Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It has been so long since my last post... My excuse is that my computer is so old that it takes forever to do anything... also I've been kind of lazy.

I'm in San Diego for Thanksgiving with my family. It's good to see everyone and catch up. I'm not sure what is planned for the weekend but it is nice to get out of Provo for a while.

Since it is Thanksgiving I am going to do a thankful post... I know kind of cheesy but I going to do it anyway... So I am thankful that I have a good life. There are so many crazy things going on in the world and I am blessed to have a strong family and good friends to help me get through it. I am thankful that I was raised with the gospel because my life would be so different without it. With all the scary things that are going on even more then ever I know I need to be as strong and as solid as I can be.

There are so many things that I am thankful for but I'm going to leave it at that one. I have so much to catch up on so I'll be working on getting all my pictures together and will hopefully get them posted before I go home and don't have access to a computer that actually works.

Back in Utah

I've been back in Utah for a couple weeks now and it has been crazy, but good to be back. I'm not taking classes on campus this semester so that has been so nice! I don't know how good of an idea that was though because I have a couple classes left and I'm having a hard time motivating myself to get them done online. I'll get my degree though, I promise.

Since I'm not going to school I have time to do other things. I am back working at Ruby River, which sucks but hopefully I won't have to stay there for to long. Layla and I started a business called Hott Couture, we sell Juicy Suits, Ed Hardy shirt, jewelry, hats and sunglasses. That has been fun and I'm looking forward to when we are going to be able to keep some of our profit and not just put it back into the business. I've also been getting back into aerobics and that has been so nice. I am hopefully going to get certified to teach pretty soon. I am helping my friend Amy teach her Monday morning class at UVU so that is good practice. I'm teaching alone for the first time tomorrow.

The thing that made me hesitate more then anything about moving back to Utah was Josh. Everything is over for real this time, which is a good thing but hard because he was my best friend. I figured that it would be ok to move back because there are so many people here we wouldn't run into each other for at least a while... I was very wrong, I randomly ran into him 3 times in the first week and a half I was here. I couldn't believe it! Now that we are both single and are back into that scene I'm pretty sure I'll see a lot more of him then I want to.

On a happy note, I have awesome new roommates that I have a ton of fun with! They are exactly what I needed to help me get through this. Here are a couple pictures.
Night hike to the Y:

Walk to Bridal Veil Falls:

Wrapping up NYC

I am back in Utah but I need to still post about a few things we did that I haven't been able to post about yet.

A few weeks ago Layla, Austin, Jake and I went to Palmyra and Niagara Falls! Keep in mind that we only had Sunday's off so we did this whole trip in pretty much one day, and Niagara Falls were about 7 hours from our apartments... so we didn't really get much sleep that weekend.

Sacred Grove:

The Smith Home (can you imagine 12 people living in this house?):

The "Dream" House:

Hill Cumorah:

Niagara Falls:

As you can probably tell we had so much fun on this trip! Not only was it fun but it was such an awesome experience to be able to see all these church sights that are always talked about. It's a good reminder about how the church was reestablished on the earth and all the sacrifices that were made for that to happen.

We went to another really good pizza place in the city. I think I my have liked it a little better then Grimaldi's but everyone else liked Grimaldi's better.

Our Last week we finally made it to a bar... I know that sounds bad but it was a really cool place that is well known because so many famous musicians have played there and just go to listen to the awesome house band!

This summer has probably been one of the best I've had! I was able to live in a city that has more to offer then most cities in the world! I miss it so much and can't wait to go back. The summer wouldn't have been nearly as fun without the friends that I had! I lived with Layla and Austin and they were both great! They were so easy to live with and never made me feel uncomfortable or like they didn't want me around (which they had to feel sometimes because I'm sure they would have liked a little more alone time). I want to thank them for asking me to come out this summer and letting me live with them! And even though I was with Layla 24/7 for the summer I miss her and am so happy that we have a business together now so that we at least get to see each other a couple times a week! I also made some great friends out there, all the guys were so much fun! Thanks Jake for always letting me drag you around so I wasn't the third wheel, I couldn't have asked for a better friend!

Life in the City

Layla and I are starting our own business selling Juicy Suits, Ed Hardy shirts and some accessories (hats, sunglasses, jewelry). We get some of our stuff on canal street which is right next to Little Italy... such cute part of NYC! After our recent shopping trips we have made our way over there to eat lunch! We have had some amazing pastas!




Last week Jake's sister and her friend came into town so we had an excuse to go and do a few more things in the city that I had wanted to do. We went and walked around the Financial District and went to Battery Park to see the statue of liberty. I was hoping that I would find my husband on wall street but no luck... Oh well.

BROOKLYN!!!

Is it just me or does everyone else think of Spock Conley form Newsies whenever they hear Brooklyn? Well I do, we actually watched the movie about a month ago and it is so funny how in love with him and Jack I was forever ago!

Last Sunday Layla, Austin, Jake and I went to the Brooklyn Bridge and ate really good pizza! It was such a fun day! We drove across the bridge so that we didn't have to walk the whole way there and then all the way back. Once we got there we went straight t0 a little pizza place called Grimaldi's. We had heard that it was the best pizza out here and I really think it is!




























After we finished eating we went and tried to burn off all the calories and walked about a third of the way across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so beautiful. We had so much fun!

I keep thinking that I couldn't have more fun and every weekend is just amazing! I absolutely love it out here! I am so lucky!

Twilight Books

I just finished Breaking Dawn and loved it! These are such fun books, I recommend them to everyone! I look the quiz telling me which character I would be and this is what it came up with:

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Cafe Rio brought to NY!

Last week Layla and I made Cafe Rio (aka Costa Vida) salads for the office! It was a very long process, 2 days preparation, but so worth it! It tasted so good and the guys loved it! Some of them even said they liked it better than the real thing... I think they were either trying to be nice or they just haven't had a Cafe Rio salad in a really long time... either way Layla and I were really happy with how everything turned out!
The cooks:

The salad:


Here is the recipe for those of you who want to try:

CAFE RIO SWEET PORK
2 lbs. Pork Loin (lean cut)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/3 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, mild)
1 c. brown sugar
Put the pork in a heavy duty ziplock bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

CILANTRO-LIME RICE
1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 freshly squeezed lime
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

BLACK BEANS
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

CREAMY TOMATILLO DRESSING
1 (7 oz.) can Salsa Verde (Herdez Brand)
4-5 fresh Tomatillos (chopped)
1 1/2 packets Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
1 C. Sour Cream
1/2 C. Mayo
1-2 jalapenos (usually seeded, but can leave seeds in depending on desired spiciness)
1 T. Sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 Lime
Cilantro (handful)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth. Refrigerate. (Make this the day before and leave refrigerated.)

Good luck to all and just to warn you, the dressing won't really taste right unless you do refrigerate it overnight!

Girls Day Out!

Last Sunday Layla and I had a girls day, kinda funny because we have girls days everyday cause the guys are always working, it was so much fun though! It's nice to just do what we wanted because it's not always the same as what the guys want to do. The first thing that we did was go to Cafe Lola, which was amazing!!! We had breakfast and it was the best I think I've ever had... at a restaurant that is. Cafe Lola is the place on You've Got Mail where Tom Hanks realizes that Meg Ryan is shopgirl! This was definitely one of my favorite places I've eaten!

After Cafe Lola we did a little shopping which I was very proud of myself because I didn't buy anything! Then we went to see Jersey Boys! My Uncle is one of the financial backers of the play so he got us house tickets! The seats were awesome! It was about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. You would recognize the songs like, Big Girls Don't Cry, Sherry, Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You and many others! It was such a fun play to watch! Thanks Ivor

After that we just started to walk around not wanting to go home and decided to go to the Rockefeller center. This is where the Christmas tree is every year! On our way we found a swap meet and decided to try the food on the street. It was pretty good, I ate it more for the experience though :)

After all that we went and saw Mama Mia in the theatre. It was such a girlie movie. It was a really fun day and Layla and I had so much fun on our girls day in the city!