Sweet Victory #2

Utah 13 - TCU 10Thanks Ash for inviting me to one of the most exciting games of the season. Love ya! GO UTES!!!

Sweet Victory = Sweet Treats

For Marcus' Election Night Party I thought I would put together a fun little treat to help celebrate the evening. I must admit, I didn't come up with the idea all on my own, I had a little help from a cute food blog, even so, they turned out great and I they were a fun addition to the party. Recipe:

1 dash of love

1 hint of freedom

1 pinch of hope

A whole lotta change

Mix together. Wah-la, Obama cookies! A sweet treat for a sweet victory!

Don't forget....

Vote Today

(it's kind of a big deal)

Made With Love ♥

I have one more Halloween treasure to share before I move on to any other posts. This Halloween, my Aunt Ruth made me the cutest quilt ever! It's a Halloween quilt, and it has the most adorable witches you've ever seen. The quilting is all spider webs (I hope you can tell from the pictures) and the colors are perfect. It's such an amazing piece and the craftsmanship behind it is unimaginable. My Aunt is extremely talented and amazingly generous. I am so lucky to receive such kind of gifts from her, made with such love. Thanks Aunt Ruthie, I love you!!!

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn!

One of my favorite things to do at Halloween (besides eat all the candy) is carve pumpkins. I am very methodical when it comes to picking out my pumpkin. It has to be the perfect color and shape, either perfectly round or tall and skinny, it has to sit right (no tipping), and last but not least, it must have a good stem (curly q's are a plus).

This year Ashley and the kids met at my mom & dad's for pizza and pumpkin carving. I did most of the gutting...I'm weird, but I love this part. The kids drew faces and Ashley and Cardy helped them cut 'em out. Hailey's pumpkin had to have been 40 lbs. My dad measured the inside and it was 3 inches thick, not an easy task! Sam wanted a mouse cut into his so we put Cardy's creative skills to the test.

Our Jack O Lanterns turned out super cute. Between all of us, we carved 6 pumpkins. After carving we put them on the front porch and lit them. Ta-da! Well Carved!

The next day, Cardy and I took our nieces, Chile & Sage to pick out a couple pumpkins. Once again, I did most of the gutting while the girls debated on what kinds of faces to carve. Chile went with a two faced theme and Sage decided on a happier Jack. Cardy always likes scary faces!

Halloween just wouldn't be the same without some good ol' Jack O Lanterns to set the mood!

New York Trip- Part II

Although upstate New York was beautiful, I was not going to miss an opportunity to see and explore Manhattan. I have always wanted to go to New York City so when the Murphy wedding came along, Cardy and I jumped on the chance.

Cardy's cousins, Teresa & Rich, live in Jersey City and we were so awesome to let us stay with them. Rich was born in New York and was an excellent tour guide during our stay. Without him, there is no way we would have seen as much as we did in 1 day. Here is a list of the things we did and saw on Day 1 of our trip to NYC:

-took the subway to Ground Zero (basically just a construction site. best view is from the subway down below)

-toured a memorial/tribute to the 9/11 victims and volunteers in the church across the street from the WTC site. (quite amazing & astonishing at the same time)

-ate a Grey's Papaya hot dog (the original, just like in Fool's Rush In)

-walked through Central Park (I was ready to put on my work out clothes and go for a jog just like in the movies!)

-Wall Street & Trump Tower

-saw a McDonald's on 5th Avenue with an actual grand piano (who knows??? don't ask.)

-5th Avenue (the boys were surprised I didn't want to stop in every designer store along the way. Why would I? Don't get me wrong, I love designer shops but I only really like to shop for things I can afford...take me to Canal street so I can strike a bargain with the best of em!)

-St. Patrick's Church (truly amazing.)

-Rockefeller Plaza (think Today Show, Good Morning America, SNL...)

-Nintendo World (of course! No trip would be complete without a video game stop.)

-ate New York style pizza at Little Italy

-Grand Central Station (was apparently going to be torn down but was saved by Jackie Kennedy)

-New York City library (probably one of my favorite things I saw. built in the late 1800's, the entire building is made of marble with grand staircases and chandeliers. incredible.)

-Time Square (unfortunately, no Naked Cowboy)

We walked from 72nd ave to 33rd with many stops and detours along the way. Around 11:00 p.m. we finally caught the train back to Jersey City!

DAY 2:

Our 2nd day in the city, Teresa was our tour guide and she took us to Ellis Island where we took a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty. After, she took us to Canal Street and through Soho to do a little shopping (Cardy finally made it to a B-APE store).

We did not rest for one minute during our time in the city but it was well worth it. I loved NYC and was not at all intimidated by the amount of people or the fast pace, in fact...I can't wait to go back!

New York Trip- Part 1

On October 18th, our friends, Kelly & Jennica were married in Chautauqua, New York. Chautauqua is located in the eastern part of the state about 90 minutes south west of Buffalo. It is a tiny town, but for what it lacks in population, it definitely makes up for in beauty! I have never been so amazed by such beautiful colors. It was the peak of the fall season and the leaves were incredible shades of red, orange, and yellow. I don't think our pictures do any justice as to how beautiful the area was. While in Chautauqua we visited nearby Jamestown, walked around the local farmer's market, and ate at some quaint diners.

Kelly & Jennica had a wonderful, intimate wedding. We were so happy to be part of it and excited for the opportunity to finally visit New York.