Non-Freaky Flashback and I Like it Spicy Part 3

As I mentioned, Wednesday was my third wedding anniversary (Whoo hoo!!), so I thought it would be fun and entertaining to post some pics from our wedding back in 2007. I suppose it's a little narcissistic to have a post filled with almost nothing but pictures of me, but I guess this is my blog and my wedding, so it's ok, right? :)

This is one of my favorite pictures from that day. Oh, and this is D without a beard! He has had one now for so long that I almost forget what he looks like without it. We look so young here!



Young and in love!

I loved my hair--it was so big and poufy! Any you know what they say about big hair don't you?? Well, I guess they don't say anything, but I sawy it's H-O-T! Actually my hair stylist always jokes "the higher the hair, the closer to heaven!" I must be an angel by now :)

As you can see, I did have a cute little (faux) fur-hooded cape, which was smart for January, but I did not actually wear it for most of our pictures outside (not smart). The photographer wanted to show off my dress. I remember it being 19 freaking degrees that day. Brrrr!! Oh well--I guess loves keeps you warm!

We were married here:

But held our reception in an aquarium!

I worked as the Marketing Coordinator there at the time, and we were trying to promote the facility for event rentals. I convinced my bosses to let me host my reception there for free and then we could use the pictures in our marketing materials. It was so awesome! As anyone who has planned a wedding knows, reception rentals can take up a HUGE portion of your budget, so it gave us a lot of leeway (and a lot of fun) to have it there.

Obviously, we had pictures of the food:

Dustin and I had originally wanted to have a carnival theme to our reception with mini hamburgers, popcorn and cotton candy, but our parents threw a big fit so that was out.

I kept the cotton candy--that was non-negotiable!


Instead, we settled on a "dipping" bar with both sweet and savory options. I think we had a spicy cheese and an alfredo, an artichoke dip and a chili dip, all with pretzels, crackers and veggies.

We also had a dipping desserts station with white and dark chocolate, caramel, tons of fruit, brownies, marshmallows and other sweets.

This was just flavored water--it was all in a pink theme, so if I can remember correctly, it was lemon, strawberry, cherry and grapefruit.

As you can see, all the pics have kind of a nautical theme here--all the food was inside the "sunken ship!"

I was so glad to be able to have our reception somewhere fun. Not just for us, but for our guests. I wanted to be able to give everyone something to do, so they got to walk through all the galleries and look at the fish and play in the touchpool.

I mean, how boring is it to go to a wedding where all you do is walk through a greeting line, grab a plate of hors d'ouerves and then try to mix awkwardly with people you don't know? Ugh. A lot of Utah weddings are like that. Not all of them though! And not mine. It always makes me happy because people will still say that they remember it to this day.



I didn't want a wedding cake, since it is so hard to find one that is pretty AND tastes good. I thought cupcakes would be better. I am a cupcake kind of gal, anyway :)

For as fun as our wedding was, I have to say that each day beyond that has been all the more wonderful and filled with love. Our marriage isn't perfect, and neither are our lives. We have had our share of trials and hard times since then, but we love each other, and I am so grateful that we found each other--and that I tricked D into marrying me!

I wish the photographer had taken some more pics of the food for ya, but I didn't get to eat much that day, so I probably couldn't tell you much more about it!

What I CAN tell you about though, is some more wonderful and spicy food that I have had the pleasure of indulging in recently!

Thanks to my sweet friend Abby, I had some luscious Christmas goodies to experiment with:


Super spicy and very gingery ginger snaps. OMG, these were so good! They actually had little pieces of crystallized ginger IN them. Yum!

But my new favorite thing has got to be these guys:

They are the perfect blend of sweet and spicy with tons of cayenne, cinnamon and a touch of cumin. I have been keeping them within arm's reach at all times and loving them in a new CCC.

Cottage cheese with cinnamon and stevia, Fiber One, Quaker Oat Squares and Cinnamon Life sprinkled with a healthy dose of chopped sweet and spicy nuts. So good! Thanks Abby! You are an amazing chef and inspiration!

I also stumbled upon this discovery, which I highly recommend you try as soon as possible...



Sweet potato with Laughing Cow, cinnamon, Sun Crystals and dried cranberries. Maybe not the most original offering, but definitely a delicious one!

What's YOUR favorite spicy creation? Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! xoxo

A little bizznasss

Oh my gosh! Thank you all so much for your comments on my last post! I have actually been feeling pretty down about the way I look lately, and your super sweet compliments seriously almost brought me to tears! Body image is a bitch, eh? But you guys are the best, the best! Thank you!!!

A little bizznasss...a lot of you really liked my dress, and a few wanted to know where I got it. I don't think it's for sale anymore, but I scored it at a great store called Shade. They make all sorts of very cute and modest items, plus it is very reasonably priced, so I would definitely encourage you to check it out!

Second, as a joke, I asked my boss if I could borrow his Power 90 X dvds since he wasn't using them (I don't even know why he bought them, he is so funny), and he actually brought them for me.!All like 62 dvds and the meal plan and exercise guide and everything. I believe that I am too much of a creature of habit to launch full on into the program, but I do think it looks pretty interesting. Have any of you done the P90X moves before? Tell me about the plan and how it worked for you!

Last, but probably most important, today is my #3 wedding anniversary to the most amazing, supportive, hilarious, handsome and studly husband EVER!!!! Congratulations to us. I have uploaded some wedding pics, and I'll be posting those on Friday for a special round of flashback, so please check it out! Love you baby . You're the bomb, bomb-a-bomb. Dot com(b).

Ok, now finally, I have another super fabulous post to share with you, thanks to the lovely Ellie, holding it down in the UK!!

Just when I had all but given up hope of a Bloggie Secret Santa package coming my way, I found this on my doorstep a few days before Christmas:

Dustin had actually called me at work and told me to hurry home because I had some strange "packet" waiting for me and he didn't want it to explode on him.

I could not have been more stoked that Ellie was my Secret Santa! She did such an awesome job picking out fun stuff for me to try. I was literally squealing with delight with each package I opened.

I was majorly excited to try everything, but I knew my family would get a big kick out of the goodies, so I packed everything up and took it home with me to Wyoming (you will be seeing more of that stuffing!).

We celebrated our Christmas like true Brits with the crackers, cookies and crowns.

Ha Ha!

And then, that night, we tried the Christmas pudding. We couldn't get it to light on fire, but it was fabulous all the same! Thank you so much Ellie! Everyone in my family loved your goodies and thought it was so cool that you sent them to me--I do too!

Inspired by Miss Ellie, my dad decided to make his own version of Christmas pudding the next day. He has actually made this a few times before, but I think the little bite he shared with us really put him in the mood for a bigger taste :)

This pudding is actually made with suet a.k.a. solid animal fat (gross, I know, but it really serves the same purpose as shortening, and is probably the most pure source of oil you can find!). He got everything all mixed together before I could take a picture, but you're all probably ok with that :)

Mmm. A little cake made with a lot of fat. That's just how we do in the cowboy state I guess. Or rather, how my dad does in his cowboy boots :)

Anyway, I'll leave you for today with this last pic:

A little bit of sunshine courtesy of my baby--hope they send some happiness your way too! xoxo

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Oats aka Locked In

So, a funny thing happened to me on the way to breakfast the other morning...No, this is NOT a joke. But my husband sure thought it was humorous.

I got the chance to sleep in a little bit--and by sleep in, I mean, I woke up at 4:45, 5:15 and then made myself get back in bed until 5:52. It was my day OFF, dammit!!!

D had gotten up earlier and closed the door to our bedroom so he wouldn't wake me up showering (I'm very sensitive--so is he. Sweetie pie). All fine and dandy...until I got out of bed, thoughts of the delicious breakfast I had planned drawing me out of my covers and into the cold...I reached to open the door...stuck. Jiggled the handle. Twisted the knob. Turned again. Pulled as hard as I could. I was STUCK!!! Locked in my room! This is not a good thing.

I checked the lock, twisted and turned and pulled again, banging the door against it's hinges. Cripes! Totally peeved. How am I supposed to spend the day locked in my bedroom when i don't even have a computer in there?? Or a hacksaw to get out. Good grief. Luckily Dustin heard the ruckus from his bathroom and came to my rescue. After shoving his little pocketknife under the door so I could attempt to unscrew the doorknob, he threw his coat on over his pj's and came through the patio doors to finish dismantling the door. My knight in shining armor! Only I'm pretty sure most knights don't typically lock their princesses up to begin with.

I would like to point out that yes, I could have escaped through the patio doors as well, but I wouldn't have been able to get back IN the house at any other entry point since everything was locked. We're safe like that.

After Dustin picked himself up off the floor from laughing, and from me body slamming him on the way to the kitchen (kidding, kidding), he suggested that at least now I would have a good story to post on the blog. So there ya go!

Luckily, I have another good thing to post about today, too. The breakfast I was so excited to make before i realized I was trapped...


First of all, I found these in the store the other day and knew exactly what to use them for!

Look how cool! Think of the possibilities!

But there was only one possibility in the forefront of MY mind...

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Oats:

Soooooooo goooooood! This tasted like dessert. Creamy and gooey and warm. Is there a better way to start your day than with candy in your oats? No. Maybe a healthier way, but whatever to that. There is probably less sugar in my candied up bowl of oatmeal than a standard bowl of most cereals--at least I will tell myself that for the day :)

• 1/3 c oats, prepared
• 1 laughing cow cheese wedge
• 1 baby apple, chopped an steamed in the microwave
• cinnamon
• sprinkling of baby caramels

I mixed everything together and then microwaved to get the caramels to melt a little better. You guys, please make this! Your day will instantly become about 800 times better. Just like mine did when I got unlocked from my bedroom. But then again, any food might taste delicious after being released from five complete minutes of angry, door-pulling, temper-tantrum throwing solitude. Be safe out there peeps.

I don't know about you, but I am SOOOOO excited for only another half day of work and then a four day weekend! Yay! We are headed up to the MIL's to spend time with D's family which should be really fun. What are you all doing for the holiday? xoxo