mardi gras.

Our friends Brittany and Travis Tolman invited us over the other night to celebrate Mardi Gras along with some other friends.  Unfortunately Branson was out of town, so he couldn't join in on the festivities.  For dinner Britt made this amazing chicken and sausage gumbo that was delishh.  

She also made this amazing cake for dessert...

It was like the most scrumptious GIANT cinnamon roll I have ever tasted. 

It was seriously so good....i'm drooling as I type. 

Britt baked a little baby Jesus in the cake, and supposedly whoever found it is supposed to have good luck for a year.

Blake was the lucky winner. 

Rats.

 AnnaBelle earned herself LOTS of beads ;)

After dinner we all joined in on some "head volleyball." 

It was one of the funniest things to watch and we were all dying laughing.

  

Best picture of the night^ haha 

We also all decided to participate in Lent this year.  That's where you commit to giving up something until Easter. (Usually people give up alcohol, smoking, etc. but considering none of us do that, we had to think of something different.)  That was an easy one for me...sweets.  I eat them all too much and I thought this would be a good way to prove to myself that I can really do it.  More than a week down and I have been so strong! We even went to a wedding this weekend where there were gobs of desserts and I didn't even take a single bite.  Branson said he would join in with me, but at the rehearsal dinner this weekend he walks over with a delicious piece of lemon cake (my all-time FAVORITE) and takes a huge bite out of it.  I just look up at him and he stops chewing and has the guiltiest look on his face. haha. It was pretty funny.  

That little punk. But I'm proud of myself. I do have to say I can't wait to indulge once Easter arrives :)

(This explains my drooling earlier on in the post.)

Thanks for the fun party, Tolmans :)

yesterday morning...

was not the best morning i've ever had.
let me explain.
first of all, branson left early morning on a flight to colorado.
like 4:30 in the morning early.
for a week.
so i woke up all by my lonesome.
i hate not waking up to him.
i decided to start my day off right with the gym.
i was cleaning here and there while getting ready.
i realized our sheets were due for a wash.
i pull all the sheets off the bed.
stick them in the wash. WITH bleach. (keep them white and bright)
then get all ready to run out the door.
look around for my phone...
can't find it anywhere.
start freaking out.
look in the wash and what do i find?
yep. my poor little iPhone.
wrapped up in the sheets.
drenched as can be.
all i can do at this point is laugh.
no sense in getting upset.
ish happens.
so, i see a bag of rice in the pantry (i've heard it helps absorb the water)
i go to grab it, thinking it hadn't been opened.
well, it was open. and rice went EVERYWHERE.
the whole bag.
once again i just laughed.
couldn't believe it.
i write B on FB telling him what happened.
then went to the gym to run off my frustration.
after getting home from the gym i realized i forgot my headphones/dropped them somewhere.
no phone to call and ask
too lazy to go back.
laughed again.

that was really the end of the crappy morning. it may not seem that bad, but it just was one of those days. i couldn't catch a break. but i tried to stay positive and sure enough my day got better. my friends mandy and melissa came over for dinner. we had a little girls night since B was out of town. that definitely cheered me up :)

we cooked these awesome buffalo chicken tacos... [Pinterest find by Mandy]

click HERE for the recipe.

then, i get the nicest little surprise from mandy when i got home today. a sweet card and a little gift that she knew i was needing. a gift from the heart-my favorite. thanks Man, i really love you!

bad news is i am still phone-less. and husband-less. so i can't even bum off his. it's actually been a little peaceful. but now i've had enough peace and i'm ready to be able to communicate with the world. besides on Facebook.

two years ago today...

marks the day that Branson asked me to marry him.  

what a wonderful day that was!  

we were lucky enough to be in beautiful cancun, mexico...

  the story is pretty funny...here's how it all went down. branson asked me to go for a walk on the beach.  i said yes, and as we are walking out, our friends all said they were going to get ice cream. so, of course, i look at B and say, 'I want ice cream!" (i made things pretty difficult.)  after realizing that i wasn't gonna pass on ice cream, our friends just told us that we would all go after branson and i went for a walk.  i thought it was a little weird, but didn't think much of it.  so while we were out for a stroll, all of our friends were back at the hotel setting up [not really getting ice cream after all.]  branson's plan was to spread rose petals and candles on one of the beds on the beach. however, it was way too windy so nothing was staying put. instead, they moved everything under a big pavilion that was right on the water.  our friends john and kelsy walk past us and john starts talking to branson in spanish. of course, i know absolute nothing that is being said, so after he passes us, i asked branson for a translation.  he told me that john was going to tell kelsy (his girlfriend at the time) that he loved her. real smooth. i believed every word.  anyways, branson thought everything would have been set up by the time we started walking back, so we headed to the hotel and he starts walking towards the pavilion and i suggest soaking our feet in the pool.  that, of course, wasn't part of the plan either, so he just says "no, let's go over here." confused, i say okay and we walk down these stairs to the pavilion.  as we are walking down i see a bunch of people running and i look over and see a blanket with half lit candles and a few rose petals. my reaction was "babe, we are ruining someone's surprise!" he laughs, looks at my like i'm an idiot and says, "shell, no we aren't."  i'm still confused for a minute until it dawns on me. and then i start to ball, he gets down on a knee, and it was history from there :)  the engagement obviously didn't go just as planned, but it was still perfect. i was so surprised and we were at one of the most beautiful resorts i've ever seen. 

i am a lucky little lady.

 we brought a camera with us on our walk. this was just before he proposed.

we have had about five friends get engaged in the past couple weeks and it's so exciting!

there's just something about this time of year <3 

Bang Bang.

It was a warm(ish) day last Saturday so we decided to go shooting up the canyon at Squaw Peak.  The boys all went shooting just a few days before for an elders quorum activity so we had some extra clay pigeons and shells left to take with us.  Once we got to the shooting range, we got out of the car and it was FREEZING!!  It was crazy how much colder it was up there.  So, of course none of us were dressed right, except for cute little AnnaBelle.  Regardless, it was a fun little Saturday activity.

The boys. 

Poor Branson- He was in shorts! 

Britt and Lynds

She's starting young...

 Oh I love that little face...

 We are obviously all obsessed with that little one.

bangs + wind = no bueno

I LOVE going shooting...I must take after my pops :)

P.S. For all you Californians reading my blog, notice the complete absence of snow!? Yeah, it's been wonderful.

Tootles.

cuban black beans.

If you're anything like me then you love quick, healthy and delicious meals.  Well, my mother-in-law gave me this recipe and it was too good not to share.  It's basically just black beans thrown in a crock-pot... doesn't sound all that exciting but we love it-plus it lasts us for a while! Branson actually said that it was one of his favorite meals...I was shocked because usually if it doesn't contain some sort of meat, he isn't havin it.  I was happy to hear it.  It cost me less than 3 bucks to make and I hardly did a thing. 

So...here it is!

Cuban Black Beans

1 lb. black beans 

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

6 C. water

1/2 C. olive oil

2-3 tsp. salt

Cook on High 6-8 hours

-It recommends to add 1/4-1/2 C white vinegar about an hour before serving.  However, I left this out because it had a ton of flavor without it.  It tastes delicious served over brown rice or even quinoa.  

We add a little cheese, tomatoes, some sautéed veggies, and...

 voilà! 

[not my photo but it works]

real life.

This past week it has hit me that in just a few short months Branson and I will be college graduates.  I never really thought the day would come.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was graduating high school. Time has flown by!  It's even crazier to think about how much our lives are going to change.  We don't have any definite plans as of yet, but we are so ready and excited for what is to come.  

Until then, I am going to enjoy the time I have left.  We have been incredibly blessed with the best ward and the greatestttt friends.  We will miss living in the same apartment complex with so many of our favorite people.  

Speaking of which, I just came across this beauty... 

(B and I bought our iMac and the neighbs came by to try it out with us)

We look like gophers and I love it.

Anyways, we are excited for our lives to really begin.  Reality is a bit scary, but we are excited to be thrown into new experiences, new jobs, new cities, new everything. The best part: We get to conquer the world- together! :)