Cooking Adventures

Like I said in the last blog post I am taking a cooking class right now and today we had something they like to call 

THE MAGNIFICENT MEAL

We have been preparing for it all semester by learning how to cook and home make things in the kitchen. 

Here is the meal that my group prepared today for the magnificent meal. 

The menu consisted of a focaccia bread (which is actually what I made) that we dipped in oil and vinegar as a side along with a pear salad and homemade poppy seed dressing.

The main course was actually a recipe I suggested and have made before (which is Clark's favorite dinner btw) which was Greek yogurt marinated chicken with rice, cucumbers and tomatoes (we would have had onions too but it went above budget...) feta cheese and of course homemade pita bread. 

Then for dessert we had a peach yogurt parfait. 

Along with making all of the food from scratch we had to come up with table decor to go along with the theme. We tried really hard to keep a Greek theme and I think we actually did pretty good with what we could find! 

I provided the leaves on the table complementary of the walnut tree outside our house as well as plums also from a plum tree along side our house. 

The coolest thing about this meal we had to make was we had to keep it to $3.00 per person, all together we had 6 people so this meal was a total of $18! 

A couple of things I really learned from this class is the fact that

1. Cooking things from scratch is actually really easy

2. Cooking things from scratch is actually really fun

3. Cooking things from scratch is actually really cheap! 

If anyone would like any of these recipes please let me know and I'll just post them along with.

Also, if any BYU students are interested in this class its SFL 110 and take it from Smith.

:) 

Reminiscing

Sunday, Aug 5 is Clark's and my 1 year anniversary. 

So crazy to think we have been married almost a year.

I've just been listening to the songs Clark sang to me the night we got engaged and thought i'd share them on here. The last two are especially cheesy and the music vids are very dramatic but I have to admit they make my heart drop every time I hear them.  

So fun :) 

I can't wait for our anniversary!

Bear Lake, Baking, & Birthdays

For any of you guys not from Utah reading my blog, Utah has this really cool extra holiday in the summer, Pioneer Day. It celebrates the day when the pioneers arrived in Salt Lake City. 

It's also really cool because pretty much everyone in the state celebrates it which means NO SCHOOL AND NO WORK! Clark and I really try to make the most out of these days but it landed on a Tuesday so our fun had to be limited to one day. Well, we decided to spend the day with my sister Ashley and her family. We all went up to Bear Lake. It was so beautiful. The water was crystal clear and pretty warm, which was nice because as you can see from the picture it was overcast pretty much the whole time we were there. 

So cute, we love them. 

A few weeks ago all of the Brimhall kids in Utah celebrated my father-in-laws birthday at Chili's and then went to the Sound of Music at the Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley. I would DEFINITELY recommend that one! It was very entertaining (have to admit I almost started tearing up at some points) plus if you haven't been to this theater it's really cool because it's a round stage. 

This past weekend Clark and I just stayed in Provo and ran some errands. I have to say the days we just stay here and do our own thing are my favorites. I feel like Clark and I get so much closer and I love it. It's crazy after knowing him for over 4 years now that there's a possibility of loving him more and more but I can honestly say my love for him grew even more just from this weekend. He is my best friend and my most favorite person to be with. I do not know what I would do with out him in my life. 

Best husband ever. 

We got breakfast at this cute little waffle place near our house. Way yummy!

Not sure if I've said this yet on the blog but I am taking a cooking class this summer.

(funny to think this is a class that goes towards my bachelor's degree)

But I love it so much and seriously am learning a ton plus getting some awesome recipes.

I've just gotta brag about this one because let me say I am pretty dang proud of making my very first homemade pie from absolute scratch! 

Here are the before and after baking shots :) 

mmmm so good. 

(also want to note I have been feeding Clark a lot better than I was earlier this summer from the class--double score) 

We Love Weekends.

 Last Saturday was a way fun day!

We started the day off with deep cleaning our kitchen... ahh have to admit it is soooo nice having a clean home!

Then we went up to Bell Canyon in Sandy. Before we went there we wanted to get water shoes at walmart. They didn't have any our sizes so Clark got big women shoes and I got little boy shoes. We thought it was pretty funny that we could fit into those shoes. Once we got to the reservoir at Bell Canyon we jumped in and it felt sooo nice! We went up to this creek that was flowing into the reservoir and found wild raspberry bushes and ate away. It was my first experience of actually finding raspberries on the bushes so I was way excited to actually eat them! Later we just laid on one of the rocks in the creek and got our tan on. 

After Bell Canyon we got cleaned up and went to Temple Square in SLC. It was such a beautiful day at Temple Square. It's so fun going back to the temple we got married in. If anyone is making a trip out to Salt Lake City I would definitely go to Temple Square if you've never been. There are a lot of visitors centers that give a lot of history and information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that I don't think you can get anywhere else. Plus it is SO gorgeous! 

And something a little fun for people who know what I'm talking about. We were in the Joseph Smith Building (where our wedding luncheon was) and this cute older sister missionary asked us if we wanted to see something cool. She took us to this very fancy ballroom on the bottom floor that was so beautiful. I felt like I was back in Spain in the Castle in Segovia. later she told us to go around and explore other rooms so we went up stairs and checked out the rest of the rooms. So cool! 

After Temple Square we went to City Creek. We love City Creek and think it was such a great thing to attract people to Down Town. We at at the Bluelemon for the first time and were both pleasantly satisfied with everything. We got to pay when we ordered (meaning we didn't have to wait 5 hours to get a check at the end), got our food 5 minutes after we sat down (no joke!), got to eat outside, was really cheap, and SO delicious! We will definitely be going back there! 

(if anyone else is planning on it you should really try the artichoke cheese dip for your side... it was outstanding!)

We ended the night seeing some friends at Clark's best buddies house. 

It was a very wonderful weekend :) 

Family, a different point of view.

 Have I ever told y'all about my in-laws?

Ok let me just say that I seriously married into the perfect family, I just love them so much.

Now let me also say I love my family so much and am definitely the person I am today because of the family I grew up in but I'm not going to lie, being in my family was very hard for me and frankly still is at times.

Being a part of the Brimhall family is like seriously a breath of fresh air.

I feel INCREDIBLY blessed to have married into this family. They are probably THE most loving and giving  family I have ever met. I am sooo grateful for how much they love their children. Not only how much they love their children but how much they all support each other and care about each other as well. I cannot even begin to describe all that they have done for Clark and me to help us and offer so much love to us and I just do not think I could ever adequately express to them my gratitude for that. It has meant so much to me to feel their love as well as to have this family as an example to me of what I want my own little family to be like. Again, I just love them so much. I really feel like I could not say that enough times to express how grateful I am to be in their family.

Because the Brimhalls are so loving - they love to be together a lot. I am really glad we live just an hour away from them because I have gotten to know them a lot better which is so fun. 

Last weekend we all got together to celebrate father's day.

Here is a cute picture of the family who lives in Utah :) 

Not only do I have the best in-laws but I also have the SWEETEST nieces and nephews in the world.

Earlier this week we went out to dinner and went frogging with my sister-in-law Christina (my brother's wife) and my niece Yara. I wish I would have taken more pictures of our little adventure but I did get one of Yara in the car. She wanted to drive with us which seriously made me so happy! Yara has a special place in my heart because she was the very first grandchild in our family. She is so cute and silly and a couple of people have said she is like me (which also makes me so happy). A lot of times when she sees me she will say "I can't believe I'm twins with my aunt" haha which I don't know why she thinks we are twins but I absolutely love it! It is so fun and sweet to watch these little kids grow up and see their cute little personalities develop. 

Love her.

Here is the song of the day. I LOVE the civil wars right now.

Want to see something crazy?

This is seriously insane. 

Highline sensation from Pierre Chauffour on Vimeo.

Summer Update

I love the Civil Wars today and love this song. 

Here are some pictures of our life as of lately. 

We have been sooo busy! Since April we have been to Cedar City, California, Duck Creek (southern utah), Park City, and Salt Lake... maybe more places I just cant remember. We have really been trying to take advantage of our weekends while the weather is so incredibly nice!

A few weekends ago we went camping with my very first college roommate, Ashley. It was the first time we have ever hung out together with our husbands and it was soo much fun! We went to a campsite in Hobble Creek Canyon which it was absolutely gorgeous! Ashley brought her parents dog Callie which gave me a new love for American bulldogs.... I want a puppy so bad. 

Memorial Day weekend we hiked Mt Olympus in Salt Lake. If anyone is looking for a challenging and absolutely breathtaking hike I would DEFINITELY recommend it. It was pretty dang tough. It's up hill most of the way so if you go make sure to bring lots of water and some treats for when you get to the top. I think it took us like 5 hours.  

Last weekend was our first weekend in Provo because I HAD to write a 10 page paper... that's what procrastination does for you. Anyway, we have had some weeds near our house that drive Clark crazy so we decided to tear them out and he bought these cute little bushes that we planted! 

Little update on Clarky Bear. He works a lot as most of y'all know but he isn't taking classes this summer which is so nice because we actually see each other at night! He just got done reading this book. He has joined the band wagon and is obsessed with the Hunger Games. Last night I asked him what he wanted to do and he said he just wanted to read the hunger games (in a sad voice because he had already finished it). 

Clark and I drove up to Alpine a few weeks ago and hiked this way beautiful hike behind lone peak. The pictures don't give it justice but it was so nice. We found this amazing waterfall! 

Updates with the Brimhall family: We have a new baby niece. Clark's sister Leslie just had a baby girl last week. Margaret Michele King. Clark is so excited to call her Maggie :) We can't wait to meet her!

Holly, Clark's twin got engaged last week as well! We are so excited for them and love them so much. From what we know of them they seem pretty dang perfect for each other. More than that I can really see how happy Greg makes Holly. Such cute and happy times :) 

That's all for us pretty much! I'm just finishing up my Spring Term Classes. I have one final to take today and one tomorrow (why am I blogging?... no idea). I have been doing an internship this semester as well which I love so much! It's pretty crazy but so fun! I will start Summer Term up on Monday and go until Aug 6 and then FINALLY get a break for 2 weeks... cant wait!