cats and dogs

You haven't seen this half of our family in awhile. Look at those glamour shots!

Re-meet Sophie and Lola

{Piglet and The Fatty}

Sophie snorts like a pig, especially when she's super excited, meaning when she wants to eat something, which is pretty much all of the time.

Lola, or Kitty, is lazy as I'll get out {I just learned that phrase btw, who really says "as I'll get out"?} She naps about 8 hours a day. But dang she's so friggin cute. I really have a love/hate relationship with her. She doesn't love me {she's a cat, did I really expect more?}, and so then I hate her. But out of nowhere I'll be reading my book on the couch and this little head will poke out from under my book forcing me to cuddle with her and she turns into the sweetest little critter I've ever seen.

But most of the time she ignores me, aren't cats just the best ;)

veteran's day rocks. especially when you work at a bank. and you get the day off :]

so i spent the day:

sleeping in till 9:30... ooooh yes

going up to Park City to my pop's business to take pictures of him and the office for his new website {if you're in need of an amazing eye doc, he's the one to see}

freezing while taking pictures outside, not ready for this weather just yet

meeting up with my mom to eat at a new/old favorite {i hadn't been there in years, like 10 or more} Kneaders. go, if you haven't. they're actually going to cater my sis's wedding in December and i can't wait to eat the desserts....

returned a pantry organizer we bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond because we found a better one at Home Depot (yes, HD, weird) and I bought one of these instead which i've been eyeing for quite some time

this weekend i:

"hemmed" my curtains using Bond 'N Seal and it worked like a friggin charm

hung up some hooks in my bathroom that we've been waiting to do for ages

cleaned the entire house

hung up a few more pictures

yelled at a the worst company, Rugs USA. bought a rug from them two months ago and still haven't seen it, apparently it's on back order and i'll get it in a week and half... i'll believe it when i see it amigos

sanded some stools and other furniture that now is waiting for me to paint them (ok to be fair - Dave sanded them)

went to see The Drowsy Chaperon and LOVED it. Aldolpho was my favorite, he played my "husband" when i did Singin' in the Rain. he's hilarious.

watched the worst movie made, Jonah Hex. i know, i know. why did i even go there? couldn't i tell it was dumb from the cover? i know, but i did. and i wasted 88 minutes of my life

made an amazingly delicious pot roast that dave devoured and had three helpings of

longingly looked at home things online that i'll just have to wait to get till after the holidays...

sat around the house in these amazing things

oh and read two great books, The Lost Hero and The Scorch Trials, liked em both and am annoyed i have to wait a whole other year for the sequels...


all in all, a fairly productive weekend for me. i still have many things i'm working on with my home which are keeping me busy. and yes, i'm still waking up thinking about where to hang things and what to put on what wall and i'm going a little mad in the process...

i love technology, but not as much as you you see. but i still love technology. always and forever.... always and, sniff, forever...

So yesterday I forgot my phone. Wow. Talk about withdrawals! I did the same thing on Friday (okay just to clarify what might seem like a common occurrence, it's NOT, I never forget my phone). I felt nakie. On top of that our computers and the phones at my job didn't work for about half the day. It was the weirdest day. I mean, what was life like before cell phones, texting, email and internet? I can barely remember. Okay I totally remember, but I just don't like to.

Remember when you set up your first email? Remember when you sent your first text? {Dave taught me how to use T9 when we were dating back in our BYU days}. Remember when sending and receiving texts were like 15 cents a pop? Remember when you were in school and used to have to look everything up at the library, in books? My mom actually "bought" a phone number with a PIN that we could use for emergencies at any pay phone, before a cell phone entered my life. Remember when cell phones were for 'emergencies only' (well in my family anyway)? I don't even have a home phone now.

Yesterday I totally felt like an addict being weaned off a drug. No surfing the internet! (not like I do that at work anyway...), not texting, no email, no calling anyone on the drive home. Whew, hope I never have to be without it again. I might just sleep with it tonight.

A side note: why in the world are pillows (or pellows as we say in Utah) so freakin expensive! I really want these pillows from Target but they're like $50 a piece. Are they lined with gold or something? Sigh. Aren't they cute for Christmas? Maybe if I'm a super good girl... no wait, what am I thinking? Even for Christmas I don't think I'd spend that much on pellows.

what we've been up to

a beautiful sunset on the drive home...
and then Halloween! can you guess who I was?

somebody couldn't get enough of my blond wig.... like seriously ;)

how embarassing dave! you came in the same costume as our host. but you had a good chat about how cool you looked.

speaking of cool.... how cool do these cupcakes look? can you guess what they are? i made them for the party.

enjoying the last of the warm weather out at sugarhouse park and loving the leaves.... absolutely gorgeous.

happy fall, one and all! oh and i bought my first christmas item at the store today. i shouldn't have because i believe in the proper order of things; thanksgiving then christmas... but i couldn't contain my excitement for the season. literally i grabbed dave in the store when i saw the christmas stuff and kind of gave an embarassing girly scream/giggle and then said "let's buy our first christmas item of the season!" he kind of shook his head and moved several feet away from me... i want to say it's because he went to grab one of the said christmas items but i have a sneeking suspicion he might not have wanted to be seen with me right at the moment.

a movie review

"He who is not busy being born, is busy dying."

That, is what this movie was all about. I went to see it last night at The Broadway Theater in downtown Salt Lake. And I have to say I really enjoyed it, enough to recommend it even. It's a unique story that focuses on a young teenager, facing, what would seem, the regular struggles of our day. Overwhelmed with thoughts of suicide he decides to commit himself. In the adult psychiatric ward he discovers many things about himself while looking through the eyes of those around him.

I thought this material, which could seem very dark and heavy, was realistically displayed, all with a simple and honest sense of humour. It had just the right touch of making the characters real but bearable to watch and laugh with/at. It was touching, simple, and funny, but brings to light many things that we all are struggling with and teaches us how to just "deal" with what life throws at us.

Not like this show didn't have it's pitfalls, a few crude parts that I thought could have been left out, but also not so crude that I wouldn't recommend it.

If you have the time, go and see it. The acting was surprisingly fantastic and the themes surprisingly poignant. The main boy in it I would totally adopt for my younger brother, what a sweetie. Go here for a summary/analysis if you want to totally spoil it for yourself, I suggest watching it first and then reading it.

Things I forgot, never knew, or wish someone had just told me.

I forgot how good Thriller is. Have you been to see it at the U? Awesome. Thank you to my friend Jenny for hooking us up with tickets. And guess who was there with a stellar performance as a Ghostbuster? Gev from So You Think You Can Dance. And I think he can. After much pushing and pulling on my part, Dave finally consented to go and he loved it. He even wants to go next year.

I forgot how good looking Marlon Brando is. Does anyone remember who he is? He's an oldy but goody actor (think A Street Car Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and Guys and Dolls). What a babe. And On the Waterfront is a good classic btw. Dave also liked that, probably not as much as me however ;)

I forgot how high Oliver's voice is in Oliver! But I also forgot that I love that movie. Love the music. The whole thing makes me want to cry though, I especially hate the battered woman storyline... but the rest of the story is beautiful.

I never knew and wished someone had told me just how easy/delicious/and wonderful tin foil dinners are! I never knew you could make them on a grill either. Dave and I have been on a tin foil dinner kick and loving it. Sooo easy. I had a random craving for it the other night and have been making them the last four nights, yes, FOUR nights. They're perfectly pipping hot for these chilly fall nights. Here's what we found worked great:

Tin Foil Dinners with the Smith's

ground beef or sausage, seasoned with steak seasoning I got from Costco
baby carrots
scalloped potatoes
green peppers, diced
white onions, diced
and here's the best part, a dollop of cream of chicken soup on each serving

Wrap them all up like a burrito in two layers of tin foil, leaving it a little loose so that it can steam. Cook on a preheated grill at about 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Then turn over and cook for another 20 minutes. Easy peasy! You can shred some sharp cheddar on top and it's delicious. Enjoy.

Oh I wish someone had told me this years ago. Did you know you can preserve cheap rings so that they don't turn your finger green or turn a copper color? I went to return a ring that started turning my finger green right away and the girl asked me if I'd ever tried putting clear nail polish on it. Say what??? Why has no one told me this before?? I rarely buy expensive jewelry but I do love the costume stuff. I'm always sad when it turns coppery and I can't wear it anymore. Now you all know, I wear the cheap stuff, but now I'll get to wear it longer. And now you all can too.

I never knew how interesting Interview With the Vampire is. Thought I would read it just in time for the Halloween holiday. It wasn't amazing but it was very entertaining and an easy read. My friend has the movie edited so I think I might watch that before Saturday.

Speaking of Halloween... I never knew how much renting a costume could be! My word. We always go to our friend's, the Wahlstrom's, Halloween party and you HAVE to have a costume. They go all out and it's awesome. This year we decided to try renting costumes vs. creating a dumb costume at the last minute. And I think our costumes are going to be fantastic. At least I hope... we shall see come Saturday. Did you know that buying costumes costs about the same as renting? Yes, they do. So we think we'll just buy them on sale after Halloween is over and then we'll have a slew to choose from later, and maybe save a few bucks along the way.

Happy Halloween everyone!

A picture is worth a thousand words...so they say. So here they are :]

It's somewhat 'too little too late' but... meh.

The State Fair.

Ahhhh nachos. They were gooood.

Cows eyes. And udders. You don't see those everyday. Nor would I want too...
Pigs in a blanket. Soooo cute. And little.

Cotton candy. The fair is not complete without it.
And now fall. Summer has ended :(

Bre's birthday dinner. At the Blue Plate Diner. If you haven't been there before you are so missin out. Love it everytime. Breakfast all day - try the banana pancakes. Delectable.
Dad is great, he gives us chocolate cake! {Whoever can name what I'm quoting, you will get a gold star, and personally be invited to eat one of my specialty chocolate cakes, when/if in fact I ever create a specialty chocolate cake.}

Happy birthday bird! Now you can legally {not} drink.