Guess What?!

 I am the newest official member of the Aveda Institute Provo. I will start in January and couldn't be more excited to learn everything it has to offer!

Southern Peach Cobbler

I've been quite lazy lately and haven't been blogging as much as I should have. Let's be honest, I haven't been blogging at all!

So, school has started. Abel and I are in 3 classes together and sit next to each other everyday. It's a nice change from our other semesters of never really seeing each other. The only part that stinks is that we have group work in all of our classes, but we aren't in the same group, so we really don't do much studying/homework together. We're mostly with our groups.

This is my last semester of my undergraduate degree. I couldn't be happier. School is wearing me out. I figured out that school much really stress me out.. All summer I was pretty easy going (at least I thought so), and now that school has started, I clench my teeth at nights, get mega headaches, and am kinda grumpy (or as Abel puts it, unexcitable). It's pretty pathetic. Luckily it will all be over in a matter of months!

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go to cosmetology school here starting in January. We are just trying to figure out the financing of it all, and I couldn't be more excited (and nervous of course, because I'm always nervous). I think I'm going to love it and can't wait to give it a try..

Anyway, the point of this post is that I made a great recipe the other week when we had dinner with our good friends. I decided to make peach cobbler since it is becoming peach season here in Utah and it was great! I found the recipe from another friend who found it from Allrecipes.com. Great site by the way.

Here it is. Sorry the picture isn't great, but I guess it doesn't have to be since I'm no photographer! :)
Try it, it's sooo good! The only change I would make is that I don't think you have to cook the peaches for 10 minutes first before putting the crust on.

Brazilian Limeade

Lately, I've been wanting to make limeade. I love citrus and what could be more tasty on a hot summer's day than limeade? Brazilian limeade! It's a fun way to jazz up the normal stuff and really easy to make. I searched for a recipe on allrecipes.com and found one that I wanted to try. It is delicious! And, yes, this is my dorky husband trying to act all suave for the picture. Haha.

Recipe:

2 limes

1/2 C sugar

3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk

3 C water

ice

Wash limes, cut off the ends, and cut into slices.

Place the limes, water, and sugar in a blender and pulse.

Strain the mixture to remove rinds and keeping the juice.

Now add sweetened condensed milk and ice and pulse again!

I changed this a little bit from the original recipe because I thought this worked better. Adding more ice will make it a slush, and if you're like me, you'd add extra lime for even more kick!

Oh and P.S. this doesn't store very well, so only make what you can drink within a few hours!

Summer Goals

So, I was reading my friend Sarah's blog and she was talking about her summer goals so I decided that I would start thinking about mine.. Here is the list so far.. Hopefully I will actually accomplish these (or at least some of these). If I do, this summer time will be a blast!


Vacation
Play
Fall in Love (more, not again, well I guess again but with the same person again)
Get tan
Ride bikes-- leisurely as well as for exercise
Go back to the gym
Serve others (starting by helping my sister)
Go through my stuff 
Deep clean my house
Be nicer
Laugh and smile more
Grow my hair out (for Abel of course, not me)
Go hiking
Weed the garden once a week
Don't stress
Be more spiritual--> be more consistent with praying and reading the scriptures Make friends in our new ward
Re-connect with old friends Polish my resume
Set up a sewing desk
Sew/ be crafty                                                               Decide whether I'm going to go to hair school or not-- if not, look for jobs

Vacation Time!

Abel and I are so excited that spring term is almost over (it ends on June 16th). We CANNOT wait. School has burnt us out and we are ready for summertime.
Luckily, Abel's parents invited us to go on vacation with them a week after school ends. We are going to Hong Kong for 6 days, Singapore for 4 days, and Malaysia for 4 days! It's going to be SO awesome! I can't wait. It'll be my first time out of the country, so that's a little scary, but it's going to be great. I just hope that I'm not sick on all the flights that we'll be going on! I'll probably be poppin' dramamine like candy. Haha.
It's now time to get my wardrobe ready for these asian countries because I've been told it's going to be SO hot and humid and I only have long jeans. In hopes to not be a mega sweat ball the entire time, I bought some knit fabric to make a skirt to wear while we're there. I've also decided that I'm hopefully going to make a few more skirts (and maybe a summer dress). Then I'll only have to buy like one pair of shorts.
I'm hoping that this helps relieve my stress of packing. I hate packing and I'm terrible at it especially for long trips like this! Wish me luck.

Caramel Stuffed Sugar Cookies

Well, the other day at work I was pretty bored (I didn't have much to work on that day) so I was browsing different recipe/food related blogs. Along the way somehow I happened upon this recipe for sugar cookies with Milk Duds in the middle. I like sugar cookies and the idea of caramel in the center sounded great, but normally I have to have frosting with them. I figured what the heck why not try them out? So I decided I would make them for the BBQ that Abel and I were going to on Monday. And when I say going to, I mean by walking up the stairs to Syd's house to eat with her, Nick, the boys, Nathan, and Liz. It was fun and the cookies are pretty dang good-- a good combination of sweet (but not too sweet) and chewy. I would recommend them the next time you want to put a twist in a sugar cookie. 

If you didn't follow the link above to the original source, I'll post the recipe here also.  

Chewy Caramel Stuffed Sugar Cookies
(Makes 3 dozen, adapted from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 box Milk Duds
• 1/2 cup coarse raw sugar (when I made them I just used normal white granulated sugar)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

Gradually, add the flour to the creamed mixture, stirring just enough to incorporate the flour. Shape rounded tablespoons of dough into a ball, pressing a Milk Dud into the center of each ball. (Be sure to cover the Milk Dud completely with the sugar dough.)

Roll the ball in the raw sugar and place it on the prepared baking sheets. Be sure to space the cookies 2 – 3 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes and then remove.

Skirt Giveaway!

For all you girls out there, I follow this awesome blog called Elle Apparel that has some great and simple ideas for sewing projects. She even has tutorials on how to make most of her projects! Right now, she is having a socialite skirt giveaway. Hopefully, you all won't enter because I want to WIN, but if you do, I guess that'd be alright ;). If you want to check it out, click here!


Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend spending time with friends and family. Remember those who have fought for our freedom and protected this wonderful country that we live in. :) Have a great and safe weekend!