apple crisp

A P P L E  C R I S P

if you need a last minute idea for a thanksgiving treat, this is it!

it's one of the easiest desserts i know that involves lots of apples... and lots of sugar. :)

Ingredients:

3 large apples, cored and thinly sliced

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

3/4 cup rolled oats

Directions:

Arrange sliced apples in buttered 9-inch round baking dish. combine brown sugar and flour; cut butter into mixture as for pastry. toss in rolled oats. spoon over apples, pressing down lightly. bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. serve with vanilla ice cream!

**i have always just used a 9"x13" baking dish, and make double or 1 & 1/2 times the topping. 

xo

m

a thankful heart

happy week of

T H A N K S G I V I N G

watch this.

yesterday i was thinking about how november hasn't particularly been my favorite month... 

...back to night shifts, the cold weather + no snow, expensive car payments before christmas, losing our mail key, feeling sick pretty much the entire month, doctor's bills, sprained ankles, date nights and plans falling through, being too busy between three jobs to even notice i had my sweater inside out my entire shift at work...

life is absolutely crazy right now.

but today i received the sweetest reminder about having a thankful heart.

thank·ful

/'THaNGkfəl/

adjective

1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful.
2. Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile.

every year i always eat until i look like a thanksgiving turkey and have enough rolls to keep Rhodes in business, but i always come away feeling even more full of  t h a n k s.  

thank-ful  =  ful-[of]-thank[s]

this is what having a thankful heart means to me:

having a thankful heart keeps us humble.

having a thankful heart helps us focus outward, instead of inward.

having a thankful heart turns our eyes to the One who created us all.

it allows us to look at things we commonly see, in a different and appreciative way.

having a thankful heart connects us and helps us understand one another better. 

it turns the worst days into days that aren't so bad.

cause really, it always #couldbeworse

so today, my heart is full of thanks. 

so about my november i've told you about so far... 

today i took those things mentioned above, and turned them into things i'm truly thankful for. 

the sours into sweets.

• let's start with the night/graveyard shifts... even though they aren't my favorite, i'm thankful for a stable job, and the best coworkers to keep me awake and laughing past 3:00 am.

• losing our mail key...  i'm thankful for a postman who is game to read my trail of notes plastered on the box downstairs and bring our mail up to the front door to leave in our temporary solution (below). 

**that cereal though... you havvvvve to try it. sprinkled donut crunch... walmart's hidden gem.

• feeling sick pretty much the entire month... i am thankful for humidifiers, that you can't really overdose on cough drops, and that tissues come by the package. 

• the cold weather + no snow... i am thankful our furnace still works even though we may be expecting some kind of explosion at any moment.  

• expensive car payments before christmas... i'm thankful for two working cars and honest car mechanics who don't trick me into fixing my heat pump, replacing my battery, changing out my tires, updating my windshield wipers, new brake pads, and buying air freshener and everything else in the store "while i'm at it".

• doctor's bills... i am thankful for modern medicine and for so many places around us where we can receive healthcare.

• sprained ankles... i am thankful that bry had a bad sprain rather than a broken ankle... and that the sweetest doctor offered to give him an x-ray for free. that meant so much to us this month.

• date nights and plans falling through... i am thankful to be busy with lots of good things and for a husband who takes time to plan date nights.

• being too busy between three jobs to notice i had my sweater inside out my entire shift at work... i am thankful for sweaters that keep me warm... even if they are inside out. :)

other things that have made my heart smile this month...

-snickerdoodles

-my sweetheart's patience

-our friend's new pup!

-soccer games every week

-handwritten letters in the mail

-christmas decorations up (a post coming your way)

-helping coach the women's b-ball team at oly high!! (my absolute favorite.)

take some time this week to write down a thankful list, 

and what it means to you, to have a thankful heart.

happy week of thanksgiving.

xo

m

DIY "let it snow" banner

L E T  I T  S N O W

i love the first sign of snow.

maybe it's because at the first snowfall of the year i was with the triplets i nanny, and they made me feel like a four year-old again... sitting by the kitchen window with my hands pressed against the glass and watching it fall. i kind of felt like we were all in our own tiny snow globe.

with the snow comes other favorite things of mine:  christmas music, the musty smell of the heater/furnace being used for the first time, hot cocoa towers at every grocery store, and my very favorite- christmas decor being put out on the shelves!

for church, i was put in charge of finding a holiday craft that would work for around 30 women, relatively inexpensive, and easy for everyone to do. after some searching, i found something fun and want to share it with all of you. 

the best part about this craft, is that most of you probably have half the supplies already... because of this, mine cost me only $4.00!!! even if you had to buy everything, it should only cost you $12-14! How is that for inexpensive and easy!? 

introducing to you the "let it snow" banner 

to adorn your mantle, or hang from anywhere else inside your home.

what you need:

- 1/4 yard of burlap fabric 

- a hot glue gun

- 7 feet of thick twine or heavier ribbon for the top strand

- christmas ribbon for the ends

- paint (colors of your choice)

- sponge brush and thin paint brush

-stencil for the letters (optional)

1. cut the fabric into 8 triangles like so. (I did mine 7" wide and 8" in length)

2. find the middle of your 7' strand of ribbon/twine and start hot-glueing the burlap in a row.

3. paint your polka dots (i used the handle of my sponge paint brush to dip in and just stamp on)

4.  using a stencil (you can get at Michael's Craft Store or any other) or using freehand, paint on your letters in the middle of each triangle.

5. tie a loop in each end, and attach fun christmas ribbon to each side.

and there you have it! simple, inexpensive, and quick! 

three important words for you busy women out there! ;)

other favorite places for holiday decor right now:
-wishing star garland at anthro
-mercury glass candle jars at world market
(along with their burlap star 10-ball string lights and so many of their ornaments!)
-target is a good place for string lights and other decor
-pottery barn... everything. especially their dinnerware, and the garland i bought last year)
-anthropologie (their ornaments and stockings are to die for!)

**my advice: i usually get all my christmas decor the week after christmas. it's hard to be patient and wait, but i stock up on everything after the holiday is over and it's always half the price. so use what you have for this year, stock up on things after christmas is over, then you'll be ready for  next year with brand new christmas decor you forgot you bought! i'm telling ya, it's the way to do it!)

xo

m

antler bleaching

A N T L E R

B L E A C H I N G

antlers used as decor have kind of been a "thing" for a while now.

they add an interesting focal point to any room.

(here are some examples below.)

i had some antlers i wanted to bleach, even though they were small. i know most websites will say not to bleach them and to use hydrogen peroxide (you can find great tutorials for that everywhere). but since i wasn't too concerned about preserving them for long-term use, i found a quick and easy way that did the job! here's my tutorial.

what you'll need:

a cleaning brush

bleach

water

a bucket you don't care about

a spot in the sun

Instructions:

Scrub the antlers down with your cleaning brush and wash thoroughly until clean.

fill up your bucket with 2 parts water to 1 part bleach.

submerge the antlers in the bleach/water solution and let sit for 12-24 hours. if you feel like the antlers aren't whitening quickly enough, add more bleach and less water. adjust as you need! i let mine sit in the solution for about 24 hours.

**the bleach will eat at the antlers and make them too chalky if left in for too long- so check every once in a while for their color changing to white, and then remove soon after.

when white all over, remove from the solution and let dry in the sun for several hours.

gently wipe off with a rag, and there you have it! (pictures of mine, below)

 before ^^

^^after!

 i do love a pair of pretty antlers. :)

e n j o y !

xo

Image sources:

http://blog.nestdesignstudio.ca

http://amberinteriordesign.com

www.westelm.com

http://www.utterlyengaged.com

dear october

dear

O C T O B E R,

you are the loveliest, most perfect month.

here are my 21 favorite things about you.

<><><><><><><><><>

(keep in mind that here i only post about the happy things,

but it doesn't mean my life was perfect throughout October's entirety.

every month comes with many ups and downs, frustrations, days where i'm not as happy, 

and things that just go plain wrong... but i try to focus on the positives.

so here are the 21 things i loved most.)

1. remember how i never wanted to leave this mountain because i was 

stunned at how pretty you looked that day?

2. remember how you gave dad and i the perfect weather one afternoon and 

i talked him into crafting with me?

3. remember how your fourth saturday of the month was the most  p e r f e c t  day where bry and i got to go on a bike ride date to look at houses, eat at caputos, and then nap at sugarhouse park?

... oh, and watch these guys play soccer in those bubbles?^^^  man, we laughed so hard.

4. remember how we got to go sit with our cute nieces at the REAL salt lake game 

and eat everything unhealthy the menu had to offer?

5. remember our spooky dinner where we ate candycorn pizza, mouse bones, worms, monster choppers, pumpkin barf, zombie eyeballs, spooky ghosts, creepy crawlers, and tentacle pot pies?

6. remember our fall walks with the triplets + one? 

7. remember how our cabin is now done being framed!!!?

8. remember our soccer dates and soccer games that we look forward to every week?

9. remember our fun night at snogression with Utah Freeskier Society?

10. remember how your mountains deserved a double-take every time i looked out the window?

11. remember the time i got back to the nurse's desk to find flowers from my sweetheart during a long week of night shifts?

12. ...or the time i  got to be the patient when the triplets, or the "doctors," stitched my legs up and told me they'd "stay the night with me in the hospital to keep me company"?
(can't get enough of those cuties.)

13. remember how we started our relationship with a trip to the doctor, sore throat, aches, chills, fever, and first real migraine? that sure wasn't fun.

14. do you remember filling our home with the best smells, including this candle?

15. do you remember how i'd wake up to a kiss on the nose in the
early morning as bry would go off hunting?

16. remember how every time i opened our living room curtains in the morning,
i got the happiest welcome?

17. do you remember when i spent a whole afternoon driving around in frustration trying to find a fun orange-themed gift for my sweetheart? for all you men, this is the best cologne!

18. ...or our drives up the canyon where my sister and i had to stop immediately and capture this moment?

19. do you remember our halloween-y home looking so festive?
(and me not wanting to take down all the decorations yet)

^^find out more about these amazing gourds here. 

the thanksgiving and christmas ones are to die for!! i want them all!

20. or when grandpa miles turned 90 and grandma miles turned 86 years young? aren't they adorable?

21. lastly, remember our costume crafting mornings?

...and how i got to be Tinkerbell for my cute patients on halloween day? that was one i won't forget!

October, you were wonderful.

can't wait to see you again next year.

sincerely,

meg