Barren Walls

We are happy to report that we are all moved in (we unpacked our last box yesterday). We even put up our Christmas decorations, which have made my kitchen and part of my family room look very festive. Nonetheless we still have a terrible case of barren walls, wall screaming for a decorators touch. Sure we have wall hangings that we used at various apartments, but the thought of putting them up for good in our home has us standstill. Pinterest has left me with many ideas, so many in fact that I have no idea which to use or where to put them.

Exhibit A:  The huge empty wall behind our TV, any suggestions?

Exhibit B: Equal sized walls on either side of our family room window? I imagine window treatments would help, but alas I have no idea what kind.

Exhibit C: Here we want to put a huge fancy picture of the Salt Lake temple and maybe a wedding photo on each side, but other than that we are drawing a blank.

Exhibit D: We don't own a headboard and we have no idea what would look nice in a master bedroom.

Exhibit E: A wall in our master bedroom, here I was thinking of displaying a cool pattern of mirrors, I picked  up two cheap packs of small frameless mirrors at ikea awhile back, but I am not sure what design to use for them.

So yeah, we would love any and all creative input :) In case you missed our facebook post, here is our kitchen for good measure.

And here is Mr. B atop the stairs (just in case you wanted to admire the carpet and his cute smile).

Fall Fun

So I have pretty much been turning green with jealousy every time I see someone's fall family pictures. I just cannot get over the super cute kiddos playing in the leaves and the pretty fall colors. Well thanks to my gracious sister of Michelle Lea Photography, our family finally has some cute pics of our own. Now you will have to pardon our lack of photogenicness, we find it pretty hard to look good whilst trying to make our squirmy toddler sit still long enough for a picture. If you live in Utah Valley or Denver she would love to take some more.

Halloween Treat Fun

My absolute favorite Halloween treat (okay anytime treat) is popcorn balls. Not the caramel kind, or the really hard ones that almost break your teeth off. Rather I like them soft and chewy just like my mom use to make/makes for me when I am at her house. They are incredibly delicious and pretty simple and quick to make. The only problem with them is that they are so delicious that I cannot stop eating them. I am pretty darn sure I downed about 4 maybe 5 of them last night at the Halloween party that I took them to. Anyhow I thought I should share the deliciousness.

Okay so not everybody will be able to make these because they require an airpopper to make the popcorn you can use in the recipe (some people use other types of poppers but this is the kind I am most use to using). So if you decide you need to make some of these I would be happy to lend you my trusty 20 year old popper. I am pretty sure you could also pick up a second hand one for under 5 dollars.

Enough Popcorn For a Double Batch

Prep:

Begin by popping 2 large mixing bowls worth of popcorn (sift it through your fingers to remover kernals, I also throw out the smaller pieces if you want). 

Recipe:

Syrup Ingredients-

2 C.    White Sugar

1 C.    Light Caro Syrup

1/2 C. Butter

1/4 C. Water

4 Drops of food coloring (optional but highly encouraged as it helps you tell how well if the popcorn is being evenly coated with the syrup mixture). 

After Boiling-

2 t. vanilla

Put in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil until it reaches a "soft ball" stage, 234 Degrees F. If you do not have a candy thermometer you can test if the syrup is done by dropping a spoonful in ice cold water and if it turns into a soft stringy ball (you will actually have to put your hand into the cup and feel the syrups consistency). After this has occurred add 2 teaspoons vanilla and stir. You can now begin pouring the mixture into the mixing bowls of popcorn. I use a flexible spatula, and make sure to constantly scrap the bottom of the bowl so that the syrup does not just get stuck on the bottom of the bowl. 

Once the coated popcorn has cooled for 3-5 minutes you can begin shaping them into balls. Make sure to take off any jewelry and spray your hands with cooking spray to reduce the amount of syrup on your hands.

I either wrap them individually in wax paper or I set them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. 

Ta Daaaaa 

Delicious popcorn balls!

Mine looked identical to these (minus the awesome garnishing)

Cousins and California :)

I had not been out to Southern California since before G and I got married almost 3 years ago. In that my Dad had also not been out there to visit him Mom (my grandmother) I suggested we planned a trip together. So 2 weeks after we returned from Colorado Mr. B and I headed back to the airport and headed to Great Grandma's house.

Mr. B's grandpa was very smart and made sure that not only did Mr. B and I have nonstop flights, but he scheduled his flights so that he was waiting for us when we got there, and was able to see us off when we left. I was awesome to have his help as we got our baggage and on the way home he helped entertain Mr. B when our plane was delayed.

Our trip started on a Wednesday morning, the airport was pretty quiet and Mr. B was relatively well behaved there. We curb checked our bags, I put Mr. B on my back, breezed through security (thanks to family security lines, which I really wished the Denver airport had) and we strolled through the airport leisurely killing time.

Mr. was unimpressed by his binky, sippy cup and even a lollipop, leading him to find the descent miserable. He screamed 15 minutes before falling asleep for 1 minute. My little rascall considered that a nap, and went on to stay awake for another 2 hours. It was insane.

Mr. B had never met his Great Grandma, and he instantly became her friend, wanting to sit next to her.

We got to spend lots of time visiting with her, old friends, and my Aunts, Uncle and Cousins and their kids. We made sure to get lots and lots of pictures.

Summer Fun

Low and behold my camera decided to forgive my computer and they began speaking again. Okay so actually they just both decided that they like G. and his computer skills more than me. Anyhow I am so excited to finally have access to the pictures we have taken the last two months. Be prepared for a photo bomb.

Camping in Manti and Hanging out at the Zoo:

Denver Trip Part 2:

Having cousin time in Grandma B's playhouse.

 Grandma was awesome enough to get Mr. B all clean again. He though his sink shower was pretty nifty.

Last Week: Mr. B. ran a fever that left him much more cuddly and sleepy than usual.

So sleepy that 6pm was too late for him :)

October From My Phone :)

My camera and my computer are officially not on speaking terms. It is very sad I have tried to reason with them but they still refuse. (Basically my pictures are stuck on my camera until further notice). Oh well, at least I live in an awesome age where cell phone pictures are actually re-postable quality, unlike the pictures my past non-smart phones took.

Football Fun:

Denver Trip:

Last week G. and I (along with Mr. B) took a delightful trip home (to where I am from) to see family and friends. Not only did we get to take advantage of awesome 35 dollar Southwest flights, no baggage was lost, and both planes arrived on time. The trip was a blast!

Mr. B cuddling with Uncle John after getting a boo boo.

 Eating homemade ice with Grandpa

Family Fun Back at Home:

While hanging out with Grandma Sherri the other day Mr. B decided that he thought her glasses would look good on him. He loved them, and because G. wore glasses as a baby, it was fun to see just how much he looks like his daddy did as a little kid.

Mr. B has not handled teething well, and yesterday he just did not seem to want anything. Thankfully his Aunt had a great idea. Cuddle time with mommy's sling. By this morning it was all good, as long as he was in the box of fun (ie the toybox).

Forget Not

On Saturday I went to the LDS women's (Relief Society) meeting worldwide broadcast. Not only was it awesome to get to go with my awesome mother in law and sister in law, it was so great to hear such inspiring words.

Now I know there was amazing messages given by the presidency, but I was not even a fraction as touched as I was by the talk given by President Uchdorf's talk. His talk was centered around the beautiful Forget Me Not flower. I would love to summarize his entire talk but my darling little Mr. B. wants me off the computer asap. So I borrowed this gem (I found it uncited on facebook so if you know who did it let me know).

My favorite (not the most significant though) was when he gave examples of good and foolish sacrifices.
He talked about a mother who sacrifices sleep to comfort a child who has had a nightmare is an example of a good sacrifice. Whereas someone who spends all night staying up to make handouts for her Sunday school lesson did not choose the more worthwhile sacrifice. I loved this because every time I taught I never ever ever made a handout.

Likewise I loved how he reminded us that we too often as women compare our weaknesses to someone else's strengths. I am so super guilty of this. In my mind every sews better, parents better, cleans better and cooks better than I do.

Pretty much the entire talk was amazing and I plan on listening to it again and again.