Valentine's Day Weekend!

I love Valentine's Day! Howie and I always do a little something for Valentine's Day. Wether it be a night in cooking up something fun or going out. This year we decided to go out and do something. To start off our fun weekend, I came home on Friday to find these fun things waiting for me: Hershey Almond Kisses, an angel Pez dispenser(hahaha), Sweettarts Heart Candy, and a sweet little card that Howie wrote a little message in that made me tear-up (awh). He had also given me some roses on Thursday night. I was a bit surprised he got me anything at all because we had discussed not getting gifts and just going out. He spoils me. What we had planned for the weekend was going to stay at a cute little B&B in Woodland, UT. We found it online and since the ones in and near Park City were so expensive, we took a chance on this place.It's called the Woodland Farmhouse Inn and it was SO cute! It was one of the most charming little houses I've ever seen! This is the second B&B we've stayed in and so far, this is my favorite. She had fresh flowers waiting for us in our room when we arrived along with a bottle of Sparkling Cider and two champagne glasses.

She rents the house out by floors so, there is the main floor(where we stayed) and then there was an upstairs part where other people were. Our floor gave us two bedrooms, a den, and a bathroom all to ourselves. We even had our own private entrance if we chose to use it. Here is the first bedroom:

Below is the one we chose to sleep in. The bed was so comfy, I couldn't resist. It's called The Old Post Office room. The house was once used as the town Post Office so, hence the name.

Here is the little den. This is a checkers/chess board.

Here is us on the couch in the den:

Looking into our room from the den: (We already made ourselves at home by hanging up our coats.)Here is the common area of the house. The kitchen is there in the back and this is the dinning room.

China hutch built into the wall. Kitchen Cute old stove. Again, this little house had SO much character and charm. HOT TUB! We ended up using it for a bit after we came back from dinner. It was sweet! Cold, but sweet.We were supposed to go check-in and then go back to Park City for dinner, but we changed our minds after we realized how far of a drive it was back to Park City so, we asked our host if there was a nice place to eat at in nearby Kamas. She told us of a place called The Gateway Grille. She said they served anything from a regular burger and fries to a fancy-shmancy gourmet meal. So, we decided to try it out. Here is the outside. (Howie is telling me to hurry it up!)The food was really good! I was impressed. It was the perfect suggestion for us and what we were in the mood for. My personal favorite part of the meal was dessert(when is it not?). We ordered the Apple Berry Cobbler. Oh-my-gosh. Heaven. Here is the before picture:And here is what it looked like after we were done with it:

The cobbler was on the bottom, all warm and yummy, and then it had a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whip cream on top. The fruit was on the side along with the strawberry sauce on the plate. I do believe we will be making a couple trips over to Kamas again JUST to enjoy another one of these. We came back from dinner to find our cute little getaway for the night all lit up:

It really was just the cutest little place. We will be back again. This morning we had a delicious breakfast. She made us French Toast Creme Brulee. I've never heard of it, but it was sure good. I opted for the strawberries and whip cream. Howie piled on the strawberries, whip cream, AND syrup. It was all quite yummy. Perfect way to start the day!

After we checked out we headed over to the Park City Outlets for a bit and I got my shop on at the Gap. I bought a ton of stuff. It was delightful. Then we went and saw the movie Valentine's Day at a theater in Park City. It was cute. I really liked it.

Well, that was our fun little weekend. We had to celebrate a little early because Howie works Sundays and Mondays but, I'm glad it worked out the way it did. We had a blast!

My New Baby...

So, I started my guitar classes the end of January and I'm loving it so far! Originally I borrowed a guitar from a co-worker, but I couldn't seem to get her guitar to sound right. It was having a hard time tunning. It doesn't help that it hadn't been played in about 10 years. That can really do a guitar in. You have to keep playing it. Anyway, I wasn't going to learn anything on a guitar that couldn't tune, so I bought one of my own! Look at this beauty... It's a Fender. I was surprised I could afford a Fender guitar. Guitar Center had a value package deal where they give you the guitar, guitar bag, strap, picks, lessons DVD, and a tuner all for one low price. This package cost me $200 and was well worth it! I got everything I need to learn how to play. Perfect for beginners.

Right now we're learning a couple different songs. Hush Little Baby, Leavin' On A Jet Plane, and our latest assignment Rain by Jose and Hilda Feliciano. Rain is a really cool song and I can't wait until I am playing it better. It's really neat. I've had a lot of fun learning the guitar. I hope I can keep up the practicing. I really love it. I'm still working on developing calluses on my fingertips. They weren't kidding when they said it was necessary. Playing the guitar kills your fingers!

I Love My Dad

My car is getting to an age where things are starting to...oh, I don't know...die. It's a 2003 so, I guess it has a right to be wanting repairs. My cars recent episode has been with my anti-lock break system. One of my ABS sensors has started to slowly go out so the dealership told me I had to get a new one. The sensor, alone, cost me $110. The Mazda dealership quoted me $400 for parts and labor to have the new one put on. $400!! No thank you Mazda.

So, I ordered the part from them (only because it was a dealer-only part) and called my Dad to see if this was something he could handle. Since my Dad has been a mechanic for over 30 years I figured it probably was. I was right. My Dad was more than willing to save me the extra $290 by putting it on for me FOR FREE. I don't know what I would do without my Dad. He is so nice to sacrifice his time for me on a Saturday and fix my failing car. Love you Dad.

The Organ Loft

My Mother-In-Law invited me to come along with her to a theater off of 3300 S. and State Street called The Organ Loft. They play old, black and white, silent films. The cool thing they add to it though is a guy that plays the organ all the way through the movie! It was really neat if you ask me! We saw Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. Here's a picture of the screen. You'll see down below the screen is an organ that a guy comes out to play on. And below is a picture I took during the film that shows the lights on the organ.
The Kid was a cute movie! It wasn't one of Charlie Chaplin's hilarious movies. It was a little more serious and tender, but very good. We went to dinner before the movie at a little place called Cafe Med. It's a Mediterranean food restaurant that i've been wanting to try again. I went there once a long time ago and wasn't impressed. I wanted to give it a second chance and I'm glad I did. It was yummy. Fun night out.

Launch of Bead Boulevard Creations

Today I officially launched my jewelry store online! I'm so excited for this venture. Please check out my store at:

www.beadblvdcreations.etsy.com

There are only a few things on there right now, but more is to come!

New Years Resolutions? Nah.

I don't like to make new years resolutions because 1) I never keep them and 2) they are overrated. No sense in getting my hopes up, right? However, I find that a change is coming on. Is it coincidently at the start of the new year? Maybe. I didn't intentionally make any resolutions or set any goals. It just appears that opportunities and plans have been presented and I've felt very inclined to do them! "Why not?" I tell myself. (It may have something to do with it being the beginning of the year, but humor me and we'll pretend that isn't a factor.) I have some things coming up this year that i'm excited about and I felt the need to share them so, here it goes!

Exciting Item 1: Guitar LessonsI was pondering what other kind of fun hobbies I could get in to that didn't cost as much as jewelry making and a sudden idea came to mind. Learning to play the guitar. I've always wanted to learn! I originally thought that maybe there was a class I could sign up for at SLCC. To my surprise, two days later, I get a catalog in my mailbox from Granite Peaks Lifelong Learning. They offer a number of continuing education classes that you can take including Beginning and Intermediate Guitar! Today I registered for their Beginning Guitar classes and I start on January 21st. I thought I was going to have to rent a guitar from a music store, but a co-worker of mine offered up her guitar for me to borrow. Score! I get 9 class sessions and it only cost me $40. Is that a deal or what?

Exciting Item 2: Sending Survivor an audition tapeYou may laugh at me, but I am a huge Survivor fan. I haven't watched every season that has ever aired, but pretty close. If you recall back to one of my earlier posts(back in April), I put up a little thing called My Bucket List. Item number 13 on that list is "Audition to be on a TV show". (In looking back to said list I realized that item number 8 is "Learn to play the guitar"! Haha. Must be a bucket list fulfillment year.) Anyway, I checked the CBS website and they are going to be accepting video submissions on January 18th and if you're one of the lucky ones that is picked you'll get to fly to L.A. for an audition. Now, some people that have made it on the show have said that they applied for it several times before making it on the show. I seriously doubt I'll make it, but at least I can say that I tried. Now I just have to ponder what my video will be like. Yikes.

Exciting Item 3: Europe, May 2010I will get to return to the UK! Howie has always wanted to visit Scotland and I've wanted to go back ever since I went in 2006. So, in May of this year we are going to spend 2 weeks traveling around the UK. We're going to do a whole week in London and visiting the surrounding areas of London and then another full week in Scotland. I would also like to stay in a Bed & Breakfast in York, England. We'll see. We've booked our airfare, but we've still got to iron out the details. After the week in Scotland we're going to spend two nights in...wait for it...I can't tell you how excited I truely am about this...this is a dream come true...Paris, France! We will only get to be there for two nights, but I'll take it. I've always wanted to go and if I'm able to go for two days, I will not complain. Who knows? Maybe I'll be totally unimpressed with it and never want to go back again. At least I can say I went.

Exciting Item 4: Baby maybe?Howie and I have always said that we wanted to wait at least two years before we started trying to have children. This June will mark our two year anniversary. If Survivor doesn't work out for me (haha) we may try to start a family. I have reservations. The more I try to imagine myself as a parent, the harder it is. I've always thought that I wanted to wait until I was absolutely sure I was ready. My Dad has said to me "If you wait until you're ready, you'll never have them". He's probably right. It's something that is in the back of my mind. It's something that will require some more thought and prayer. But I am excited about the idea of having children.

Exciting Item 5: Staying FitI plan to be more fit this year. For my sanity, I need it. I went to the gym last night and it felt SO good to do something good for my body. I really need to start going regularly. I have a membership at 24 Hour Fitness and I WILL be using it. I won't say how I'm so motivated(because I don't know), but I really think I mean it this time!

Exciting Item 6: Maui, Hawaii, September 2010We will also be traveling to Maui, Hawaii in September. Howie's parents have a timeshare and they are allowed a week of travel every year. Fortunately for us, they have an extra week! We were more than happy to take it off their hands! We will be spending a week on the west shore of Maui. I can't believe we're going. This is another place that i've been dying to visit and I can't wait! We're going to save any funds we have left over from Europe to use in Hawaii. The only reason why we're able to go is because of my in-laws and frequent flier miles. Otherwise, two big trips in one year probably wouldn't happen. We like to try to do one per year.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share my new years resol..wait, not resolutions, just plans. They are my plans for 2010.

Graceling - by Kristin Cashore

I had Howie buy me this book for Christmas and I finished all 471 pages of it in four days! This book was really good and reminded me a bit of The Hunger Games. Mostly because it's another book that centers on a strong, independent girl that is very strong willed. Her name is Katsa and she is a Graceling. A Graceling is a person with two different colored eyes and they each have their own "Grace". Some can have a mind reading grace, a running fast grace, etc. It just depends on what you're graced with. Katsa happens to be graced with a strong ability to survive. Her grace comes in handy when she takes on the task of rescuing a young Princess that is being hunted by her evil father, Leck, the Kind of Monsea. I simply couldn't put this one down. Ever read a book that is so descriptive that it almost feels like you've been watching a really cool, action packed movie? I love it when a book makes me feel that way. This is definitely one of those books! I just started on Kristin Cashore's second book entitled Fire. So far, so good. I'll let you know what I think of that one when I'm all finished.

Merry Christmas!

Today was an awesome Christmas and I'm so glad to have spent it with friends and family. We spent the night at my parents house last night. Christmas doesn't seem to be the same if you aren't able to wake up and see the excitement on childrens faces. I guess that's why I can't let go of the tradition of sleeping over at my parents house. I just don't think we can get that same feeling by waking up alone in our condo. We took our queen size air matress and put it in my parents spare bedroom. We spent most of Christmas Eve eating a delicious honey-baked ham and watching The Nativity Story. It's one of my favorite Christmas movies. We woke early this morning to the sounds of children running up and down the hallways talking about their new toys. My nephews got a few Nerf guns so, we had to keep running from them to keep from getting shot at! Crazy kids.

Howie got me a few gifts including a gift card to Massage Envy. I am thrilled about that because I absolutely love to get professional massages! I can't wait to use it! I got more gifts from friends and family. I'm so spoiled!

I got Howie a highly anticipated case for his iPhone that increases the life of his battery. He's been wanting one for quite some time. He's hard to shop for because he's one of those guys that is content with what he has. I also got him a passport cover because we recently got him a passport (his first ever!).

Anyway, we ate a ton of good food over the past two days and I don't think my tummy will ever be hungry again! I'm so thankful for my family and for holidays like Christmas that bring us closer together. I'm thankful that my Grandma was able to recover from her blood-clot episode and be here for Christmas. She'd been in a care center for the last 20 days so, it was really nice to have her back. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas's!

The Forgotten Carols

Monday night we went to see The Forgotten Carols with our friends Eric and Alyssa. I've had the soundtrack for quite some time and know all of the songs, but I have never seen the actual play. We liked it a lot. It had a lot more humor in it than I expected so, that was a pleasant surprise! I'm hoping to make this a yearly tradition. I think my parents would really like it, too. We'll have to take them next year. I know the following picture is reminiscent of my pictures I shared of the Kurt Bestor Concert, but again, I only had my iPhone on hand. Here is a picture I took during one of the songs. The guy they had singing the lead was Jordan Bluth. He had a pretty neat voice.

Before the concert we all went to eat at Famous Dave's. I love that place and it had been forever since I'd been so, I was loving every bite. Yummy. I should've taken a picture of me stuffing my face. Wouldn't that be fun to see? It was a great night out. This was actually the last festivity we planned for the holidays. Guess we'll see if anything else pops up!

A Kurt Bestor Christmas

Yesterday afternoon Howie and I attended A Kurt Bestor Christmas Concert at Abravanel Hall. Kurt Bestor is a well known Utah-based composer and performer. He is very talented. We enjoyed his show very much! I ended up buying a CD of his. It's The Best of A Kurt Bestor Christmas. They gave me an additional free CD just for buying one, so...score!Here is Abravanel Hall before the concert started. (I only had my iPhone on hand)Here it is during the concert. You can see Kurt there on the massive TV screens. Very cool concert. Kurt usually has a guest artist for each of his shows. His guest artist for this show was a guy named Jonathan Butler. His voice was amazing. He sang a version of O Holy Night that nearly brought me to tears! He received a standing ovation from the crowd! He's from South Africa and has been performing since he was very young. Here he is:If you want to hear his amazing voice, you'll have to visit www.jonathanbutler.com . I tried to find a YouTube clip to share, but I can't seem to embed them on my blog. :( Anyway, we enjoyed the concert and hopefully I can talk Howie into going again next year!