on top of old faithful

We just returned from a fantastic summer vacation. The whole Evans clan got together for a week in the Tetons and Yellowstone. The weather was perfect, the cousins got along great, the sights were spectacular, and the activities were swell. Looking back on it, it's crazy to think of just how much we packed in to one week:

We navigated our way to Wyoming

Motor boated and canoed around Jackson Lake
Took way too many photos of cute nieces and nephews
Took a wagon ride at the Bar J
and enjoyed a scrumptious meal and show there, chuckwagon style
Floated the Snake River
and spotted local wildlife
Boated across Jenny Lake
and hiked to Hidden Falls
then to Inspiration Point
and back in time for Craft Night
We saw gysers, and mud pots and hot pots galore
Including, of course, Old Faithful (several times since we stayed at the Inn)
And lots of bison
And we even managed to get a few great family photos

Lova La Vida

Normally it has to be Sunday for me to listen to Jon Schmidt. But throw a cello into anything and I'm hooked. If there's one instrument I could go back and learn as a kid and stick with (so I could be really great as an adult) it would be the cello. It adds such a richness to any piece, don't you think?

historia da missao

Back when I got off my mission in 2004, my mission president challenged all of us to write our Historia da Missão {mission (hi)story} that we could keep as a solid record of all of our experiences. Throughout my life, and especially my mission, I have been an avid journal-writer. Even though I had several journals full of my daily musings, I thought it would be great to have a more consolidated record of those 18 life-changing months.

I started by writing a consecutive list of topics I wanted to cover - receiving the call, my areas, companions, baptisms, funny stories, etc. I began to write and before I knew it I had over twenty pages of material. I still had several topics that I hadn't even begun to describe with the detail I wanted to remember. And as the days and weeks and months went by, I slowly forgot about my Historia.

Until yesterday.

I was going through the external hard drive, looking through old files, folders and documents and there it was. I started reading through it and was surprised at some of the things I'd already forgotten - like when my district in the MTC set the record for eating the most bowls of cereal on our last p-day before heading to the field (oh, the shame!) - but with a renewed enthusiasm to get it done. I realize that as more time goes on, the clarity of those experiences will continue to fade. So I'm going back to work. I've pulled out all the journals, letters, and photos I could find. It will be a big project, with lots of scanning, writing and editing, but I'm determined to get it done. And when I finish, I'll reward myself by getting it all put together in a pretty, bound book.

ready for the pickin

I'd say my spinach is about ready, wouldn't you?

poplar as a chair

Back in the depth of gray winter, I decided to spice up my life by taking a community class with my friend Mandy. We took "Make An Adirondack Chair" at West High. For seven weeks we spent a few hours each Thursday night in the wood shop transforming raw lumber into beautiful Adirondack chairs. The price for the class has since gone up, but at the time $35 to walk away with a handmade hardwood chair was a steal by any comparison. Overcoming my fear of most power tools was just a bonus.

Halfway through the class I decided to make two chairs (who wants to sit alone?) and thus walked out of the last night at the high school with my arms full of jigsawed and sanded - but not quite assembled - chair pieces. Over Memorial Day weekend I finally found some time to put pieces together and Mandy helped me remember the final steps of assembly the other night. I'm very close to finishing the second chair as well, but for now I guess I'll be sitting alone.

Part of you History #4

In the spring of 2002 I was gallivanting around Europe studying the history of art, eating chocolate and pastries at every opportunity and trying to dream up a scheme that would let me land there for a longer period of time in the future. In particular, I had fallen in love with Brugge, Belgium and all of its charm.

From my journal May 24, 2002

This morning at breakfast we were not greeted by the sweet little lady who usually serves us. Instead a grumpy man who looked very unhappy was manning the tables. We knew we would be on the go all day (leaving Brugge and traveling to Amsterdam), so we each grabbed an extra piece of baguette and left the breakfast room. Unfortunately, I was the last to leave which meant that I got chased out of the breakfast room by the grumpy old man yelling in broken English, "Excuse me, you eat what you want in here. You take, you pay!" He repeated it a few times while he stared down at the floor and I just said, "Oh, well we didn't know." "You take, you PAY," he screamed, "and tell your friends too!" What do you do? Baguette in hand, I climbed the stairs to my third floor room to let my roommates know what was up. He ended up charging us each four euros. At that point I was like, "Brugge, you're done" but then we went ouside to walk to the station and I fell in love with it all again.

{photo I took in Ghent, Belgium}

the kitchen

Nothing says 1954 like knotty pine! Of all of the areas of the house, I think the kitchen got the least amount of TLC and updating from the previous owners. We do have a nice tile floor and back splash, and granite tile counter tops, but to me the cupboards are a little dated. I'd love to refinish or paint them at some point, but that's not really at the top of my list right now.

We do, however, need a solution for the windows. Here are some photos of what the kitchen looks like now. Oh, and our everyday dishes are fiesta ware in lots of colors with most of the kitchen accents and serving pieces in red.

So if you've got great fabric ideas for the roman shades, let me know!

house projects

There are a number of things I hope to do in the coming months to take our new dwelling from house to home. For now we've just been trying to keep up with some of the challenges that inherently come with home ownership - from finally discovering that a plastic dinosaur lovingly left half way down our toilet pipes was what caused it to stop flushing, and finding a loose wire nut that kept half of the house without electricity for a few days, to warding off termites that decided to make their home (and feast) in our garage, we (Spencer, mostly) have been pretty busy. There have been more surprises, but I'll spare you. Here's my latest in house projects:

Edible Garden: One of the things I've enjoyed most about owning a home is having a yard. We have two lovely mature ash trees in the back, plenty of grass, and a retaining wall that creates a lower section of the yard. It's been the perfect spot for a garden. I've planted 16 square feet of veggies, plus some more traditional rows. It's been fun to care for the plants and watch them grow. So far, I think they're making pretty good progress.
Roman Shades: Another thing I'm thinking about are the kitchen windows, which face west. This means lots of great light, but it can also be a really hot and blinding place to spend the late afternoon. To help filter the light and keep the kitchen cool we have plans to put up some shades. At first I was thinking about a bamboo shade, but then I saw this idea to DIY roman shades with the fabric of your choice.The key would be finding just the right fabric. Thoughts?

go big or go home.

What about if you want to go big at home? I love our new house and it's comfortable neutral palette, but making the place "ours" has been more of a challenge than I anticipated. Of course to do this, I need a few additional pieces of furniture, photos printed for all of our empty frames, and the courage to actually hang something on the wall.

I wish I had enough courage to pull off something as stunning as Design Mom's most recent project: painting the piano (green!!!!)
I've been wanting to set up a little "music nook" in our basement where our piano (came with the house!) and guitars reside. I intend to hang some of the postcard prints I bought at the British Portrait Gallery - oh-so-many-moons-ago - of some of my favorite musicians from the other side of the pond and those "let it be" lyrics scribbled on a napkin. But don't you think painting the piano some bold, glossy color would make it all the more interesting? Yeah, me too.

Oh, and you can read more about Design Mom's endeavor here.

last night

The weather here lately has been stunning. The grass is green, the sky is blue, and the air is warm. Last night when Spencer got home from work, we had a picnic on our backyard lawn before walking along one of our favorite streets, admiring the blossoming trees and listening to the stream, heavy and full, gush out of the canyon. Season 1 of LOST had finally arrived at the library (to help convert Spencer to my latest addiction) and I was anxious to pick it up. Of course we scoured the music collection as well, selecting a choice few jazz, classic rock, and indie artists that will accompany us in the car for the next few weeks. We walked home and chatted with dear neighbors from our old ward (two whole blocks away) as the sun slowly dropped. We came home and Spencer popped Gladys Knight (his pick) into the stereo. We danced in the kitchen to Midnight Train to Georgia as the very last speckles of sunshine freckled the room and finally fell to night. It was just one of those nights... when for a moment, all seemed right with the world.

Sarah Likes To...

I just had to do this.... My friend Erika posted this on her blog and when I did it myself, it was too funny not to share.

All you have to do is google "[your name] likes to" and then post the top ten results. Here's what happened when I did my name:

1. Sarah likes to smell Colleen's armpits (mmmm, teen spirit)
2. Sarah likes to move it (as in, "I like to move it, move it")
3. Sarah likes to suggest a lot of naughty little taboos (yeah, so?)
4. Sarah likes to be in control and she appears to have some issues with attachment. She can exhibit temper tantrums, be defiant and uncooperative.
5. Sarah likes to share the wealth, too. (when the wealth comes, I'll be all about sharing it)
6. Sarah likes to ROCK.
7. Sarah likes to pet cute creatures, even if they are just pictures.
8. Sarah likes to shop.
9. Sarah likes to... Eat! (too true)
10. Sarah likes to clap her hands and say her first word, "yay!"

You should try this. Especially you, Mollie. ;)

garage sales

Garage Sale-ing is one of those scrumptious-in-theory past times I have yet to fully embrace in my adulthood. I remember tagging along with my mom when I was a kid, and her being a total pro at scouting out the best finds and making great deals. Growing up, much of our home was furnished with cool garage sale finds. And for a long time, I've wanted to make it a part of my Saturday morning spring thru autumn routine. Mostly because it's one of the only venues were you can find furniture items not made of particle board or veneer, but still in my price range.

Which leads me to announce with excitement, my recent discovery of a cool new tool to help in all of our greatest garge sale scouting aspirations: Yard Sale Treasure Map. It finds garage sales in your area and you can add any others you find through your local classifieds or craigslist. Then it maps out your day for you. Click print, grab the keys and you're on your way to finding treasure.

happy earth day.

You might not expect to hear that from me since the whole green movement typically has me gagging. Don't get me wrong, I believe in doing good things for our planet... I just don't like the whole approach that most of the marketing/hollywood world has taken. bleh.

Anyway, I do love this beautiful place where we all get to live. Enjoying the intricacies and majesties of the earth makes me feel closer to God. It's pretty, pretty great.

the absence.

I realize that I haven't been blogging very much for the past few months, and I think I'm going to try to get back into it. A few nights ago, Spencer and I were discussing some possible reasons of why I've stopped blogging... here's the synopsis:

Content - Sure, we bought a house recently (which is really cool and I need to post more about) and have been trying out Square Foot Gardening and composting for the first time (these things are supposed to sound potentially interesting) but it's also been winter and I don't feel like I've done anything exciting since the first three snowfalls.

Time - The majority of the time I spend on the computer these days is usually in some effort to keep my business rolling. And before that, it was all about finding us a crazy amazing place to live.

Bitterness - I realized that lots of people out there were making lots of money blogging about the everyday... This made me a) not want to read their blogs anymore (even though I was already hooked like a good reality tv show) b) not want to blog since I'm not making any money from it myself. Silly, but kind of true.

Relevance - I think that one of the reasons I began blogging in the first place (other than documenting my life, and my love of writing and photographing) was to have relevance to some external audience. Since getting married, I have a captive audience to report my daily randomosities to; the blog has become a bit less useful in this capacity.

Mainstreamness - When I started my blog way back in the day, blogs (or at least personal ones) weren't so... normal. I don't know, I just tend to have a hard time with certain things that everyone does/reads/listens to (still haven't read the da vinci code or twilight series) and now it seems like just about everyone has a blog.

Despite all of that, I am hoping to make my little corner of the online world all shiny and new again. Until then, check this out - one of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

two cool things

It seems like these days everyone is trying to do what they can to make or save a little extra money. I always figure that every little bit helps, and it's just a bonus when it doesn't require me doing anything extra. That's why I'm excited to share two recent discoveries: swagbucks and YouData. Swagbucks is just a search engine where you earn swagbucks for searching. Just like you normally search. When you get about 45 swagbucks (in about a month, depending on how often you search), you earn a $5 gift card to amazon (or lots of other places - amazon is my fave since they have nearly EVERYTHING). YouData earns you cash for looking at ads that are catered especially to you. You fill out a profile - a MeFile - and then ads are generated for you according to your profile. When you look at an ad you get money. When you click on it, you get more. They make deposits every Saturday into your paypal account. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

So, I've been kind of busy

I've never had such a long blogging hiatus. My apologies. Perhaps my absence is justified by the fact that my life has been completely consumed in the process of purchasing a home. In less than 48 hours, we should officially be homeowners! We'll definitely post some photos when we get settled in, but for now, a few from the MLS:

(we are super stoked for the big backyard and mature ash trees!)

(and for the newly updated bathrooms)

(and cool built-in bookshelves around the stone fireplace) (and hardwood floors!!)

In other news, I've been busy shaving my husband's head (on accident), getting ready for the move, trying to find renters for our condo (if you know anyone who might be interested, let me know!) and prepping for a lesson I taught in church on Sunday. After compiling all my notes on my laptop and needing to print from my desktop, I unintentionally emailed my lesson to some mysterious Sarah McSomething instead of myself - someone I probably did a craigslist transaction with many moons ago. Oh well, at least now she knows all about living in peace and harmony with others. Can't get angry at me for that now, can she?

Winter Song

A few Saturdays ago, Spencer and I went snowshoeing! We both knew it would be one of his only free Saturday mornings for the next few months, so we needed to take advantage of it. It was the perfect day for it: fresh snow, plenty of sunshine, and virtually no one else on the trail. We headed up Elbow Fork in Millcreek Canyon and me, oh my, it was beautiful! I think it's so great that with the right gear, you can feel perfectly warm despite the snow and cold temperatures. Two gadgets (both gifts from Spencer) made the trip even more fun. We used the insulated thermos he got me last Christmas and had steaming hot chocolate at the summit. I was also super excited to try my new Garmin Forerunner 305 on the trails. It's a heart rate monitor with GPS. When we got home I plugged it into our computer and it gave me a cool map of where we went, along with all the stats about speed, pace, heart rate, elevation, etc. I'm a geek for such data.

-Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson-

Lost and Gone Forever

So remember how I lived in Belgium for four months and took thousands of photos? And traveled every weekend to beautiful places? Well, I recently discovered that I have somehow lost all but a few of the photos I shot during my time there... I wanted to get some prints enlarged from Prague, and the images are nowhere to be found. So sad. So, so sad.

(Jackie, did I burn you discs of any pics?)

-Guster-

The New Year

Here is my year in review:

Best Things 2008:
1. Getting married to Spencer Evans
2. Getting engaged in San Francisco
3. Two weeks in Hawaii
4. Losing my first grown-up job - not a blessing in disguise, just a straight-up blessing
5. Starting my own business

Not So Amazing Things 2008:
1. Some of the pre-wedding issues/stress with: the dress, the candy scam, the bankrupt honeymoon airline, only receiving 2/3 of the invitations we ordered, etc. (don't worry, it all worked out beautifully in the end!)
2. Michael Scott as a boss, continued (but only for 7.5 months!)
3. Not getting selected once again, for the Moab Half Marathon
4. A car accident (I nearly forgot about this one)

Places I visited in 2008:
1. San Diego, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Maui, HI
4. Kauai, HI
5. St. George, UT

Realizations of 2008:
1. Getting married is a pretty natural adjustment - much more so than I anticipated
2. Being your own boss rocks! You call your own snow days, sick days, vacation days, hours, pay rate, and you get to do something you love! Downside: no Christmas bonus, medical benefits, or paid vacation (small price to pay)
3. A 21 mile commute to Park City is much better than a 12 mile commute to Midvale - prettier, fewer annoying drivers, zero stop-and-go, and just as fast
4. If something has been in a box for a year or more, it's ok to let it go

Concerts I attended in 2008:
1. Coldplay, Salt Lake City, UT
2. Ben Folds, Magna, UT
(only two? I must be getting old!)

Things I checked off my list in 2008:
1. Marry someone I'm crazy about (who's also crazy about me, naturally)
2. Stay debt-free
3. See Ben Folds rock out in person
4. Get a job I love

-Death Cab For Cutie-

for people and things that went before

I really love this time of year, because I love thinking about new goals and a new year is a beauty of a fresh start. There are a lot of goals and projects I'm thinking about for 2009... Here's some of what's been on my mind:

• finish the quilt I started in 2007 (just needs batting and backing...)
• take an international trip with Spencer (we're thinking SE Asia or SE Europe)
• make a beautiful photo book of wedding events
• go through overwhelming book collection and sell lots
• consume less: buy nothing for the house or myself for as long as I can hold out (I need another stint to Brazil to help me remember how little we really need)
• finish a few projects around the house (touch up painting, hang art/photos)
• find a half-marathon to run that doesn't have a lottery...
• prepare and plan meals more thoroughly to waste less food
• expand and refine the sugarhouse ink product line; invest time and money wisely to grow the business
• find meaningful ways to serve and give and share with humanity to feel more real
• learn to drive stick shift
• stay on top of projects and learn to work more quickly, efficiently, and flawlessly
• get off of at least 80% of the email lists I'm on to simplify my life (goodbye macy's, j.crew, old navy, gap, jo-ann's, amazon... hopefully I won't see you again until I'm actually ready to buy something)
  

Part of Your History #3

I don't know how this didn't ever show up on my blog. Really. Two years ago was all about weekend trips to interesting places, Thanksgiving in a hostel in Athens, Halloween in our flat in Brussels, my birthday celebrated with a Bratwurst in Salzburg, all-night bus trips to the Alps, trains and planes to anywhere we could get to quickly enough to be back for work on Monday morning, and apparently... dancing everywhere we went.


Dancing Through Europe from Sarah Evans on Vimeo.

Cold Turkey

I realize I'm a little late with the Thanksgiving post (hence the cold turkey). We managed to have a splendid Thanksgiving celebration with both of our families. Spencer's brother and his family came to Utah and we had dinner at Spencer's parents' house, who were also kind enough to invite my parents to the feast.

Spencer often comments that his family isn't too big on tradition or ceremony, but a few days before Thanksgiving it came out that his family has one of the coolest Thanksgiving traditions around: every year before the feast they go BOWLING! This is definitely one that will be carried on...
-John Lennon-

The Prophet's Song

Lots of updates coming sometime when I have time. For now, this video was in my inbox this morning and I thought it was worth sharing.



-Queen-

Be Kind to Me

You may or may not have heard of the blog Rocks In My Dryer, written by super saavy mother of four and Oklahoma resident, Shannon. It's one of *the* mom blogs for great ideas, interesting info, and a good laugh.
So you can imagine my reaction when I found out she wanted to write about my new business venture! Right now she's hosting a giveaway for Sugarhouse Ink gift cards on her blog and did a sweet little writeup about it too. Yay for good people on the internet!

-Michael Hurley-

Today's The Day

After months on the very fruitless and frustrating job hunt (and with national unemployment at 6.5% now!!!) I have been lucky enough to fall into a situation that is just about perfect.

Spencer's best friend has a very good reputation in the real estate community in Park City. He is busy starting his own business, so when Keller Williams approached him about helping them out with their marketing, he thought of me. Yay for good friends! We hammered out pricing and a proposal last week and today found out that it has been approved.

So here's the deal: I will essentially be a freelancer with office space at Keller Williams' office in Park City. Since they don't have any in-house marketing, I will be their "preferred vendor" for all things marketing - from photo shoots of new (mansion) listings, to designing brochures, ads, and websites. I have set my own rates, my own hours, can work from home when necessary, and have a solid potential client base of over 100 agents. I will not be on anyone's clock, so really I can work on whatever I want, which is great because I also have a little business I need to give some attention to on a regular basis. Basically it's ideal. Or at least it sounds like it will be.

I'm really excited!

-Aimee Mann-

Pardon Me

My blog will be undergoing some changes over the next week or so. Starting today. I have another blog that some of you know about called sarah style. Today I imported all of the posts from that blog (so if you're using a reader you probably were dozens of new posts here). This also means you might see new kinds of posts here (like the ones I did on sarah style). I'm also thinking about switching the url of this blog... we'll see. Just thought I'd let you know what's up. Stay tuned.

-Incubus-

All You Need is Love

Late on Sunday night, just weeks after his 90th birthday, my Grandpa Glen passed away. He had been declining for some time, and more aggressively in the last few weeks so despite being a time of loss there is a sense of relief as well. One of my favorite stories about my Grandpa Glen happened long before I (or my dad, for that matter) ever came along. (my dad is the cute little boy in the photo)

Apparently, as a young man my grandpa was quite the jokester. He worked on the railroad for a good portion of his life, and as a teenager my grandma and some of her girl friends liked to hang out at a little cafe near the tracks. They would flirt and joke over milkshakes, but there was never any expression or declaration of affection. I'm not sure how long my grandparents knew each other, but everything changed on the night of a high school dance. My grandma was getting ready for the dance and waiting for her date to pick her up when my grandpa showed up and told her she wasn't going to the dance because she was engaged! To HIM! And he wasn't joking! As my grandma tells it, her date showed up and she bashfully greeted him at the door to tell him she couldn't go because she had gotten engaged that afternoon. Despite having quite a sense of humor, at this point he was very serious and they were married a short time later. Although I'm not sure how I would react to my grandpa's tactics, it makes me smile to think of this scene playing out in real life. In my family. Little snippets from my grandpa's life seem often to happily resemble "It's a Wonderful Life."
-The Beatles-

Political Scientist

For whatever reason, I've avoided waxing political on this blog. Maybe it's because I know it would make passionate rivals out of some of my friends. But now I've got something to say. Not necessarily what I believe politically, only that I am one step from disgusted with who our country has pushed to the top as our choices for our next leader. Unfortunately, most of my lifetime has featured less than admirable presidents of the country I am proud to call home. I have to look to the history books to see the wisdom, passion, inspired leadership, and integrity that seem to allude politicians today.

But (this brings me to my second point), regardless of how nauseated you might be this election year, I do believe that everyone should educate themselves and prepare to cast a ballot. People have fought for our freedoms and democracy and I think the one of the best ways to ensure preserving those rights is by being active citizens. If nothing else, voting buys you the right to complain.

That's all.

-Ryan Adams-

Live and Learn

I've been thinking about some of the things I've learned in the last three months whilst being unemployed. (I know! Three months! I can't believe it either)

1. Sometimes you're just meant to be unemployed.
2. You can learn more about business, the internet, adobe CS3, and marketing on your own than you can while being employed as a marketing manager. Really, who knew?
3. Don't carry a product unless you know you can produce it.
4. There are many, many blessings in disguise in our lives.
5. Ben Folds is good background for just about anything.
6. I have some incredible people in my life who have been tremendously supportive of my crazy ideas and efforts. I'm really thankful for them.

-The Cardigans-

Part of Your History #2

I don't know if this really qualifies as a "part of your history" post, but I'm going to call it one. This is dedicated to Megan.


Five Things

10 years ago I
1. Bought a car with my sister for less than I paid for my crown today
2. Edited the high school yearbook
3. Looked forward to Thursday nights to watch Seinfeld and ER consistently
4. Ran my first 5K
5. Got an SLR and started taking lots of photos

Five things on todays to-do list:
1. Recover from the 5 shots of novacaine required this morning at the dentist
2. Compile a good list of advertising possibilities for my new business
3. Relax
4. Call people back to schedule job interviews
5. Get outside and breathe

Five Snacks I enjoy:
1. Whole wheat bagel w/veggie cream cheese
2. Pears
3. Cereal
4. Quesadillas
5. Orange Julius

Five Places I have lived:
1. Clifton, VA
2. Provo/SLC, UT
3. New York, NY
4. Brussels, BE
5. Portland/Corvallis, OR

Five Jobs I have had:
1. Marketing Intern at Nike
2. Marketing Manager at ezGear
3. Associate at Old Navy (awful)
4. Free slice cutter at Great Harvest
5. Owner of Sugarhouse Ink!

Five Pet Peeves:
1. The local accent -- "sell" instead of "sale", etc.
2. Blogs with music
3. Poor grammar (though I know I have it too sometimes...)
4. Utah drivers
5. Friend requests from people I don't know on facebook

Five things that bring me joy:
1. Family - husband, parents, siblings, nieces+nephews, in-laws
2. Pretty days
3. Autumn
4. Five Guys
5. Really nice people

The Launch

Well, this is it - the day we've all been waiting for. Or more accurately, the day I've been waiting for! After tons of working, planning, designing and learning, my business is finally online. Sugarhouse Ink is ready for your viewing pleasure!
I do birth announcements, graduation announcements, wedding invitations, holiday cards, and just about everything else you can think of in the invitation/announcement category. Feel free to spread the word, make a link in your sidebar, blog about it, add the url to your email signature, etc. ;)

No, but really, I'd be honored if you'd check it out at www.sugarhouseink.com and don't be afraid to pass it on to anyone else who might find it useful.
Oh! And before I forget: as a celebration of opening our doors online we have a huge election-inspired promotion: 50 Deals for 50 States. Be the first to order from your state and save 50%! Believe me, you probably won't see a discount like that again.
-Boston-

Sweet Illusions

Remember the delish mint brownies at BYU creameries and sugar n spice in the Cougar Eat? In the last alumni email they had a link to the recipe! Sweet! Now I don't have to go all the way to Provo for my fix. Here it is:

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING

5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

-Ryan Adams-

The Bank and Trust

I saw this somewhere else and thought it interesting/relevant... If only we had the leadership today of the days when our country was still in it's infancy. One such visionary (TJ, to be exact) said:

“If the American people ever let a private bank and the corporations that grow up around them control our money supply, first by inflation and then by deflation, they will deprive it’s citizens of their property until one day their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers’ conquered.”

Perhaps the "perilous times" we've heard so much about are finally here.

-The Elected-

You Don't Know Me

g-chat message from Anna this morning: "You will love this" and a link to this amazingness:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95081189

Ben and Regina together?! How could I not love it? Thanks Anna. :)

-Ben Folds-

Just a Dream

Ever had a dream related to blogging? I think last night was my first. A group of girls from BYU (didn't recognize any faces) and I decided to organize a pr/advertising conference around the influence of blogging in those arenas... so naturally we had as our host none other than Design Mom. We all flew to New York and had a big sleepover at her very cool house (though it was quite different from the photos I've seen on her blog). The last thing I remember was standing in the dark and the rain in Central Park trying to get Spencer's camera to work so I could take a photo of us all. Strange sometimes, these dreams of mine.

-Gabe Dixon Band-

Cinder and Smoke

Today I realized, once again, just how much I hate ironing. Really, I do. I got out the iron for the first time since I've been married for the sole purpose of looking decent at my interview with these people. But really, it just spit dirty water everywhere and made me regret not using my favorite anti-wrinkle solution: the dryer. Plus, I really only have one "interview outfit" and I used it once with them already. Whenever the chance to go for round two comes up, it kind of puts me in a panic, but only because of the lack of suitable business wear to be found in my closet.

That's all. Oh, and I have an interview with them on Monday. Does that make me a total traitor?

-Iron & Wine-

Better Way

I don't know if you've downloaded the new iTunes or used the new Genius feature, but I think it's fantastic.-Ben Harper-

Part of Your History #1

I've wanted to do this for a long time. I think it's interesting every once in a while, to take a look back and see where you've been and who you've been. So every once in a while (meaning I have no idea how often) I'll do a "part of your history" feature where I indulgently take a look back, with kind of an "on this day in history" approach.

Four years ago today, I arrived back in the states after my eighteen month mission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My last day in the field was the 21st, transfers were on the 22nd, we boarded the plane on the 23rd, and arrived at home on the 24th. It was much too drawn out for me and just plain hard. An excerpt from my journal explains my feelings pretty accurately:

We had a thirteen hour flight through the middle of the night, and I think I probably slept for about 20 minutes. Finally we landed in Dulles and as I stepped onto the people mover, I felt that wet, familiar Virginia air. We reached customs and someone came over the loudspeaker and said, "Citizens of the United States of America, welcome home." Immediately I felt the tears pooling in my eyes - such a confusing emotion. Although I knew I was home and that I was American, I felt like a foreigner stepping onto familiar, but changed soil. Perhaps those changes were only within myself, but they were significant enough to make me feel as a stranger in a new world.

Thankfully much has changed and I feel pretty comfortable in my country again.

Smile Like You Mean It

Since we are still newish in our ward and neighborhood, we are still constantly meeting new people and introducing ourselves. Naturally, one of the first questions people ask is, "so, are you working, or in school?" (ie you have no children, what are you doing with your life?) I have come to really hate this question and tried to come up with interesting ways of saying "I'm unemployed" without actually saying it. I've used, "well I've worked in marketing for a few years and I'm looking for a new gig" and "I'm kind of in between jobs right now" but it always leaves me feeling like kind of a loser.

Yesterday I sat next to someone in RS that I'd never sat by before. Of course, the conversation came to the question and I looked at her and just said, "I'm a freelance designer." I don't know how much I actually qualify (I have a website, right?) but that didn't really matter. It felt good to say it.

-The Killers-

Invisible Ink

For various reasons, I got way behind on blogging this summer. I've been wanting to update, and finally got around to it. I back-dated the posts to keep them organized for my own sanity... they won't show up at the top of the blog, but if you're interested just check the archives from July on up to September.

-Aimee Mann-

Spirals

Spencer worked really hard all week so he could just work from home on part of Friday and then relax for the rest of the day. He spontaneously suggested that we go to the spiral jetty (something I've wanted to do for a long time) so we hopped in the car and drove up. 90 miles of highway + 15 miles of dirt road + .5 miles of walking = the spiral jetty. It's very remote which made me happy. I kind of hate when cool things like that are destroyed by easy accessibility and football field sized parking lots.
-Adem-

I Will Follow

Blogger's Follower feature is finally out of beta. Join the club on my sidebar. -->

In other news: I'm interviewing for new jobs here and here, the Sugarhouse Ink website is coming along (don't worry, I'll definitely post when it's up and running!), and my arms are missing the sweet little bundle they held every day for the past week.-U2-

Late Morning Lullabye

Yesterday was little miss Olivia's blessing at church. She looked so pretty in her long white blessing dress (although it seemed to be quite itchy). Lots of family came to the blessing and the open house afterward at my parents' house. It was a pretty big event for such a little girl! Spencer and I took turns holding her most of the evening (what can I say? we have the magic touch) which was pure delight. Here are a few photos from the big day.

(Olivia and her great-grandma Miriam)

(the Payne family)

(Olivia loves her uncle Spencer)

(right after they took off the itchy dress and she was down to her tights)

(Mollie setting out the spread for the big event)

-Brandi Carlile-

Beautiful Stranger

The New York Times picked up the story about Nie Nie and her family. Check it out here. I guess this whole experience has gone to contradict some of my feelings about technology driving people into less intimate and involved relationships. It's been marvelous to see the blogging community come together and rally around this family.

-Madonna-

Never Leave Lonely Alone

Spencer and I have been talking for a while about possibilities for a big adventure next summer. Some of the options we're considering:

-A guided rafting/camping trip through Cataract Canyon
-Visiting Spencer's cousin in Alaska (who happens to be a pilot) and possibly backpack around the Denali
-Take a month off from life and do an overland Europe to Asia trip possibly hitting -among other countries- Italy, Greece, Turkey, India and China
-Bike the Oregon Coast (take two...)

It would be great to be able to do them all, but we are saving our pennies in hopes of doing one. What's your vote?

Image via
-Ben Harper-

One Fine Wire

On Labor day Spencer and I went to Broadway Cinema downtown to see Man on Wire. It's a fantastic documentary about a man who rigged a wire between the two world trade center towers and walked it. How did I never hear about this happening? Anyway, I really think you should find out where it's playing and go see it.


-Colbie Callait-