.
The "never-fail-curl":
A few people have asked me how I curl my hair like this:
The secret? You guessed it, a curling iron! Instead of clamping your hair at the bottom and twisting up, you just wrap your little hairs around the iron and hold.
The "never-fail-bun" {and it won't go out of style}:
This my friends, is a good, classic, bun. If T-Swift can do it, so can you. Surprisingly, the "sock-bun" does in fact work for this. {this is where the 1 of 6 took part}
This friends, is a not-fun-bun. The only fun part of this bun is people looking like they are walking around trying to balance an oversized cupcake on their head, and in turn spectators having a fun giggle. This is the attempt at making a "I'm going to hit the gym with a messy bun on the top of my head so my hair doesn't get sweaty from my neck" into something worthwhile. {then again, this is coming from a girl who refuses to let the 70/80's come back into style. The classics are a classic for a reason. Just sayin'.}
The Pony-Tail:
Last but not least. The pony-tail. All you need is just a hair-elastic and oh! the places you'll go. The perfect hair-do for a formal evening, or working out at the gym. Throw it up straight, curly, short or long. The beauty of the simple things in life that never fail.
There you have it, my two-cents {which you may or may not care for} about always having a solution for your "I don't know what to do with my hair- hair days" when the fad hair-do's just aren't cutting it for you.
This morning the alarm clock went off at 5:09, and then 5:10. Neither of which I heard. Robert woke me up and wanted to start to weep. It was one of those "why, why oh why" mornings, but then I got out of bed and realized I just had an epic weekend at home, and there are only threeweeks left of school. Needless to say, it was a successful day. I didn't fail my paper, the lab I TA for was exceptional {partly because it was the brain, and that I do have......haha, oh I just crack myself up}, and I got home to Robert having made bread.
To cap off a wonderful Monday, Robert and I set up our tree! Even with out snow on the ground here in Rexburg, the Christmas season has officially begun! I have always wanted to do just a classic, strung berries and popcorn tree. Now that we have our little family and tree {donated by my sister Natalie and her husband, Mark} we went to it! We spent the evening watching Elf, and stringing berries and popcorn {which I ate most of, whoops}. Now we have our finished product, and our home is just a little bit more Christmas-y:
It isn't grandeur, by any means, but we both love it, especially since we did it ourselves! I hope everyone is having a wonder start to the season.
Ten years ago my dad decided to sign up his whole family for the Las Vegas Running Teams "Catch the Gobbler" 5K. We all complained about waking up at 5 am to go run; worst idea ever. Ten years later, it is the thing my family looks forward to most on Thanksgiving, except for the waking up at 5 part. {We all still complain about that} My sister out in Boston still keeps the tradition!
Robert made a 20 min. time. Even if he doesn't train, that man's body kicks into CC race mode. I don't know how he does it. I wondered in 7 minutes later with a time of 27:07 {it's been a while since I have run}.
{this isn't the whole racing crew, somehow Mel, Mom & Caleb always get out of pictures}
The rest of the afternoon consisted of too many women in the kitchen, but a wicked good dinner. My little sister makes an out-of-this-world pumpkin risotto and my mouth waters just thinking about it. Natalie's famous turkey, corn-bread stuffing, garlic green beans, mmm. Perfect Thanksgiving.
My parents love having guests over for the Holidays. I can't remember a Thanksgiving or a Christmas where it has been just our family, and I love it! This year our neighbors Christiana & Jose came over for dinner. I just love them, they are the funniest couple! Jose found some turtles last week {which may or may not be illegal}and is keeping them through the Winter so they survive. Jose brought them over and everyone loved playing with them!
{Robert did too, even if he doesn't look too enthralled}
The evening ended with the family going to see The Muppets with our cousins and then over to our house for a dessert party. Every year it seems like food & desserts just keep getting better and better. There were multiple pumpkin cheesecakes, apple crumble {soooo good. go mom.} and a pecan. {Those were the only ones I ate within the last four days} The worst part about Thanksgiving is not being able to try everything.
Robert and I managed to get on, stand-by, to our flight this morning! It was a perfect break.
A few weeks ago Robert & I were called to be Ward Missionaries for our church. You are all probably thinking "what the junk? Really Claire, you live in Rexburg a.k.a 98% Republican & 98% Mormon". Confession: I thought the same exact thing. To my surprise, it has been a very enlightening and enjoyable experience.{maybe some of it is because I get to serve with Robert}. We get to go into each of the members homes and teach them the first missionary discussion. We have met amazing people; the church members in our ward are incredible. Another part of our calling is going to our Bishops home on Monday nights for Family Home Evening and teach a lesson.
While I was preparing the lesson for last night, I ran across this little video:
cute, right? I loved all of the little things all the random people in New York came up with on the spot! Yes, it is Thanksgiving time. It is my FAVORITE holiday, the reason being that we get to spend time together as a family like Christmas, but without all the materialism and shopping/ present stress. It just makes me happy.
After watching the video I made a little list of the things I am grateful for this year:
My {now} Husband. He one the most patient and kind men I have ever met, and he always seems to put himself last. Robert is even humble enough to ask me for fashion advice. I am also grateful that he is willing to try new crazy things; especially because I love trying new things and he never seems to get exhausted of it. Did I also mention he cleans our house pretty much every week?
This Sister. She is the oldest and has always been a great example to me. Everyone told me that I was an exact replica of her, and I was happy to be thought of as such. Somehow she always finds something new to tackle and has inspired me to be willing to learn new things.
This other sister. I love how excited and helpful she would get about whatever I would tell her; wether it was about boy or deciding what to wear. She also helped me plan like my whole wedding, and convinced me that Robert did really like me and I was over thinking everything {perusual}. She also is a great mom with two adorable boys.
And, This Sister. She was my best friend growing up and she taught me to not stress out about little things, especially because I was a major perfectionist going into High School. I would say we are a lot a like, but she is probably more humble and selfless than I am. She married an awesome guy and they are just a cool couple.
Annnnd, this sister, Collette: {She fails and doesn't have a blog}. She is pretty cool. She is training for an IronMan, and she inspired me to run a marathon! She helped me realize that my little body can do anything if I treat it right. She also is like the healthiest eater ever and has taught me how to eat yummy and healthy. She also is a pro at balancing having fun and working hard, she is just hilarious!
Lastly, this sister Layney-Cakes: First, in the last year I am pretty sure she has visited every single state to visit friends. No joke, she knows people EVERYWHERE. Everyone just loves her. Layne and I were the last ones together {plus nat} and I loved growing up with her. Even though she has almond eyes and I make inappropriate racial jokes about her, I love her and her spunkiness. Did I also mention she is a master chief? I'll admit it, my little sister pretty much taught me how to cook.
My Parentos: They are incredible people. Both of them had to overcome a lot to be where they are today and I thank the Lord everyday I was blessed with parents who taught me about the gospel, how to save my money, to not indulge myself, appreciation of other cultures and religions, the love of traveling and the love and importance of education.
This Family: My in-laws are too, incredible people. I was blessed with in-laws that I love spending time with. They always know how to laugh and I love that they just embrace the fact that life is rough, but you make the best of it and be happy!
This Friend. Sarah Childs is the best friend a girl could ask for! I love her to pieces, and she helped me grow so much as we went through middle school and high school together. She is going on a mission in January and the people of Japan are going to be so blessed to have her. :)
Believe me, the list could go on forever, but for now I am grateful for these people. They have helped me become the girl I am today and I am grateful the Lord blessed me with them.
A few weeks ago Robert and I decided to spice up our dating life. Friday date night usually consisted of going to the temple, dinner or grocery shopping. You know, the excitement of being married and having to house chores. In order to spice up said dating life, we are going through the alphabet.
First was our A date night. We went to Cragio's Pizzeria for an All You Can Eat Pizza and then went for a walk Around Town. Okay, I will admit it, it was pushing it a little but, but it was a perfect date.
Yesterday was our C date. We made Caramel Apples. At my house we usually have a tradition of making caramel apples for Christmas gifts for friends. Robert and I decided to do it as Thanksgiving gifts instead!
Perusual, I make terrible messes and our house ended up in a beautiful mess; but, the apples turned out great!
Next, we made Chicken, of sorts. Our friends Alex and Chelsea aren't going anywhere for Thanksgiving so we decided to have a little Thanksgiving with them today. The little chickens were on sale at Albertsons so we decided to make a little chicken instead. Last night we had the adventure of preparing the said chicken. This included making the brine {my chore} and taking the innards out of the chicken. I started out doing it, but Robert had to take over. The most I did was pretend to make the chicken fly and almost dropping it. {I admit it, I am a little immature at times}.
Lastly, we went to the the Spori art gallery at the school. It wasn't really part of the "c" date, but it was amazing! I had wanted to go for a while, and I am so glad we finally decided to go. The whole time Robert looked like this:
I will admit, it made me love him a little bit more. He was so in awe at everything and I am glad I married a guy that appreciates similar things that I do.
Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
Sale. It's a magical word. I grew up in Las Vegas and have more shopping there than you could even dream about. Really, though.
Confessions; I walk by a store and there is a big SALE sign outside, thats right, I usually end up in the store. There is something about looking at the bottom of your receipt and seeing the Total Savings marker and seeing a ridiculously large number. That something when you get the monthly Macy's envelope in the mail knowing you will get 30% off your next purchase. Some of my favorite clothing items are clothes I love just because they were on sale. {ie, my favorite jeans are $120 that I got for $40} I will admit it, I am a complete savings nerd.
After I got married I found this whole love of sales thing was beneficial. Especially when we are saving our pennies for medical school.
For the last month in a half I have been phoneless. It has been quite the adventure. After a series of roundabout events, I finally got a new iPhone.
Having a phone again after so long, that's awesome.
Even better? Seeing "Total Price at Checkout: $0.00".
More wedding pictures! The reception was in my backyard. I love garden receptions, and I wanted to be at a place that was special to me and I would always remember. What better place than my backyard that I grew up in for the last fifteen years!
I loved our florist, I really didn't want matchy, matchy everything and she did a great job. She even made me two bouquets! One to toss and one for me to keep and dry out.
Robert and I both have a love for Europe, hence the European/ French garden theme. My favorite part was probably the Patisserie {mostly because I put so much work into designing it and making the cake stands!} I really don't have any love for cake, so we shook things up, and had pie instead. My last favorite part; the food and the Italian Soda's. {but most of that will be in another post}.
