No Sew Christmas Throw Pillows

So I can't really sew and sometimes this can be a bit of a problem for my crafty plans.  But sometimes my sewing limitations force me to be more creative and come up with something I might not have thought of if I was a sewing genius.  These pillows are like that.  I was looking through some magazines and kept thinking how just a few simple holiday pillows really made a huge difference.  I thought about looking at HomeGoods or Ross but then I remembered the burlap sacks I used for our Halloween costumes and I thought I could use them to make some cool pillows.

  I really like them and I love that it cost me $2.50 for 2 throw pillows, awesome!

Delicious!

So when we were in Utah, I saw my sister in law's Our Best Bites Cookbook and I remembered hearing people talk about that website before.  So I looked through the cookbook and everything looked so good. So when we got home I checked it out and I've gotten a little carried away. So far (keep in mind we've been home little over a week) I've made Cheesy Tortellini Bake, Black Bean Soup, Southwestern Cobb Salad, Apple Cider Floats (seriously, so good), Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes, Buttermilk Pancakes, Buttermilk Caramel Syrup, Caramel Apple Cider, and Apple Cider Doughnuts.  Everything has been soooo good.  My favorites are definitely the pancakes, syrup, and apple cider floats.  And I will say, while the doughnuts were delicious they were enough trouble and work that I probably won't be making them again soon. So if you haven't checked it out, do- such great recipes! And if you happen to want to get me a little gift- I'm kind of dying for that cookbook right now!

Utah Trip

After our very busy and very fun weekend in New Mexico we drove back up to Utah and spent 5 days with my family. It was so fun to see everyone, I'm so glad we made it out for a visit.

Arches

 

On our way back we stopped at Arches and did a little hiking.  It was a great break from driving and so beautiful!

Owen was not feeling well and by the end of our hike he was very, very done.



 Riverwoods
My mom and Jim took us out to Malawi Pizza for dinner, which was really good and then took the kids to this arcade/fun center there.  The kids loved the carousel and all of the fun games.

Friends

I got to get together with a couple friends.  We didn't really have time to do a lot but it was fun to see them and their cute kids.

This is my friend Lora and her cute little girl Maya.  Lora and I have been friends since 2nd grade.  Can you believe I've been friends with someone for over 20 years- kind of makes me seem old, huh.

I also got together with my friend Katie, Katie and I taught 2nd grade together, and her little boy Nick and Brooke are both in kindergarten this year.  It was so fun to see her and the kids had so much fun playing at the park.

We also got together with our friends Kirt and Emily, for dinner on night, but I forgot to take pictures.  Reid and Kirt went to high school together, and they were roomates when Reid and I were dating.  It was so fun to see them and there cute kids.



 Family Dinner

My family that lives in Utah got together for dinner one night.  It was so fun to see them all, and have one of those fun family dinners we miss so much. 

Feeding the Ducks

My mom took Brooke out somewhere so Reid and I took Owen to go feed some ducks.  I don't know why I suggest things like this, because the sight of a bunch of hungry, greedy ducks crowding around my little guy kind of freaked me out.  But Owen seemed to enjoy it and none of the ducks tried to bite him or anything.

Horses

Brooke got to go ride horses with her cousin Joelle and just loved it.

 Going Out

So my favorite part of this trip was probably getting to go running with Reid every morning. It got so cold, but it was so fun to be able to leave our kids and just run together.  Thanks to our nice parents, for watching our kids when they are grouchy and hungry in the morning.  Also, my mom watched the kids while Reid and I went to the temple, and  Jim watched them (they were asleep) while we went and saw Moneyball (we liked it).  It was so fun to be able to get out and do so many fun things together.  Thanks again!

Halloween Party

My brother Nate and his wife Glaucia threw an awesome Halloween party.  It was so fun, they had a place to make caramel apples, a pumpkin carving contest, a costume contest and it was so fun. 

I am still pretty excited I managed to come up with a Halloween theme for our family.  And that I was able to come up with such cheap and easy and kind of cute potato head costumes.  This is not really my strong suit, so it probably won't happen again but it was fun to match one year.

My sister-in-law Adi is kind of awesome at themed costumes.  She always comes up with something really cute.  This year they did Wicked/Wizard of Oz.

This is my niece Kaity and her little girl Mailey.  Isn't that yoda hat adorable?

 The kids did really well with all the traveling.  We're glad we went and now we're glad we're home.