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.