Walking on Sunshine

Today I went on a walk with my roommate. Our intention was to walk to this place that sells carbonated frozen yogurt. When we got there, however, the the guy working there said they weren't going to be selling it again until April. It was SUCH a nice day out today though, that just the walk alone was good enough for me. I still can't believe how warm it has been this winter. I was walking around without a coat, almost getting too warm. It was perfect weather today, really. I love it when its slightly chilly. That way if the sun is beating down on you, you don't get too hot because it's still cold outside. I think I want to start taking more walks- especially if the weather stays this nice. So yeah, this is a short entry, but I just wanted to say how beautiful the world is and how happy I am to be living in it!

One Week

Yes that's right. Tomorrow marks my week mark without facebook. And let me tell you- I've never felt better. I in no way intend to permanently give up facebook - but I definitely think that I will only get one like once a week or less. I am definitely keeping the facebook app off of my phone. It is just too much! For those of you that have seen Wall-E. I feel like the woman who turns her virtual technology on her chair off and realizes that the place they are staying has a pool. I highly recommend this for anyone out there feeling a little too addicted to technology. This past weekend was a good one. On Friday, I went to this new restaurant called Smashburger with 2 of my friends. It was quite delicious! I would recommend it for sure. It was very trendy as well- and I'm definitely a sucker for trendy restaurants.

When I got back from dinner, we just had people from the ward over at the house all night. I just love our house! Not only do I just love the actual house, but just the feel of the house. My roommates are so amazing and everyone seems to just like coming over. And I love playing the hostess! So it really works out well. We played games, talked, etc. It was just a nice, fun, and relaxing night. On Saturday I worked, as usual. We took the guys to see the movie "When in Rome." I know, I know. Another chick flick, right? Well I definitely didn't pick this one. But hey at least I didn't pay for it. It was pretty bad. I mean it wasn't the most horrible movie that I've ever seen, but I would never recommend it to anyone. But then again, I'm not one for the romantic comedies. It was just blah. Not very funny, the story line was just predictable as usual, and yeah.... just not a good one. After work I went home and my girlfriends and I all got ready for the cinderella ball! All the girls in the ward had turned in a shoe the week before, and then the guys all picked a shoe, not knowing whose shoe it was to be their date. It was a formal, so we were all getting dress, doing hair, doing make up, etc. It was a lot of fun! And that was before the dance even started!

The event itself was also good. We had dinner with our dates. Mine was a guy named Ross. A very nice guy. Then the dancing started. It was a ton of fun! Our ward is really close, so just being all together was a blast. After the dance we all went to the malt shopp to get milkshakes. So I'd say that was a successful night! So yeah... that's a quick rundown of my weekend. Until next time!

Facebook Deprived

Well I have given up facebook for lent. It is the end of day 2 for me. And it hasn't been TOO hard. The only problem is when I get on my computer, I almost immediately type an "F" in the web address bar for it to predict facebook.com. But don't worry- I've caught myself in time and have remained strong. And I'm thinking that it will only get easier from here. It is actually quite refreshing. I feel so liberated! Anyway, since I am giving up facebook, I was told that I need to keep my blog updated. So here I am, updating. A lot has happened since I last wrote! My roommates and I threw the most fabulous valentine's day party on Saturday, the 13th. Our friend Adam came and was cupid. And he was the hit of the party! Here he is below with a boy begging for love! We had different stations. There was a photo booth with cupid, where he would find you a match. There was a match making profile station, a kissing game, a love fortune teller, a truffle making staion, love songs, and love charades. It was such a huge success! Everyone was just loving it. Seriously. There was just a love vibe going on throughout the house. And some of the couples matched up by cupid might actually turn into something! Exciting, isn't it? To me that is the definition of a successful Valentine's day. Wouldn't you agree?

It was also a 3 day weekend! So President's day was the Monday after. Our FHE group played presidential jeopardy. These guys in our group (shown below) dress up as mount rushmore. haha! Oh and yes- one of them is a mannequin. haha. So overall it was just a fabulous extended weekend!

So yeah, life is definitely good. Now I am watching the male figure skating in the olympics..... so I'll have to update again later!!

By Popular Demand

Well here is a picture of the cupcakes that I made. And here is the recipe::

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 cups chopped salted roasted peanuts, plus more for garnish

For the Nougat Frosting:

• 2 13-ounce jars marshmallow creme (about 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• Pinch of salt

For the Chocolate Frosting:

• 6 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Make the cupcakes: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and both sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the melted butter and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture, the milk and then the remaining flour. Fold in the peanuts but don't overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups, filling each about halfway. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Make the nougat frosting: Beat the marshmallow creme, peanut butter and salt with a mixer until smooth; set aside. Make the chocolate frosting: Put both chocolates in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 50 percent power until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, then continue to microwave until melted, 1 to 2 more minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and salt and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy.

Spread nougat frosting over each cupcake, then top with chocolate frosting, leaving some of the nougat exposed. Garnish with peanuts.

the nougat will be super sticky- just a warning... i zapped it in the microwave a bit to soften it up so that it was spreadable. Enjoy!

February begins

Well an entire month as already passed in the year 2010. And boy did it fly by! I know it's quite boring to talk about the weather, but might I just comment on the lack of snow that Utah has had this winter? And it has been super warm. I have barely worn a coat this entire season. Maybe I've just become immuned to the cold, who knows. As nice as it is for it to be "warm," I do really miss the snow. But oh well...

Either way, January was a pretty decent month. Here are a few highlights of the past month:

- one of my roommates got a life size cardboard cut out of Obama! haha. So we've had fun with him. He's actually in our roommate picture for the semester. We get a lot of weird faces from all of these Provo conservative, which really only makes it better.

- I have been subscribing to food network magazine for a while now, and I decided to use some of the recipes! I hosted a dinner party and made a white chili, which was pretty good. Not as good as my mom's.... but still good. Then it was my friend Zach's birthday, so I made two different kinds of cupcakes. One was based off of a butterfinger, and the other on a snickers. The butterfinger ones were pretty good, but the snickers ones were heavenly. I will def be making those again.

- I went and got my hair done at the beauty school. It took over 4 hours.... yeah i know.... but the result turned out well! I just put blonde highlights in. I haven't put blonde in my hair since high school, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out really well!

I think that's all I have time for now, so I'll have to update again soon!

W.W.M.D.?

The title of my post stands for "what would melanie do?" I am in no way saying we should ask this question as opposed WWJD, but this is just what has been on my mind as of late. Some of you may ask "Who is Melanie?" Well I provided a picture for everyone asking that question. She is a character in Gone with the Wind. And we could all learn so much from her. I watched this movie a little while ago, and this time, just like every other time that I've watched this movie I was so impressed with her. For those of you who aren't too familiar with the story- I'll do a quick recap.

The story is set in the south right before, during, and right after the civil war. Scarlet O'Hara is the main character, and is a fiesty southern belle. She is madly in love with this man, Ashley Hamilton, who (gasp!) actually ends up marrying Melanie. Scarlet for the rest of the movie has bitter feelings towards Melanie and does many questionable things. No matter what kind of antics Scarlet comes up with, however, Melanie loves her dearly. She never has anything bad to say about Scarlet. In fact she doesn't seem to have anything bad to say about anyone. The part of the movie that I would like to focus on, however, is what has made me think WWMD? Scarlet is alone at night with Ashley and basically comes onto him. The next night is a party at the Hamilton's. Scarlet's husband Rhet forces her to go to this party because he thinks that Melanie deserves to be able to throw Scarlet out of her house for her inexcusable behavior. Upon arriving at the door, Rhet then leaves Scarlet to fend for herself. Scarlet, dressed in a red cocktail dress looks upon the party crowd, not knowing exactly what to do. Among the crowd is Melanie, the hostess. At this point she has a choice. She could throw Scarlet out and kick her to the curb. She could think "this harlot has been messing with my husband!!" I often find myself choosing this path in life. Somehow I feel like I deserve to treat others this way because I have been wronged. Revenge is ever so sweet, right? That's the whole problem though- it isn't. It makes you feel better at the moment, but it always ends up biting you in the butt and ultimately just making you unhappy. Melanie must have known this because how she handles the situation is how I want to be one day- hopefully soon. She warmly welcomes Scarlet into her home and selflessly includes her in all the night's activities. For the remainder of the movie Melanie continues to selflessly love Scarlet. Some people might think that she is just oblivious to Scarlet's selfish, petty behavior, which is why Melanie is able to love her so unconditionally. I must admit that at first I felt this same way. But Melanie is a smart woman. I know she must have been very aware of Scarlet's true motives and schemes. And yet somehow she was able to look past it all and love her unconditionally. How? That remains a mystery to me, unfortunately.

Sometimes I feel that it's just a personality thing. I think "Well its just easier for people like Melanie to be like that because they are naturally that way, and I'm not." But is that even true? Why does it have to be harder for me to unconditionally love everyone? Or is it even in fact harder? Maybe I just don't try as hard to overcome this weakness as Melanie does. I often fall into the trap of playing the victim. I feel bitter towards others because I feel that they have wronged me and therefore deserve for me to be cold to them. They were mean to me, dang it! But as I sit and ponder on Melanie's actions, I realize that no one deserves that. Everyone has their struggles, just like I do. And no one is perfect, however unfortunate that may be. That is why I need to ask myself WWMD more often. When faced with awkward situations I need to do what she would do. Warmly accept all around me, which will only lead to me being happy, so why not do it? There have been many a Scarlet in my life up to this point, and there will probably be many more. So I am faced with a choice. I can choose to bitterly cut them out of my life and hate them for all eternity (because they deserve it, right?!) or realize that such bitterness will only end up hurting me in the end. Which is why I need to choose to be warm and accepting of everyone unconditionally. It will be hard, but when face with these situations where I have the choice to act one way or the other, I hope I can remember to ask myself "What would Melanie do??"

My Guilty Pleasure...

Team Edward???

REALLY?!