Throwback Thursday #1

This is my first "Throwback Thursday" post. I kind of like the reason to reminisce. The hardest part is thinking of what part of my past I really want to throwback too! One year ago I was eagerly counting down the days till my wedding. My family was getting all packed up to drive to Oregon where the wedding was going to be. It was a good time.

But that is not what I wanted to focus on today. In celebration of the first throwback ever I wanted to go ALL the way back. I'm talking 21 years back. Back to the beginning of my life. Is that a far enough throw for ya? Plus I am pretty vain when it comes to my baby pictures. Chubby cheeks, cute smile, what's not to love?

Okay, vain moment over... Thank you for scrolling!

And We're Back!

I have been so remiss in posting on my blog. I am not sure why. Probably because I feel life at the Parker's has been somewhat uneventful lately. I haven't felt the need to share the on-goings of my life recently. I have indeed been still crafting, trying new recipes, and spending lots of time in front of the TV (i.e. had plenty of time to blog).

Here is an assorted list of what I have been up to lately:
- Made a wreath. It is so cute and perfect for summer!
- Bought a plane ticket to Oregon!! So excited to visit my gre
en home again.
- Taught a little class to some of my friends on how to curl hair.
-Went on a hike with my best friend Doug. We got on a totally wrong trail and took an hour long detour straight up a hill. Needless to say my buns have never been so sore!
- Made dinner for my wonderful mother on Mother's day.
- Have been attending a Zumba class. Still unsure how I feel about the whole Zumba thing though, but that is another blog post topic.
- Bought a new swimsuit!
-Skyped with my brother who is in  Ukraine.
- Tried to go off of sugar for 4 weeks (Hey at least I tried).
-Had a Saturday Slurpee run last week after sunbathing by the pool.
-Went to Lagoon in the rain.
-Tried sushi (raw fish!) fir the first time.
-Finally bought a bedspread for our bed
-Tried to grow a tomato plant- it died. Oops.

I guess I have been a little busy. I have been really bad at taking pictures though.Sorry! Always room for improvement.

See ya next time! Which will hopefully be soon.

Graduating from College

Graduating from college is a bittersweet thing. College was so fun and I grew so much in the past 4 years. Facing the real world is a scary prospect. I feel so blessed to have been able to get a degree at Brigham Young University. It was my dream to come to this school every since I was about 8 years old. Yes, I was one of those weird kids that was thinking about college when I was 8. But it was definitely the best decision I ever made to come to Provo for school. I met wonderful people, including my husband, and had great professors. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. (Except finals). It is almost unreal that I am done with school since that is all my life has consisted of for the past 16 years. But I am so excited for the next chapter of my life. I have been working already for two  months at an awesome advertising agency here in Provo. I love the work and I love that I was able to find a job so quickly and so close to home. I am so blessed.

Easy Wall Decor Craft

About time for another blog post I'd say. We recently enjoyed watching General Conference this past weekend. It is a conference that takes place twice a year where our church leaders speak to us. They give us direction, counsel and teach us of Christ. If  you want to learn more about it, you can check it out here. I especially loved Elder L. Tom Perry's talk. I saw him in person like a week ago at a big, fancy dinner I went to for work. I was literally like 6 feet away from him and we smiled at each other. What a sweet guy.

During the Saturday session I tend to like to do a craft. I decided our walls needed something new. I love how it turned out. The craft was actually a lot quicker than I thought it would be. So quick I might make more!

How the wall looked before- A crinkled poster I bought 3 years ago. Lame.

Now pretty patterned squares instead of the poster.

So what I did was take 4 six-inch cork board squares. I traced them on a piece of scrapbook paper. I applied a distressing ink on the edges and corners of the paper to make them seem a little worn and it gave a nice edge to the paper. Then I modge-podged the paper on the squares and stuck them on the wall! So eeeasy. It would be fun to make some bigger ones too. We bought a new couch last week. No not actually new. Ha...funny. Ya we are too poor for that. We bought a new, used couch. The couch is tan so I wanted to incorporate a little more color into the room with the tan. I was originally looking for purple paper, but it just didn't exist unless it was too 10-year old girl purple which is not the look I was going for. But the green and blue turned out nice.

Oh and I forgot to mention how inexpensive the craft was. I already had the modge-podge. The paper was 50% off at Hobby Lobby and I used a 40% off coupon on the cork board. The whole thing cost maybe $8.40. I think the crinkled poster was more expensive than that. I will gladly give it up.

Before hanging them on the wall.

Our little tiny minuscule apartment is starting to feel more and more homey (home-like?) all the time.

Crock Pot Gyros

Thought I might as well share this recipe with you since I know my amazing iPhone photography skills made you drool all over yourself and want to consume the delicious gyro.
Good news now, you don't have to wish you knew how to make these anymore. I will share my secrets. As usual my secrets usually involve a crock pot. Which makes cooking so easy! So please give it a try. You will immensely enjoy it.
(Side note- this recipe is from my mother-in-law.)

BEEF GYROS

2-lb boneless beef chuck steak, sliced ¼ in thick

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Pita bread

Toppings: yogurt-dill sauce (tzatziki), lettuce, tomatoes, onions

Place beef in slow-cooker. In a small bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over beef, turning beef to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, until meat is tender. Warm pitas as package directs. Stuff pitas with sliced meat, Yogurt-Dill Sauce (below), and toppings.

Yogurt-Dill Sauce:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup diced seedless cucumber (or just cut the seeds out), 1 Tbsp dill, ¼ tsp salt.

Combine all ingredients; mix well.

Bon Appetit!

Happy Easter! Happy April!

I love springtime! It is so beautiful and I love seeing the warm sunshine after a cold winter. We had the best Easter. Doug surprised me with a little Easter egg hunt. In each egg was candy and a cute little note. He also bought me beautiful tulips. We had gyros for dinner. They are sort of an Easter food right? It is from the Mediterranean at least. Greece is (relatively) close to Israel...I checked on a map. And ham was just too expensive to buy. All in all, it was a great holiday. I love spending time with my husband. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Christ in my life and for the wonderful blessing of his resurrection.

Babies are so entertaining.

Easter tradition- have to color eggs!

The beautiful tulips from my husband

Our meager, but very cute Easter decor

So so yummy in my tummy.

Desiree-the Mom to Bee

Hello Friends! Happy Spring! What a busy month it has been so far. Nothing much to take pictures of however. I did try Indian and Korean food for the first time in the past week. Loved the Korean. I definitely recommend it. The Indian-- I think I need to try it again. The texture was a bit weird to me. The naan bread was superb though. Anybody know of a good recipe?

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for my cousin Desiree. She is having a baby girl in June. She lives all the way in Boston so it was a rare treat to have her visit. The shower was so darling and had a bee theme. I love it because it could easily work for girl or boy. Her mother-in-law made the most darling bee cake-pops.

She does't even look pregnant!

 

The shower inspired me to make a card of my own. I think it turned out quite cute.

Congratulations Desiree! You will be a wonderful mother.