weekend trip

life with school/work has been out of control lately, and there's nothing better than taking a weekend to go somewhere far away from it all. that's exactly what we did.

H  O  L  I  D  A  Y    P  A  R  K

we have a love for fly fishing ^

our friends josh and lindsay came with us, and it's always a blast with those two! 

a little piece of peace

xoxo

m

peach cobbler

You wanna try the best cobbler known to man?  

fresh, cinnamon-y, doughy, warm, crispy, crumbly, and sweet.

best peach cobbler

8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thick wedges 2 tablespoons white sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional) 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 1/2 cup boiling water

MIX TOGETHER (for topping): 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2.	In a large bowl, combine peaches, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3.	Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
4.	Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or both. :)

xo

m

old into new

Sometimes, things just need to be re-crafted. 

I have had this magnetic board in my kitchen since we moved in, and thought I'd give it some character. I found some flowers at a craft shop, mixed white and cream acrylic paint until it was just the right color, and finished it off using a little sandpaper... much better. If you don't have a magnet board, you can find one at just about any craft store, and start from scratch! OR, they're pretty much the easiest thing to make. Find out how to make one here.  They're great for posting memos or fun pics. 

before

after

Find something you can re-craft, and share! :)

m

rain

I've loved the rain lately.

Today I came home from a long bike ride with my mom, picked up my favorites from the farmer's market, and a storm came rollingggg in.

So, this is what my afternoon looked like: 

 A hot shower, long socks, an oversized sweatshirt, cuddled in blankets, hot chocolate in hand, with my guitar, while the rain poured. 

Take time to find a peaceful moment in your rainy day.

xo

m

fall semester top ten

This is just about the time of year when to-do lists start growing, some pimples start appearing, beach towels and swimsuits start getting packed up, stacks of books invade the dining table, and school lunches fill the fridge. BACK TO SCHOOL!! Bry and I are full swing into homework and school mode already, but are excited to experience another fall semester at the U... and a final year for me. :) 

Our top 10 reasons why school is  

way better in the fall:

1.   U T A H  F O O T B A L L !! And football season in general. This is seriously the #1 reason we love school most in the fall. Football season is the best distraction from school we’ve come up with.  Thank G O O D N E S S baseball season is almost over. Finally we can concentrate our efforts on a sport that’s actually fun to watch.

2.   Free food all over the place on campus: the Union tables, pancakes at the Institute, nurse recruiters bring more snacks, and best of all…free dinners at tailgate parties. Thanks Red Robin.

3.   Fall weather. Enough said there. No more days where you take off your backpack and have to tell people the, “oh, someone just dumped water down my back” excuse to cover for your growing sweat stain. 

4.   Students can say, “JUST MAKE IT ‘TIL CHRISTMAS!” That’s always the final goal in sight since it marks the end of fall semester. Anything involving Christmas makes the end come faster.

 

5.   You’ve come off of a long and fun summer break, so you’re somewhat ready to put your backpack on and start getting back into the swing of things.

6.     Cooler and cuddlier nights: your sleeping experience is guaranteed to be better in the fall. Okayyyy maybe that should be our #1.

7.     Season delicacies arise: soups, hot apple cider, basically anything pumpkin flavored, and best of all… hot cocoa. Enough said.

8.     Boots, socks, scarves, sweaters, and mittens.  C o m f o r t clothes.

9.     No shave November: I’m only writing this one for Bry. I wouldn’t say it’s MY favorite thing ever.

10.  The best holidays: starting with Bry’s birthday (which is in my top 2 holidays), you have Labor Day, Colombus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in the space of 5 months. Get out of work/school free cards? I’ll take ‘em. Plus, decorating for them is even more fun.

So right when you're about to complain about school this fall, give me a jingle.

xo

m

my listen as of lately

this woman did our wedding photography and is one talented artist. check out her band Luna Lune.


and this song is my listen as of lately.

xo

you're a peach

happy Labor Day everyone!

this morning, my love and I learned how to make peach jam

...all while singing, "we're jammin'" by Bob Marley, of course

We don't have much space in our freezer, so this recipe for peach preserves allows you to keep it on your shelf OR in the freezer.  I am in love. This weekend, we visited the nearest farmer's market, which is one of my favorite things about fall season. We ended up coming home with a large bucket of fresh peaches, amazing tomatoes, onions, watermelon, and bread. With all those peaches come some of my favorite recipes: peach cobbler, peaches and cream, peach ice cream, and lastly peach JAM.

P e a c h   J a m

Makes 8 cups. (When I made it, it yielded a little more- I filled up ten 8 oz. mason jars) 

Ingredients:

12 fresh peaches, pitted and chopped

4 1/2 c. white sugar

1 (2 oz) package dry pectin (4 Tbsp.)

Directions

1. Crush 1 cup chopped peaches in the bottom of a large saucepan. Add remaining peaches, and set pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a low boil, and cook for about 20 minutes or until peaches become liquid. (I ended up wishing I would've chopped the peaches into smaller pieces from the start, because we had to do it ourselves with a fork after they had boiled.)

       before boiling                                           after boiling

2. Pour peaches into a bowl, and then measure 6 cups back into the pan. Add sugar, and bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Gradually stir in dry pectin, and boil for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat after 1 minute, and transfer to sterilized jars. Put the jars that are filled with the jam back into a boiling pot of water for 10 minutes.

 

4. Let cool, and place on shelf or in the freezer.

The thing I love about jam is that not only is it delicious, but the small jars make the cutest gifts: Christmas, Mother's Day, Halloween, or just because... 

I have these chalkboard labels I got from World Market. I thought they looked adorable with the jam jars. I added a peach ribbon tied in a bow, and there you have it! Cutest jam on the block. :)

xo

meg

slow cooker coconut curry chicken

Okay everyone, I found an amazing recipe! 

This meal is magic and let me tell you why:

1. It's healthy- most important. Uses so many vegetables!
2. It's fast- also important if you're life is anything like mine.
3. It involves many things you probably already have lying around... the three main "exotic" ingredients you'd need to get are coconut milk, curry powder, and garam masala spic mix. (To be honest, I left out the garam masala because I couldn't find it... and you couldn't even tell a difference)
4. It freezes extremely well- and for the two of us, it lasts 2-3 meals.
5. Your house will smell d i v i n e

Perfect college-student-trying-to-eat-healthy-meal, right? Let me know how you like it!

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into cubes

5 large carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a green pepper)

1 (5 oz) can tomato paste

1 (14 oz) can coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp garam masala

1 jalapeno, seeded and halved OR 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tbsp water

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions
Grease your slow cooker with Pam. Place the chicken and carrots on the bottom of slow cooker.

Place the rest of the ingredients (except water and corn starch) in a food processor and process together until mixture is mostly smooth. ***If your food processor is too small to hold everything, process everything but the coconut milk. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl then mix in the coconut milk.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and carrots, mix well, then cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

An hour or so before serving, mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour mixture into the slow cooker, stir to combine, and continue cooking for another hour. **This will thicken up the sauce. When the sauce is to your desired thickness, turn slow cooker to warm setting until ready to serve.

Serve over rice, with Naan, and garnish with cilantro.

Yum. Enjoy!
xo

recipe I found from here