new obsession

so its really hard for me to find a restaurant that i absolutely love. besides takashi, my new found obsession is zupas. i have to thank my brother for introducing it to me when he suggested going there on a group date. i also have to thank lindsey for introducing me to my favorite item on the menu...the nuts about berries salad.

there is one in provo, draper and now in south jordan. i highly recommend this place. it has amazing soups, salads, sandwiches and fondue. they also give you a yummy chocolate covered strawberry with everything you order.

my recommendations: nuts about berries salad, hawaiian bbq chicken panini, lobster bisque soup, clam chowder, wisconsin cauliflower soup and the tomato basil soup. and there's so much on the menu that i havent tried.

if you havent eaten there...i am telling you-go! let me know what you think.

the holidays

i am so sad that christmas is over! i had such a fun december. here are a few pictures of our holiday festivities. this shows everything from the kurt bestor concert and christmas parties, to christmas eve and christmas day. everything worked out so well and christmas was so much fun this year. i am so lucky to have the world's best family and friends that i was able to spend lots of time with!

just remember...

Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing-Without any presents at all! He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming, IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so? It came with out ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before...

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

new moon video

ok, i have to thank my cousin jen for leading me to her friend's blog which lead me to THIS. if i knew how to post a youtube video on my blog i'd post it, but since i cant figure it out you'll just have to click on the link.

its a movie that someone with way too much time on their hands made about new moon. i love the characters they found for bella and edward and it gets me so excited for the movie. too bad this isnt the guy who is playing edward in the real movie, i think he's perfect.

for all of you twilight fans out there...this ones for you.

happy birthday mom!

today is my mom's birthday and i just wanted to tell her how much i love her. she really is the most amazing person i know. she goes the extra million miles in everything she does, and if you know her you'll agree. she is so talented, funny, friendly, smart and caring...everyone who meets her instantly loves her. she is so hardworking whether it be with her family, church callings, volunteer work or her friends, she is never ending. she is also so creative. she always has the best ideas for everything and anything, and she does everything perfect! these are my three favorite pictures of my mom.

i love you so much mom, you really are my hero and i strive to be like you everyday of my life! happy birthday!!

movie news

for those of you know dont know, i LOVE movies. i have a great one to recommend and a few that im very anxious to see, all of them with all star casts. and it just so happens that three of my favorite grey's anatomy stars are in three of these movies. so if your obsessed with grey's like i am then you cant go wrong.

first off if you havent seen "enchanted" youre really missing out! some of you might think its the most retared movie ever, but those of you who love cheesy musicals will love this movie. mcdreamy, aka patrick dempsy, is so cute in it and amy adams does such a good job. Click HERE to watch the trailer.

now on to the list of movies i want to see...

first off, "ps i love you". if you loved denny from grey's as much as i did, then you have to see THIS. i really am counting down the days until it comes out.

"27 dresses" with katherine heigl also looks like my type of movie, and one that al will refuse to watch with me. again, you cant go wrong with a star from grey's, and james marsden (one of the stars of hairspray and enchanted).

now on the the most anticpated movie news....robert pattinson has been cast as EDWARD from twilight. for those of you who dont know, robert pattinson played cedric diggory in the fourth harry potter movie. im not quite sure how i feel about this, he's just not what i pictured edward to look like. then again i dont think anyone could match up to what edward looks like in my head! go HERE for more info.

Millie

Last week my parents were thrilled to welcome their first grandbaby into the family...my sister and her husband's new dog Millie!! She is a darling chocolate lab and she is so much fun. I have wanted a dog for a while now but Al is against it. Looks like I'll just have to babysit Millie!

I want one......................................Well, maybe not!

countdown to christmas

every year since i can remember, when december is near, i cannot wait for my mom to bring home six advent calenders for all the kids. i have always loved advent calenders. the cardboard box full of 25 shaped chocolates has always given me a thrill.

this year my wonderful, amazing mom decided to do the advent calenders a little different. instead of running to smith's and picking up the usual plastic wrapped, $5 box of chocolates, she spent countless hours putting together this for each of her kids...

last friday, the last day of november, when i talked to my mom she was adamant on seeing me either that night or the next day to give me mine & alan's advent calender. i didn't understand what the big deal was about the grocery store bought calender! then when i saw my parents the next day and they gave us our awesome calender i was so excited!

each is day filled with a gift certificate, treat or little present...this is so much better than a stale chocolate! now we just have to resist the temptation of looking ahead. what a great, meaningful idea and the beginning of a fun tradition! thanks mom, we love you!

and christmas begins...

this has been a fun-filled christmas weekend over at our house. it started off friday night when we went and picked out our tree. because this was a our first christmas tree (i dont include our tiny fake tree in our apartment last year), i was very particular on what it looked like. so i made al drive to three different christmas tree lots with me while i picked out the perfect tree! i finally decided on one at the first lot we went to and we took it home and put the lights on.

then we wake up saturday morning to a winter wonderland! such a perfect way to start off december and the christmas season!

saturday was a day full of running christmas errands and decorating our tree. alan's mom has been collecting christmas ornaments for all of her kids since they were little. last year she gave them all to us for our first christmas as a married couple, but since last years tree was so little we were so excited to use them this year on a real tree!

saturday night we had buddy and eliza, and megan and jon over for a taco soup dinner and a gingerbread making contest! each house was supposed to have a theme and alan and i discovered and how completely uncoordinated we are when it comes to making gingerbread houses! meg and jon first started off making their's into the Energy Solutions Arena, complete with carlos boozer as the gingerbread man...but it ended up looking more the Griswold's house from "christmas vacation!" buddy and eliza's turned out so cute, it looked like a quaint little cottage. then there's mine and al's...well it just did not look good!

our house was a bomb after with frosting and candy everywhere but it was so much fun! i love the holiday season and i am now in total christmas spirit!

Bud and Eliza's................Mine and Al's...............Meg and Jon's


our tree!

thanksgiving weekend

our thanksgiving was so great and it worked out perfect. we went with my family at noon to eat at tuscany...yum! and then at 3:30 we went to al's parents house for another thanksgiving dinner. two dinners in one day was a lot for me to handle, but alan loved it. the food at tuscany was so good, but it was also nice to have a home-cooked meal at the hogan's. alan's mom is so creative and crafty. each thanksgiving while the boys watch football she sets up a room for all of the girls to do crafts. this year we made cute cork boards...it was a lot of fun.

the sad part of our weekend came on saturday when we found out that alan's grandma passed away. we packed up our stuff and flew early sunday morning to california to spend time with the family. it was so sad but it was great for me to finally meet al's entire family...to bad it was under such sad circumstances.

we are now back in utah, back to work and looking forward to christmas!

Eating at Tuscany with my family

happy birthday benj!!

happy birthday brother! i love you and look up to you so much. your so funny and always willing to help me out. hope you have a great day!

a day of thanksgiving

10 things im most thankful for...

1. my husband: he is so hardworking, smart, funny and loving. he is such a great example to me and i am so blessed to have married him.

2. my family: i couldnt have asked for a better family. my parents are my heroes, my siblings are the best, i am lucky to have such great in-laws, my grandparents are the #1 examples in my life and my extended family is so great.

3. the gospel: i'd be lost without and i feel so blessed to have it in my life.

4. my house: i am so lucky to have a place to call home. a place filled with love and happiness. i love our ward, our neighborhood and the friends i have met here.

5. my friends: i truly do have the greatest friends a girl could ask for. we've all been friends for as long as i can remember, we stick by each other and are there for each other day and night.

6. my job: i have the best job. i can stay home in my pj's most days watching tv while i work. and my boss is so great too.

7. food: i have a new found passion for cooking. i am so blessed to be able to cook a good meal each night or go out to eat.

8. my health: some of you know that i havent always had the best health, but at least ive never had any serious or life threatening illnesses. i am so blessed also that my husband has great health.

9. the future: i cant wait to see how my life folds out. i am excited to begin our family one day, to serve in church callings, to make new friends and to move to new places. i am grateful that i have so many amazing things to look forward to.

10. my life: i have the best life. a great family, wonderful friends and an amazing husband. i am grateful for all of the experiences i have had, the ups and downs of life, and the things that i have learned. life couldnt be greater.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Chad & Brooke's Wedding

Last March, my sister Brooke finally tied the knot to my brother's best friend, Chad. I know that March was forever ago, but I hadn't seen any of her pictures until last week. She might kill me for putting these up so hopefully she doesn't read my blog, but because her wedding was so pretty and so much fun, I needed to share!

Like I said, she got married in March but she didn't have her wedding dinner until May. Her dinner was perfect! It was held at the Salt Lake Country Club with just family and close friends. The food was SO good, they had my parents' friend do the awesome music, and the speakers were great.

It was so much fun and the perfect way to celebrate! Congrats Brooke and Chad...love you!

The Happy Couple

The Whole Fam

Our Fam and The Bagley Girls

Cute Siblings!

Tagged!

Jobs (in no particular order):

• Real Estate Investment
• The Falcon!
• Restaurant hostess
• Simmons Media
• Uinta Golf
• Nanny

Jobs I'd like:

• Boutique owner
• Mom
• Event planner
• Fashion magazine editor
• Food taster
• Personal shopper

Movies on Repeat:

• The Holiday
• Count of Monte Cristo
• Princess Bride
• Moulin Rouge
• Overboard
• High School Musical

Books:

• The Twilight series
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• The Princess Bride
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Shopaholic series
• Any church book

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things To Do:

• Sleep
• Watch movies or tv
• Travel
• Look at houses
• Shop
• Cook/bake

I've Lived:

• Parents in Cottonwood Heights
• Highland Park in Provo
• The Deej
• Courts house
• Elizabeth Street
• South Jordan, UT

Favorite Foods:

• Sushi
• Starlight Mint ice cream
• Salmon or candied chicken with Mary June rice and asparagus
• Avocados and tomatoes
• Pasta
• Taco Soup

Places I'd Rather Be:

• Hawaii
• New York...except not this second because all the plays are on strike
• At the Spa
• Tahiti
• Shopping
• Europe

Words I Quite Like:

• Seriously!?
• Shut-up
• Secretly
• Flabbergasted
• Cracker
• Smorgasbord
  

Tag! YOU'RE IT....Meg, Mal, Jen, Brina, Kristin, Pris, Ali

our house

In August, Alan and I moved into our first home! We lived with my family while it was being built which was so fun, but we love being on our own again. We have enjoyed every second of our new neighborhood, ward and the great people that we have met. We love the awesome amenities that this community has to offer such as a gym, basketball courts, trials, the lake and the pool and tennis courts that are being built.

Because so many of you out-of-stater's and people who don't want to come visit :) have asked me to post some pictures of my house, I decided to. I have been putting it off because my house isn't "done" being decorated...but then I realized that I don't think it will ever be done! So here are some snapshots of my house in the making...enjoy!

Kitchen/Family Room

Family Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom/Master Bathroom

Guest Upstairs Bath/Laundry Room

oh happy day....

First off I want to tell my beautiful older sis Happy Birthday! That's right, she's a Halloween baby. Last night we got together with the family at the usual Cowboy Grub for dinner, then we had Chocolate Mousse cake and opened presents. It was a fun night....love ya Brookie and I hope you had a great bday!

Also...Happy Halloween everyone!

2nd Annual Friends Halloween Party

This past weekend we attended our friends annual Halloween party hosted by Annie and Megan. It was such a blast! We enjoyed great food, funny games, the boys watched the World Series while the girls chatted, and of course we had a huge dance party! The costumes were hilarious and very clever. They included...Al and I as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell (my mother-in-law made our awesome costumes!), Tiger Woods and his caddie, Barbie and Ken, Venus Williams and Rodger Federer, a pregnant nun and a preist, yodelers, super heroes, Pocahontas and John Smith, pirates, army and more. It was so much fun...thanks Meg and Annie! PS...thanks to all the bloggers out there for the pics that I stole!