The World

I was looking through some old pictures on my computer recently and came across this picture I took in Florence, Italy about five years ago. I love it. It takes me right back to that beautiful city and culture. Sometimes I forget how big the world is and it's nice to have a little reminder. I can't wait to visit new countries and to experience more cultures. Danny and I are headed to New Zealand at the end of July and I'm counting down the days. I have a long list of places I want to visit, so I guess we'll have to prioritize, but I can't wait to see the world! Good thing we have our whole lives together to check everything off that list, huh?

Crafty

My sister and I decided to be crafty this weekend. She saw this idea on Pinterest, and decided to use an old pair of black heels she never wears. I also have a pair of heels that I got for my other sister's wedding over six years ago and never wear, so she let me tag along. Honestly, I thought this was going to be a disaster. It turned out pretty good though! I mean, at least I know I'll wear them now! It looks a little rough on the edges in this picture, but I got them lookin' pretty good!

Before:

After:

And here are my sister's that turned out super cute!...

Canning

Growing up, my mom did a lot of canning--meats, spaghetti sauce, peaches (my favorite!). Now that I am cooking dinner so often, I'm realizing the convenience of this. My mom taught me and my sister how to can meat by ourselves this past summer, and we finally did it all almost all by ourselves! It really makes life so much easier.

Step 1: Buy jars and lids

Step 2: Fill the jars with 1/2 Tbsp of minced onion and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cut up the meat you want to can (we just did chicken this time), and stuff it in the jars.

Step 4: Fill up the pressure canner with a couple quarts of water, put the jars in and watch the temperature, making sure it stays where it needs to be.

Step 5: About an hour and a half later, wala! You have cooked chicken that is totally sealed off and will stay good for a very, very long time. Each jar is about one pound of chicken, so it lasts quite a while.

I dreaded helping my mom with canning when I was growing up. Especially doing peaches--pitting them was  always the worst job. But a little bit of work all at once makes for a lot less work later on. Thanks for forcing us to learn this stuff mama!

VDay, Adventuring, a Wedding and Friends

Valentines Day: Danny brought me home a pretty rose. I was really excited because I even recognized the foliage and filler flowers they used! Danny had a basketball game that night (of course), so instead of going out we made dinner together and watched a movie.

Sunday Exploring: One Sunday afternoon we wanted to get out of the house, so we decided to go explore over  towards Utah Lake. Somehow, in the four years that I've lived here I've never gone over there. We found a park and we got there just as the sun was setting on the lake! No one else was there so it was nice and peaceful.

Sealing: Danny's Uncle Jared was sealed to his wife, Camila, and his daughter, Talia, this past weekend. It was such a cool experience to witness. The spirit was so strong, and I could just see the joy in their faces to finally be sealed together forever. There were tears everywhere! The video (sorry it's so little!) is of Talia dancing at their reception that night. I think she was about as clueless as I was at my reception that people were gonna start sticking money in her dress! She is the sweetest little girl.

The past couple of weeks we've also been able to see a lot of friends that we don't get to see too often. Our friends Jake and Mandy passed through on their drive from Boise to St. George. It was so fun to meet their new baby Cannon. He's a monster! He's only two months, but is bigger than my four month old niece! We also went out with my friend Kelsey, who was one of my roommates my freshman year, and her husband Phil one night. I don't know what it is about your freshman year of college, but I have stayed so close to the girls I roomed with my that year. All of us are married now, and we're all doing very different things, but they're my friends from college that I know I'll still be in touch with ten years from now.

Anyway, we are now just looking for jobs and counting down the days til graduation. So anxious!