February Photo-Shoot

For part of my Valentine's present Taylor took me up to the mountains for a self timer photo-shoot. We had so much fun! Don't mind the blurriness or slanted pictures; it was hard to find a flat place to set up the camera.











I think he is pretty cute!







Yeah, I kinda, sorta have a big crush on him.









I got my nose pierced and I love it! :)




I am so incredibly in love with Taylor. He is the best thing I have ever had. It is so wonderful being married to my best friend; a man I look up to, makes me laugh, and fills my life with so much happiness.

Orange Chicken

When Taylor and I were dating, we spent a lot of time in Spokane. Our favorite place to eat dinner was P.F. Chang's, and we always order their orange chicken. When we first got married we probably had this every date night by Taylor's request.

We have also made this recipe gluten-free by using rice flour and leaving the soy sauce out.

Rating: 10

Servings: 4

Source: http://www.recipesecrets.net/PFChangsOrangePeelChicken.html

2 chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 cloves minced garlic
6 green onions, sliced
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (Taylor likes 6 1/2 TBS)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cup flour
1 grated orange peel


Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, sautee green onions, garlic, and 1 TBS of oil.

2. Add tomato sauce, water, sugar, Sriracha, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.



3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the remaining vegetable oil.

4. Beat egg in a medium bowl. Pour flower into another bowl. Coat the chicken pieces by dropping them into the flour a few at a time, then into the egg mixture and then back into the flour again.

5. Cook the chicken in small batches in the oil until lightly golden brown on all sides. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.

6. Discard the oil from the skillet and then place the skillet back on the burner over medium heat. Add the orange peel and cook for a couple of minutes or until the orange is fragrant. Next, add the chicken and stir till well coated. Mix in the sauce, cook till thoroughly heated.

7. Serve with white or brown rice.

Country Vintage Wedding

August 11, I married the greatest man I've ever known. After months of preparations, hours on Pinterest, and every DIY craft known to man, the day had finally arrived. The day was perfect: the sun shined, family gathered, and a vast amounts of laughter and bliss filled the air!
I thought I would share a few set up pictures of our country vintage wedding.



My colors were lavender, deep purple, and cream.



We borrowed mason jars to create a vintage feel on a very low budget. Also, we wrapped the napkins in pearl beads giving it an elegant feel for only $1.79.






We had the most gorgeous fresh flowers from BeeHaven Farm. (http://beehavenfarm.com/)
I loved the wild flower, country vintage look. My mother and I (mostly my mother) assembled 27 bouquets for the tables and six for the bridal party.





We alternated bouquets of flowers and bird cages on the tables. We placed LED candles in the cages setting a soft romantic feel at night. Next to the bird cages we had jars of dried lavender. It gave the wedding a light, sweet scent. When Taylor and I went to leave, we had everyone throw lavender instead of rice. The whole walkway smelled glorious.






Our wedding was in a beautiful field in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Tall trees shaded our guest keeping it cool on the August afternoon.



We hired a Violist and Flutist to play Cannon in D for the girls to walk down to adding a special feel to our outdoor wedding.



Kissing as "Mr." and "Mrs." :) This was the setup at the bridal table.



Our first dance under the lights. I loved the lighting at night! It gave it a very romantic feel for the dance floor.



I also made my own cake. With our budget, I couldn't justify spend $500 on just the cake, but at the same time I still wanted a tiered cake for Taylor and I. So we ordered Sheet cakes for our guest and I made the wedding cake. Sure it doesn't look like a designer cake, but saving $480 was worth it to me.


I love looking back at my wedding photos; it makes our wedding seem almost like a fairytale. Our photographer did a great job capturing the day. I'd recommend him to anyone. He was funny, knew what he was doing, and willing to put in the extra work to get the perfect shots. His website is: http://www.martinpaulphotography.com/wedding_gallery.html

Like I said earlier, our day was perfect! I loved the way the wedding turned out. Best of all, at the end of the day, I was married to my best friend!

Greek Chicken

Greek Inspired Chicken Recipe


Rating: 9 out of 10
Servings: 2
Source: http://www.savoringthethyme.com/2012/05/cvs-extracare-rewards-purse-to-plate-series-%E2%80%93-greek-inspired-chicken-breast-recipe/
Time: 25 min.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 large roma tomatoes
25 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup crumbed feta

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Spread the flour out on a large plate and scatter oregano, pepper and salt on top. Coat each side of the chicken breast in the flour and place in the heated oil, cook for 4-5 minutes until browned. Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside on a platter. Mix tomatoes, kalamata olives, and garlic. Top the chicken with the tomato-olive mixture, followed by feta.

Salt Lake City

For my 20th birthday Taylor took me to Salt Lake City. We had so much fun exploring the city. We stayed at this really nice hotel located right next to an outdoor mall. Our hotel room was bigger then our entire apartment. :P

Here are just a few of the pictures we took:




We saw this beautiful little park in the middle of the city.











I think it is safe to say that we like to kiss. :p



I love fall! This year Pocatello didn't really have a fall, so it was so fun going to Salt Lake and seeing all the fall colors.







He is pretty good lookin'







You know that moment, when you think about spending the rest of your life with one person. Someone that you go through so many hard and good times with. The person that makes you laugh and makes everyday better. The person whom you are just lucky to be around. It is at that moment that I know I married the right person. I am not sure how I got that lucky, but I thank God everyday for Taylor.

Homecoming dance

My super hot date for homecoming! How did I get so lucky? :)

Alyse's Baby Shower

I had the privileged of helping host a baby shower for my niece. All of Chelsey's sisters got to share in the planning. Our theme was pink and yellow giraffe.





Gingerbread stroller cookies.



Sarah made our giraffe cake.




We got a few ideas from Pinterest. :)




Grandma enjoying her time with Alyse, as Alyse's great grandma shared baby stories and a blessing with Chels.













Alyse is going to look so cute!

A few honeymoon pictures

Taylor and I went to Molokia, Hawaii for our honeymoon. It is the most gorgeous place on earth.



You could be on a beach all day and never see another person. It was wonderful!



The sunsets were beautiful!

It was wonderful just relaxing, talking, and letting the moments sink in.



Our wedding rings were placed on 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter read during our wedding that displays the selfless marriage covenant.



You feel so small when you look across miles of Ocean. It is breath-taking. How great our God is and His creation.

Engagement Ring

I was *little* excited about my beautiful ring one day... so I took loads of pictures. This is just the engagement ring, the wedding band hadn't been added at this point.






I always wondered, when I was younger, what my ring would look like. I have always thought that it would tell a lot about the person who bought it for you. Call me crazy or just a hopeless romantic, but I still think that.





I love that my ring is so sparkly. It is so incredibly beautiful the second light hits it. I love that it is not overly huge and showy, yet delicately beautiful.



I love that it is a one-of-a-kind, specially made for me. Taylor had the sapphires on the side of the ring added. He added it because Sapphires are my favorite gems, also sapphire means truth or faithfulness, and lastly he wanted my ring to be a one-of-a-kind. The thing I love the most about it, is without my help or my families, he bought me a perfect ring. I honestly couldn't ask for a better ring.








The flowers are from the day he purposed, and the two letters he had sent me while we were dating.