Birthdays/Labor Day/DIY Obsession and New Food

I definitely meant to write more last week so I wouldn't be cramming everything we do into one post, but as it usually goes I was busy beyond belief. So here I am, middle of the week and sneaking in a blog before Kev gets home and we rush off to the gym only to come home, make dinner, do some cleaning and go to bed to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

Sometimes I think why do I so love writing this silly blog. Is it just for me and my posterity??  Is there anyone out there reading it??

Well here's the last week.:

Thursday was Kevin's birthday. We both worked but were able to be home early to enjoy a Birthday meal fit for a King. Ribs (that cooked for 5 hours), potatoes (famous Funeral Potatoes) and my first attempt at homemade rolls (which I have to admit were pretty amazing).
We were joined by about 20 of our good friends that evening for ice cream cake (again homemade) and mingling. It was so wonderful to have so many people in our home. It's such a blessing to be living in a place where we can entertain lots of people. One of my favorite parts about being a housewife is getting to make dinner and entertain for friends! I was in domestic heaven.

Friday we snuck away from reality for the night and stayed at the Ellerbeck Mansion in Salt Lake. The home was built in 1892 and has an old vintage style theme throughout the entire place. Our room was cozy and we enjoyed relaxing, sleeping in and having a delicious meal in the morning.

We stayed in Salt Lake for the afternoon stopping by some garage sales, took a drive around The U, and walked through Pioneer Park to see all of the vendors at the farmers market. We walked through the Gateway Mall, which was mostly torture for me as I went ga-ga over all the lovely fall fashions coming out at places such as Forever21, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. I am saving my cash however for when H&M opens their first store in Utah. I am so excited. Hooray for fall clothes. We picked up a bottle of Peach Balsamic Vinegar at Mountain Town Oil Company, (Check out there website HERE. They have some great stuff) We got the bottle of Balsamic Vinegar and a pouring top for FREE thanks to Kevin's Grouponing deals. We ended our excursions in Salt Lake at a lovely lunch at Tucanos Brazilian Grill. So yummy. (Except for the Quail Egg Kev tried and the Chicken Heart I took a bite of.. Not our favorites!)

We stopped by a few DI's on the way home, mostly to get our weekly fix but ended up coming home with this beauty.

Tell me you don't want her in your living room. This was such an awesome buy! My mom has wanted this EXACT chair for years but never bought it because, well, look for yourself here - Would you spend that kind of money on a chair?  No offense to Pier1. I love that store with my whole heart but $379 for ONE CHAIR is a little steep. I couldn't believe no-one had snatched this baby up when we had got there late in the afternoon. It's in great condition and it looks amazing in our living room. (Now the chair is just waiting for my mom to come and enjoy it.. Time for another visit Shelleylee?? I think YES!)

Sunday was my sweet brother Hunter's 20th birthday. I say WAS instead of WOULD HAVE BEEN because it's still his birthday even if he's not here to celebrate it and I still celebrate it. I bore my testimony in church expressing how much I love my dear brother, how much I miss him and how thankful I am for the knowledge of eternal families. I know Hunter was having an amazing day in heaven so I am so grateful we can all still celebrate and remember him here.

Our primary class drew pictures of Jesus and wrote how they were going to remember him throughout the week.
Kevin and I like to show off our drawing skills to the 6 & 7 year old children.

Kevin's Jesus

Kyla's Jesus

The rest of Sunday was very relaxing. We set up our tent in the backyard for a little "Labor Day" camping but that only lasted until about 5:45 am when we both woke up in pain from sleeping on the hard ground.
Monday we slept in again (It's nice to sleep in once in a while) and then headed out for a few hours in the sun. We played a mean game of Frisbee Golf in Provo where Kevin beat me by two little points. I think I would have had him if I hadn't had to scale a 20 foot tree to rescue my captured Frisbee. I still have a few pine needle scrapes on my arms.
We had lunch at J Dawgs in Provo. Those polish dogs are so good and I am sure we make a point to stop by every time we are in Provo. We walked around the mall for a while, picked up a present for our niece Lucy, who's 2nd birthday is on Friday, and ended up at the gym for an hour before we headed over to Aubrey and Daniels for ribs (again). Aubrey did a great job on the meal and we are so glad The Hedlunds (still weird) live close so we can have dinner with them once in a while.


Yesterday was back to work and the grind of things. We went grocery shopping when we got home and did an awesome job of spending only half of our bi-weekly food budget. I am so proud of Kevin and I as we get better every month becoming smarter, healthier shoppers. Last night we had pasta, shrimp and salad for dinner. I tried out our new Balsamic Vinegar in substitute for a regular salad dressing and it was AMAZING!

Recipe:
1 Bag Salad - Spring Mix (I used Half the bag for two of us)
1 Cup of frozen mixed berries (I let them thaw for a little so they are cold but not ROCK solid)
1 Handful of chopped Onions
1/2 cup of Feta Cheese
Topped with Peach Balsamic Vinegar
Mix together and enjoy a little, health bit of heaven.

Honestly this is one of my favorite salads ever. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Wow. I can't believe I did it. Kevin still isn't home and I'm wrapping this blog up.
The only other thing I can really think to add is my RIDICULOUS OBSESSION with Pinterest. I cannot get enough of all the incredible idea's and crafts people do! I probably spend a good part of my day browsing pinterest. While I'm on hold with Dr's offices or Social Security I am oooing and awwwing over all the talent, ideas and creativeness there is in the world. Pinterest has sparked so many ideas for me to make our home have just the right Kyla touch. My next projects are the Laundry Room and Bedroom and I have some wicked awesome ideas.

That's all for today. Rascal Flatts concert on Friday (Thanks to Kevin's parents for his birthday) I am so excited!

Love you readers.