Happy 25th Birthday Adam!

Adam turned 25 this year. He requested a homemade cheesecake, so that's what he got! It is seriously an amazing recipe. It was my first time making it and it didn't turn out super pretty, but it was still super yummy. We got some blueberry and cherry pie filling to put on top of our pieces.

My Favorite Easter Song

Oh Light of Life

Bambino Days

Adam and I started a new daily activity of walking to the park by our apartment and back everyday. It's a small little thing to do, but it gives us some time to take a break from life for a little bit and enjoy being outside and enjoy each other's company. Today we went for our walk and we decided to walk a little further. I used to work at a fast food restaurant right by the park called Pickett's Bambino. We passed by it and saw that it was closed down and that a custurd place was going to be replacing it. I was kinda sad because it was a small little place that had not even been open a year. So I went on their website to see what was going on and I guess they got bought out and they were going to be turning into a franchise. And I also found these two pictures on their website as well. Yes, I know that they are very flattering pictures of myself. I thought it was pretty funny. I think this was their opening day and my first day on the job. I didn't even know pictures were being taken and I was probably pretty nervous and overwhelmed. So here is me as a fast food cashier person. I don't think I will ever do that again. It was fun, but not for me.

Horticulture Pinning Ceremony

Yesterday, the horticulture department had a pinning ceremony for graduating seniors. Adam received a pin shaped like an oak leaf. It was supposed to represent the quote from Jacob Spori where he says that "the seeds we are planting today will grow and become mighty oaks, and their branches will run all over the earth." They said that an old folk belief is that anyone who carried an acorn insures a long life.

They also showed a fun slide show of pictures that were taken on field trips and other activities that the horticulture department did this year. Adam has a pretty fun major. He is graduating with a lot of his really good friends from that department as well this semester so it's great timing for him and he's doing it in 3 1/2 years. I'm so proud of him for going to school and getting his degree in something that he loves. A wife couldn't ask for more.

This is a picture of the closing horticulture social in a cabin in the woods. This was from back in February. We are on the very far right of the picture.

Snow??... Really??...

So today is supposed to be the second day of spring, and this is what we get in Idaho. I was really starting to like the idea of seeing grass again and not having to wear coats anymore. That's Rexburg for ya.

Our New Apartment

On Friday, I drove down to SLC to get the key to our new apartment. I signed the papers and paid the rent so it's officially ours for the next 13 months. I picked Avram up from BYU and we hung out Friday and Saturday and he had a little slumber party with me in our empty apartment. When I first got there, I started to unload my car and move things into the apartment. There was a group of kids who offered to help me and I gave them blankets and pillows to take up. The people seem very friendly. I'm excited about our move.

 Our kitchen that cuts off your head

More Flowers

These are some other flowers that we have in our kitchen that Adam brought home. So pretty. It feels like spring in our apartment.

I am 23!

Yesterday was my birthday, but Adam left at 4:30 that morning to go to Chicago for a PLANET competition with BYU-I horticulture department so we celebrated it the 15th. We went to the Thai restaurant here which is the best Thai food I have ever had, then we ate cake and watched Tangled at the theaters. It was a great day. My actual birthday was great too. I got several calls, cards, and messages from people. It made my day not so lonely. Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes!

 Adam put the words on the cake all by himself. It was red velvet... mmmm....

Adam- my own personal florist

Adam came home Sunday with a whole bundle of beautiful flowers. They were left over from the flower show the day before and they were going to be thrown away.

Adam's creations:

Adam arranged these bouquets himself!! We put one in our kitchen and one in our bedroom. I really think he should go into flower arranging. It's been several days since he brought these flowers home and I still have yet to turn on my Scentsy Candle because these flowers fill the whole apartment with their fragrence.

Amazing Duck Stew

I was kind of skeptical about eating duck that one of Adam's professors had shot, but it was actually the best stew that I have ever had. The duck tasted like tender pieces of beef. I was quite impressed. I even had a second bowl later that night and then another bowl for lunch the next day. It was sweet and spicy all at the same time. Adam is so talented with cooking.

 I think this looks discusting. But Adam thought it looked pretty good. It's hard to think that I could have fed this little guy bread at some point, and now he's feeding me.... Aw...

 The end product. It was actually very very yummy. I would eat it again. We have like four more ducks left in our freezer to eat.

If you are into duck and game meals and things like that, get this recipe from Adam. I'm not lying when I say it was the best and tastiest stew I have ever had, even if it is duck.

BYU-I Horticulture Flower Show

Adam and I went to the big flower show last weekend that is put on by the floral design majors of horticulture. I went last year and it was amazing! This year was just as amazing! When we move to Utah, it would be nice to drive up to Rexburg just to see this flower show. It is really unbelievalbe. I took just a few pictures of random things.

 All those little dots are billions of lady bugs! I have never seen that many lady bugs in my whole life put together! It was cool/ gross. I felt really itchy in that room.

 Our wedding flowers. These ones were huge and perfect!

 This isn't actually a real structure...it's a cake!! It totally looks real. I just had to take a picture of it.

You can't see this picture very well, but those stands were very high with flowers on it. We were up a bunch of stairs and I took this picture looking down.

Early Birthday Surprise!

Friday was our date night and we went out and watched the movie Beastly and then we went out to eat. When we got home, Adam wanted to give me an early birthday present. It was a Cricut! I was so excited and very surprised! I had no idea that he was going to give me this. We went to Walmart the next day and I got to pick out two cartridges. I ended up scrapbooking the whole weekend.

THANKS ADAM!

Ward Chili Cook Off

Our ward was having a talent show/chili cook off last night and there were 24 people who brought their chili. Adam and I brought White Chicken Chili (Adam made it all... I just did the dishes for it which I thought was a pretty good deal. He worked on it for a long time to make it perfect). Adam and I got this recipe originally from my sister Amber. (Thanks Amber for sharing!!) It's been one of our favorites and Adam expands on it each time we make it. There were five awards that they were giving out: the spiciest, the most appealing looking, the chunkiest, the most original, and the best overall. We were awarded the most original, and all the five that they picked had to taste really good too for them to be awarded the prizes. Each chili was given a number so that it could be anonymous and we heard several people comment on how good our white chili was of chili #17. We even heard the judges talk about it, so this is seriously a keeper recipe! It was a fun night and we were pretty happy to win that wooden spoon! I'm so proud of Adam and his cooking skills!

For the recipe click on the link below

White Chicken Chili

 

Adam making the finishing touches to the chili

 

The 24 contestants in the Chili Cook Off. Ours is in the red crock pot.

 

Adam holding his prize for THE MOST ORIGINAL CHILI!

Our First Valentine's Day

Adam and I just had a quiet evening last night. We made a nice dinner of Chicken, Cheese, and Spinach Manicotti, Olive Garden Breadsticks, a salad, cherry jello with whipping cream, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and of course Martinellis. We ate it by candlelight and it was really romantic. We then played our new game Blink that Adam got for me for Valentine's Day and then we watched the movie Couple's Retreat that I got him. It was really nice and low key of an evening. And we both can agree that it was our best Valentines Day ever!

Bountiful Basket Experience #2!

We got the Bountiful Basket on Saturday and it had lots of yummy goodness in it. We took this picture after we had given a bag full of stuff from it to our neighbor. We also got the tortilla chip and guacamole packages that you can purchase on top of the original basket. This week we got:

2 Bunches of Bananas
2 Bunches of brocoli
Lemons
Clemintines
Lettuce
Strawberries
Mushrooms
Cantalope
Orange Bell Peppers
Spinach
Carrots
Green onions
White onions
Avacados
Limes
Jalapinos
Homemade tortilla chips

Valentines Day Roses

Adam came home Friday with this beautiful arrangement of a dozen roses. They are even more beautiful now because they are opening up. They are some of the prettiest roses I've ever recieved.

Outback's Bushman Bread

If you've ever been to Outback Stakehouse, you probably know what bread this is. It's the scrumptious bread that they bring out and give to everyone when they sit down. We've been looking for it's recipe for a while because it's so yummy and we finally found one with Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. This is a sweet, moist bread that goes great with any stake or Outback style meal. When Adam and I had it, we had it with mashed sweet potatoes and tri tip. It was way easy and I had all of the ingredients in my cupboard already. The only thing that was hard was letting it rise! That was it! And that wasn't necessarily hard, I just didn't like waiting because the dough tasted excellent. To see recipe, visit link:

Outback's Bushman Bread Recipe

Kitchen Sink Blog

Adam and I both love to cook and try new recipes. I just created a blog where I can post the recipes that we make so we can have a back up and share them with others. It will just be our favorites so you can check out our new blog if you are looking for something yummy to eat. Like I said, only the best are going on there.

www.sinkfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com

Fun Buys

I have a friend in my ward who likes to crochet and she has her own little business on etsy.com. I just recently bought a headband (which I'm wearing right now) from her and an adorable owl hat for a one year old that I'm going to send to my nephew. She is so talented and you should check out her work. I'm way excited about my purchases.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/curlytopcorner

Super Bowl Commercial... So Cute!

Every once in a while, I catch Adam on the computer laughing, and watching this commercial. It is way cute! Oh little boys...

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe is so yummy. I have never had the real soup at Chili's before, but I imagine it's really close. Adam and I made this last week and it's on our list of favorites!

Servings: 12

Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb chicken breast fillet
1/2 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, pressed, to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce (We used the red enchilada sauce)
16 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Garnish:
shredded cheddar cheese
crumbled corn tortilla chips

Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup diced Spanish onion
2 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and de-ribbed
2 tsp finely minced fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt

1. Add 1 tbs of oil to a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.
3. Set chicken aside.
4. Add onions and garlic to pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.
5. Add chicken broth.
6. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.
7. Add masa mixture to pot with onions, garlic and broth.
8. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.
9. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.
10. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
11. Serve soup in cups or bowls, and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, and pico de gallo.

I got the recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Excellent!

Another Surprise

Adam came home last week with two surprises for me. Orchids and Roses. They really make our apartment feel homey.

My Little Snow Shoveler

There are so many things that you learn about your spouse after you become married to them that you didn't know while you were dating. One of those things that I learned several months into marriage is that Adam loves to shovel snow. Thank goodness! I have not had to do it once this winter and there has been lots of snow! It looks like I hopefully won't have to when we move to Utah either. Adam is full of wonderful secrets. I also found out that he loves to vacuum! I married a near perfect husband. 

We are Movin' to Utah!

Looks like we are going to be making our way to South Salt Lake City, Utah in April after Adam and I graduate. Adam got a job offer to work for a landscaping company called Intermountain Plantings and he accepted it! So we have a job now and we are VERY anxious to get Adam's classes done. It's hard to finish school when you know you already have a very good job lined up. But we are trudging through! He got the position of managing the landscape of a very nice resort in Deer Valley by Park City called the Montage. It will be a great experience for him and he is so excited about this job which makes me excited! We have been looking for different apartments online in the Murry/Cottonwood/Holladay areas. So if you know of anything, let us know! There are a lot of places to choose from!

Intermountain Plantings website:
www.intermountainplantings.com


The Montage's website- Very cool! I almost want to work there. 
www.montagedeervalley.com